#yes Tim shops at Hot Topic

[crushedsweets]

WWHAT WUD THE CREEPS DO 4 HALLOWEEN I MUST KNOW

anon... yes i like this. general disclaimer this is tailored to my au !! stuff under cut

toby likes it, thinks its fun and stuff. he's not the type to dress up beyond like, maybe a jacket and a mask or whatever, but he'll go and buy(steal) stupid ass halloween decorations from spirit or the dollar store. there r several mini skeletons sitting around his cabin. he treats it like elf on the shelf, but. . . skeletons... def will sit around and watch scary movies with a bag of halloween candy . totally carves pumpkins with whoever will do it with him

tim wouldnt really want to do much cuz he's just tired, but he probably would put out a small little pumpkin and bowl of candy outside his door. he's in an apartment so he doesnt really get trick or treaters. will prob buy some candy after halloween so its on sale

brians so annoying omfg(lovingly) he'd buy a fake arm, blood, and wig and stick it in his trunk so it looks like an arm is sticking out. yall know what im talking about. him and tim share an apartment so he'd prob try to actually put something simple around it, like some plastic pumpkins, but nothing really big. he is also a grown man with no kids, so he doesnt find himself going all out for these things

natalie. ok i recently made it where she's either already a tattoo artist, or learning to be a tattoo artist or whatever, but i could see her and some coworkers setting up the shop all halloweeny. she's so fucking tall that they'd just call her over for all the spider web stuff. she thinks its fun and she likes halloween a lot so it's cool. she'd get a huge kick out of doing halloween tattoos during october too. goes and hangs out with toby/nina for it

nina goes to parties . she HAS to get a whole new costume for every party. its super wasteful but she doesnt care all that matters is shes sexy. every year without fail she is a sexy gothic vampire for one of the parties. she works at hot topic, BUT she'd absofuckinglutely get a second job at spirit halloween for october. she's a creepy galll... def sets her apartment up super cutely, brings toby and nat over so they can carve pumpkins with her, tries to dress them up, etc. tons of halloween posts on her social medias too LOL shes so cute

jeff would prob also go to more like... weirder ( ?) parties with creeps and scary people roaming around just doing crazy shit. warehouse shit. prob finds someone to bring home and kill. he thinks its fun, its easier to just go about his days looking the way he does, he loves scaring the fucking shit out of people. doesnt decorate or wear costumes though, says its cringe LMFAO. hates how hyped nina is about it

jane and mary would totally decorate, but in a much more.. ? elegant ? way. like those tall skinny candles, swap out their doormat for something halloween themed, really nicely done pumpkins for some reason. jane would want to host a cute little halloween dinner for uni friends. probably just gets simple costumes, like she'd put on a witch hat and black dress and thats all, but its cute. takes sally (and ben, if sally asks him to come) trick or treating.

sally draws tons of drawings, loves disney halloween marathons, paints on pumpkins(doesnt like the smell of gutting them), etc. she'd decorate with jane cuz she lives w her. she loves it so much but she still gets scared of the animatronic things at stores and stuff LOL. begs ben to trick or treat w her. really embarrassing for ben

ben wouldnt do much besides like. he'd get worse w his internet trolling (scaring the fucking shit out of teens on the internet), start doing more actual hauntings bc nobody will believe his victims during october which means slender wont find out he's doing it. he would not want to go trick or treating..but he'd go with sally with a pillow case and he'd try to awkwardly stand further back but the ppl at the door would always b like 'aw dont be shy come here!' LOL

jack doesnt celebrate it, his family didnt really celebrate it much when he was human so he doesnt do it now. he does get kinda sad during holiday season though, cuz of obvious reasons, but halloween isnt the strongest Pain for him

liu is so fucking miserable theres no way. jk he'd set out like, some pumpkins and maybe get one of those lights that project ghosts onto his garage, but he wouldnt want to go all out or do anything to the inside of his house. jeff really liked halloween when he was younger so its kinda like ouch but he's getting overit. i guess. . .

kate doesnt..celebrate anything........ but when she does occasionally visit the cabin, maybe for food or a shower, and she sees toby decorated, she'd be happy to see it. she's kinda unsettling to be around, but she'd sit down and watch a movie with him in silence. then bring a massive bag of candy to the mine w her w/o telling toby. he just had to cope

ann and lulu dont do anything in the hospital. they dont really have any concept of time........... or the resources to decorate... and they dont get any trick or treaters... cuz theyre...stuck in an abandoned hospital in the woods . . . yeah..

ty for ask anoni like this one. very simple but very sweet

[elysianslove]

hi! how have you been since the hell that ensued after halloween is?

also could you do a batboys college au? like their major and how the reader would meet them and all that jazz? 👉👈

-🐥

hi anon!! i’m not sure what ur talking about @ the halloween stuff hvsdhjs but! here are the batboys hc’s! i’m not very familiar with duke thomas’s character enough to write about him tbh, so he’s not included here :( but if you want me to add him let me know!! i hope you enjoy!!

dick grayson

out of all the batboys i really didn’t know how to choose a major for him

but

i think he’d do law tbh, specifically criminal law 

his main motivation to become a police officer in bludhaven had been to be able to help people in any way he can 

i forgot if it’s canon or not but he does realize how corrupt it is and he quits but that’s another thing we won’t get into that lmao 

anyways yes let’s just stick with law 

meeting you ! 

he shares one or two courses with you

one that’s really early in the morning 

and one that’s later on in the afternoon 

dick is like a magnetic okay

anywhere he goes people are just attracted to him

like literally he will breathe 

but someone call the ambulance there’s a person that’s passed out bc of how beautiful he is

but this is an 8 am class 😃

so there’s no way ur awake enough to notice him

coincidentally he sits next to you one time

and this is the one time

you decide

yeah lemme just fkn sleep is uni even worth it 

dick definitely notices right away but he doesn’t say anything 

he thinks you look so cute passed out on your desk like this 🥺

when the professor signals the end of the class, he watches as people file out and then he just leans over and nudges you slightly 

you nearly punch him bc he scared you ❤️

he just laughs and goes “class is over” 

you just sigh like the guilt starts to hit you and your heart begins to sink

and he sees your disappointed face and just goes 

“i took a lot notes. i can share them w you?”

lifesaver in every single way dick grayson 😻😻😻

you had another class that you had to run to and you were rushing

he was like “dw i’ll just give them to you whenever i see you next” 

and you 🏃🏻‍♀️ outta there

imagine ur surprise when u enter class at 12 pm and he’s there in all his glory 

after the lecture is over, he walks up to you as you’re packing and asks if you want to go to the coffee shop nearby 

to take his notes of course

and you finally register just how handsome he is 

so obviously you say yes wtf

and the rest is history 😼

he asks you out, properly, pretty early on tbh 

so unfazed lmfao 

now you take naps on his shoulder instead of the desk 💞💞💞

soooo into pda 

kisses u when he first sees you

when you’re parting ways

when he feels like it

straight up cuddles w during lectures i’m not even joking 

it’s disgusting how cute you two are 

gets you coffee for all those 8 am classes u have w him hehe

study dates always turn into karaoke sessions somehow don’t even ask lmao

jason todd

english literature 

this is a collective agreement right? 

right

definitely english literature 

i dont even think he wants to go to uni but he’s going to waste time plus this is bruce’s money 😏🤑

your major doesn’t necessarily have to be english literature as well

but you share one class

and my god 

you two disagree on everything

like every little thing

at this point if he says something and you slightly agree internally you’ll still say some opposing shit 

that’s kinda what draws you to him 

at first you genuinely had nothing against him

but then this kind of rivalry developed for no specific reason 

but it was fun

and he was hot

so seeing him get flustered or angry made him even hotter somehow 

but then

but t h e n

you’re not sure if your professor like ships you or something

so you’re assigned a debate topic on one of the books you’d discussed in class/one of the books you’ve read outside, and within each group are the two sides for and against 

not only were you in the same team as jason, but you were on the same side as him

so you had to work with him

the audacity of the professor omg 

but jason needs this course 

and 

well you don’t but it’s too late to back out now 

you two meet in the campus library after deciding on a book with the other two of your team

and 

honestly??? 

you two work so well together 

like insanely well

during the debate you destroyed the other team 

spoiler alert 

doing so well with jason kinda made you like hot and bothered 

seeing him in his zone

sexy <3 

what i mean to say is

you both end up making out in some storage room lmfao 

or hate sex 😏

professor has a phd in matchmaking 🤔😻

i think you two don’t admit you like each other

bc you’re both stubborn as fuck

but eventually you’re literally on his lap on his couch and it just hits you

and you lean back and go

“wanna go out w me” 

and he just shrugs and goes “sure” and pulls you in for more kissing hehe

he’s not v good at the boyfriend thing tbh

you have to chase him around and be like “sir!!! did u forget about me huh!!!”

he doesn’t mean to i promise

he gets all blushy and flustered once he realizes 

only ever into pda if he’s insanely jealous 

will straight up make out w u regardless of where u are or who ur with lmfao 

he’s still getting used to the little intimacies and all 

debates in class are so much more fun now cause he finds it so hot when u get all riled up hehe

that eng lit professor is so happy for you two omg

tim drake

okay i also couldn’t really decide for him

but maybe he’d study something like physics (or maybe computer engineering/computer science) 

idk u have to have a death wish to wanna major in physics so tim’s major it is

i’m not sure how it works for every other uni but my uni requires 6 credits of sciences to graduate 

so let’s say for the sake of this hc u take like just the first level of physics to get 3 credits 

and 

you’re struggling 😃👍🏼

so you like approach your professor with a few questions before the quiz 

but tim is also there

and he kinda makes small talk while you two wait outside the office

and he asks why you’re here

you show him

and he’s like “oh i took this course w the same professor as well, i could help?” 

it’s like an angel had descended from the heavens for you personally 

you take his number and decide to meet up with him after a few hours 

he’s of so much more help than your professor would’ve been, even if ur prof is a really nice and smart person 

and he’s super like

patient with you? 

also he pays for all the coffee and snacks you’re getting after you already get them 

ur like bruh i didnt 

dont pay pls

and he’s like no im loaded let me 😼

swooning <3 

and guess what!! 

you ace the quiz out of some miracle

first thing you do is text him and he congratulates you 

and then

bc ur not blind and tim is so fucking cute

you’re like “can i take u out to thank u” 

tim’s brain stops working but ! 

he does say yes eventually 

he becomes your designated physics tutor + your amazing boyfriend

being with tim is so like

chill

it’s a very relaxed time 

lots of study dates! and cafe dates! all hours of the day whether the sun is up or not 

into pda but to a certain degree 

like yes of course have a kiss pretty baby 

but also it will only be a small peck

any time anyone passes by like common rooms you two will be there snuggling on the couch, one or both of you completely passed out 

damian wayne

business major 100% 

or a bsba econ major, which is basically the business side of economics 

he has to take over his father’s company one day duh 

also i genuinely think damian would excel in this field 

he’s a very keeps to himself kinda guy in uni

like you only ever see him in your common classes and then he just

disappears 

anyways there was this party that everyone was going to, and damian wasn’t planning to

but dick accidentally read some groupchat’s messages and was like are u going

damian went 🏃🏻‍♀️

but dick was like go and try to make friends !!!! 

and dames cant say no to his big bro 🥺 so he goes

stays in a corner on the settings app the entire time

like half an hr in he just leaves and is walking home/back to his dorm when you come like rushing up to him 

you’re zooming 

and then you just latch onto his hand and lean up to press a kiss to his cheek, whispering in his ear “this person’s been following me for like 15 mins just please go along w this” 

he kinda stiffens but when he does notice that there’s a person eyeing you he slips his arm around your waist and just carries on walking

he walks you to your home/dorm and is like

so awkward 

but it’s okay ! ur a people’s person enough for the two of you 

you thank him so much over and over 

and then you’re like 

“can i take you out on a real date?” 

and then he becomes ur real boyfriend hehe

is still super stiff but it’s only bc he’s so hyper aware of how attractive you are

and i’m super positive he doesn’t have that much experience with dating so 

you hold the reigns 

but he’s a great boyfriend all in all tbh 

super attentive, super protective, and so loving 

isn’t into pda especially on college campus but he does like subtle pda

things like linking your pinkies or giving you his hoodie to just parade around campus hehe

end note; i’m sorry if these feel rushed or anything like. i used to be an avid writer for the batboys, but i just haven’t been feeling it lately. i still love to write from them bc i know these boys so well eeeeppp. anyways feel free to request some more!!

[anothertimdrakestan]

Tongue Tied - Tim Drake x Reader

Words: 2.4k

Requested? Yes! From a lovely anon!

“Hello lovely author, may I please request a Tim x reader who start as nerd friends, then she finds out about him being Red Robin before he can tell her, and then Red Robin saves her one day and she lets slip that she knows it's Tim. With her smarts, she's able to help him with cases and missions, and the batfam is impressed by how smart she is. You can choose whether it's a romantic ending or not, that's up to you. I just feel like smart Tim needs to be seen more. Thanks😊”

LINK TO PROMPTS & MASTERLIST -> REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!

When I tell you I love me a smart reader I LOVE ME A SMART READER! Thank you so much for the wonderful request! Strap in dear anon you set me up for a long one and I really said “get in the car!” I hope you enjoy ; )

In the midst of a mental breakdown you let the flashbacks ensue, that’s the only correct way to lose your mind as everything you thought you knew crumbled around you right?

First you remembered “meeting” Tim Drake-Wayne for the first time. You always put meeting in quotes because you’d been in love with him for months and had sleuthed out his favorite coffee shop just to stumble into him. And because you’re you, nothing can really go as planned can it? Your plan to stumble into Tim was taken more literally when he caught you from tripping as you tried to enter the store, as you pulled yourself from his chest you felt your cheeks redden immediately. 

“Oh my gosh I am such a klutz I’m so sorry” he looked flustered himself, nervously fidgeting with his sweatshirt sleeve. “Oh uh, no problem, are you okay?” he up from his jacket to meet your eyes, and though he’d never tell you his heart melted on the spot, his brother Dick defined it as “love at first sight” but that seemed too cheesy. “I’m fine! You going in here too? This is my favorite spot!” you shook off the nerves, making your way into the cafe. Tim followed you in, and to your surprise paid for your drink. Sitting at a little bar you pulled out some of your college textbooks before you realized Tim and slipped into the seat next to you. 

“You in college?” his voice made you jump, your head jolting up. “Oh - no! I just think this kinda stuff is interesting. Math can predict everything ya know!” you slid your textbook between the two of you, feeling Tim’s shoulder lightly brush yours as he leaned in to read it. “Totally! Like even the golden ratio in nature!” Tim explained excitedly. 

That day turned into texting every single day and hanging out whenever Tim could, and it slowly developed into a best friendship. 

How did you not see the red flags like how Tim could rarely, almost never hangout at night? Or how he’d have strange bruises scattered across his body. Tim always looked dead tired but you knew he didn’t do any activities after school, to be honest the math just didn’t add up, so you took to investigating before making a conclusion - as any good scientist would. And because he’s a messy teenage boy investigation was easy.

While over at the manor Bruce had called Tim to W.E. for some sort of emergency press conference about his younger brother Damian biting a reporter, the interview was only supposed to be a half an hour. So, Tim left you with snacks and Youtube in his room while he threw on a suit and tie, which he looked like an absolute five course meal in - that wasn’t the point. You took the opportunity the riffle through his room, not exactly sure what you were looking for as you pawed through stacks of overdue assignments and dirty clothes. 

With deep breaths you relived the moment that hadn’t stopped playing in your head, finding his Red Robin suit. Throwing open his closet you stifled a laugh at his pajama pants and ratty t-shirts but you choked on air when a deep red and black suit fell from the top of his closet onto your face. Thinking it was some sort of halloween costume you held it up and realized what you were touching. It made sense, the late nights, bruises, frantic cancellations, it all added up except that Tim was the sweetest person you knew, the most loving soul you knew was kicking ass while you struggled through trigonometry. 

Unable to comprehend what was happening you put everything away and went home, shooting Tim some bullshit excuse about your family as your ran up to your room and began making a list - comparing Tim’s absences to Red Robin sightings, googling photos of Red Robin and drawing comparisons to the way he held himself like your best friend. There truly was no denying - Tim Drake was the Red Robin. Then it hit you like a truck - Bruce Wayne was Batman. And you assumed all of Tim’s adoptive family were vigilantes as well. You didn’t sleep that night, trying to make google searches that didn’t give anything away while trying to make a list of everything you discovered. 

Tim was Red Robin. You still couldn’t wrap your mind around it. So you sat in your room at 4am, crying. Because Tim was probably out risking his life for years without you knowing. Everytime you yelled at him for cancelling plans was probably because he was out saving lives and he took all your anger, he let you berate him for scrapping his knees when it was probably the fucking Joker whooping his ass. Is it right to apologize? To tell him what you found out and try to move on with the friendship. Is this like a “now that you know I have to kill you” kinda thing? You weren’t exactly ready to die. 

It seemed like Tim’s secret to keep, it was difficult at first to keep the facade that you didn’t know what he was doing at night, you just tried to always be understanding and appreciative of all the time he made for you. You fell back into the lull of best-friendship, Robin or not, Tim was the best person you knew.

“You’re in love with her Drake” Damian chided, almost annoyed with Tim’s ambivalence on the topic of his life long crush. “Am not, she’s my best friend. It’s not my fault you don’t understand friendships demon” Tim spat back, keeping his head down to hide his blush. “I’m with the demon, you practically worship the ground she walks on” Jason called, drinking straight from.a carton of milk as Dick cried out in disgust before adding his own opinion to the mess that was Tim’s love life. “Sorry kid it’s 3 to 1 which means you have to ask her out for real, remember last time?” Tim glared at the mention of his failed date proposal where you thought he was speaking in strictly hypotheticals. “You can’t out vote me on my own feelings” Tim groaned. “All in favor of allowing us to out vote Tim?” The three raised their hands again as Tim stomped up to his room, he planned on going on a peaceful patrol to plan his dream date for you.

A couple weeks into knowing Tim’s secret you learned that if you climbed to the roof of your apartment building you could see Batman and whomever he took out for patrol flipping around the city late at night. It had become a nightly routine and you’d grown to be able to identify the hero by their style of movement, your notebook filled with notes and sketches about each boy or girl. Then when you hungout with Tim you could match a vigilante’s mannerisms with one of his siblings, it was simple science really. Then you began taking down notes about whoever the Bats were fighting if it was public, discovering little facts and trying to slip Tim subconscious knowledge, it was the least you could do to help your favorite boy on earth. 

But that wasn’t enough, you wanted in on the excitement of crime fighting, to have more knowledge than was on broadcast TV. So you took to the streets of Gotham armed with pepper spray, a pocket knife, and a notepad. You learned tidbits of information that you poured over, working it together until you’d solved a case, then you’d slip hypothetical ideas to Tim throughout the hours of hanging out. You felt like a real life hero, and you were getting better by the day. 

“Jeez Tim it’s like you’ve been working double time! You’re solving cases before they’re even on B’s radar, what’s your secret kid genius?” Dick was stretching on the BatComputer while Tim feverishly typed in his newest solve. “Well I hangout with Y/N! She’s like a good luck charm dude I also get the best ideas when I’m with her! It’s pure magic bro I’m telling you” Tim explained as he frantically finished his report. “Lovers do have that effect! So when are you gonna tell her you’re in loveeeeee” Dick cooed as Tim shook his head. “Shut up Dickwing I’m working” was all he could give Dick without blushing or mixing up his words. He just had to plan something perfect.

But it never was perfect was it? 

Kill Croc was out in the sewer, and you’d taken it upon yourself to help Tim out, you knew people who knew some of the people that helped out Croc and you were determined to find him first at any cost. That’s how you accidentally ended up in a dirty drug deal. 

“Hey Timbers, you’re gonna wanna get to my location asap, I’m pretty sure your girlfriend is in trouble and it would be rude of me not to offer her saving to you” Jason heard a scramble from the other side of the comm as Tim confirmed he was on the way. He watched carefully as you searched for an escape from your capture, normally he would’ve busted the drug dealers for capturing teenagers by now but he was feeling magnanimous, deciding to give Tim the opportunity to save an unsuspecting but terrified Y/N. 

There were definitely no clear exits, you cursed yourself for getting too close. You were not Red Robin, you played the long game you didn’t rush into the arms of armed drug dealers in the name of the law. Your heart was beating out of your chest as they pointed a gun at you, forcing you to walk towards a sketchy delivery truck with the other kids. “Ooh totally not gonna happen!” a familiar voice cheered as glass windows shattered, none other than your best friend stood with a grin. He looked hot as fu- not the time, not the time. 

“Come any closer we’ll blow her brains out!” you felt a loaded pistol connect with the back of your head as you froze, begging to any god to live and promising not to be a field agent ever again. “That’ll be pretty hard without your gun dumbass” Tim called as four batarangs knocked the guns out of all the guy’s hands. Red Hood, who you knew was Jason Todd, burst through the back windows, guns raised. “I thought we had a deal you sorry bitches. Now let these kids go or I’ll show you what blowing brains out really looks like” the men froze, letting everyone escape. 

“Too late for us, but we’re taking the pretty girl with us!” one of the men had picked up their gun, aiming it straight between your eyes and firing. You screeched when a flash of red jumped in front of you. Almost in slomo you watched the bullet connect with Tim’s body. Your scream was deafened by Red Hood’s guns as he knocked all the men completely out. Rushing to Tim’s side you pulling his head into your lap. “Tim! Oh my god Tim are you okay!” you cried as Red Robin pulled off his domino mask to reveal a very confused Tim Drake. “Kevlar, I’m fine, bullets pack a punch but it just knocked the wind out of me, how did you know who I was?” Tim sat up, showing you the bullet sized dent in his suit. 

“We should go somewhere else and I can explain” you smiled sheepishly, letting Tim put his cowl back on as he loops his arm around your waist, pulling you to the top of the nearest building. 

