#yes. trust me ma'am. I am VERY well aware that it is their right to choose how their game goes.

[professor-rye]

One of my biggest frustrations with brain fuckery and self awareness is that so often I will see people talking about problematic behavior that I am feeling, only to not really offer a solution for how to stop feeling it. Which, to be fair, is not really their responsibility. For many people, awareness is more than enough for them to start the process of restructuring their beliefs and stopping the problematic attachment. But I am already aware, and that apparently isn't enough to get my brain to let the fuck go.

Creators made a choice, which is their right, and for some reason, my brain decided that was a betrayal and now I am hurt beyond belief. This is unreasonable, and I know that.

Every other time something like this has happened before, I can just acknowledge that I didn't like that choice and move on. But for some reason, these creators and these choices are different, and I can't seem to get my brain to behave anymore.

And anytime I try to talk about it, either the listener has no advice they can give (I still appreciate you listening though, I promise) or they just tell me "But hey. That's parasocial and unreasonable."

[justafrogandherumbrella]

Time and Time Again, Your Questions are Left Unanswered

You ended up running all the way back to Dispassion Offices. It’s where you’re supposed to be, so you figure you made the right decision. 

It seems Felicity had the same thought process you did, because as you trudge up the building's steps, you see her running to catch up to you. 

“Excuse me,” she says, a little breathless as she moves past you to open the door. 

The two of you enter the building together, and the moment you do, a very angry looking, soap-sculpted woman marches up to you. 

“Rue!” She snaps. “You’re late!”

“Oh, uhm… sorry?” Do you know this woman? You don’t recall every meeting with her…. Then again, your memory isn’t exactly what you’d call reliable. 

“As your supervisor, it is my job to ensure that you are staying on task,” she scolds. “I am well aware that you have been allotted some special circumstances, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to slack off!”

This is your supervisor? To be honest, you weren’t aware you’ve had a supervisor all this time. I mean, it makes sense that you do… but how come you’ve never heard from her before? Why don’t you know who she is?  Isn’t that a pretty important thing to know?

“Felicity!” The woman says cheerfully, her tone changing in an instant. “What are you still doing here? You aren’t in trouble darling-  run along now, you have some paperwork to do upstairs.”

“Yes ma'am.” Felicity nods, running to the elevator. “Isn’t she also late?” You ask, watching the elevator rise. 

“This isn’t about her, this is about you,” your supervisor sighs, her tone becoming angry again. “Look, you’d better get to work now- but don’t be late again, or else I’ll have to file a report. Trust me when I say you don’t want that.”

While you do go upstairs to what you think is your designated area, you don’t end up doing much work, as you still have no idea what you’re actually supposed to be doing. You pace around the separate file rooms, offices, and cubicles, looking for some kind of task.  You’ve tried to fill out a couple of forms… but they were written in a language without words- only strange,  harsh, and angry lines. You failed to understand what they were saying. Instead, you find yourself waiting for the shift to end, unable to work yet still unable to leave. You can’t help but wonder how everyone else feels- the people whose workday never ends- the people who never leave Dispassion Offices. 

Luckily, you are saved from your own apathy and boredom when it’s announced to be your floor's “dinner break.” You never actually ate when you were supposed to be having dinner at Mr.Rotary’s mansion, and while you didn’t think of it before- you are starting to feel awfully hungry. It’s been awhile since you last ate, you think. Just before you go off to search for something to eat, you feel a pair of hands grip your shoulders, and yank you backwards. 

The door thuds shut, and you are pulled into a dark room. 

“Uhmm…” you whisper, twisting your head around, trying to make out the face of your… captor? Is that what they are? “What’s this about?”

With a sigh, the person’s hands slip away from your shoulders, and you turn around to face them. You can’t really make out any faces in the dark, but you’re pretty sure based on the silhouette- which has a very boxy head- that the person facing you is Bianca. Not just her- but there appears to be five other silhouettes behind her. 

“Yes,” Gia’s voice whispers from somewhere in the room. “What is this about?”

“You know,” someone’s voice- who you think you recognize- scoffs angrily. “Maybe you could have asked that before punching me in the face.”

“Yeah well, if you had explained to me that you needed me to come with you instead of just grabbing me first, maybe you wouldn’t have gotten punched,” Gia retorts.

You’re pretty sure the voice belongs to one of Bianca’s friends. It sounds masculine, and you’re pretty sure it’s that one flower guy’s voice. WHat was his name again? Leo… no, that’s not right. Lucas? Lucas. 

“I had to be secretive!” He protests, “At least your friend here knew that! Isn’t that right… uhh…”

“Rue,” you say, trying to find Gia’s silhouette. “And uhm… not really? I was just caught off guard, I guess.”

There’s some movement, and then Gia, who has moved to stand beside you, scoffs. “That or you just didn’t care enough to bother fighting back? You remember back when I was fighting that giant sand monster? You just let the thing bite you.”

“No, I don’t really remember that,” you answer honestly.

“How can you possibly forget something like-”

“Enough,” Bianca’s voice hisses. “We need to get down to business here- and you all need to be quieter. We really  don’t want to be caught.”

Everyone is silent for a moment before Bianca continues.  “Right, so, does anyone know why we we-”

“Oh, wait a sec-” you say, cutting her off. “I have a couple of questions.”

“Well,” she huffs, “so do I, so make it quick.”

“Right, so… what’s the deal with Time here?”

“Shut up!” Gia cries out, and you feel their hand clamp down over your mouth as you’re shoved to the ground. “Why would you-”

“Gia, get off of them,” another familiar voice whispers. “It’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

Slowly, they stand back up, and offer you their hand, pulling you back to your feet. 

“Rue,” Lucas’ hushed voice says cautiously, “What do you mean by that question?”

“Well, I mean…” You hesitate, looking for the right words. “There’s a ‘workday’ so to speak- and a ‘school day’ too- but the workday never ends. You don’t really measure- uhm- it do you?”

“No,” Bianca sighs, “We don’t measure it- no one does. It doesn’t exist here. At least, for the most part.”

“What does that even mean?” You ask incredulously. Her answer only brings more questions. “How can t- I mean, it, not exist. You might not measure it, but it still passes…”

“No,” She interrupts, scowling at you.  “Unless it chooses to do so, Time doesn’t pass- only moments do.”

“But that doesn’t make any-”

“Rue,” Gia growls, cutting you off. “I know that bastard Mr.Rotary has said that we’re safe from it here, that doesn’t mean we can trust him.  Don’t ever say its name again.”

“Fine, but tell me why I-”

“Well, well, well,” your supervisor’s voice calls out as the door creaks open and light floods into the room. “What do we have here?”

[aria-i-adagio]

Fourth Try’s Not the Charm

for @autumnofanders Day 3: Kinloch

Wordcount: ~2100 Rating: T

CW: templar abuse, imprisonment, hurt/comfort

Anders didn’t plan his fourth escape from Kinloch Hold. It was a crime of opportunity. About two months after his Harrowing, some of the senior enchanters talked the Greagoir into letting them take the recently harrowed mages outside to teach them some spells that could be used with water - in the water. Supposedly, they could be trusted now. Allowed a bit more leeway.

He wasn't planning on doing anything except enjoying the sun, but once he's mastered a spell that creates an artificial current - intended to propel a boat - well, it only made sense to see if the same spell would work for a human body.

Yes.

And by the grace of Andraste or some other power, no one notices when he takes as deep of a breath as he can manage, ducks under the water, and reemerges a good fifty yards closer to shore.

Anders hides out on an overgrown bank for the rest of the day, then steals some clothes from a line and a handful or two of carrots from the ground in the little village beside the docks, and then he's gone.

It takes them one month and five days to find him in Amaranthine.

Anders is already pretty beat up when they get him back to the Tower. Greagoir is infuriated - angrier than Anders has ever seen him - and orders a public whipping to get his point across. Thirty lashes. Anders tells himself that he’ll live through that... he thinks. After about ten or so, his mind just sort of drops out, floats away, to nowhere in particular. Just somewhere very, very far away. He’s not really conscious again until someone tosses a bucket of salted water across his back, then two knights are hauling him down the steps and dumping him face-first onto a thin mattress.

The next time he’s aware of anything there’s a woman arguing with the guards outside the door.

“Sorry, ma'am, but the Knight-Commander wants him to be an example.”

“He won't make a very good example if he's dead, will he?” A very stern, determined woman. Wynne. Just what he needs. A warm, maternal tongue lashing. “Let me through. I won't do anything other than drive out infection.”

“Let her pass. Drop the dampening wards for her as well.”

The door creaks open. Anders can’t tell if the light in the cell increases. His face is too well hidden in his arms. Wynne touches his bicep and shakes him until he groans and turns his head to the side. “Hi, Mom.”

“You are the damnedest fool I’ve ever met.” Wynne tweaks his ear. “Don't you realize how much trouble you create for the rest of us? How worried some of us were about you?”

“I'm not the problem. If they didn’t -”

She sighs. “I’ve heard all of this from you before. You’re old enough to know better.”

Heat radiates from her hands as they hover over Anders’ back. It’s not a full healing spell, but it will keep the open welts from getting infected. And possibly calm the fever that Anders can tell is running dangerously high. Might get an interesting dream or two out of it to pass the time.

“That’s all I’m allowed to do.” Wynne gathers his hair at the base of his neck and brushes the back of her hand over his temple and cheek. “They're leaving you down here for two months and ten days, Anders.”

“Ah, I'll get caught up on my sleep.”

“Don’t jest. I suggest using the time to pray for some wisdom.” She pats his cheek and stands up. “You're smarter than this. You have a lot to offer if you would just learn to accept reality.”

***

Light. Even the limited light of Kinloch Hold’s entry hall is more than Anders can hand;e after two months and change in the dark. An unsympathetic Templar shoves him toward the door that leads into the library. They’re done taking him apart. If any of the other mages want to bother putting him back together, he’s their problem now.

Karl grabs him almost as soon he staggers into the library and shakes him by the shoulders. “You moron.” Then he leans close and kisses him. “You fucking idiot.”

Anders winces at the contact. A kick in the side is about as much human interaction as he’s experienced in the past... however long. In the dark, time collapses and expands in unpredictable ways.

Dark. His vision goes dark around the edges, and his knees give up.

Karl catches him and pulls Anders’ arm across his shoulder, holding him up. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Anders hadn’t had the time to fully explore the quarters where the mages who had survived the Harrowing but who weren’t yet enchanters slept. The baths off to the side are about the same as the ones in the apprentices’ dorm though. Cast iron tubs with chips in the enamel and a few folding screens to approximate privacy. Hand pumps for water. A drain in the floor for the same.

They’re on the second tub of water, and Anders is beginning to worry about just what Karl used as a bribe to get this much water and time. “I’m going to have to cut these out.” Karl has been trying for what seems like hours now to work loose the mats in Anders’ hair. Or maybe they’ve only been here a few minutes; Anders isn’t sure.

“Go ahead,” he mumbles.

“Maker, baby...” Karl pushes lightly on the back of his head. Anders lets his chin fall forward onto his chest. The sound of metal scraping together grates against his ears as Karl begins snipping clumps out of his hair. Karl is careful, working slowly and pushing his fingers along Anders’ scalp to keep from cutting the skin by mistake. It’ll grow back. Just like skin does.

He rests his elbows on the edge of the tub and lets his fingers dangle in the water. It’s warm, he knows, but he can’t really feel it, any more than he could really feel the rough fabric of a washcloth scrubbing across his skin.

“What are you humming?” Karl is still trimming, maybe trying to even out the length.

“Am I humming?” Anders started singing to himself maybe a week, maybe two, after he was left alone. Then it turned to humming. He doesn’t even think about it now.

Karl leans around him, scoops up a double handful of water, and rinses out his hair. “There we go.” He presses his cheek against Anders, beard prickling against freshly shaven skin. “Let’s get you dried off and dressed. Do you want to try to walk a bit? The garden is still nice.”

Anders can’t find the energy to respond or even to raise his hand and investigate the feeling of short hair. Karl decides for him, guiding him to the kitchens and begging a bowl of soup and a thick chunk of bread from one of the Tranquil cooks. He sits across from Anders, watching as he eats. Anders doesn’t finish the food, his stomach starts to feel tight and painful before he’s even halfway through. He stares at the surface of the thin soup and stirs it absently.

“Can’t eat more? They’ve starved you too.” Karl reaches across the table and touches his face, frowning when Anders reflexively pulls away. “I’ve never seen your cheeks so hollow.”

“Shoulda left the beard then.”

Karl almost smiles. “Let’s try to stretch your legs a bit then.”

Even though the autumn day is overcast, the garden is almost too bright. Anders has to pull up the hood of his robe to shade his eyes before he can bear it, and he isn't able to walk far before he has to sit down on one of the stone benches. So much for running.

The walled garden is busy with mages trying to catch a bit of sun before winter sets in, but everyone except Karl gives him a wide berth. Anders has no complaints, he can barely manage to not cry with delight from hearing other human voices - or to panic because he’s no longer accustomed to hearing the sounds of people interacting with each other and going about their business.

How much he can stand to be touched comes and goes, but after the first several times Anders flinched away, Karl waits for him to initiate anything, not even daring to hold his hand. It’s probably safer for Karl if that remains the case. Anders just creates trouble for anyone who cares about him.

“You should go. They’ll be watching anyone with me.”

“Fuck that. Besides, I’m already marked.”

“I’m sorry, Karl.” Anders slumps against his shoulder, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to not start crying. Maybe it’s just the light causing his eyes to water.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

“Can we go back inside? I’m tired.” He hadn’t expected to be tired after spending so much time sleeping.

“Yes. If that’s what you want.”

***

Anders’ bed is just as he left it. No one had taken the opportunity to steal a desirable lower bunk tucked into the corner. A sign of respect? Or just Karl zealously guarding it? Who knows?

Anders crawls in and lays down gingerly on the mattress. His back is finally whole as of an hour or two ago when Karl peeled the filthy shirt off him, squeaked in dismay, and healed the one or two remaining welts that had been stubbornly refusing to close up. But Anders has gotten accustomed to moving with care to avoid reopening them. It’ll be some time before he’ll be able to bring himself to move carelessly, freely again.

Anders curls on his side and lays his head down on the large pillow, wrapping his arms around the much smaller one his mother gave him. The threads of the artful needlework are beginning to fade, much like the memory of her face.

Karl shakes out a blanket, drapes it over him, and starts to pull the curtains around the bed.

“No.” All the muscles in Anders’ body tighten, and his right calf spasms painfully. “Stop.”

Karl freezes. His eyes widen then soften with something between pity and pain of his own. Anders reaches out to him. “Will you stay with me? Please. Please don’t leave me alone. And not in the dark.”

Karl sits on the edge of the bed and strokes Anders’ hair. The short length transfers more of the sensation to his scalp, and Anders chokes back the sob that the gentle contact elicits.

“Do you want me to lay down with you?”

Anders nods. His throat is too tight to speak. Karl crawls into bed next to him and pulls the curtains around it partially closed, leaving at least some light streaming in. He folds one arm under his head and continues stroking Anders' hair and cheek.

“I’ve missed you,” Karl whispers.

Three, nearly four months, counting the time Anders was on the run and if in fact, Greagoir had only left him locked up for the time he first named and hadn’t conveniently forgotten about him for a few days or weeks more than promised.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not the problem. It’s this miserable place.”

“Keep talking.” Anders hasn't heard voices that weren't gruff commands in so long. “Please. Anything. Tell me what happened while I was...” His voice trails off.

“Hmm... Amaury finished his thesis. He’s got two apprentices now. One accidentally set a tree in the garden on fire last week. He let the Templars scramble for a minute or two before extinguishing it.”

Anders smiles, even if he can't quite find the strength to laugh.

“Speaking of Templars, two were caught at it in a stairwell the other day, and dear Knight-Captain Maude is furious because she'd been tupping one of them, but she can't say anything of course, because you know Greagoir frowns on cross rank relationships. So that's been a bit fun to watch.”

“Ah, so much honor and self-restraint from our selfless protectors.”

“As always. Let’s see... The Formari were asked to up their production of goods. I guess the Chantry didn’t get enough donations this year, or some Revered Mother wants new drapery for her halls. Pity that increased speed increases mistakes. Exponentially, of course.”

“Of course.” The Tranquil within the Formari might not care about being asked to do more, but the enchanters would find subtle ways to indicate their displeasure.

“Enchanter Ines managed to arrange another research trip, so every mage with any training in botany or herbalism is jockeying for a position. Have you ever seen what happens when a growth spell is cast on a fly trap?”

“Please tell me the overgrown carnivorous plant caught a Templar.” Anders manages a chuckle. “I should ask to go. Ines loves me. Maybe I could take a vow of silence."

"Now, now -” Karl kisses the tip of his nose. “Don't make promises you can’t keep.”

[ohwaitimthewriter]

Ner naak (My peace)

Pairing: Din Djarin x earthling!reader

Warnings: None

Summarize: Din Djarin meets you, an earthling, with no idea of the existence of an outer space.

Words count: 1617

A/n: Enjoy your reading!

Ner naak Masterlist // The Mandalorian Masterlist

Life sometimes manifested itself in strange ways. Even for Din. And he didn't expect to wake up with a tray of freshly prepared food at his disposal. You had even written him a note describing every single food on the plate. "French pastries are the basis of a successful breakfast" you wrote and if he had no idea what the "French" part meant, he heard his stomach growling at the simple sweet, slightly perfumed smell of the pastries. 

The day could only start well and Grogu was already enjoying swallowing little choux buns topped with sugar balls. Din chuckled at him gently before grabbing one and twirling it between his gloved fingers.

" Let me have some of it. "he said before sliding the food under his helmet into his mouth.

And he let a long, satisfied sigh escape. When was the last time he had eaten something so good? There was something special about earthly food, was it because it had been a long time since Din had been able to enjoy the flavours of a good meal? He could never get tired of it and he ate another one. He had to ask you what it was but he had just placed it as one of his favourites. 

And then he noticed something else on the little note you had left him. A little note that made him frown. What did you mean when you said, "P.s. Sorry, I had to. » ? A little shot of adrenaline reminded him that maybe he had let his guard down a little too quickly and a little too long. It was only then that he heard voices other than yours rising from the outside of the ship. 

He didn’t think twice, the ramp of the ship opened and he turned towards Grogu before leaving.

"Stay there and don't eat everything. "He said to Grogu, who had no intention of listening to him. 

Within a few steps Din found himself outside and suddenly found it hard to understand what was going on. 

A small group of young people around you were studying the plans you and Din had drawn. Some of them were impatient, others were so focused that they didn't hesitate to scold those who weren't being serious. 

Something was eluding him and he thought that his little stay on earth had made his brain weak. Since when did he let himself be so easily surprised? And to tell the truth, at that very moment you were surprising him too. 

You didn't notice Mando right away. He wasn't doing much to be noticed either, he was confused enough to ask for the attention of five unknown people. But you didn't have a choice. 

The night had not been very restful. The conversation you had the night before with Mando had gone round and round in your head and between the sprawling galactic monsters landing on Earth and the army coming in tanks, your mind had other things to do than rest. And those disturbing dreams hadn't helped your anxiety, so you decided you needed to pick up the pace. But speeding up without a work crew was a tricky thing to do. 

Life had a really strange way of showing itself sometimes and until now, you probably never thought to ask for help to repair this ship. Help other than what Mando was already giving you. You had been far too aware of the danger it could represent, for you, for Mando, for Grogu... but what was better? Revealing his presence to students in whom you trusted partially? Or to be discovered by the police? 

It wasn't a good idea, you knew that. And you hadn't taken the time to discuss it with Mando either. It was more of a decision taken on a whim and you would surely regret it later, but today, thanks to the students you had carefully selected, the repairs were going to be a good step forward. And the sooner the ship would be able to fly, the sooner Mando and Grogu would be safe, away from Earth.

In other words, you were reassuring yourself as best you could. 

You didn't know if those dreams had been the trigger or if the lack of sleep had caused some neurons to break down, but in the early morning you woke up with an awful realization: it was much bigger than you. And no matter how full-grown you were, no matter how thoughtful and composed you were, this morning it was all too much. And sharing this secret with almost grown-up people was probably the only way to relieve the pressure you had put on yourself. 

So there you were, explaining as best you could to five of your students the tasks they were going to be assigned to repair the ship. But that wasn't the most complicated part. You had to deal with your students' reaction to the ship and nothing in your studies to become a teacher prepared you for that.

"Well, can we focus for five minutes? "You asked them as one student had been trying for a solid two minutes to calm down his friend who still couldn't believe his eyes. 

"Ma'am, can you believe it?! "He exclaimed, "A real one! »

"Get over it, it's not as cool as Star Trek's USS Entreprise NCC-1701-E. "His friend who never seemed very impressed with the Razor Crest commented. 

"I wish you knew my courses as accurately as that." you smiled slightly. "Good, you'll start by gathering all the material listed in here," and you gave them each a piece of paper. " you get to work and... be respectful. " You glance at them briefly before finishing. " Croissants and chouquettes as much as you like in the car." 

And you knew that their motivation had just been boosted to the max. You got up and only then you spotted Mando near the ship. And his whole body was more tense than a tree trunk. And the trickiest part of your hasty decision had just begun: persuading Mando that your potentially bad idea wasn't such a bad idea. 

Your students didn't seem to have noticed him yet, they were far too busy eating pastries and it seemed that a croissant was more important than a spaceship piloted by the Galactic Daft Punk cousin. Ah those students!

It was just that a little anxiety was making your stomach heavier. From what you could see Mando didn't seem the most delighted to have a bunch of young people he didn't know around his Razor Crest but hopefully he would understand. 

"It wasn't planned." He said, his voice muffled by the helmet. 

"I know. And as much as I would have loved to have the Crest all to myself, sometimes you have to be realistic." You said, and you were looking forward to his reaction. 

"You're not realistic. You're worried. That' s not the same thing. "

And for the first time, you observed Mando withdraw into himself. He wasn't very talkative already, but it seemed to you that you had managed to win his sympathy.  You had seen him trust you gradually and you feared you had taken ten steps backwards, whereas you had only taken two in the same direction.

And then you felt a pinch of irritation tickle your nerves. His words had not been well received and it would have been hard for Mando to miss the annoyance expressed by the hardened features of your face. Your posture had changed too. Your arms, which were usually open, had just crossed over your chest, your usually relaxed and loose shoulders were now tensed and stiff, and even your chest, which was usually light and sometimes delicate, now looked much stronger. You showed a disconcerting self-confidence and Din made the pleasant discovery that you were not the type to let yourself be stepped on.

But this was not the time to dwell on your new confidence.

