#yet with martin hes like oh we went to lunch together oh we talked today ohh martin braided my hair today

[orderforbrian]

martin's promotion from jon's most hated employee in s1 to jon's nagging wife in s2 is astounding

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Only Friend

Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader [Robin!Jason Todd]

Summary: Gotham mourned for Robin. But who mourned for Jason Todd? Y/F/N Y/L/N wasn’t just another one of Jason Todd’s friends. She was his only friend.  

Word Count: 7,000 [One Shot]

Warnings: Violence, Death, Loss, Grief

Y/N didn’t know what time it was. She hadn’t opened the blinds in her room for days. And she didn’t plan on doing so anytime soon. In fact, she didn’t plan on getting out of bed anytime soon.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door. From the sound alone, she knew it was her mother.

“Y/N, dear. Can I come in?”

She wanted to say, ‘No.’ She wanted to say, ‘Go away.’ But Y/N didn’t even have the energy to do that. So she just laid still with the covers over her shoulders and said nothing. 

Her mom slowly opened the door.

Y/N’s family had been tiptoeing around her since it happened. They didn’t know how to handle the situation. Most parents don’t expect for their daughter’s best friend to die. No child should have to face grief like this.

But Y/N had no choice.

Because Jason Todd was dead.

“Hi, honey,” Y/N’s mother cooed as she walked into the room. Then she placed a plate of food on her nightstand. “I brought you something to eat.”

Y/N didn’t even so much as look at her mother, just continued to stare off into nothing.

“Is it alright if I open of your blinds and windows. I think you could use some fresh air.”

Y/N gave what appeared to be a half shrug, barely visible underneath the thick covers.

But her mother seemed relieved, it was starting to smell musty in the room.

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Y/N’s face. “The funeral’s tomorrow.”

Y/N’s eyes finally looked up at her mother – desperate and scared. “Do I have to go?”

“I think you’d regret it if you didn’t, honey. You deserve your chance to say goodbye. Your father and I will be there with you.”

Then Y/N closed her eyes and burst into tears. “I had a dream about him last night. And I woke up and remembered–” she had to pause to catch her breath. “I-I-I remembered he’s g-gone.”

“Oh, honey,” her mom whispered as she pulled Y/N into her arms. “I know you miss him. I know. He was your best friend.”

Y/N pulled away and looked up at her mom. “He was my only friend,” she corrected.

———

Jason Todd was sitting at a lunch table by himself and reading when someone slammed their tray down across from him. His eyes flickered up in a glare, already expecting someone to try and pick a fight with him or something.

But instead he found a girl standing above him, smirking down at him.

No, not just any girl, the prettiest girl in their grade. No one else at this stupid school seemed to think so. But that just further proved Jason’s theory that everyone here were idiots.

“Hi,” she said confidently.

“H-Hi?” Jason stuttered back.

“I’m sitting with you,” she announced as she sat down. “I’m Y/N.”

Jason finally smirked and remained confused. “I know who you are…”

“You’ve never talked to me, so how was I supposed to know?” Y/N said back. “And you’re Jason Todd.”

“Yes?” He responded.

Y/N laughed at his confusion.

Jason Todd wasn’t popular. There was a disconnect between him and his peers. The kids at Gotham Academy were trust-fund babies and spoiled brats. They were such snobs that there were even cliques separating the kids who came from old money from those who came from new money. It all seemed ridiculous after literally starving in the slums of the city. 

Jason Todd wasn’t a rebel. He didn’t lash out or let his inability to connect to the other students make him feel down. Ask any teacher who had him and they would say he was a straight-A student and he never once caused trouble in their class. He was always polite and respectful, responsible and well-behaved.

Jason Todd wasn’t bullied. Maybe it was a vibe he gave off, but somehow the other kids knew not to mess with him. Jason came to school with a black eye once, and he always wondered if it freaked them all out enough to never try to mess with him – not that they would ever stand a chance against him.

In regards to the middle school hierarchy, Jason was nobody.

Because Jason Todd wasn’t really a kid. He just had the misfortune of also not being an adult yet.

He was just a poor punk from the Narrows, who just happened to try and steal the tires off the car of Gotham’s notorious vigilante. He didn’t belong at this snobby prep school.

But going to school was one of Bruce’s demands after making Jason his new Robin.

Jason just didn’t know how to make a convincing argument for why he didn’t need social interactions with kids his own age.

“Is this some kind of dare?” Jason asked Y/N.

She froze her eating and scoffed at him. “You’ve watched too many bad teen movies. What kind of asshole would I be to do something like that?”

But Jason still looked around the cafeteria, expecting to find a table full of people watching this interaction and trying to hide their giggles.

Y/N finally slammed down her food, sat back, and crossed her arms. “People at this school suck.”

“Uhh…OK?”

“I saw you reading Pride & Prejudice the other week. And you were wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt yesterday. You helped pick up Jill’s stuff when her backpack ripped open, while everyone else just laughed.” She paused. But Jason waited. “What I’m saying is that I’ve decided that you don’t suck.”

“Oh,” Jason blurted out.

“Do you honestly think anyone at this school even knows who Jane Austen is? And some dude in my English class tried to tell me Nickelback was his favorite band.”

Jason laughed at that. “How did you even respond to that?”

“I asked him if he was fucking with me and then the teacher yelled at me for swearing. And I told her, ‘How am I supposed to react to a Nickelback fan without using profanities?’”

Jason laughed again.

That was how Jason and Y/N became best friends. That was all it took.

Jason would soon find out that Y/N didn’t belong here just as much as him. She didn’t come from money – just your normal, middle-class suburban family. She’d won a full-ride scholarship to Gotham Academy, which was impressive since they only handed out one per grade.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne made one 30-second call and Jason was accepted – no questions asked.

Y/N was rather mature for her age, but it wasn’t the product of being Batman’s sidekick and fighting the criminals of Gotham City.

—

Any second Jason had to be a normal kid was spent hanging out with Y/N. Jason was at Y/N’s house all the time, loving Y/N’s parents and envious of the stable home Y/N got to grow up in.

It took awhile for Jason to feel comfortable inviting Y/N to the manor, despite Alfred saying he was welcome to have friends over whenever he wished. Jason eventually got over his embarrassment. While Y/N seemed in awe of Wayne Manor, the evidence of Jason’s wealth didn’t make her treat him any different. They mostly hung out in Jason’s room anyways. Or in the kitchen when Alfred made them snacks.

While they were at school, they always ate lunch together and walked to classes shoulder-to-shoulder any chance they got. They only needed each other.

They ignored everyone else. And in return, everyone else left them alone.

For the most part.

—

Jason should’ve known something was wrong when he heard the commotion on his way to third period.

When he heard kids start chanting “Fight!” his gut somehow knew Y/N was involved.

Jason shoved his way through the thick circle that was surrounding the drama.

He reached the opening just in time to see Y/N tackle a boy named Parker to the ground. The crowd gasped, not actually expecting them to actually go through with violence. Then Y/N lifted her fist and landed a punch to Parker’s face.

But Jason quickly stepped forward and pulled Y/N off.

“He’s not worth it, Y/N.”

Recognizing the voice of her best friend, Y/N allowed him to pull her away.

“Gonna let your boyfriend pull you away?” Parker yelled out.

Y/N whipped back toward him, but Jason wrapped his arms around her and held her back. “Y/N, leave it!”

“I’m not the one with the a black eye and bloodied nose, asshole!” Y/N screamed, only half fighting Jason’s hold. “Next time, I’ll kick you so hard in your tiny dick that you won’t be able to have kids.”

Jason managed to drag her through the halls with a vice-like grip on her hand.

Y/N scoffed at his efforts, “Where are you even taking me?”

“We’re ditching class.”

She shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

Jason knew exactly what exit didn’t have an alarmed rigged to it or any video surveillance. He also grabbed a cellphone in his back pocket and started to type frantically.

“You have a cellphone! What? Since when? My parents said I can’t get one until high school,” Y/N groaned enviously.

Little did she know, Jason had set up an AI system that would call the school with Bruce’s voice and leave a recording about how Jason needed to be dismissed from school. It was perfect for Bat emergencies. 

He had added Y/N’s parents voices to the algorithm a few months ago, having a hunch it would come in handy.

As soon as they were a safe distance away from the school, Y/N let go of Jason’s hand and walked slightly ahead of him.

With their freedom secured, Jason could focus on Y/N now.

“What did he do?” He asked her gently.

Y/N was smart and calculated. If she’d picked a fight with someone, Jason knew it had to have been caused by something serious.

“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled.

Jason rushed forward and stopped her walking. “Hey, come on. It’s me you’re talking to…”

Y/N nodded, knowing he was right. They told each other everything, or so she thought.

Her eyes went to the ground, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. “We were in health class. Today was the unfortunate lesson for learning male and female anatomy. Mrs. Martin started talking about…” Y/N hesitated. “She started talking about boobs. Said something about when girls start seeing a change.”

“And?” Jason urged softly.

“Parker chimed in and said, ‘Or if you’re Y/L/N… never.’”

Embarrassed by her confession, Y/N started walking again – quicker, this time.

Jason jogged to catch up to her. “Fuck him. Only a loser asshole would say something like that.”

“Well…he’s probably right.”

Jason shrugged. “Who cares?”

This time Y/N stopped walking. “You don’t get it,” she snapped. “Every girl in our grade is growing up. And I still have the chest of a boy. My mom won’t even let me buy a bra because she says I don’t need it yet.”

Jason was speechless. 

To be honest, he had never really noticed. Y/N wore baggy band t-shirts or flannels all the time. He wasn’t exactly studying her silhouette when they hung out. But he never imagined that Y/N would be bothered by something like that.

“Sometimes I’d just like to…I don’t fucking know…feel like a girl.” She paused. “A pretty girl,” she emphasized.

Jason stared into her eyes. “You are a pretty girl.”

Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes. “J, you don’t have to say that.”

“I’m serious. You’re the prettiest girl in our grade, Y/N.”

That caught her off guard. He’d never said anything like that to her before. 

Sure, Jason said nice things to her. But it was usually him complimenting her taste in music or thanking her for showing him a new book he loved. But he’d never called her pretty before.

Jason, worried that he’d exposed himself, pulled her to him so he could give her a noogie. And the moment was broken.

“Jason! I think I’ve proved today that I will hit a bitch!”

He just laughed and playfully shoved her away. “Come on. I’ll buy you one of those embarrassing frappuccinos from Starbucks.”

“Excuse you! They’re not embarrassing. They’re delicious.”

Jason could tell Y/N didn’t want to talk about the fight anymore. So he thought distracting her was the next best thing. 

And, by some miracle, they returned to school the next day without any punishment.

But Jason wasn’t done yet.

Parker didn’t realize he was messing with Robin’s best friend.

Jason was patient. He waited for the precise moment when Parker would be alone.

A week after the fight, Parker turned the corner of an empty hallway and jumped when he nearly ran into Jason.

“What do you want, Todd?”

Jason took a step toward him and lowered his voice, “If you ever say anything like that to Y/N again – or to any girl, for that matter – I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of you.”

Parker side eyed him. “Yeah, right.”

Without hesitating, Jason reached forward, grabbed Parkers palm, and snapped the index finger of his dominant hand.

Parker let out a screech of pain and fell to his knees.

Jason kneeled down to whisper in his ear, “No witnesses. No cameras. And I’m actually in gym class right now, running the mile. No one will believe you.”

Parker looked up at Jason like he was a madman.

Jason smiled and patted him on the head. “Remember what I said.”

After that, Parker never even so much as looked in Y/N’s direction.

—

Jason and Y/N looked out for each other, protected each other

And Jason may have kept his other life of Robin from her, but Y/N seemed to already sense that there was something Jason was hiding. It wasn’t just something, it was dark.

When Y/N started noticing bruises and cuts on Jason’s body, she grew concerned. But she wanted to observe and think of all the possibilities before she ever brought it up.

Then one day at her house, she made a joke and slapped Jason playfully on the back.

He hissed uncontrollably and his entire body froze.

“Jason?” Y/N asked with concern.

“I’m fine. You just surprised me and knocked the wind out of me,” Jason said hurriedly.

But Y/N wasn’t stupid. She quickly grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and ripped it up so she could see his back.

“JASON! What the fuck!” She gasped in horror as she saw the bruises scattered across his skin. She had never seen anything like it. 

“Shh!” Jason tried to calm her to stop her parents from coming in and then having her immediately showing them too.

“What happened?” Y/N whispered, her eyes glazed over with tears.

“Nothing. I’m fine, Y/N. I promise.”

“You’re not fine. And this isn’t the first time,” Y/N countered. “You think you do a good job of hiding them, but I see the other bruises and cuts, Jason. And don’t think I don’t notice how often you skip school because your ‘sick.’”

Jason stayed quiet. He didn’t want to lie to her. But he couldn’t tell her. It could put her in danger. And if Bruce ever found out, he’d put a stop to the whole thing. Jason would never be Robin ever again.

“He does it,” Y/N whispered.

Jason blinked. “Who?”

“Bruce,” she clarified. “He beats you, doesn’t he?”

Jason’s eyes widened in horror. He knew Y/N was weary of his adoptive father. She noticed how absent he was from Jason’s life, then took note of how cold he was when he was present. But her theory made perfect sense. And if the roles were reversed, Jason probably would’ve come to the same conclusion.

“Y/N, Bruce has never hurt me.”

She frowned. “You don’t have to protect him. And you don’t have to take his shit. I knew something was off about him ever since I met him. But I didn’t think it was this.”

“Y/N…” Jason began.

“Does Alfred know?” She couldn’t imagined him every letting something like this happen if he did. Y/N had grown to love Alfred almost as much as Jason.

“There’s nothing for him to know, Y/N.” Jason laughed. “I was trying to walk across the railing above the great hall and fell and landed on my back. I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed, OK?”

He knew from Y/N’s face that she wasn’t convinced. But she also knew not to push someone who was in the position she thought Jason was.

But to his horror, tears started falling.

“I just…I want you know that I’d do anything for you. You can live here! My parents love you and they’d take you in! Or-or-or we can run away together – just you and me.”

Jason hated seeing her cry. She rarely ever did it. And to know he was the cause made him feel sick.

Not knowing what else to do, Jason pulled her into a hug.

“I’m OK, Y/N. Promise. You don’t have to worry about me. Please don’t cry.”

“We just have to steal some of the stupid jewelry he has laying around and we’d be set for life,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

Jason laughed and pulled away. “Bruce took me in. Gave me a better life. He’s protected me. I know you don’t believe me, but the bruises aren’t because of him.”

Y/N wiped the tears away sloppily and nodded, but they both knew that Y/N didn’t believe him.

Y/N didn’t look at Bruce the same since that day. Not that she spent a lot of time around him.

But Bruce shared a look with Jason when he received the first very harsh glare from the pre-teen girl. It ended with a very uncomfortable conversation between Bruce and Jason where the boy explained what theory Y/N had come to.

Though Bruce said very little in response, he was wracked with guilt. To learn that someone thought he had the potential to behold the evil he tried so hard to eradicate in the world? It made Bruce sick to his stomach.

———

Now Y/N stood with her head hung low, in a crowd dressed in black.

These people didn’t know Jason Todd. Maybe they played the part of mourning funeral goer well. But Y/N saw their performances still.

The only people Y/N recognized were Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and Jason’s older brother, Dick Grayson. She’d never met him before, only seen pictures of him around the manor. Jason always seemed disappointed when Y/N brought Dick up or tried to ask about him. Y/N got the impression that he wasn’t all that great of a brother to Jason. Especially when it was obvious Jason looked up to him and was desperate for some sort of fraternal relationship.

Y/N looked up at her mother when the priest was finished with whatever he was saying. His words were impersonal, sullied by religion, and did nothing to comfort Y/N. He didn’t even say one thing about what made Jason so great. 

“Can we go now?” She whispered to her mother.

She patted Y/N’s back. “There’s a gathering inside the house now. We should say our condolences to Mr. Wayne and Alfred.”

Y/N frowned at that. The last person she wished to talk to was Bruce Wayne.

She had been watching the man through the entire service. He was stoic and collected. There didn’t seem to be any sadness to be found in his eyes.

The longer Y/N watched him, the angrier she became.

“Please, let’s just go,” Y/N begged her mother.

People were making there way into the manor now and weren’t paying any attention to a girl, despite the fact that she was the best and only friend of the boy they were pretending to mourn.

Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. “Honey, don’t you want to say hi to Alfred. I’m sure it would make him happy to see you.”

Y/N knew her mother was right. She could do that for Alfred. Plus, he gave the best hugs, and Y/N could sure use one of them right now.

They waited in a sort of informal line. Y/N wanted to hit everyone in front of them as she was forced to listen to their empty and rehearsed sympathies. Bruce didn’t say much in return, simply thanking each of them.

But when Y/N and her parents were finally up, Bruce Wayne’s expression shifted.

It was the first time Y/N saw any sort of emotion from the man. He looked heartbroken at the sight of Y/N, who’s hand was tightly gripping her mothers.

Bruce, standing at 6’2, knelt down to be at Y/N’s eye level.

“Hello, Y/N.” He greeted quietly so no one lingering around them could hear.

Y/N only glared at him. 

If she were being honest, she was surprised he even remembered her name. 

But Bruce continued. “Thank you for coming today. I’m sure the past few days haven’t been easy for you.”

Then he cleared his throat. And Y/N’s brow furrowed at the sound. Was he trying to hold back tears? No, that couldn’t be possible.

“I wanted to thank you for being such a good friend to Jason. He talked about you all the time. I’m glad he had someone like you in his life.”

Y/N felt nauseous at how genuine Bruce Wayne’s words sounded. His eyes were even more sincere.

What happened to the cold and distance man she’d had little to no interaction with?

‘He has an audience now,’ Y/N told herself. ‘He knows everyone’s watching. He’s performing just like the rest of them.’

“What did you do to him?” Y/N finally whispered to him.

Where she got the courage to speak to an adult in such a way, she had no idea – especially one as powerful as Bruce Wayne.

Bruce tensed at her question. Was that hurt in his eyes?

“Y/N!” Her mother hissed down at her.

“It was you. I know it was,” Y/N muttered as her lips trembled and tears started falling. She thought she’d run out of tears, but this was her final outburst.

“Y/N, enough!” Her mother hissed again and then made eye contact with Bruce and Alfred. “I’m so sorry. She’s not…she’s not handling any of this well.”

“You did this to him!” Y/N yelled. “He always had bruises…and-and-and cuts! You used to hurt him!”

“Y/N!” Her father finally chimed in, completely stunned by his daughter’s accusations.

“I hate you!” Y/N screamed in Bruce’s face as tears flowed down her face.