“YOU’VE KNOWN FOR MONTHS” Tim looked shocked as you explained how you figured it out and how you’ve been helping him out for weeks. “Should I have told you? I’m really sorry I just didn’t know I felt like you’d tell me when you were ready” you flinched at Tim’s shout and he calmed down. “To be honest I don’t know, you’re one of few that know who I am, but I’m glad you know, makes this even better” Tim added the last part softly, placing his hand on your cheek to lift your lips to his. Your eyes widened in shock before fluttering closed, kissing him back. The build up of months detangled itself in a night, and kissing Tim was just as perfect as you’d imagined all those years ago. 

“So you’ve really been solving all those cases and you didn’t even tell me! You’re totally amazing at it!” Tim added, almost as if he’d been thinking during the kiss. “Yeah it’s pretty fun, you’re still gonna let me help right? I’m not stopping now!” you poked Tim’s chest while he thought. “I mean I’m pretty sure Babs needs a partner, but no ground work, you saw how well that went tonight, but it’ll be good to have a partner who finally knows everything” Tim exhaled, letting everything off his chest. 

“Partners!” you smiled, leaning in to seal the deal with a kiss. 

“This is totally epic” you stood stunned as the BatCave shined in all it’s glory. “I mean yeah it’s pretty cool, look this is my actual suit, I bet the one you saw was an older model!” Tim let you around the cave, showing off his favorite parts. You squeezed his hand trying to convey how excited you were. “I’m gonna be a better detective than you soon Timmy” you teased as Tim showed you the ropes of the BatComputer. “In your dreams babe” he rolled his eyes. “Babe huh? Didn’t realize you asked me out” you scrunched your nose at Tim while he blushed. “Oh uh, see I meant to, but yeah, I definitely should do that like-” you cut him off “yes Tim I’ll be your girlfriend you idiot” you laughed at how tongue tied the loveable boy was. You weren’t going to pretend like you didn’t get flustered around him either - you practically tripped on your own feet the first time you met him, but look how far you’d came from there. 

From friends to partners to lovers and probably everything in between, you were finally Tim’s in every way, working side by side was the best thing to ever happen to both of you. That’s not quite right. Tim Drake himself was just simply the best thing that’s ever happened to you. And you to him. And that’s truly love at it’s finest. 

[beholdme]

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 5

Chapters: 5/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can't help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Gerry has always thought it was very appropriate that his first kiss (with Jon, and overall) happened in the forgotten stacks of a local library. The scents of books and ink had surrounded them, something he still associates with Jon and youthful adoration to this day.

He was seventeen and desperately trying to pass his A-levels in the crumbling ruins of his fucked up life. Jon was nineteen and ready to have a breakdown and drop out of second-year uni. Their messes had conveniently lined up enough to give them space to fall in love. It was a messy, chaotic type of relationship, but that was who they were and it suited them just fine.

They somehow ended up as unlikely study partners after trying to check out the same book for their respective English classes, and then, almost without even noticing, they were inseparable.

Gerry was drawn to Jon because he was steady but in a frenetic, rebellious kind of way. His eyebrow piercing and painted nails also helped.

Jon was enamored with Gerry because he flirted and held his hand and accepted him for exactly what he was and nothing else mattered.

One night, after admittedly too little sleep and too much caffeine, Jon decided he wanted to try something new. It was impulsive. He should have asked first, but instead, he moved without thinking, and somehow Gerry was pushed back against a bookshelf, their lips pressed together in a rather forceful way.

Gerry laughed at him.

"Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for," Jon pouted, drawing away, but not so far that Gerry wasn't able to draw him back with his hands on Jon's hips. Jon's hands, previously bracketing Gerry's face, slipped up to tangle in Gerry's soft, badly dyed black hair.

Fortunately for Gerry, Jon was exactly the right height for Gerry to draw him close and press a kiss to his temple. "You just surprised me, is all. I wasn't expecting you to do that. Like, maybe ever?" He laughed softly, again, an incredulous well of hot affection opening in his chest.

"I was curious," he replied, shrugging. His face burned, with both embarrassment and sappy pleasure. "I thought maybe it would be nice."

"Oooooh." Gerry grinned wickedly, "We'll have to keep trying, then. You know, for investigative purposes. We can't leave a hypothesis improperly explored."

Jon silenced his nonsense by drawing their lips back together, and Gerry happily obliged him. At that moment, Gerry decided to make every kiss better than the one before, so Jon would always feel the need to come back for more.

It turned out they enjoyed kissing one another very, very much. Gerry still appreciated everything Jon offered him and never pressured him for anything more, or extra, or too much. Jon was still steady but wild. Gerry always seemed to end up shirtless. Young infatuation was a beautiful thing, both to behold and to endure.

*******

By the time Jon meets Martin, he's kissed a few more people.

Georgie, for two dizzy years in grad school. Tim, on one memorable and drunken misadventure. A few others sprinkled here and there.

But he couldn't remember ever feeling that same reckless drive to push himself into someone else's space and live in their gravity, the way it had been during those breathless months with Gerry.

As soon as he lets his unfounded anger for Martin's mere presence in his orbit fade, Jon feels himself drawn to Martin's magnetism. His kindness, his gentleness, his constant awareness of Jon's mood and wellbeing.

The way he brings him tea even though he would have insisted he didn't like it and didn't want it. Martin did it anyway because Jon could let it cool or drink it, but the gesture behind it stood all the same.

Jon doesn't imagine that Martin could ever forgive his months of snide remarks and cold disregard, but he does, and Martin somehow manages to like him anyway. Because that's just who Martin is, always finding something to love in even the most desolate places.

"Let me get you a taxi." Martin presses after a dinner date.

"Let me get you a taxi." Jon presses back.

"I live one block away!" Martin laughs and can't resist pulling Jon towards him by the elbows. Jon grabs his lapels with sloppy confidence born of laughter and wine.

The air is full of gentle moisture, not quite raining, just blanketing the world enough that they feel locked away in their own world for the moment. Nevermind that they live in one of the most populous cities in the world. At that moment there is nothing but Jon and Martin and the warmth between them, forging an intoxicating attachment to rattle the stars.

"I want to kiss you," Martin whispers the confession into the space between them, pressing their foreheads together and breathing Jon's air.

"I really wish you would," Jon offers him in return.

Their lips press together gently, deliberately. Martin is taller than Jon by enough that he gets the supreme satisfaction of dragging him slightly up towards him, crowding into his normally sacred personal space.

For a moment, they feel airborne, standing in their huddle of space and time. Their lips move together, dragging and drugging them.

Martin gasps softly as they pull apart to breathe, all their emotion pouring out into the space between them.

"Come home with me," Martin pleads softly. "Just- for time together. I don't want this to end."

"Yes," Jon whispers back, "I think I would like that very much."

It is only one block away, and they walk hand in hand, pausing occasionally to press soft lips together again and again.

*******

Gerry tries to keep a balance of spending time with both Martin and Jon and seeing them separately. He also makes sure to give them space to be together on their own, and never inserts himself between them.

Even after several months, he feels like a guest in their relationship, and for the time being, he doesn't mind existing in that space. He finally knows he wants to keep them both, and he is willing to wait for the natural progression of their relationship to carry them along.

He is still willing to do his part in it, of course.

Gerry likes to go into the bookstore, get flirted with by Tim, flirt with Martin in return. Drink tea or coffee and read books on the comfortable couch in the corner, all the while watching Martin brew drinks and care for his customers.

Martin works 5 or 6 days most weeks, often helping man the counter himself, between the admin of running the place and herding Tim and various baristas. So Gerry is quite taken aback when he goes in early one Monday afternoon to find Martin nowhere in sight.

After a quick check with Jon to make sure it's not a normal absence, Gerry makes his way the short walk to Martin's flat.

At first, there's no answer to his knock. He knocks again. He texts Martin's cell. He calls it too. A pit settles into his stomach, although he knows it's far too early to panic.

He knocks one more time and even calls out for Martin through the door, before going quiet to listen.

After a few nerve-wracking moments, Martin does actually open the door a crack, peering out at Gerry with red, tear-stained eyes.

"Martin? Are you okay, love?" Gerry tries to push forward, but the door doesn't open any further. "I brought you tea. From the shop, even, so it's definitely good."

"Why?" Martin asks in such a bleak voice that Gerry is taken aback.

"I-" He starts, mouth gaping at Martin's completely alien manner. "I thought you might like it. That it would bring you some comfort if you were sick or something."

"Or something," Martin says, the total blank sadness in his voice filling Gerry with biting concern.

"Please let me in." He presses his hand more firmly into the door, and Martin eventually yields, although Gerry knows from unfortunate personal experience that it's more from lack of caring than anything.

"Make yourself at home, I guess." Martin offers the space ahead of him as he moves further into his flat. He collapses on the couch, curling into a fetal position on the cushions.

Gerry's heart burns, both with sympathy and empathy. He has an idea of what might be causing such a bad relapse of Martin's depression, although the topic of mothers is always carefully danced around between the three of them. He puts the tea down in grabbing distance and he goes to Martin's wardrobe to fetch his favorite fluffy blanket.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong. But I want to be here for you." Gerry tells him firmly as he wraps Martin up in it. "Is there anything specific I can do for you or do you want me to suggest some stuff?"

Martin blinks up at him. "I don't know…"

"I can put the TV on and sit nearby. I know I don't have Jon's voice, but I could read to you. Put on a podcast?" Gerry throws out the suggestions, keeping his tone gentle and neutral. He doesn't want Martin to sense that this is difficult for him in any way. He can process his own emotions later.

"Anything." Martin shifts over onto his side as silent tears resume a steady trail down his face. Gerry walks over to the bookcase and selects a book he has seen Martin reading a dozen times, the spine well broken and the pages yellowing.

He sits on the floor in front of Martin, near enough for him to hopefully be able to absorb some of the goth's errant body heat. He starts reading, keeping his cadence slow and steady, hoping to provide comfort and grounding.

He reads for almost an hour, and he thinks Martin actually sleeps through most of it. He drinks the tea, although it's already cold.

Eventually, he slows to a stop and closes the book, but doesn't move, hoping Martin will stay sleeping.

"I'm sorry." Gerry is startled by Martin's croaky voice and turns to look at him.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"I do," Martin starts, rubbing at his checks and sitting up against the armrest. "I'm a disaster and you had to come all this way and waste all this time just because I can't get my shit together."

Gerry's eyes narrow at this nonsense, but his tone remains gentle. "None of the time I spend with you is ever wasted. I care about you and I want to be here for you. I wish you had called me or Jon so that we could have come sooner."

Martin's face falls at the mention of their mutual boyfriend's name. "Of course. You came for Jon. It would have been pretty bad if he had seen this mess."

"That is not what I said, and it's not what I meant." Gerry's voice rises, from hurt at Martin's words, at the way his mental state twists Gerry's heart in his chest. He pulls himself up onto his knees, putting himself firmly in Martin's personal space and leaning in close so Martin can't avoid his eyes or his words. "Martin, allow me to make myself completely clear. Because I won't allow you for one second longer to believe that you are some kind of consolation prize for me, that I tolerate your presence because I feel like you and Jon are a package deal. That anything I do to show you affection or effort is for Jon's benefit. You are a gift to me. The way I feel for you is completely independent of my feelings for Jon. I love us all together, but you. You fill me with hope and laughter and the warmth of a perfectly brewed cup of tea. I want you just as much as I want Jon, and my heart will never be the same if you were to walk away from me. Please don't push me away because you think I only feel this way about Jon. Because that is the furthest thing from my truth."

His declaration sits heavy in the air between them for a moment, almost shimmering where Gerry can practically see it hanging in the air.

"But, I-"

"No, no buts. I'll accept 'thank you, Gerry, you light up my life too, Gerry.' No arguments. No buts. This is a space where we can accept that people love us."

"Thank you, Gerry," Martin says slowly, pulling Gerry closer to hold the sides of their faces together. Gerry wraps his arms around Martin and rocks them gently. "You fill life with colour, my Gerry."

"Much better, love. I'd really like to kiss you now, if you-" Gerry breaks off as Martin pulls him closer and slots their lips together. The kiss is full of desperate desire to bring Martin closer to Gerry and further from his forsaken loneliness.

Gerry slides himself up off the floor, not breaking contact, and sits astride Martin's lap. Martin sneaks his hands up the back of his shirt, hands confident and familiar from months of tactile flirting and easy affection.

Gerry anchors himself to Martin, and Martin anchors himself to Gerry, and at that moment they feel the nexus of their relationship, both with each other and with Jon, lock firmly into place.

[we-want-mini-mini]

Because I fell in love with the previous prompt/oneshot I wrote about an OC falling into the DC universe (specifically Gotham) and wants to avoid the Vigilantes/Wayne and Co but fucking fails at it (or succeeds, who knows).

This one shot is about—

The Reluctant Executive Assistant To Lex Luthor, Who Also Is A Supervillian

Masterlist | Pervious Post Regarding This Oneshot

Warnings! Strong language, mentions of disassociation, mentions of body dysphoria, non-graphic description of violence, probably OOC Lex Luthor, shitty spelling and grammar oh my!

LIA WONDERED WHAT SHE DID TO ANGER THE UNIVERSE, what she did so heinous, so deplorable, so bastardly to be punished in this way. She reclined into her plush sofa, her eyed glazed over, as they seemingly stared beyond the cream colored walls of her small Metropolis apartment. On her coffee table, laid a stack of papers. Papers that were at least a couple inches thick, filled with long winded explanations, language that could confuse anyone, and an agreement to become Lex Luthors god damn Executive Assistant.

I’m basically going to be a glorified Secretary, for one of the most powerful men in the world... Whose also a raging fucking Supervillain too. Lia thought with a groan, rubbing her face. Her mind whirled with various thoughts, plans and so, oh so much more. The fact that she’s been offered such a prestigious job, at the tender age of 23 years old. A job as the right hand to a fucking Supervillain, Jesus Christ...

Ever since Lia woke up in her doppelgänger’s body, all those years ago, she made a decision that she would never involve herself with the various vigilantes of this world. But, considering she lived in Gotham before this, she had to cope with the fact that her city had various Vigilantes running around, doing whatever they were doing. But, Lia had the upper hand you see: the world she came from, all the Vigilantes and hero’s were fictional characters! Thus, she knew all their origin stories, secret identities and the like. In her pervious world, every kid knew that Superman was unassuming reporter Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. Who also happened to be Lia’s next door neighbor. You know what, I’m not even going to go down that rabbit hole. Nope. Nah. I’m good.

But, adjusting to life in her new body wasn’t a simple walk in the park. She had to adjust to a whole new city (perviously Lia lived in New York, which was the inspiration for Gotham but still). A whole new environment that became desensitized to the causal, practically fanatasical acts of violence ranging from man made super blizzards, the occasional alien invasion and etc. Not to mention, Lia had to cope with the fact she, in essence, lived in an entirely different body. The first two years of living in this world, Lia struggled with dissociation and body dyshoria at the fact that one: she now lived in a completely different world compared to her pervious world, and two: she inhabited a body that, yes is her, but, at the same time, wasn’t her.

Thank goodness mom realized what was happening and shipped my ass off to the few non-supervillain therapist in Gotham. Lia thought with a huff like laughter.

Her eyes then soon trailed too the stack of papers Lex Luthor gave, ones that detailed her contract of becoming his Executive Assistant. One, that would make her one of the most powerful women in the US by being the right hand of Lex Luthor. Who also is a fucking supervillain, god damn it.

Lia vowed to herself to never involve herself with the various superheroes, vigilantes, or villains of her new world. She wanted to live a normal as possible life, not wanting to have such a heavy responsibility of being a hero on her alreayd aching shoulders. She did not want to get involved in the drama that often plagued those who entered that life. She did not want to endanger her family (or herself) because she has connections with people who are vigilantes. Specifically, when she was a student at Gotham U, she avoided anything surrounding the Wayne’s (considering they are the infamous Bats and Birds that protect Gotham and her people). Likely, the only times she ever saw said infamous Vigilantes were the few unlucky times she was in a hostage situation and when she was about to be mugged those couple of times.

As far as interactions outside of their vigilante identities, she’s bumped into Bruce Wayne shopping with Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra and Tim. And oh boy, oh boy, did Lia pray to any deities out their to make sure this was the first and last time she ever met them. Her only words to Bruce Wayne (also fucking Batman) was a high pitched apology and the wish to be smited by God that very second. She’s also bumped in Dick Grayson the one time she visited some friends in Blüdhaven in a coffee shop. They struck up conversation, and it wasn’t till the end of the conversation did she realize who it was. After that, she always went out with headphones in her ears as they are the universal symbol of Don’t Talk To Me. And as for Jason, she’s seen Red Hood when she was out late at a 24/7 7/11, picking up some food. Frankly, Lia was to strung up on zero sleep and pure caffeine and spite to honestly give a single shit. Lia vaguely remembered wanting a specific thing, and Red Hood also reaching for it. She snatched said snack with a word, ignoring Red Hoods existence completely. The cashier looked like they saw a ghost but, as always, Lia was tired to give a single flying shit.

However, Lia’s paranoia didn’t simmer down. So much so, that she applied for an internship at LexCorp, her excuse being she wanted to have a change of scenery. While working at LexCorp, she gained considerable amount of knowledge and experience, but compromised with her mom that, after her internship finished up in LexCorp, she’s go to WE and work there. Lia had deep seeded concerns about working at WE, but after going back and forth in her head, she decided that, fuck it. It’s a gigantic ass company. There’s such a low percentage of me ever crossing paths with one of the Waynes and Co. Plus, mom drives a hard bargain. And damn, do I honestly miss Gotham. It’s so damn bright here. And it’s called fucking Metroplis of all things.

Before Lia could further brood about what her life had become, the sound of her doorbell flooded Lia’s ears. Lia’s eyebrows scrunched together, did I order something? But, she shrugged to herself, springing to her feet. Better find out then, I guess.

When Lia opened the door, she expected, say, a delivery person, or, a neighbor asking to borrow something. What she did not expect was her 5’3” mother, standing next to a 6-something, rather muscular, but familiar figure of—HOLY SHIT IT’S SUPERMAN, WHAT THE FUCK—

Next to her mothers petite figure, was the gargantuan stature of one Clark Kent, AKA, Superman. Lia could feel her blood pressure rise.

“Mom! Mr. Kent! What a nice surprise.” Lia said, through a tight lipped smile. Her mother simply smiled, laughing lightly.

“Habibi, it’s been such a long time—and, wait did you loose weight?” Her mother’s once smiling face turned sour, her eyebrows pinched together in worry. Her warm brown eyes trailing up and down Lia’s figure. Lia’s face immediately warmed up a few degrees, then her mother took hold of her face, examining it closer. Lia let out a indignant squawk, “Mom! Not infront of the neighbor please!”

Clark simply laughed, “No, it’s alright. I can understand a mother’s worry as my own Ma does the same thing whenever she visits.”

Her mother nodded, “See! He doesn’t mind, habibi. Now, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Mr. Kent, if you would be a dead, could help me set the food on the table?”

Clark smiles, his teeth a little too white and dazzling. “Of course! But please, call me Clark.”

Her mother laughed, while nodding. “Of course, Clark. Now, come in, come in.” Her mother said, inviting Lia’s neighbor into her apartment. She let out a sigh, moving out of the way.

Before long, Clark, Lia and her mother were setting up dinner. Somehow, someway, Lia’s mother convinced Clark to stay for dinner, while sending meaningful glances towards Lia. Lia wanted to jump out of her window. Knowing that her mother would always be her wingwomen, was, strangely nice, but this time? Trying to set her up with fucking Superman? Nope. Nah. No happening mom, no matter how hot Clark looks. Not. Happening.

Her mother, soon strikes up conversation with Clark about work. He talks about the Daily Planet, and being a reporter. Soon, the topic veers to Lia, whose honestly forgotten that Clark was Superman for a couple minutes.

“...on the topic of internships, my Lia currently interns at LexCorp, if I’m not wrong.” Her mother says, sending a pointed look to Lia.

“Uh. Yeah. I’m currently working at LexCorp as an intern.” Lia says, watching for Clark’s reaction at the fact that she works for his biggest nemesis. She can see it, the infantasmal flinch, before he relaxes again.

“Oh, is that so? From what your mother said, didn’t you live in Gotham before coming to Metropolis?” He inquires, setting down some plates on Lia’s dining table. Lia freezes up, since, she can’t just say: Well, you see, I know the identities of Gotham’s infamous vigilantes, who happen to also run and own WE.

“Well, I wanted a change of scenery really.” Lia added smoothly, taking out all the food and sorting them. She kept her face and tone neutral, watching Clark’s every move and reaction.

His face had a knowing look, as he gave a small nod. “I can understand that. Gotham and Metropolis are two very different cities and wanting a change of scenery is a fine reason for moving.”

Lia hums noncommittally, while her mother sighs. “I still wished you would’ve stayed in Gotham, you know. It’s closer and I worry for you, Habibi.”

Lia buffs through her nose. “Mom. I’m 24 and very much so capable of protecting myself, considering you were the one who taught me how to knock a man thrice my size out in a single punch since I was 7.”

Clark makes a sort strangled noise and covers it up with a cough. Lia’s mother simple sighs, her face showing her true age. “Of course your capable of defending yourself. Why would I let my daughter out and about in Gotham of all places with being able to defend herself? I just worry, ya habibi. This is a whole new city and you also live by yourself.”

“I’ve been living by myself since I was 18, mom.” Lia interjected but her mother gives her a look.

“Yes, you have been living by yourself since you were 18 but at least you were nearby. I worry, regardless of the fact.”

Lia sighs. They’ve had this talk numerous times, before Lia moved to Metropolis and before she even uttered her concerns about wanting to move. “I know.” She says softly.

The conversation dies out, as everything soon is set. However, before they could start eating, Lia’s mother spots the stack of papers.

“Lia, what with the stack of papers?” She inquired, her head gesturing to the coffee table.