"Indeed, I am worried for you and I think that the situation has been sufficiently addressed for you to understand that I will never be able to get you out of this rotten planet to the bone without any help. "And the features of your face softened again. "Look, yes, that wasn't planned, and I'm not asking you to trust them, but for your, "you paused before correcting" if you want to leave Earth in one piece, we must work faster." 

Mando sighed heavily. You saw him lower his head slightly, as if he was thinking about the pros and cons. He was nervous. You could see that and you suspected a rather complicated past in relation to other people, perhaps one or two betrayals, and he was thinking over and over again until he nodded silently. 

"You know this world better than I do. I trust you, but I won't go easy on them. "He granted and he saw you relax completely, the hint of annoyance had completely disappeared and he recognized you in your kindness.

"Don't worry, they are students, there is nothing more resilient. "You gave him a little smile before gently placing your hand on his forearm in a friendly gesture. "They won't bother you, I'll make sure of that." 

Mando nodded again and before you could go back to repair the ship, he couldn't help but stop you for a moment, holding your arm.

"What's the name of the, huh, ‘French’ pastries you brought me?" he asked. 

" They're called 'chouquettes', why that?" 

"Do you have some more of them? Grogu... Grogu seems to like it." He justified himself. 

But you couldn’t be fooled. Grogu was certainly not the only one who liked them.

[do-y0u-have-to-let-it-linger]

Hi! Can I get a ship? I'm an INFP, straight girl with social anxiety. I listen to music all the time. (mostly rock) I never leave the house without my earphones. I enjoy movie nights, reading books (romance and mystery are my favourite genres), playing videogames, goofing around with my friends. My friends would describe me as kind, helpful and loyal. I'm really into photography. I wanted to be a photographer as a kid, but it's just a hobby nowadays. I'm a hopeless romantic and a night owl. It takes time for me to open up to people, but once I'm there I can be pretty talkative. I'm 5'8" tall, I have half long brown hair, dark brown eyes and I wear glasses. If I have to describe my style it would be somewhat 80s grunge. Thank you!

(tw: swearing and eating)

I ship you with Scott Summers!

You never got along very well with Scott Summers.

He always came across as a bit of a preppy asshole. Not that his preppy-ness was necessarily correlated to his asshole-ness, but it did seem to enhance it.

You may think that not getting along perfectly with some random boy who happened to live in the (large) building you live in is not much of a problem, but you are incorrect.

When your best friend (and dorm-mate) of ten years, Jean, is on a so-called "superhero team" with and is good friends with said boy, it is not exactly easy to avoid him.

Since Jean's biological family was not around, she made her own.

The first member of her so-called found family was you, who arrived just a day before she did. When she first entered your dorm, you were adjusting all of your newly unpacked trinkets. You were both young enough to immediately become friends, no questions asked, and your friendship stuck. You two tended to keep to yourselves and each other, until you two were older.

When Jean was invited to join the X-Men with some of her friends, you couldn’t have been prouder. The problem was that when you met this other part of her found family, it did not go well. None of you clicked whenever in the same room, and Scott immediately made fun of you the moment he met you. You ultimately decided to avoid her other friends, but be supportive of them. Not because you couldn’t handle Scott, but because you didn’t want to put Jean in a position where she had to choose between you and them. Overall, this just made Jean desperately want you and her other friends to get along.

"Come on, just sneak out with us this one time!" Jean was sitting on the edge of your bed, making puppy dog eyes at you and clasping her hands together.

She always tried to convince you to hang out with her friend group. Even if that meant, in this case, convincing you to break (very reasonable) rules with them.

"No. Absolutely not. Jubilee is going to try to 'catch me a man', and Scott's going to try to be funny but just end up making fun of me. Besides, why would I break school rules and steal a car for a trip to the mall?"

"Because you haven't seen Empire Strikes Back yet, and I bought you a ticket for 1:00 PM today."

"Shit. You're evil, you know that? This is unfair. You know me too well."

Jean beamed at you. "Thank you, I try. Now, get dressed, you're going to love this."

"I am dressed, and you can’t make demands. I’m the one being convinced here!"

"I will not be pestered by Jubilee's pleas to let her give you a makeover! Just throw on jeans instead of your sweatpants or something! Now chop, chop! We're leaving in 10 minutes!"

"I'm sorry, 10 minutes?"

"I knew if you had more than 15, you would change your mind. Meet me by the front door when you're ready to go!"

After Jean left your shared room, you threw on some different clothes and hastily grabbed everything you needed to go. With your sneakers in your hands, you ran into the school's kitchen and shoved a granola bar in your mouth. As you were hopping, trying to force your shoes on your feet, someone spoke from behind you.

"Well, you look elegant as ever."

You froze, squinted your eyes, and clenched your jaw. Well, as much as you could with the previously mentioned granola bar in your mouth.

Scott Summers.

You swallowed and turned around, plastering on a smile in preparation to respond to his sarcasm.

"Well, you know me, unwaveringly ethereal."

Once you finished your attempt to keep the peace, your grin dropped off your face and you went to tie on your shoes, occasionally having to push your glasses back up your nose as you did so.

Jean then started talking to you while making her way into the kitchen.

"Come on, we need to go before Charles's class ends- well, well, well, look at you two!" she spoke in a sing-song tone at the end.

"Trust me, there's no 'you two' here." Scott hissed at her. Hissed! The audacity, would it be so terrible for him to be theoretical friends with you?

"Calm down, I just mean that I'm glad you two are talking," Jean said. "But we need to go. Like- now."

Jean then grabbed you by the arm and started to pull you out of the room, wiggling her eyebrows at Scott on the way out. Scott got up to trail behind you two, if he could glare at people with the glasses he wore, then he would have been glaring at her.

You elbowed Jean in the side and whisper shouted at her.

"What was that? What was the purpose of the eyebrow wiggle?"

"What eyebrow wiggle? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're a menace to society, you know that?"

"I am aware that you don't actually think I'm a menace, but I appreciate the compliment." She leaned down and messed up your hair. "Now let's move it!"

When you got to the minivan you were all "borrowing" from Charles, most everyone was already there. Kurt, Jubilee, and Peter took the back seats, and Ororo was sitting in the driver's seat.

You walked to sit shotgun, but Jean sped up to beat you to the seat.

Suspicious.

Squinting at her, you went to sit in the middle row, where Scott also made to sit.

It was silent for the first minute of the drive until Jubilee tried to strike up a conversation.

"So! Y/N, I'm so glad you decided to hang out with us! I love your outfit. Ooh! Peter, hand me my bag! I have a scrunchie that will match perfectly."

Peter looked at her with mock disbelief. "Yeah. dude, make me reach behind my seat and into the trunk of the car."

Kurt clearly did not want to be part of this conflict.

Jubilee smiled sweetly at Peter. "Shut up and grab me my bag, please?"

Peter sighed half-sarcastically. "Yes ma'am."

Well, Jean's friends were just as you remember (aka slightly crazy).

You heard Jean's voice in your mind "If you don't wear that scrunchie it will genuinely hurt Jubilee's feelings, and I will never forgive you."

You looked at her through the mirror and raised your eyebrows.

Jubilee's voice took back your attention. "Here it is! Scotty, I can't reach. Can you hand this to her?"

Scott visibly winced at the nickname "Scotty" but handed you the scrunchie anyway. After trying to hide your amusement at the use of "Scotty", you attempted to put your hair up with the scrunchie, and you saw Jean smile. You were determined to make friends with these people for Jean.

"Thanks, Jubilee," You smiled at her. "So, how do I look?"

Scott chimed in immediately. "Like you're twelve."

"Ok, shut up Scott. You look cool, Y/N." Ororo gave you a thumbs up from the front seat. They were all clearly told to make friends with you by Jean in the same way you were. Well... told or threatened. Who's to say.

The car ride was awkward, to say the least. When you finally arrived at the mall and exited the car, you felt like you could finally breathe. You spoke first while you were all walking into the mall.

"So, how are we planning on killing time before Empire?"

"Well, Jubilee wanted to pick up some more eyeshadow with me, and Peter, Kurt, and Ororo are probably going to buy even more colored leather jackets," Jean said.

"Where does that leave me and your wallflower?" Scott asked Jean. You turned to look at him, attempting to make your lack of amusement clear. "What?" He shrugged, "It's true!"

"Ok, first of all, she's not actually that shy, you're just mean. Second of all, I was hoping you two could go into the book shop together until we're done."

Your eyes widened as you turned to Jean, silently begging her not to leave you and Scott alone.

"What? Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy? Maybe I thought you would try to get along because you both love me and I want you to be friends!"

Scott responded first. "You're totally guilt-tripping us right now."

"Yes!" Jean responded. "Yes I am, and you better be feeling guilty. Now, we're all going inside, and you are going into that bookstore together, you are going to bond over your cheesy dreams about falling in love, and, Scott, you are going to be kind! Or I will be very upset!"

You and Scott looked at each other (slightly afraid) before you turned to Jean and nodded your head at her.

"Ok. Let's go, Scott." You looked at him and he nodded at you both of you then started to head to the bookstore.

In the door of the shop, you glanced at him awkwardly. "So... is there a specific section you want to visit? Or-"

"Uh, I usually just... wander." He was bouncing on his heels.

"Oh! Ok, uh... where you lead I will follow!"

He spun around and started to walk aimlessly, actually trying to make conversation.

"So- you take photos?"

"...How did you know that?"

"I've seen you. That sounds creepy, I just mean that I saw you with a camera once when you walked Jean to training. It seemed nice. Only a dumbass would own a nice camera and not use it."

"How kind of you to not see me as a dumbass," you mumbled as you ran your hand across the book binds. "Do you have any hobbies?"

"Not really to be honest. Well, actually- I like... cars."

"...Cars. Huh. Elaborate."

"My brother, his name is Alex, taught me how to fix up cars when I was younger. Ooh- recently we found this beautiful 1962 AMC Rambler- I mean, it was basically a pile of garbage, but we're fixing it up."

"What's a Rambler?"

"W- 'What's a Rambler?'" He looked at you like you were speaking another language. "A 1962 AMC Rambler is only the car of my dreams!"

"The 'car of your dreams'?"

"Uh, yeah. What- do you not have a dream car?"

You laughed at him, "No? I don’t know that much about cars."

"You don’t have to know shit about cars to have a dream car! Come on, you don't have any car you would want to drive?"

"A school bus."

"...What do you mean."

"I mean- I bet I could live in a school bus. It's big, has a lot of windows, it's yellow." Scott was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"A school bus. Huh."

"I thought of that on the spot, it's not a long-term dream of mine."

"No, I see the appeal. I do think it's weird that you listed it being yellow as one of its positive attributes though."

"Holy shit. Holy shit!"

"What? What's the problem?"

You grabbed the book you spotted and held it out to him with your arms fully outstretched, it almost hit his nose. "Do you know what this is?"

Scott's hands appeared at the top of the book, and he pushed it down so you could see his confused expression. "A... book?"

"Very funny, Scotty, but no this is not just a book. This is a sequel."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "... 'Scotty'? I'm gonna kill Lee."

"Who's Lee?"

"Jubilee."

"If you can call her 'Lee' why can’t she call you 'Scotty'?"

"Because 'Scotty' makes me sound like I'm twelve!"

"Well, according to you, this scrunchie makes me look twelve. So I guess we're even, Scotty."

"I see why you and Jean are friends. You’re both evil."

"I called her evil not 10 minutes ago! Look at us, 'bonding' and all."

"Speaking of a 10 minutes ago, and that whole 'twelve' thing, I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry for calling you twelve... and a wallflower. You seem... neat."

"Thanks... I think."

"Neat is a good thing."

"I'm kinda messy actually."

"I meant neat as in like- cool. Plus, you’re the first friend-ish person I've had that also wears glasses!"

You smiled at each other for a moment.

This was amusing.

He was amusing.

Unfortunately, someone popped the bubble encasing you and Scott. "Wow, 'friendish'? That's an upgrade from them low-key hating each other."

You whipped your head around to see Peter and Jean standing on the other side of the aisle, clearly having been observing and talking about you.

Scott spoke first. "How long have you two been standing there?"

"Long enough," Jean smiled. "You two get along."

"...So?" Scott asked.

"So, about an hour ago that seemed completely impossible."

An hour? That couldn’t be possible. "Wait, what time is it?"

Jean responded. "12:45, you’ve sure been chatting for a long time."

Scott cleared his throat and turned to you, "So, uh, you should buy that book, and then we should head to the movie theater room thingie."

You looked back at him. "Yeah! Ok, so... yeah."

After you and Scott walked away, Peter leaned over to whisper to Jean. "Well, that was a long glance. We've really gotta lock 'em in a closet together or something."

Jean shoved Peter, and you all went about your mall trip as you did before, except that now you might have a new friend... ish.

[fandomlovingfreak]

Healing His Heart (12/?)

Young Remus Lupin/Reader

Rating: E for Everyone

Word Count: 1715

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link I Tiktok Link

Summary: (y/n) is two years younger than him, a popular Slytherin, and Regulus Black’s best friend. Yet he can’t help but be attracted to her bewitching personality and sweet smile. Unfortunately, his er–problem makes it harder to get close to others. Despite his attempts to push her away (for her own good) she seems determined to worm her way into his life.

Enjoy

"What're you two so happy about?" Sirius asks the next morning. Something about his eyes says he knows what went down last night. Remus chooses to ignore it, sitting down next to (y/n).

"I was just telling (y/n) about one of the times I threw a stick, and you ran to get it before realizing what you've done."

"That was only once!" Sirius frowns, taking a large bite of his breakfast.

James chuckles into his pumpkin juice.

"The fact that it happened at all--" Remus pulls (y/n) to his side, grabbing a piece of toast off the platter.

Sirius pouts, "change the subject."

"Quit teasing him, Rem," (y/n) steals the piece of toast from his hand.

"Hey!" Remus watches as she takes a bite, "I was eating that!"

"Bummer," (y/n) finishes off the toast.

"(y/n)," Regulus walks up to the table, "ready for Potions?"

"Oh! I have to run back to my dorm to get my notes. I'll meet you there?"

"You should probably get going then."

(y/n) rolls her eyes, "yeah, yeah." She turns her attention back towards Remus, "see you later?"

"Library?"

(y/n) brushes her lips against his temple, "of course."

He watches her as she rushes out of the Great Hall. Maybe he's stared too far too long where she's disappeared because he hears Sirius's dramatic gasp. 

Remus turns towards his friend just as Sirius whisper yells, "You two slept together!"

"What?  How-- ?" James and Peter look at him with shock. He brushes his fingers through his bangs.

"How do I know?" Sirius laughs, "you two are not discrete whatsoever."

"I thought we were incredibly discrete--"

"Moons, you had your hands all over her all of breakfast. You're usually a bit more reserved than that."

"That's not a good enough reason to know that--" He flushes.

"Well..." Sirius makes a face, "I may have overheard the two of you last night..."

"You? What? Sirius!" Remus is-- appalled? Embarrassed? 

"I didn't stick around, nor did I interrupt! You should be thanking me. If it had been James, he definitely would've barged in without thinking."

"Hey! I would have not!" James elbows Sirius, "I wouldn't have, I promise Moons. It's Peter you should be worried about if you're doing that sort of activity in the dorm."

"Where else would I--?" He stops himself, unsure if he wants to know their answers but somewhat curious despite his reservation.

"Empty classrooms, closets," Sirius names places on his fingers.

"The common room in the early morning," James joins in.

"Hold up? Was that what that noise was last month at two A.M.?" Sirius asks, looking impressed with his friend.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," James hides a smirk behind his pumpkin juice.

"Yeah, I'm not having sex in any of those places." Maybe it's the ridiculous romantic in him, but he can't imagine doing anything sexual outside of a bedroom. Besides, (y/n) deserved even the little bit of romance he could put together in their current environment.

Sirius raises his eyebrows, obviously not convinced, "sometimes there are no other options."

He snorts, "I think I can control myself enough to get back to the dorm."

The other two exchange a look, seeming like they don't entirely believe that declaration.

***

"I have a brilliant prank to pull on the Slytherins," Sirius whispers to him in class.

Remus half hears this as he frantically scribbles down notes, "yeah?"

"Are you listening?" Sirius hisses.

Remus makes a noise in the back of his throat, hoping it seems like he is.

"Moony!" Sirius elbows him.

"Mister Black!" McGonagall's shrill voice rings through the classroom.

Sirius looks up sheepishly, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you have something to tell the class?"

"No, ma'am." He smiles in her direction.

"Good. Do you know the answer to the question I just asked?"

"No, ma'am..."

"Pity. How about you, Mister Lupin?"

"Gamp."

"Excellent. Perhaps if you paid a little more attention, Mister Black, you'd have known the answer."

"Sorry..." Sirius's usually pale cheeks are stained pink.

Remus gives him a look, going back to his notes.

"I'll tell you aft--" 

Sirius is shut up by a shrill, "Mister Black!"

"Sorry, ma'am..."

***

"What was the brilliant prank that almost got you detention?" Remus asks as they're walking from Transfiguration.

"Oh yeah! I thought it would be hilarious to charm their robes to look like Gryffindor robes. Reg was acting like the worst thing that could possibly happen to him would be being forced to wear Red and Gold... and well, I want to make the nightmare true."

"That's your whole plan?"

"Do you not think its great?" Sirius scoffs.

"I dunno. It seems pretty harmless, honestly." Their pranks had been legendary their entire time at Hogwarts. Why stop at a simple charm? "it would be more brilliant if we charmed them to be invisible." The words leave his lips before he can stop them. This could be pushing the limits of pranking.

Sirius grins, smacking him affectionately on the shoulder, "you're a genius, Moons! That would be perfect!"

Remus worries his lip between his teeth, feeling like he couldn't take back the words. The idea was in Sirius's head now, and once Sirius caught the scent of an idea that he liked, he tended not to let it go.

***

The prank logistics are laid out in the deep, dark night in the Gryffindor Common Room. Once the final fourth-year girl, with a stack of books the size of a mountain, leaves the common room, the boys huddle together at the table.

"I've researched the spell. It shouldn't be too difficult," Sirius lays out a book with the instructions for the spell.

Remus stares down at the book with the rest of them. He can't believe that Sirius had taken the time-- well, actually, he isn't that surprised he took the time and effort for this prank. Sirius always seemed to choose any distraction over school.

"Who's going to cast it?" Peter asks, looking nervous.

"I will, of course." Sirius grins.

"When?" James pulls the book towards him, moving his glasses up his nose.

"After dessert."

***

"You can't tell (y/n) anything!" Sirius looks at him seriously.

"I'm definitely not letting you turn my girlfriend's robes invisible, Pads." Remus leans back in his chair. The thought of anyone seeing her the way he gets to irritates him.  Nope, it's not happening.

"How--"

"I'll get her to sit by us. I refuse to let you prank her like that."

Sirius sighs, "fine. You know you're acting awfully protective for after the Full Moon."

Remus frowns, "She's my girlfriend! How can you blame me?"

Sirius makes a disgusted noise, "you're no fun in a relationship."

***

Remus watches as (y/n) walks down the hallway towards him. Just as she's passing by, he tugs her into the dark corner.

(y/n) nearly screams in surprise, but he covers her mouth with his hand. She stares up at him for a second before she registers it's just him. Remus removes his hand from her mouth, smiling sheepishly.

"What in the world are you doing?" she lightly smacks his chest.

"Don't wear your robes tonight at dinner, love." Remus pulls at her sleeve.

(Y/n) frowns, "what do you mean don't wear my robes to dinner? What are you scheming, Remus Lupin?"

He grins, "just trust me. Actually, come and sit by me tonight at dinner just in case."

"What are you planning, Remus?" Her frown deepens.

"Can't tell you. Would ruin all the fun."

"Nothing about what you're saying sounds like fun."

"Just— sit with me tonight. I'll give you one of my spare robes—"

"You think your spare robes," she tries not to smile, "is going to fit me? I'll be tripping every other step. Have you not recognized I am shorter than you?"

"I can fix that—"

"My god, Remus. What the hell are you planning?"

"I can't have you ruining the fun."

"So you're scheming against my house then?"

He laughs, "you'll see. Just follow me. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire."

"You're ridiculous, you know."

"I am very aware."

**

She is drowning in the robes he gives her. But he kind of likes it. Likes seeing her in his clothing, even if it is funny how the sleeves cover her hands. With a wave of his wand, he shrinks the robes just enough to look presentable.

"This is so stupid. I look ridiculous."

He wraps his arms around her waist, leaning his chin against her shoulder as she examines the robes in the mirror.

"What do you mean? They fit better now."

(Y/n) rolls her eyes, "I mean—  Gryffindor ? It doesn't look right on me at all."

Remus rolls his eyes, "that's the problem?"

"Of course," she turns around in his arms, "I've never been a fan of red."

Remus laughs, pulling her close to press his lips against hers. 

"Oi! What're ya doing?" James walks into the room with Sirius and Peter close behind.

"What does it look like?" Remus growls back.

"Wait—  is (y/n) wearing Gryffindor robes ?" Sirius comes closer to examine the familiar red fabric.

"Unfortunately." (Y/n) quips back.

"You told her!" James points an accusing finger at Remus.

"I told her nothing. Just don't want the two of you hexing my girlfriend."

"So we're dressing her up as one of our own then, eh?" Sirius laughs, pulling at her sleeve. 

(y/n) pulls her arm away from him, squinting. "What are you planning to do?"

James and Sirius share a look, "we are  not  telling you. You'd run off to little Reggie the moment we did. Gotta make sure she doesn't runoff. Keep an eye on her."

"Like Remus will let go of her for even a moment." James snickers.

"Shut up," Remus, though, doesn't let go of (y/n) 's hand.

***

Remus had attempted to pull her onto his lap at dinner, to which (y/n) shoved him away with a laugh. "As if Lupin."

"It was worth the try."

No one really notices (y/n) is at the Gryffindor table, too used to the Marauders doing as they please. 

And true to what Sirius had joked about, Remus didn't keep his hands from her at all. Usually, his hand resting on the top of her thigh, but occasionally he moved it to hold her hand in his or rest his hand next to hers, making sure they were touching at all times. 

Around dessert, Remus, Sirius, and James share a look before Sirius is snickering. He says something under his breath, waving his wand under the table, and— 

Peals of shrieks come from the Slytherin table.

(Y/n) sits up straighter trying to see what's happening at her house's table. One girl ducks down under the table, a few of the guys try to cover up—

"What did you do?" She looks over at Remus, obviously demanding an answer.

"A simple hex that turns clothing invisible—"

"Remus!" (Y/n) stands from the bench, "why would you do this?" She looks at James and Sirius, looking for an explanation from them.