With that, she ripped her hand from her mom’s grasp and made a run for it. She heard her parents yell her name, but she ignored it and kept running.

Bruce stood up, looking unfazed from Y/N’s hateful and accusatory outburst.

“We are so, so sorry,” Y/N’s mom insisted. “She’s never done anything like that before.”

Bruce held up a hand, stopping them from continuing. “It’s alright. Really.” Then he sighed. “I’ll have Alfred go find her in a bit. Perhaps she just needs to let out some steam.”

Y/N didn’t even realize where she was running until she ended up at Jason’s bedroom.

Her entire body shook with sobs as she opened up the door.

It looked exactly the same, like nothing had even happened.

Y/N walked to the other side and slide against the giant windows, curling into a ball on the floor with her arms hugging her knees to her chest.

She cried and she cried and she cried.

There was no way for her to know how long she’d been there. But her head snapped up when there was a knock on the doorframe.

Dick Grayson leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed and a sad smile on his lips.

“Hi,” he greeted softly.

Y/N sniffed and rubbed the snot from her nose with the back of her fist, “Hi.”

“I’m Dick,” he introduced as he closed the door behind him and sat on the foot of Jason’s bed, making sure to give Y/N her space.

“I know,” Y/N answered back through a stuffy nose.

“Alfred tells me you and Jason were good friends.”

“We were each other’s only friend,” Y/N corrected him.

Dick nodded slowly.

“I hate him,” Y/N mumbled.

Dick winced. “Jason?”

“Bruce.”

“Believe it or not, I know how that feels,” he sighed.

“Did he hit you, too?” Y/N asked with wide eyes.

Dick opened his mouth, but was so shocked by the question that no words escaped.

“Why didn’t you help him?” She followed up with. “Where were you?”

Dick knew she wasn’t asking what he felt like she was: Why didn’t you stop the Joker? Why was Robin all alone? Why didn’t Batman call you for help?

But that didn’t stop her interrogation from hurting him.

“I haven’t always been there for him,” Dick finally admitted. “Actually…I’ve never really been there for him.”

Y/N looked at him with bewilderment. “Umm…” she sniffed. “I should find my parents.”

When she stood up, something caught her attention on Jason’s desk.

Y/N’s hand shook as she picked up Pride & Prejudice. He was the only middle school boy she’s ever seen reading a Jane Austen book. It was one of the reasons she wanted to befriend him in the first place.

“Keep it,” Dick surprised her by saying.

She quickly turned around and gave him a questioning look.

“You should keep it,” he told her. Then he looked at the overflowing book case she was standing near. “Take whatever ones want. He’d want you to have them.”

Y/N’s eyes flickered through the bookcase. Her heart was telling her, ‘No, they’re his books. He’ll need them when he gets back.’ But Jason Todd wasn’t coming back.

So she reached up and grabbed Jane Eyre and then Frankenstein.

“That’s it?” Dick asked. Because he would’ve let her take Jason’s entire collection.

Y/N nodded shyly.

Dick escorted her through the house and back to the gathering.

When she saw Alfred, Y/N rushed forward.

Dick’s heart ached as he saw the butler immediately kneel down and pull Y/N into a hug. He wondered what the man whispered to her. Whatever it was, it seemed to comfort her in a way that apparently nothing else was.

Then Y/N’s parents returned to her side. Dick expected them to scold her for her earlier outburst, but they just seemed concerned and started making their leave.

Y/N looked behind her and searched through the crowd to find Dick again. When she did, she gave him a sad wave.

Dick returned it with a sorrowful smile.

———

8 Years Later...

Jason had been keeping tabs on her since he returned to Gotham. He kept his distance, remained out of sight. He would jump from rooftop to rooftop as she walked home from a night class. Or he would wait for the window of her apartment bedroom to go off if it was a slow night of patrolling.

He told himself it was out of curiosity. But he knew deep down he was making sure she stayed safe.

Jason was happy to see that Y/N didn’t retain her lonesome ways in her life after his death. He frequently spotted her having dinner or drinks with friends.

But Jason didn’t know how to feel when it was clear that Y/N had no romantic partner. Was he relieved? Was he irritated that someone didn’t love and care for her the way she deserved? Would he have been jealous if there was someone in his life?

Jason wanted to find her as soon as he was brought from the dead. Even when he felt like he’d gone insane, when his thoughts didn’t make sense and he was confused…her face still echoed through his mind.

But vengeance became his priority.

And with it, Jason slowly convinced himself that it was best to stay far away from the only person he still cared about.

But that didn’t mean her didn’t want answers still.

After his war with Bruce – or really, his attempted murder Batman and the Joker – Jason allowed himself to actually look back on his old life, the parts that didn’t involve being a child vigilante.

Still not on speaking terms with Bruce. Jason decided to get his info from another source.

Cue a month or so after his brush with Bruce, Jason blindsided Dick the next time he was in Gotham and slammed him against the closest brick wall.

Jason used to look up to Dick as a kid, despite his older brother rarely even giving him the time of day.

But now, Dick was quite literally looking up at Jason. 

While Jason died a 13-year-old Robin, he was now a 6’3 man who had the set of a heavyweight boxer. Dick might be more flexible and acrobatic, but Jason had brute strength.

“What? B tell all of you not to talk to me?” Jason challenged when Dick didn’t fight his hold or speak to him.

“What do you want?” Dick asked evenly.

“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason growled, his voice distorted through his helmet.

“Keep tabs on who?”

“Y/F/N Y/L/N.”

Dick finally had enough of being bullied and shoved Jason’s grip off him. “Why don’t you look her up yourself? I’m sure you have no issue with hacking every personal database of hers.”

“That’s not why I’m asking,” Jason growled.

In fact, Jason had already done everything Dick had suggested. Which made him see that she had made a third-party domestic violence report to the police a week or so after Jason had died. And she had kept following up with it until the police finally came clean and told her there was no evidence to support her claim and she was wasting her time.  

It seemed Y/N was the only person that fought for Jason after he was gone. She had just picked the wrong fight.

“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason clarified.

“I just wanted to make sure she was OK.”

That caught him off guard a bit, seeing as Dick never gave a shit about Jason when he was alive. So why would he look after his best friend?

“What? Out of the goodness of your heart?” Jason ridiculed.

“She didn’t handle your death well, Jason. She even picked a fight with Bruce at your funeral.”

Jason smirked behind the safety of his helmet at the image.

Dick sighed and finally put down his defenses. “I failed you, Jason. All of us failed you.” He shook his head as he got lost in a memory. “Y/N even asked me why I hadn’t tried harder to protect you.”

Dick’s eyes saddened. “I figured if I couldn’t be there for you, the least I could do was make sure the most important person in your life was OK.”

It wasn’t the answer Jason was suspecting, but it was all he came for.

“Will you go see her?” Dick asked as he saw that Jason was about to take his leave.

“We were kids. Things have changed,” Jason grunted.

“I don’t think any of that would matter to her,” Dick defended. “I think she’d like to see you and know you’re OK.”

“Mind your business,” was the last thing Jason snapped at him before jumping off the rooftop and disappearing.

————

Jason did what he said: he left Y/N alone. 

He watched over her when he could. But most importantly, he didn’t drop a ghost from the past back into her life.

But he also tried to find that ghost in himself.

Somedays he thought that Jason Todd was lost forever.

But other days, like today, he still seemed to live on.

Jason browsed through the books on the shelves. He missed so many of them when he was dead and then when he reinvented himself.

Now he saw books as a time to fill in the empty space.

He was lost reading the back of covers when he heard it. No, when he heard her.

Next thing Jason knew, he was walking toward it.

“I’m sorry, dear. We’re all sold out of that title. You should’ve reserved it weeks ago,” one of the clerks told her with sympathy.

Jason peered between the shelves and caught a glimpse of y/h/c.

“I know. I just totally spaced. I think I’ll just browse for something else. Thank you for your help.”

Her voice sounded mostly the same, maybe a bit more mature. But he still would recognize it anywhere.

Jason knew he shouldn’t move any closer.

But he couldn’t help himself.

He was just one aisle away from her now, only a bookshelf separating them.

He slowly edged around the corner and smiled as he saw the massive pile of books that Y/N was trying to juggle in her arms. When she tried adding one more, they broke free from her grasp and stumbled loudly to the ground.

Jason didn’t know what he was thinking as he jumped forward and bent down to help her pick them up.

He saw her blush, but keep her head dipped from the embarrassment.

“Thank you,” she quickly laughed as she tried to pile the books back together as fast as possible.

Y/N opened her mouth to say more, but the words got caught in her mouth when she finally met Jason’s eyes.

He wondered how different he looked to her. Could she even recognize him? Or was he fooling himself when he became convinced he was an entirely different person after being brought back from the dead?

But his questions were answered when Y/N looked in shock, only unfreezing when her eyes began to tear up.

“It’s not possible,” she said so quietly that it was barely a whisper.

“Everyone good? I heard a loud noise.” The clear interrupted loudly.

Y/N jumped in response.

Jason stood and faced the clerk, “We’re fine.”

But when he turned back around, Y/N had booked it.

“Fuck,” Jason hissed before carefully handing the books to the clerk and quickly following after Y/N.

She made it further than he would expect. He actually had to look around the streets outside the store for a moment before he could spot her.

As soon as he did, he ran. But he called her name before he reached her to make sure he didn’t terrify her more.

Y/N froze when she heard him and whipped around. “Who are you?” She asked roughly.

There was a moment, when she first met Jason’s blue eyes, where she allowed herself to believe that perhaps a miracle had occurred.

But now she only saw this as some sort of heinous prank.

“It’s me, Y/N.” Jason almost sounded like he was begging her. 

She then fully took him in. Yes, he had the same face. But now he was a full-grown man – and an extremely handsome one at that.

“I shouldn’t have spooked you like that. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve been dead for 8 years,” she muttered.

“I know. It’s a…” Jesus. Jason didn’t even know how to go about this. “It’s a long and complicated story.”

“Were you ever really dead?” Then Y/N’s eyes flashed with a realization. “Did you stage your death? To get away from him?”

Bruce. She meant to get away from Bruce.

Jason looked around. This was no place to have this conversation. He couldn’t believe they were having it at all.

“Fuck. OK.” He quickly shuffled through his pockets until he found an old paper receipt and a pen. He quickly wrote something down.

“I know this is…a lot.” He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that reminded Y/N of the Jason she used to know. “If you want nothing to do with me, I understand. You’ll never have to see me again.”

He took in a deep breath and handed her the receipt.

Y/N slowly took it and looked down to see a phone number written down.

“You deserve time and space to…” he couldn’t find the right word, “process all of this.”

Y/N watched him as if she was expecting him to vanish like some sort of hallucination.

“After you do,” Jason continued. “If you’re willing to hear me out, I’ll be there,” he told her sincerely as he gestured to the number Y/N now held in her hand.

He waited for Y/N to say something, or maybe even try to make a run for her life.

But after what felt like forever, Y/N gave a short nod.

Jason gave her a shy grin as he slowly started walking backwards. He hesitated saying one last thing for her. But his mind finally told him, ‘Fuck it.’

“I’ve missed you, Y/N.”

————

Jason told himself not to get his hopes up. Y/N had every right to be horrified by him and wish to never see him again. From what Dick described, Y/N hadn’t handled Jason’s death well at all. What child could?

But when Jason got a text from Y/N’s number a week later, asking him to come to her place, he couldn’t help but beam.

Except reality then quickly settled in. And it reminded Jason that this conversation would involve talking about his past for the first time.

‘Suck it up. She deserves to know,’ he heard his past self screaming in his mind.

An hour later, Jason was knocking on Y/N’s apartment door.

“Hi,” she greeted stiffly.

“Hi.”

She led him to her bedroom. “My roommates aren’t home right now. But who knows how long that’ll last.”

Jason didn’t stop himself from looking around. Maybe it was a habit, all of his training of taking in every new environment with acute detail. But really Jason just wanted to take in Y/N and her new life.

That’s when he spotted the three books.

Jason immediately reached for one of them.

“Oh,” Y/N said sadly as she saw what he grabbed. “Umm…Dick told me I could take those. He…umm…said you’d want me to have them.”

“You kept them all this time?” He muttered, still looking at Pride & Prejudice.

“Of course.” Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. “You can have them back. I mean, they’re yours after all.”

Jason smirked at her fumbling. “No, keep ‘em.”

Then the tension from this strange reunion returned to the room.

Y/N gave him a heartbroken look and sat on the edge of her bed. “Jason,” she whispered, “what the hell happened to you?”

Jason slowly joined her on the bed.

His breathing shook as he tried to prepare.

But Y/N deserved to know the truth – the whole truth.

So he told her everything. He told her he was Robin. He told her how he died. He told her how he came back to life. He told her where he’d been.

The only thing he left out was how she was all he could think about when he watched the bomb tick down to 0 and he knew he was about to die. 

But the hardest part was explaining why returning to her wasn’t the first thing he did.

“It wasn’t Bruce. It…you…you were Robin that whole time?” Y/N couldn’t even seem to process it.

Jason just gave a curt nod.

“I reported him,” Y/N gasped. “I was convinced he had something to do with your death.”

Jason winced at that. “Well, if you asked him, I’m sure he’d take responsibility for it still.”

Y/N’s eyes glazed over as she tried to take another look at the past now that she knew the real truth that had been hidden. So many things made sense: all the injuries, Bruce’s behavior, Dick being a distant brother – all of it.

“Y/N,” Jason whispered. Her eyes whipped to his. “I’m so sorry for leaving you like that.”

Y/N finally allowed herself to cry. “Missing you is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Jason didn’t care about keeping his distance any longer. He pulled Y/N into his arms, just like he used to when they were kids.

Eventually, her crying slowed and Jason knew he needed to finally say the hardest thing about this all.

“But I can’t stay, Y/N.”

Y/N wasn’t expecting that. “What?”

“I’m not…I’m not that kid anymore. I’ve done things – terrible things – that won’t ever let me return to the person you knew.”

“I don’t care,” Y/N said surprisingly harsh.

“What?”

“I said I don’t care,” even though she knew he heard her. “You think I’m the same person after 8 years, Jason? You think that little girl didn’t face the consequences of losing the best friend she’s ever had?”

Jason didn’t know what to say to that.

Y/N wiped away her tears and her entire body shifted. “From everything you’ve told me, you don’t seem to have many friends – if any. So, sounds like you could use one.”

How could Jason have overlooked Y/N’s stubbornness when he anticipated how this would all end?

“I lost you once. I’m not losing you again. Especially not with all I know now,” she added. 

Jason didn’t even bother fighting her on it. Y/N had always been his greatest weakness. At least he knew that hadn’t changed.

“OK.” He agreed. “So what now?”

Y/N smiled at his surrender. “Now…we have a whole lot of catching up to do.”

--------------------

Wow. I did not realize how long this was going to take me. 

Please, please, please let me know what you think. Reactions and feedback and reblogs are the only thing that keep me writing on here. 

[squeeneyart]

Breathe in the Salt - Chapter 24

AO3

Beta reader as always is @thesnadger!

Keeping busy makes the day go by.

Martin and Jon discuss household chores.

Martin took great care to not make too much noise as he walked down the stairs. He still avoided the creakiest steps, and down he went as quiet as the house would allow.

He didn’t wonder whether the night before had been a dream. His dreams weren’t like that, so vivid and specific. They weren’t narratives he could make sense of, if he remembered them at all. On waking, he was usually left with the anxious certainty that he had made a horrible mistake or had forgotten to do something important. But that night had been real.

Still, when he made it to the ground floor he peeked in the downstairs toilet to make sure Jon’s clothes were hanging on the shower rod along with the small bag he’d been carrying. Those items were present. What he didn’t find was the seal skin.

Martin continued to the living room door. Curled up into a tight ball, Jon remained buried in the blanket and couch cushions. Martin let loose the breath he’d been holding. He continued on to the kitchen to make his breakfast in silence.

It was nothing to dwell on. Jon must’ve stowed the coat somewhere while Martin was asleep. They hadn’t known each other that long, so it wouldn’t do to keep something so important openly hanging in the shower when Jon had had such a scare with the thing. He’d trusted Martin enough to tell him the truth. It didn’t matter that Jon had squirreled the skin away in the dead of night.

Had Jon believed what he’d said about his mother leaving? Was it suspicious that she was gone?

Toast popped up hot and ready, making him jump. He looked back into the living room, checking if the noise had been enough to wake Jon, but the man was sound asleep in his little cocoon. Perhaps all of the caution wasn’t necessary with someone who was sleeping well for the first time in weeks. Longer, if his habit of calling without any thought to the time was any indication. 

He should’ve checked on Jon. Even if he hadn’t had reason to suspect anything it’s what he would’ve appreciated in Jon’s place. Just because he hadn’t felt like making the effort-

Would it have helped, though, if Tim and Sasha were ready to cover things up? What excuse could they have given except that Jon had lost his mobile or switched numbers and hadn’t given out his new one yet? He hadn’t had a real reason to pry into Jon’s business. A barely established friendship didn’t count.

He could have tried anyway. Hopefully letting Jon stay would make up for it, even if there was no bed to offer.

While he wasn’t against letting him use his own bed in theory, Martin knew he was too bloody tall to sleep comfortably on the old couch all night. If things went on long enough it could be discussed, but it was better for both of them to get sleep.

Hers didn’t count.

Thinking that far ahead wouldn’t do any good, so he pushed his mess of thoughts to one side and focused on eating breakfast and scribbling onto a small piece of paper.

‘Jon,

Help yourself to food. Be back in the evening.

-Martin’

Martin considered the note for a moment, then scribbled his number at the bottom. 

‘For emergencies.’

What emergencies he could help with he couldn’t say, but he left his number all the same. The chance of Jon having it memorized was slim to none and it wouldn’t have been fair to keep Jon with no contact at all. It was the best excuse Martin could hope for.

He gently laid his plate in the sink in one final attempt to keep the silence, and got ready to leave.

--

Jon didn’t call him at any point that day. And rightly so, following prior agreements of safety and secrecy. It was fine, no calls meant no emergencies, but as the hours passed it was easy to forget the outside world and its greater goings-on. The window on the front door wasn’t much of a reminder, not with how tiny and far away it was, and not with the crappy weather blocking any light other than what could seep through the endless grey. 

The wall clock was placed in an awkward location from where he sat, so timekeeping felt like guesswork. He’d stopped checking the clock often to avoid the disappointment of finding himself only five minutes closer to leaving. It could be any day of the week if he kept his mobile out of sight. 

But he could feel lunch time. He could feel when he was to climb the stairs and complete his tasks by muscle memory. And he knew in his bones when he was meant to leave.