“The stack of what?” Lia yelled out, as she was in the kitchen getting a jug of water. Her mother, whose curiosity guided her, got up from her seat and took ahold of the papers.

“The papers on your coffee table. What are they for?” She asked again, when she heard Lia set the jug of water down.

Lia, whose brain was preoccupied with a million other thoughts, carelessly said the phrase: “Oh, my contract to become Executive Assistant to Lex Luthor.”

Clark almost dropped what he was holding, before discreetly catching it with his super speed. Lia’s mother stilled, her eyes wide as saucers, her lips slightly parted.

“Your what to whom?” Her mother asked, her tone beyond incredulous.

Lia short circuited. She realized what she just said. In front of fucking Superman. In front of her mother. Fuck. Why does the universe hate me?

Before Clark could say anything else on the matter, his phone buzzed. The mother daughter pair snapped their gaze at Clark, whose face grew even more surprised.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I have to go. Something urgent just came up.” He said, shoving his phone back into his pant pocket. The mother-daughter pair simply nodded, as they watched a slightly frantic Clark Kent shuffle out of Lia’s small apartment.

When they heard Lia’s apartment door shut closed, her mother’s head whipped towards Lia’s. Her face went rigid, the past surprise at the new was scrubbed away, being replaced with a cold, calculative look. She gestured to Lia to sit down, at the dining table.

Lia, who simply stared at her for a while, sighed, before taking the opposite seat across from her mother. She knew this conversation will be a long one, thus, she started to pile on the food her mother brought.

“The contract in your hands, is a contract between me and Lex Luthor. It’s about me becoming his Executive Assistant.”

Her mother hummed, while also taking some food. “So, you’re going to be his right hand, essentially?”

Lia nodded. Well, sure. I’m technically a glorified secretary with a lot of power now. But sure, right hand is a lot more appealing. But she didn’t voice those thoughts, simply taking a bite of her food.

“Well, this took a turn I did not expect it too.” Her mother said with a sigh.

“You and me both, mom.”

Lia never would’ve imagined, not in a million Earths, would she become Lex-fucking-Luthors Executive Assistant. She honestly thought she would finish her internship without much fanfare and move back to Gotham to apply for a position at the WE.

“So,” her mother began, setting her fork down. “How the hell did you catch Luthors eye?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story but...”

A COUPLE DAYS AGO, the department in which Lia was interning suddenly lost a handful of employees who quit for whatever reason. Not to mention, an important meeting was scheduled and was now completely fucked due to these employees leaving. Plus, some other important event was also going on with some higher level execs and that was also in jeopardy. Lia, who was witnessing this utter shit storm in real time, realized, oh fuck. This is bad. Really bad. And decided to do something about it. Lia, at the time, was known in her department as someone who can manage a schedule like no ones business, convince people to do things her way like it was as easy as drinking water. She had a reputation and the department head was a chicken whose head was cut off, trying to put out the proverbial fires one by one, rather ineffectively. Lia, who made friends with various other interns in other departments (who worked with other high level employees), and who had various connections in Metropolis, was able to salvage most of the day (and subsequent week). She was able to fill in those positions rather quickly (the department head was more then happy to oblige), re-schedule the various important meetings and events that were scheduled that in under three hours after some (what Lia called) “aggressive persuasion”. Somehow, someway, the story of some intern with godly management abilities, persuasion skills made its way up to the big man himself: Lex Luthor.

When Lex Luthor heard of this, he became intrigued. Thus, he called Lia up, all the way to his office. Lia, who when was told that fucking Lex Luthor himself wanted to see her, was understandably shitting bricks. Her mind immediately went to the fact that somehow, someway, he figured out that Lia knew the identities of various vigilantes. Lia, who was reasonably terrified at the thought, began to draw up counter arguments and contingencies.

The entire way to Lex Luthor’s office Lia went through the seven stages of grief (the extra two are Denial 2 and astral projection). She thanked those she loved, and made her not peace with God. When Lia finally arrived to Luthors office, she immediately compartmentalized all her feelings, slapped on her most convincing cooperate smile, and knocked on his door, saying in the most polite and calm tone she could muster: “Mr. Luthor? You called for me, Lia al-Abadi?”

The moment she heard the muffled “come in.” Lia sent one more prayer to whatever deity out their, and strode into Luthors office.

Now, Lia has seen pictures and clips of Luthors office. But, it was one thing too see it and another to be in it. Lia, when entering the large office, with Luthor facing the window out looking Metropolis, felt her heart drop all the way to the earths core.

Her hands were discreetly balled up in her sides, her nails digging crescent shaped moons into the palm of her hand. The shirt underneath her blazer was definitely soaked through, but, thankfully, Lia wore a black blazer today, so it wasn’t that noticeable. Probably. Hopefully.

Lia took in a deep breath, trying to calm her hammering heart. “Mr. Luthor?” She called out, her voice surprisingly even. Her heart hammered against her chest, so hard, it seemed it would burst through any moment. God, what the fuck is my life anymore.

Luthor, being the dramatic ass Supervillian that he is, spun around, his hands clasped together as he faced Lia, sitting in a typical, large, black, swivel chair. The only thing he was missing was the white cat in his lap. 

Lia could feel herself die a little when she made direct eye contact with the man, the legend, the Asshole, himself: Lex god damn Luthor.

“Ah, Ms. al-Abadi, please, do sit down.” He said, his voice uncharacteristically bright and inviting. But, Lia knows better then to trust the fox when it was simling. She could see the calculative glint in his eyes. Carefully, she walked towards Luthor, who kept his picture prefect smile. The only thing that filled Lia in for the eternally long, yet short walk towards Luthor was the clicks of her heel, and her heart hammering against her eardrums.

Her hand, which she forced to keep steady, took ahold of the chair, dragging it away from the desk. The ugly screeches of the chair legs against the marble floor still reasonated through Lia’s ears. But, at least she saw the slightly—almost invisible—eye twitch that gave away his annoyance.

Lia, who kept her face devoid of any emotions, slowly sat down. Her eyes still focused on Luthors stupid smiling face.

When she sat down (finally, Jesus Christ that was a lot more anxiety inducing then I thought) she kept her back straight, shoulder squared and her hands on her lap. She could still feel her heart beating hard against her rib cage, and the million thoughts of Luthor somehow finding out about Lia and her knowledge of the identities of the various vigilantes. Her hands became clammy, her entire being screamed, I AM VERY UNCOMFORTABLE! but, Lia was stuck in between the proverbial rock and a hard place (rock: chair, hard place: Luthor’s office).

Her lips stretched into her patented cooperate smile, “You had called for me, Mr. Luthor, sir?”. Fuck my life. Lia thought, still smiling while she slowly died on the inside.

Luthor bared his teeth, lips stretched into a smile. “Please, call me Lex, Ms. al-Abadi.”

Lia, with ever cell in her very being, absolutely rebelled at the prospect of calling Lex Luthor just Lex. For one, he’s her boss, and Lia was raised to be polite. Second, Lia only ever referred to Lex Luthor either as Luthor or Lex Luthor, never just Lex. Third, Lex Luthor is a goddamn Supervillain, no fucking way am I calling him by his first name.

Lia’s fave stretched out into a tight lipped smile. “I’m afraid cannot do that, Mr. Luthor.” She said through gritted teeth, face still stretched out into a tight lipped smile.

Luthor cocked his eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”

For one, your Supervillain. Second, me saying your first name, and just your first name, tiggers my flight or fight response. Lia, of course, did not response to Lex Luthor’s question with that reply. Instead she said, “For one, Mr. Luthor, you are my boss and I am your employee. Employees don’t generally refer to their boss by their first names. Secondly, me referring to you by your first name implies that I am in some way, shape or form, close to you. Considering this is my first time ever meeting you personally, I can’t—” Won’t “—refer to you by your first name.”

A beat of silence. Lia, who continued to smile at Luthor as he stared at her for a good few moments, before lightly chuckling.

“Well, when you put it like that, Ms. al-Abadi, I cannot disagree. However, I do hope in the near future you would be more comfortable calling me Lex rather then Mr. Luthor.” He said, his face all smiles.

For a moment, Lia was confused. She was simply a temporary intern that would leave in about two months, how would she hypothetically warm up to Luthor enough so to call him Lex? Plus, what he said also implied that Lia would stay in LexCorp long enough to warm up to Luthor.

Then a thought crossed Lia’s mind. Wait, does he want to be my sugar daddy?? Which Lia immediately shot down, as, this is Lex Luthor, why the fuck would he be interested in being my sugar daddy? Even though I am fucking beautiful, thats for sure. But still. Lia shuddered at the thought before getting back on the topic at hand.

“Mr. Luthor, I am just a simple intern that will be leaving in about two months. I don’t understand how I would be able to get close to you enough so that I refer to you by your first name,” Lia said.

Then another thought crossed her mind, “Unless, you’re planning on making me a full time employee?” There was a slight tilt in Lia’s voice, her eyebrows slightly pinched together. Lia, however, racks her brain for any reason why Lex Luthor of all people would personally call her to his office just to say he’s going to hire her as a full time employee.

Luthor nodded, “Precisely, Ms. al-Abadi. But, I don’t just want to make you any full time employee, that would simply be a waste of your talent and potential.” He said, reaching for one of his drawers, pulling out a stack of papers.

A wave of confusion wash over Lia. Talent? Potential? The fuck did I do to catch Luthors attention of all people? “I’m not sure what you mean by my ‘talent and potential’, Mr. Luthor.” She said, while shaking her head. She honestly didn’t think of anything note worthy enough to catch a awfully busy man like Luthor.

A flash of confusion flickered through Luthors face before being plastered with another smile. “Ms. al-Abadi, I’m sure you know your reputation among the other interns, right?”

Lia’s eyes narrowed, as she hesitantly nodded. She was infamous for managing a clusterfuck of a schedule into an actual, mangable schedule. Lia was also known for her “aggressive persuasion” tactics and the like.

“Not to mention, the situation in which many employees from the department you interned in, quit. Resulting in many important events and meetings to be up in the air. Not to mention some other notable things that happened that day.” Luthor said, matter of factly.

And, he wasn’t wrong. But the fact that Luthor knew of that utter shitstorm raised more then a few alarms in Lia’s head. The situation that occurred that day was promptly swept under the rug and Lia only complained about the situation to a couple intern friends and her brother. Then, the face of Ana—an intern from the PR Department—flashed through Lia’s eyes. Lia wanted to strangle herself. Of course she told fucking loose lipped Ana about situation that never should’ve reached Luthor’s ears, god fucking damn it. No matter how much Lia wanted to groan and fight God, she kept her composure.

Lia gulped down, rubbing her hands as another smile made its way onto her lips. “Well, I simply did what had to.” I had pull so many fucking favors, and most of my god damn grey hairs are from that day, Jesus Christ. Whenever Lia remembered that day, her face (internally) soured, and the need for her to curse out God, the universe, whoever, was so great she had to bite her tongue (literally) to force herself not to go on a 20 minute rant about the entire situation. Still, even with her bubbling feelings of pure, unbridled rage, Lia kept her composure. This is a professional environment. I’m infront of my boss. Whose one of the most powerful man in the US. Whose also a raging Supervillain. I have to stay professional. Professional...

“Nonsense, Ms. al-Abadi. From what I heard, you had a situation presented to you, a situation that was falling at the seems no less—and somehow salavaged it. In under three hours, you were able to salvage the situation, reorder them schedule and was able to avert a scandal as well.”

Lia, for whatever reason, felt her face grow hot at the praise. She, of course, knew how shitty the situation became—did what she always did—complained a bit, and moved on. Planning, reorganizing, improvising plans on the go, and her “aggressive persuasion” is something Lia always did. She didn’t find such things awfully notable, as she’s been doing this sort of thing since the ninth grade.

“T-That’s—” Lia cleared her throat. “That’s quit a bit of praise, Mr. Luthor, considering I didn’t do much aside from reorganize and persuased a few people. Nothing that I consider rather notable, enough so to earn your attention.” Unnecessary attention, was left unsaid.

Luthor simply smiled, his teeth too white and straight for Lia’s eyes. “You might consider it unnotable, but I beg to differ.”

Then beg—Lia almost retorted, but she caught the phrase before it could ever leave. Fucking siblings.

Luthor pushes the stack on papers closer Lia. “Which is why—I want you, Ms. Lia al-Abadi, to become my Executive Assistant.”

Lia, when she heard the words Executive Assistant concluded that the universe hates her and that she will make preparations to fight God.

Safe to say, Lia was just offered a prestigious position, next to Lex Luthor, to be his Executive Assistant. The same Lex Luthor who is actively fighting against Superman—the Justice League at large—and it an overall Supervillain. One of Superman’s most noteworthy Supervillian. A Supervillian, who can potentially kill Superman because he has access to a grow, green rock. A Supervillian who made a clone of Superman—combing his and Superman’s DNA—to do so. The same Supervillain, who essentially was asking: “Do you want to be my right hand?”

“You want me to be your what?” Lia asked in an incredulous tone. She looked at the stack of papers and Luthor several times, while pointing to herself. “Me? A 23 year old, with barely any experience in the cooperate world, work as your Executive Assistant?”

Luthor, surprisingly, nodded, his face not showing a hint of annoyance. “Yes, I am. Of course, you should take your time to think over my offer. It is Friday, and I’ll be expecting your answer next Monday. Come to my office at 3 PM, next Monday, and we’ll talk some more, Ms. al-Abadi. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting to get too.”

Next thing Lia knew, she was holding onto a stack of papers, in an elevator, going down back to her original office. When she came back, several people commented on how dazed and pale she looked. One of her supervisors even asked if she wanted the rest of the day off (as there wasn’t much left to do, either way). Lia, who was still reeling from the events that had just transpired, graciously accepted.

Lia’s mother, who kept on listening to the entire ordeal, from start to finish simply commented. “Well, damn.”

Lia groaned, her hands rubbing her face. “‘Well, damn’? That’s all you have to say on the fact that one of the most powerful man in America offering me a position as his god damn Executive Assistant?”

“Hey! It’s a lot for me to take in, and, it must a lot for you to take in.” Her mother said, reaching out, taking a hold of Lia’s hand. She gave a comforting squeeze.

“Yeah, it was...” Lia mumbled. She sighed, her eyes on the stack of papers detailing what Lia’s responsibilities were, and some other key information. The stack of papers that could change her life with a single stroke of a pen.

“So, what are you going to do? Accept Luthors offer, or...?”

“It’d be dumb for me not to accept it.”

“Damn right it would be!”

Lia shoot her mother a look, before continuing, “It’s just... I’m only 23 and me getting this job is just... There’s a lot to consider. Sure, I’m good at managing schedules, persuading people and—” Her mother snorted, waving her hand.

“Hey! I am good at all those things, you know.” Lia exclaimed, crossing her arms.

Her mother raised both her hands, shaking her head. “Never said you were bad at them, Habibi. Your a damn genius when it comes to organizing events and persuading people. Not good, not great, but a god damn genius.” Her mother voice clearly showing how proud she was of Lia.

The tips of Lia’s ears were painted bright red, as her face spilt into a grin. “Yeah, yeah, I guess I am. But, the matter at hand is that, I don’t have much experience in the cooperate world. And, I just graduated a couple months ago. Not to mention, if I accept the position, there’s going to be a lot of talk on how, I, a 23 year old, rather attractive women, who just recently graduated from Gotham U, who was just a regular intern, managed to get the position of Executive Assistant to Lex Luthor.”

Her mother sighed. “True, there definitely will be rumors regarding how earned such a position without much prior experience.”

Lia sagged in her seat, her mind a tornado of thoughts. Should she accept? Should she decline? Should she msyteriously disappear off the face of the Earth, never to be seen again? Decisions, decision, so many decisions with so many consequences and variables at play that made Lia’s head ache. She had time, but not enough. It was late in the evening on Friday, and Luthor wanted an answer by Monday afternoon. Great. Just a couple dozen hours till D-Day. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“What about a trial basis?” Her mother blurted out. Lia cocked her eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue.

“Like, what if, you were his Executive Assistant for a couple of months, on a trial basis. Just to dip your toes in and get a feel for the job. That sort of thing.” She said with a shrug.

Lia’s eyes widen, as if a light bulb went off her head. “Oh my god. Why didn’t I think of that? That’s prefect! Not only would it allow me ample time to see if I’m ready for such a position, but also invaluable experience if I were too not take the position or Luthor deemed me unworthy of it.”

With a sort of plan set in mind, Lia continued to eat, all with a smile on her face. Even if after the trial basis, Luthor deems me unfit, I still get away with a couple months worth of pay that would pay off my student loans, not to mention invaluable experience. I win regardless of the fact if I get the job or I don’t!

With the sun setting, and Lia eating her fill, while catching up with her mother on other past events, Lia can’t seem to stop smiling. Even if she’s going to become the (Reculant) Executive Assistant to Lex Luthor, who also is a Supervillian.

That’s it folks! I had a lot of fun writing this in all honesty, even though it’s not that good. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Till next time.

[worm-wife]

A dumb little soulmate au i won’t do anything with.

So I was thinking about how romantic/platonic soulmates would work in tma and this brain baby came from it. For context this is a no entities au. You have matching earrings with romantic soulmates and matching bracelets with platonic soulmates. 

polychives jon (photographer) platonic soulmates: oliver, gerry, melanie, georgie, daisy, nikola martin (creative writing) platonic soulmates: annabelle, basira, oliver, gerry sasha (digital artist) platonic soulmates: michael, melanie, helen tim (dance instructor) platonic soulmates: danny, rosie, jude

wtgfs georgie (podcaster) platonic soulmate: jon, oliver, annabelle, uhhhh helen!! melanie (indie film maker and youtuber) platonic soulmate: jon, sasha, daisy, her crew (idk there names)

avatars/other characters oliver (runs a local newspaper that focuses on minorities and local issues) - romantic soulmates w/ graham, michael, gerry platonic soulmates: jon, martin, georgie, mike crew, basira, jane gerry (runs a sculpting class and sells sculptures and jewelry online) -romantic soulmates w. graham, michael, oliver platonic soulmates: jon, martin, gertrude, annabelle, nikola :3 michael (runs an antique shop!!! also paints) - romantic soulmates w/ graham, gerry, oliver platonic soulmates: sasha, helen, that one funky dude from the pottery class graham (a freelance writer, usually works with oliver on his newspaper but also runs a youtube channel surrounding paranormal things and conspiracies. also blogs) - romantic soulmates w/ michael, gerry, oliver platonic soulmates: martin, the girl from the class!!, nikola :3 daisy (runs a local dojo but also works part time security at the college) romantic soulmates w/ basira platonic soulmates: jon, melanie, joshua gillespe because yes basira (philosophy teacher) - romantic soulmates w/ daisy platonic soulmates: martin, oliver, uhhh annabelle? helen (lawyer) - romantic soulmates w/ annabelle, jane, nikola platonic soulmates: sasha, michael annabelle (architect) - romantic soulmates w/jane, helen, nikola platonic soulmates: martin, georgie, gerry, basira her rival is elias jane (runs a tarot shop but has a side job at a bait and tackle. she takes care of the worms) - romantic soulmates w/ helen, nikola, annabelle platonic soulmates: oliver, rosie nikola (runs a small group of street performers) - romantic soulmates w/ helen, annabelle, jane platonic soulmates: jon, gerry, graham, jude jude (performs in nikolas thing as a fire eater) - romantic soulmate w/ agnes platonic soulmates: tim, nikola agnes (does woodburning classes) - romantic soulmates w/ jude platonic soulmates: martin, annabelle, gertrude :( just for roles: danny is a tour guide, rosie is a business major, mike crew does skydiving and is platonic soulmates w/ oliver and danny, getrude is an english professor, joshua is an architect, elias is just a bitch, and peter does boat toars. the earrings and bracelets

jon - small hoop, simple beaded bracellet martin - simple silver stud, one of those charity bracelets sasha - mother of pearl earring, red and orange friendship bracelet tim - hoop on upper part of ear, a leather bracelet georgie - a hoop with a cross, her bracelet is just her shows merch melanie - a black stud, a simple hoop bracelet. oliver - a skull earring, and beaded bracelet from party city gerry - a small guage, his bracelet is from hot topic michael - one of those ear cuffs (its elaborate), a very elaborate rainbow loom bracelet graham - a little pencil earring, a scholastic fair bracelet daisy - a cuff and chain earring, a small metal bead bracelet basira - small silver stud, a simple blue and white friendship bracelet helen - biiig hoops, her bracelet is a copy of one probably worn in legally blonde annabelle, a ear cuff with a spiderweb design, a bracelet of little spiderman beads jane - a small loop painted like an earthworm, she has a brown braided bracelet nikola - lesbian earrings of clowns, a big dangly plastic bracelet jude - another earring cuff, this time its flame themed, a leather bracelet with burning on it agnes - little fire earrings of the lesbian kind, a red and orange friendship bracelet. danny - small black hoop, a tour guide merch bracelet rosie - flower studs, a beaded pearl bracelet mike crew - small black hanging cross, also merch bracelet (from his company) getrude - hanging pearls, and her bracelet is just a thing of yarn. joshua - one of those in the middle of your ear, a plastic bead bracelet saying 'king shit' i forgot jared earlier, he is also ace. umm, he has a bone earring and a simple metal bracelet

elias is romantic soulmates with peter and has no platonic ones (same with peter), his earring is an eye and the only bracelet he gets is handcuffs. peter has little seagull earrings

[babyjaysplayplace]

PLZ READ BEFORE INTERACTING

SOME THINGS ABOUT ME

Names you can call me by: Jay, JayJay, Baby Jay, Bun Boy, BunBun

Big age is currently 20; Lil age is 3-5, mostly 3. 

This blog is strictly SFW. I will be using this blog strictly for my age regression. This is not a k!nk blog and NEVER will be! This will be my safe space as I use age regression as a way to cope with my PTSD, trauma, depression, anxiety, and my physical disabilities as well. I use a can to stand/walk, and am in constant pain. That’s all I want to get into about it for right now. 