"Don't look at us! It was your boyfriend's idea—"

Fuck.

"I would expect cruelty from those two," her burning eyes turn towards him, "but I would never have assumed you would think up something so horrible, Remus Lupin."

Maybe it's the disappointment in her eyes or how clearly she displays her outrage, but he feels cold shame run down his body.

"(Y/n)—it was a harmless prank—"

"Harmless?" Her voice has an edge of rage in the tone, "what is harmless about this? Do you really think  public humiliation is harmless ?"

"No, but—"

"What the fuck else is this besides cruelty? You're seventeen years old! What is funny about embarrassing children to you?"

He opens his mouth then closes it, not being able to figure out how to respond to that. James and Sirius begin to laugh.

"And you!" She turns her rage towards them. They immediately shut up, "Sirius!  That's your brother!  And James, I don't have any words for you. You're such an ass. All four of you should be ashamed of yourselves." She climbs over the bench, stomping out of the Great Hall. The rest of the hall, minus the Slytherin's have stopped eating, all attention on the Marauders.

"(Y/n)!" Remus tries to scramble after her but is stopped by McGonagall's stern voice.

"Sit down, Mr. Lupin." He turns around, feeling like he's been dunked in an ice bath, "Based on Ms. (y/l/n) 's outburst, I can infer this prank was the work of the four of you, am I correct?"

James, Sirius, and Peter nod slowly. He feels numb. "As Ms. (y/l/n) has already said everything I would have.  Quite a bit angrier than I would have dared to . I am sure you understand the severity of your actions and the punishment that comes. I'll see the four of you in detention every Sunday for a month, then."

**

"I can't believe she—" Sirius is enraged over (y/n)'s yelling after the prank.

"She wasn't wrong, Sirius," Remus's been trying to figure out what to do about (y/n) during the rest of dinner and as they walked back to the Gryffindor dorms. He feels  awful . There's no way she'll stay with him after this... It terrifies him to think he may have pushed away the...  love of his life.  And over a stupid prank of all things.

"What do you mean she wasn't wrong?" Sirius is pissed, but Remus knows he'll get over it. Even if (y/n) cost them their Sundays for a month, (y/n) is still like Sirius's little sister. 

"It was childish. A really stupid prank. Some of those kids are first years, Sirius."

Sirius considers this for a moment, "but we didn't prank her!"

"They're her friends... wouldn't you be angry if someone did something like that to one of us? Or to Gryffindor?"

"Well, obviously—"

"Then use your imagination to see why she's mad." Anger bubbles in his chest. He should never have suggested the  invisible part  of the prank. Sirius wanting to hex their robes to look like their own was enough! Why couldn't he control his damn tongue?

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter Four: E-Stim

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: Shane deals with the consequences of her email to her boss, both good and bad. A mortifying situation has an…unexpected outcome. Emotions run high in the fourth chapter of The Tx of Sy! Behind on the action? Catch up HERE! 

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Language, some angst and emotions. (Like I literally cried writing part of it) And like, an asshole boss…but if you stick it out with Susan, you won’t be disappointed.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

Tags:

@onlyhenrys

 @cavillryarchive

 @summersong69

 @titty-teetee

 @bloodyinspiredfuck

 @agniavateira

@oddsnendsfanfics

(you didn’t ask, but i took the liberty! Hope that’s okay!)

@tumblnewby @suavechops

Shane had spent her morning getting ready for work and treating her first patient with a whopping headache…maybe a small glass of wine would have been more responsible of her. But she slept like the dead, which was the goal.

She took a moment before her second patient to check her email…there was a reply from Susan.

Shane, come to my office at your next possible availability.

No "thank you" or "please" or "fuck you very much." just an order. Last she checked, SHE wasn't in the military. Since Heather wasn't in yet, she messaged the secretary on duty, Marsha, to see if she could find a way to make an opening in her morning. She wanted to get this meeting over with.

Sure, Shane. Looks like Cory could take your next patient, if you like. He's seen him before.

Perfect. Please make that change and block me for a meeting with Susan. Thank you so much.

She saw Cory walk by, and warned him. "Cory, I'm having Marsha move Mr. Greenbaum to you next hour. I need to meet with Susan about something." she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shit. Okay. No problem." Cory knew all too well the fuckery that a Susan meeting could entail.

"I really appreciate it. I owe you big time."

"Nah, Mr. G is cool. We just talk about huntin' and stuff."

"He'll probably like that we switched, then." she laughed. And headed for what felt like the principal's office. Bleak and miserable.

She knocked on the door, and was told in an all too cheerful manner to come in.

"Hey!"

"Morning Susan."

"Close the door and have a seat, Shane."

She typed away for a moment before fully engaging…as was her way. She thought it gave her the power. It really just annoyed the fuck out of everyone.

"So, tell me what's going on with this patient you emailed me about."

"Well, he's an ACL and MCL tear, traumatic, plus a dislocated patella. He did it during a mission in Iraq. Ummm, he's improving a lot. Potter did the surgery. He had him keep the crutches about two weeks longer than we thought he would, but--"

"No I mean…this relationship. What's the deal, here?"

"Oh, there's not much to say about it, really. He's been fairly flirty from pretty early on. I've been able to ignore it, but to be honest, I think he's a really great guy, and I think he deserves better than me ignoring his advances, especially when, to be honest Susan, the feelings he has for me are not unrequited." her heart was racing. More than if Sy had been in the room flirting with her, but so much less pleasant.

"I don't think you should see this guy until the treatment is over. What if it doesn't work out and he doesn't want to come here anymore because of you." That hurt…not that it wasn't rattling around in her head, too.

"Well, Susan, to be honest, that's one reason I haven't spoken up about this already. I have that fear. But he's been very adamant about it lately, and it's been on my mind a lot, and I think I owe it to the both of us to see it through."

"I think I should call this guy. Let me pull him up."

She gave her his details to get his information pulled up in their system. God, this was embarrassing. She should have known this nightmare was coming.

"Hello?" a gravelly bark came across the speakerphone.

"Hello, Mr. Syverson?"

"Captain Syverson, yes, Ma'am." She wasn't expecting him to pull rank…and he did it so politely.

"Sorry, Captain Syverson. My name is Susan DeForrest, I'm the manager here at Fort Wood Therapy Clinic. How are you this morning?"

"This side of the daisies ain't worth complainin. What can I do ya for, ma'am?"

"Well, I have Miss Benton, your therapist here in a meeting. You're on speaker."

"Hey Sy." Shane mewled sheepishly.

"Hey there, Shane." she could hear the smile in his voice. She didn't know if Susan could.

"She's saying that the two of you would like to see each other socially, outside of therapy."

"Oh, that's not quite the words I'd use, ma'am, but I s'pose you're technically correct."

"And she's explained to you that this facility has a policy in place regarding such fraternization?" What a load of bullshit she was shoveling. Making it sound so sinister and clandestine what she and Sy were trying to start up. Like espionage. This woman…

"I'm aware that certain policies exist like that to protect patients or customers, and more frequently the staff from situations that could present problems for both or either parties. I am not aware that a strict policy exists to police your staff in such a stringent manner. In fact, I know the opposite to be true."

"Excuse me?" Susan asked, shell shocked.

"See, them policies o' yours, they're all available online. Public knowledge. Even your personnel ones. Now, y'all have a nice and thorough handbook, I mean, I have been up all night just pouring over this like honey on toast, and I can tell you, I ain't findin' a word about y'all not being allowed to date your patients."

"Well, it's in policy number…"

"Nope, you were gonna say 47, subsection 2, part b. But that just says that you shouldn't treat anyone you're close to (i.e. friend, relative, or significant other) if you can't maintain objectivity or your own comfortability. Now, if I'd make Shane uncomfortable, or if she lost her objectivity over me, I'd be devastated. Shane, do I or do you think I could make you uncomfortable or unobjective?" he was laying it on so thick. If she hadn't been falling for him, this would have done it.

"I don't think so, Sy." She held back a smile…but not well.

"There ya have it. Miss DeForrest, I trust that Shane is free to live her life in the way she sees fit?"

"Well, I still think she should wait…" Susan started, but was cut off again by Sy.

"Because you see, I've seen a lot of young people fail to grow old. A lot of people waitin' to do things…they never ended up doin'. This life…it can be real, real short, Miss DeForrest. And I'm not keen on waitin' to be happy when I could be happy right now. Have I made myself clear enough for you? Or do I need to go to the next link in the chain of command here?" The emotion and resolve in his voice was completely shattering. He wasn't crying. But Shane and Susan both were. And then suddenly, Susan sniffed herself into composure and answered him with dignity.

"No, Captain Syverson. That will not be necessary. Shane…is free, of course, to socialize with whomever she sees fit so long as it doesn't affect anyone's treatment adversely. Thank you for your time, candor, and perspective, sir."

"I'm glad to help Shane. She's helped me more than any therapist I've ever had. We clicked immediately. I knew she was somethin' special. But getting to know her over the last few weeks has shown me what true happiness could feel like…I'd forgotten that over in Iraq. She gave that back to me. I'd like to thank her properly."

"I think she'd like that too. Thank you, sir." Susan hung up the phone without letting them say goodbye to each other, but Shane was an utter mess, and unable to form coherent words right now, anyway.

"Wow." Susan exclaimed.

"Yeah." Shane sniffed into a tissue, dabbing her eyes and then blowing her nose loudly, and unapologetically.

"Did he say he spent the whole night reading our policies?" Susan asked, not sure she heard him right.

"That's what I understood." Shane was somehow not surprised.

"Did you tell him to do that?"

"I didn't even know the policies were online, nor did I know you'd pull him in to our meeting…I didn't even know we were having one until twenty minutes ago."

"Right…fair. Sorry, I'm still…off-put by all of that." She had been beaten…and it wasn't familiar or comfortable.

"So, are we finished here?" Shane inquired, tentative about the state of mind her boss was in.

"Yes, go on and take the rest of the hour for continuing ed or whatever." She was normally much more composed…Sy had really gotten to her. She loved it.

Shane hurried back to her treatment room. She had to call him.

"Hello?" that same gravelly voice now confused as he'd just hung up with her, basically.

"May I speak to the great hero Captain Syverson, please?"

"Sunshine. How ya doin'?"

"Did you really stay up all night last night to read our entire employee manual?"

"I wanted the straight up, true life details about this policy that could mess up my future."

"I think you broke my boss's brain. She was still stewing when I left. She thought I told you where to find all that and what not. I didn't even know you could find it online. Plus, I didn't know we'd be meeting or that she'd drag you into a personnel matter. She's the worst. And you're literally my hero for beating her down like you did."

"Hey, ya know, she started it. I just finished it."

"You sure did. And how!"

"So…since we're all legal now…"

"Is the magic gone since it's not forbidden?" she laughed.

"Oh, I was gonna say, yeah, I think this may be a mistake. Sorry."

They both giggled.

"I'm free after work on Friday." she suggested.

"Not anymore, you're not. Bring some nice clothes and change when you're done. I'll pick you up after. Just text me when you're about ready?"

"You haven't given me your number, Sy."

"It's in my chart, dork."

"You have to officially give it to me."

"Oh I'll give it to ya, baby." He'd dug deep into the bass part of his register for that one.

"Syyyyy." she groaned.

"Oh, you already know I like it when you say my name."

"I'm being serious right now, what's your damn number or the date is off." She bluffed.

"Not because I believe that idle threat, but because I wanna…give it to ya." he rattled off the number.

"Okay, I'll be texting you with mine. Now, I have work today, so if you text me and don't get an immediate response, you know that's why."

"I'm not your only patient? I'm hurt, Shane."

"I know, that's why you've been coming to therapy for weeks."

"Har-Har, good thing I'm not into you for your sense of humor."

"Good thing I'm not into you for your looks, since 80% of your face is obscured by hair."

"We could go all day like this."

"The stamina." she teased.

"Well, look who joined the game!" he sounded almost proud.

"Don't think I haven't been participating silently for…a while."

"How long?" he inquired

"Isn't that my line?" she laughed at the penis joke she'd just made.

"You'll find out soon enough, and you won't be laughing. How long?"

"Well, you remember your evaluation."

"I do."

"Yeah…then." she bleated, too shy to say so with pride.

"No way! You mean you've liked me all this time too! And haven't said shit!?"

"I had to be professional, Sy! I didn't want to! Damn! You've gotta know how much I didn't want to be professional."

"I'll forgive ya, I guess, lil' lady."

"Merciful of you, sir!" she chuckled. "I'll need to go here soon. Won't be long now until my next one gets here."

"Tease me with a 'sir' then cut me off. Cruel."

"You like 'sir,' huh?" she whispered.

"I do. Yes…I…do."

"Noted. Well, until tomorrow."

"Don't forget to text me. I want you to give it to me too." he chuckled.

"Oh, you're bad."

"But, I'm real, real good sunshine." The deep rich promise in his voice did not go unnoticed.

"Bye Sy."

"Later Shane."

She hung up and texted him immediately. A selfie. He replied in kind. He seemed to be home on his couch, Aika by his side…he was not wearing a shirt…well…this day would be eternal.

Up Next: Chapter Five- Sensory Integration 1

[ask-impure-vessel]

Vessel, do you know how you'll ask Monomon for answers? There are a few others I am aware of who are very likely to have the knowledge you need, but the risks are much higher. Do be careful, O Vessel...

That... Is going to be a problem. What other people would even have that kind of information? Wouldn't this one still have the same problem with communication?

Hallow entered the archives, surprisingly quiet for their large size and heavy ceremonial armor. They found a chalkboard and chalk with an eraser wipe! Score!

They carry this deeper into the archive where a large jellyfish and a pillbug were going over a large vat of acid, reading the information stored within.

The knight approached them. "Oh, ma'am, look! It's the Hollow Knight! What an odd thing. Aren't you usually with the king or a guard?" The pillbug greeted cheerfully.

"Oh my. Its form is even more magnificent in person. I'll have to apologize to the king for not observing the vessel in person sooner." The jellyfish spoke dreamily.

The knight held the board steady and carefully wrote.

'King business/idea given/mindlight needed/idea lacking/seal fail/vessel fail/help please'

The writing is terrible. It seems the writing system in Hallownest is a bit different than English! It seems more akin to ideograms than a syllabary.

She reads this several times. "This is very rough writing. I wonder how someone got it to memorize this. It's not a very good prank."

"May I see ma'am? I deal with grub writing a lot and I am quite used to beginner mistakes unlike yourself." The pillbug offers. She hands it off.

This must be Monomon and one of her students. This one is lucky indeed.

The pillbug began to make sounds like he is about to be ill. "Ma'am... I don't think this is a prank. I think the ah. Vessel is trying to communicate with us. I believe the king has sent them to us to help them? You cannot be seal anymore? Is that right?" The pillbug asked with horror.

The vessel hung their head in shame and nodded their head. The jellyfish made panicky sounds. "Oh! Oh oh oh! This is-! Let me go find-Quirrel, can you try to ask them what idea?" She flew to a shelf and started rifling through stone tablets and acid tanks.

"Erm. Can you try to explain?"

'Godlight seeker clan?/Abyss voidgod'

"Oh, I see now why you'd come to us for looking for that. Ma'am, I'm off to the restricted section."

"Lock on your way out!". Monomon called to him.

Anxiety coiled in the knight's stomach. This seemed too easy. Was this too easy?

The knight erased the message before the Teacher came back. For some reason, they don't feel like they should trust her. They instead write something else.

'other vessels/soul sanctum misfire/mindlight instill'

"Oh. Those damn fools. The king should have shut that place down years ago." She muttered.

She read over tablets that the vessel could not read but had a cross section of a vessel and anatomical studies as well as diagrams of some kind of flow. The knight nervously backs away from the morbid reading.

"Vessel. Allow me to examine your mask." She spoke cheerfully.

The vessel bent their head up. "Oh, what incredible craftsmanship the Wyrm conceived." She whispered and she pressed down on a few points that made lines appear on the vessel's mask appear. "Brilliant mage craft. Such genius bindings, yet some are inactive? Here's where our bindings would interface. Here's where the learning boost went. The guard against mental intrusion with careful exceptions... I see. He guarded the vessel so jealously. And you still bear the seal of subservience and his personal mark. It wasn't. Good enough and yet you are here, instead of disposed of. Why?"

"Ma'am?" Quirrel called quietly. "The um. Knight's body language seems very uncomfortable with you holding them like that."

"Oh. Is it? I suppose that means it is an impure vessel, then. Looks like I won't be a Dreamer after all." She spoke cheerfully. "Ahhh, I wish it had been just a few more years earlier." She patted the vessel. "Sorry if I scared you."

She breathed in. Breathed out. Strange on a jellyfish. "Quirrel."

"Yes, ma'am."

She seemed sad. "I'm going to check on some personal research in the black section. Go to the private room to discuss what you found for the vessel. They probably cannot read well."

She left them.

Monomon gives a terrible sense of impending disaster around her.

[thero0ks]

A Rose From Starrick’s Garden

I debated if I should post this oneshot. It is completely self indulgent, I couldn’t pick a plot line, and well I just wanted A LOT out of one fic. It’s complete trash, but hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Also, I am aware this fic is not cannon compliant at all, but just enjoy the dumpster fire of a fic I created :) 

The research Evie had trusted her with, had lead to another dead end. Defeated, she had shuffled through the train car in search of Evie to relay the bad news. Evie's voice indicated she was in the den, but another soft voice had Y/N pressing herself against the wall. 

Shame flooded her for a second, eavesdropping was rude, but her curiosity won over in the end. A small smile played at her lips at the bashful exchange between the two. The subtle flirting had her feeling giddy inside. In her mind Evie and Henry were a match made in heaven, and she'd been watching the romance blossom between the two. 

"Spying are we?" 

That smooth voice, tickling the shell of her ear made her jump. Her cheeks flamed red at being caught. It didn't help that the person who caught her had to be Jacob Frye of all people. The smug bastard would hold this over her head for weeks to come. 

"It's not what you think…"  

She knew it was a lame excuse, and by the quirk of his brow he conveyed that it was exactly what he thought. 

"I wonder how my dear ol' sis will take it when she finds out her best friend has taken up match making?" He pressed his gauntlet against the wall as he leaned close to her. "And when she finds out she's the main target."

The complete arrogance he conveyed had her shrinking against the wall. He was aware that he was in complete control of the conversation, and it amused him to no end to watch her squirm. 

"There aren't two people more perfect for each other…" She dared a glance up at him. Her statement seemed to briefly catch him off guard. He straightened, adjusting the lapels of his jacket. His next words were muttered under his breath. If her hearing wasn't so keen she would have missed it. 

"I can think of two people more deserving."

Before she could inquire further he had already made his presence known in the next room. Y/N could already feel the tension in the next room grow. Evie's obvious annoyance at her younger twin interrupting a shared moment with Henry.

"Careful Greenie, my sister seems to be having another fit again." 

"A fit you say?" 

Y/N made her way into the room to find Evie ready to explode. 

"You nearly wrecked England's economy!" She cried.

"Nearly Evie, key word." He said lounging on the sofa. 

"Nearly? If fath-" Y/N was quick to intercede. 

"Jacob was just about to brief me on a party Starrick will be attending." She said shooting a pointed glance at Jacob. 

Mirth danced in his eyes at the sight of Evie being worked up once again by his antics. "Yes, I was. A party your dear friend offered to go to in your place." 

Evie's shoulders relaxed a bit, "no rib crushing contraption for me then?" 

"Precisely." Y/N said with a nod. "Starrick is unaware of my involvement with the brotherhood, so it is possible that I may be able to glean some information from him."

Evie's eyes ran over her figure a moment, "with a bit of cleaning up I suppose you're exactly the type of woman Starrick would take an interest in."

"Yes, but how far are you willing to go for information?" Henry asked thoughtfully. "The most you could carry is a knife, which you would only have access to if you were…" Henry coughed, rubbing a hand up his neck. 

"I believe the word you're looking for is undressed Henry." Jacob chimed in. His voice was taut as he shifted into a sitting position on the couch. "Which at that point Starrick will put two and two together, and her throat will be slit faster than either of us can blink." 

"Then I'll go unarmed." Y/N said simply. 

"You expect us to let you walk in there unarmed and alone, right into Starricks arms?" Jacob inquired.

"I think the plan is bloody brilliant!" Evie said excitedly. "Think about it, if he decides he likes you he may start inviting you to other places as well." 

"A double agent infiltrating Templar ranks?" Henry interrupted, catching onto Evie's plan.

Jacob scoffed, "do you even realize what you're asking?" He said standing up, "you're asking your best friend to not only court the Templar Grandmaster, but warm his bed as well?" He cried, exasperated at Evie's schemes. "He could break her neck like a twig if he got the slightest hint that she's an assassin."

Evie rolled her eyes, "don't act like Y/N can't protect herself. She's a trained killer." 

"So is Starrick!" Jacob cried, throwing his hands up. "When she's caught in a Templar den, surrounded by a bunch of highly trained Templars her odds of survival drop to zero!"

"Oh just admit it Jacob, you can't stand the thought of another man touching her." Evie said brushing him off. 

Jacob froze, and Evie's shoulder's stiffened the moment she realized what she had said. "Jake, I didn't mean...it slipped." She said softly, as if she were trying to approach a startled deer. 

Jacob brushed past her, slamming the car door behind him. Y/N's jaw had gone slack as her eyes darted between Henry and Evie. 

Evie looked shameful, her hand covering her mouth as she sat down at the desk. She was still in shock over the secret she'd accidentally let slip.

"Evie..." Y/N began.

"You should get ready for the party." Evie's voice sounded hollow. "We've been waiting to infiltrate the Templars ranks for years. We can't waste this opportunity." Evie's crystal gaze seemed miles away. 

Y/N's eyes darted between Evie and Henry. He only offered her a shrug, as if this was another feud between the Fryes he'd rather not get involved in. With a sigh she left the two to scheme up their next plan. 

She could expect very little help from Evie with getting ready, which left her with only one option. Find a Rook willing to stuff her into a gown. 

She was lucky enough to find a few female Rooks occupying the bar car who agreed to assist.

White knuckles gripped the table as the lacings were pulled tight. "How tight do you want it ma'am?"

"As tight as it'll go." She gritted. She had concluded that Starrick's suspicions would be laid to rest if she appeared overtly vain. No assassin would dare to waltz into a ball in a contraption they couldn't breath in...right? 

The deep red satin skirt hung heavy on her hips, and the shoulder sleeves left her feeling bare and exposed. After inspecting her reflection in the mirror she concluded that she could appeal to any man with minimal effort. "I"ll be right surprised if Mr. Starrick leaves your side at all tonight." One of the Rooks concluded. 