In the dark of the evening the timelessness clung to him. It wasn’t until he got to the bottom of the cliffs and saw the windows lit up from the inside of his home that he felt himself settle back into the present. There was a person in his house, and for a while he stood back by the forest path and stared at the little square of light that was his kitchen window. 

He felt like an intruder, a spy peering in through his own kitchen window from afar, and it took a particularly large gust of rain-splattering wind in his face to get him moving again.

It was his house. There was just a person in it other than himself.

The smell of cooked food was the first thing he noticed when he walked inside, even before he saw the small and scuffed brown shoes on the rug, or the thin jacket on the end hook he normally used. Something was being cooked, fried, and he spent a minute on the front rug not knowing how to proceed.

From the kitchen, he heard a tentative, “Martin? Is that you?”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s me.” Finally placing the damned coat somewhere, he slipped off his shoes and walked toward the kitchen. 

Jon peeked his head through the kitchen doorway, wariness falling from his face as he saw Martin for himself. “Barely heard the door open over the wind outside. How were things today?”

“Fine, I guess? What’s-” Martin looked over Jon’s head and saw a pan hissing on the stove, alongside a boiling pot of water. “What’re you making?”

“Something easy and not made of fish,” Jon replied, heading toward the stove top. “Hope you don’t mind, I used some of the chicken in the freezer and box pasta. Should be enough for the both of us.”

Head running on empty, Martin could only nod and take a seat at the kitchen table, threading and unthreading his fingers in front of him. It felt wrong to be sitting there in his own kitchen without a task, but Jon had already put in the time and effort to make dinner. Still, his hands were painfully idle in his lap.

He said quietly, “Smells good.”

From the stove, Jon raised an eyebrow but kept his eyes on the pan in front of him. “I’d hope so. Can’t go much more basic than this.” He lifted the pan to show breaded chicken frying away.

“Still, it’s nice of you. Thanks.”

“Mm.” He flipped the stove off and went to strain the noodles. “Anyway, now that I’m awake, thank you for letting me stay the night. Hopefully this helps make up for my sudden appearance.” 

“It’s no trouble. Would’ve liked more warning, though.”

Jon frowned. “Well… I would’ve called if I could.”

It didn’t feel like a purposeful accusation, but it stung anyway. “Can’t change things now. Speaking of calling, though… Did you want me to get in touch with Tim or Sasha about this? I know you said you wanted to wait until they were here, but I don’t know when that’ll be.” 

“No, not yet.” Jon placed a strainer full of noodles back over the pot and leaned against the counter. “Call me over-cautious, but I don’t trust anything traceable right now. I’d considered calling Georgie over your phone line to pass on a message, but I don’t think her going in a second time would fly under the radar.”

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Martin said, “So until they get here…”

“Until then, I’d like to stay here. We can explain things to Tim and Sasha, figure out your situation, and then-” His face fell. “I’m not sure what comes after that.”

In the silence that followed, Jon busied himself with assembling two plates of food, turned in such a way that Martin couldn’t see his expression. It was an uncomfortable quiet that ate away at the composure he’d managed to pull together throughout the work day. 

When Jon set the plate down in front of him, he jumped in his seat.

Jon’s brows scrunched together. “Are you all right?”

“Just… tired, is all.”

“Right. So-” Jon set his own plate down and sat on the other side of the table, a perfectly natural choice of seating. “We didn’t talk for long last night. I know part of what you’re going through isn’t- it’s not by business, but if I’m going to help then I need to know if you’ve noticed any changes, with the lighthouse or with- with other things.”

Martin stared down at his dinner. It was plain, breaded chicken with noodles. Smelled a bit of lemon and garlic. 

“Everything’s fine. Nothing’s changed besides what you already know.” 

It was fine. The taste was about what he would’ve expected from the smell, and it was better than anything he’d been planning to make with his remaining energy. It was a nice thing for Jon to do. He forced each bite down through the sting of his throat.

“It tastes all right?” Jon asked casually. 

Martin nodded with a raise of his eyebrows, taking another bite of chicken.

“Good. I’m not out of practice.” 

After that, the only sounds remaining were those of clinking silverware and the beating of rain on the kitchen window.

It should’ve been nice, but as Martin ate the pain in his throat only grew, spreading through his head and upper chest. It was nice that Jon had made dinner, and he’d kept it simple enough that even Martin could pay it back in the future. Something as tiny as this shouldn’t have made him feel anything other than full. Instead his head pounded behind his eyes.

“You… You don’t have to eat it,” Jon said. When Martin looked up he was met with an expression of mild exasperation. “It’s fine if you don’t like it. I’m not holding you at gunpoint. Though if I’m going to be living here we should probably settle what we each don’t like.”

“What?” God, that wasn’t a pleasant sound, especially with food still in his mouth. Martin swallowed down hard, realized he had nothing to drink, and stood up. “I need some water. You?”

Thrown off somewhat, Jon sputtered, “N- Well, yes, but-”

“Great.” Martin strode across the kitchen and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet to fill in the sink. As he held one under the faucet, he noticed there were no dirty dishes underneath.

From behind he could hear Jon shift in his chair. “It’s really not a big deal if you don’t like it.”

With two full glasses he returned to the table, taking a sip of his own and then setting them both down. “What is? No, right, yeah, dinner tastes fine. Don’t know what you’re on about.”

“Martin, that’s not very convincing when you were just staring at it like it was a lump of mud.”

“I wasn’t-” He took his seat and reached internally for some excuse with no luck. What kind of faces had he been making? Reaching for his fork, he said, “It’s fine. Good. It’s good.”

“There’s something else, then.”

“I… The food is good. It was very nice of you to make it.” His throat went tight and he said no more.

Frowning at his meal, Jon said defeatedly, “Okay. If you say so.”

The rest of the meal passed in silence. If he made any other sour faces then Jon ignored them, and Martin did his best to be more aware of what his eyes and mouth were doing while eating as quickly as he could manage. 

It wasn’t soon enough, but he finally finished and put his plate in the sink. God, he’d barely gotten home and was ready to run upstairs and hide away for the night. Was eating dinner with someone always so exhausting? The answer came easily to mind, but this felt worse than meals spent with stubborn silence or bitter exchanges. 

Jon had wanted to be nice, and-

“So, we should discuss… things. Not the food-” Jon said from directly behind him, dirty dishes in hand. He inched around Martin to place them in the sink. “-but we need to talk about how it’s going to work, me being here. I don’t want to be a nuisance.”

Martin cleared his throat, taking a step to the side to give Jon some room. “You’re not a nuisance. You didn’t have much of a choice in this, if any.”

“And you didn’t ask to have me knocking in your door. Here, let me-” Jon rolled up his sleeves and got to work scrubbing the dishes.

Martin bristled. “You don’t have to-”

“I’m the one who made dinner.”

Martin’s face scrunched. “I don’t think that’s how it works. You made dinner, so I should clean up.” He watched with some irritation as Jon continued his task.

“Next time, then. I already got a head start this morning.”

An even better reason for Martin to be the one to wash up after dinner, but that ship had sailed without him apparently. 

“Look, I’m-” He pushed through the tightness in his chest. “I’m glad you’re here, all right? Better than you getting eaten by a shark or something.” 

Jon squinted at him. “So… we’re fine?”

“What? Yeah, ‘course we’re fine!” In spite of everything, a laugh crept into Martin’s voice. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

A troubled look crossed Jon’s face. “No, you’re right. The last few weeks got to me I think, not seeing people.” 

With some hesitation, Jon continued, “If it makes you feel better, I’m glad to have something to do.” He paused, sudsy glass in his hand. “Sitting around all day doesn’t come naturally to me, and I’ve been all but useless for weeks.”

Ah. Martin felt the indignation seep out of his jaw and shoulders, leaving him rather deflated all of a sudden. All that bristling on his part and Jon had only been bored to the point of doing chores.

“That’s... not your fault,” Martin replied quietly. He leaned back against the counter top and tapped his fingers on the rounded edges. “But okay. Sorry.”

Resuming the job at hand, Jon kept his eyes down and stayed quiet. There wasn’t much to wash off of the plates, but he was diligent in scrubbing down the frying pan until not a speck of grease remained. His fingertips began to prune.

Eventually, he spoke up. “As I was saying before, we should talk about me staying here because of situations like this. If you have… particularities with housekeeping, I should know.”

Martin rolled his eyes. “It’s not a- whatever, do what you like. I suppose it’s better to live with someone who keeps clean.”

“As much as the average person,” Jon said, rinsing off the last bit of soap from a plate. He reached out to grab a hand towel. “Don’t expect me to always be this eager for chores.”

“What, is the excitement wearing off already?” He’d been aiming for a light, teasing tone but ended with dry judgment.

“You know me, always looking for the next thrill,” he deadpanned.

Martin leaned back on the heels of his hands. “Jon, you’re a professional ghost hunter.”

Jon tossed the towel back onto the sink. “I am not. I research the paranormal and complete necessary field work.”

“By looking for static in recordings and breaking into buildings.”

“That’s not- your situation is a special case. I assure you, my regular days are based almost entirely around paperwork and fact-checking.” He walked into the living room and with a scowl plopped onto the couch. After a moment his mouth untwisted into a small frown. “They were, anyway.”

Martin followed behind and looked at him, looked at the lines on his forehead and under his eyes, at his bouncing knee. He looked better than he had the day before, but it would take more than a single good night to make up for weeks of wandering and disconnection. Another apology sat behind his own lips, but he let it die as the useless thing it was. 

There was one thing he could help with. Walking over to the ancient desk in the corner, he picked up a bulky old laptop from the drawer and brought it over to the couch with him. “Probably should’ve mentioned it in the note, but I do have wi-fi. Technically.” 

The laptop was old. He’d bought it for himself years back but with the weak signal he got it wasn’t easy to deal with, and in his mind the very concept of social media was never going to work for him. So, it was largely a clunky and underused alternative to his phone. It sat heavy on his lap and he remembered why he rarely bothered with it.

Jon’s eyebrows shot up, and he scooted closer on the seat. Voice dripping with relief, he said, “I’m shocked you can get a signal down here.” 

The sudden proximity made Martin’s heart skip. He opened the computer on his lap and focused on the screen. “Mind you it’s not good wi-fi, but it should help pass the time. Still has a disc drive as well.”

It took far longer than he would’ve liked for the thing to boot up, but against all odds it reached the desktop with its default background and sparse folders. He really hadn’t done much with the thing, had he? Perhaps when everything was done with he could sell it.

For the time being, though, Jon was clearly itching to get his hands on it, so after a quick check that it still connected to the internet he passed it over. 

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that he immediately hopped onto a site for sifting through journal articles, but Martin stifled a laugh. Whether pushed by professional diligence or personal interest, Jon was too engrossed to notice. 

With a small sense of accomplishment, Martin pushed himself onto his feet and moved toward the hall. He made it halfway across the room before he was noticed.

“You’re not going to bed already.” 

The tone of the sentence sat between incredulity and a statement of fact, and it gave Martin pause. When he glanced back, Jon was still looking at the laptop screen. 

“I mean… no, I was just going to get into pyjamas?”

“Okay. There was a short documentary on architecture I found when I was still doing research at my flat. It might be helpful to our ends.” He typed something and made a face. “It might also be complete bunk, but I should be able to track it down while you’re upstairs.”

It was enough of a dismissal that Martin could only say, “Oh. Um, all right?” Then he left the room in a hurry, as he apparently had things to do that night.

Back upstairs he went with a new if unexpected purpose to change out of his work clothes, still skipping the loudest steps as best he could.

Around the time he’d managed to slip on some flannel pyjama pants and an old t-shirt, tears had leaked from his eyes and then ceased almost immediately. There were no sobs to choke back, just streaks of warmth on his cheeks that dried as quickly as they’d formed.

He rubbed his face with the back of his hand, grateful that his eyes wouldn’t be red and puffy, and then walked back downstairs.

[taylizmasterpost]

Swiftgron Shows Up, Liz Spirals (March 2012 - September 2012)

This is not going to be a timeline of Swiftgron and their relationship. For that, you can go to the @swiftgronmasterpost​. This is just to show how, when things got serious with Dianna, things deteriorated between Taylor and Liz:

25 March 2012 - Swiftgron go watch the Hunger Games together. Taylor follows Dianna on Twitter afterwards. This is likely their first actual date:

27 March 2012 - Liz tweets this:

Was this in response to Swifgron’s first date? Maybe. Was Liz jealous Taylor had pulled the exact same move on Dianna that she’d pulled on her back in 2009 when she took her to Valentine’s Day? Also maybe. But also maybe not. Still, #Lizgototherapychallenge.

30 March 2012 - Taylor introduces Dianna to her mom, they all get dinner together:

12 April 2012 - Dianna blows a kiss to Taylor on Jimmy Kimmel.

18 April 2012 - Mutual friend Chantelle tweets that she spent the night and early morning hanging out with TayLiz.

Chantelle will post a picture of her, Taylor and Liz hanging out in a kitchen together almost a year later -- when the girls don’t seem to be on speaking terms -- making me think this picture was taken on this night:

24 April 2012 - Swiftgron Shirley MacLane party happens:

27 April 2012 - Taylor and someone (possibly Liz) are papped getting lunch together in LA. The secret message for the song “The Last Time,” which will be written in a few months, is “LA On Your Break.” They’re certainly in LA, and the tour is certainly on break. Perhaps this is Taylor finally ending things with Liz.

Liz tweets at Taylor about Skittles later that day, making me think it was her at lunch.

28 April 2012 - Dianna’s birthday party. Taylor dresses as a tiger and leaves a note on the door with a joke they’d made that reads “I’m a little kitten and I need to nurse because I’m a runt and I’m likely to fall victim to predators.”

10 May 2012 - Taylor posts on Instagram “Going back to Nashville. Thinking about the whole thing. Guess you gotta run sometimes.”

This is from the song Nashville by David Mead. Other interesting lyrics include:

You’re a distant memory, you’re an exit sign I was talking crazy on the driver’s side

I was talking crazy on the driver’s side I will always love you like a long goodbye

The driving references are interesting, considering that Red has the theme of driving all over it. “I will always love you like a long goodbye” also seems to support the theory that Taylor has just finally broken things off with Liz.

15 May 2012 - Taylor finishes writing Everything Has Changed with Ed Sheeran then gets dinner with Dianna Ashley and Claire. The original lyrics of Everything Has Changed talk about “falling for a Gemini,” which describes Gemini Liz, but Taylor seems to have re-fitted the song to be about Dianna and removed those lyrics:

27 May 2012 - Liz’s birthday. Taylor does not tweet at her. No pictures are posted of the party, if there is one.

28 May 2012 - Taylor and Ed record Everything Has Changed:

Late May 2012 - Taylor writes The Last Time:

Here’s what she had to say about the inspiration for the song:

The Last Time is a hard song for me to analyze, not because I don’t have theories about what it means, but because I think Taylor is oversimplifying the story here. To me, looking at this song, assuming it’s about Liz, it reads less like a pleading “baby I want you back” song, and more like an “I’m losing you to addiction song.”

We haven’t fully gotten into this yet, but Liz was dealing with a lot of mental and internal shit at this time. According to rumor, she’s about to be let go from The Agency due to getting “out of control,” and the songs she writes this summer, including Wreck of Who I Am, definitely seem to imply she was trying to claw her way out of a spiral here. When I listen to The Last Time through this lens, it feels more like a last chance, pleading intervention.

Wreck of Who I Am:

And the tide is strong that it keeps me from the land

And I’m low on faith and I pray with shaky hands

Well it hurts like hell tryna tell myself

This ain’t the only thing that’s meant for me

Gotta piece back together the wreck of who I am

The Last Time

This is the last time I’m asking you this

Put my name at the top of your list

This is the last time I’m asking you why

You break my heart in the blink of an eye

And there’s also the fact that The Last Time seems like it was written on if not around Liz’s birthday (May 27).

3 June 2012 - Dianna jokes at the GLAAD Awards about having kissed girls before:

4 June 2012 - Liz does some songwriting of her own with Seth Jones and Megan Mace:

Taylor and Liz’s dresses from Mean are placed next to each other at the Speak Now Tour Exhibition:

10 June 2012 -  Taylor diaries about recording 22, and IKYWT, says she’s already written WANEGBT:

Story behind WANEGBT: I wrote it with Max Martin and Johan Shellback who are two of my songwriting heroes, they’re amazing. And we were in the studio, and we were writing a different song and this guy walks in who I- was- A friend of someone I had previously… dated. And he comes in and he’s like “Oh, I hear you and [redacted] are getting back together” and um that was like his opening line. And we weren’t. We’d done that whole like on/off on/off just the worst. Bleh. And um… And so when he left I just turned to Max and I was like “We are never getting back together. What? That’s ridiculous!” Um and I told them the whole situation as I do ‘cause I tend to share, as you know. And so uh he just looked at me and he was like “I know the song we’re writing today. Let’s start a new one.” And so I got the guitar and it just sort of happened and so uh this is that song.

So what we know from this is that it is HIGHLY more likely that a friend of Liz just happened to walk into the studio that day than a friend of either Jake or Dianna (I’m guessing someone from The Agency maybe? Taylor seems to fumble when choosing how to describe them)

Martin and Shellback are credited on three songs on red -- WANEGBT, IKYWT, and 22. We know Taylor wrote 22 here. She also says she “came back to trouble.” From that I can assume they were trying to write IKYWT when this story took place.

The secret message for WANEGBT is “When I stopped caring what you thought.” To me, this really signals things have broken down between them. Rather than the pleading in The Last Time, this is song is much more distant and moved on, where Taylor is able to have a sense of humor about the breakup.

18 June 2012 - A friend of Liz’s tweets this at Taylor (am I the only one sensing some shade??):

1 July 2012 - Liz does some songwriting in Nashville:

Between this session and the session on the fourth, presumably the songs she’d release later that winter (One Hand On the Wheel, Wreck of Who I Am, and Blessed Are the Brokenhearted) are written here, making it seem like Liz is processing both some depression and a breakup of some sort.

8 July 2012 - Taylor takes pictures with a fan at a coffee shop (presumably in Nashville). According to the fan’s account, Liz was also there, sitting at the table behind them. The fan ends up taking pictures with both Liz and Taylor:

I’m not entirely sure what this means for them. Obviously Taylor has just written The Last Time (presumably about Liz) and then gone off to Hy(i)annis port with Dianna to go frolic in the waves and all that, so I don’t think this means TayLiz is back on. However, we know from fan accounts (which I’ll get to in a second) that Liz thought she was going to be coming on the Red Tour until she was let go from The Agency in September. Perhaps this is some amount of reconciliation? A check in? An ultimatum to get her act together or she won’t be allowed on tour?