Yes, I have a caregiver/Daddy/Baba. Yes, they are my primary partner. Yes, they’re new with all this, please be respectful on the matter. 

I am a trans man, Pre-T for right now. Pronouns: He/They

Am in a poly relationship, not really looking for partners or caregivers. 

Am looking for fellow age re friends, especially if in my state of Tennesee. If you’re big age is 18+ and can be friends in person as well, please feel free to PM me! Online friends must be at least 17+ in big age! Age re friends only! Strictly sfw and NOT A K!NK!!! Don’t have to be age re tags, as long as you use it to cope and NOT for k!nk!!

LIKES

Snackies: Choccy milk (especially dairy free), uncrustables, cheesey poofs, ice cream, pizza, chicky tendys, white cheddar popcorn, Lil Debbies, pizza rolls, mozz sticks, hot pockets, cookies, sweets, juice, smoothies, and ramen

Toys: Blocks/LEGOs, MLP, blindbag stuff, stuffies, dolls, LPS, MH, Hot Wheels, Puzzles, bouncy balls, FNAF, and balloons

Naps

Warm cuddles, soft pillows and blankies, oversized shirts/hoodies, video games, arts, and online eye shopping/making lists

SHOWS

MLP

Care Bears

SU/SUF

Muppet Babies

Vampirina

OHHC anime

PPGs (old and new)

Chowder

Paw Patrol

Pound Puppies (The Hub)

Horseland

Will update more when can

MOVIES

Ponyo

My Neighbor Totoro

Finding Dory

Wall-E

Spirited Away

Shrek Movies

Princess & The Frog (Mine an Daddy’s movie)

Mary and the Witches Flower

Snow White

Sleeping Beauty

Frozen Movies

Coco

Tangled

The Little Mermaid

Frosty the Snowman

Zootopia

Toy Story Movies

Inside Out

Tim Burton Movies (JUST NOT CORALINE)

Trolls

Muppet Movies

What’s this blog for?

SFW little space things (what i call my age re space)

Looking for Online friends (Must be at least 17+ big age SFW ONLY)

Looking for friends to meet up with in Nashville, TN areas (Must be 18+ big age! AN SFW ONLY)

This is and always will be an inclusive SFW age regression blog to help me cope with life, trauma, PTSD, ect. 

Please feel free to PM me any time! I’ll respond when can! <3 

I WILL block if have to! So don’t be rude, mean, dirty, NSFW, ect.

WILL need help making friends, blog type topics, finding age re blogs, and learning tags to use/not use, ect <3 

DNI IF:

K!nk, Minors in k!nk, and adults allowing minors in adult only spaces

NSFW

Anti LGBTQ+ 

Anti Age regression

If you use age regression for sexual reasons 

If anti cglre

T3rfs sta away!

Transmeds stay away! You don’t need dysphoria! 

Th!nspo and promoting eating disorder blogs stay away! 

Anti tag users

Chubby/fatphobes

MAPs, P3DOS, NOMAPS STAY AWAY

If you think aro/ace/demi don’t belong in the LGBTQ+ community, then you can f0ck off

R@pe

You allow dd/lg & variants, ect interact with your blog "even though they're sfw". Please don't interact with mine, I don't want someone from a k!nj community to interact with my posts (example: you reblog my post, then a dd/lg or variant interacts with it, that's a problem for me)

IF YOU DON'T TAG YOUR POSTS, REBLOGS, ECT ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE ABOUT ANYTHING NSFW, SEXUAL, R@PE, ABUSE IN ANY FORM, ECT I WILL BLOCK YOU!!! IDC IF YOUR AN AGERE BLOG, TAG YOUR NSFW PTSD INDUCING POSTS AN REBLOGS!!!

THANK YOU FOR READING! BYEBYE! <3

[drjackandmissjo]

float among the stars and fly to Mars and back

The Universe was infinite and limitless for some, and Feyre wanted to unfold all of its secrets. And if there were live beings outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, that would be even better than taking the journey into the unknown alone.

OR The Men In Black AU no one asked for

Feysand Masterlist --- Ao3 

Feyre Archeron had, since she had been a little girl, always believed that there must’ve been more to the Universe than their little Solar System.

Granted that there was nothing ‘little’ about a star and the nine planets (Viva la Pluto!) and the many other cosmic rocks that rotated around it, quite the opposite if you looked at it from the perspective of a tiny 7 years old, yet for Feyre, after her school had taken them to the city’s planetarium for a field trip, their Solar System had become undoubtedly small compared to the greatness of the unknown sky above. She had got home that day with stars in her eyes, literally because they had been given stickers of stars and planets, and she and her friends thought it was a good idea to stick them on their faces and eyelids, and had begun to constantly look up.

And she had not stopped since.

Many of her classmates laughed at her interest for the sky, thinking she only thought aliens were real because of movies and the TV, but the truth was that Feyre didn’t even want to acknowledge life outside of the Earth unless she had all the cold facts and hard proves laid out in front of her. To her, the Universe was a big adventure waiting to be explored, full of different atmospheres and gravities and temperatures, and it was simply wonderful. And yes, it was statistically impossible for such a vastity to have only one liveable planet, considering how well creatures could adapt to different environments, but that was not the point.

The Universe was infinite and limitless for some, and Feyre wanted to unfold all of its secrets. And if there were live beings outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, that would be even better than taking the journey into the unknown alone.

Which was why at 25 years of age, fresh off the most prestigious university in Prythian with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering and a PhD in astrophysics, she had sent her curriculum all over the continent, to the best space programs and some. She had graduated valedictorian of her class, scored the highest marks with her thesis and just genuinely worked her ass off to maintain the full scholarship that had landed her at the Day Court University. She was gonna get what she deserved!

Or at least she thought. Weeks passed and she got no answer at all. She was not expecting to be submerged by requests but, by the Mother, at least some acknowledgement!

“No news is good news” wasn’t part of her vocabulary and she was growing impatient by the hour.

In the meantime, she still kept her job at a local library in her university town, not particularly wanting to go back home to her sisters who had never shown her any support in her academic career. Besides, it was not like they would provide for her anyway: she had learnt since a young age to take care of herself, knowing that if she didn’t nobody else would.

It was on the third week of no reply, that someone walked in the shop during her shift. A tall man in an impeccable black suit strutted in like a model on the runway. As soon as he opened the door, the bell rang, signalling a customer and letting Feyre slip on her Retail Smile, which she had practised for years to make it impeccable.

Coincidentally, it was also the same condescending smile she reserved to people who thought they knew more than her in her own field before she crushed them with stone cold facts without breaking a sweat. “Oh, you believe that astrology and astrophysics are the same thing? Sit your ass down, Tamlin, you’re in for a lecture,” had been one of her best moments, followed by a quick “Nothing’s in retrograde, Ianthe, you’re just a plain basic bitch.”

The customer was her dictionary definition of ‘hot’: elegant, tall, with deep russet brown skin and dark unruly curls that framed his forehead nicely. The stranger also knew how to wear a suit, which was a rarer and rarer phenomenon, that didn’t hurt a bit.

It was such a shame that he was clearly a douche, given that he wore dark sunglasses inside her little bookshop after the sun had already set down.

“Can I help you, sir?” she asked politely, watching as the customer scanned through the files of books mindlessly. He lazily reached up her counter with an entitled smile that almost made her punch him the face. “Could you point me to the sci-fi section, Darling?”

The fact that he looked like a thirty-something made the term somehow less creepy, or perhaps it was the fact that he was attractive. But Feyre could not, for the life of her, let that slide down. “I’m not your Darling” she said in her most saccharine voice while throwing daggers at the customer. She was completely out of fucks to give, stressed and anxious, half an hour away from closing time and with her manager on a vacation far away.

Besides, she doubted Alis would give her hell for mouthing an entitled but attractive customer who was patronizing her. If anything, she’d probably push Feyre to flirt with said attractive customer. Cauldron knew that woman wanted her to have a relationship more than anything!

“I apologize for my poor choice of words, I am truly sorry. Didn’t mean to sound rude nor impolite.”

Feyre was quickly taken aback. He truly did sound apologetic and not condescending at all. But he also could just be a great actor. She crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly looked at him, signalling that she was still not convinced by his behaviour.

She would usually be not this bold with customers, but there was something about the stranger that seemed to put her at ease and to let her nature pass through her nurture.

He scratched his neck, probably uncomfortable with the energy Feyre was radiating, and finally took off his sunglasses, revealing the most gorgeous pair of violet eyes she had ever seen.

Immediately, Feyre went from thinking he was a douchebag to understanding that his pretty eyes didn’t work. Which was probably why he didn’t take off the sunglasses at night.

But then why in the Hell would he take them under the store light and not outside, where it was already dark?

She was on the fence, too many contrasting details that sent her rational side derailing, looking for answers that she knew she wasn’t gonna get. Unless she played her cards right.

“Apology accepted” she claimed, truly smiling as she saw the hot stranger visibly relax.

“If his eyes are purple, that means that he’s basically blind, so where are his prescription glasses?” she wondered, eyeing him up and down as she would with any specimen to analyse for a lab. She was a scientist, after all, and Cauldron Damn Her, she needed answers to each and every puzzle that came in front of her.

“I am looking for the sci-fi section. Would it be possible for you to show it to me?” His voice was sensual and low, a rich baritone that seemed to be able to get to her very bones, if she wasn’t careful enough.

“Would you rather me show you our audible or kindle selection for the genre?” she quietly asked, trying to be as tactful as possible. She was only making assumptions with the tiniest bit of information by her side, after all, so she had to be careful not to make an ass out of herself.

“No, what for?”

There went it. The ease with the customer had said it made it completely clear that she was utterly mistaken. She quickly tallied her notions of genetics, trying to understand how such a colour could be created without a damaging mutation.

Realizing she still hadn’t answered and was actively zooming out, staring into the space between the stranger’s brows without really realizing it, Feyre shook her head, saying a quick “Never mind,” before leaning over the counter to point to her left.

Counterintuitively, that had not been the greatest of ideas. There she was, already on a rollercoaster with a rather pretty stranger in an empty store, leaning towards him without thought or restraint. “It’s down that row, you can’t miss it,” she quickly said, moving fast into her original position to avoid any more embarrassment, “There’s a sticker of a Martian next to the tag.”

The customer raised one of his brows in a RDJ-esque way, sparking even more interest in Feyre’s stomach. “How do you know what a Martian looks like?”

“I’ve been scarred by the Tim Burton movie, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to forget them anytime soon!”

He nodded along, “Ah, yes. Apparently there had been a revolt after that film was released due to its controversial portrayal of the Martian Race, by making them look like a green oversized Arquillians. Such a bad political move, if you ask me, considering we’re right in their direct laser trajectory!” The stranger then laughed, a crystalline sound that resonated throughout the store as he began to walk away towards the direction Feyre had indicated.

She had been so entrapped by his laugh that it took a minute to register his words. He had already disappeared between the rows and all she could do was dumbly stare at the spot he had been as her eyes widened in shock.

“No fucking way in Hell!” her mind screamt as she stumbled to find a different solution to the situation at hand. He was clearly pranking her, saying words that didn’t really make sense. He had asked for the sci-fi section, after all! So he must’ve been a nerd, albeit a really hot one, that was just referencing some sort of obscure specie from an equally obscure piece of media.

The only problem was that she was a nerd that knew all of the obscure sci-fi knowledge. She had spent most of her life looking up at the stars and wishing to know more about them, and what better way to start than by watching and reading everything that had to do with her favourite topic. She was used to be on forums, to talk with people that had her same interest and to explore all her crazy theories.

And never once in her entire career as a proud nerd had she heard the term ‘Arquillians’. Vulcans and Krill and every single type of alien that made the Star Wars universe, sure. ‘Arquillians’, never once by mistake in the deepest bottom of reddit.

Feyre was about to debate with herself whether or not she should’ve run to the stranger to demand explanations, when he appeared in front of her, holding a copy of ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H. G. Wells, one of the most iconic books ever written and one of her personal favourites.

“He’s definitely messing with me” she reasoned as she grabbed the book and scanned it, ready to place it in a bag, when she noticed an envelope laying on her counter. It was a non-descriptive, black envelope with some sort of a six electron configuration in minimalistic drawn atomic orbitals. The image was wrong, depicting the electrons in a specific spot on the ellipse rather than in a general area in which they were thought to be empirically.

She raised her head up, looking expectantly into the stranger’s eyes and telling him as such. One of her hands also crept under the counter, towards the baseball bat Alis kept down there just in case.

“Wow. Took you less to realize it than most people!” he cheerfully said, his violet eyes shining with some unknown feeling behind them.

“Realize what?”

“That those are not electrons.”

She snorted at that, unable to keep her sarcasm in. “And what should they be? Wasps?” she asked, amused by their exchange as she grabbed his credit card to pay for the book. It was pitch black too, apparently like everything that revolved around the pretty stranger who was going to get his head open like a melon if he kept up with his antics.

“Why don’t you tell me, Miss Degree in Astrophysics.”

Feyre froze with her hand mid-air as she was giving him back his card. Her expression shifted in cold distance as she sobered up. They were getting on dangerous territory

She was far from powerless: she had a weapon at hand and several years of martial arts by her side, but she doubted she could take down someone the side of her customer in her skinny jeans and Avatar: The Last Airbender shirt. But there was also the counter separating them, which seemed protective enough for Feyre to answer his question.

“First of all, it’s only theorized and not proven, that planets could share an orbit around a star, but I fail to believe that three pairs would form this symbol without colliding against each other and disrupting the harmony of the system. Second, who the fuck told you that?”

“Well, you did, when you sent your exquisite curriculum around” he replied smoothly, without missing a beat.

That was the last straw of weirdness she was willing to witness. “This is getting very creepy and I’m gonna ask you to leave” she said coldly, grabbing the bat with both hands and leaning it over her shoulder, ready to attack if the necessity arose.

The stranger blinked twice and then took a step back, raising his hands in a placative motion. “Pardon me, I still have not grasped human social skills to the full extent, despite my long stay.”

“You are human” she retorted back, unable to keep her voice from shaking. This was absurd, ridiculous, impossible. This was everything she had ever hoped for since she was a child. This was a walking nightmare.

The smile he gave her didn’t look human, nor the way his violet eyes reflected the light, seeming to sparkle with amusement. His lips opened as his tongue wetted them, revealing sharp canines. Feyre had never seen a scene more captivating than when the stranger moved a strand of curly hair behind his ear with deliberate slowness, showing off the pointed tip of his ear. “Correction, I look humanlike.”

“You’re messing with me” she rationalized, refusing to believe that it was possible. Anyone could buy fake vampire teeth and elf ears at any Halloween store or online. But they usually didn’t look this real. Perhaps it was make-up: she had seen so many videos on YouTube and Instagram of artists literally transforming in different things with make-up.

He just shrugged, unaware of Feyre’s rocked existence. She both wanted to believe him and not. She didn’t know what she truly wanted.

“Why would I? I was just sent here by my agency to give you personally the invitation for a job interview, which I think you’ll find fascinating.”

She was speechless. Couldn’t even begin to think about where to start speaking.

This had to be the cruellest prank someone had ever pulled on her.

The stranger cleared his throat and moved once closer to the counter, resuming his initial position. Since Feyre didn’t seem to be hitting him anytime soon, he took the liberty to lean on the counter with his hands splayed out. He had long and lean fingers, like the ones of someone who played an instrument, a piano or a violin, and Feyre ignored the twist her stomach did at the sight.

If he wasn’t messing with her and if he was in actuality a fucking alien, would that be even allowed? Moral? Ethical?

“Look, I know you have an analytical mind, so I’ll be quick,” he began, his smooth voice washing over Feyre in an equally calming and disruptive way, “In case you have wondered why you still haven’t gotten a single reply for your applications, it’s because something big in Velaris is calling out to you. And my agency believes in dibs.”

“What’s there for me in Velaris?”

He smirked at her, a cocky gesture that made her want to strangle him quickly. “Don’t you wanna find out?”

Damn him, damn his perfect face, damn everything. Feyre had many strengths: she was patient, passionate, artistic, kind. But her downfall would always be her curiosity, her desperate want to know.

“I don’t particularly want to get murdered, so no” she tried to play it cool, but inside she was burning alive. Every muscle was taut, every nerve active. She hoped he couldn’t see through her bluff, she prayed the Mother he didn’t think her to be a pathetic little girl.

The Alien, it was impossible in her mind to call him that even if he had confessed it in the most subtle way possible, regarded her with shiny eyes and a grin that promised trouble.

Feyre had always been terrible at staying away from trouble.

“Pity. We could’ve used someone with your talents. If you change your mind…” he motioned to the black envelope, that still laid on the counter untouched. Too many Mission Impossible movies told her that the message was most likely to destroy itself after it opened.

Slipping his sunglasses back on, the alien turned around to leave and suddenly Feyre realized she didn’t want him too. She had too many questions.

“Wait!” she called as he had his hands on the handle. He slowly turned around and looked at her expectantly. Or at least she thought he was: there was no way of seeing his violet eyes behind the black lenses. Suddenly, all of the questions that had filled her mind a moment prior escaped her grasp. Except one.

“Let’s pretend I believe you. What are you?”

The smile he gave her was genuine, blinding and warm. “I am an Illyrian, but I doubt you know of us.” Then, as if in an afterthought, he added. “I’m Rhys, by the way.” She couldn’t understand why he looked sheepish out of the blue, it was almost as if he was a teenager revealing a secret crush.

“Feyre.”

“Well, in that case. I hope to see you soon, Feyre Darling.” And with that, he left her utterly alone, with a black envelope and stars in her eyes.

Part Two: The Letter

Feyre had waited until she had gotten home to even think about the black envelope, least of all to open it where someone could immediately walk in with their prying eyes.

Not that she would have had any, after all she was just about to close shop for the weekend and the only people she was in speaking terms with were Alis, who would never call her at such a late hour, and the stray tabby cat that lived near her building and for whom she always left some milk and some food whenever she went out to work. She had playfully began to call him Lucien, after a former college friend she had fallen out with that shared the same ginger hair with the cat, and constantly damned her landlord for his ‘no pets allowed’ policy, but alas, she couldn’t do more.

She had always appreciated her privacy, but lately it had become very close to loneliness, with her being too engrossed with her work to maintain a social group of friends. Not like she missed the assholes she used to hand out with in college anyway. They could all rot in their expensive clothes and expensive cars and expensive degrees, cause Daddy Dearest is a powerful donor and alumni.

Yet it wouldn’t have been so bad to have someone to hang out with when her mind became too loud.

Not too bad, if the alien, “Rhys” she reminded herself, was to be believed. The Night Court was adjacent to Day, but she had left nothing there worth justifying the trip back in case she did move to Velaris.

Velaris. The city of starlight, they called it. Feyre had always wanted to visit, but never could afford it with her tight budget and her focused plan to graduate valedictorian. In the end, she only got that, her impeccable career, which was truly the only thing she cared about. Loneliness was feeble compared to her fear of failure in what she believed was her destiny. It is a funny thing, destiny, it smacks you in the face when you least expect it, and smack Feyre in the face in the form of a very attractive stranger with possibly the best news ever it did.

She had almost expected him to appear out of the blue as she walked back home. Thankfully, he didn’t, but that didn’t mean she slowed her pace before being inside her complex doors and that didn’t mean she didn’t have her keys at hand throughout the entire journey.

It almost felt like she couldn’t breathe properly before she got inside, door locked twice behind her as she leaned against it to help her mind to stop spinning.

Too many things had happened in a too short time for her to cope properly. She needed answers, but she equally needed a strong drink.

It wasn’t until she had managed to calm down her beating heart, that Feyre sat down at her desk and placed the black envelope on her closed laptop.

“This better not be a sick joke” she thought as she ran a paper cutter through the edges. She had wasted too much time on this already for it to be fake or, worst, disappointing.

The paper inside was, predictably, black. She could start to see a theme, linking everything that had happened to her that evening.

The silver writing was subtle and not to bright, perfect to not cause her an headache reflecting the light from her reading lamp.

Feyre almost expected to see alien signs and letters, to not be able to understand what was written as some sort of challenge to test her knowledge. Luckily for her and her dyslexia, it was in English. Still a struggle, but very doable.

“Doctor Archeron,

We have been sent a copy of your resumé from one of our affiliates. We apologise if this letter comes out as brusque due to the circumstances of your possible recruitment.

We are more than pleased to inform you that we have envisioned your request. Our Agency specializes in your field and your accomplishments are remarkable. We are particularly interested in your research in the attrite of different materials against the atmosphere, which you created a masterful thesis around, we were mostly drawn by your detailed research with the Martian atmosphere.

We know that was not part of your resumé, but we have read it and it is very insightful.

We would appreciate if you were willing to come to Velaris for an Interview with our Head of the Research Department. We think you would be interested in a position and we are open to discuss a fortuitous partnership.

In case the way you received this letter was not direct enough, Our Agency values privacy and secrecy above all, and therefore we would request for you to not discuss of this with anyone.

Attached you will find your scheduled meeting time with the address, plus a train ticket to reach Velaris and the booking of an already paid room.

We are truly hoping to be able to work with you.

Our Best Regards,

MIB”

Feyre had to read the letter three times, for the meaning to stick in her head.

Any thought of it being a joke flew out of the window. No one in their right mind would ever read what her supervisor had claimed to be a ‘monstrosity of twenty pages without pictures about materials and Star Trek’ simply for a joke. No matter how well thought the joke could be, the Mars piece was the penultimate point of her research, before the conclusion and not even featured in the syllabus.

Her mind became crowded with a thousand different thoughts. Her emotions were all over the place, running around and doing flips and diving into her subconscious.

She leaned back on her chair, letter momentarily forgotten on her desk as she covered her eyes with her hands and just focused on her breath.

In, hold, out. In, hold, out.

She could rationalize this, just like she did everything else in her life. She had jumped to conclusions with her emotions only once in the past 10 years since she had started college, following her loneliness and the pressure to date the guy that screamt red flags for many reasons, yet she had ignored them all because he was gentle at first, filthy rich and nice looking.