Y/N offered her a kind smile, "thank you Emma." 

She grabbed the shawl wrapping it around her shoulders before making her way off the train. She was able to exit at (train station). Her next objective was to find a carriage.

•

••

•

Jacob watched the swish of a red dress disappearing into a carriage. A frown pulled at his lips. It was just like Evie to get her way. The mission was the only thing that mattered to her. When he had returned to the train car to plead his case once more she had quoted their father at him, "don't let personal feelings compromise the mission."

It had mattered very little that the mission involved her best friend. She could be extremely shrewd at times, and there was little he could do or say that would change her mind. 

The carriage was easy to catch. In a flash he'd opened the door and seated himself across from her. A look of shock was plain on her face, and a bit of fear once she realized she was unarmed. A scowl quickly appeared on her face as soon as she recognized him. "Jacob Frye! How dare you scare me like that!" She hissed slapping him with her fan. 

"Oi, I was only checking in love." He said, and a blush dusted her cheeks at the word "love." The unresolved tension from earlier hung in the air. 

Y/N was the first to look away, giving Jacob the chance to take her in. She was stunning. The dress complimented her soft skin, and the low neckline of the dress created a beautiful decolletage. He'd never seen so much skin on the assassin, and greedily his eyes hungered for more. He had to avert his hazel eyes, "you won't have any issues catching Starrick's eye in that."

(E/c) eyes flickered down at the ensemble. "Evie will be thrilled." She muttered. 

Jacob leaned forward capturing her chin in his hand tilting her gaze up into his hazel pools. "I'll be on the rooftops, if there are any issues signal me and I'll get you out of there." 

To his surprise she threw her arms around him engulfing him in a hug. "Thank you Jacob." She pulled away quickly, "perhaps I'm more nervous than I thought." 

Jacob quirked a smile, "I'll be there if you need me love." With a soft kiss to the back of her hand, he disappeared out of the carriage and into the night. 

•

••

•

She steadied her breathing as the carriage pulled up to the stone mansion. The carriage driver assisted her out the carriage. Her sides were already aching as she made her way up the steps of the house. She fanned herself in hopes that it would draw more oxygen into her lungs, but it was no use. Many eyes were drawn her way when she stepped into the gardens. Satisfaction grew inside when she noticed even the Grandmaster had paused mid sentence to stare. She threw him a small smirk before heading towards the dance floor.

The bait was laid, and all she had to do was wait for him to bite. Her eyes were about to dart to the rooftops when she felt a hand press into the small of her back. "I don't believe I have made your acquaintance."

His voice was elegant, and refined. One would suppose it was due to good breeding, and coming from a proper upbringing. "I very much doubt it Sir, I just arrived in London not three days ago." She turned to face him, but found herself even closer to him as he guided her closer with his hands. 

"Dance with me." It wasn't a request, he was a man who was used to being in control.

"I take it you always get your way?" She inquired as he lead her to the center of the dance floor.

"I'm a man who knows what he wants, and you look like a woman who knows what she wants."

Her lips quirked up, "I confess my strong will has lead me into trouble at times."

"A rose among the weeds, beautiful to look at, but painful for those who cannot handle the thorns." His palm felt solid on her waist, and she caught his eyes drinking in her figure that was on display. 

"Have you handled many roses then?" 

She found herself chest to chest with him. His eyes were hypnotic, and his body radiated power and control. A shiver went down her spine as his fingers trailed up her back. "Never one so sweet."

His lips were dangerously close, and propriety was insisting she pull away. She was unsure if it was the corset making her pant, or her heart that pounded dangerously inside her chest. 

A smoke bomb went off, and the shuffling of feet could be heard. She felt hands pulling her from behind. Crawford's arms felt like a steel cage as they tightened around her. She was being pulled in both directions. "Let go of her." That snarl could only belong to one man. 

"This has made the game more interesting Jacob." The smoke had started to clear and Starrick's expression was predatory. Cold steel pressed against her throat, and Jacob immediately froze. "What would Jacob Frye do to save a rose?"

"Let her go, this is between you and me Starrick." 

Starrick touted, "I suspect she is an assassin. More's the pity,  she would have looked absolutely divine spread across my desk." Gloved fingers tightened around her esophagus. She fought desperately to pry his fingers off. "I wish this had been under more sensual circumstances." His low voice tickled the shell of her ear.

Panic flooded Jacob's eyes, until a lucky blow found its mark. Y/N could feel the hard impact of bone against her elbow. It was enough for him to loosen his grip. Jacob sprung to action pulling her to him and grappling to the nearest rooftop. He took off across the rooftops. Y/N doing her best to find any speed quicker than a brisk walk. Jacob realizing she wasn't close behind, stopped to find her picking her way across the roof. "Why did you lace that thing so bloody tight?!" He cried.

"Why did you decide to ruin the mission?!" She countered. 

"I rescued you from that man's skeevy arms!" 

A roll of her (e/c) eyes was all she replied, "just find us a carriage. I can't run in this!"

Jacob was quick to zipline them to the ground. He found a small carriage and unceremoniously stuffed her in. She hadn't even seated herself when the carriage jolted forward, throwing her into the leather seat. "Can this thing go any faster?" She cried finding several blighters on their tail. 

"I'm sorry your highness, did you want to drive?" Jacob quipped back. 

A gunshot echoed behind them. "Glad to know I got dressed up for my funeral." She shouted angrily.

"Oh, Y/N I've been in worse spats than this. We are perfectly fine." He said simply. It wasn't a second later when another carriage slammed into the left side of theirs. Y/N wished she hadn't gazed out the window. It all seemed to happen too quickly. Jacob had taken a sharp turn onto the bridge when the blighter carriage had slammed into theirs. The world was upside down a moment, and Y/N knew she was headed right for the Thames. 

Jacob had been thrown out of his seat when the carriage tipped over. He braced himself for the cold water. When he surfaced he found the carriage slipping below the water's surface. It was then that it dawned on him that Y/N would be stuck. He dove under searching blindly for the carriage. The murky Thames making visibility poor. He found a window and began to smash through it. He pulled her body through the window, but found the dress was stuck. His hidden blade set to work shredding any material he could get his hands on. When the dress finally loosened, he pulled her free and pulled them up to the surface.

The shore wasn't far and she was barely breathing. As soon as they reached shore he cut the lacings. She coughed up water, gulps full of air burning her lungs. She was freezing, and the white shift sticking to her skin made her realize how exposed she was. "J-j-j-a-a-cob Fr-r-rye," her teeth clattered as shivers wracked her body. 

"Shh love," he said softly as his eyes ran down her, inspecting her for any damage. Self consciously she covered her chest. The shift was extremely see-through while wet, and she was mortified the younger Frye twin had practically seen everything at this point. To her surprise there was no trace of smugness in his eyes. Only concern, and possible guilt. 

"Let's get you back to the train before you freeze." He said simply. 

"I cant walk around London like this." She said gazing down at her stockings that were caked with sand.

Jacob looked her up and down, "I think this is the best you've looked yet." Hazel eyes flickered down at sopping linen that was barely hanging onto her body. 

"My eyes are up here Mr. Frye." She dead panned. She immediately got to her feet. "Well I suppose if I'm to be a trollop, I shall be the best trollop London has ever seen." She set off towards the train tracks, shoulders back and head held high.

Jacob's head cocked to the side, how he loved a woman with spunk. However, he was just starting to realize just how see through that shift was. If there was anything Jacob Frye considered himself to be, a gentleman was one of them. He was quick to remove his over coat and soon engulfed her in it. A shiver ran down her spine when the dripping coat hit her shoulders. He scooped her up in his arms, and he was surprised to find out how light she was in his arms. "Jacob!" She squeaked in surprise. 

"Now come love, a gentleman wouldn't let a lady stroll about the streets in her undergarments."

"A gentleman wouldn't have made me go for a swim either." She grumbled. 

His chest rumbled with a chuckle. "I am taking you for a moonlight stroll, and what's more romantic than that?" He inquired. "All in all, I would say this was a successful date." 

She sputtered, "a successful date?" 

"Fancy clothes, a carriage ride, an evening swim, a moonlit stroll, and you're almost completely naked. What more could I have done to make it a success?" 

A blush stained her cheeks, "pray, what gave you the notion that we are on a date?" 

A smirk spread across his lips, "you never denied that we were on a date, besides there are some positively wicked things I've wanted to do to you all evening."

"I think this whole night started, because your jealousy got the best of you Jacob." 

His grip tightened on her, "what do I have to be jealous about love? My hands are the ones touching your arse not Starrick's." His breath tickled her ear as it lowered an octave, "and what a lovely arse it is." 

"Why haven't you said anything?" Her voice sounded small. Unsure if this was a conversation the two should have. 

He sighed, "I never thought you'd give a bloke like me a second glance." He said with a simple shrug. 

"Jacob, you literally stuffed me ass first into a carriage, then proceeded to wreck said carriage in the Thames. I should be pissed, but honestly it's a little endearing. I know you mean well." Her hand came up to cup his face, and a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

"What in the bloody hell did you do Jacob?" Evie's voice snapped the two at attention. 

"The mission was a success Evie!" Jacob said with a grin. 

"Starrick’s men are all over London looking for you two! You wrecked a carriage off the bridge, and Y/N where on earth are your clothes?" 

"The bottom of the Thames…" she said sheepishly. 

"The mission was an utter disaster!" Evie cried. 

"That is where you are wrong. Your mission was a disaster, mine was an utter success." Jacob said proudly. "Now if you don't mind dear sis, I would recommend staying far away from my train car for the rest of the evening." He leaned closer to his sister, "I have plucked a rose from Starrick's garden that I plan to worship thoroughly."  

@marshmallow--3

[markleesthighs]

Mea Bella | Chapter 2

Pairings: Reader x Jaehyun, Reader x ??? Genre: NCT royalty!au, angst, fluff, subtle flirting Warnings: flashbacks, forbidden love, smutty Words: 2.5k

Chapter 2 - One More Day

You were hanging laundry up to dry on clothespins when you saw Jaehyun and his advisors and planners with him in the garden, picking out what flowers to use for the decorations. When they caught your eye, you curtsied and allowed them to continue. However, you felt Jaehyun's eyes lingering upon you, gazing at your features and beauty. Jaehyun was so distracted that he almost fell into the fountain.

"Prince Jaehyun, please look where you are going," said his royal advisor, Taeyong.

"R-right, thank you."

You smiled as you walked back into the castle to finish cleaning before helping the needs of Jaehyun. You cleaned and organized his room, closet, and office and eventually met up with Jaehyun around noon. You went to serve them lunch, and they were discussing the guest list.

"The Lees, Suhs, Moons, Kims, Wongs, and Parks have RSVPed so far."

"Fantastic. Hopefully, everyone else will as well."

"Prince, I am required by law to invite princess-"

"Yes, I know, and I am fully aware that she and her family have RSVPed."

"Now that everything is in order, you still have a tasting of the food and outfit fittings left for the Prince Jaehyun."

"Thank you for your kindest services, now let's eat."

When you walked away, you wanted to know who the lucky princess is. You hoped some of the other maids in the kitchen had heard anything. From what you heard, they said that she was a flirt and slept with wealthy men to reach the top, which is how she became a prospect for Jaehyun. You felt sick by this and hoped that Jaehyun wouldn't fall for her, but he might have to marry her.

Jaehyun finished his lunch but still had to taste the food for the midnight ball. You walked out to see him sitting by himself, awaiting food with a list and quill in his hand. He notices you walking in and smiled at your presence. You walked over to him, and he immediately gave you a quick peck on the lips.

"Is this the first course I'm tasting?"

You laughed while blushing.

"Because this tastes REALLY sweet."

He pulled you in for another kiss that was longer than the first one, but you pulled away in fear that someone would see.

"I'll go get your actual course."

"Come back quick before I perish from loneliness."

"Don't be so dramatic."

You brought out some hors d 'oeuvres such as deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms, and pate. Jaehyun ate and checked off or crossed out the foods he wanted for the ball. But he had been talking about 10-15 minutes with each hors d'oeuvre, and you still had more food for him to taste.

"y/n, tell me what you think of this"

"b-but Jaehyun, it's caviar, you should be tasting these things."

"Yeah, but I need another outside opinion, you know?"

"I don't know…"

"Do it for me?"

"Fine…"

Jaehyun put some caviar on a cracker and fed it to you. You swear it was the best thing you have ever tasted in your life, and you wanted more of it.

"Jaehyun…This is really good, and it's creamy and salty. I like it."

"Do you know what's also creamy and salty?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Here, try the smoked salmon with cream cheese."

Jaehyun fed it to you again, and you smiled back as you tasted the smokey fish and cream cheese touch your tastebuds. It was a perfect combination of food.

"Hey you got a little cream cheese on your face, let me get it for you."

Jaehyun licked his thumb and rubbed it against the spot on your cheek where the cream cheese was, and you felt your face turning red.

"I-is it gone?"

"Nope. I missed a spot."

"Whe-"

Jaehyun pecked your lips, which made you throw your head into his lap out of embarrassment. Jaehyun caressed your hair and attempted to calm you down while smiling at your shy figure.

"Ahem."

You and Jaehyun turned to see his mother staring at you and Jaehyun intently to intimidate you.

"I understand that both of you are close friends, but you must not act this way at the ball, we have guests and a reputation to uphold. Jaehyun, your father would not be too pleased to see you like this infant of your potential wives. If you both continue to fool around, then you won't be matching this year, understand?"

"Yes, mother, I understand, I'll continue tasting now."

"y/n?"

"Yes?"

"Can you please go to the fitting room, to kill two birds with one stone so that Jaehyun can focus and that you can get fitted for your dress."

"Of course, enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

You bowed to both of them and walked up to the seamstress' room where they took your measurements and fitted you for the dress. They also took notes on what hair and makeup you'll be doing to accommodate the dress as well. You noticed a suit that looked similar to the fabric the seamstress was working on.

"Is that Jaehyun's suit?"

"Yes ma'am, would you like to peak?"

"If I may?"

"Of course."

She pulled to mannequin out from behind the divider, and you saw a beautiful royal blue suit with black detailing, symbolizing the colors of the kingdom, meaning confidence, wisdom, intelligence, and strength. You felt the soft fabric and saw on Jaehyun's suit a sash with all of his badges from the military and inherited ones from his ancestors. Each badge was perfectly polished and shined brightly in the light. You admired Jaehyun, and he had accomplished so much for an (almost) 18-year old. However, one badge caught your eye; it was an amber gemstone in the center of what appeared to be a flower or a daisy. That badge was a badge you gave to Jaehyun for helping him pick flowers with you, it was a cute badge at the time, but now you look back and realize it was a badge Jaehyun never took off. The seamstress noticed you were staring at the badge for a long time and decided to give some input.

"Ever since Jaehyun was young, he refused to take off that badge. It was very special to him. I also heard that he never took it off in battle too, whenever it was becoming rusty or old he constantly wanted it polished and fixed right away, it was very sweet. When I asked him about it, he said someone very special gave it to him, and it motivates him that he can do anything as long as he has his heart set on it."

You smiled and have never felt warm and fuzzy about something in your life. But it only made it bittersweet when you realized that Jaehyun was going to be courting people wearing your badge. You said your goodbyes and thanks to the seamstress and continued your daily routine. Preparing bread and food for dinner, cleaning and dusting several parts of the castle, and having to assist Jaehyun when he needed it. You were helping Jaehyun with selecting flowers, and he asked for your opinion.

"y/n, roses or lilies?"

"roses, they look more elegant and fitting for the ball."

"hm, good choice."

Later that night, it was dinner time, and you were helping serve dinner as usual, due to this, you were always exposed to the daily conversations at the dinner table.

"Did you see if your suit fits?"

"It does mother."

"How about the food is everything suitable, presented perfectly, and tastes lavish?"

"Of course."

"Have you looked at the list of princesses attending tomorrow evening?"

"…no.."

"Jung Jaehyun! I told you look at that weeks ago! You must have done some research in the library!"

"My darling, leave him alone, I didn't even research you because there was no need once I spoke with you."

"Can you stop being so irrational right now! I just want what's best for our son!"

"He will choose what is best, I've taught him to have a good heart."

"Have you heard of the rumors of some of these princesses? If my son marries, please excuse my language, but a whore, I won't be able to breathe."

"Mother, will you please relax, there's nothing to worry about."

While Jaehyun's mother looked in distress, she saw you fill her glass with more water, and she turned to you and began to speak.

"Ah, y/n, since you are attending, can you please make sure that Jaehyun stays clear of the troublesome princesses? I trust you because you know as women, we know how vicious we can be."

"Of course, my queen, I will try my best."

Great, picking Jaehyun's future wife while you are secretly dating, doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. You turned to Jaehyun, giving him a small smile before returning to bring out dessert, raspberry tarts.

After dinner, you helped clean up when you saw Jaehyun waiting so you could help him with his nighttime routine of bathing, getting dressed, and going to bed. You walked up to his room to see him sitting against his window, still looking out into the starts.

"I'm not ready, y/n."

"I don't think anyone is ever ready."

"It's a big moment in my life. I don't think I'll be able to do it, especially when you are going to be there."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"But it's not okay!"

"…"

"I- I love you, y/n! to have you watch me go off with another girl is just wrong! I-I don't want to hurt you!"

"Jae, it's fine, we both knew this day would come eventually….trust me, I'll be okay."

"Are you sure, my daisy?"

"Of course, I will always love you, no matter how many times you could break my heart."

"I promise I will find some way for us to be together, and I promise I will have a dance with you at the ball."

Jaehyun kissed your hand as you bitterly smiled, and you went to go prepare his bath filled with rose petals and lavender. The aromatics in his bathroom were warm and florescent. Jaehyun noticed how monotone your face was while filling his bath, so he came behind you, only in a robe hugging you from behind.

"Join me."

"W-wh-"

"Please, it might the last time we have this chance together."

"B-but Jae I'm just a maid I'm not supposed to- let alone see you naked."

Jaehyun looked at you with puppy-like eyes begging you to take a bath with him, and you couldn't resist.

"Fine, but you are getting in first."

Jaehyun smiled as you turned around because you were too shy to see Jaehyun naked, your mind would go lewd places. Jaehyun laughed as you heard him, slowly dip into the bath. You started to strip your clothes and tie up your hair with a black ribbon so your hair would not get wet. You hesitated to turn around once you removed all of your clothes, but Jaehyun encouraged you to turn around. You turned around slowly looking at the floor, but you could sense the smile forming on Jaehyun's face. He reached out a hand for you to join him, but you were still looking at the floor when you walked to the edge of the bathtub. You looked at Jaehyun's loving gaze as you slowly dipped into the bath, now only looking at the candles around you trying to avoid looking at Jaehyun and his body. Your back met Jaehyun's chest, and you felt Jaehyun pull his head down into your neck. His hands started to rub your arms and legs lightly, massaging them. You felt your cheeks blush, and your whole body feeling hot.

"J-Jae-"

"Shh, let me love you, my daisy."

Jaehyun started to kiss your neck softly, and his hands moved all over your body, making you become breathless under his touch. You turned your head to meet his eyes, kissing him delicately while the bright candles and warm water hug both of you. It was as if time stopped, and you turned your whole body to straddle Jaehyun deepening every kiss. Jaehyun wrapped his arms around you hugging your waist tight, wanting you to be closer to his body.

"God, you are so beautiful," Jaehyun moaned.

You felt his member get harder against your thigh begging to enter inside you, and you felt hungrier for Jaehyun. You looked at Jaehyun's eyes filled with lust, pleading for you. Jaehyun whispered in your ear.

"I'm going to put it in, okay? Relax, you'll be okay love,"

With that, he entered inside you, kissing you every second of the way and whispering words of encouragement to keep you relaxed. You felt the pain and pleasure scratching Jaehyun's shoulders, moaning loudly like music to his ears. Tears streamed from your eyes from the pain, and Jaehyun lifted your head from his neck and wiped them away, kissing your neck.

"Is it okay for me to move?"

"M-maybe one more- ah- second- mmh-"

"Of course, take all the time you need."

You took about 2 minutes before you told him that it was okay for him to move, and he began moving at a slow pace, for you and him. Jaehyun eventually picked up the pace while kissing you and caressing your entire body, splashing water, petals, and moans scattering all over the bathroom. It eventually led to Jaehyun, making you both reach your climaxes at the same time. You both panted, taking deep breaths to relax your breathing. You straddled off of Jaehyun, sitting in between his legs, and you laid against his chest, fiddling with his fingers.

"Are you alright, my little Daisy?"

"Yes, Jae, I love you so much."

"I love you too, y/n."

Jaehyun got up from the bath and carried you out, knowing that your body would be a little sore, and you would not be able to walk. He wrapped you in a towel and laid you down on his bed, letting you dry off and relax.

"Wait, Jae, I'll clean- the bathroom- ah-"

"No, no, no, you've cleaned up after me several times, let me."

"But-"

"Please rest, for once, let me take care of you now."

So, you laid on the plush bed as Jaehyun started to clean up the bath, throwing the petals out the window and draining the tub and cleaning the floor with a cloth. Once he finished, he kissed your forehead to wake you up from your small nap. You smiled, looking at Jaehyun, who smiled back and left to get your nightwear from your room. He removed the towel and helped you get dressed. He also prepared clean clothes for you the next day when you woke up. You could barely walk, so you stayed with Jaehyun for the night. Jaehyun changed out of his robe and into his pajamas, cuddling up next to you, kissing your neck.

"Goodnight, my daisy."

Follow me for updates and to follow the series! also, dm me your thoughts I would love to know 🥺

~ n ✧*:･ﾟ

[thepaperpanda]

The Gypsy || Tommy Shelby x Reader || Part I

Summary: The gypsy girl crosses her path with Shelby brothers and it's going to flip her life upside down.

Warnings: none

Words: 1909

Authors: Cass & Bear

It was still early when the clouds gave of their rain to the grass and trees, when the road became alive with more splashes than my eyes could appreciate. Yet together they brought such a soothing sound, a natural melody every bit as beautiful as a mother's soulful hum.

Thomas Shelby was walking down the street, wearing his classical thick, black, long coat and peaked cap on.

As deep as he was buried in his thoughts, he wasn't aware of you observing him through the corner of the street.

You were tired, oh so tired of your poor life but there was no other way than just keep going. Not everyone was as lucky as Shelbys after all.