Truthfully, we can’t know for sure. But this is one of their last hang outs together (that we know of) this year.

13 August 2012 - Taylor’s Red Youtube Webchat. She describes what some of the songs on the album are about

22: This is a song that I wrote with Max Martin and Johan Shellback and it’s a song about the way I spent my summer when I was finishing this album. Kind of hanging out with my friends all the time and I really decided that I love being twenty two. It’s um kind of my favorite age that I’ve ever been. I kind of have like different theories of the years in my life and like what they meant and 22 has been so much fun. It’s- it’s been so much fun and I decided to write a song about that and just all the ridiculous nonsense that my friends and I got into. And, um, so this one’s called 22.

Treacherous: This is a song that I wrote with Dan Wilson… I’ve always wanted to work with him. So I called him and um it turned out that he was into the idea of working with me. And um so I went in with this idea and uh we wrote a song about when you’re falling for someone and you know that it’s dangerous. And you know that it could really really really really really just annihilate you if it were to not work out and it could possibly not work out and it probably won’t work out, but you go for it anyway. And so this is called Treacherous.

31 August 2012 - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is released as a single. The MV features the rest of the Agency, but not Liz. Fans take notice.

13 September 2012 - The news breaks that Liz is leaving The Agency and will not be on the Red Tour:

Interestingly enough, according to the L Chat, Liz had been telling fans that she was planning on going on the Red Tour before this point, so something must’ve happened:

And because of this fan encounter below, we have somewhat of an idea of what it was:

So from the combined events of this summer we know this about Liz being let go:

1) Liz wrote songs that summer about having a hard time and trying to claw her way out of it.

2) Taylor and Liz met up twice that summer, and Taylor did not acknowledge Liz’s birthday publicly.

3) Taylor may have written The Last Time, a song about begging someone to choose you over other things (possibly addiction) on Liz’s birthday.

4) Liz thought she was going on The Red Tour.

5) Liz was fired for “getting out of control.”

The picture this paints to me is that, while Liz was spiraling, Taylor was trying to help her, using coming on the Red Tour as a reward for getting her act together. When she ultimately couldn’t, presumably after that meeting in July, Taylor had no choice but to ask her to leave the Agency, since hardcore intense tour life is likely the last thing Liz needed to get better. This is a really difficult and hard situation, regardless of whether or not the two women were ever sexually or romantically involved. 

Fortunately, as we’ll see moving forward, this seems to be the wake up call Liz needed to start the process of getting back on her feet. However, it’s clear that for at least a little bit after this, Taylor became a taboo topic around Liz. But ask anyone who’s dealt with addiction or helped a friend/family member through it -- there’s some resentment that’s bound to happen, even towards the people trying to help.

20 September 2012 - Liz spends “quality time” with Claire and Taylor:

I personally read this as one last hurrah of the trio after Liz was not asked back for the Red Tour. The “not mad at this day” feels a little weird to me too, and I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be shade or not. Either way, this is the last major interaction between Taylor and Liz for a while.

IN CONCLUSION: Liz had her demons. Whether this is what caused the end of her and Taylor’s relationship or something else, it’s almost certainly what caused her to not be asked back on the Red Tour. In the winter, she would release the music she was writing over the summer, making it clear she was going through some shit, probably not helped by seeing Taylor so obviously move on with Dianna. But this is the low point. Things with Liz can only go up from here.

Liz After the Agency (September 2012 - September 2014)

[jovialyouthmusic]

Special Delivery

Fabio moves in, and Martin questions my judgement.

Word Count 2987

A/N Just a fluffy piece of self indulgence. A few swear words. 

No under 18s please

7 A New Lodger

The morning dawned bright with autumn sunshine, and I woke to find Ginger on the bedroom windowsill looking longingly out at the field behind the house.

‘Sorry Ginge’ I apologised. ‘It’ll be a while before you get to explore.’ He turned back to me, making a noise that told me he was a little disgruntled before he jumped down to demand breakfast. ‘Well it’s a good job you like Fabricio, he’ll be moving in today’ I said, leaning down to scratch his head, and he rose up to meet my hand and leaned heavily on my leg as if to say less talk, more food.

As I left him to scarf up his kibble, my phone dinged with a message from Martin.

Hey Lisa, Sue’s out for the day, want me to come up and do some gardening?

I’ll be busy today, soz

Well duh, was offering to help. I have cake.

I looked at the phone and sighed. Martin would find out sooner or later, so I’d better call, I thought. He picked up almost instantly.

‘Hey Martin, we need to talk.’

‘I can be there in ten.’ he replied eagerly, scenting gossip.

‘I – uh, I’ll be out in half an hour, that won’t work.’ Martin’s tone changed.

‘Okay Lisa, what have you done?’ he said darkly.

‘Funny story.’ I laughed apologetically ‘My friend slash brother is gong to be my new lodger.’ I heard him suck his breath in.

‘Please tell me you mean at Jackson street – no, wait – that would make him a tenant. For fucks sake Leese, he’s moving in with you?’

‘Kind of.’

‘He either is or he isn’t. Shit, you only met him less than a week ago.’

‘Please don’t freak, Martin. It will be fine. Ginger likes him, and he’s a great judge of character.’

‘Ginger also likes chasing mice and leaving their corpses by your bed.’ he scolded ‘This guy delivers pizza for fuck’s sake.’

‘Okay, if you’re going to carry on being negative I’m going to cut you off.’ I took a deep breath as Martin remained silent. ‘It’s just a temporary thing, he’s looking for modelling jobs. It’s what he does, he’ll be off on a shoot for a few days and then come back. He just ran short of funds and had to hole up for a while. This way he has somewhere nice to live and will be able to make more money before he goes home.’

‘Why don’t you just rent him your old place?’ Martin asked.

‘It’s not ready yet, and it would be too expensive.’ I paused for a moment, and he waited, the silence oozing sceptiscism.  ‘It’s different here Mar, the neighbours are too far away to notice if I fall down the stairs, break my neck and Ginge decides I’m dinner. I’d feel safer having someone around. I was going to advertise for a lodger anyway. This way I have someone to help out straight away.’

‘Right. Did he pressure you into this, Leese? Because that’s manipulative.’

‘No, he didn’t. It was my idea. He did say he was getting bad vibes off some of the others in his building, but that was after I offered.’

‘Think hard now, Leese.’ Martin persisted ‘No big hints, no puppy dog eyes?’

‘Puppies have brown eyes, Mar. Fabio’s eyes are grey.’

‘You know damn well what I mean.’

‘No, no hints, no pleading, no sob story. I’ll be fetching him soon. He’s got Dad’s old bike and he’ll take that to work and back.’

‘Well I suppose it’s too late to stop you.’ he said reluctantly ‘But the moment anything seems off – anything negative, let me know. I’m going to be checking up on you – every day, you hear me?’

‘As long as it doesn’t trigger Sue.’

‘To hell with Sue. If she doesn’t understand…’ he paused ‘Look, I can still come over today, so he knows I’ve got your back.’

‘If you want to bring over a housewarming present I guess I couldn’t stop you. Even if it’s only a pot plant.’

‘Cake.’ he said assertively. ‘How does two this afternoon suit you?’

‘I can make sure we’re in – I’ll make like it’s a surprise.’

‘That sounds like a cunning plan. Okay Les, see you later.’

-------

Fabio rang me later, and I went to his flat to pick him up. He was waiting outside with a large wheeled suitcase and his backpack. I got out to open the boot, and he came round to swing his suitcase in before lightly touching my shoulder and kissing me on the cheek.

‘Gracias, Lisa.’ he smiled ‘This means so much to me. I love to stay with people who live in the places I visit.’

‘De nada.’ I said, and he grinned even wider as I told him you’re welcome in his native language.

‘Your accent is very English.’ he said. ‘But I also have an accent, so we are even.’ He smiled ‘Wait a moment please, there is something else’ He vanished back into the house and came out again holding a large bunch of flowers. I blushed furiously as he handed them to me and again kissed me on the cheek.

‘Oh Fabio you shouldn’t have’ I protested. His lips lingered near my ear for a moment, sending shivers down my spine.

‘I have a bottle of wine in my bag. Tonight we get drunk together, no?’ I laughed nervously.

‘Just a little.’

‘Si, solo un poco, just a little.’ He pulled away and I put the flowers carefully onto the back seat. We got into the car and belted ourselves in before setting off. he leaned back in his seat and watched the passing streets.

‘How was the gym?’ 

‘Muy bueno. Very good, my belly will be flat soon, you will see.’ he said, patting his stomach. I swallowed at the thought of his muscled torso. ‘How is your cat? Is he happy in his new home?’

‘He wants to go outside.’ I said, glad of the distraction. ‘He has to stay in – you must be careful when we get there. Don’t open the kitchen door until the porch door is closed, and don’t leave your window open.’

‘Cómo no – of course.’ he replied. ‘Tonight we eat together, yes?’

‘Yes, I thought perhaps some salmon and salad, will that suit you?’

‘Muy Beuno, delicioso.’

‘Ginger will be happy, he loves fish.’ 

Once at the house, Fabio took his suitcase into his room and I put the kettle on for tea.

‘I’ve got some soup for lunch, you can have some if you like.’ I offered as he came out of his room a little while later. He accepted, and I set about getting things ready. Ginger came down from the upstairs bedroom and rubbed himself around Fabricio’s legs.

‘Can I pick him up?’ he asked. ‘He won’t bite?’

‘No, Ginge is very chilled – relaxed. If he wriggles put him down.’ The cat allowed himself to be hoisted up and started to purr as Fabio scratched his chin and ears.

‘We get on well, you and I.’ Fabio said ‘together, we look after Lisa, yes?’ Ginger wriggled, and he put him carefully back on the floor.

‘I think it’s me looking after you two.’ I joked as I handed him the bread to take through to the dining room.

‘We all look after each other then.’ he smiled. We sat and ate lunch quietly.

‘Is there anything you want to do today?’ I asked ‘There’s a wood nearby, we could go for a walk, and perhaps tomorrow we could go out to the coast.’

‘There are beaches?’

‘Yes, but it’s too late in the year and too cold to sunbathe or go swimming. It’s mostly estuary here anyway.’

‘Estuary?’ 

‘Where the rivers go into the sea. It’s tidal, not proper seaside.’

‘Ah entiendo – I understand.’ He reached out to take my empty bowl and stood to take the dishes to the kitchen. ‘We walk later – now I must read my emails and send one to my mother.’

‘The internet’s all set up, I’ll give you the password.’

‘Let me wash up, senora.’ he said, and I blinked at the formality of ‘senora’, but said nothing.

‘Okay, just leave it to drain and I’ll put it away. I have some sorting to do upstairs. Remember, don’t let Ginger out.’

‘Lo siento. Call me when you are ready.’

Once upstairs I spent some time sorting out clothes, and calculated when to go out so that we would be back before Martin came. I decided not to leave it to chance and texted him to delay him a little longer, then went down to find no trace of my lodger, so I tapped on his door.

‘If you’d like, we can go out now.’ I suggested. He appeared quickly, pulling on a jacket and holding a pair of boots to replace his trainers.

‘It’s not such a tough walk as the hills.’ I explained ‘But if you wanted to go running it’s a good route.’ We set off down a nearby side road until we hit the entrance to the wood, and turned off to take the path. He agreed that it was an excellent place for running, save for the odd dog walker who had omitted to clear up after their pet. We were out for just less than an hour, turning back when the sky started to darken and arriving back as the first drops of rain started to fall.

‘Lisa.’ Fabio said ‘We should talk more about me being here.’ I felt a little thrill as we stood together in the kitchen, me fussing with cups ready to make more tea, more to occupy myself than anything else, feeling a little awkward. Martin would make an appearance soon, I thought.

‘Oh yes?’ I asked ‘What did you want to say?’ He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back on the kitchen counter.

‘Well’ he said ‘I said I want to be more than a brother to you.’ I tried to keep my expression neutral, wondering where he was going with the conversation, a sick excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. As I hadn’t answered him, he went on ‘Before you invited me to live here’ he continued.

‘Yes, that’s so.’ I responded, and he stood clear of the counter.

‘I don’t want you to be uncomfortable’ he said, holding his palms out to me ‘I would never do anything you don’t like.’ My heart hammered in my chest. ‘You have no boyfriend?’ he asked as I remained silent, mind whirling. ‘Do you like men? Did someone hurt you?’ I laughed awkwardly.

‘That’s a lot of questions.’ I said, taking a deep breath. ‘No, I have no-one special right now, yes I do like men - and no, nobody hurt me. I’ve had – a few relationships but nothing that lasted more than a year or so.’

‘You look for your someone special?’ he asked ‘Someone who’s not just staying for a few months?’

‘I don’t know’ I said ‘I’ve not had much luck so far. I think – Fabio, it’s not easy. My heart tells me one thing and my head another.’

‘Your heart tells you what?’ he smiled. I felt a little dizzy.

‘It tells me…’ at that moment the doorbell rang, and I jumped violently.

‘Hey Leese!’ Martin’s voice came from outside the porch. I was frozen for a moment, and Fabio looked startled. I tore my gaze away from him to go and answer ‘I was just passing, can I come in? I brought cake to celebrate your move.’ Martin said, winking broadly. I cursed his sense of timing and plastered a smile onto my face.

‘Martin, what a surprise. We were just making tea.’

‘We?’ he asked innocently, handing me a box.

‘Umm yeah – you met Fabio.’ I lead him into the kitchen and Fabio shifted self consciously, flashing his white toothed smile. ‘He’s my new lodger.’ The two men shook hands.

‘Hello again.’ said Martin ‘You’re a lucky man, finding a place like this to stay – and Lisa, of course. How did you meet again?’

‘Now come on Martin.’ I said ‘I know how you take your tea. Go through into the lounge and I’ll put this out onto a plate.’

‘Excuse me.’ Fabio said. ‘I go to the bathroom, wash my hands.’

‘Here, let me see to the cake.’ said Martin loudly as Fabio left the kitchen.

‘Well that was fucking subtle.’ I hissed at him ‘asking him how we met. I don’t want you to scare him, just be polite and interested.’

‘You know how I feel, Leese’ he answered in a low tone.

‘Well your timing was just great, Einstein. Here, take the cake through, we’ll have it in the lounge.’ In minutes we were all seated, Martin on one end of the couch and Fabio at the other, the cake and plates on the coffee table. Martin sat back, foot balanced on his knee, and Fabio leaned toward me, elbows on his knees. I took a slice of the cake and offered it to Fabio

‘Just a little.’ he said. ‘remember, I must look good for work.’

‘It’s easy to work this stuff off.’ Martin assured him ‘special low calorie stuff.’ I snorted

‘He’s lying.’ I sighed.

‘Joking, not lying’ he retorted.

‘So, Lisa didn’t tell me very much about you’’ Fabio said, regarding the cake before turning to Martin and asking ‘How did you meet?’ I laughed.

‘Well played, Fabio. We met at Tai Chi class, and Martin also did yoga. He takes his own classes now, in Ashtanga yoga’ Martin sat up straight and puffed his chest out a little.

‘Oh, my brother’s sister does Ashtanga’ Fabio said. ‘Es muy dificil – very difficult. You must be very fit to teach it.’ Martin smirked a little, his ego stoked.

‘Oh, do you do yoga?’ he asked in a slightly superior tone.

‘No, I go to the gym, I run.’ he replied. At that moment Ginger came into the room, obviously disturbed from a nap by our voices.

‘Hey little man.’ Martin said. ‘How’re you enjoying your new home?’

‘He’s not allowed out yet.’ I explained.

‘Oh bad luck, fuzzface’ he said, reaching down to scratch his head. Ginger ducked away from him and sat by me, regarding the cake with interest.

‘No cake for you.’ I said ‘If you’re staying in, you’re not getting enough exercise, so short rations I’m afraid.’

‘Oh pobre gato.’ poor cat Fabio said, reaching out with his hand and flicking his fingers. Ginger went over to him for some attention and sympathy.

‘Well will you look at that.’ said Martin. ‘the little fella likes you.’ Fabio shrugged

‘Cats like me. Ginger is muy chulo – a cool cat.’

‘El gato churo?’ I asked. Fabricio threw back his head and laughed.

‘I am here to learn English better, not teach Spanish.’ He turned his gaze to mine ‘Have you been to Espana, Lisa? It is a beautiful place. I go to Madrid, to Barcelona. Muy hermoso’

‘No, I’ve not travelled outside Britain, I get stressed out travelling.’ His face fell.

‘Oh but travelling is so exciting.’

‘I love going to new places, it’s getting there that I’m not keen on.’ I explained ‘I’m scared that I’ll miss my flight or get lost.’

‘That is very sad.’ he said, then his face lit up ‘You should come with me on a shoot, I look after you.’ Martin cleared his throat and glared at me.

‘Well I need to get Ginger settled before…’ my voice trailed away.

‘Is just an idea.’ Fabio said, and took a bite of the cake. ‘This is good.’ he waved it at Martin. ‘You make this?’ Martin made a sour face.

‘No, my partner did. Stress baking.’ he looked at his own slice and took a bite ‘I think she makes it to make me fat so I can’t teach yoga. Most of my students are women, and she’s very possessive.’ Fabio’s eyes widened for a moment. He reached over and patted Martin’s knee sympathetically.

‘That is too bad. Take her some flowers, make her feel special.’ Martin’s eyes flicked to the flowers in the window, the ones that Fabio had bought for me.

‘She’d just think I’d done something bad and was trying to compensate.’ he sighed ‘Honestly Leese, I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I can see me moving back in with my parents.’

‘I have a spare house for rent.’ I grinned. He rolled his eyes.

‘I’ll stick it out a bit longer, thanks.’ We all chatted on, and the atmosphere settled to a relaxed ambience, albeit with a few undercurrents. Before long we had finished the cake and tea, and Martin announced he had better go back before Sue got home. I walked out with him to his car, the grass wet from the rain shower earlier.

‘Well I guess either he is a nice guy, or he’s not shown his true colours’ Martin said ‘But did you see how he put his hand on my knee earlier? Gay.’ I snorted.

‘It’s just his Latino mannerisms.’ I reassured him. ‘You can’t judge him by our buttoned up British standards.’ He tutted, then threw his arms wide for a bear hug. I leaned into him, feeling his reassuring solidity. He drew away and smiled ruefully.

‘You take care, Lisa. Any funny business, any steps out of line and call me. I’ll be here in a shot, never mind Sue.’

‘Thanks, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.’ I assured him. ‘I’ll keep you updated.’ He got in the car and wound down his window.

‘Knickers on, legs crossed.’ he told me gravely before he reversed, turned, and pulled out carefully onto the road and I waved him goodbye.