Never again, she swore to the mirror after she had managed to end the toxic relationship that had developed.

Feyre did what any rational person would in her situation: grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down a list of pros and cons.

PROS:

Job opportunity in my field

ALIENS?

Secret Organization

Area 51?!

Already estranged from family

Secrets!

Velaris!

Best food

The Rainbow

Seaside

Best Library in Prythian

Snow in the winter

Fresh Start

CONS:

Moving

Finding a place

Totally new city

Know literally no one

Have to quit job with Alis

Already told her I was waiting for replies

She has a replacement ready

Could still be a prank

Too complicated to be a prank

Definitely an opportunity

Am I really thinking about saying no?

It took her longer to come up with cons. Besides, her gut told her to do it, and so far it had never lead her astray.

Worst case scenario: she comes back and waits around for another reply to her resumé.

Best case scenario: the job of the literal dreams, that can possibly exceed expectations, in her favourite city in the entire world.

Besides, she already had a paid train ticket to and from Velaris and an already paid room in what, if the website was to be believed and it was, was a 5 stars hotel in the creative centre of the city.

Before she could doubt herself even further, she grabbed her phone and shoot a quick text to Alis. The older woman didn’t believe in phone calls past 8 pm, considering her nephews would be already asleep by then, or at least she hoped they would.

Her thumb ran over the keyboard as she frantically wrote, in the most cryptical wording known to womankind, that she would have a job interview in the Winter Court on Monday and that she needed the day off. It didn’t matter that she was going to the Night Court and that her meeting was scheduled for Sunday at 11 am, she figured that, if she had to be secretive, better start as soon as possible!

Feyre didn’t move from her position with her phone pressed tightly in her hands until, ten minutes later, Alis replied with a thumbs up emoji, followed by ‘you’re wasted at retail’.”

Feeling lighter than she had in months, she rushed into her room to begin to pack for the upcoming weekend. The train would leave the next afternoon and would get her back Monday after lunchtime. She had to prepare, in case she could go out on Sunday night for a ‘I JUST GOT THE JOB OF MY DREAMS!’ celebration and shenanigans.

Perhaps with a very cute and nice alien with violet eyes, she thought as butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the idea.

Part Three: The Agent

Her old pencil skirt clashed with the aesthetic of the entire building.

At first she had thought that the whole black attire Rhys was wearing when they met was only due to personal preference, and that the black letter was used to be more secretive or something along those lines. Yet when she hopped, literally hopped on the pavement out of excitement, off the taxi she had taken from the hotel, she immediately realized her error.

To say that they were peculiarly attached to their aesthetic was an understatement: floors, walls, dresses, desks. Everything stuck to the black and white palette, making Feyre extremely aware that she had underdressed as she stuck out like a sore thumb.

In her defence, that was her lucky outfit: hair tight in a professional bun, glasses because she couldn’t be bothered with contacts on important mornings, white blouse and beige skirt she had bought for her graduation in high school and that she had worn to every job interview since then.

Of course, she had brought a full professional black outfit from home, but she had decided that morning not to take a chance. So far, that combo had never failed her, and it wasn’t going to betray her now, by the looks of it.

Upon arriving to Velaris the night before, she had spent the entire time daydreaming about what would happen that morning. Countless of scenarios had created and resolved themselves in her mind. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw as soon as she walked into the address the letter had given her.

It was a perfectly non-descriptive building, something akin a factory that had been converted in offices or lofts, inconspicuous amongst the other nearly identical buildings. Perfect if you didn’t want to be found. But while the outside looked like it hadn’t been renovated in over a century, inside it was completely different.

It was modern, sharp and very Tardis like. And it apparently had several levels underground, so it was ‘bigger in the inside’!

She couldn’t keep her awe in, because not even a few steps in and a short and scary looking woman came approaching her, her silver eyes blazing. “Every human has the same impression” she said in lieu of a greeting, and Feyre could only stand there and nod dumbly.

The woman, if she was human at all, reached to shake her hand, “My name is Amren, I am the chief of MiB. I assume you are not familiar with our Agency, correct?” her voice was cold and dangerous and Feyre had no doubt in believing that she might not be from Earth at all, if her ancient like eyes didn’t give her away.

“No, ma’am, I’m not” she replied curtly, unsure of what to say. No, she had not heard of their Agency. Stars, that was the first time someone had referred to it with its proper name! But she had also dug as deep as she could, trying to find information about all that crazy situation, conscious that her every move must’ve been tracked.

Amren gave her an appraising nod, as if she knew every single detail of Feyre’s life, “As you should” she said calmly, before beginning to walk away, motioning for Feyre to follow her through a maze of bodies and beings and desks. She was kind enough to point a race there, a post here, but refused to get too much into detail. “You’ll find someone else to ask” had been her curt reply before resuming her random naming game.

She only stopped leading her around when they reached a black shiny door that was open, revealing on the inside the only colour in the entire building, or at least that was what Feyre thought. Inside, there was one of the most gorgeous females Feyre had ever seen, long golden hair in contrast with her tan skin, a red dress that hugged her like a second skin, and a smile that could blind and that could counter as a weapon, if needed. When she saw them approach, she immediately jumped to her feet with agility and elegance. “Hello! I am Mor!” she chirped with enthusiasm, avoiding Feyre’s outstretched hand and going straight for a hug. Amren loudly scoffed, “Be professional, Morrigan,” she reprimanded the blonde, who simply winked at her before returning to her side of the desk, motioning for Feyre to seat.

She awkwardly looked at Amren, trying to convey her disorientation through her eyes alone. There wasn’t a name tag at the door, not any indication of what was going to happen. For all Feyre knew, they could be about to wipe her memory clean and dispatch of her in the garbage.

“I hope I will see you around, Dr Archeron” was her only reply, before leaving her alone with Morrigan, who still hadn’t diminished her smile.

“If they made me come all the way up here just to kill me, I’ll be pissed.”

“Dr Archeron, please have a seat, we have quite a lot to discuss.” Morrigan then proceeded open an enormous folder and began to pull out all sort of wavers, undoubtedly that Feyre would need to sign to give her life away. Mother Help Her, what had she gotten herself into?

“So,” she began, her energy still up and running as she maintained a kind and comforting expression, “Feyre, can I call you Feyre? Am I pronouncing it correctly?”

She could only nod quickly, before she was once more submerged by the blonde’s voice.

“Marvellous! I’m sure you want to know what in the Cauldron is happening, right? I mean, you get a letter that basically tells you to uproot your entire family and that you’ll have a job, but it’s described as vaguely as heck and you get here blindly and possibly terrified. Trust me, I know the feeling, it sucks. But it does get away pretty quickly. Now, you’ve got questions, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,”

“Please, call me Mor.” Her eyes were kind, a deep brown that harmonized perfectly with the rest of her, and Feyre didn’t have it in her heart to disagree. After all, if things went well, as they seemed to be going, they’d be on first name basis. Stars, maybe they’d even be friends!

“Mor. Very well,” she gave her a quick smile, trying to keep her nerves down, “Will you be the head of my department?” “Cauldron no!” she laughed, so crystalline and contagious that Feyre almost followed suit, or at least she would have, if her heart wasn’t practically beating out of her chest. “That’s Azriel, you’ll meet him soon. I’m just HR and well, I’ll walk you through this major life change. Is it okay?” “Oh, yes, of course. Truth to be told, I don’t even know what I’m here for.”

How pathetic it was of her, to go to a foreign Court without even knowing what she could be facing. But, no matter how much she thought about it, her brain couldn’t wrap around what a secret agency could want for little old her. Sure, she was brilliant and hardworking, but she was also young. And employers didn’t like young.

Mor gave her a sympathetic smile, slightly nodding her head as she moved some papers around, looking for something. “I know, I hate having to be so secretive whenever we recruit, it only leads to confusion. The number of people that refused to be interviewed just because they thought it was a prank it’s concerning.” “I did believe it to be a cruel joke in the beginning…” she trailed off, still not 100% positive that it wasn’t. “I’m so sorry about that. That’s the downside of being in a Secret Agency that deals with Aliens! But let’s get down to business!”

Feyre couldn’t resist: in the quietest voice possible, she filled the space Mor’s voice had left, uttering the most indiscernible ever “To defeat the Huns!”

She knew she had made a mistake when Mor stopped with a sheet of paper mid-air to look at her expectantly. ‘SHIT’ was her only thought as she stumbled to apologize in the least embarrassing way possible: “Sorry, I don’t know what came to me, it’s just a silly song from…” But Mor cut her off enthusiastically. “Mulan, yeah! One of my favourites. I’m pretty sure we’re on the way to become best friends, Feyre!”

Her smile was blinding, and for the first time since she had stepped foot out of the Velaris train station, Feyre felt herself relax. It had been quite a while since someone didn’t mock her for still knowing all the words to Disney Songs and it had been quite a while since someone seemed to truly want a friendship with her. She wasn’t used to this anymore.

Her throat constricted and all she could do was nod, suddenly filled to the brim with emotions. “I just have a couple of questions that you have to fill out for me, before we can move on to what you’ll do and, most importantly, how much’ll be. Spoiler alert, high secrecy means high cash!”

“That should be your slogan!” She accepted the pen that was given her, ready to start and finish this. Nerves wore out into excitement and she was about to combust. “I’ve been trying to have them change it for ages.”

She chuckled lightly, before giving her entire razor sharp focus to the piece of paper. She could already imagine the questions: was she able to do this mathematical equation? Could she resolve that chemistry problem? Did she know this and that Law Of Physics?

But nothing, truly nothing, could have prepared her for the little array in front of her.

For on the paper, there were written five questions, with adjacent a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ to be crossed.

Feyre could just raise her puzzled eyes up at Mor, who gave her a shrug and went back to re-apply her blush and highlighter.

She expected to do calculations, to waste time. She didn’t expect to be done in less than three minutes.

‘Do you have living relatives?’ YES

‘Are you in contact with any of them?’ NO

‘Do you have a relationship or partnership?’ NO

‘Are you able to keep calm under pressure?’ YES

‘Are you able to swim?’ YES

“That’s it?” Feyre asked, unable to put together the pieces in front of her. To be honest, the thing that was bugging her the most was the last question. That was the most out of it.

Mor simply smiled at her, giggling a little, “Yeah, we wouldn’t have sent you that letter if we weren’t sure you could take it,” she happily said before taking the paper and scrutinizing with analytical eye. “You’d be surprised by the number of people who can’t swim” she stated, answering her unspoken question with a disbelieving look and a shake of her head.

“Excellent, by the way.”

“Thank you, it was a pretty hard test!” Feyre joked, momentarily terrified of having said the worst thing, before Mor followed her suit with her laugh.

“I know! But it’s mostly to check finally what we already knew.”

Feyre snorted at that, “Good to know I was being watched.” It wasn’t that big of a problem anyway: every single social media used their private information to get money, so of course a secret agency about freaking aliens would keep a possible employee in check! “If it’s any comfort, you won’t be from now on. It’ll be like you never existed or…” “Died?” “Yeah. Morbid, I know, but it’s the price of the job,” Mor claimed, sliding a folder with her name on it over the glass desk. “Not really a problem, I’ve got no one that would miss me too much,” she quickly said, opening it up and almost falling off her chair. The first page was a detailed list of what she would earn and it was a lot. Probably more than her entire tuition would have costed if she hadn’t managed to get a scholarship, and all of that for one year?

“You weren’t kidding about the slogan, uh?”

On the next few pages there was written down a non-disclosure contract, which was understandable, and the secrecy policy she would have to follow. Bye-bye Instagram! Not like she used it much anyway, there were too many pictures of marriages and babies for her liking, and she didn’t like already to share every minute of her private life over social media.

And, finally, on the last page was the thing she was most scared and excited of: the inscription told her that she would work on the research department, studying what she loved the most and finally getting all the answers she needed. She could be able to explore the stars from her desk and also in person, with trips to adjourn her curriculum and work! A tiny little clause on the bottom also read that she could be assigned intergalactic! field! work! alongside of an agent, if the situation arose.

She couldn’t help herself when tears started to swell her eyes and fell down her cheeks in two streaks, nor she cared if she was ruining her make up.

She had never been happier.

“What do you thing, Feyre?” Mor was suddenly nervous, as if doubting that her answer would be anything other than a big fat yes. Probably seeing her cry didn’t seem like a good sign and all Feyre could do was nod enthusiastically as she gladly accepted the box of tissues the blonde woman was handing her. She knew she must’ve looked awful and batshit crazy.

“Where do I sign?” she asked finally, after having managed to regain her composure, wiping the rundown mascara from her cheeks, trying not to smudge it all over her face.

What followed was a quick work on the paperwork, the proper signature and stamp and boom! “Welcome to MiB, Dr Archeron!” declared Mor, jumping to her feet to cross the desk and to bend down and hug.

Feyre held her just as tight, trying to keep all the emotions away. Later, after getting back to her hotel room, she’d have all the time in the world to cry as much as she wanted, but now there were more pressing matters. “Ready?” asked Mor, dragging her away from her office and into a maze of halls that Feyre didn’t even bother to try and memorize. She’d have all the time in the world to do so, after all.

Their first stop was on the wardrobe and armoury, where she got her measurements taken and was fitted in the most exquisite looking black suit she had ever seen in real life, the materials soft and luxurious under her fingers.

“This feels like a 007 movie,” she joked, marvelling at the figure she cut in the mirror, immediately finding Mor grinning at her.

“Our gadgets actually work,” Mor fired back, causing Feyre to go into a fit of giggles that had the blonde join almost immediately.

It was a wondrous feeling, being able to connect instantly with someone. She had rarely had meaningful friendships and relationships in her life, some of them were entirely faked from the other side and she was just used for someone else’s gain, but she hoped that what was beginning with Mor could fall into one of those categories.

Truth to be told, she didn’t think having any romantic relationship would be the best thing when just moving into a new city and a new job, but she was a sucker for Friends To Lovers trope and who knew? Maybe the future could be bright for her, and not only in her work life.

There was also the topic of a certain pair of violet eyes that had occupied her mind for the previous two days, but she was pretty sure that was a hopeless route: no one in their right mind could take a liking of her, especially when they looked like that.

She was so lost in her own mind, trying to scratch away the way Rhys’ smile had made her insides turn into gelatine, that she didn’t realize Mor had taken her in front of a slightly ajar black door. Without seeing the label on it, she could understand where she was by Mor’s little excited squeal as she pushed the door open with a flare.

If it was possible, Feyre’s eyes would turn into anime hearts and stars, in a typical Sailor Moon fashion. Inside, after a set of stairs, there were rows of desks, surrounded each by microscopes and spectrometers. Humans, or humanoids, and aliens alike wore black lab coats, contrasting with the white of the walls and the equipment, working alongside each other in harmony. There were several grand doors, religiously black, on the back of the room, which she assumed lead to the bigger equipment.

She had never seen anything more beautiful. At university their laboratory had been severely restricted and she would have to rely on other’s data, but here the possibilities seemed to be endless.

“Pretty, right?” asked Mor, a smile on her face. Pretty didn’t even begin to cover.

“For a specialist, pretty would be an understatement” a quiet voice chimed in, seemingly out of the shadows and making Feyre jump to her feet and hold to the rail for dear life. The voice belonged to a man wearing a white lab coat with black accents, politely extending his right hand at Feyre to shake it. “Dr Archeron, I am Agent A.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” came her trepid reply. She didn’t know why, but she immediately was washed over by the impression that this man, if he was human, was more dangerous than he might let on. Be it the fact that he looked like he blended in the shadows and belonged alongside of them or be the act that he had freaking wings? Holy Cauldron how had Feyre not realized that he had wings, proper angel-like feathery wings that grew from his skin and seemed to ruffle under her gaze and, Dear Mother, she was about to faint.

She knew her eyes must’ve reached a comical stance as she took them in, when Mor gently pushed her with her shoulder. “You can call him Azriel. After all, you’re the one with a PhD!” the blonde cheerily said, winking at her and bringing her back to the reality at hand.

Feyre gave him an apologetic look, trying to make amends for the staring, but he didn’t seem bothered at all. He gave them a soft smile and nodded his head gravely alongside Mor’s words: “Unfortunately, that is true. I did not attend Earth university. In Illyria we have a different education” he explained, beginning to walk towards the door at his back and motioning for them to follow.

“You’re Illyrian?” Feyre asked, suddenly remembering her first alien encounter as her cheeks heated up. She wondered if she might be able to see him again, even only to thank him for bringing her the envelope. She knew that he must have been only following orders, but he didn’t have to stay and make sure she didn’t freak out too much.

She was met back by a puzzled stare from Azriel and a shrug from Mor, who momentarily looked at each other as to confirm that that was probably an information she wasn’t allowed to know yet. “And you are familiar with our specie because...?” began to ask Azriel, a suspicious tone in his voice that made Feyre froze from the inside. It wasn’t even her first day and she had already fucked up big time, that was a new record!

She was about to reply, to defend herself, when a deep voice came from the door, which opened from the inside and revealed two figures standing there: one had matching wings as Azriel’s and the other was someone she didn’t think she’d meet again so soon.

“Because I introduced her to our existence, dear brother” Rhys said, violet eyes sparkling as a wide smile appeared on his lips.

“Hello, Feyre Darling.”

She couldn’t fight the stupid smile that took up her face at his sight, nor she could control the way her cheeks flared up, the redness there for anyone to see.

The man that stood next to him eyed her up and down with a puzzled expression, his brown eyes twinkling with understanding as he, not so lightly and not so subtly, elbowed Rhys on the side, causing him to wince. “First of all: Hi, I’m Cassian,” he started, holding his hand out for Feyre to shake, “Second: You’ve met?” he asked, gaze running back and forth between them as his eyebrows shot up comically and emphatically.

If the ground decided to open up at that specific moment in space and time and swallow her whole down, Feyre would be okay with it. Extremely okay with it. Actually, she’d bring a shovel to sink down lower if necessary. “He brought me the envelope…” she whispered, trying to draw the least attention to herself and justifying the entire thing in the least embarrassing way possible. “Of course, cause mailing it would’ve been too mainstream, right, Agent R?” Azriel chuckled, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the doorframe casually, wings folding behind him.

Rhys fretted nonchalance with a wave of his hand and a bored expression: “I was going to be in the city anyway, I thought, why waste money on stamps?”

Out of all the things that had happened to Feyre in that weekend, that must’ve been the weirdest. “You were going to mail it? So much for secrecy!” she exclaimed in disbelief, eyes darting to Mor as if asking confirmation about it all and at the same time trying to understand if they were secretly pranking her.

“You’d be surprised about how many postal offices rely on aliens to work” came her curt reply, followed by a solemn nod from the three males.

She’d have all the time to understand if they were pulling her legs or not, and all the time for an eventual payback, she reasoned, dropping the subject without too much fuzz. “Alright,” she croaked, shrugging her shoulders and turning expectantly to Azriel, waiting for her superior to say something.

He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together, ushering both Rhys and Cassian away from what Feyre assumed was his office. “All of you, that’s enough! I have to finalize my work with Dr Archeron before we’re ready to properly start.”

“Not so fast, brother!” Cassian yelled, chest puffed out as he languidly strolled over to where Feyre stood, towering over her. She had to resist the urge to clutch to Mor’s arm for dear life.

“Do you know how to fight?” “Ten years of Karate when I was a child and 4 of Krav Maga between high school and college,” she replied without missing a beat, raising a brow in a silent question as she held his stare.

After a couple of heartbeats, Cassian’s face broke into a wide grin: “Impressive! I’ll hold you to that one of those days,” he said, leaning almost conspiratorially and blocking Azriel’s face from her view, who yelled in outrage a very shocked “Agent C!”. He was pointedly ignored by Cassian, or Agent C, ‘What’s up with that?’ she wondered as she looked up at him, who kept on talking.

“I’ve got only one more question: do you know anyone in the city?”

She didn’t know how to reply nor why it was suddenly their topic of discussion? Was this guy hitting on her in the most random, yet not the most  uncalled, way ever? She should mention that long hair was a turn off, no matter how manly and in style the man-bun was supposed to be. “I can give you two replies,” she cockily stood her ground, crossing her arms at her chest and assuming a defensive stance, just in case she had to headbutt him in the chin, “no and technically I shouldn’t be supposed to so…”

He took one look at her before clasping his hand on her shoulder with raw force, giving her what seemed to be the most platonic expression of affection ever: “Okay, I officially like you! But you’ve just got a new job, you ought to celebrate!”

Feyre considered it. On one hand, she had brought an outfit specifically in the case she got the job, which she clearly had just gotten and had to work out only the minimal details. And partying alone in a city she didn’t know at all was not an option. On the other, she really didn’t know these people.

But one look into Mor’s direction and instantaneously she knew that she’d love to hang out with them all.

Her only reply was a quick yes in affirmation, but she was soon overpowered by Mor’s cheers. “YES! We can go out together! We’ll show you Velaris’ night life!” she cried out in happiness, hand up to high five Feyre as Cassian held her closer to his side and fist-bumped the air.

She was having quite a bit of trouble, not liking small spaces and Cassian’s side hug was definitely a tight fit. She wanted to remove herself from the position, to try and regain the control of her breathing that was starting, so very subtly, to accelerate alongside her discomfort.

These people seemed nice and wanted to include her, her rational brain knew that, but old wounds didn’t always manage to mend right and panic was rising. Feyre tried to speak, but her throat felt constricted, and her eyes darted around the two, hoping one of them would stand down a little.

Luckily for her, her knight in black armour arrived just in the nick of time before she erupted like a volcano. “Let her breathe! Mor, Cassian, back off from poor Feyre,” Rhys intervened, helping her untangle from Cassian’s limb and letting her have her space. He quickly let her regain her breathing as the pair moved to Azriel, their next prey. The man was shaking his head as they both raised valid arguments and Cassian ‘Triple Dared’ him not to be a killjoy.