You spent most of your life on the streets, robbing people just enough to buy food. Sometimes you were stealing food itself but this time you needed money. You simply wanted to eat something warm and one gold watch would be enough for you to afford this. From many years on street you learned one thing - those fancy pocket watches had a chain that was strong enough only to hold the watch, pulling it was a really easy way to rob someone. Smoothing your dress and hair you ran up to Tommy Shelby. "Excuse me, sir! Sorry, can you tell me what time it is?," You asked with your best soft, charming but fake smile.

Thomas threw you a brief glance yet he didn't stop walking down the street. "It's early. And you should be still in bed, ma'am. You look young, too young to be roaming through the streets alone."

You didn't expect that, if not the fact that his coat was buttoned up you would snatch the watch from him long time ago. Giggling you shook your head. "I am young indeed, sir, but I had to go out that early. My mother is sick, she asked me to bring her some stuff. I just ask for time to make sure that the drugstore is open."

"I assure you it's going to be open in half an hour, you still have a time. It's chilly today, go back to your mother and take care of her," he replied not even looking at you.

Thomas knew that type. Those people were appearing to live each day like the rest of the Birminghammers, but in truth they were living just one day over and over, trying to survive, begging for money or food.

You stopped and watched him walking away, sure you would go home to take care of your mother only if you were having her... When he disappeared from your view, you growled and kicked the random stone. "Du-te dracului," you muttered and walked away to look for someone else to rob.

__________________________

Arthur was already in the pub, he awaited at his younger brother to show up. "Finally!," The oldest Shelby growled angrily as soon as he spotted Thomas entering the pub. "You won't fucking believe what the fuck has happened to me!"

Thomas cocked brow and looked at his brother. "What was it? You got drunk again and you slept with some random girl?"

Arthur rubbed his mustache angrily. "Don't be a fucking dick, Tommy," he snapped. "I was fucking robbed."

__________________________

You walked through streets happily with a nice silver watch, thanks God that not every Shelby was that bright. Arthur Shelby quickly fell for your little trick, so now he was lacking the watch on his vest when you were happy that you will eat a warm meal tonight. You hide watch in a little pocket in your dress, feeling proud of your little achievement.

__________________________

Meantime aunt Polly couldn't stop herself from laughing when she heard how a young pauper managed to trick one of her nephews.

Arthur couldn't focus on his daily tasks because of the raging anger.

Tommy spent half of the day in his office, working over some important documents.

__________________________

After finding good pawnshop you were able to sell the watch for a pleasing price, now you were sure that you won't starve. If everything will go well, then you'll have some money for next day as well.

The rest of the day was normal to you, you wandered the streets until evening came. The Garrison Pub looked tempting, it was fancy as for this part of town. Humming softly you walked inside and immediately you were surrounded by pleasurable warmth and not so pleasurable smell of alcohol but you didn't care. You walked up to the bar to order something.

Tommy was behind the bar, chatting with one of his friends when he spotted you. He remembered you very well, but now you looked different. Hair rather clean, fresh clothes on. But your face was too familiar to him. Tommy turned his back to counter to not scare you. Not yet. He had a plan. He wanted to teach you a lesson but he would be needing his older brother.

Tommy waved at Arthur to come to the bar.

You hummed happily, talking to the bartender with a soft little smile on your lips, you didn't really pay much attention to people around you.

Arthur looked at Tommy with a frown but he got up from the chair and walked to his younger brother. "What do you want?," He asked before looking over Tommy's shoulder. "It's her, she snatched my fuckin' watch."

"I know it's her, that's why I called you," Tommy explained while lighting on cigarette. "We should teach her a lesson, shouldn't we?"

Arthur simply nodded, he walked around the bar to stand right behind you. He cleared his throat. "I hope that the new watch, suits your nice dress, miss."

You were aware of someone standing behind you, at first you didn't care but when you heard the words spoken aloud, your body froze, slowly you looked over your shoulder.

Tommy joined his brother and wrapped arm around your shoulders like he'd be hugging you. "What a great meeting, innit, my friend?," He asked with a wry smirk.

"I... I don't know what do you mean sir, I don't think we ever met before," you said looking at Tommy not really sure what to do now, there was no possibility of running away.

"Oh, I am more than sure that we did meet before. You snatched something that belongs to me," Arthur growled and you only winced at his tone.

"So now, miss, better get my brother's watch back and we'll forget about the case," Tommy said firmly, he stopped smiling and now had an awfully angry grimace over his lips. "If not, then you should be aware of what we do with robbers."

You shivered and slowly put money on the counter, without saying anything.

"Oh, I don't care about your fuckin' money, woman. I want my watch back," Arthur said.

"This is the watch!," you whimpered. "I sold it, I sold it to have some money for fucking warm meal," Explaining this you looked at both man.

Tommy looked at Arthur. Deep inside he felt sorry about you. He could hear the Romanian accent clearly in your words, so you'd to be one of them, partly. You were Gypsy, just like he, his brothers and sister. "So what are we going to do with her now, Arthur?"

"Vreau sa plec acasa," you whimpered lowly, trying to get away from both man but Tommy was holding you too tightly.

"I don't know, what do you think, Tom?," Arthur asked as he looking at you still thinking.

Tommy released your shoulders. "If you want to be clean and to walk out of here with both your palms on places, you'll work for us until you won't work off your debt."

You looked at Tommy scared and nodded. "Okay, I will," you said quietly.

"Isn't it a bit too gently, Tom?" Arthur asked looking down on you.  "Ain't you afraid she steal from us again? Like in work?"

"I give her my trust. She ain't stupid and she knows what will happen if she'll try on anything," he threw you a cold glance. "I want to see you here after closing. You'll clean the pub."

You looked at him and nodded slowly.  "Yes, Mr. Shelby,"

"If you say so, Tom," Arthur shrugged and grabbed the money.  "I will take it, it was MY watch after all," He muttered and walked away.

Letting out a sad sight you looked down on your knees. So much for a warm meal, you though to yourself before your stomach growled angrily. Giggling awkwardly you blushed, looking away quickly.

"Now, come on, let's feed you properly," Tommy said simply.

You blinked looking at him. "But... Your brother took all the money I had,” you said confused.

"You're lucky tonight then," Tommy stated. "Not only you kept your palms but you'll also get a warm meal."

You giggled softly and nodded. "Well... I think I am. Mr. Shelby?," You bit your lips before speaking again. "I am really sorry about your brother's watch. I really just wanted to eat."

"Was it so hard to approach and simply ask for money or if he wouldn't give it to you, you could have asked him to buy you something to eat so he would be sure you ain't going waste the lent money."

"If you borrow something, you often have to give it back or somehow return the good did," You said. "Giving back money or doing something in return for you or your brother ain't really possible for me, sir," you explained.

"He ain't such a monster, he only looked like one," Tommy said and shifted to let you behind the bar. "Take a seat. I'll bring you something."

Polly who was watching entire situation from her table got up and went to join Arthur. "What the fuck is he doing?," She asked the oldest Shelby.

Meantime you giggled at Tommy's comment and took a seat as he ordered you to. "I thought this watch was worth more,” Arthur muttered, counting the money he took from you. His attention quickly moved to Polly.  "This little minx stole my watch. I wanted to punish her but Tommy decided to give her a job. So she can work in return for what she did."

Polly raised her eyebrow in shock. "He did what?," She repeated. "Is he outta his fucking mind? Let's hire entire rabble, let's be a fucking charity," woman lit her cigarette.

Arthur shrugged, putting money into his pocket. "Tell him this, not me."

"You're his older brother after all, Arthur, I thought you have more influence on him."

"You are our aunt," He said looking at her. "I already told him what I think and he said he trust her,"

Meantime, Tommy brought you a plate with soup.

You smiled and started to eat quickly. Maybe it wasn't too polite but you didn't care, all you cared about was eating a real meal. This plate made your whole day much better in one second.

"Was it truth about your ill mother?"

You swallowed and shook your head. "My mother died few years ago during winter. I just... I simply tried to make you pull out your watch."

Tommy sighed and lit another cigarette, inhaling the smoke.

You muttered a quiet ‘sorry’ and returned to eating, looking at him from time to time.

Tommy looked at you for a while. "Eat. You'll need a lot of strengths."

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[staytheb]

Foundation

Pairing: PTG’s Hui x OC [Sieun] Genre: slice of life, slight fluff, slight angst Word Count: 5,158 Summary: Sieun missed Hwitaek doing the little things in their relationship, but she suddenly founds that that it was built on a foundation of lies. Will Hwitaek be able to start a new slab or will the original foundation just stay put?

Warning: semi-proofread. lol some swear words.

hi again. this is another work, Little Things, re-done and felt that Hui fitted this piece. i think it’s also because of his enlistment, ptg first win, and the whole [we:th] album just making me feel some way to get this out lol although ofc it’s just a re-written piece. anyways, song was inspired by Stevie Hoang’s Little Things. again don’t know anything about others views on relationships and the likes, so this is just based on my own view and the song. but yeah, the title is meh once again, lol anyways, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

Sieun patiently sat at the table for two at the restaurant her boyfriend, Hwitaek, had reserved for the both of them for her birthday several months prior. Still though with each passing minute she grew anxious as Hwitaek was already twenty minutes late. Sieun sent him a few text messages and even had tried calling him on several occasions, but the call went straight to voicemail. She knew her boyfriend was bad at replying back, but she figured that at least calling him would get a faster response. It didn't.

Sieun sighed as she avoided gazing around at the other patrons feeling slightly embarrassed of the thought that she may have gotten stood up. Her anxiousness grew with the thought that Hwitaek may have forgotten about their plans for tonight as the time continued to tick on by. Still, Sieun kept positive while thinking that Hwitaek was just buying her flowers or some other birthday gift that delayed his arrival. Even if it was beginning to become an hour of waiting now. Sieun sighed softly taking another sip of her melted ice water.

Sieun checked her phone for the nth time tonight, but still there was no response from her boyfriend. She slowly breathed in and out to calm her nerves and was just hoping that nothing had happened to him and that he was just running very super late now. Maybe he was buying her a lot of things to make up for it or something along those lines. These were the same words she told herself to reassure her anxious heart and mind. Being late was better than not showing up, right? Sieun trusted Hwitaek and wanted to continue to do so.

"Hello, ma'am."

The same waiter that tended to her since she came in had come to check in on her again for the fifth time tonight.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to order something while you continue to wait? Like another drink, perhaps?"

Sieun cast her a polite smile already deciding what to do.

"Um, I guess just more water and maybe an order of the snow crab to go, please?"

"Will do. Anything else for you, ma'am?"

"Oh, yes. A slice of carrot cake to go, too, please."

"Will do, ma'am. Your order will be with you shortly."

"Thank you so very much."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sieun had contacted one of Hwitaek's roommates, Jinho, upon returning to the university's campus. Jinho had informed her that Hwitaek has been at the music department working on a project for the past several hours. Sieun had thanked him and made her way over to see her boyfriend. She knew that Hwitaek was majoring in music and that the current project was a major deal for him to pass this semester. So if he couldn't celebrate her birthday at the restaurant, then Sieun was going to celebrate it with him in one of the music rooms.

Sieun thought that as long as she was spending time together with him, then that's all that really mattered to her in the end. Just like when it was his birthday a few weeks ago they couldn't celebrate it together just the two of them. It was mainly due to another school project he was busy with. Even though they did hang out some time after, but it was cut short due to his friends needing him for something. So when Sieun appeared outside of the music room that Jinho had informed her that Hwitaek would be in, she didn't expect her boyfriend to have company.

She spotted Hwitaek with his ex-girlfriend, Soojin, upon entering the room when she didn't receive a response when she had knocked on it. Sieun didn't mind that the two continued to hang out on campus or contacted one another as she trusted her boyfriend. Still though there was something inside of Sieun that irked her a tad bit when she witnessed how close they still were. Physically and socially although Sieun wasn't sure if this could be called a twinge of jealousy. Soojin and Hwitaek were going over some music sheets and hadn't noticed Sieun's presence yet.

"It's awesome, Hui! Thank you so much!"

Soojin exclaimed with glee as she threw her arms around Hwitaek in gratitude before releasing him.

"No worries, Cherry. You're welcome."

Hwitaek smiled at her while moving a few strands of Soojin's hair from out of her face and behind her ear.

"I'm glad to be of help."

Maybe it was jealousy after all as Sieun suddenly felt a small pang within her chest at the two using nicknames and the actions were displayed before her. Sieun couldn't remember the last time that Hwitaek had done that to her or even the last time that they'd shared simple gestures. As a matter of fact, Sieun couldn't remember if Hwitaek had ever called her name in such an affectionate manner like he had just called Soojin by her nickname. Since she and Hwitaek started dating the couple had always used their given names with one another. The last time she had let slip in calling her boyfriend 'Hwi', Hwitaek had given her a weird look and Sieun never had let that name slip out since.

"Alright, Hui, I think that's it for now. See you tomorrow again and at the same time?"

Soojin suggested to the male while putting her things away and standing up with Hwitaek doing the same.

"Yup. See you tomorrow at the same time, Cherry."

When the duo turned towards the door to leave they froze in their spot upon seeing Sieun standing there a bit awkwardly.

"Uh, hi." Sieun greeted with a small smile and wave. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"How long have you been standing there?" Hwitaek asked, suddenly feeling guilty for some reason he didn't know why.

"Oh, not that long." Sieun replied nonchalantly.

"Anyways, see you, Hui." Soojin bid Hwitaek a goodbye while walking passed Sieun with a polite smile. "Bye-bye, Sieun."

"Bye-bye, Soojin." Sieun bid the female goodbye with a polite smile as well.

She quickly turned her attention onto her boyfriend and softly made her way towards Hwitaek while placing the bag onto one of the tables when she neared him.

"Since you couldn't make it I thought we could have dinner here instead."

"Make it where?" Hwitaek asked with a confused face. "Was there something planned for today?"

Sieun paused in opening the large container filled with the snow crab inside and slowly cast her boyfriend a hurt look.

"Yeah, Hwitaek. You were the one that had planned it months ago. I tried calling and texting you, but you didn't reply back."

"Oh, about that. The battery died and I didn't have a charger on me to charge my phone. Sorry, Sieun." Hwitaek apologized in an indifferent tone while shrugging as he looked at her blankly. "I don't really remember what I planned tonight. Was it something important?"

Looking down at the food blankly, something within Sieun finally cracked as this conversation was similar to what they had prior to Hwitaek's birthday. It was like he stopped being a boyfriend and he seemed more distracted and acted like the two of them weren't even in a relationship. Or better yet, it seemed like Sieun realized that Hwitaek had stopped doing all the little things that she had appreciated in their relationship even before his birthday.

Sieun never cared for the expensive jewellery he would buy her saying that they were a girl's real best friend. Nor did she care for the fancy restaurant dates he took her out to just to impress her still. Sieun also didn't mind the constant large hang outs with his friends when it was just supposed to be the two of them on their date. Still though she honestly missed the other little things that Hwitaek used to do for her. Those special times that the two of them shared with just each other and away from everyone and everything else.

Like when he randomly buys her flowers to surprise her and tell her the meaning behind them that he learned from the florist. Or how he would call her beautiful every once in a while. Or when he would just casually hold her hand out of the blue or do things to simply put a smile on her face. Sieun missed the times when Hwitaek would call her in the early hours of morning or in the middle of the night to just hear her voice and talk about anything and everything. Thinking back on it all, Sieun wondered if she was someone that Hwitaek still needed in his life.

"When did you stop?" Sieun suddenly asked Hwitaek while continuing to stare at the food before her.

"Stop what?"

Hwitaek was still not aware of the situation that was happening between them. His attention apparently wasn't even on Sieun as it was instead on the music stand. Sieun sadly gazed up at him and elaborated her question.

"When did you stop doing all the little things in our relationship?"

Hwitaek swiftly glanced at Sieun and upon seeing his girlfriend's expression, he unconsciously swallowed down the lump that had somehow appeared within his throat.

"To be honest, Sieun, I really don't remember."

He admitted with a half-shrug and nonchalant manner not really thinking about his next words properly.

"I only did those things in the beginning because of the bet."

"Bet?"

Sieun cast Hwitaek a confused look before furrowing her eyebrows in thought and narrowing her eyes at her.

"What bet, Hwitaek?"

Hwitaek immediately froze upon revealing the truth and why he initially pursued Sieun in the first place. He avoided looking at her now and didn't continue on the topic.

"This is what your roommates and other friends discreetly meant, isn't it?"

Sieun scoffed a moment later after Hwitaek stayed quiet. Now everything made sense to her after hers and Hwitaek's two years of being in a relationship.

"All the times we hung out at those parties of your roommates and all of your friends wanted me to get drunk just so I could spill anything that was going on between us. All the times they would cast me weird looks whenever they ask personal questions about how far we've gone, what our relationship status was, and if there's been anything weird or unusual between us."

Sieun let out another scoff feeling heated at all this realization.

"All of their quiet giggles and laughter. All of their judging and sneak looks. All of it because they knew that our relationship was built on a foundation of lies, Hwitaek. Lies worth two years on your part, Hwitaek."

"C'mon, Sieun, that was just the beginning of our relationship. It's different now." Hwitaek reasoned while gazing up at her although he knew that it didn't sound all that convincing.

"The only difference now is that I now know the real reason you dated me, Hwitaek. A bet. A fucking bet for two fucking years of our relationship between me and you were filled with your dishonesty from the get-go. Why bother when you stopped being interested since you can't recall why you stopped doing the little things in the first place?"

"I don't know."

Hwitaek lamely answered, but had avoided all eye-contact with Sieun.

"Right, you don't know."

Sieun scoffed.

"Did you get a kick out of knowing that I honestly liked you, yet you couldn't even bother giving me just a small bit of it yourself?"

Sieun shot him a disgusted look.

"Was I just some play thing for you to mess around with after breaking up with Soojin? Or did you guys even break up in the first place? Was I just some side piece for you to have fun with out of boredom? A complete joke for yours and friends' entertainment? Is that why you've been forgetting all of our plans? Our anniversary? Your birthday? Even my birthday? Is she still the one you need instead, Hwitaek?"

"Stop, Sieun. Just stop. Don't be ridiculous." Hwitaek tried to reason as he rolled his eyes. "It's not even like that, okay?"

"I'm not being ridiculous, Hwitaek."

Sieun spat back with a huff before calming herself down and speaking again.

"Well, she's beautiful."

Sieun commented upon Soojin with no ill intentions to her words, but there was a sadness to her tone of voice now.

"I hope she makes you happy again because clearly I could never or ever."

She let out a slow breath upon saying her next set of words.

"The proof is still in the way you look at her that you never did at me and how you call her name. Even though we've dated for two years and you told me those same words and called my name, I never once felt beautiful or loved in your eyes and I now know why."

She cast him a sad smile.

"It was because whatever we had between us was built on a foundation of lies for those two years due to one of us. Goodbye, Hwitaek."

Sieun cast Hwitaek one final look void of emotions before turning around. Hwitaek watched Sieun leave with a heaviness in his heart that he couldn't quite explain. Once she exited the room he finally glanced down at the containers that Sieun had left behind. He tentatively lifted the lids to reveal one of his favorite foods and the other a slice of her favorite cake. He closed his eyes while groaning regretfully. Hwitaek just remembered that today was Sieun's birthday and they were supposed to celebrate it at the restaurant he reserved for the two of them.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sieun returned to her dorm that she shared with three other girls, Jina, Jihoon, and Seowoo, who were like close friends and sisters to her. So when one of them asked about her birthday celebration, they all grew concerned upon the blank expression on Sieun's face.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Jina asked as she pulled Sieun to sit on the couch beside her.

Seowoo took the spot next to her with Jihoon sitting beside her.

"Yeah, did Hwitaek not get you the most delicious carrot cake or what?" Jihoon mused before being scolded by Seowoo.

"It's not about food, Jihoon. It's something else."

"Then what could it be?"

Jina kneel in front of Sieun while taking her face into her hand to analyze Sieun's face better.

"You guys broke up, didn't you?"

The other two gasped while Sieun nodded absentmindedly.

"I'm not someone he needed. He never loved me. Our relationship was nothing, but lies." Sieun explained in a monotone voice although her eyes glazed over. "The little things I cherished the most meant nothing in the end."

And before the others could respond or offer words of comfort, Sieun burst into quiet sobs as she leaned towards Jina in comfort. Her friends enveloped her into their embrace to console their heartbroken friend quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hwitaek returned back home and made his way to his room while unconsciously ignoring his roommates until Jinho stopped him just outside his room.

"Hey, did Sieun find you?" Jinho asked in a hushed tone.

"What?"

Hwitaek snapped out of his daze and stared at Jinho.

"What about Sieun?"

"Did she find you? She seemed worried when she stopped by here earlier."

"Yeah, she did."

Jinho cast his friend a worried look.

"Are you okay?  You seem distracted and out of it right now."

"We broke up."

"Wait, what? Y'all broke up?"

Hwitaek let out a breath as he ran a free hand through his hair as the other hand held the bag that Sieun had forgotten or not.

"Sieun broke up with me."

"I thought everything was going well between the two of you despite how everything first started out."

Jinho looked at his friend closely.

"No?"

"Yeah, well, it's my fault."

Hwitaek sighed.

"I honestly didn't think it would turn out like this, Jinho."

"Seriously? Your guys' relationship was built on a foundation of lies, Hwitaek."

Hwitaek laughed in disbelief upon hearing the familiar words again.

"Sieun said the same thing."

"Honestly, bro, I did warn you about going through with this bet in the first place. Sieun is a good person and genuinely liked you."

"I know, man, I know. I fucked up."

"Bet or no bet, Hwitaek, but would you have still dated Sieun? Do you even have some sort of feelings for her after dating for two years? Or was your breakup with Soojin still lingering in your mind all this time?"

Hwitaek took a moment to actually think about his feelings for Sieun as he weighed every memory and moment he had shared with her over the past two years after his breakup with Soojin. He did admit that he didn't really like Sieun like that at first. Sure he thought she was pretty cute despite not being exactly his type and different from Soojin, but as the days passed it changed bit by bit. Hwitaek actually got to know Sieun better and she was more than what he had initially thought of her as.

When Hwitaek had first met her, Sieun was awkward, shy, and a quiet person. Later by others he heard that she was also sweet, friendly, and reserved. Still, beyond that she was just so much more when he took the effort into getting to know her better. To Hwitaek he learned that Sieun was clumsy, weird, attentive, considerate, and thoughtful. She would fix his hair when it was out of place. Or mess it up when it was too perfectly in place. She would pack him meals when she had the free time and even make his favorites.