[fanficimagery]

Imagine being sister to Thor. Having fled your home after your mother's death, you went on a mission to find yourself. Then landing in Midgard, you lead a life of normalcy. That is until you fall for one of Midgard's Mightiest Heroes. He can only keep his secret for so long, but yours, on the other hand.. you're going to keep it as long as possible.

Steve X Reader

Midgard was dreary compared to Asgard. There were a lot of rude and obnoxious people, but for every one of those there was a kind or courageous individual. It really depended where on Midgard you were, but you were willing to deal with it since it was your choice to leave home.

Some places in Midgard were quite peaceful, while others were colorful and loud. Las Vegas was a little too wild for your tastes, so the next best thing was New York City- the same city your adopted brother once nearly razed to the ground with an alien army. There were many pros and cons about the city, but you managed to settle in quite nicely and find your own little niche after converting all the Asgardian money you had smuggled out with you into American dollars.

Almost a year in and you could pass for a local midgardian.

Sitting outside at your favorite cafe, you enjoy your breakfast while simultaneously reading George R.R Martin's latest novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. You finish your first plate of food and then enjoy a couple cups of coffee while reading before ordering your next plate of food (this was the only reason the cafe tolerated you reading and taking your time; your Asgardian appetite gave the cafe a lot of business). And it’s midway through your second plate that your senses go into overdrive and you realize you're being watched. 

As you slow your eating, you subtly glance around your surroundings to find who the culprit is. Spotting the stranger almost immediately, you realize he's staring at you before glancing down at some sort of journal. He has a pencil- or was it a pen?- in hand and it furiously moves over the paper before he glances up yet again.

Finishing the rest of your food, you then ask for your table to be cleared. Once that's done you ask the waitress, just loud enough for the stranger to hear, where the bathrooms are even though you know exactly where they are located. But instead of actually using the bathroom, you ask for a to-go cup of coffee and pay your bill.

As you head back outside you see the stranger still seated and his attention solely on his book. So gathering yourself, you walk up to his table and take a seat across from him. When he glances up, his eyes subtly widen and you quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Hi," you muse. "Why were you staring at me?"

The man gapes as his cheeks flush at being caught. Up close you notice the man is quite handsome- from his stylish trimmed hair, to his beard, and blue eyes. "I am so sorry, ma'am." Ma'am? That's new. "I did not intend to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No?"

"Not at all," he's quick to assure you. "I was just- I'm an artist," he blurts. "And your hair, the braids caught my attention. More so the streak of purple against your nearly platinum hair that's weaved in and out of the one braid." He angles his book towards you and sure enough there's a sketch of your side profile. He paid a lot of attention to your braids and while the sketch is mostly black and white, the only color on paper is the purple streak in your hair. The man has some major talent.

Internally you're grateful it was nothing sinister, but on the outside you cringe. "Oh. You're really talented," you say as he lays his sketchbook back down. "And I'm sorry for thinking you were a creep."

That startles a laugh out of him. "You thought I was a creep?"

He's grinning and it's your turn to flush. "Well it is New York-"

"Fair enough."

"-and you just kept staring. I didn't know what to think and you sketching me didn't even come to mind as a possibility."

"Again, my apologies." You smile and his grin turns a little mischievous. "Then again it is your fault. If you hadn't done all those neat braids in your hair I probably would have been doing a crossword puzzle."

"My fault!?" You laugh softly to let him know you're honestly not upset at all. Amused is more like it. You shake your head, sipping your coffee.

"I'm Steve, by the way," he then introduces himself.

"Y/N," you return. Silence momentarily reigns over you two and you suddenly feel like you've overstayed your welcome even though Steve is still grinning. Pushing your chair back, you stand and offer him one last smile. "I really should be going now."

"Oh. Okay."

"If I see you around again, I expect to see a sketch of a new stranger."

Steve huffs a laugh. "Sure. It was nice to meet you, Y/N."

"You as well, Steve."

After pushing your chair back in, you take your leave. Then before you turn the corner, you glance back and see Steve still watching you. He waves and you salute him with your cup of coffee, ignoring the all too warm feeling in your chest at seeing his smile directed at you.

Over the next few weeks you run into Steve at the cafe and once at the park. The two of you always ended up sitting together and talking about anything and everything, so it's no surprise when he sheepishly asks you on a date.

You agree to the date and then to the four after, and it's really no surprise when the two of you become a legitimate couple. What is a surprise, however, is the third month of dating you find out he's none other than Captain America. There's a brief moment of panic because he's apparently friends with your brother, but fortunately it seemed like Thor hadn't even mentioned he had a sister. Steve seemed nervous when he let you in on his secret, but his story hardly fazed you. He was grateful you didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.

And after seven months of dating, the two of you move in together.

The smell of bacon is what wakes you and after blindly feeling around the bed you realize it's empty. Reluctantly you get out of bed, heading for the bathroom to fully wake yourself and freshen up before seeking out Steve.

Your boyfriend is scrambling eggs while the bacon sizzles when you sleepily walk up behind him and wrap your arms around his waist. Steve chuckles as you nuzzle the middle of his back and your hands find their way under his shirt to lightly scratch at his abdomen.

"Mmm. Food and abs. What did I do to deserve you?"

"A lot, sweetheart," he muses. "For starters, you accept me for me- shield or no shield." He scoops the bacon out of it's own grease and plates it on a paper towel to soak up the rest. Then turning off all burners, he moves the pan of eggs to the back cold burner. "And you put up with my creepy staring when I'm in a sketching mood." Turning around in your arms, he lightly grasps your face in his hands and kisses your forehead.

"S'all good. I do a lot of creepy staring myself. You're pretty."

"And you're still half asleep." He kisses the tip of your nose and you laugh, and then Steve walks you backward until the back of your knees hit a chair. Lightly pushing you down, you grunt as your bottom meets the seat of the chair. "Don't pout," he muses. "Eat your breakfast and then we can laze about all day on the couch. We don't have anywhere to be today."

"Yeah, yeah. Just give me the bacon."

Breakfast is then eaten at a leisurely pace, Steve chuckling every time he has to kick at your ankles when you nod off mid-chew. You kick back, grunting and whining when you miss and your toes smash into a table or chair leg. And then when you're all finished, you happily clear the table and load the dishwasher while Steve heads to shower off from his early morning run.

After a while Steve emerges and the two of you fall onto the couch. Finding a marathon of murder mysteries on TV, you leave it there before snuggling into Steve's side. Hours pass with the two of you barely moving and then around lunch time Steve's work phone is blaring it's emergency ringtone.

"Nooo," you groan, hugging him a little tighter.

Steve chuckles. "Sorry, sweetheart. Duty calls."

"I know. Before careful." You reach up and peck his lips just as he answers his phone.

Steve gets a brief rundown of what's going on as he moves from room to room gathering his suit and other necessities to shove in a duffel bag, and then he's giving off coordinates for a place to be picked up at since your cohabitation wasn't exactly known among his friends. You pick up his shield and place it in it's own personal bag before handing it off, you giving him another kiss but this time lingering a little longer.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he says. "Aliens decided to pay a visit again."

You sigh. "You're going to be busy all night." He smiles guiltily and you press a kiss to chin. "Hurry back, but please be careful."

"Will do. Try not to watch the news."

"As if," you scoff. "I'm going to be glued to the TV as soon as you walk out our door."

He sighs. "I figured you'd say that."

"Yep. Now get out of here, babe. The world needs Captain America."

"Yes, ma'am."

The moment Steve is out the door and his motorcycle engine roars to life, you do as you said you'd do. You turn on the TV and immediately flip back and forth between all the news stations to see what the hell is going on. Aliens are pouring out of the sky yet again and Iron Man zooming around and blasting them is hardly putting a dent in their numbers. Even your brother and the Scarlet Witch can't quite keep up, and you're suddenly nervous that the Avengers are in over their heads.

You watch as the Hulk makes his appearance, he jumping and swatting aliens out of the sky like bugs. And still.. the aliens keep coming. Then fifteen minutes later, a quinjet is landing in the middle of an empty parking lot and Captain America, the Black Widow, and Hawkeye are seen jogging off the back ramp to join the fight. The Avengers seem to be holding their own even though they appear to be greatly outnumbered.

Not able to watch anymore, you put the TV on mute and head outside for some fresh air. To pass some time you decide to rearrange the porch furniture, but as you're doing so a feeling of dead momentarily overwhelms you. You stumble into the porch railing and the feeling of dread isn't evaporating. A moment later you're skipping down the porch steps and onto the front lawn. With your heart beating fast, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Centering yourself, you concentrate and pull on your Asgardian magic to sense whether or not it's going to be a good day or bad day. All signs are pointing to something terrible happening.

Eyes flying open, you look to the sky. "Heimdall!" You call out. "Send down my beloved companion. They need my help."

Seconds tick by and you think Heimdall is refusing you because you had turned your back on everything after Mother's death, but then a portion of the sky shimmers and you can see a brief glimpse of the bifrost before the silhouette of a winged horse shimmers into existence.

Laughing, your gaze tracks the flight path of your pegasus. The pitch black creature lands and folds his wings in before trotting up to you, and you press your forehead to the pegasus' face. Lovingly scratching either side of his neck, you say, "Hello my morningstar. We have work to do."

The black beast neighs and paws at the ground before stepping back and trotting circles around you. You lightly smack him on the butt and he takes off in a trot down the street. Several people have come out of their houses and are staring, and you hear gasps all around as Lucifer's wings unfurl. He stops and turns back around, and then a moment later he's running at full speed. You smile ferally and put your back to him, you then running down the street. As you run you can feel your clothes changing on their own and the second Lucifer's at your side you jump and land on his back.

Your own blue and silver Asgardian armor covers you from the neck down, and a silver helmet sits atop your head with a piece of metal drooping down between your eyes to the tip of your nose. Your hands twist into Lucifer's mane and as you lightly kick his sides he jumps into the air. Guiding him towards where you know the fight is, you only hope you can get there in time.

     - X - X - X - X - X -

Out on the battle field, the Avengers are tiring. The team is at a loss of what to do, but at the moment they're just grateful that no more aliens are coming through the portal they had opened.

"Hey, Stark, I can really use another sweep," Clint says. "I just sent my last arrow into the field."

"On it, Bird Brain." Tony disengages from the alien he was fighting to collect all the arrows he can. "You really need to rethink your weapon of choice."

"Yeah, Barton," Natasha teases. "Upgrade, will you? Tony's new toys are fun," she says as she takes down four aliens, one right after the other with the glock that shoots energy blasts instead of bullets.

Steve jogs up to them, throwing his shield with a grunt and watching in satisfaction as it pings off alien head after alien head before hitting a wall and flying back towards him. "Guys, less talking more fighting. I really want to get home."

"Aw. Does Cap have a hot date waiting at home?" Tony muses. Steve falters, but doesn't rise to the bait. However, Natasha notices his little misstep and grins knowingly.

"Uh. Guys?" Clint then muses, staring up at the sky and following something with his gaze. "Am I the only one seeing a goddamn pegasus?"

There's a moment where the only sounds are of the battle, and then..

"SISTER!"

"Sister?" Every Avenger wonders as Hulk roars off in the distance.

The warrior on the back of the pegasus has a bow in hand, she loosing a volley of arrows with what appeared to be only one arrow. The winged horse swoops lower and the woman hops off, her horse taking flight once more and disappearing into the clouds.

Once your feet are on solid ground, you yank off your helmet at let it fall at your feet. You ignore the stares as you reach back into your quiver for another arrow, nocking it and grinning when the tip suddenly flames. With a whispered spell, you loose the arrow and smirk as it multiplies into a hundred and each arrow finds a place in an alien.

Before you can reach for another arrow, arms wrap around you from behind and you're suddenly being spun. Laughing, you let your brother have his moment. It's only when he sets you back down and turns you so you face him do you realize everyone but the Hulk gathering around.

"Y/N?"

You glance to your left and guiltily smile at a bewildered Steve. "Hi, honey. Surprise..?"

"Honey?" Iron Man muses just as Thor says, "You know of my sister?"

Clint snorts. "Shit. This outta be good."

You cringe as Thor continues to stare at Steve. "Uhh.. Steve and I are dating."

Instead of anger, Thor surprises you by beaming. "This is wonderful news!" You sigh in relief at his exuberance and then mentally groan when his smile falters. "But.. since when? You fled after Mother died. Have you.. have you been on Midgard all this time?"

"Yes." Thor suddenly looks unhappy and you frown. "I promise to explain everything later. Right now we have aliens to take care of."

"Yeah. About that," Hawkeye says. "Can you do what you did to your arrows to mine?"

You nod and hold a hand out for his arrows. Having collected them from Tony, Clint passes them over to you. Grasping them all in hand horizontally, you lift them so the shafts are near your lips. Then closing your eyes and muttering a spell, you hand them back to their owner. "There. You should be fine."

"Awesome."

Standing side by side with Hawkeye, the both of you nock an arrow each. As yours lights aflame, Hawkeye pouts and you huff a small laugh. Then angling upward, the two of you loose your arrows and everyone watches as they multiply mid-flight.

"So awesome," Clint muses again, watching as the aliens shriek and fall dead.

"All right. Now we're back in the game!" Iron Man zooms off, and after your brother shares a pointed look with you Thor twirls his hammer before taking flight.

Hawkeye and the Black Widow stare between you and Steve without an ounce of shame, and you sigh. Giving your attention to Steve, you say, "I'm sorry."

He frowns. "You could have told me when I told you about being Cap. Why didn’t you?"

"I knew you worked with Thor. I didn't want you to have to lie to him."

"I would have. For you."

Chuckling softly, you reach up with your right hand and cup his cheek. "Oh honey, you can't lie to save your life."

The Black Widow laughs at Steve's offended look. "I can to."

"Mhm. Then why did you have the guiltiest expression just last week when I asked what happened to the last of my honey butter?" Steve gapes and you lightly tap the end of his nose. "Yeah that's what I thought."

Steve sighs. "You'll tell me everything?"

"Everything." Leaning in you're quick to peck his lips. "I'll even tell you about that one time Loki tricked Thor into wearing a wedding dress and almost married him off to another Prince. I was sworn to secrecy, but I'll make an exception just for you."

"And me," Clint says, smirking. "Your other brother Loki might be a dick, but I need all the embarrassing stories on Thor I can get."

You roll your eyes, shaking your head in amusement. "Fine. You too." Clint fist pumps and you look back to Steve. "Now come on, babe. We got an Earth to protect."

[bentaylorrogerhardy]

Lily of the Valley - Part 2

Joe Mazzello! x Reader!

Summary: Being a young, single mom that worked full-time was hard. When you weren’t working, you were taking care of your five year old daughter, Lily. You had given up on dating after many failed attempts. That was until after a rough day of dealing with your ex boyfriend, your best friend introduced you to Joe.

Word count: 2,017

Warnings: cussing, mentions of drinking/being drunk/alcohol

A/N: next chapter features a certain somebody....enjoy!

(part 1 is in my masterlist in my description!)

You pulled into the employee parking lot of the hospital, parking the car and heading up to the third floor. Heading to the nurses station, you were greeted by Kristen and Jana, who were sitting at two of the computers behind the desk.

“Good morning, (Y/N)!” Kristen said cheerfully, a smile beaming on her face.

“Morning, K,” you said, returning the smile and setting your purse under the desk. You walked over to the other available computer and started reading through the reports, checking to see if the doctor’s left any notes regarding your patients, if anyone needed any medications, and checking to see if anything else needed to be done.

“So,” Jana said, wheeling her chair over to you, “how was Lily this morning?”

“So excited,” you smiled, pulling out your phone and showing her and Kristen the photos you had taken that morning.

“She is literally the cutest kid ever,” Jana laughed, “she’ll do great today.”

“I hope so,” you smiled, locking your phone and putting it back into your purse, “I have to pick her up from Chad’s when I get off.”

“Ugh,” they both groaned with looks of disgust on their faces.

“What?” you asked, “he’s still her dad whether we like it or not.”

“Unfortunately,” Kristen mumbled, turning her attention back to the computer.

“Hey, now,” you said, holding your hands up in defense, “he’s been stepping up lately.”

“Only because he doesn’t want to go back to court for child support,” Jana said, crossing her arms over her chest,

“Which he has yet to pay you,” Kristen added, “but it is hard to pay child support when you don’t have a job.”

“We can discuss all of this later, girls.” You sighed, getting up from the computer chair and grabbing your clipboard, “we all have a job to do.”

---

A few hours had passed and before you knew it, it was time for your lunch break. You, Kristen, and Jana all took lunch together and decided to go to a little restaurant near the hospital.

“So,” Jana said, taking a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich, “what are the plans for tonight?”

“We should go out!” Kristen exclaimed, “let’s go get dinner or something.”

“That sounds fun and all, but I think you two often forget I have a five year old and a bedtime of eight o’clock,” you laughed, taking a sip of your water, then setting the cup back down.

“Eight o’clock? Really, (Y/N)?” Kristen asked, “you work hard, you deserve to have a night out!”

“When was the last time you actually went out and enjoyed it?” Jana asked, turning her attention to you.

“I don’t know,” you sighed, fiddling with your fork, “a couple months ago?”

“You’re never gonna meet anybody staying at home watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians reruns,” Kristen said, “you have to go out and meet people.”

“I gave up trying to meet someone ages ago. After that last date I went on, it’s gonna take an awful lot to impress me. Plus, I have to look out for Lily, too,” you stated, “who all would be going out tonight, anyway?”

“Well, Oscar and I, and Jana and David,” Kristen said. Oscar and Kristen had been together since high school, around the time you and Chad started dating back then, and Jana and David had been together for almost two years.

“Yeah, see. I’m not for the whole fifth wheeling thing,” you sighed, “maybe another night.”

“Oscar can bring his friend Isaac!” Kristen stated. Jana turned to her with a look of disgust on her face,

“K, he smells like hot dog water,” she said, causing you to burst into a fit of laughter.

“I’ll just take a rain check,” you laughed, “I’ll come another night.” The three of you finished up eating and then headed back to the hospital.

---

“What about him?” Jana whispered to you, motioning to the attractive doctor that was walking past the nurses station.

“He’s married,” you said, flipping through your paperwork.

“How do you know?” She asked, putting a hand on her hip,

“I don’t know, I think the wedding ring gave it away,” you chuckled, shaking your head. You picked up the clipboard from off the counter and headed over to the computer to start filling out your patients reports. You glanced at the clock and noticed it was already four o’clock; only two more hours until your shift was over. Just then, the phone on the desk that Kristen was sitting at started ringing.

“UCLA Medical Center, this is Kristen. How can I help you?” she answered the phone, “Yeah, just a second.” She put the phone on hold and set it down, “(Y/N), phonecall.”

“Who is it?” you asked, turning around to face her.