That scene alone served to strengthen her resolve to hang out with them, only to be able to witness the pure and unadulterated chaos that would come out undoubtedly.

All of the sudden, it felt like she and Rhys were in a different plane, the others to engrossed in their planning of the night to pay them attention. “Thanks. But, yeah. I have no idea where to go and I suppose I deserve it” she joked, laughing lightly while cringing internally at her own awkwardness. She had always been able to flirt her way through any situation, be it with men or women or anything in between, yet with him she felt like an high school girl with a crush. Perhaps it was because he was a literal alien that looked like an ancient Greek god and had a smile that managed to lit up Feyre from the inside.

Smile he was now giving her freely and without restraints. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, count each one of them.

“How are you finding out agency so far?” he asked, as a hint of colour appeared on his cheeks out of the blue. A blink and it was gone, so quickly that Feyre thought she might have imagined it.

She was about to reply that she hadn’t done much sight-seeing, self-doubting whether or not she should push herself to ask for a tour or if it was too forward too soon, when a loud voice interrupted her train of thought.

“Shut up!” Azriel bellowed from behind her, causing both hers and Rhys’ attention to turn to him expectantly. “All of you have more important things to do other than bother me and Dr Archeron. And no, Agent C, while we’re at work we use our titles so stop talking! We’ll tune in the details later, Agent M, but I assume you have other more pressing business to attend.”

“Actually…!” Cassian had begun to disagree, but Rhys had been quicker and had planted his hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

He quickly nodded to Azriel as he struggled to maintain his hold as Cassian put on a childish fight, that culminated with him licking Rhys’ hand like he was some sort of overgrown five year old on the school ground. Feyre couldn’t help the laugh that got out of her at Rhys’ affronted face.

“That’s enough!” he yelled, moving to shoo away both Cassian and Mor, who pulled Feyre in a tight hug before leaving and whispered in her ear ‘I’m so glad you’re part of us now!’. She could only respond back with a squeeze, her throat constricting with sudden emotion.

“Agent A, we’ll get out of your hair now.”

“Thank you, Agent R, I appreciate that!” came the exasperated reply from Azriel, who immediately disappeared inside his office, undoubtedly to avoid any more anarchy, motioning for Feyre to follow. She turned around to salute and wave goodbye at the improbable trio leaving, only to find Rhys standing in the doorway, looking at her.

He winked, causing Feyre’s cheeks to heat up, and bowed gracefully. “Welcome on board, Feyre Darling,” he said, before disappearing into the labyrinth of hallways and glass that made up the MiB headquarters.

Feyre pinched herself, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. One more step and she was done, she would finally have her dreams answered.

She’s have her answers, her opportunities, what she worked her entire life for. And if she could manage to have the life she had always wanted, with people that cared about her, that would be the icing on a perfect cake.

A part of her brain whispered that she didn’t deserve it, that she was an imposter and that everyone would realize it. But Feyre had had several years of experience in dealing with her own negativity, considering herself a pessimist as a coping mechanism because it was easier to expect the worse in every situation, and immediately shut that voice down, focusing her breathing to steady her beating heart.

Sending up a prayer to the Mother, she closed the door at her back and took a seat in front of Azriel, slipping on her glasses and putting her hands flat on the table.

“Shall we begin?”

[iwritethat]

Tim Drake: Puppy

A/N: Doggy Plan 4/?, Tim struck me as a Sheep Dog person but this is the DC universe and Krypton exists... :)

Warnings: Mentions of undergarments? *GIFs do not belong to me.*

>>>>——————————>

Look after one of Krypto's Pups they said.

"It'll be fun." Kon said.

"Only for a month or two." Kara has added on.

Tim had his own apartment after moving from the Manor, minding a puppy wasn't too much of a chore for him at the moment especially if it was a favour for one of his best friends. Alas, he was grateful they didn't give him the whole litter as that might've been too much to handle alongside vigilantism but a month or two with one companion wouldn't be so bad.

How wrong he was.

The experience had its ups and downs, yet he'd grown somewhat attached to the creature and his little quirks. The pup had a mischievous streak no doubt about it, often enjoying plays of tug of war and stealing things littered about the apartment were only part of it. However, when he awoke one morning, Tim strolled into his kitchen to find the nameless white, half alien, pup proudly seated outside his bedroom with his treasure strewn before him. Hesitantly, the vigilante stepped forward, analysing his recent discovery before he became instantly flushed and embarrassed.

A Batman Thong.

He wasn't sure what to do with them, figuring his pup had brought them as some form of play but alas he had his suspicions of exactly who they belonged to.

The 56 year old Ms Baker across the hall wasn't a possibility, it simply didn't fit her fashion choices, and it definitely didn't fit the size of Mr Crosby who consistently hung his boxers on the balcony which left his remaining prime suspect - (Y/n) (L/n). As much as they were on friendly terms he knew you had yet to reach a personal enough level to slip your undergarments into casual conversation, usually exchanges consisted of asking how each other's day was during hall passing's or crossings in the lobby.

Regardless, assuming it was a one off occurrence he chose to ignore it.

Although, after a month the underwear was piling up just as the frequency was increasing and Tim had no idea exactly how to handle the situation. Of course, it just had to be his cute neighbour in the apartment complex as the proximity made sense but how the pup had obtained her panties remained a mystery. Every other day his companion would bring a new pair of delicates thoroughly pleased with the growing confusion reaching his masters features. He even called his older brother for advice, the latest artefact of the day being red lace underwear much to Timothy's horror - the thought had potentially crossed his mind but he most definitely hadn't planned on seeing your private items under these circumstances.

.

However Dick found the whole situation amusing and couldn't stifle his laughter when Tim presented him with a box containing the topic of choice but didn’t let him open it for confidential reasons.

"And the pup keeps bringing you ladies panties?"

"Yes! I'm pretty sure they belong to (Y/n), I overheard her talking to her friend the other day about how she's either misplacing her laundry or there's a serious pervert problem." The concern was evident in Tims voice, although Dick couldn't understand his lack of confidence regarding solving the issue.

"Just return them already, explain that your dog stole them and that you're sorry for the trouble. You'll finally talk to (Y/n) rather that longingly stare and crush on her from afar." Dick gave a lopsided smile, leaning back against the couch.

"We do talk! And I was going to, but every time I got to her door I panicked. Standing there with a box of her underwear, that's so creepy and I don't want (Y/n) to think I'm weird." Tim desperately explained, and they could understand his argument as he came to a halt with an exasperated sigh.

“Nah, just that you’re the pervert she was talking about.” Duke openly laughed, finding the whole situation hilarious.

"Alright, do it tomorrow and just tell (Y/n) the truth." The eldest confidently stated, Duke nodding in agreement.

"Right, I will do that. Not so hard." Tim wholeheartedly spoke, determination renewed thanks to his visitors but required serious consideration on how to handle the matter in the least awkward way.

"He's not gonna do it." Duke quietly chuckled, shaking his head whilst fussing the pup on his lap who gleefully barked in response.

.

The next day he had every intention to do so, a month was long enough and with the numerous delicates his puppy had brought back he assumed you'd be running low. The box was situated under his arm and the wait was tantalising after he'd knocked, he'd evaluated the best terminology to use and ran over his explanation countless times until it was flawless. Yet despite all of that, he couldn't explain the sheer amount of relief his body experienced when you didn't answer the door and he could safely head back to his apartment next door.

Tim suddenly halted outside, unfamiliar mumbling automatically rebooting his senses as he quietly unlocked his door and stealthily entered his apartment to better hear the commotion of the potential enemy, dropping off the parcel in the process.

"I swear you better give those back before your hot owner comes back Snowball or I'll be arrested for breaking and entering!" The melodious voice immediately put him at comfortable ease, subconsciously bring a smile to his face in the process as your compliment didn’t fall on deaf ears as well as the nickname you’d given his temporary pet.

Upon reaching his living area, he found the white bundle perched on the sofa with you slowly prowling around like you were cautious as to not scare him away, it was cute watching you both like this. That is until you lunged across the couch, fingers hooking onto whatever the canine had in his jaws as he tugged against you in reply with playful barks emitting from his companion.

"Damn you're strong pup, but please... it's my last pair..." Your tone quietened at those last words, yet you continued with your game of tug of war.

"Yeah, he‘s tough huh?"

You instantly froze with a quiet squeak of surprise, your utter startling causing you to let go of your item and stumble to your feet in embarrassment after being caught. Meanwhile the furball happily plopped over to his owner, Tim kneeling to collect whatever he had taken from you but as he dropped the item into his hand the man flushed as you face palmed.

Tim stood, garment between his thumb and index finger as he offered it back to you unable to make eye contact and a flood of apologies escaping his lips, if only he could see how flustered you were too.

"Thanks and about your apartment, sorry - it's just my last pair and I couldn't lose those before I went shopping." You briskly explained, pocketing the underwear with a sheepish smirk.

"Ah - yeah, about that..." Tim sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, walking over to the counter to pick up his previous cargo before handing it to you as he became increasingly flustered.

You opened the mysterious thing, rooting through the contents with a contrast of awkward relief and mild concern. Your red lacy pair, your ribbon briefs, the basic garments, they were all here.

"So... you just kept a box of my underwear in your kitchen?" Your tone was mildly suspicious but held humour as you cocked an amused brow.

"Don't say it like it that! At first I thought it was an accident, the pup only brought back a Batman thong and I thought it was a prank. But then it continued, almost everyday and I couldn't just throw away whosever they were after I'd attained so many. I didn't even know they were yours at first, it was simply a logical deduction. It's not like I could just knock and say, oh here's your panties that my dog stole." Tim instantly justified, hands waving up in defence as he flushed even further, cute really.

"True, what would the neighbours think about us. But thanks for not throwing them you’ve saved me a shopping trip and again, sorry for intruding." You gave a kind smile, along with your apology whilst the pup wagged his tail at the exchange.

"How did you get in exactly?" Now Tim was curious, crossing his arms and raising an expectant brow at your awkwardness.

"Um, I may've climbed over the balcony. I was preparing dinner when I caught sight of your puppy tugging my last piece of underwear off of my clothes line - I had no choice to but to chase after him. Lord knows how he managed to get across that gap." As you explained, you walked Tim out onto his own balcony, pointing over at yours whilst the male paled slightly.

Admittedly, Tim was worried for your safety, falling from the third floor would definitely cause you some injury and the last thing he'd want was to ever let you get hurt. Yet the more pressing matter was that Kryptos offspring may have inherited certain abilities that allowed him access to your home.

"That's one talented dog." He only managed an uncertain remark as to not clue you in on his Alien related thoughts.

"Right? Anyway, I should probably get back over there." You happily chimed, moving to sit on the balcony railing before Tim automatically  grasped your waist to pull you back down to his level.

"Wha-What are you doing?!"

"I left my key on the side when I gave chase, my door is locked so I've gotta go back the way I came." You shrugged but gave a small laugh at your hasty behaviour, you never expected your first proper meeting with your hot neighbour to go down like this and you’d hoped it’d improve your relationship with him.

"No, you're not doing that. You're here because of my house guest so I'll do the honours, please wait here (Y/n) and help yourself to anything you like." The male gave a weak smile, ensuring he’d deterred your adventurous intentions before hopping onto the railing himself with ease.

"Anything? Hm I guess fair is fair, where do you keep your underwear neighbour?" Your mischievous tone caught Tim off guard, his words faltering at the forwardness of your question.

"I - (Y/n) -"

"I'm kidding Tim, sorry I'll keep Snowball here company." Your neighbour shook his head with a smile, stabilising himself before hopping over effortlessly compared to the strain it took you to waddle across the connecting ledge.

.

Tim returned through his front door moments later, finding you and the pup situated on the couch holding up the Batman Thongs.

"Ah (Y/n), I know we skipped a few steps in the friendship ladder but I've seen enough of your underwear for the past month." Tim jokingly commented, covering his eyes as he placed your keys on the coffee counter before you.

"Oh no, these aren't mine..."

You both stared at each for a moment, then back at the thongs with realisation hitting you simultaneously.

"Ms Baker!"

"Ah since your pup stole them you should return it Tim."

"You held them last!" At that you tossed them in his direction, the man instinctively dodging whilst the pup caught them mid air and brought them back to you.

Only, it wasn’t normal.

The pup was suspended in the air, tail frantically wagging as your breath hitched whilst you backed away ever so slightly.

“Neigh-neighbour... I um, I think I know how your friend stole my panties...”

It was the underlying fear in your hushed whisper that caused Tim to focus his attention on you rather than the beverages he was making, his discovery caused him to sigh with his previous assumptions proven correct by the flying super canine.

“What - oh crap... Um I think you should stay for dinner, I can explain...”

“Ye-Yeah...”

.

Best first date ever. At least it would be when you retold that story about your boyfriend and his canine, Snowball the Superdog.

[glitterdreamsz]

A Penny For Your Thoughts (Part 1)

BoRhap!Roger x reader  Summary: The Reader and Roger have been a couple since they were sixteen. But what would happen to their relationship now that Roger’s dream of being a rock star is becoming reality? A/N: I know, I know you’re all waiting for the new chap of Scandalous. But I had this fic in my mind for a while and I really wanted to write it down. The story will be characterised by flashbacks about their relationship to show how it evolved. I know that some times years won’t coincide, sorry for that. I wrote it having BoRhap!Roger in mind but it also works with real Roger Taylor And sorry for any grammar error, English is not my first language. I really hope you like it and don’t be afraid to let me know what you think! Have a nice day xx Words: 3.5k

March 1971

“Good morning pretty face” you said walking inside the biology lab. It was empty except for your boyfriend Roger who was picking his stuff scattered on the desk at the end of the room. As a usual Wednesday morning, you both had early morning classes which meant that you couldn’t see each other before going to the university, so as a ritual you would go to the lab after your photography class and you would find Roger there waiting for you. “How was your class?” he asked putting his last book in his backpack “Just as any other Wednesday but still interesting” you replied as you sat on the desk “What about yours?” your legs were swinging back and forth as you looked at your boyfriend. “Boring, as always” he walked to you, his hands on your bare tight as he made you open your legs so that he could move closer to you and kiss softly your lips. “The only thing I was caring about was that you would have been here at the end of the lesson” You sighed softly “Rog, you need to pay attention during classes, this is our last year.” He always said that what he wanted to do in life was music and was sure that now more than ever he was close to achieving his dream. But he was already sure that he would have made it with Smile and then Tim left them. Now he was in Queen, they were good but still had problems with finding a new bassist, and even though you really wanted to be supportive about his dream, at the same time you wanted him to focus a bit more on university just to be sure that if it didn’t work with music at least he had a backup plan. “We are going to hear this new kid today, he plays the bass and I have a feeling he might be the right one.” You chuckled seeing his facial expression, full of hope.

“Have I already told you how hot you look in this skirt?” he suddenly changed the topic as his hands moved back to your tights. “Rog” you tried to stop him as you already knew what he had in mind, and your thoughts were confirmed as his lips started to leave wet kisses on your neck. “Rog, we’re in the university lab, anyone could walk in at any moment.” “Do you see someone?” he asks with an ironic tone as his finger started to unbutton your blouse. “Only boring people come here to spend their time.” His lips were travelling down your now naked torso. “Still they could come now” You bit your lower lip closing your eyes and running your hand through his hair. “Boring people now are attending other classes” He was down on his knees, his lips on your tights and you tilted your head back, Roger smirked at your reaction. “We both know you want this as much as I do, Penny” and his head disappeared in your skirt.

You were on your way back home to your house, riding through Truro’s street with your bike when the bike chain decided to fall off, cursing you got off from the saddle and sat on the ground trying to figure out how to fix it. After five minutes of cursing, someone approached you “Do you need help with that?” you lift your gaze up and your heart stopped, it was Roger Taylor. He was sixteen just like you and went to the same school as yours, but life was always a bitch and he was in a different class. It wasn’t necessary to say that every girl in the school had a crush on him, even the older ones. “I-I yes...I don’t know how to fix this damn thing” you stuttered, the young boy chuckled and kneeled down and you moved to let him the space to work. “We go to the same school, don’t we?” he asked as he focused on the chain. “Hmh” you simply replied as your eyes focused on his hands. “Here you are, all fixed” he said getting up and rubbing his hands trying to get the chain grass away. “Nice record” he said nodding toward The Who vinyl in your bike basket. “Yeah, I just got it at the record shop.” You replied putting your hands in your skinny jeans pocket. “The one down the street? That’s the coolest one.” “It’s actually my dad’s shop.” “No way.” His eyes widened. “I always go there, how come I never saw you in the shop?” “Because I’m always on the back listening to the new records.” “Makes sense” he chuckled “I’m Roger by the way.” He reached his hand out but seeing how dirty it was he quickly took it away. “I’m Penny” you smiled at him. “Penny? Is that your real name?” He asked at the unusual name. “No” you shook your head chuckling. “I’m (Y/N), but almost everyone calls me by my nickname, Penny.” “How come that nickname?” the boy giggled. "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck." You simply answered, just as if it was the most obvious thing, but you got a frown as an answer “I still don’t get it.”  “When I was four my dad took me with him to see a football match and his team won. He then took me another time and they won again so he started to think I was his good luck charm. That’s how the name Penny was born” Roger laughed looking at you. “Well, let’s hope that you’ll bring luck also to me and I will be able to see you at the record shop next time I’ll come around.” “You see me every day at school” you bit your lip. “Then I guess you have no other solution than coming out on a date with me.”

You have to bite hard on your lip as you feel Roger’s fingers on your clothed centre. “Already so wet” he wanted to sound sexy but you couldn’t help but laugh “What’s so funny?” he asked as his head popped out from your skirt. “Nothing, just get back down there” you grinned as your hand went back through his hair pushing him gently back down. “Someone is impatient here” he smirked as he took your knickers off and his head disappeared once again between your legs, once you felt his tongue on your wet folds you had to put your hand over your mouth to keep your moans quiet.

“Happy anniversary love” a seventeen years old Roger looked down at you. Your naked bodies tangled together on your small one sized bed “Are you implying that this was your anniversary present?” you frowned as your fingerprints drew some circles on his chest. “What? This was an amazing shag, aren’t you happy with your present?” he grinned not taking away his gaze from you. You pretended to be offended and slapped softly his chest “Hey, hey calm down lady” Roger chuckled as he got up from the bed earning a whine from you “I thought you wanted your present” a big smile appeared on your lips “You really got me a present?” “Which kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?” he said as he looked for his trousers, you sat on the bed covering your naked breast with the bed sheet and bit your lip while looking at Roger’s naked figure walking around your room. “Here it is” he walked back to the bed giving you a small package. You took it smiling widely and, as you started to unwrap it, Roger sat behind you laying his chin on your shoulder. Once you took all the paper off you found a black box which once you opened revealed a necklace with a circular pendant with yours and Roger’s name initials engraved on it. “Do you like it?” You nodded “I love it” you could feel his smile against your bare skin “May I?” he asked and you let him take the necklace, your hands went to your hair holding them in a ponytail as your boyfriend put the jewel around your neck. “You know” Roger said as you were cuddled, his hand running up and down your back as your head laid on his chest, your eyes looked up at his breathtaking blue ones. “I found a new meaning to Penny” “Did you?” you chuckled and he nodded proudly “A Penny for your thoughts.” “That makes no sense Rog” you had to hold a laugh. “It does indeed. Because you are what I always think about”

Your grip on the edge of the desk became tighter, your knuckles were almost white as you could feel you were getting closer to your climax. And as you were on the edge the door swung open. “Hey Rog” you immediately recognized the voice and even if your back was facing the door your hands went to your blouse quickly covering your exposed chest. “Fuck Brian!” You almost screamed. “Sorry, sorry… I didn’t mean” he started to stutter seeing the scene in front of him. “Shouldn’t you fucking knock?” you asked, still not facing him as you were buttoning up your blouse. “It’s a lab, I didn’t expect to find this scene in front of me.” He was right. “Is Roger somewhere there?” he asked not being able to see the drummer. “I’m down here mate” your boyfriend said as his head left your skirt and he stood up and smirked at Brian once he saw him. God, did that man had any decency? “Roger, we have to go and listen to the guy. Did you forgot?” “No, I was just a little busy here, but I would have shown up, don’t worry dad.” Roger chuckled while looking at Brian. “Come on lover boy, get yourself in an acceptable look, I’ll be waiting outside in the car.” The guitarist told him while looking at his uncombed hair by your hands. Once Brian left the room and closed the door you jumped down from the desk pushing down your skirt. “I’ll go back home then” you said kneeling down to pick up your panties that laid on the floor but before you could reach them Roger stole them from you and put them in his pocket. “Oh no lady, you are coming with me.” You groaned reaching for his pocket and taking your knickers. “Come on, I’m a mess.” You pouted at him as you put back your underwear and when you looked up he was smirking “A hot mess though” you closed your eyes as his lips left a kiss on your forehead. “Why can’t I wait for you at our flat so that when you come back home you can continue what you left unfinished?”

“I mean, do you see yourself still living here in ten years? Because I don’t. I don’t want to end up working in my dad’s record shop while dreaming about being a photographer” you watched the small rock you just threw on the river making some hops on the water surface. “Your dad’s shop is cool” Roger said nonchalantly, you turned around and he was laid on the blanket while smoking, his hand supported his head as he was looking at you. “Come on Rog” you groaned as you walked to him and laid on the cover by his side. “Are you really saying that you would find cool working at my dad’s shop for the rest of your life?” He smiled softly putting a lock of your hair behind your ear. “You know how much I want to leave this place, I’m not made for small towns, I have to make it big.” He chuckled blowing out some smoke, “I don’t know” you said reaching for the cigarette packet. “It’s just” you stopped as you lite up the cigarette that was between your lips. “It’s just that we are at our last year of high school, we should do something about our future and  sometimes I feel like I will be stuck here forever.” You were looking up at the sky, thinking of what your life would be if you’d stay in Truro. “Then let’s go away” Roger’s voice took you away from your thoughts and made you looked up at him. He was now sat up and his eyes never left yours. “Let’s go to London, let’s go study there. You will study to become a photographer and I, I think I will study to become a dentist, my parents keep saying it’s a good job.” He shrugged and you smiled as you sat up too, his arm around your waist pulling you to straddle his lap so you could face him. “Let’s go there, let’s move in together in London.” Words failed to come up from your mouth so you just nodded as tears were starting to form in your eyes. Roger kissed you as his hands laid on both sides of your neck and your hands found their way through his hair “We’re going to live together” you mumbled against his lips “We are” he confirmed smiling.