Sieun knew what words to say to him whenever he felt some type of way or a certain mood while working on his music related assignments or just about life in general. She would even massage his shoulders when he was stressed. Rubbed his back when he was upset. Or play with his hair when they hung out to have a lazy day. She even called him cute every now and then even though it caused him to become shy or fluster. Sometimes they held deep and meaningless conversations and it was never a bore talking to her. They could start several topics and go off on tangents, but they would still be able to finish them all and if not then the next day.

Her good morning and good night texts always brought a smile to his face and he would even look forward to them to find a way to respond to them with sincerity. The way Sieun's hand fit into his whenever they held hands. The way her smiles always made him smile knowing that she was happy and that itself would make him happy. Everything about her cheered him up instantly and would even brighten his day if he ever had a bad one. Sieun gave his life little things to appreciate upon the end of the day.

Hwitaek now realized that it was all the little things that made their relationship thrive and bloom into something beyond what it had initially started out as. The little things he tried so hard to learn and do to get Sieun to fall for him in the first place. The little things that he thought didn't really matter or mean anything in the end. All the times they used to share with each other were all the small things that Sieun needed the most. The small things that made her happy and appreciated because they were all shared and done with him.

It was the little things Sieun had asked him on why he stopped doing. Eventually, Hwitaek stopped doing them because he thought he didn't deserve her love. Didn't deserve Sieun herself with how he lied and she earnestly loved him wholeheartedly. It was why he began distancing himself as much as possible. So much that he began hanging out with Soojin again in hopes that the feelings for Sieun would dissipate on its own accord. Or that Sieun herself would slowly start to hate him and break it off instead. So then, when she finally did it didn't make him any happier with the end results. It left a real bittersweet taste in his mouth.

He blamed that stupid bet. He blamed his own stupid ass for even going through with it. A bet to show that he didn't need Soojin and that he could move on without falling back on her. To prove that he could be committed to another person for longer than a few months unless the other person broke it off and he would have won. A bet he realized too late was just honestly stupid and made no sense on his part. Hwitaek wondered how he could be that messed up in the head to play around with another person's feelings and only care for his own satisfaction without any consequences.

He shook his head thinking how he had manipulated Sieun's feelings for him to just prove that he could move on and away from Soojin. But then when the feelings became real for Sieun, he ended up going back to Soojin to let Sieun end it with him instead. He was so pathetic. He really was a jerk. What's the whole point of it all if a loving relationship between two people was built on a foundation of lies. So coming to a conclusion, Hwitaek realized that he did indeed need Sieun in his life and wanted to continue to be a part of hers until the end.

"Yo, Hwitaek?"

Jinho snapped his fingers in front of Hwitaek's face to get his attention as he's been calling his friend's name for quite some time.

"Hwitaek."

"Hmm?"

Hwitaek hummed coming back to his senses.

"What?"

"I thought I lost you there. You good?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just realized what I need to do."

"Good, because I was gonna comfort Sieun myself if you weren't gonna do it." Jinho mused as Hwitaek rolled his eyes.

"Haha, you're so not funny, but thanks, Jinho."

"Any time, but go."

"Oh, right."

Hwitaek turned around rushed out of his home with the other roommates calling out to him wondering where he was going while looking over at Jinho questioningly. Jinho shrugged, not giving them an answer as to let them not get involved and for Hwitaek to take care of what he needed to do.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sieun was currently distracting herself by putting all the things that Hwitaek had given her over the course of their relationship into grocery bags. So far she had filled up two and was working on her third one. Her friends had retired to their rooms after Sieun cried herself enough and reassured them that she was okay for the time being and just needed time for herself. So they left Sieun alone to do her own thing and heal in her own way for the time being.

Sieun's eyes caught sight of the heart-shaped necklace on her night stand that Hwitaek had given to her on Valentine's Day earlier this year. It was the first piece of jewellery she fell in love with as it wasn't one of those sparkly pieces that Hwitaek usually gifted her with. The necklace was a simple piece she had spotted at a flea market one day when the two were on a day date and had made a comment about it. When she returned to the stall to purchase it the next day it was gone. So when Hwitaek surprised her with it on Valentine's Day she cherished it since.

A few knocks sounded at the main door breaking Sieun from her thoughts. She quickly left her room to tend to the person at the door as she didn't want whoever it could be to disturb her friends' sleep or the neighbors. She looked through the peephole, but only saw some dark sea green balloons with black writing on them and a person obscurely hiding behind them. Sieun wasn't sure who it could be and was for sure not going to open the door just in case it was some random lunatic until she recognized the voice a moment later.

"It's, Hwitaek."

Hwitaek introduced himself and Sieun's breath hitched for a moment before returning back to normal. Hwitaek continued to speak realizing that him hiding behind a bunch of balloons would give off the wrong impression if viewed from the opposite side.

"May I speak with Sieun, please?"

Sieun psyched herself up to keep herself together before letting out a slow breath and eventually opened the door for Hwitaek. Before she could say something Hwitaek automatically handed the bouquet of balloons one by one as she read out loud what he wrote.

"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. Please forgive me."

She looked over at an apologetic Hwitaek and felt touched, but she wasn't going to forgive him that easily.

"Just because you apologize with my favorite color do-"

She was interrupted when Hwitaek produced a bouquet of three colored camellias from somewhere and presented them to her. Sieun stared at her favorite flowers which symbolized faithfulness and longevity as one meaning. White were given to someone who's well-liked in adoration. Pink symbolized a longing for someone who's missed while red meant desire and passion. Sieun realized that Hwitaek wanted to continue their romantic love for one another, yet she didn't want to be persuaded so easily.

"Thank you for the lovely flowers, Hwitaek."

Sieun tenderly took the bouquet in her free hand as the other was occupied with the strings of the balloons.

"But it's st-"

She was once again interrupted when Hwitaek presented the bag from the restaurant she had left from earlier.

"I know it doesn't make up for everything I've done, but I know that it meant a lot to you since you even got me my favorite food."

Hwitaek offered her the bag and Sieun took it into her left hand, already holding the balloon bouquet. Before she could comment on it Hwitaek had somehow held up a Samoyed a moment later and she wondered where he had gotten the dog from as she didn't even hear it or know that it was close by.

"Aww, you're beautiful." Sieun cooed while petting the dog's face after having placed the bouquet into the crook of her left arm and running a hand through his fur.

"I hope he makes you happy," Hwitaek commented with a small smile upon seeing the lovely expression on Sieun's face, "Even though I would like to be the one that could do that for you again if you'd let me, Eun."

Sieun frowned upon hearing how he had called her with a shorter form of her name.

"Did you just call me, Eun?"

"Um, yeah."

"Why?"

"I thought we could grow closer."

"But you gave me a weird look when I called you 'Hwi' three months after we started dating."

"Oh. Well..."

Hwitaek grew shy.

"I didn't know how to respond back."

"You could've just called me 'Eun' then."

"I panicked."

Hwitaek admitted as he cast her a sheepish gaze.

"I came to like you more as each day passed, but because it started out as a bet and you being so pure of love and affection it scared me. Then the little things started popping up over time and I didn't know what to do."

"Then what are you doing here now, Hwitaek?" Sieun asked him with a tired sigh. "Did you lose your bet and now you're re-doing it?"

"No, Sieun. None of this has nothing to do with the bet. I realized that I need you in my life and that you're the one I've grown to like these past two years. I want to continue my life with you a part of it and me a part of yours." Hwitaek confessed.

There was a pause before Hwitaek spoke again with a firmer tone.

"And the way I look at Soojin isn't proof that I still like her more than you, Sieun. You don't see the moments of how when I look at you, my mind immediately freezes and I forget how to breathe or function. I go numb and stupid. I get tongue-tied when I talk about you with the other guys and protective when they start teasing me about you."

Sieun didn't know how to respond or react to his confession. She also didn't miss the way his facial features softened and became shy.

"When I look at you, Sieun, I see this blank canvas that I eventually want to fill up with you by my side. Maybe a little place of our own with a dog and me coming home to your delicious meal. Or you visiting me at my studio and listening to a song that I'm composing while thinking of you. It's endless possibilities, but I always see you by my side in those possibilities."

Sieun held up her right hand to stop Hwitaek from talking.

"Okay, like that's cool and all, but you're speaking of a future that's still in the way of the future, Hwitaek."

She shot him an incredulous look.

"I'm still trying to pass my statistics class this semester to which I still don't think I need for my major, but whatever."

"I still mean what I say, Sieun. I want to make right what I have wronged and if I need to spend the rest of my life to do that, then I will."

Sieun shot him a small smile.

"Okay, Hwitaek. We can start again, but you're on probation."

Hwitaek's jaws dropped as he almost dropped the Samoyed.

"For how long?"

"Until you returned Crayon here back to his owner at LovelyDog's Cafe & Shop."

"Wait. How did you know?"

"Seowoo's dating someone that works there and she would dog sit Crayon here from time to time."

"Oh, then we can adopt our own and name it later."

"Alright, just wait a moment."

She held up the same hand and gave him a look.

"How about we start slowly again. We can have a date after Chuseok."

"That long?"

"Yes. If you can wait that long, then I can accept that you're serious and I can learn to start trusting you again."

Hwitaek nodded eagerly.

"Okay, okay. I am serious and trusting is all about building that foundation without lies."

Then frowned.

"What about your birthday?"

"I still have next year to celebrate it with you."

"Okay, but..."

"But, what?"

"I promised the owner that I would dog sit Crayon here for the night. Do you wanna help me take care of him?"

Sieun rolled her eyes, but a smile was evident on her face as she stepped back and invited Hwitaek and Crayon inside.

"Sure. We can even have a late dinner. Our foundation has to start somewhere."

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 11 - OMMAM

Author’s Note: Yay! Updating! Actually, it'll be a double update today! Also, the title is pronounced like "oh ma'am", sounds like "oh man" if you're confused.

Reference slides for Claude's room here!

There are temperatures in this chapter. The show takes place in Paris, so they'll be Celsius, but as an American used to Fahrenheit, I've put the Fahrenheit equivalent in parentheses next to the Celsius.

Chapter Summary: Claude sets his scheme into action. They all check on a sick Marinette.

First | Previous | Next

The bell on the door rings as Claude enters the bakery. Not intending to buy anything, he passes the line and waits patiently for Tom to notice him.

“Hey son! You here for Marinette? She should be in her room, head on back!” 

Once in the back, Sabine stops him,”Claude! I wasn’t expecting you. Do you guys have plans today?” 

“Oh no, I just was in the area and I thought I should stop by! It’s always great to see a friend!” She didn’t really need to know of his scheme, at least not for now.

“That’s sweet of you dear. While you’re up there, could you ask Marinette if she’s eaten recently? Tom and I didn’t see her at all yesterday, and it looks like she didn’t touch any of the leftovers.” The short woman shakes her head fondly, “Sometimes that girl gets too wrapped up in her projects - forgets that she needs to eat.”

“Will do, ma’am!” Claude hurries up the stairs at his usual excited pace. He should probably let Allan know that Marinette forgot to eat often enough that it was considered a habit of hers. He would certainly be the one to go about correcting that. Not that he and the rest of them weren’t concerned with her health, but Allan is the mom friend for a reason.

Seeing Marinette’s trapdoor he goes over his goals in his head. The main goal is to set her up to be distracted or busy for the rest of the morning. It wouldn’t do to have her try to make plans when he had them all gathered to go over his plotting. It would be nice to get Adrien’s number - preferably without her knowing. Of course, as always, he would aim to see that stunning smile of hers, she didn’t show it off nearly enough.

“Marinette, my magnificent- oh.”

He bursts into her room with his usual loud theatrics, but switches to be quieter impressively quickly. The girl in question is flopped across her bed, clearly dead to the world. Just to be on the safe side, he climbs the ladder, and whispers over to her,”Psst! Mari! How asleep are you?”

His only response is a light shiver, he frowns, finally noticing that Marinette is rather curled in on herself - her blankets kicked to the side - and the trapdoor to the balcony is slightly ajar. Well that just won’t do.

“Tsk, were you out late on your balcony? At the very least you could have shut the door properly. You’ll get yourself sick like this, and what would Allan say then?”

He moves onto the bed to correct her missing blankets. Pulling the trapdoor shut completely - it seems to have an annoying habit of sticking - he goes back down her ladder. Standing in front of her desk, he steals a sticky note and borrows a pen to leave note - he won’t be here when she wakes up:

Marinette!

I stopped by to say hello and I found that you were still asleep. Allan would be happy - he’s rather concerned about your sleeping schedule. He would have been less pleased to find that you were freezing yourself, what with your blankets off to the side and the trapdoor open! Your mom wanted me to remind you to eat, so you should do that! Can’t be our patisserie princess if you’re starving! We’d hate to see you suffer like that! Take care of yourself.

Your friend, Claude! ☺

Seeing her phone nearby, he unlocks it quickly and goes to her contacts. He knows most of his friends passwords, for the sole purpose of spontaneously changing their background and their names in the chats. Occasionally he’ll set reminders for them to take care of themselves if he deems it necessary, but not as often. He would never use it to snoop, and his friends are aware he knows the password - they’ve given the all clear. 

In this instance, he has plans that Mari can’t know about. Not that it’s a bad thing, but he thinks it would be best to do it in secret. For this, he needs Adrien. The boy’s name is easy enough to find, with two heart emojis next to it no less.

Claude grins mischievously, another thing to add to his growing list of evidence to fuel his suspicions of Marinette’s true feelings towards the model. He has no issue with it - totally ships the two actually.

He returns to where Marinette left off last on her phone - the group chat actually - and sets it back where he found it. 

“Farewell ‘Nettie! Sleep well!” He exits the room with a wave, completely unaware of the blue eyes that were watching him carefully the whole time. The little being smiles after him.

---

Kid Mime: Guys meet me at my house in 30 minutes. This is Claude.

Adrien: Uh, okay. Did Mari give you my number? 

Kid Mime: sure

Melodie: Wait, what’s going on?

The Mom Friend: hes plottin agan al’

Felix: Oh wonderful, what is it this time?

Adrien: What’s going on?

Melodie: Don’t question it. 

Melodie: Am I right to assume you’re Adrien?

Adrien: Yeah? Did I miss something?

The Mom Friend: jus go with it. hes got good reasons

The Mom Friend: probably

Kid Mime: i do.

Kid Mime: trust me

Kid Mime: its abouut mari

Adrien: Alright. Uh, where do you live? I’m not sure if Father has plans for me today

Kid Mime: felix please

Felix: Fine. 

Felix: Adrien, I will be picking you up at your place 20 minutes from now.

Adrien: Okay?

---

Adrien is browsing through the Ladyblog posts of the last month. He’s reviewing all footage of his Lady to see if there was any point he could have seen through her facade. He’s got nothing so far.

A knock at his door.

“Adrien.” It’s Nathalie, “You have a visitor. He says that he is here to pick you up.” Right, Felix is here for Claude’s mystery thing. Adrien pushes back on the floor, flying across the room on his chair. It’d probably be healthy for him to stop obsessing over Ladybug anyways - it’s all he’s done today. He carefully scoops up the sleeping Plagg, putting him in his inner pocket.

“Coming!” He opens the door and sees Felix standing in the entryway, speaking to Father. He hasn’t even been here a minute and Gabriel Agreste is already willing to speak to him. It’s so surprising it’s honestly sad.

Felix, he thinks, teach me your ways.

As he comes closer, the senior Agreste turns to his son, “Adrien. It is pleasing to see you striving to make such promising connections at your age.” Behind him, it almost looks like Felix winks at him, but it’s so uncharacteristic of the boy that Adrien can’t be sure, “Enjoy your time with Mr. Voclain today.” 

With that he exits, shutting himself back in his office.

“Will you two be requiring a ride?” Nathalie is at the door, looking at them curiously.

“Uh…”

“No ma’am. I have my own driver.”

“Alright. Adrien, be back before curfew.”

“Yes, Nathalie.”

They walk out together. Felix’s car is much more toned down than Adrien’s normal one, it fits the boy’s taste better, and Adrien wonders if Felix is actually given choices when it comes to his things.

“We may proceed to Claude’s house now, sir.”

The driver nods and they join the other cars on the road.

“So, uh, what exactly is going on?”

“I am not entirely sure.That said, I do have some idea, so allow me to explain. You have not known Claude long enough to be aware of this, but occasionally, Claude gets an idea into his head and will draw us all together to pull it off. There is often a large amount of scheming and sneaking around on his part. Sometimes it is simply a prank or surprise of the sort, but this time I get the distinct feeling that it is more serious than many of the past plots. Considering what little he told us through text, and the fact that Marinette was not present in the chat, it likely has something to do with her.”

“Okay. Should I be worried for her? Like, did Claude find something out...?” 

“If it was dire, he would likely call us all to her house and tell us then. Seeing as he is planning, it is not anything to worry too much about.”

“Okay. Um, do you know how he got my number? He wasn’t exactly clear with his answer.”

Felix shook his head, smiling a little, “I have learned that attempting to decipher Claude rarely yields satisfactory results.”

They sit in silence for the remainder of the ride. Adrien is stewing in concern. Marinette has seemed fine lately - she’d seemed like she was doing a lot better actually - but then so had Ladybug. If Claude is concerned, then Adrien will trust his judgement, he spends more time with the girl than the model anyways. He would know if something was wrong. The idea of Marinette upset again hurts him, especially so close with Ladybug revealing her thoughts.

Were the kind pig-tailed girls of Paris just especially prone to emotional distress lately?

“We are here.” Felix breaks him out of his thoughts. Adrien glances up at the building before them. Time to find out what Claude’s got planned.

---

Claude’s room is a blue-gray rectangle with light carpet. He had two large fluffy gray rugs, a window seat what held a mish-mashed variety of pillows and two large green pillows on the floor - one of which Allegra was sitting on. Across from the door was a dresser cluttered with various knick-knacks with a tall mirror and a hamper to the right of it. There was a low shelf with a plant on it containing various books and games. The bunk bed had a giant teddy-bear under the ladder, and the bottom bunk had been converted into a couch of sorts. Claude was standing against the wall near a whiteboard that had various colorful markers on its shelf. Adrien and Felix enter, the latter sitting on the window seat, and after a moment’s hesitation Adrien sat on the bed-turned-couch.

“Alright, you two are here, now we just need-” “Hey.”

“Allan! Yay, now we can get started!” Claude claps his hands together as Allan takes a seat on the other green floor cushion.

“What is it this time?” Allegra leans back on her arms, looking at Claude expectantly, “I’ve got the feeling it’s more serious than filling Felix’s locker with confetti?”

“It is, it’s about Marinette. I know that we all are aware of her issues with confidence-” Adrien frowns at this, hating to hear his everyday-Ladybug described like that. Not that it’s inaccurate, but it’s such a far cry from the confident leader he knew she could be. He can’t help but feel he could have done more. He tunes back in to what Claude is saying, because the least he can do is help bring her back, “But I think we under-estimated just how bad it is. When I went back for my textbook, I told her we enjoyed hanging out with her, and she was legitimately surprised-”

“But she’s so great!” Allegra interrupts incredulously.

“I know! She covered it up quickly - honestly she would do great in acting - but guys it was more than just surprised. She was…” he trails off, looking for the words, “She was like, absolutely astounded - like this was some sort of staggering revelation, but also hopeful? Then that got crushed immediately, even before she covered everything else. What even happened?” Claude intended the question to be rhetorical, but as the others were processing what he said, Adrien sighed.

“A lot. A lot happened.” Everyone’s head snapped to him immediately, having forgotten that he may have answers. He ran his hand through his hair - Father would have a heart attack at his model son’s hair looking so unruly.

“So you do know.” Allegra looks to him in confirmation, “Not that I’m asking what happened - that’s for her - but you do know?”

“Yeah, I do.” His face darkens as he thinks of all the classmates he still has to interact with on a near-daily basis. It drives him crazy, but it’s more bearable than when they were constantly trash-talking his best friend.

“That’s helpful. Even without tellin’ us things, you’ll be able to know how Mari might feel about whatever Claude has planned.” Allan speaks carefully, clearly still thinking things over.

“What is it that you have planned Claude?” Felix draws everyone’s attention back to the other boy. 

“I have done some research on the best ways to help-”

“Willing to bet murder wasn’t one of them.” Allegra mutters under breath.

“No, unfortunately not. However! There were other options, aren’t illegal. A lot of it is just being there, so just letting her know we do actually care about her and making an effort to hang out with her.” He sums this up and puts it on the on the whiteboard next to a number one.

“What’s she doin’ right now? Does she think we’re all hangin’ out without her? I don’t wanna’ have her worrying about that.”

“A good point Al. I went over to her house to try and find a way to distract her while we would be doing this-”

“And?”

“And she was sleeping. Shocking I know, but it would seem that she is capable of actually sleeping.” Something about this sticks in Adrien’s mind. He feels like there’s something he’s supposed to remember.

“Good. I’m happy-”

“Allan, before you celebrate our baby bird finally learning to take a break, you should know she was basically freezing herself. Balcony door open and no blankets.”

Allan tosses his arms in the air in exasperation, “Someone needs to teach her the definition of ‘self-care’!”

“I’m with him.”

“We can work that in. Anyways, point two - when she says something bad about herself, we aren’t supposed to just tell her she’s wrong. We’re supposed to find the root of it I guess? Like instead of ‘you aren’t stupid’ we’re supposed say something like, ‘why do you feel that way’ if that makes sense.”

They all nod and he adds a second point to the board.

“This one is a little harder for the non-Adriens among us, but we should be aware of it in case it becomes relevant. We have to make sure she realizes that she’s allowed to feel bad about a bad situation - mostly the one that instigated this I guess? So as I said, she doesn’t talk about it much with us, but…” he adds it to the board next to a 3.

“How much do you guys know?” Adrien doesn’t want to reveal something that Marinette doesn’t want them to know.

Allan shrugs, “Not much really.”

“We just have what we can infer… or theorize - but then we sound nosy, and we really aren’t trying to dig into her personal stuff.” Allegra adds.

“We noticed that she reacted poorly to being asked why she transferred, as well as all the moments when she cuts herself off. It was simple enough to notice a trend. Our best guess is bullying, but we do not actually know anything for sure.”

“Not to mention the-” Claude starts the sentence, but the other three finish with him, “bruises.”

“Yeah, those.” Adrien rubs the back of his neck and messes up his hair more. The rest clearly wish to ask more questions, but realize that any questions may earn more of an answer than they feel they’re allowed to know. They’re worried, but don’t want to go behind Marinette’s back to get answers she hasn’t given them yet.

After a moment, Claude brings them back on topic, “So I think one more little thing is compliments? From what I understand, sincere compliments are better than just standard ones. I think though that these should be in addition to any compliments we normally give her, because if we suddenly started complimenting her less she might think it’s weird and take it badly.”