“Lily’s school,” she said. Your eyes got wide, quickly getting up from your chair and walking over to her desk, picking up the phone, “this is (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

“Hi, Miss (L/N). This is Mrs. Martin from Meadowlane Elementary. I’m calling to see if someone was on their way to pick up Lily,” she said, “carpool ended about 15 minutes ago.”

“Yeah, her dad was supposed to pick her up,” you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“We tried calling Mr. Prescott and got no answer,” she said, her voice almost filled with pity. Of course he didn’t show up.  

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thank you,” you sighed, slamming the phone down, letting out a frustrated groan, “son of a bitch.”

“What happened?” Kristen asked, leaning back in her chair.

“Chad didn’t show up to pick Lily up from school,” you said, grabbing your purse from under the desk, rummaging through it to grab your keys.

“Typical,” Jana mumbled, “can’t wait to hear his excuse this time.”

“I don’t wanna hear it right now,” you snapped, throwing your purse over your shoulder, “cover for me?”

“Yeah, we got it covered. Go!” Kristen said, shooing you out. You speedily walked to the elevator then got in, pressing the ground level button. When you reached your car, you started it and headed to the hospital, all while trying to call Chad.

First time, it rang and rang. No answer. Second time, it rang and rang, again. No answer. Third time, it rang and rang.

“What do you want?” he said when he finally answered the phone.

“I really hope you have a good explanation,” you snapped, turning out of the parking lot.

“For what? I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he laughed on the other end of the phone.

“You do when you forget to pick up your daughter from school!” you yelled, “what the fuck, Chad?!”

“Oh, shit,” he said, followed by an exasperated sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“So now, I have to leave work early, go pick her up, bring her to my sisters, then go back to work, if I even have a job anymore; all because what? You got drunk last night, again? Spending all that money on alcohol, when you can’t even give me fifty bucks to feed your daughter!” you yelled, “I have no issue taking you back to court if that’s how you wanna do things.”

“I don’t have a job, how the fuck do you expect me to give you any money?!” he yelled back.

“THE SAME WAY YOU GET MONEY FOR BOOZE!” you yelled, turning into the school parking. It was empty, being that school was over and everyone was gone for the day, with the exception of a few teachers. You turned into a parking spot and slammed the car in park.

“Just let me know when you’re home, I’ll come by and see her for a bit,” he said, his voice calm now.

“No,” you said, “you can see her another day. Now, I’m gonna hang up, so I can go get Lily. Get your shit together.”  

“(Y/N), I-,” he started, but you hung up, cutting him off. Shutting the car off, you got out and headed inside and to the front office and up to the counter by the secretary.

“Hi, I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N), Lily’s mom,” you told the woman, presumably Mrs. Martin. There was a small window looking into one of the offices behind the desk, where you could see Lily was sitting. Her pigtails a mess from the day, she sat at a table doing what looked like some coloring.

“Let me go get her,” she smiled, standing up from her chair and heading back into the office. A few minutes later, she returned with her, hand in hand, while Lily’s other hand was clutching onto her artwork, and her little, pink backpack on her shoulder.

“Hi, mommy!” she giggled, running up to you. You smiled and leaned down, engulfing her in a big hug.

“Hi, my baby!” you said, kissing the top of her head, “how was school?”

“It was soooo fun, mommy. I love school!” she giggled, holding up the coloring sheet she was holding. It was a pig, colored in every color imaginable. “Look!”

“It’s beautiful,” you said, then looked up at Mrs. Martin, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“No need to apologize,” she said, “I loved having the company.”

“Lils, what do you say to Mrs. Martin?” you asked, taking a hold of her hand.

“Thank you,” she smiled.

“Oh, you’re very welcome!” she smiled back at her, then the two of you headed back out to the car. You got Lily into her carseat and settled in, then got in drivers seat, then headed to your moms to drop her off.

“I’m sorry you had to wait, my girl.” you said, looking back at her through the rear view mirror, “but, I’m gonna drop you off at Aunt Casey’s, because I have to go back to work for a little bit.”

“Daddy was supposed to come get me,” she said, fiddling with a toy she had found in the back seat.

“I know, and I’m gonna talk to him about it later. Tell me how school was!” You said, quickly changing the subject, “meet any cute boys?”

“Eww, no!” She giggled, “boys are gross.”

“That’s my girl,” you laughed, pulling into your sisters driveway then getting out and heading up to the door.

“Lily!” She exclaimed when she opened the door, “how’s my girl?”

“Good,” she smiled, pushing past her and walking inside.

“Can you watch her till I get off?” You asked, “Chad was supposed to get her, but…”

“Typical Chad?” She asked, rolling her eyes, “wouldn’t expect anything else.”

“Yeah, I’m not getting into it right now, but I’ll pick her up when I get off,” you stated.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” she smiled.

“Thank you,” you sighed with relief, “I owe you.”

You made your way back to the car, then headed back to work.

—-

“Everything good?” Kristen asked when you got back to work and set your stuff down.

“Yeah, I guess so,” you sighed, plopping down in the computer chair.

“He have a good excuse?” Jana asked.

“Does he ever?” You scoffed, “he ‘forgot’.”

“Woooow,” Kristen said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, but it’s good now. My sisters gonna watch her,” you said, getting up from the chair and walking over to the counter, looking through your last patient files for the day, sighing, “I need a drink.”

“Come out with us tonight,” Kristen said, leaning back in the desk chair, “it’ll be fun!”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, resting your elbow on the counter, “I suppose I can get my sister to watch Lily for the rest of the night.”

“Yes! I’ll get David to bring one of his friends, Joe, for you,” Jana said, “he’s an actor, he lives here in LA, and he’s looking to start dating, too.”

“I told you, I kind of already gave up on dating,” you said.

“Just give Joe a shot,” she said, pulling out her phone to text David, “I think you two will really hit it off.”

Tags: @pietrorunsforme @okiegirl24 @joalsglasses @toger-raylor

[titsoutforseguinwriting-blog]

untitled Chapter 1

Waking up alone was normal, when you were dating a professional hockey player. But waking up without a note or text was unusual. Auston and I had been fighting lately about how often he was coming home late, forgetting our plans or just flat out telling me He didn’t want to come home. We had been together for 3 years now, we were known to the public as Toronto’s Power Couple. Away from the public eye, we were anything but a power couple, fighting most of the time, sleeping apart some night, ruined mascara, sore throats from yelling and more common than not messy apologies that meant nothing. I was trying my best to keep us alive since we had been dating since I was 17 and he was 18.

I walked into the arena knowing he was here practicing with the guys before they went home for the Christmas break. I brought him some lunch thinking that maybe we could have lunch together before he went back to work. Looking down at my phone, I walked throughout the halls that I knew like the back of my hand. I was about to text Auston to tell him I was here and would be waiting for him before running into someone. “Oh Jesus I’m sorry” the taller figure said bending down to grab my phone for me. “It’s okay, I was looking at my phone” I laughed looking to see that it was Tyler Seguin. “Oh hey, Tyler. Why are you here?” I asked thinking that his break hadn't started yet. “Hurt my shoulder so I came home early, and came in here to see the trainer” he smiled down at me. Before I could even get out that I had to get going he spoke again. “You’re Matthews girl right?” he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall of the hallway. “Uhh yeah I am, I’m actually bringing him lunch” I said holding up the Chipotle bag. He smiled, but before either of us could say anything Mitch walked up to us telling me that Auston wanted to talk to me. “It was nice talking to you Hazy” Tyler spoke as he walked away flashing me that famous smile of his.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I yelled at Auston fully aware that most of his team was watching us. “You were flirting with him Hazy! Look at you! Showing off your tits like you knew he was here!” Auston screamed back at me pointing to my V-neck sweater I was wearing. “How in the actual FUCK would I know if he was here Auston? The Stars have a game tonight! I didn’t know he was fucking hurt!” I shot back throwing my hands around. “You used to be obsessed with him! Who knows what you would do to get with him! Being slutty is nothing new to you” he screamed at me, his words catching the attention of his fellow teammates. “Dude that was uncalled for” Kappy started before Auston cut him off “this is none of your business Kapanen” Auston barked turning towards him. “Auston DO NOT be an asshole to your teammates because they are defending me because what you just said crossed some major lines” I stated staring at Auston. I knew I had tears streaming down my cheeks, I knew I couldn’t deal with this for very much longer. “Honestly, Auston I gave so much for you” I started trying to control the sobs that racked my body. I felt a hand on my arm, I turned and saw Matt Martin with the most comforting look. He gave me a look that told me I could continue what I was going to say and he would have my back. “I was 17 Auston, I met you at a wild game and couldn’t believe that you would like me. Immediately after graduating high school I moved to Toronto FOR you! I skipped college FOR you! I spent my last three years catering to Auston’s needs making sure THE Auston Matthews was perfectly taken care of because even after three years of dating I was still worried you would leave me.” I cried. Without missing a beat he looked me right in the eyes, seemingly looking into my soul he said “Well you’re right I am leaving you”. I couldn’t take it the pain that those words caused. Sobs racked my body I couldn’t breath I was having a panic attack. “Auston help her” Mitch yelled.

Ignoring everyone's objections he left the locker room and went back to the ice. Matt had me sit down in his locker and was trying to get me to calm down. “Guys move” Willy said walking over to Matt and I. “I’ve helped her with these before when they’ve fought” he said getting onto his knees kneeling in front of me. “Hazy, look at me, hun I know its hard but you have to look at me” William ordered. He pulled my knees apart so he was able to kneel between them getting closer to my shaking body. He grabbed my face with a hand on each cheek forcing me to look him in the eyes. “Hey, hey, hey look at me Hazy. We are all here for you, okay? Calm down” he said standing up pulling me with him into a hug. After a few minutes of calming me down, a majority of the guys had went to the ice to check on Auston and Matt and Willy were left to keep me from crying again. “I’m going to bring you home, okay? We’re going to get ice cream watch chick flicks and facetime Harley” Willy said knowing that he and Harley were my best friends. After undressing he met me outside the locker room and we took my car to my apartment.

After many pints of ice cream, a few movies, and a long facetime session with Harley I had convinced Willy to go home and get some sleep. I was laying in bed thinking about everything that had happened today. I couldn’t help but think of the great memories of me and Auston. I knew I shouldn’t but I couldn’t help it there was so many good times before the bad times. There was this one time Auston surprised me with flights for him and I to fly back to Minnesota so I could see Harley and so I could show him around where I grew up.

“Hey babe can you come into the kitchen?” Auston yelled because I was laying in the living room. “Whats up?” I asked as he put his hands on my hips rubbing his thumbs in small circular motions. “I have a surprise for you” he said as he picked me up and sat me on the counter. I looked beside me and there was an envelope before I could grab it Auston grabbed it. “I want to start with, I know you said you didn’t want me spending money on you but I know you want and need this” he beamed handing me the envelope. Inside the envelope was two tickets to Minnesota. “I know you miss Harley, and I know you want to go home for a few days” He said rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “I love it!” I said throwing my arms around his neck hugging him tightly. “I can’t believe you did this for me” I smiled pulling away from the hug and lightly pecking his lips. “I love you, Hazy” he said kissing me back. “I love you too”.

[pennywaltzy]

Family Is Good For Moral Support

And here it is, my 1,700th fic on AO3! This is a birthday present for @darnedchild (whose birthday is today). Hope it’s a good one, hun!

Family Is Good For Moral Support - When Sherlock's cousin Martin comes to Barts to look for Molly, Sherlock does his best to help.

Read @ AO3 | Help Me Survive? | Commission Me?

“Is there a Dr. Hooper here? Or Ms. Hooper, I suppose, her being a surgeon. But wouldn’t that make her a doctor?”

Sherlock’s ears perked up at the sound of a frighteningly familiar sounding voice asking for Molly. Not that it was someone he knew, it was just so similar to his own. And that could only mean one thing…

“Martin, she’s in the basement,” he said, moving towards his cousin to steer him away from the receptionist at Barts before he made a fool of himself. “And yes, she is a doctor, but she is usually referred to by Ms. It’s a courtesy. But how do you know her?”

“Flew her to New York,” Martin replied, relaxing. He knew all about the dance his cousin and his pathologist had done...or were doing, but it didn’t appear he was going to let that deter him from seeing Molly. Good, Sherlock thought to himself; this particular dance was done, settled at the fact they loved each other but were not in love, and yet…

“I thought there was the Princess,” Sherlock said with a frown.

“It...didn’t quite work out,” Martin admitted, turning nearly as red as his hair. “I got some good advice from Molly on the flight and I talked to Theresa and we just decided, perhaps, it wasn’t the right time.”

“Seems to be quite a bit of that in our family as of late,” he said. “But you made a go. Mum will be proud. And...if you get over your embarrassment and ask Molly to dinner like I know you want to, Mum will be even happier because she’s disappointed I went with the ex-dominatrix and not the lovely pathologist who’s loved me for years.”

“You’re with a dominatrix?” Martin asked.

“Yes, your busy schedule does tend to keep you out of the family gossip,” Sherlock said. “Irene Adler. The Woman. Now off the market and currently awaiting her first child. Mine, by the way, don’t get any other ideas.”

“So Molly is...”

“Completely free to ask out, you’ll have no objections from me, you could certainly do worse. You already did better and while it didn’t work out, it’s a start.”

“Now hang on, are you saying--”

“I’m saying, you were engaged to royalty. You don’t get much better than that. And it was an amicable break-up, wasn’t it?” Martin nodded. “So there you go. We’re at least both in a better state than Mycroft. He can’t say two words to Geoffrey without it turning into a ‘please date me because I’m pathetic’ request.”

“Geoffrey...” Martin said as they got to the lift to the basement.

“Gregory,” Sherlock said with a sigh. “Also known as Lestrade. But it’s a game we’ve played for so long I find it hard to use his correct given name.” He jabbed the button to go to the basement and looked at his cousin. “Do you want me there for moral support?”

“You won’t embarrass me, will you?” Martin asked, a tad nervous as he looked up at Sherlock.

Sherlock shook his head. “That privilege is only for Mycroft. You did me a great deal of good with flights as needed when I needed help taking down Moriarty’s organization, so the least I can do is not embarrass you in front of a friend of mine who you fancy.” The lift doors opened and they got in. “And Molly deserves to be happy. I think you can. She’s busy enough she won’t mind a long distance relationship.”

“Er...I’ve left MJN, Sherlock. I’m with a bigger airline based out of London.”

“Then we’ll have to spend more time together,” Sherlock said before pulling his phone out of his coat. “I may have to dash before you get around to it. Lestrade needs me.”

“Oh.”

They lapsed into silence until the doors opened and Sherlock led him towards Molly’s office. He knocked briskly on the door, catching Molly’s attention. “My cousin has a question he’d like to ask. I suggest you say yes for your future happiness. And dinner’s on me, just go to Angelo’s.” Sherlock nodded to Martin. “Good luck.”

Martin went into the office, not closing the door entirely, and Sherlock stood outside, listening, just to be sure.

“So um...er, would you like to grab a bite? For thanks for the advice.”

“Absolutely! I know Sherlock mentioned dinner but I have lunch in thirty minutes, or whenever I happen to finish this paperwork. Would you like to keep me company?”

“Yes, I would. So...what exactly do you do, paperwork wise? Record results of autopsies?”

“Well, that’s just the start...” And with that, Sherlock pulled away from the door, smiling to himself. He had the feeling Martin and Molly would deal with all the rest of it just fine. Now, on to the business at hand with the case...

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

In My Head: Chapter 2

Hello, my lovelies! It took a bit longer than I had anticipated to get this chapter posted, since the last week or so has been super crazy, but here is the next chapter in this short multi-chapter story. If you missed the first chapter of this story and want to get caught up, be sure to give it a read!

My other writing can be found right here (although it is admittedly a bit outdated)

***

Chloe had managed to avoid all of Rae’s calls for the rest of the weekend and had even been able to dodge calls and offers to go out with the rest of the gang, but on Monday morning, she knew that she had no other choice but to face the gang—including her best mate that had inadvertently been the cause of her recent turmoil.

Chloe had tried denying that the dream she had about Rae meant anything, but the more that she remembered how much she had wished the dream was real, she knew that there had to be something more to it.

When Chloe finished getting ready for college, she came downstairs and saw her mum in the kitchen making herself a brew.

“Good morning, Chloe. Are you feeling better today?” Chloe’s mum asked.

“Feeling better..?” Chloe asked as she began making herself some toast to eat before she had to leave for college.

“Yeah, you hardly left your room all weekend and every time one of your mates would call you’d ask me to tell them that you weren’t feeling well and would call them back,” Chloe’s mum replied with a look of concern on her face as she stood beside her daughter sipping her coffee.

“Oh, right. Yeah, I’m feeling better. It must have just been a flu or something that took a couple days to run its course,” Chloe reasoned as she placed the hot toast onto a plate and began to spread her favorite type of jam on each slice.

“I see. Well, were you feeling sick at all when you were with Rae Friday night?”

“Rae actually had a date on Friday so I only spent the afternoon with her. That evening I made plans to meet up with Archie and I was feeling fine, but I guess whatever it was came over me pretty quickly.”

“Perhaps...you mentioned that Rae had a date. Who with?” Chloe’s mum asked as she took a seat at the table and angled her chair to face her daughter where she stood beside the counter.

“Finn.”

“Really?” Chloe’s mum asked in surprise, “The Nelson boy? As in your mate, Finn?”

“Yeah, he’s the only Finn that we know, so...” Chloe replied with a dismissive shrug.

“Oh, well...good for her! He’s a very handsome young man and Rae is...well, she’s Rae, I suppose,” Chloe’s mum said as she took a long sip of her coffee to mask her shock.

What is that supposed to mean, mum?

Rae is perfect and deserves so much better than Finn fucking Nelson!

He’s the lucky one for getting to spend even one minute with Rae and…

“Oh, uh, yeah…I’m sure both of them had a lot of fun on their date. I should be heading out now. I’ll see you later, Mum,” Chloe mumbled as she pulled her backpack on by one strap using her free hand while holding her last slice of toast in her other hand.

Chloe walked out of the house, only vaguely aware of her mum calling out to have a nice day at college as she hurried out the door.

Chloe knew that after dodging their calls all weekend, the gang would all be looking for her, so she was careful to leave for college much earlier than she normally would so she could take the long route to college and ensure that she would not cross paths with them before she was fully ready to face them.

When Chloe got to college, she could see the last group of students entering the building, suggesting that class would be starting soon.

Luckily, Chloe  knew that her first class of the day was on the opposite side of the building from the rest of the gang’s, which made avoiding the gang much easier, since wherever the gang is, Rae is likely to be close by as well and she just can’t stand to look her in the eye yet.