“Hey Freddie” you greeted as you got into Brian’s car. “Hey Penny” he looked at you with a smirk on his lips, making you understand he knew exactly what you were doing in the lab, of course, Brian had talked. “How’s Mary?” you asked while looking for your compact mirror and your lipstick in your bag. “She’s good, she had to work today so she couldn’t come to the rehearsals. “Well, we could swing by later” Rog said grinning, you knew about the guys going to Biba just to check the girls, that didn’t make you jealous, yes, he was your boyfriend but neither of you were blind, you also checked hot guys with your friends. Still, that comment made him earn a light punch on his stomach “Is someone jealous here?” he laughed looking at you, you shook your head as you started to fix your red lipstick while looking at yourself in the small mirror you were holding in your other hand. That’s when you felt a hand moving up to your tight, smirking you looked at Roger with the corner of your eye, he was grinning as his hand moved dangerously to the hem of your skirt. “Hey you two, not in my car” Brian warned you looking at you through the rearview mirror, both you and Roger chuckled as the drummer put his hand down to your knee and you blew a kiss to Brian who shook his head and tried to hide a grin. He was the person you were more close to in the band, you met him when Roger auditioned for Smile and by everyone’s surprise, you almost immediately became close friends. It wasn’t hard for you to understand why people found your friendship unusual, he was always so calm, polite, he knew always how to behave in any situation and he was a nerd for astrophysics, while you, well, you were a feminine version of Roger. “So, me and Roger met the guy at the disco a few days ago. His name’s John and he seems pretty shy, so behave. Okay Freddie?” he asked looking at the singer who nodded while getting off from the car. “Roger? Penny?” “Hey!” you sounded almost offended “I’m always nice with people. Talk to Mr Taylor here, who likes to make comments about people teeth.” You chuckled taking all your stuff while joining the other members. “You can be pretty mean too.” Roger argued. “Only with people that annoy me, I still don’t know this guy. Maybe I will like him, I mean, he’s a bassist, they say they’re pretty good with their hands.” You grinned looking at Roger who rolled his eyes as the other two guys chuckled. “Well,” the blonde said wrapping his arm around your waist so you could get closer to him and he could whisper in your ear. “Drummers are better at banging.” He smirked and slapped your bum as you got into the building. “You must be John.” Freddie said walking toward the guy who was sat by the door of a classroom. “It’s me” he nodded pulling his hand out so Fred could shake it. “Well, I’m Freddie, you already met Brian and Roger.” The guys nodded to him. “And she’s Penny, she’s Queen’s first groupie” Freddie smiled looking at you. “I’m (Y/N)” You said greeting him. “Penny is my surname, you can decide which name you like more” you chuckled. “And I’m not a groupie, I’m Roger’s girlfriend.” “You come to every concert and you shag him after each of them. That makes you a groupie” Freddie declared putting his arms on his hips. “And I take him back to our home after every concert. That makes me his girlfriend.” “Can we please stop arguing about our roles and listen to John, please?” Brian asked almost exhausted by your squabbles. You sat down on the couch between Roger and Freddie, your fingers tapped against your tight while listening to John playing. There was a feeling inside you that made you think that they finally may have found their final bassist, there was something in him, the way he talked and how he behaved that made you believe he could be a perfect fit between the three of them. You could already imagine Rog, Fred and Bri arguing about a song and then John would have jumped in and clear the air.

“John, he seemed really good.” You said while opening the door of yours and Roger’s shared flat. “I think he’s the one you may have been looking for.” “Hmmh.” Roger mumbled as he threw his jacket on the couch and laid down. You sat down on your bed, which was a mattress laid on some pallets, and looked at Rog while you took your shoes off. Your flat wasn’t really big, as you opened the main door there was a room big enough where you managed to create a living room and a bedroom, in another small room there was the kitchen with a small table where you could eat. The main problem was when the guys decided to show up for lunch or dinner and you all ended up eating on the couch and sat on the carpet, all gathered around the coffee table. And of course, in the flat, there was another room for the bathroom. “You don’t seem so excited about him.” You said getting comfortable. “I really think he’s the best bassist you ever had, you’d better keep him.” “Are you done talking about him? You haven’t shut up about him since he left the building. A smirk grew on your lips as you got up from the bed and walked toward the couch “Is someone jealous here?” you asked sitting on Roger’s lap, straddling him so you could face him. “Oh, shut up.” He groaned rolling his eyes.  You chuckled softly, he always liked playing with you when it came to making you jealous. But that only time that you talked well about a guy he immediately acted like a child. “The man who always talks about the Biba girls is now envious over a bassist?” “Well, why don’t you go to ask him to use his fingers since bassists seem so good at him?” he muttered not even looking at you as he quoted what you told him before meeting John. “I don’t know” you shrugged as you laid your hands on his neck “I heard that drummers are better at banging.” You almost laughed at his behaviour changing so quick. Roger looked at you while biting his lip and in a matter of a few seconds you were already taken to the bed. Your sexual life with Roger could be divided into two moods: there was love and there was sex. There were times when you two needed to show the other how much you loved them, and it was slow, sweet nothings whispered while your bodies were closed, fingers intertwined and kissed all over your skin. Then there was sex, the one where you needed each other,  it was rough, loud, there were hickeys and bruises and today it was like that. The aftercare though was always equal, your head was on his chest and his arm was wrapped around your shoulders as his fingers drew some figures on your skin. You were still trying to catch your breath as you left some sweet kisses on his bare skin. “You know, after today I have a good feeling, I feel like this time it’s the right one.” Roger said while looking at the ceiling as his fingertips never left your skin. “And I promise you that once we’ll make it I will buy us a nicer flat, one where our bed won’t be seen by anyone who will come inside.” He chuckled softly. “I don’t care where we’ll live as long as long as I know that you’ll always be next to me.”

[noroger]

can i have a fic with tim murphy and 2. from your promt list? love you xx ~ billie

2. “excuse me, i think you dropped this”

Thank you for your request love :),, i hope you like it x

You were a tour guide at the new dinosaur museum that had just opened up. You loved your job so far, you loved how people’s faces would light up with amusement when you told them stories of the dinosaurs or the bones that were found

You had just currently finished up on your last tour of the day and had started making your way back to the locker room to collect your belongings.

After getting your bag and coat and putting all your stuff away, you singed out and headed past the main exhibits which you never got tired of looking at, you were so fascinated by it all.

Just as you were making your way out the door you heard a voice that made you turn around.

“Excuse me, i think you dropped this” it called out and echoed through the empty hall.

Sanding there you were met with brown eyes, looking down you saw he was holding out your ID badge which must have slipped out of your locker when you put it inside, or so you must have tried to.

“Thank you so much Mr Murphy” you smiled softly at your boss as you took the card from his hand and placed it inside your bag.

“You heading out Y/N?” he asked as he placed his hands into his trousers pockets.

Which you nodded and softly replied with a yes.

“Got any plans for tonight then?”

“Nope just going home and getting dinner, might get a takeaway on the way home” you shrugged as you looked up at his smiling eyes.

He let out a groan of satisfaction “i could kill for a takeaway right now”. which made you giggly softy.

“You wouldn’t mind if i came with you, would you?” he asked as he stepped closer to you.

“No, not at all sir” you rushed out as you felt your heart fling around in your chest, the man you had the biggest crush on was asking if he could walk with you, but he was also your boss so it felt kind of wrong at the same time.

“Oh stop, please call me Tim” he shook his head, you turned around as he started to walk with you to the door.

“Look after my bones Clyde!” he teased playfully as you guys both walked past the night guard who responded with something that you didn’t quite make out but it must have been funny since Tim started to laugh so you giggled to try fit in it too.

“So where we going” Tim asked as he rubbed his hands together as you both made your way out of the door and down the long line of steps.

“I was thinking chinese”

“Sounds great” he nodded before you guys both fell into peaceful quiet, it didn’t feel awkward at all and you enjoyed his company, a lot.

“Sooo, what made you want to be a tour guide at my museum, be careful with your answer i’m your boss after all” he asked with a little playful smirk playing at his lips.

“Well dinosaurs have always been a fascination of mine, anything to do with palaeontology really, i’ve been keeping up with your findings on your blog actually and when i saw you were opening up a museum i knew i had to find a job there, i used to work at the historical museum across town” you spoke which made Tim’s smile grow wider as he listen to you be at an awe with the whole topic he too loved, he understood everything you said.

You both stopped in front of the takeaway and Tim willingly opened the door for you as you stepped inside the warm place. The man took both your orders, Tim teasing you for getting so much but you explained that you always liked to have left overs.

“Do you live far away from here?” Tim asked as he sat himself down beside you on the brown wooden bench they had.

“No, just around 10 minuets away” you shook your head “how come?”.

“I’m walking you home of course” he smiled.

“You don’t have to do that”

“Need to make sure a beautiful girl like you gets home safe, especially at this time of night”

You were about to respond but the man called out that your food was ready and you both got up, fishing through your bag to find your money but by the time you had got it out Tim had already payed for it which made you groan out in annoyance.

“You didn’t have to do that either” you whined as you both thanked the man and walked out of the small shop.

“Oh hush, let me be a gentleman” he teased as he followed you to the direction of your apartment.

“Got anything planned for the weekend love?”

“Not that i know of, probably just sit around watching tv” you shrugged with a little blush climbing onto your face at the use of name he had for you.

He hummed in response, “I’m going out on a dig on saturday, if you’d like to join me”

You gasped and stopped walking which made him turn around in confusion with a raised eyebrow.

“Really?, your inviting me to a dig!?” you chocked our excitingly.

He chuckled at your excitement and nodded.

“I would love to, oh my gosh” you exclaimed loudly and you started to walk again with a big grin on your face.

For the next 5 minute walk back to your place you talked about your personal life’s, since talking about dinosaurs would have been a little too much already, since you both work around them.

“Well this is me” you smiled as you pointed up to the tall apartment building.

“I’m glad i caught you before you went home, it was nice to talk to you”

“Me too, i’ll see you saturday?” you questioned as you tilted your head out of habit which Tim thought was the cutest thing ever.

“Yes!, i’ll call you , since i already have your number from work and all”

“Goodnight Tim” you spoke as you stated to walk to your building with a smile still glued to your face.

“Goodnight Y/N, enjoy your food!” he smiled back as he watched you walk to your building and close the door behind you.

You let a big breath out that you didn’t know you were holding in and squeaked out in happiness and excitement, you had just made plans with your hot boss, you hoped it was a date honestly.

Just as Tim went to walk away he heard your squeal and shook his head with a chuckle at how adorable you were, but he wasn’t judging because inside he was feeling the same way too.

[ao3feed-giomis]

by Pixelated_flowers

This all started with the idea of Joseph and Caesar working in a Bath and Body works, and became a planning document with over 46 pages. There are characters for every part, and hijinks ensue.

Words: 1698, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Jonathan Joestar, Erina Pendleton Joestar, Dio Brando, Joseph Joestar, Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, Elizabeth Joestar | Lisa Lisa, Kaaz | Cars, Esidisi | ACDC, Santana (Jojo), Wamuu | Wham, Kujo Jotaro, Kakyoin Noriaki, Jean Pierre Polnareff, Mohammed Abdul, Boingo (JoJo), Oingo (JoJo), Hol Horse, Enyaba (JoJo), Vanilla Ice (Jojo), Higashikata Josuke (JoJolion), Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Nijimura Okuyasu, Hirose Koichi, Yamagishi Yukako, Kishibe Rohan, Tsuji Aya, Fungami Yuuya, Tonio Trussardi, Hazekura Mikitaka, Sugimoto Reimi, Kira Yoshikage (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Kira Yoshikage (JoJolion), Yanguu Shigekiyo, Otoishi Akira, Shizuka Joestar, Leone Abbacchio, Bruno Buccellati, Giorno Giovanna, Guido Mista, Narancia Ghirga, Pannacotta Fugo, Risotto Nero, Ghiaccio (JoJo), Melone (JoJo), Formaggio (JoJo), Diavolo (JoJo), Vinegar Doppio, Trish Una, Illuso (JoJo), Prosciutto (JoJo), Pesci (JoJo), Carne (Jojo), Sorbet (JoJo), Gelato (JoJo), Squalo (JoJo), Tiziano (Jojo), Cioccolata (JoJo), Secco (JoJo), Kujo Jolyne, F. F. | Foo Fighters (Jojo), Hermes Costello, Enrico Pucci, Narciso Anasui, Weather Report (JoJo), Emporio Alniño, Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zeppeli, Diego Brando, Hot Pants (JoJo), Funny Valentine, Scarlet Valentine, Lucy Steel (JoJo), Mountain Tim (JoJo), Higashikata Joshuu, Hirose Yasuho, Kujo Josefumi, Nijimura Kyou, Higashikata Norisuke, Higashikata Jobin, Higashikata Hato, Dainenjiyama Aishou, Sakunami Karera

Relationships: Erina Pendleton Joestar/Jonathan Joestar, Joseph Joestar/Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, Kakyoin Noriaki/Kujo Jotaro, Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable)/Nijimura Okuyasu, Kishibe Rohan/Tonio Trussardi, Leone Abbacchio/Bruno Buccellati, Giorno Giovanna/Guido Mista, Pannacotta Fugo/Narancia Ghirga, Risotto Nero/Prosciutto, Ghiaccio/Melone (JoJo), Gelato/Sorbet (Jojo), Squalo/Tiziano (Jojo), Kira Yoshikage (JoJolion)/Kujo Josefumi, Kawajiri Shinobu/Kira Yoshikage (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Formaggio/Illuso (Jojo), Cioccolata/Secco (JoJo), Dio Brando/Enrico Pucci, Hermes Costello/Kujo Jolyne, F. F. | Foo Fighters/Kujo Jolyne, Hermes Costello/F. F. | Foo Fighters/Kujo Jolyne, Hermes Costello/F. F. | Foo Fighters, Johnny Joestar/Gyro Zeppeli, Higashikata Josuke (JoJolion)/Hirose Yasuho

Additional Tags: jesus christ thats a lot of tags, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Malls, pretty much everyone works in the mall, did we include as many characters as possible? yes, are we going to add more? yes, Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Best Friends, Hot Topic, risotto and abbachio work in a hot topic, there are way to many things to be able to tag here and theyre already too long, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, jonathan is a dilf, dilf, mall employee AU

[fanfics4all]

Let’s get more Personal!

are you under 18? Nope

do you have siblings?, if yes how many? Yep, one!

can you art? I think I can (I can post something I’ve done if you guys want to see)

can you sing? Nah

can you act? I guess so?

turn ons? Funny, Dom, Not really sure what else to say tbh lol

turn offs? People that are dicks!

top 5 favorite bands? Oof this is hard, right now I guess Set It Off, 3OH!3, Get Scared, My Chemical Romance, and Gorillaz

top five favorite singers? Sabrina Carpenter, Machine Gun Kelly, Jonathan Young, Todrick Hall, and Avril Lavigne

least favorite singers? Meghan Trainor, Sia, Taylor Swift, and Demi Lavato. Those are only a few I could think of.

fave artists? Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tim Burton, I honestly can’t think of that many right now.  

favorite actors? Again I have a few but number one is and always will be Matthew Gray Gubler. Others are Jordan Connor, Richard Harmon, Colton Haynes, Corey Fogelmanis, Rob Raco, Skeet Ulrich, Chandler Riggs, Ross Lynch, Grant Gustin, Mark Sheppard, Cassey Cott, Tom Felton, Evan Peters, Christian Kane, and that’s all I can think of right now.

favorite actresses? Emily Bett Rickards, Ruby Rose, Vanessa Morgan, Dove Cameron, Lilli Reinhart, Kat Dennings, Madelaine Petsch, Madchen Amick,  Um I know there’s more but I can’t think of them :(

how may fandoms are you in? Oof too many probably lol

top 5 fandoms? Riverdale, The 100, Criminal Minds, Harry Potter, and Batman I guess lol

on a scale from 1 to 10, how dramatic are you? Depends on the situation but normally like a 3 probably

can you cook? Oh my god! I love cooking! So yes

a random fact about about you? Um I can sculpt and do SFX makeup!

how many places have you been? Not many, like 7 or 8 states and never out of the country

top 6 shows? The 100, Riverdale, Criminal Minds, Arrow, American Horror Story, and White Collar (I watch way more though)

fave movie franchises? Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Batman (Mainly 1966), Thor, Captain America, DeadPool, Um that’s all I can think of

Disney or Dreamworks? Both but mainly Disney

top 3 childhood shows? Cyberchase, Zoboomafoo, and Bear in the Big Blue House (Going really little childhood shows)

how many schools have you been to? Four so far

somewhere you want to go one day? England, France, Ireland, Russia, and Canada. Probably more but those are the main ones.

straight or nah? Nah

LGBTQ+ supporter? Well I’m Bi so yeah

favorite school subject? Math and Art

least favorite school subject? Gym, is that a subject?

Food? Yes?

books or Tv? T.V. but I do like reading it just takes me awhile because I have astigmatism and they unfocus a lot so it makes it hard to focus on reading.

Spotify or Pandora? Spotify

what are you listening to right now? Youtube videos!

whats the weather like rn? Hot and a little cloudy

are you reading anything at the moment? After You by JoJo Moyes (The second book to Me Before You)

any family problems you feel comfortable talking about? Oh god, my family is a mess. My dad was an abusive asshole and my mom is an alcoholic (My parents are divorced and my little brother lives with my dad while I live with my mom, I still see my dad and brother but very rarely)

how do you feel right now? Pretty depressed tbh lol

thoughts on trees? Trees are rad, I live climbing them but I’m scared of heights so it’s a fun time lol

something stupid you did once? Smoked too much weed and got stupid high

something random in your backyard? We rent so don’t really have a backyard anymore :(

funny childhood story? One time my brother when he was little he decided to take a nap somewhere and we couldn’t find him ANYWHERE, we were yelling and looking everywhere but we couldn’t find him. We tried to lure him out with marshmallows but that didn’t work and this was going on hours. So we called the cops they came they couldn’t find him anywhere and we were freaking out but then he just walked out and took the bag of marshmallows and to this day we have no idea where he was because he wouldn’t tell us. It was kinda freaky at the time but now we look back at it and laugh.

3 random stories about stuff that you’ve done in your neighborhood? I’ve moved a few times so we’ll go with 3 different neighborhoods. 1. We were living with my grandparents (Mom’s side) and there’s a lot of ducks and we were feeding them so I went to feed one by hand and that’s how I learned ducks have teeth. 2. We were living with my other grandparents (Dad’s side) and they had a frog garden thing that made noise, we were walking up the driveway, they didn’t tell us they got a new one and that it made noise. Me and my dad walked past it and it croaked at us, scared the fuck out of me and I ran away. There were potholes in the driveway and I tripped and cut my knee up so bad. 3. Um my friend lived on a dead end around my block and I would walk over to his place a lot (I was like 8 maybe older) and we road scooters a lot, he could do tricks and he wanted to teach me, I failed horrible cut up my knees and hands and face and scratched up my glasses so bad I couldn’t use them.

top 5 musicals? Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Peter Pan (1960), Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hairspray, and Anastasia

musical fandoms you want to know more about? Any really

any instruments you play? No, I played the clarinet in elementary school and broke it haha

do you and your friends ever roleplay or have given each other character names? Does playing a dating sim with a friend count?

favorite comeback? No you

do you have a phone? Yes

have you ever written a story? Oh yeah

O.c.’s? I have a few

S.O.? Ummm it’s complicated

favorite stores? Hot topic, Spencers, um I don’t know, I don’t go shopping much.

are you still in school? No but I’m going back soon (hopefully)

markers or colored pencils? Both but mainly colored pencils!

memes or gifs? Um both!

oil or chalk pastels? Both!

Height? 5’2

Painting? Omg yes, I’ve done some myself, I’m working on one rn and I have one finished (I can post it if you guys want!)

can you give a description of yourself? Short, kinda overweight, colorful hair (changes a lot), kinda big black glasses, hazel eyes, um that’s all I can think of.

description of your personality? A child mixed with a grandma

will you ever reveal your face( if you haven’t yet)? Sure

Anime? Oh heck yes

favorite animes? Owari No Seraph, Future Diary, Diabolik Lovers, Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, Your Lie in April, Black Butler, Guilty Crown, Shiki, Death Parade, and more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

K-pop? Yeah!

Ships??? Falice 100%, Bellarke, idk I can’t think of any others right now

ships you dislike? None really unless it’s weird and underage.