The others give various affirmations, and Adrien raises his hand. Claude notices and blinks at him momentarily before calling on him, “Adrien. Also, you can shout it out - not going to give you detention.”

“Oh, okay. What qualifies as a ‘sincere compliment’? I sincerely mean anything I say to her.”

Claude gets a mischievous look that the other three recognize, “Adrien, care to elaborate? What kind of compliments?”

“Well, like she’s really pretty and really nice. I used to call her our ‘everyday-Ladybug’ because she just so strong and brave. Not to mention talented. Have you seen some of her designs? Did you know she won one of my father’s contests? She’s such a good leader too, maybe a bit rusty now, but I’m sure that if it came to it she would come up with an amazing plan for really anything. And she got so many people together. She was so good at figuring out which people complimented each other and would work well together and-” he notices them all looking at him strangely, “What?”

“Well,” Allan is smiling at him,”Other than it being nice t’ hear ‘bout Mari before all this, your rambling kinda’ sounded…”

Claude is bouncing on his feet, grinning eagerly, “I knew it.”

“What?”

Allegra looks at him, “Maybe think about it for a moment.” To the rest she shakes her head, adding, “I don’t think he’s even realized.”

“No, it would not seem so.” Even Felix seems to understand what they’re getting at.

“What haven’t I realized?”

“Adrien. You precious sunshine boy.” Claude still looks delighted, “You have a crush on Marinette.”

“What? I don’t have a-” He had a crush on Ladybug, not Marinette. Sure, Marinette was beautiful, with her bluebell eyes, and adorable pigtails, and she had a lot of similar qualities that Ladybug had that had made him like her in the first- oh. “... I have a crush on Marinette.” His face immediately flushes at the realization and all the implications.

“Well that was incredibly pure.” Allegra and the rest seem to have found this entertaining. Adrien is panicking over the fact that he has a crush on two different girls. He’ll have to talk with Plagg later.

“Perhaps we should spare Adrien. Claude, do you have anymore points? You also have yet to inform us what ridiculous name you have thought up this time.” Felix draws everyone’s attention off Adrien. He certainly appreciates it, his face is still slightly red.

“Uh, that’s it for my points, but OMMAM do I have a name for you!” Claude quickly adds point four to the board, “Operation Make Marinette Appreciate Marinette!”  He looks to them, waiting to see if it sinks in.

Allan gets it first, smiling slightly, and Adrien gives a thumbs up soon after.

“Oh, come on, seriously?” Allegra rolls her eyes and Felix shakes his head.

“Anyways! November 1st - day one of OMMAM! Here we go!”

Something about that last statement strikes the same bell in Adrien’s head from earlier. Something about November maybe…

“Wait it’s November?” Maybe following it will fill in the blanks?

“Yeah, the spooky month ended yesterday.”

“What temperature is it outside?”

“Just below 4 (39℉). Why?”

Wait. November - cold. Adrien thought back to last year, remembering how Marinette had been oddly tired. He remembered vaguely hearing about a condition, which she had mentioned again over the summer. Claude had said that when he checked on her she’d been sleeping…

“Claude, you said Marinette was sleeping? You checked on her earlier today? Were there any heaters in her room?”

“No… why? Is something wrong? Do we need to go check on her? Her parents are home.”

No heaters and Mari’s room was typically close to the outside temperature. This could be bad.

“They’re catering today, they were only there for a little bit this morning. We should go over there now, just in case.”

All of them are standing now. Allan asks first, “What’s wrong? Should we be worried?”

He doesn’t really know, Alya knew the most and he can’t ask her for obvious reasons. Marinette’s parents’ phones will be silenced, Marinette herself won’t be much help if his hunch is correct.

“Uh… maybe? It’s only November, but we should still go...”

They’re all out the door quickly, heading in the direction of the bakery.

---

By some luck, Adrien has a key. He doesn’t even remember the exact circumstances that led to the Dupain-Chengs giving him it, but this is the first time he’s used it.

“Should we call up? So she knows it’s us?” Allegra asks cautiously.

“I don’t think she’d hear us. She’s probably still asleep.” Adrien leads them up the staircase. 

“Really? She doesn’t sleep in a lot and it’s pretty late even if she did.”

“It’s a thing. I don’t really know the details. If we get her up she can probably explain better. I wasn’t really the one she hung out with last year. She gets really tired when it’s cold? I think it’s more than that though.”

“Oh.” 

Adrien can see that they’re all stressed and concerned. That’s fair. He would be too if someone suddenly told him that they need to go check on his new friend immediately without a clear reason.

They reach the stairs to Mari’s room and Adrien pushes open the trapdoor. As he expected, the girl is still in bed. The others frown in concern, Adrien climbs up to her shaking her gently. She only hums in response.

“We should probably try to warm up her room.”

“Wait. Does she have a fever?” Allan steps forward and stands near the ladder, “We don’t want to heat her up too much then. Just make it not cold anymore.”

Adrien nods, turning to feel the girl’s forehead, “Probably? She feels hot but I don’t really know.

“Allan can stay with her while you show us where the heaters are.” Allegra suggests.

“Maybe find a thermometer?” Allan is above them now and they nod as Adrien leads them back down into the house.

“Hey ‘Nette, you awake at all?” If she’s been sleeping all day she should wake up to at least drink something.

She hums at him in confirmation. “Alright. Have you eaten today?” She shakes her head slightly, though it’s an odd gesture from someone laying on their side.

He sighs, having figured as much, “What did you eat yesterday?” She vaguely gestures behind him. He sees two energy bar wrappers and an empty plastic water bottle, “... that’s it?” He tosses them over the edge into the trash.

She nods and he sighs, “Mari, that’s not healthy…” She gives him an odd look, her eyes squinting at him. She doesn’t have the energy to elaborate verbally so he just shrugs at her.

The trap door opens and Allegra enters. She has a glass of water and a thermometer.

“I considered soup, but figured it could wait for now. The boys are getting the heaters.” She climbs the ladder carefully and hands Allan the thermometer, putting the water on a flat surface and sitting at the top of the ladder near the end of the bed.

After some negotiations, Allan convinces Marinette to let him take her temperature. A minute later, it beeps. Looking at it he reads,”38.8 (102℉).” He shakes his head at the sleepy girl.

“Hey, Mari, can we convince you to drink something?” Allegra lifts the water glass.

In response she scrunches up her nose and tries to burrow under the blanket, mumbling,” s’eeepp…”

“Marinette you’ve been sleeping for hours. Just drink something for us and we’ll leave you be, okay?”

Marinette’s brain is slow and she’s not quite sure what’s happening. She knows Allan and Allegra are here and they want her to drink water. Maybe? It’s all very confusing. Where is everyone else? Weren’t they here? What is that they wanted? She thought it wasn’t a school day today, so why are they here?

“Wha?” She tries to open her eyes further to get a better idea of ...anything really, but it turns out to be too difficult a task. She can spot a glass of water though, she thinks one of them is holding it. Or it’s floating magically. Water would probably be good, but that means sitting up. Sitting up means moving. A lot. She hears one of them mention the water again. She shakes her head. She hates to disappoint them but sitting up is such a task.

“Marinette, honey, just sit up quick then we’ll leave you be.” Allegra has pulled herself further on the bed as she and Allan continue to negotiate with their dazed friend. The boys have returned with the heaters but haven’t done anything with them. They’re all standing around the room waiting for further instructions. 

“What should we do now?” Adrien calls up to Allan. He hates that he feels so useless, but they can’t all just crowd around her.

“Ibuprofen? That could help the fever.” 

“On it.” Adrien’s the only one that actually knows where it could be so the others leave it to him. 

“How’s she doin’ Al?”

“She’s got a fever of 38.8 (102℉), and won’t drink water.” 

“She’s pretty tired, I’m not sure she can sit-up…” Allegra adds on.

She can’t sit up. Marinette wants to make sure they know they’re aware of this so she tries to speak. She greatly overestimated her ability to do so however, so all that comes out is,”noo...t’ muh wor’...”

Allan shakes his head at her and Allegra smiles softly. Claude and Felix can’t hear her from where they are. Adrien reappears with a bottle of ibuprofen, passing it up to those on the bed. Allan reads the bottle while Allegra moves to help Marinette prop herself up. The girl is too weak to really resist and settles for leaning heavily against the braided blonde.

“Marinette can you take some ibuprofen too? It could help.” Allan has the ibuprofen and water ready, holding it out for her. She somehow manages to summon enough strength to grab them both, swallowing the medicine with the water. She gets about halfway done with the water before her arm starts shaking from the struggle. One of the others takes it out of her hands for her, setting it down. She slumps further, ready to go back to sleep. Marinette really hopes there's nothing else they have planned for her. She doesn’t like to let them down, but she’s just so exhausted. 

It seems they finally understand that, because she’s allowed to lay down again and she vaguely registers them climbing down as she drifts back to sleep. She’s woken by her mother? She isn’t entirely sure how much time has passed, but she has soup for her so that’s nice. Marinette is pretty sure she had most of the soup. Or some of it? It’s not entirely clear to her in all honesty. Eventually she’s allowed to return to rest.

She wakes up again. It’s late, and she can tell it’s dark out. If she woke up on her own then she’s probably better now. That logic makes sense. Yeah…

There’s probably something she can do. The designer sits up slowly, thinking. Maybe she can- wait. Her plants! It’s fall and they can’t be outside in the winter, she has to take them inside so she can care for them! This certainly isn’t something that can wait for morning! Not at all! She should get on that.

---

Chat Noir is on a late-night patrol. Too many of his friends are going through things and sometimes it helps to just run across the rooftops. It can help clear his head.

That said, he would like to check on them. Ladybug is unfortunately out of the question, but he can always swing by the bakery. Marinette won’t be up, but maybe-

He pauses as the bakery comes into view. The girl in question is currently up and on her balcony. That’s not right. He and the other four stayed at her house for a few hours and she slept the whole time. Her parents came home and the friends left after letting them know. Marinette was definitely very sick, so there was no reason for her to be outside on her balcony of all places.

She seems to be trying to move her plants? It can’t be easy with how much she’s shaking. He starts forward again, picking up his pace when it begins to look like she may collapse. He lands near her and she doesn’t even seem to notice. Before he can say anything, she goes to try moving a different pot and trips on nothing, falling backwards into him.

“Hey Princess.”

“...hi?”

He gently grabs her by the shoulders, turning her around to face him though still holding her up. As much as he wants to ask her just what she thinks she’s doing, he can’t exactly say ‘hey I’m Adrien Agreste, I’m well aware that you are very sick and shouldn’t be outside in the middle of the night, especially in the fall. I was literally here hours ago and your temperature was almost 40 (104℉), you lovable moron.’

Instead, he says, “Are you okay? Lookin’ a little shaky there Mari.”

“ ‘m fine.”

He raises an eyebrow moving to feel her forehead, “Really now?” He can feel the heat of her fever through his glove.

“Mhm. Had a fever, but ‘m betta’ no.” She looks up at him blearily and blinks.

“You’re better now huh? The fever you’ve got begs to differ.”

“Don’ hav’ ah feev’r. All good…” She shakes her head and would have fallen over if it it weren’t for the fact he was still gripping her shoulders

“All good? And why is that?” This ought to be interesting.

“I woke up… an’ I got ou’ here…” She seems to be utterly convinced by this rock-solid reasoning.

“Princess, I hate to break it to you, but you aren’t actually better. You should get back to sleep.”

“ ‘m no’ tire’” She huffs like some defiant toddler, crossing her arms. It may have been more convincing if she wasn’t leaning heavily to one side.

“You should still go inside. It’ll be warmer.”

“No, an’ my plantsss…”

“Your plants can survive outside another night. Come on Mari.”

He guides her to the trapdoor, holding it open for her and following her inside. It feels weird being over so late, but he has a feeling that she may not actually sleep. He’ll just keep an eye on her until she does.

“See? t’s not warm.” She’s curled up near her cat pillow and is glaring at him feverishly. It isn’t all that menacing if he’s honest.

“Well,” he makes a point to look over the edge of the bed at the heaters they didn’t end up setting up earlier, “What about those heaters?”

She blinks at him.

He moves down the ladder. They didn’t do anything earlier because they didn’t want to make her too hot, but now the temperature has dropped and the girl’s room is rather cold.

After a bit, the room has warmed some and he returns to his friend. She hasn’t moved much and just blinks at him sleepily. He sits next to her.

“There, is that any better? Think you can sleep now Princess?”

“ ‘m not tir’d…” She just looks at him, as if suggesting she sleep is entirely bizarre.

“You’re sick. You need your rest Marinette. Your room is warm now so-” He gets cut off when she flops across him. Oh well, he’s probably the warmest thing in this room right now. If that’s what it takes to get her to sleep then he can deal with a Marinette blanket.

“ ‘re m’re w’m.”

He smiles at her, “Really now?”

“Mhm. but ‘m not tires..”

“Anything that could make you tired that you can think of? Because you do need to sleep. I could look something up…” He glances down at her. She’s making a weak grabby motion in his general direction.

“ ‘ugs?” She looks so hopeful and who is he to say no to her? He scoops her up so he can hug her without leaning down and squishing her. She’s curled against him and returning the hug feebly. 

After about ten minutes her breathing evens out and she falls asleep lightly. He doesn’t want her to wake up so decides to wait a moment before moving her to her bed properly. He doesn’t really mind.

Besides, sleepy Marinette hugs are wonderful. He can wait.

He eventually transfers her under her blankets so that she can sleep on a proper bed and he can go to his own. He brushes her hair out of her face carefully as her exits her room. Being sure to shut the trapdoor properly, he goes back to his house.

He’d rest easier knowing one of his friends is doing all right.

---

Author’s Note: Apparently, a common effect of being overworked is having trouble falling asleep. As I said, Marinette worked herself sick - quite literally.

From here, the winter effects of her miraculous will begin impacting Mari, especially due to the fact that she worked away any stamina she may have had.

Reference slides for Claude's room here! I really know nothing about the typical parisian house, so I just designed the room based off Claude. Is it easy to tell he's my favorite to write for? I think I understand his personality best, so it's really easy to write for him.

Does anyone know if I can schedule my posts on AO3? It'd be useful, but I'm not sure it's an option.

Double update today! I'm really looking forward to the akuma in the next chapter. I'm both ashamed and proud of it.

As always, thanks for reading, and constructive criticism is welcomed in the comments below! I love seeing comments!

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[vanillacaramelhoney]

Look for Me (5/12)

Pairing(s): Robin Buckley x Reader

Summary: Princess Robin Buckley, since the age of eight, was always seen with another girl- (Y/n) (L/n). They always chose to be together, but when (Y/n) is chosen as one of Robin's personal guards, they're practically tied together. It seems innocent to everyone, but so much more can happen behind closed doors.

Warning(s): None

A/N: Ah, yes. I managed to post this chapter on time. If you’re reading this, you’re now aware of your breathing. Have a nice day!

Feedback is greatly appreciated!

Previous | Next

The King

"Princess Robin Buckley. It's wonderful to meet you." Robin smiled at the king. He introduced himself, "Neil Hargrove."

"Nice to finally meet you," Robin said.

"This is my wife, Susan," Neil gestured to the woman, who stepped forward. The two shook hands, giving sweet smiles to each other.

"And these are our children, Billy," he pointed to the eldest, "and Maxine." He pointed to the youngest.

The girl immediately looked uncomfortable, "It's Max." Neil swiveled around to glare at his daughter. She rolled her eyes, arms crossing.

When he turned back around, Neil was smiling again.

"I hope you all didn't rush to get here," Neil said.

"We certainly took our time," Robin said. (Y/n) wished they were still walking- the place already had her on edge. Or maybe it was the fact that this was their first time out of the kingdom, meaning Robin was more likely to be in danger.

Maybe it was both.

(Y/n) snapped out of her thoughts when Neil mentioned the maids showing them to their temporary rooms.

Sure enough, two women approached their group. They waved them along, showing them into a corridor leading to the castle's rooms.

One woman stopped the four guards at two of the doors, while the woman leading Robin kept walking.

"This is where you guards will be staying," she said, opening the doors for them. "You're paired two and two. We would've gotten you your own room away from the males had we known you were coming, ma'am." The woman smiled apologetically at (Y/n).

"Don't worry about it," (Y/n) told her. She noticed the subtle wave of relief wash over the maid.

"You two are staying in here," she pointed the two other guards to one room. "And you two will be staying in here." She showed Garret and (Y/n) the other.

"Your belongings are already inside." With that, the woman left them on their own.

Garret and (Y/n) stepped into their room, and sure enough, their bags were sitting in the very middle.

The room was small, with enough room for two twin beds with plain white sheets, a desk, and a wardrobe.

"Well, it's small but definitely better than other places I've been forced to stay," Garret commented. He looked back at (Y/n). "You should probably find where Robin is."

(Y/n) nodded, heading out of the room.

She headed down the hall in the direction Robin had gone.

Several doors ahead, she saw the maid step out of the room.

The maid caught sight of (Y/n) and smiled. "Are you looking for your princess?" she asked when (Y/n) stopped in front of her.

"Yes."

"She's right in there. Maxine stopped by to talk with her, but I don't think they'll mind if you enter," the woman explained.

"Thank you." She nodded and left.

(Y/n) knocked lightly on the door before stepping in.

(Y/n)'s eyes found Robin and Max standing in front of each other at the end of Robin's temporary bed.

The two were looking at (Y/n).

"Hey. Did you already get settled?" Robin asked as (Y/n) moved further into the room.

"Yeah. I figured I'd find where your room is."

"You're her personal guard, right?" Max asked.

"I am," (Y/n) answered.

"Well, I was going to talk to her about Neil," Max said. "It's probably best if you hear this, too."

Robin and (Y/n) exchanged confused glances at Max's usage of her father's name.

"Why would you need to talk to us about him?" Robin asked.

"Because I don't think it's safe for you to trust him," Max said before muttering, "Or my brother for that matter."

"Wait," (Y/n) crossed her arms, "what?"

"Neil's fake. I would be careful about what you say to him and try not to agree to anything without thoroughly talking it out," Max explained. "My brother is mostly just an asshole, but I'd still keep an eye on him."

Robin and (Y/n) stared at the young girl, bewildered.

Seeing their shocked and confused looks, she spoke again. "I know it's a lot to dump on you, and reasonably weird, but I felt you needed to know before your talk with either of them."

"Uh, well. Thank you for telling us this," Robin regained herself. "We'll be careful about what we do."

"I'll see you around, then," Max said. "Maybe." The girl shrugged before leaving.

As soon as she was gone, (Y/n) looked over at Robin with a look of insanity.

"Why the hell does your dad trust this guy?!" (Y/n) hissed. "His own daughter doesn't trust him!"

Robin shook her head. "Who knows, maybe he's not as bad as Max is saying. My dad had good judgment," Robin reached for straws.

"Robin, I think your dad is great, and I hold only one thing against him, but if this king's daughter is saying that he shouldn't be trusted, I don't think we should trust him," (Y/n) reasoned. "Besides, before he even introduced himself, something was offsetting about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. There was just something off!" (Y/n) said. She took a deep breath, calming herself. "Alright, look. Let's deal with what needs to be dealt with and get out of here."

Robin nodded. "I'm perfectly fine with that."

A knock on the door drew their attention. A maid stepped in a moment later.

"M'lady, the king requests your appearance. He wishes to speak to you."

[ladylillianrose]

You’ve Got SPRQS a Max Richman/Zoey Clarke Fanfiction

A/N: You guys I am so overwhelmed by the response to the last chapter! I know everyone had been looking forward to that moment between them! Thank you all for your comments, kudos, and for reading this! You all keep me writing!

As always a big thank you to my beta aubreyrichman!

Still just borrowing them, but I'm taking good care of them for Austin Winsberg in the meantime!

Summary: Max and Zoey take Peter to his playdate

Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 8

The next morning Max woke to the sound of the smoke alarm going off. He jumped out of bed and ran out to the kitchen confused.

*MROWR*

"Shhh Ollie, I know it's loud!" Zoey flailed a wooden spoon ineffectively at the smoke alarm, attempting to reach the button.

Max chuckled and walked over to turn the smoke alarm off.

Zoey jumped, startled at his sudden appearance. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She winced.

"No, I was awake anyway, " Max fibbed. Zoey gave him a look that said she didn't believe him for a moment.

Ollie wove between the two of them, happily purring and chirping at them.

"Do I even want to know what made the alarm go off?" Max asked, his nose wrinkling at the smell of burnt toast.

Zoey shook her head, turning to place the scorched pan in the sink and run water over it.

"I  was  attempting to make us breakfast, but your kitchen hates me," she pouted.

Max chuckled, "Ahhh yes, I forgot to mention that my kitchen only likes people who can cook."

Zoey smacked his arm playfully, "I can cook plenty of things, Maxwell Richman!"

"Microwaveable foods do not count, Zo."

She huffed, "They do too. Besides I made coffee, that didn't get ruined!"

Max muttered something that sounded like, “Thank God." He poured a cup for each of them, remembering to add 3 sugars to Zoey's before handing it to her.

She blushed as she remembered what he had said to her…. well Red about how sweet she liked her coffee.

She cleared her throat, "Drink up. Then we can swing by my place so I can change, and we should still have enough time to grab breakfast before we have to go get Peter."

Max smiled at her from over his mug, offering her a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am."

Zoey shook her head at him as he drained his mug. He walked by her on his way to get ready, stopping to squeeze her shoulder. "Thanks for staying last night. You're a really good friend."  

"Of course, that's what best friends are for," she said plastering a smile on her face.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower, I'll just be a few minutes," he said.

Zoey nodded distractedly, taking another sip of her coffee. She had spent the evening before trying to find ways to keep Max’s mind off of being stood up, but also trying to keep herself from blurting out the truth about Red. They were up half the night watching movies until Max had suggested that she stay the night. She tried to sleep, but her mind kept wandering to how sad Max had looked when he realized that Red wasn’t coming. She had made the right choice in not telling him about Red….right?

She glanced up at a noise from the hall, Max had finished his shower. He was standing in the hall running a towel across his hair, wearing only a towel slung low on his hips. Zoey quickly turned her moan into a cough as she took in the image before her. Any coherent thoughts she may have just had, went out the window as she stared at his toned body. She cleared her throat and Max pulled the towel off his head and grinned sheepishly. "Forgot my clothes."

 Zoey nodded as she swallowed, "I don't think I've ever seen you with your shirt off before...are you, secret buff?"

Max grinned at her as he flexed his arm, "I've been dabbling a little bit in the muscular arts, yeah sure."

Not trusting herself to say anything else Zoey just nodded, unable to take her eyes off his chest.