More so than just the awkwardness of having a sex dream about her best mate that she has known since they were both kids, Chloe was still feeling conflicted and confused about the dream because she feared that the dream had sparked feelings and questions that she had never explored or taken time to consider before.

I love Rae.

Of course I love Rae, everyone in the gang does…

But do I love her like a best mate or a sister or like a lover?

I have no clue, but I do know that until I can figure it all out, I’m gonna have to avoid Rae at all costs!

As Chloe turned the corner to get to her French class, she ran directly into someone else, nearly causing them both to drop their books that they were carrying.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going—” Chloe began to apologize, but when she looked up to see who stood in front of her, her throat went completely dry.

“Chlo! I’m so glad that I ran into you...well, not literally, but I was hoping to catch you before your first class. I thought you had died or skipped town or something!” Rae replied with a chuckle as she adjusted her hold on the small stack of books that she was carrying.

“Oh, I wasn’t feeling well this weekend,” Chloe muttered while looking at the other students passing by them in the hallway to avoid making eye contact with Rae.

“Yeah, your mum told me that much, but she said you couldn’t even talk on the phone whenever I rang you…” Rae replied and without even having to look at her, Chloe could hear the sadness and hurt in her voice.

“Yeah, she wanted to let me rest and I told her that I would try calling you all back if I felt better.”

“Oh...well, are you feeling better today?” Rae asked as she reached across and placed a reassuring hand on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Suppose so…” Chloe mumbled, trying to disguise her subtle shrug to shake Rae’s hand off of her shoulder as an effort to adjust the straps on her backpack.

“Are you sure?” Rae asked, clearly not believing the facade that Chloe had put up. “I know we normally meet up to work on homework after college on Mondays, but if you want to take this week off to get more rest, I understand.”

“Yeah!” Chloe replied a bit too quickly, causing her to wince internally when she looked at Rae and could see the hurt on her face, “I mean...I think that may be best if we take this week off from studying.”

“Oh, okay...well I gotta get to class, but I’ll see you later, right?”

Chloe nodded and replied with a noncommittal sound before slipping past where Rae stood in front of her and walking into her French class before their conversation could go on any further.

For the rest of the day, when Chloe was not in class, she was on the lookout for Rae and the rest of the gang and doing everything in her power to avoid crossing paths with them.

Chloe had almost forgotten why she was avoiding the gang until she saw Rae take a seat at the table outside alongside Finn, Izzy, and Archie. She quickly turned on her heel, preferring to skip lunch opposed to sitting with the gang if that’s what it came down to; however, she couldn’t shake the feelings of guilt when she heard Izzy calling her name as she turned and walk back inside the building.

After lunch, Chloe was finally able to relax, since she knew that the rest of the gang did not have any classes nearby hers for the rest of the day, so she did not have to constantly be on high alert.

Avoiding the gang is exhausting and I feel terrible for doing it…

But I also don’t think I can stand to talk to Rae again, based on how tense our prior conversation had been before class this morning.

When Chloe’s final class of the day was dismissed, she gathered her books and walked out of the classroom with all the other students and into the crowded main hallway.

As she was walking through the hallway, Chloe saw Rae walking in the opposite direction, directly towards where she was. Chloe was fairly certain that she had seen Rae before Rae could see her, but rather than risk it, she took the opportunity to slip into the library to avoid being seen by her best mate.

Walking further into the library, Chloe noticed a few people from her French class sitting at a table and studying and quickly walked over to them and asked to join their study group.

She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, just to be sure that she had made it there unseen, but soon joined in on her classmates as they were discussing the content that was introduced that morning in class.

“This morning, Professeure Martin mentioned that chapters one through three would be covered on the exam next week, but she also said that there were a few concepts from chapter four that will be included on the exam, since we are not going through the entire chapter,” Chloe explained to her classmates as she pulled her notes from class that morning out of her bag to be able to better answer some of the questions that they were asking her.

“Chloe?”

As soon as Chloe heard her name, her stomach dropped and she hesitantly glanced over her shoulder to see Rae standing a short distance away from the table she was sitting at.

Despite not wanting to talk to Rae alone just yet, she knew that it would be rude to interrupt the others who were studying, so she excused herself from the table and walked over to the magazine display shelf that Rae was standing next to.

“Rae,” Chloe said in greeting when she stood as far away from Rae as she could justify.

“Hiya! I thought I saw you walk into here,” Rae replied with a smile as she set aside the magazine she had been casually thumbing through.

“Oh, uh, yeah…”

“Um, okay...well I just wanted to see if you wanted to walk home together, since we’re not going to study at yours today.”

“Oh, I’m...I’m actually gonna study here in the library for a while…” Chloe said as she cast a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the table she had been sitting at moments before.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, we have a big exam coming up in French and I’ve been struggling, so I wanted to come in here and study with some of the other people in my class.”

“In French class? I thought you were doing really well in that class. Just last week you were bragging about how your teacher always adds comments about how good the work you turn in is…”

“Yeah, that was before, but now I’m having some trouble. We learned some new material this morning that I don’t understand, so I was gonna help some people from my class with the other stuff and they were gonna help me practice what we covered in class today.”

“Oh, okay. That’s fine. If you need to study for that, I get it,” Rae replied with disappointment clear in her voice, “If you’re feeling alright later tonight, you can ring me if you wanna chat.”

Chloe half-heartedly nodded in reply and Rae gave her a small, tight-lipped smile before walking away.

Chloe walked back to the table and took a seat with her French classmates, trying to pick up on the currently topic of conversation so she could jump back in and study with them however, the last thing on Chloe’s mind was the latest assigned chapter in her French class.

With a deep sigh in an effort to put aside everything Rae-related that had been weighing heavily on her mind for the last four days, Chloe opened up her French textbook and found the page her classmates were all referring to as she listened to the questions they were asking.

“If any of you need help understanding what we discussed in class this morning, let me know. I took a French Literature course last year, so what Professeure Martin taught in class was mostly review for me,” Chloe explained before all her classmates began talking over each other to ask any and all questions that they had for her.

I don’t know how much longer I can keep all of this up…

A/N:  What can I say? After trying my hand at writing a little bit of steamy fun between Rae and Chloe in the first chapter, I couldn’t resist stirring up some drama and inner conflict in this chapter.

In this chapter, Chloe tries to avoid Rae and the gang, but in the next chapter, but it’s only a matter of time before Chloe has to face her fears and finally confront the gang (and Rae!) about why she has been blowing them off recently.

Have no fear, my dears, I can promise you that things will work out by the end of the story ^_^ Until next time: stay awesome, my friends!

[squeeneyart]

Breathe in the Salt - Chapter 7

AO3

Beta read by @thesnadger who does a great job

Tim and Martin sit out the nausea.

Martin talks to himself.

“You sure you don’t want to head home for the day?” Tim asked, picking at the grass beside him. He and Martin sat with their backs pressed against the cliff railing, facing away from the steep drop. The lighthouse loomed in front of them, barely casting a shadow as morning ticked closer to noon.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Martin replied. He rested his arms on his knees, his chin buried into the fabric of his coat sleeves. “I don’t really feel like walking down the hill yet? I’ll at least wait for the others to get back.”

“Well, they should be here soon, unless the place Simon pointed us toward is yet another weird building that makes you feel like you’re falling into a big hole.” Tim squinted up at the sky and immediately seemed to regret it, leaning forward to drop his face between his knees. “Ugh, the Fairchild place was almost as bad as here. I’m surprised we survived the walk back down. If we didn’t have someone leading us out, we’d probably be swallowed up by the carpet! Sorry to say, but I think your whole town is fucked. Or any place owned by the weird old guy club, I guess.”

Martin grimaced. “I don’t get how Jon and Sasha seem so unbothered by it. If it were just me, I’d chalk it up to stress or something, but, well.”

Tim nodded in solemn understanding. “‘But, well’.’” He lifted his head and squinted in the sunlight. “It could be they’re faking it and I’m the only one willing to ‘fess up. If that’s the case, they’ve been really good at pretending their stomachs haven’t been dropping straight into the sea all weekend. But, between you and me, Jon can’t act for shit.”

Martin’s shoulders bobbed with silent laughter. “He seems very easy to read, yeah.”

“Oh yeah, I don’t think he’s ever successfully lied in his life, unless you count avoiding a subject altogether.” Tim smiled and leaned back against the railing, brushing a hand over his hair. “Glad you two are getting on, by the way. I’m sure Sasha already talked to you about it, but the turnaround really was impressive. I was concerned he’d just be pissy this whole week over some spilt tea.”

Martin buried the bottom of his face a degree further into his coat. “Please don’t remind me. Anyway, I’m sure having something weird to chase after helped. Means this place wasn’t a total waste of time for you.”

“Hey, it wasn’t gonna be a total waste. I can’t speak for him, but I for one love to make new connections.” He waggled his eyebrow, making Martin snort and turn a brighter shade of red. “Really, though, you’ve been a lot of help. If the walk home is that bad, you should just stay up where the sun actually hits for a while. None of us will mind if you hang around, and I need someone here to prove that my dizzy spells aren’t just me being ridiculous.”

Martin’s mouth sunk into a frown. “No, once they get back I’ll head home. Lunch won’t make itself.”

“What, don’t want to grab something with us nerds?” Tim asked, smiling broadly.

“N-No, I just, y’know, I bought groceries yesterday, and if I eat out too much, I’ll end up wasting some of it, and-” Martin searched for more excuses that wouldn’t bring his mother into the picture and failed.

Tim scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, then took out his phone and asked, “What’s your number?”

“What?”

“Your mobile? In case we need to reach you. And so I can send you dumb shit in my down time that I’ve already sent to Sasha.”

For a moment, Martin sat in stunned silence. “Um. Okay?” He said, his voice cracking in the most embarrassing way possible. Then, slowly, he took an old phone out of his coat pocket, technically a smart phone but just barely. They exchanged numbers, and Martin stared at the new contact before slipping the phone back into place.

“There, now you’re stuck with me. I’ll keep you updated if Sasha and Jon do in fact decide to do something stupid that gets us all disappeared. Speaking of,” Tim said, shading his eyes with a hand. “Here they come now, and Jon looks especially irritated.” They both stood up, grasping at the railing and sharing a weary look.

“Come on, guys,” Sasha yelled from the bottom of the steps. “Break time’s over.”

Back inside, the four of them sat around the table. From the looks on their faces, Jon and Sasha had been disappointed by their short venture. “So, how are you two doing?” Sasha asked. “How’s the nausea?

“Oh, just fine. We can almost get up without losing breakfast.” Tim said. “How was the place?”

Jon crossed his arms. “Unsurprisingly, Simon Fairchild sent us to an inaccessible piece of private property owned by the Lukas family. We couldn’t even get anyone to come to the door. For now, it may be a dead end.”

“I could try to get Peter to let us in?” Martin suggested with little enthusiasm.

Sasha looked at his obviously pained expression and shook her head. “No, bad idea. Simon was pretty clear on Peter not knowing we went to his home. I’d guess that extends to any of us going into this other place. If what you said happened back at the house is true, I don’t want that kind of risk. We’ll have to try it later and hope for an answer.”

Martin let out a relieved sigh and stood. “Good, good idea. I’ll be going then. I guess if you need me for… questions? Updates? Tim has my number.”

Sasha raised her eyebrows at Tim in amusement, while Jon rolled his eyes and scowled. With a lopsided smile, Tim shrugged and said, “What? The guy lives at the bottom of the world. We can’t drag him up and down that hill all day.”

Perhaps quicker than necessary, Martin excused himself and walked out of the building. The last bit of conversation he heard was Jon complaining about a lack of workplace professionalism, followed by Tim making a mocking comment that Martin couldn’t quite hear.

Once he had walked a little ways away, he relaxed. They really did balance each other out, the three of them. He could imagine Sasha breaking them apart in a little while, then getting them on task like before.

His hand brushed against the phone in his pocket, and he felt a little pang in his throat. He pushed the sensation down. Chances were, they wouldn’t need to call him, and it would be best to pay as little attention to his phone as he always had.

--

After the usual walk home, Martin approached his mother in front of the television. There was one of her Christian programs playing, the kind with the television preacher. “Hi, Mum.”

“You took much longer than usual,” she said stiffly. He could see her attempting to swallow and went toward the kitchen.

“Sorry, work ran long today. I’ll get lunch going.” He began to look through the fridge, considering his options.

��I’m not hungry. Just want a glass of water,” she said, her voice hoarse. Martin winced.

“One second.” He quickly filled a glass from the tap and brought it to her. “You will need to eat something to get your medication down. I’ll make something for both of us and we’ll see how you’re feeling then.”

She huffed in response, taking a sip of water and clearing her throat. Once food was ready, she did eat enough for her medication and then some, setting Martin at ease.

“It’s sunny today, if you’d like to sit out front,” he suggested after cleaning up the tray in front of her. She sniffed and otherwise stayed silent. “Okay… let me know if you change your mind. The fog even cleared out a bit-”

“I am not going outside today.”

“Okay.”

Martin left her alone and went back to the kitchen and set some chicken in the fridge to defrost. His future self would thank him later, he thought, and he went upstairs to figure out the rest of his Sunday.

The first order of business was to lay down and sleep for a while. Two busy mornings in a row and he was exhausted, the muscles in his legs finally catching up to all of the extra walking. As he lay down, he thanked his walls, bed, and windows for staying in place and gently drifted off to sleep.

Several hours later, Martin woke to find the sun had retreated back behind clouds and a familiar layer of fog. He reached for his phone on the bedside table to check the time. 4:30 pm. It was almost time to get dinner started, but before he could move to set the phone down, he saw there was text notification. Without his glasses, he had to squint and hold the phone close to his face. The brightness stung his eyes. The messages were from about fifteen minutes ago.

Tim: hey Tim: what do these weird knobs and buttons do anyway

Attached was a distorted photo, apparently of the upstairs console in the lighthouse.

“Shit,” Martin mumbled, tapping out an answer.

Martin: dont know, peter never told me. work the lighthouse i guess, make sure the big light is running. Martin: also what does all the static mean

Almost immediately, he got a response.

Tim: is that how lighthouses work? Tim: means its weird shit. weird shit hates digital

Martin: its the only lighthouse ive ever worked in, your guess is as good as mine Martin: oh good

No response came for a bit, and Martin took the pause to get out of bed. Halfway down the stairs, his phone buzzed.

Tim: update, stairs still bad Tim: arseholes who don’t get spooky vertigo club

Attached was another photo, still fuzzy, this time of Jon and Sasha walking ahead with Tim’s hand just barely in frame, clutching the rail. Jon was looking at the camera with a stern expression, his mouth open in the middle of saying something. Martin laughed quietly and continued walking.

In the time it took to prepare the chicken for baking, his phone vibrated in his pocket a few times. With his hands coated, there was no way to check until he slid the chicken into the oven twenty minutes later.

Tim: dont think anything stupid will happen tonight Tim: no one’s gotten too desperate yet but tomorrow is a new day Tim: will let you know if we end up getting arrested in the middle of the night for trespassing tho

Martin: haha, very funny

Tim: give it until tuesday

Martin’s eyebrow twitched, unsure of how seriously to respond.

Martin: please dont get me fired?

Tim: no promises! ;)

It felt like a lighthearted enough response to put Martin at ease. Tim liked joking. Martin knew that by now. If Tim was saying it, then it was a joke. Plus, it was clear Sasha and Jon were very by-the-books. If Jon would lecture Tim about texting, he certainly wasn’t the type to do anything illegal.

Still, the number of times Tim had joked about it made Martin irrationally nervous. That and Simon being cryptic and threatening. And the buildings trying to make him sick. And Jon-

Sliding his phone into his back pocket, Martin distracted himself with preparing the rest of their dinner. It wasn’t the time to spiral. He had chicken in the oven and vegetables to steam.

Dinner was made and eaten within the hour, and Martin’s phone stayed silent for the duration. When his mother asked to go outside after dinner, he did his best not to be outwardly irritated at her change of mind and did as she requested, covering his face to protect himself against the night wind.

It wasn’t until later when he had just about settled down for bed that Martin checked his phone, under the pretense that he was setting his alarm for the morning. There were no unread messages, so he set his phone down onto the side table to charge.

The fog rolled outside his window, illuminated by the weak light of the front porch. When sleep eventually took him, he dreamed of nothing.

--

When 6 am came, Martin found himself in an empty lighthouse. Under his arm was the expected box of documents he was to work with for the week, which he set on his desk. He then dragged his chair back over from the folding table, which was still littered with loose papers and three used mugs.

“Right, right. Library day. They could’ve at least remembered to clean up a bit.” Martin brought the dirty dishware to the kitchen and placed them in the sink to soak, then looked around for something clean to use for himself. He managed to find a kitschy one he’d always liked, with a tiny, smiling whale on the side.

“Looks like it’s just you and me.”

His voice echoed through the building, the final ‘me’ stretching on much too long.

Martin glared out into the main room. “Yeah, yeah, I’m alone, laugh it up.”

Again, the last ‘up’ lingered and drifted up the stairs, and he wanted to slap himself for walking right into that one. There was no point in talking back to a possibly haunted building.

He settled on silently making himself some tea, then dove into the week’s work. It was mind-numbing, as expected, but after a while it grew to be calming and familiar. The weird ache in his chest gave way to distraction, and hours ticked by without interruption. Martin began to feel normal, or his version of normal before things started to be poked and prodded. Before he knew it, he had eaten lunch and was on his way to the second half of his shift.

“...up.”

Martin jumped, almost knocking over his tea. That had been his voice. Just a single noise that hung in the air with no echo to be heard. No, he thought, no, no, no, he was not going to take any bait in this place. He righted himself in his chair and reached for the pen he had dropped.

“Me. Up.” Even with his original tone resting in those syllables, the new sense of urgency was unmistakable.

Against every part of his brain screaming at him, he took a step toward the stairs. Before he could go any further the front door swung open.

“Hey, Martin, we’re back,” Sasha said, carrying a file folder. “We- woah, are you okay?”

Martin stopped and stared at her, his jaw clenched to the point of pain. “Um. Define okay.”

The three researchers stopped and shared a concerned look. Sasha walked over to set her things on the table. “Okay, okay, clearly something happened.”

“What’s going on?” Jon asked, looking around warily.

Before Martin could open his mouth, his voice came from above. “Up.”

Everyone froze, holding their breath for a moment. Jon was first to break the silence, his voice filled with disdain. “Good. It can record us now.”

“Up. Now.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Tim gripped Jon’s shoulder and gestured insistently to the front door. They all vacated the building and stopped on the front steps, finally letting out a collective breath.

“Have you all, um, dealt with ghosts? Directly?” Martin sat on the bottom step, rubbing his hands over each other. “Ones that take the last word you said?”