Children? I want children so bad!

do you have a library? I personally don’t

winter or summer? Winter

spring or fall? Fall

sun or snow? Snow

long or short hair? Short

ice cream or sherbert? Both

rain or bright sunlight? Rain

clouds & wind or heat & humidity? Clouds and Wind

pool or beach? Pool

how innocent are you? Not very tbh

cake or cupcakes? Both

chocolate or vanilla? Both, but depends

something sneaky you’ve done with your friends lately? Smoke weed I guess?

favorite colors? Black and Red

favorite animal(s)? Red panda, Panda, Husky, Pigs (I had one as a pet) Hedgehogs (Also had one as a pet)  

skiing or sledding? Sledding

have you ever ridden a horse? Yeah, my cousin owns two horses so I’ve gone riding with her before

have you ever ridden a train? Yeah but I have a fear of them

have you ever been on an airplane? Yes (Not scared of flying like at all)

Nature? Nature is rad

inside or outside? Inside in the summer/spring but outside in fall/winter

introvert or extrovert? Introvert, I’m so shy

rules/ laws? Um both I guess?

how many friends do you have? A bunch but a small close circle

pants/ shorts or skirts? All three but mainly pants and shorts

Dresses? If they’re weird

video games? Oh yes, I love video games

fave holiday? Halloween

least favorite holiday? Christmas and 4th of July

[orbemnews]

Diapers, Cereal and, Yes, Toilet Paper Are Going to Get More Expensive Procter & Gamble is raising prices on items like Pampers and Tampax in September. Kimberly-Clark said in March that it will raise prices on Scott toilet paper, Huggies and Pull-Ups in June, a move that is “necessary to help offset significant commodity cost inflation.” And General Mills, which makes cereal brands including Cheerios, is facing increased supply-chain and freight costs “in this higher-demand environment,” the company’s chief financial officer, Kofi Bruce, said on a call with analysts. These price increases reflect what some economists are calling a major shift in the way companies have responded to demand during the pandemic. Before the virus hit, retailers often absorbed the cost when suppliers raised prices on goods, because stiff competition forced retailers to keep prices stable. The pandemic changed that. It created chaos and confusion in global shipping markets, leading to shortages and price increases that have cascaded from factories to ports to stores to consumers. When the pandemic hit, Americans’ shopping habits shifted rapidly — with people spending money on treadmills and office furniture instead of going out to eat in restaurants and seeing movies at theaters. This, in turn, put enormous pressure on factories in China to produce these goods and ship them across the Pacific in containers. But the demand for shipping outstripped the availability of containers in Asia, yielding shortages that resulted in higher shipping costs. The Consumer Price Index, the measure of the average change in the prices paid by U.S. shoppers for consumer goods, increased 0.6 percent in March, the largest rise since August 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Higher costs aren’t affecting just the United States. British inflation hit 0.7 percent in March, fueled by the prices of oil and clothing. In the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, companies were focused on responding to the surge brought on by panic buying, with people stocking up on items like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, canned food and masks, said Greg Portell, a partner at Kearney, a consulting firm. The government was watching for price gouging, and customers were wary of being taken advantage of. “When the pandemic first struck paper, toilet paper was like gold,” Mr. Portell said. “The optics of trying to take a price increase during that time just weren’t going to be good.” Today in Business Updated  April 28, 2021, 7:37 p.m. ET Thus, despite the spike in demand, companies weren’t in a position to balance out the price-and-cost equation. Now that the economy is beginning to stabilize, companies are starting to make different economic calculations, rebalancing pricing so that it better fits their profit expectations and takes into account inflation, which will drive up prices. “This isn’t an opportunistic profit-taking by companies,” Mr. Portell said. “This is a reset of the market.” The government’s pumping of money into the economy through recent stimulus packages has also given retailers more room to raise prices. People who have received unemployment benefits or stimulus checks are able to spend that money on consumer goods like toilet paper and diapers. Many of those who have kept their jobs during the pandemic also have been able to increase their savings. That means they have disposable income to spend on more expensive items like printers or desks for working at home, or on luxuries like televisions, hot tubs or kitchen remodels. “Right now, demand is fiscally stimulated and very strong,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist for the firm Oxford Economics. “So even if you raise your prices, you’re not necessarily going to lose market share, because most other producers are doing the same thing and because people have the means to buy.” It’s likely that retailers, from big-box stores to grocery stores, will pass on the majority of the increased costs from suppliers to consumers. “Consumption is likely very strong the next couple of quarters, which will give companies a bit more pricing power to pass through some of those cost increases, which otherwise they might have had to absorb in their margins,” said Tim Drayson, head of economics at Legal and General Investment Management, an asset management firm. However, businesses will still have to keep price increases reasonable and in line with competition. “Businesses will tend to pass on what the consumer can stomach,” said John Ruth, chief executive of Build Asset Management, an investment advisory firm. “You’ll notice some price increases, but your hamburger isn’t going to double in your local favorite drive-through.” Price increases for necessities like toilet paper and diapers will affect low-income Americans most profoundly, placing an additional burden on those already hard hit by the pandemic. Whether the increased prices will stick, or eventually come down, is a topic of debate among economists. Some predict that prices will normalize within one to two years, as the economy continues to gain steam, the job market improves and those who lost jobs during the pandemic increasingly return to work. “People are not going to buy used cars, or even new cars, forever,” Mr. Daco said. “At some point, demand will be saturated, and that will be the start of an environment of reduced price.” Source link Orbem News #Cereal #diapers #expensive #paper #toilet

[travelcenter-uk]

Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

I was able to find a lot of answers to some prolonged questions on my last trip to Dubai in November 2019. Not just that, but I learned several wow facts that blew my mind!

Keep reading. I have a lot to tell you.

Did you know that the literal meaning of Dubai is money? And that, Dubai was mostly a small desert 50 years ago, but now it is ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world?

I would love to see that shock on your face when you read this. Because, when I first learnt this, I went crazy!

Then, I started to wonder what more about Dubai, don’t I know?

However, I was able to overcome this dubiousness! (Find the pun).  It was, as I started visiting some of the best tourist attractions in the country.

1 - I visited the Dubai Frame

You may wonder why I visited the Dubai Frame first, out of all tourist attractions. Well, it was because of the hype.

My brother has been in Dubai for almost fifteen years now. And, this frame has always been a hot topic for him.

I was a little bland at first, though. Like you are right now. But can you see this giant, glistening Gold frame in the picture below?

Yeah, I couldn’t let my curiosity kill me.

What is so special about it?

The wow factor is, this giant frame has a symbolic connection between the old and new city of Dubai! It is also the most massive frame in the world.

Is the visit free of charge?

Although this frame stands there like an adornment, you cannot just visit it. You need to purchase tickets. We purchased it online (because it is easier than staying under the hot sun at the venue to buy). There were four of us as adults, so we had to pay around 11 Euros each. They did allow the kids in for free.

The fun part about the Dubai Frame?

The panoramic glass lifts, of course!

Once you are on one of these lifts, it shuttles you to the top.

I have a fear of heights, so this was even fun. I know I should say ‘terrified’, but it was fun! Because, once you are at the top, you can walk on a clear glass walkway along the entire 313-foot width of the frame.

Pictures taken from here are so Instagram worthy (mostly if you use your selfie-stick or GoPro). Oh, and it was almost sunset when we visited the frame, so the view was breath-taking!  Now you know what the best time is for you to visit the Dubai Frame on your next trip to Dubai.

2 - I had Dinner in the sky!

If this is not in your ‘things to do in Dubai’ list, add it right now!

I can’t tell you that I signed up for this with no hesitations. I kept throwing tantrums for nearly ten minutes.

My brother had pre-purchased the tickets to ‘Dinner in the Sky Dubai’ online It was because they allowed only 22 pax during a single slot! Do you think saying ‘no’ after that would have been a good thing to do?

I don’t think so.

Tip: If you are planning to have Dinner in the Sky in Dubai, pre-purchase your tickets online. This way you can pick the day and time-frame of your choice! You can also contact the team at Travel Center UK to make an arrangement.

Okay, now to the best part!

Familiarizing with the premises

We were welcomed with a refreshing drink. After which, we had to deposit all our belongings (except mobiles & cameras) into a locker.

It was relieving to do so because we could enjoy the whole time without panicking. I mean, I am sure none of us wants to see our bags fly down from 50 m above the ground.

Once we made ourselves comfortable, they strapped us to bucket seats. Of course, with safety harnesses.

The fun part of this?

They used cranes to lift the slots. My nephew had a great time, screaming and enjoying the whole process.

As I love photography, I did not miss out on the breath-taking views of the glittering skyline. 50m above the ground, we were able to see the Dubai Marina, Atlantis, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa!

What about the food?

The chefs onboard were outstanding. As soon as we were in the sky, they started to make our two-course gourmet menu live! Yes, we got to see our menu prepared before our eyes.

The food was excellent, along with the peppy tunes accompanying us as we had our delightful feast.

For nearly 90 minutes, we enjoyed our meals with 360 degrees view of the splendid city!

3 - I Realized why Dubai is a Birder's Paradise

Thanks to my little nephew, who kept crying to visit the wildlife sanctuary. I learned that there are over 320 bird species that migrate between Europe, Asia, and Africa via Dubai!

It was not some random fact thrown in the wildlife sanctuaries. It was a wow fact I heard from the guard at one of the sanctuaries there.

Another double-wow fact about the birder’s paradise is, the rare birds passing through the city. These rarities include; spotted eagles, broad-billed sandpipers, and greater herons. Usually found passing during the spring and fall.

Can they be sighted?

Yes! You will easily get this opportunity if you go on an unplanned trip to Dubai.

Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is from where I learned these wow facts. It is also where I sighted most of these rarities. The show-stealers, however, were the flamingos. They created a picture-perfect sight in the wetlands, with their beautiful pink feathers.

4 - I Tandem Skydived to see Palm Island in Dubai

Do you recall me telling you that I have a fear of heights? If you do, then you surely know this was a challenge I took.

Undeniably worth it!

What was unique about tandem skydiving in Dubai?

There is a wow fact about tandem skydiving in Dubai! The types of jumps are, of course, similar to any other countries (in general). But here we could explore the world’s largest artificial archipelago!

We were also able to see the Atlantis Hotel, Burj Al Arab, The World Islands, and Dubai Marina! An all-in-one sight-seeing experiences.

What were the charges like to skydive in Dubai?

The Palm Drop Zone that we chose was quite expensive compared to the other spots. However, it gave us a spectacular view and best skydiving experience (as first-timers).

If you are on a budget and still want to try skydiving in Dubai, then you can take the Desert Campus Drop Zone. If you are more afraid of heights than I am, then you should try Indoor skydiving. Best way to take that first step to overcome your fear of heights. It’s wallet-friendly too! (Thank me later!)

5 - I travelled on the longest driverless metro line in the world!

Wow! I could not wait to boast about it.

I have given you the wow fact already, but not the double-wow facts yet.

The city’s Red Line (32.37 miles), runs through the heart of Dubai like an artery. I am not exaggerating, but the experience of taking the Red Line was completely futuristic!

The Red Line cuts through the centre of Dubai and flies past the city’s many newly built skyscrapers and landmarks.

What is so special about this metro line?

The Red Line experience includes cheap fares, air-conditioned cabins, on-time service, and multiple ticket classes! It’s like a Do-It-Yourself tour of Dubai when you take the metro.

The double-wow fact here is, the Red Line consists of more than twenty tourist spots and restaurants!

What are these tourist spots and restaurants?

iFly Dubai

Dubai Festival City

Deira City Centre

Dubai Creek

Xiao Wei Yang

The Noodle House

Red Shrimp

ADCB (formerly Karama Souk)

Zabeel Park

World Trade Centre

The Emirates Towers

Applebee’s

Tim Hortons

Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

Burj Khalifa

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Mall

Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates

Dubai Marina

Jumeirah Lake Towers

Ibn Battuta shopping mall

Did the Red Line metro tickets cost a lot?

I had the same concern as you. But luckily, it was significantly cheaper than I thought.

For tourists and occasional visitors, they offer ‘red tickets’. And they cost only 0.46 Euros!

It’s interesting as it sounds. Because the Red tickets are worth for ten trips or five daily passes!!

6 - I lost myself in the most extensive natural flower garden in the world

Miracle Garden was one of my favourite places to visit in Dubai. The garden was like a total animation. My trip to Dubai would have definitely not been complete without having visited this garden.

The wow fact about the miracle garden could go on as a list.

Starting from, the fact that it displays almost 50 million flowers at its premises!

Then, the responsible use of water through drip irrigation! I mean, don’t we know they could have spent millions on bringing freshwater for the garden if they wished? But they didn’t!

What were the best things to do in the Miracle Garden?

The garden included so many entertainment facilities and attractions. Some of them that we did not miss out were;

Floral Parades

Street performances

Zumba sessions

Trampoline Park

Disney Avenue

Mickey Mouse

Life-size Emirates A380

Lost Paradise

Cabanas for relaxation

Butterfly Passage

Hearts Passage

Umbrella Passage

Giant Tortoise

Floral Clock

Floral Castle

Giant Teddy Bear

Lake Park

Hill Top

Next How much did the visit to Miracle Gardens cost?

The entrance fee for us (adults) was nearly 9.16 Euro per head. For my seven-year-old nephew, we paid 6.53 Euro, and the baby nephew was allowed in for free.

Additional costs? Definitely, for all the snacks, we whacked at all the restaurants, kiosks, cafes and sweet bars!

#ThisIsNotTheEnd

So, I’ve spoken about the six best encounters and wow facts already. I hope you all had a good time taking notes. That means, now you know some of the must-do on your next trip to Dubai!

But trust me, these aren’t everything that Dubai has for you. I have only spoken about a few. There is so much more I could talk about, but if you wish to read. So, let me know in the comments if you are interested to know more about my trip to Dubai!

You can also read this e-book from Travel Center.

Oh, and there is something important about my trip to Dubai that I should not forget to mention!

Although my brother escorted us in Dubai, we did need a Travel agent! I mean, how else could we have got some of the best Dubai deals? It is where Travel Center came in functional!

If you are planning on your trip to Dubai, then you must talk to one of the travel experts at Travel Center. They not only provide you with the best travel solutions but also give you a list of customized and affordable deals to choose from!

Now, that makes my seventh wow fact for you. (Chuckles)

Read More:- Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

This Article, Information & Images Source (copyright):- Travel Center UK Blog

[ilovehighhats]

Facets of Perfection, ch. 06

Phew, I’m glad no one has noticed I’m late with my daily updates! ;)

The drive home was uneventful and quick.

Bane pulled over at the driveway since they would go out again to pick up the kids in the afternoon. Wordlessly he proceeded to jog up the porch and opened the main door.

Even though Victoria knew, technically, that Bane was trusted by her family, she felt uneasy entering the house after him. What did she know about the man? The more she thought about his behavior, the more holes she found her first impression. If he was just a security guy, why did he have this air of military operative about him? It struck her as odd, the way he spoke about the time to Selina. And the printouts he had in abundance. The weird list he had in his pocket on that first evening… She made out a few words, and from what she saw it looked awfully like a plan of action for a houseguest.

Weird.

Now she found herself alone in an unfamiliar place along with that weird man. To his credit, the dog seemed to like him. That had to count in Bane's favor.

“Are you going to stay in that coat?” He asked, gazing up at Vic since he kneeled to greet Ace properly.

“Maybe I will,” she purred. “It was pricey and I didn't have many opportunities to wear it until now.”

Bane seemed beyond unimpressed.

“Suit yourself. I'd like to make a schedule for today. Do you have any plans?”

Vic groaned and started to untangle the scarf she had carelessly wound around her neck.

“Do we have to? I don't like planning.”

Bane didn't answer.

She looked up and frowned when she couldn't see him. A clutter of falling pellets came from the kitchen. He was feeding the dog.

The pause gave Victoria time to reconsider. She fell into her usual bratty demeanor, almost against her will. But Bane didn’t seem to appreciate her company when she behaved like that. Maybe it would be kinder if she tried to be a bit more pleasant… After all, they would be staying under the same roof for a few weeks. And they were supposed to take care of Cassie and Tim, at least until Christmas.

No, she should try to be a bit more accommodating. It could be her personal growth project. Trying to be civil and even friendly with someone she would never look at twice if the circumstances didn’t force her.

With new resolve, she unlaced her shoes and marched into the kitchen.

“Tea?” she asked Bane who was refilling Ace's bowl with water.

“Why not. Mint, please.”

How oddly specific, Victoria thought.

“You think they have herbal tea?”

“I bought some yesterday.”

“Oh. Did you go shopping after dinner?”

He grunted and affirmative.

“To get things for your breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

That simple question seemed to startle him. Eyes narrowed he contemplated his answer for a little while.

“I need to maintain certain levels of nutrients. Therefore, it's easiest if I prepare every meal myself.”

There was so much seriousness in his voice, Vic had to restrain herself from laughing out loud. A meathead and an epicurean, who would have thought?

“You could be a chef if that next assignment won't come.” She winked and leaned towards him sliding the steaming mug his way. “You know, if you did need that new career after all.”

Bane grinned and scoffed dismissively.

“I don't know if high-pressure environment would be best for a simple man like myself.”

Vic snorted obnoxiously into her cup, spilling some of the tea. She laughed openly, once she got her breath back.

“Okay, I won't fall for this bullshit again.”

“No? You lapped it up yesterday.”

He was way too smug for Vic’s liking. Her eyes narrowed and subconsciously she straightened her back to sneer down at him.

“No, I didn't.”

Bane missed the display entirely since he looked at the oven clock behind her head.

“I'll have to leave you for about an hour.”

The information left Victoria at a loss. It was almost as if Bane was humoring her with their little conversation, not the other way around. What would he have to do? Run a quick errand to break somebody’s legs for his mafia friends? Or maybe shoo away awkward teenagers lingering at Hot Topic?  

“Fine. I have things to do anyway.”

The dissatisfaction in her words gave him pause, and he indulged her with some explanations.

“We're supposed to be at the school at fifteen hundred, so that would leave five hours for shopping and cooking.”

“Lunch?”

“And dinner.”

“Good thinking,” Victoria admitted magnanimously. “Shall we leave at, say… Two o’clock?”

A thick vein popped out on Bane’s temple. His jaw throbbed the tiniest bit before he answered.

“That should be enough for shopping, yes.” The words were almost growled out.

“I'll do lunch, you do dinner, how about that?” Victoria offered, trying to placate him.

To her, Bane’s replies were a mystery. He obviously had some kind of problem, but for the life of her, Vic couldn’t fathom what that might be.

“That's an acceptable division.”

Vic smiled, satisfied that they came to an agreement.

“Great. See you later then.”

She took her mug and climbed the stairs without so much as a glance back at Bane.

Unbeknownst to her, the retribution he had planned was already set in motion…

oOo

The thing Victoria had to do mainly was a tour of the house. On the previous evening, Selina quickly covered the basics, but it was a chaotic and busy day. So, Victoria decided to do some snooping on her own.

First, she went to her room and killed some time getting her clothes from cases to the closet. All the time she listened attentively to keep tabs on Bane. She didn’t trust the man one bit.

It was a weird arrangement, and she planned on asking Selina about it this evening. They had made plans to go out for drinks, catch up and gossip. Vic sorely needed a sympathetic ear, now even more so since she couldn't understand Bane’s exact role in their little gathering.

When she heard him going out the door, she quickly jogged to the window, in an attempt to make sure where he was heading. The garage. There was some faint memory in her head of Selina or Bruce mentioning there was some gym equipment there. Nothing surprising then, Vic sneered to herself, but then felt a tug of shame. Perhaps she shouldn’t think of Bane as a meathead. He could piece a coherent sentence or two.

He was definitely a gymrat though.

With her mood lightened by her generousness, Vic set out snooping about the house.

The room she was staying at was Tim’s, and beside it was Cassie’s place on the left, and guest bedroom on the right. Further down the corridor was the bathroom and the study - now occupied by Bane. On the opposite side were the stairs leading up to the attic, converted entirely to host master bedroom, bathroom and a walk-in closet.

Victoria didn’t mean to pry into any private stuff, she just wanted to get her bearings around the house. It wasn’t her fault that Sel left a surprisingly exquisite string of pearls laying about.

The necklace almost called out to her, begging to be appraised. How would anyone be able to just leave it on the dresser undisturbed?

The weight and temperature of the stones gave Victoria a pleasant shiver down her spine. It was a simple piece, a sole string of pearls of subtly varying sizes, with the smallest ones at the clasp, gradually thickening towards the centre of the necklace. Every single bead was perfectly round. The luster was superb, and the color was the purest snowy white, with the tiniest hint of silver. The choker was finished with a diamond-studded clasp, either from white gold or platinum.

It must have cost a fortune.

What was a piece like this doing in a too small suburban house of her cousin? Vic had one explanation in her mind… But Selina promised a long while back she was done with her little hobby. Maybe it was just a little trinket to lighten up her day from time to time? A souvenir of days long gone? After all, barely anyone knew how exactly pricing of pearl necklaces worked, you needed some expertise to know that this string was worth at least fifty grand.

Vic doubted Bruce would notice the difference if she’d swapped it with regular freshwater pearls, clasped with silver and zirconias.  

“You have a peculiar understanding of gratitude.”

She jumped with surprise, nearly dropping the necklace to the ground.

Bane stood in the doorway, his massive shoulder propped on the frame, arms folded on his chest and a very stern look on his face.

“I think it’s quite enough for now,” he said gravely. “You should put those where they belong and get back downstairs.”

Reflectively Victoria started lowering the pearls back to the dresser. Bane’s voice was commanding and rough, his words precise. It seemed only natural to obey.

But she baulked at the notion and challenged his authority.

“Don’t presume you can tell me what I can and cannot do,” she retorted haughtily.

Defiance seemed to irk him further.

“I can make you do what I want, little girl.”

That was a clear threat.

Suddenly Vic realized she was in the attic bedroom of an unfamiliar house, with a man she barely knew practically accusing her of stealing and giving her a menacing warning.

She had no idea what he would do to her…

“I’m going to scream,” she informed him, faking the bravado she didn’t feel at all. “If you lay a hand on me, I’ll fight back.”

Bane scoffed as if she’d offended him. His face contorted in barely contained disgust.

“Please,” he spit the word sarcastically. “Don’t flatter yourself. I wouldn’t be attracted to a bunch of sticks.”

He turned back and started calmly walking away.

Vic did the only reasonable thing she could.

“At least I’m not fat, like you!” she yelled. She hoped that would sting.

“You look like a boy. But I’m sure there are people in Europe who like that.”

Apparently, it didn’t hurt Bane at all.

“Take that back!” Vic shouted running after him.

“A woman should look like a woman, that’s my honest opinion. What does it matter to you what I think?”

It shouldn’t matter at all. The realization silenced her better than any retort Bane might have had. She mumbled to herself something angrily and shook her head in defiance, coming down to her room.