"Hey Zoey, my eyes are up here*," he teased as he caught her staring. He winked playfully at her and walked into his bedroom closing the door behind him.

She blushed and quickly took a sip of her coffee to distract herself. 

"Be just a minute, then we can go," he called to her.

Zoey felt Ollie nudging his head against her hand, demanding attention. "Ollie, your Dad is trying to kill me, I swear," she groaned. Ollie chirped in agreement, purring loudly as she pet him.

By the time Max emerged, Zoey had managed to calm her racing heart and flushed cheeks. 

They quickly headed to Zoey's apartment so she could change.

"I'll run and grab us bagels from around the corner while you get ready," Max offered. "Be right back!"

Zoey slowly walked up the stairs to her apartment, pausing as Mo's door opened. 

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to come home," he grinned at her. "So, I take it Max was okay once you told him the truth?"

"I…. ummm...I didn't tell him." Zoey mumbled as she unlocked her door.

Mo followed her inside quickly, "What do you mean you didn't tell him?!"

"Shhh, he's going to be here at any moment!"

Mo rolled his eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you child?"

"Mo I couldn't tell him. He was expecting Red, you should have seen his face when he was talking about her. I couldn't let him down," Zoey explained. She quickly grabbed a sweater, pulled it over her head, and slipped on a pair of leggings.

"But you and Red are the same person!" Mo huffed in exasperation. "Fine, what does Red plan on saying about standing him up then?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet,” she said worrying her lip. 

"Well, you better think of something soon. That poor boy deserves an explanation!" Mo shook his head and headed back to his apartment, just as Max came up the stairs.

"Was that Mo I just heard?" He asked, opening the bag and handing Zoey her bagel.

She nodded, "He was just apologizing for ditching me for Eddy last night."

"Would it be bad if I said I was happy that happened?"

Zoey looked at him questioningly with her mouth full.

Max's cheeks reddened, "Well if Mo hadn't ditched you, then you wouldn't have shown up at the cafe last night. And you wouldn't have rescued me from the awkwardness of waiting for a date that didn't show."

Zoey swallowed, she didn’t deserve his appreciation. She was the one responsible for his date not happening in the first place. Not that he was aware of that, but Mo was right. Max did deserve an explanation, Red owed him that much.

She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm here whenever you need me."

Max smiled softly at her, as they finished their breakfast in silence.

"You ready for this playdate?" Max asked as they got in his car.

"Not even remotely," Zoey laughed. 

"Aww come on, it's just a few infants, how bad can it be?" Max teased. 

________________________________________________________________

"Oh, you must be Peter's, Auntie Zoey!" A bubbly blonde woman who introduced herself as Julie greeted them. "And who do you have with you?" She not so discreetly eyed Max up and down, as he removed Peter from his carrier.

"Oh umm, this is Max," Zoey awkwardly started, gesturing to him.

"Oh, lucky you, Peter! Auntie Zoey and Uncle Max both brought you today! Well, welcome to you both!"

"Oh, umm...I'm not…" Max began, attempting to correct the woman.

"This is Kayleigh, my little girl," she said gesturing to the baby on her hip. "She's the same age as Peter and Olivia. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others!" Julie led them over to a large blanket where there were two other mothers sitting with their children.

"That's Linda and Grayson. Grayson is about a month younger than Peter and Kayleigh. And over there is Phoebe and her little girl Olivia."

Zoey and Max said hello and waved as they took a seat on the blanket.

Julie and the other mothers chatted amongst themselves, discussing their children, mutual friends, and their family’s plans for the rest of the weekend. Zoey found herself sitting there awkwardly, unsure of how to contribute to the conversation. She glanced at Max and shrugged her shoulders at the situation.

Max smiled encouragingly at her and sat Peter in a seated position next to Olivia and Grayson. Peter rolled himself forward onto his stomach and turned to glance back at Max.

"Oh, you want me to join you?" Max smiled, as he lay down on his stomach next to him. "How's that?"

Peter grinned and patted Max's cheek affectionately. The other infants soon began to interact with Max as well, handing him toys, making noises at him, and listening as he spoke with them.

Zoey smiled as she watched them together. She glanced up when she realized the other women had gone quiet. They were all quietly watching Max as he played with the children

Julie leaned over to Zoey, "Your husband is a natural, you are very lucky."

"Oh, we're not…." She tried to explain.

"Good practice for the future," she winked at her before turning to ask Phoebe a question.

Zoey flushed at Julie's implications. Max glanced up at her, "Everything okay?" he whispered.

Zoey nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

The children played for about thirty minutes together, before they started to get cranky. 

"And that's our cue," Julie said smiling at Max and Zoey. "We usually try and time our playdates to end around naptime. That way they get all their energy out playing with each other, and nap slightly  little better when we get home.”

Zoey nodded; their plan seemed to make sense to her.

"Give Emily our love! You're both welcome to join us anytime!" Julie told them.

They said their goodbyes and bundled a sleeping Peter into the car quickly.

"Thank you for coming with me. I don't think I could have survived without you there. You were great with all the kids," Zoey smiled at him.

"Well I have had practice with my nieces and nephews," he grinned. "And as for going with you, what are friends for?"

Friend. There was that dreaded word again. She sighed, and Max glanced at her in concern.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little worn out," she replied.

"Go ahead and take a quick nap, I'll wake you when we get there," Max offered.

Zoey smiled softly at him and nodded, leaning her head against the window and slowly drifting off to sleep.

________________________________________________________________

Max glanced over as she fell asleep. It was no wonder she was exhausted; they had stayed up half the night watching movies and talking about everything and nothing. Once he had realized how late it had gotten, he offered to let her stay the night. She could take his bed, and he would sleep on the sofa. She was stubborn though and had insisted that they had enough room to share the bed. 

He had lain awake while she slept, trying to puzzle out where things had gone wrong with Red. She had been the one to suggest the meeting, was she having second thoughts? Maybe his last song had been too much too soon. He knew that he was falling for Red and quickly, but what if she didn't feel the same? He was worried about her lack of response and hoped that nothing had happened to her. He reached for his watch on the nightstand and decided to send her another message.

I just want to make sure that you are okay. 

After that, he had finally fallen asleep, before being rudely awakened by the smoke alarm. He shook his head fondly at the thought of Zoey attempting to cook them breakfast. She was adorable, a menace in the kitchen, but adorable, nonetheless. It was one of the things he loved about her.

He sighed, as he pulled up to the curb, glancing at his watch in hopes of a response from Red. Nothing.

He got out and quietly carried Peter into his parents. Unlike his Aunt, Peter was now wide awake after his short nap. Max grinned as he said his goodbyes and returned to the car, heading towards Zoey's apartment.

When they arrived, he nudged her awake gently, she yawned and smiled at him. Realizing they were at her building she quickly turned to look at the backseat.

"I took Peter home first. Figured I'd let you sleep as much as you could since we were up late last night."

Zoey nodded and smiled at him. She got out of the car and Max walked with her to her door.

"So, I'll see you on Monday?" Max said as she unlocked her door.

 Zoey nodded, "Monday."

He turned to go but stopped as he felt her hand on his arm. Without a second thought, she pulled him into a hug. Max froze for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her and returning the hug.

She pulled back and smiled at him. "I just thought you might need one of those."

Max nodded and smiled at her. Her cheeks were flushed, "Well, see you on Monday." She waved slightly and disappeared into her apartment.

Max made his way slowly back to his car. As he started the engine, he felt his watch buzz, he looked down and saw a message from Red.

I'm okay…. I’m sorry...I owe you an explanation...

[artificialqueens]

she loves me! (multi) — chapter two - roza

[ summary ] : sharon is always reminiscing on her early youth in budapest and how she managed to meet her wife. meanwhile, a new bright eyed girl walks into the perfume shop with nothing in mind except getting a job.

[ author's note ] : next chapter! tonight we open! my original idea was one chapter for each song but I think I'm combining some of the shorter songs together so not only can the story go by a bit faster but also so we get some sasha quicker and can really describe more detail! hope y'all enjoy.

AO3 / My Tumblr / ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

— *.✧

Shea's nerves seemed to melt away once her boss simply rubbed her shoulders and sighed with a deep laugh leaving her lips, "You know, it's hilarious to me how you manage to eat all my wife's food and here I am with heartburn having to ask Divina for her stomach pills."

Adjusting the sleeves of her red blazer she stifled a chuckle, finding it a bit amusing but more relieved that she wasn't getting some kind of beatdown from her boss, the person she respected and wanted to impress most.

"Mrs. Coady cooks very well, all I can do is sit down at the table and accept what I've been so graciously offered." The blonde peered over Divina's workstation as the employee handed Sharon a box of her stomach pills, needing some relief.

"She's always cooking! Pierogi, Cakes, various sweets— you get to enjoy it and meanwhile I'm struggling to even ingest it."

The American giggled, tilting her head to the side as Sharon winked, "I know what you bachelor's are like however." It was true Shea was single, she had even dated a bit here and there: she was no Katya but even if she conversed so personally and dreamed of romantic intentions with her Dear Friend, she was still by every meaning of the word a Bachelor

Divina had to cock her brow, amused beyond belief as she was the only loyal and married woman in the shop. Alaska was married but definitely not loyal and everyone else was pining or too young to think about it (Aquaria namely). Brushing the dust of the unpackaged boxes off her vest she clapped as Sharon began swaying, humming to the classical record that echoed throughout the shop.

The original noise coming from the one she had placed intentionally by Aquaria's cleaning materials and the stool so that at least there would be some sort of a distraction, an escape from the painful and tiring retail work.

"I was once younger, I'm not that old you know but I was once a bachelor! And what a bachelor I was." Sharon bragged, sitting down on the stool next to Shea and reminiscing about the days when she was simply young, strong and let every night pass her without a care in the world. Reckless, intelligent and yet so alone.

"It was always with some girl, they always caught my eye and good for me being so light on my feet. I could circle the dance floor until dawn lit up the sky."

Alaska, Katya and Divina all gathered, happy to be having some sort of an informal break. The three exchanged tender glances to one-another though there was a twinge in Alaska's eyes as the topic shifted to Mrs. Coady, Jinkx as everyone in the shop knew her though they were far too formal to every refer to her by her given first name. Her smile sweet, always seemed to come with a new style for her Auburn hair that glistened in the sunlight. Always a kiss on the cheek for the workers, a peck for Sharon who would await her random and accustomed appearances.

Shea soaked in all of the story, finding it hard to believe Sharon used to be quite the flirt.

"And then I met Jinkx, my wife, and ever since that day we met in the dance hall I've never gone back!" A deep laugh, tapping Shea's shoulder for a response. "I bet you think that's absolutely incredible."

Flusteredly she replied with a soft and quick, "Well no! She's a beautiful woman!" Her waist quickly being grabbed by Sharon who took her down from the platform for a quick dance lesson, humming the classical symphony that played in the background. "I was once your age, I was just as good looking and still think I am!" Her voice speaking above the music, eyes gleaming.

"Oh Mrs. Coady I'm really not as great at dancing as you think I am!" Shea attempted to speak up, lips pressed together as her boss only continued to spread her wisdom, "Mrs. Coady I've always had trouble with my feet!" She yelled over the music though Sharon straightened out her waist, "I know you better than that Mrs. Couleé!"

"1,2,3— follow the beat!" They both repeated to themselves, "Around, around, around!" She yelled with an observing eye before the blonde took in the sight of Katya who had been gently dancing around the tile, she knew she could help Shea straighten up.

"Ms. Zamolodchikova!"

The Russian gasped of delight, Shea's nose wrinkled as she took over for Sharon. She adored the giddy blonde with all her heart but she knew from the beginning that movement and dancing was what Katya had pursued in the first place. Biting her lip she groaned, trying not to step on Katya's feet by simply looking down. The Russian tightened the grip of their fingertips as she instructed the regiment.

"And go back 2,3! Back 2,3!"

Shea began to get the hang of the basic patterns and movements with waltzing down. Katya grinning as Divina and Sharon both clapped. "That's it Shea!" Yelled the redhead from the comfort of her workstation, Alaska leaning into the wall as she watched intrigued.

"And spin me around, going back 2,3, back 2,3!" Obeying her instruction she carefully made sure to spin around the Russian girl who smiled widely, lashes fluttering. "Why Shea!" She teasingly spoke up, dancing in her heels with precision once the American had truly grasped the movement.

Katya took a bow as Sharon kissed her hand, smiling. "Trust me Shea, it's not necessary to change partners every night! Or every other night." Sharon handed back Divina's box of stomach pills as her hand glided across her work station, "Did you see the new shipments we got in today? We have a new product."

Aquaria excitedly ran down the platform, dropping her broom in place. "Did we really?"

Holding out one of the many boxes that Divina had begun to organize on the top of her space she laughed, "Yes!" She opened the boxes, to everyone's surprise a loud musical tune played— they had to be music boxes.

"It's a musical cigarette box."

"Who thinks it'll sell?" She asked sincerely though all of her employees, even Aquaria looked away being completely aware of how ridiculous the concept of these sounded. "Why Mrs. Honard!" She called over Alaska who chuckled, exchanging a panicked glance with Katya who watched her meet Sharon on the floor away from her own workspace, opening the box she gravely laughed.

"I don't see why not. I'd go even further, I say this'll make music lover's out of cigarette smokers and cigarette smokers out of music lover's!" Sharon clapped in utter bliss at the response, turning on her heels, "Wonderful!" She stopped at Shea who looked completely and openly crazed at the idea of selling these and 10 and 6.

"Ms. Couleé definitely does not seem too onboard with the idea, yes?" Shea shook her head.

"I just can't see how these would sell Mrs. Coady, no matter who is a music lover and who's a smoker, this entire population seems to be but that doesn't mean it'll sell."

Sharon hummed, closing the box.

"Let's make a bet! I'll bet you 10 and 4 that we can sell one of these in an hour." Her cocky demeanor and calm body language showing just how proud of these boxes she was. The American only sat in wait, "I really don't want to make your money ma'am."

"So it's a bet?" Sharon's brow cocked as she held out her hand, waiting for Shea to accept. She did though quite confident, there was no reluctance in her handshake. There was no way these ridiculous boxes could be sold in the next hour! Who knew if there'd even be customers this upcoming hour, it was a tricky economy and Budapest summer's could still kill a man when it came to the afternoon heatwave.

Sharon stood confidently, "You'll pay right through your nose." She whispered before she jolted at the sound of the bell, Katya opening the door and shutting it tight. Sharon walked up to the first woman who wore a tight yellow dress with matching heels and a small hat that covered most of her straightened black hair.

Her expression angered as Sharon opened the musical cigarette box, still looking to win this absolutely ridiculous bet of her's.

"Who do I see about returning a sour jar of face cream?"

Shutting the music box tight she rolled her eyes angered, "Why certainly madam, Mrs. De Campo, your customer!" The Brit quickly standing in front with a hand extended, leading her new customer to her work station so they could out the situation and possibly persuade her on some of the new soaps and clippers in stock.

Katya opened the door once more, the chiming echoing as Shea stepped up next to leave Alaska with her own work. "Good day madam, may I help you?" She gave a polite bow as a bright eyed girl walked through the doors. Clutching her cream colored purse and adjusting her hat and a leather belt around it. Her dress flowing, it was long enough that it had even covered most of the view of her white heels.

Her eyes gleamed at the sight of the shop, looking around interested in what the store had to offer. Shea had to admire her perfect blue eyes and the beautiful lipstick that was painted across her lips. Anxiously awaiting a response the blonde turned to Shea, her thick hair and curls moving with the turn of her head.

She smiled brightly though it came with a nervous chuckle, "No!" Shea nodded respectfully, "Well yes!" She turned to the blonde who clearly was deliberating a situational playout in her head. Adjusting the buttons on her coat she gave a soft grin to Shea who began to advertise some of the products for her to buy.

"We have a lovely collection of soaps, salts, lipsticks!"

The blonde sighed, "I'm really not here to buy anything, I would like to speak with Mrs. Coady!" Her voice a bit louder now as Shea placed the makeup she had been holding back in it's glass cabinet, a bit confused but nonetheless letting the woman go about her business.

"She is very busy if I may warn you, I can always help if you'd like!"

Sitting in the stool she tapped her knees, her fingertips brushing her long eyelashes, glaring at Shea before swallowing a breath. "The old employee! Mrs. Edwards? It's true she has resigned after her surgery right?"

A smirk began to form across the corner of Shea's lips, beginning to piece together exactly what this woman was attempting to do, why she needed to speak privately to Mrs. Coady.

"You're looking for a job, aren't you?"

"Oh yes but I am such a good employee!" She stood up and opened her purse, beginning to pull out various trinkets looking for the letter of recommendation. "If you leave your name maybe I can tell Mrs. Coady you stopped by?" The blonde looked up, "Sasha, Sasha Velour."

"Wonderful. Mrs Velour, I'm just afraid we aren't seeking any new employees." She then started on how she had an excellent track record and attendance and experience from her old business in the Soviet Union, it was a very well known beauty store. Katya had mentioned it a few times to Divina and Shea whenever she'd take the time off to go see her family in Stalingrad.

"Everyone in Leningrad said I was such a good employee, I even have a letter of recommendation from Mr. Kuznetsov himself!"

Shea sighed, gently taking all the stuff she begun handing to the American looking for her letter including various lipsticks, a scarf and paper checks. "Look Mrs. Velour—" suddenly Sasha gasped and giggled, finding the handwritten and crumpled letter under her hat this whole time. "Here it is!" She said taking back her mishmosh of items to put back into her purse. "It says Mrs. Velour is honest, dependable, a dedicated hard worker, intelligent!"

"I completely believe the letter Mrs. Velour but I'm afraid it just can't be done at this time."

Sharon closed the door behind her, peeping the conversation as Shea jumped in shock. "What can't be done? At Coady's anything can be done!" The blonde smiled before Shea whispered that she wanted a new job. "What?" She said completely exhausted, they hadn't opened the position for a reason.

"But please! I've been working in this business for years, I worked back in the Soviet Union for Mr. Kuznetsov for almost five years and eight months!" Sharon turned to Shea a bit ticked, "Really Shea? You couldn't handle her by yourself?" She began walking as Sasha opened the letter for her to see herself. "But really, I am a good sales clerk…" she turned to a collection of painted boxes that had been marked as new, the price written large in the chalk board provided.

I might as well look completely delusional, I need this job! I'm not going back to the Soviet Union.

The Russian gasped as Divina had finished a stale conversation with the woman who clearly could only complain about the poor service and use of the cold cream. "Why aren't these just marvelous boxes? And only 10 and 6?" The woman looked up, surprised another "clerk" had decided to join in.

Shea had began walking to stop her from her complete lunacy but Alaska tapped her on the shoulder and gave a look that simply read as "I'd like to see where this goes." Bitterly Shea stood back, hand under her chin.

I am not losing a bet to some blonde girl who decided to waltz in!

"What do they do?" Her hands crossing as Divina anxiously looked at Sharon who now curiously pondered if she would actually win the bet thanks to the new Russian girl who decided to be an overachiever and attempt to sell a musical cigarette box.

"Why Madam! These are the newest form of candy boxes!" She opened the lid before wincing at the sound of music, she gasped and kept her witty and bright smile intact: "Oh! Oh!" She laughed, keeping it open as she spoke with great eye contact and a firm tone much to the displeasure of the customer who only questioned what a musical candy box could even be used for.

That's a question I wish I could answer sincerely.

Sasha kept herself going, still having yet to step on her own toes, closing the box. "This little box has been a lifesaver to many, many women who may tend to overeat!" The woman glaring before the Russian cut in, innocently, "But don't we all? We sit at home: listening to a symphony, reading a good book and then without realizing—" her fingertips lifting up the lid so that the music could play, dimly changing the atmosphere. "Our hand just slips into the candy box."

The Russian hummed along to the tune, the woman more and more sold on the idea.

"We become indiscreet eating sweet after sweet though we know all too well where that may lead!" Her rhythmic flow and gentle replies following the beats of the music box. "And so madam this box was designed with the two of us mind, as the kind of reminder we need!" She winked and gave a curt nod. "When you raise the lid the music plays like a disapproving nod." She put the box close to the woman's ear and sighed "And then it sings in your ear!" the Russian gently singing put an octave below her normal range, "No more candy my dear!" sighing she turned still holding it up to her ear, all the employees staring.

"In a way it's a little like the voice of God!"

She closed the box and the woman immediately stood, taking it straight from her hands, "I'll take it!" Katya and Alaska clapped as Divina cheered, "Thank you madam!" Sasha yelled before hugging the older woman who quickly walked over to Alaska who she'd ring up. "So that is 4 and 6 for the new face cream—" the Russian chipped in, "And 10 and 6 for the box!"

Sharon simply amazed walked over, apologizing and extending her hand for the younger woman, "You're hired! Mrs?" Sasha laughed with thirty pounds dropped off her own shoulders. "Mrs. Velour! Sasha Velour."

"Mrs. Velour! Welcome to Coady's!"

She rejoiced, shaking hands with Divina who whispered what a great job she had done. Alaska kissed her hand and welcomed her to the shop and she'd have to meet the other blonde later since she was gathering the money.

Shea sat absolutely and completely speechless. Not only did she now owe her own boss money but now their dynamic was completely shifted thanks to this new foreign employee who could sell the damn garment!

"Your packages madam!" Alaska handed the bags as Katya gently held out her change, the employees including Sasha walking to the door and arranging themselves in the line, bowing.

"Thank you madam, please call again, do call again madam!"

The Russian girl's arm accidentally hitting Shea's chest with a hard thump, she apologized after the customer left though the American only bitterly walked off to Divina who went back to her station laughing at the sight of Shea's complete and honest displeasure.

"Welcome to the shop!" Katya yelled immediately running over to the blonde and hugging her, offering to take off her coat which she obliged. "Look at you! Guess I'm not the beautiful one anymore." She frowned as the other Russian laughed. The duo walked to the back room quickly finding comfort in the fact that there was more than one Russian in Budapest.

Turning to Divina she yelled, frustrated that someone had just replaced Mrs. Edwards so easily and in such an obnoxious way!

"Now are you mad because you lost the bet or because you think suddenly the shop will be tainted by her presence?"

"Both! How can one woman walk in like that, Aquaria has been waiting for how many years and Mrs. Coady decides to take this Russian exchange clerk and then she had to make me look like a fool in front of my own boss!"

Divina snickered, "She's quite nice from what I've seen so far, I don't think you should worry about that! You might hate her now but I'm sure you'll grow to find her a good help and comfort." A twinge in Shea's heart churned, she coughed and angrily tightened her ponytail.

"I will never like her, you can place all the money in the world on that."