“We don’t know if it’s a ghost, but no, not personally,” Jon replied, sitting a few steps up and typing on his laptop. “Can’t say I really believe in them, either.”

Tim snorted. “Yeah, sure, definitely not a ghost in there.”

“I’m inclined to suspect something more concrete. Somehow, the lighthouse was trapping the sound of our voices. According to Martin it only used the last words he uttered, and the same happened with me. With only a few things to work with, it wouldn’t be hard to-”

“To accidentally order us up the creepy staircase of the creepy lighthouse.” Tim stood, hands in his pockets.

“If it’s using ‘me’, ‘up’, and ‘now’, what else could it say? Otherwise, there was just ‘back’ and okay’ as far as I can tell.”

They continued to go back and forth, Jon being much more stubborn about the whole thing than Martin would’ve expected from a paranormal researcher. Maybe ghosts were an especially contended subject? It didn’t seem like it from Tim and Sasha’s reactions, but Martin was out of his depth. People turning into seals was a far cry from specters and mind-bending architecture.

Still, it being a ghost sounded right. There were meaning and intent behind the words repeated back to him, he was certain of it. If that was the case, maybe there was someone or something in this place trying to talk to him. That’s what ghosts did, right? Reach out to the living?

“Then we’ll just have Martin stay outside for a bit,” Jon said, closing his laptop decisively.

Martin found himself back in the conversation. “What?”

“We’re going to try the place Simon pointed us toward again. Hopefully, we’ll be let in this time and get some answers. The library didn’t have much in terms of useful information, I’m afraid.”

Sputtering, Martin replied, “So, what, I’m just going to wait out here? I still have work to do!”

Jon stared at him and sighed. “Bring it outside then. It shouldn’t rain today, and we don’t want to risk anything now that we know something is… active. You’re sure nothing like this has ever happened?”

“No, this is... new.”

“Then the safest thing is to avoid whatever is going on. It’s for your own well-being, and since we’re probably the cause of it, I don’t want to be in the business of putting people in danger.” Jon said. Martin was at a loss for arguments and nodded. “Good. If our luck hasn’t changed, we’ll be back soon. Otherwise, I suppose Tim will text you the good news.” There was a slight, acidic turn to Jon’s voice near the end that Martin couldn’t place.

Martin pushed himself onto his feet. “Okay… good luck? I guess? I’ll go get my work, then.”

Apparently satisfied, Jon placed his laptop into its case and motioned for the other two to follow him. As they left, Tim shot Martin a worried thumbs up.

When Martin walked back inside, he stopped halfway to the desk, eyes glued to the staircase. He had told Jon he would get his things and go outside.

“Hello?” Martin waited and got no response. “If you’re a ghost, now’s the time to say so.” Still nothing. He let out a noise of frustration. “Say something? Please?”

“Hello? Up. Please?”

Taking a glance back at his desk, Martin bit his tongue and internally berated himself. No use giving the place a name to call him. He really was an idiot, he thought, creeping up the staircase as if the ghost might hear his footfalls. Why had he taught it to be polite?

[winchester-with-wings]

Chemical Reactions (Part 14)

Based off an anon request for Sub!Barry. I took it to mean either Submissive!Barry or Substitute Teacher! Barry. This series is for Substitute Teacher!Barry Allen.

Series Summary: Being a teacher at Central City Academy doesn’t leave much time for a personal life. You didn’t really notice or care…that is until the day the new substitute science teacher, Barry Allen makes an appearance.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Part 14 Summary:  It’s after Christmas Break...A new semester...what’s next for our favorite couple?

Pairing: Barry Allen x Reader, Substitute Teacher!Barry Allen x Teacher!Reader

Word Count: 1500

A/N: Hope ya’ll enjoy! We’re almost half way through the story!

Please let me know what you guys think! Send me asks!

Mobile Masterlist / Ko-Fi (anything helps to pay the bills <3)

“I like your bracelet!” Caitlin says by way of a greeting on the first day back from Christmas break. You’ve just entered the teacher’s lounge with the shiny piece of jewelry adorning your wrist. You don’t usually wear jewelry so she notices it right away.

“Thanks! It was a Christmas gift,” you say, blushing.

“From who?” She has a cheeky grin on her face.

“I hear she has a secret admirer,” Barry interjects as he walks into the room. He winks at you as he sits down at the table where Ronnie and Cisco were already eating.

You sat next to Caitlin at the same table. The only available seat is next to Barry. He wastes no time in reaching for your hand under the table.

As everyone discusses their recent time off from work, the conversation segues into the next big event around the corner: Ronnie and Caitlin’s wedding.

“Are you nervous?” Barry asks Ronnie. He beams at everyone at the table and said absolutely not. When you you look at Caitlin, that’s another story. She’s blushing, of course, but it’s because she doesn’t love attention.

“I’m just nervous about everything. I hope everything goes according to plan and I hope my wedding dress will fit.”

“Of course it will!” you reassure her. Cait has a lovely figure that needed no alterations but just in case, the two of you went to the gym together every other day.

“Are you in the wedding?” Barry asks Cisco.

“I’m the best man!” The technology teacher boasts. Then Barry looks at you for the same question.

“She’s my maid of honor,” Caitlin answers for you.

“I’m so happy for you guys. I haven’t been here long but you’re quite a pair,” Barry smiles. Something he says made Ronnie jump in his seat, a likely reminder to something he had forgotten.

“Oh, Barry! I’m sorry man, we sent out the invitations before you came to work here. But we’d love it if you came!”

“Really? There’s enough room for me? I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Of course, it’s no imposition, Barry. We’ve had some cancellations and some people haven’t rsvp’d yet. In fact...I believe someone,” Cait nudges your arm, “hasn’t told me if she has a plus one…”

Now it’s your turn to blush. You’d never thought to send in the rsvp because it was obvious you’d be there! And up until recently, you’d never really had a plus one for a wedding…

Everyone’s eyes are on you. Cait, Ronnie, Cisco...they all know about you and Barry. They appear to be waiting with bated breath.

You don’t get a chance to answer when someone walks up to your table.

“Good afternoon, everyone!” Dr. Martin Stein, Dean of Central City Academy had approached the table with stealth. He’s rarely in the teacher’s lounge and when he is, it’s because he wants to talk to someone. It seems today, his goal is to simply greet everyone and check in. He’s wearing a tweed coat and freshly pressed button up shirt. His hair is white and brushed neatly to the side. He assesses everyone with those eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses. “I hope everyone had a lovely holiday?” he speaks politely and squeezes Ronnie’s shoulder.

“We did,” Caitlin answers.

“And how is the wedding planning going?”

“Great! We were actually just talking about it. You’ll be attending right?” she asks. The prospect of your boss attending the wedding could put a halt to any “plus one plans.”

“Yes, yes. I am most certainly looking forward to it. However, I will only be able to attend the ceremony. Prior engagements will prevent me from coming to the reception.”

“Aww, that’s too bad. I bet you’re a great dancer,” Cisco teases. Dr. Stein laughs.

“Yes, well I’m sure there are other faculty members who will be happy I won’t be at the party. I wouldn’t want to put a damper on the festivities.” Caitlin frowns. She’s actually quite close with Dr. Stein and she’d been looking forward to him coming to the wedding. She’d settle for the ceremony though. Dr. Stein’s eyes scan the table until they land on Barry. “Ah Mr. Allen, just the man I was coming to see!”

Barry sits up straight in his chair, much like a student who’d just been caught...doing what you hoped nothing. You hoped Dr. Stein knew nothing.

“Hello, Dr. Stein,” Barry says, getting up from his chair to shake the Dean’s hand.

“Oh, Martin is just fine. I’ve been meaning to check in with you. We don’t usually have long term substitute teachers. How has your time here been?”

“Oh, it’s been great! One of the best schools I’ve ever subbed at,” Barry responds honestly.

“And I see you’ve made some friends?”

“Yeah, Cisco and Ronnie have been great. Everyone has been friendly and welcoming.” Barry’s eyes lands on you for a split second. You quickly look down at your food.

“Good, good. And will you be attending the wedding?”

“Actually, we were thinking since the invites were sent before Barry got here...he could probably be my plus one,” you answer quickly. Cait and Cisco’s eyes went wide at your suggestion but Dr. Stein doesn’t notice. You’d essentially just declared Barry to be your wedding date in front of your boss!

“What an excellent idea!” Dr. Stein says. “It makes me happy to see my staff all getting along so well. I look forward to seeing you all at the wedding.”

“Likewise,” you reply, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well I don’t want to keep you from your lunch any longer. But I would like to talk to you some more, Mr. Allen. Do you have some free time next week?” Barry nods his confirmation. “Great, if you could, please stop by my office. I have a couple of pressing concerns I need to discuss with you.”

“Oh, I hope it’s nothing bad,” Barry jokes.  Dr. Stein just chuckles and offers his hand to Barry once more. “See you soon.”

Dr. Stein bid everyone goodbye and you smiled. But the smile disappears the moment he was gone. Your foot starts tapping and you can’t take your eyes off your food.

“Y/N, you okay?” Cait asks.

“Yeah,” you recover quickly. “Just thinking,” you trail off.

“Soo…” Barry takes his seat next to you. He touches your hand above the table. “It looks like you’ve got a date for the wedding after all, huh?”

“Yeah,” you huff and laugh. “But as far as Stein is concerned, it’s as colleagues.” You remove your hand from Barry’s reach and smirk at him.

You had a free period later in the afternoon which you planned to spend in the teacher’s lounge. It’s empty and quiet, the only sound is the gurgling of the coffee maker running. Your plan was to grade assignments. But of course that changes when Barry enters the room. With the new semester came a new schedule and you and Barry had been fortunate enough to have a coinciding free period every now and then.

“Hey baby,” Barry greets you, going in for a peck on the lips.

“Barry!” you recoil. “What if someone sees?”

“My bad. Just can’t help myself around you,” he says, quickly poking you in the side, eliciting a giggle from you. “Are you okay? You seem a little preoccupied?” he asks, taking a seat next to you on the couch. He rests his arm on the back of the couch behind you. You wished desperately that you could just lean into his side. He’s wearing the cologne you’d gotten him for Christmas.

“Yeah…I’m just…” Barry starts to twirl some of your hair around his finger and then starts to rub the back of your neck to relax you. It works too. “I’m nervous about Dr. Stein. What do you think he wants to talk to you about?” Barry shrugs. “He said: pressing concerns. What if someone knows about us and told him?” You’re starting to get a bit frantic.

“Hey, baby, hey, relax. No one knows, except our friends. We’ve been smart about all this.”

“No we haven’t,” you snort. Barry chuckles, likely thinking back to all of the risky rendezvous’ you’d had last semester. “It’s hard to be smart when you’re stupid in lo…” Barry pauses, tripping over his words. You eye him skeptically, curious about what he was just about to say. “Stupid in...infatuation…?” he tries to save himself. His face is burning red and you let him have his victory. Neither of you have said the L word yet and now is certainly not the moment for it.

“Yes. I am quite infatuated with you Barry Allen,” you say, quickly kissing the tip of his nose. “If you’re not worried about your meeting with Dr. Stein, then I won’t be too.”

“Good. You’re too pretty for worry lines,” Barry teases.

“Ugh!” You swat at him, hitting him in the chest while he laughs.

tags:  @thinkwritexpress-official @talesoftheimpala @autoblocked @mrsbarry-allen-1031 @therealcap @team-barry @whoopxd @shadowpriestess6 @overlyobsethed @beautiful-and-strange @book-loving--anime-chick @you-didnt-see-that-cuming @abbessolute @sebby-trash @heyitskatrina @supergabriellethings @faithtrustandpixiedust95 @bookworm4ever99 @geeksareunique @potterwolf16 @fishboyjackson @ravenhaviland @maia11lucero @whoaahkelsey @nochillscientist @catwilliams01

[jxhnnyvincent]

Johnny Vincent Fanfic: She is All Hart

Chapter Four: Situating Herself

Delilah headed to her first class, swerving her hips from side to side to make the boys nearby swoon. She looked at the schedule she held in her hands, not even finding a map on the back of it. How in the hell would she be able to find it?

Max, one of the prefects from nearby noticed her and commanded her to get to class.

"But I don't know where my chemistry class is." She replied.

Beatrice Trudeau, who had now retrieved her chemistry notes from Jimmy, was running nearby the confused girl. She mumbled a few words under her breath, trying hard to remember everything for the chemistry test today.

"Follow Miss Trudeau, she has chemistry now!" Max instructed Delilah. Beatrice didn't even bother to pay attention to her as she was focused on the chemistry test. All she cared was about being able to pass it and be the one to discover a cure for cancer. Her whole world depended on those notes and that class in general.

"Okay.." Delilah murmured. She followed Beatrice to the chemistry lab room, which wasn't that far like she thought it would be. When she walked in, she was greeted by people gawking at her.

"Why hello there, you must be the new student." She turned around to meet face to face with the chemistry teacher.

"I am Dr. Watts and I am your chemistry teacher. Now what is your name?" He asked her.

"I'm Delilah Hart." She answered, loud and clear for everyone to hear. Whispers filled the room, chatting their opinions on the girl already before they even knew her.

"Nice to meet you! Now where to sit..." His eyes peered from table to table, hoping to find an available seat for the girl. He frowned when he had discovered a particular student of his was not in his seat. That would of been her chemistry partner for the rest of the semester.

"I guess over there will be fine," he decided as a final answer, pointing over to the table that was in the back of the room empty and vacant.

"For a lab partner, I am not quite sure if he will be in attendance today." He apologized. Delilah didn't mind though, knowing she would be able to enjoy the peace and quiet. After that he handed her a textbook and dismissed her from the chemistry test, telling her she can just take the next one.

I think I'm gunna like this teacher, Delilah thought with a smile.

Through out class she would glance at the empty seat next to her, wondering who was supposed to be her lab partner. She bit her upper lip, figuring out who it would be. It was a him... maybe Jimmy? He wasn't present in this class yet. Choosing to give the dragging thought closure, she let it be.

She would soon find out, though.

The class passed on rather fast than she originally assumed. Chemistry was the least favorite of her subjects and thought it was a boring class to begin with. The bell rang and she wasn't sure where to go. From the distance she heard her name being called, and she spun around to find Christy with Angie. The two had been chatting at the lockers, gossiping about the news at Bullworth. It wasn't relevant, but it gave them something to talk about.

"What's up girl?" Christy asked, bubbly and enthusiastic. What a sweetheart.

"Nothing much," Delilah answered, heading towards them, "Just got done with chemistry class."

Christy scoffed. "I hate that class, it's sooo boring! How can chemicals help me become a famous journalist? That's my aspiration, to pass on all of the best gossip!"

Delilah giggled at her career choice. She definitely could picture Christy Martin being a famous writer for the New York Times, one of the popular newspapers to date.

"Same, I want to be a veterinarian and help animals get better! Especially bunnies, they are so cute!" Angie exclaimed.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Christy asked her.

"Um... I'm not sure."

The two girls gaped their mouths open.

"Seriously? You should know by now!" Angie declared.

"I don't know, I never really thought to be quite truthful." Delilah admitted. Angie and Christy exchanged a look, still astonished she hasn't found anything to pursue a career in. Sympathetic, the girls wished Delilah to discover an interest in something. The trio collided and went to lunch together, Delilah being observant of the school's surroundings.

Nearby she caught someone in white polo shirt graffiying a school wall. They stopped in their tracks so they could read the message.

It must of been directed towards the football players at this school, which read:

I LOVE IT WHEN WE ALL HUDDLE TOGETHER

"That's a pathetic tag." Angie scoffed.

"We should show Delilah the cliques here at Bullworth." Christy suggested.

Delilah furrowed her eyebrows. Cliques?

What cliques to be exact?

Interested in finding out, she followed the girls to the cafeteria. When they entered the cafeteria, Delilah covered her mouth at the rotting stench.

"What is that smell?" She asked, coughing because of how strong it was.

"That's Edna, the school cook. She is gross. She doesn't go out of her way to make the best food at this school."

She continued to cough until she was able to control it.

"I guess."

"My advice, don't eat the food. Unless you want a death wish. Eat the fruit, at least it's fresh and won't kill you." Christy warned.

"Okay, here's the cliques. Over there are the nerds. They are gross and unappealing. They are weird and have major hygiene issues." Angie pointed over to the table. Three nerds sat at the table playing some board game, wearing bright green colored sweater vests. They also wore glasses too. The only one who wore glasses and was obviously not a nerd was Angie.

A couple of them were overweight, while one was super skinny and frail looking.

"And those are the preppies. They are invested with money and are so spoiled. Dr. Crabblesnitch loves them the most because of Derby Harrington." Christy pointed over to them.

"Who's Derby Harrington?" Delilah asked.

"See that tall, curly blond headed kid? That's him."

Delilah gaped at them in disgust of their fashion sense. It was all the same and way too modern for her taste. Their shirts consisted of dark and light blue diamond patterns scattered across their shirts.

"And by the way, my advise, don't insult their fashion. It's aquaberry." Christy whispered.

"The best and most perfect fashion trend!" Angie mocked their English accent.

A giggle escaped Delilah's mouth, causing the other girls to do so as well.

Delilah's eyes traveled towards the jocks.

"And those must be the jocks?"

"Mmm-hmm. They are top in the social hierchal scale."

"The quarterback is Ted Thompson, the one watching those two buff looking jocks arm wrestling." Christy pointed out.

"Stereotypical I see."

The girls laughed at Delilah's snarky comment.

"Hey, we forgot a clique." Angie pointed out.

"Oh yeah! The uh-"

"You know what," Angie decided before Christy could speak, bluntly interrupting her, "Delilah can find out herself. They are all cute by the way."

"Who?" Delilah demanded.

"You will find out. I promise."

[bluegreenspierfelds-blog]

“That’s right motherfuckers...I’m Gay”

Simon Spier/Bram Greenfeld, Leah Burke/Garrett Laughlin (mentioned), Abby Suso/ Nick Eisner (mentioned)

2.4k words 

In which Simon comes out on his terms...Bram isn’t so lucky

Simon is walking though his own personal hell, Creekwood High School. Granted, high school is supposed to suck. Simon didn’t hate school for the early mornings, nagging teachers or the stupid amount of homework he was assigned.

Nope.

He hated high school because his classmates, hormonal, overly sexually active classmates. Simon didn’t make it through a school day without seeing at least one straight couple sucking face or showing any form PDA. This particular morning, Simon was greeted by his two friends pressed up his locker making out...like making out...like almost making a baby….making out…Ew

How can they breathe?

Wow I hope they’re alright after this

KISSING MARATHON..WHO WILL WIN?

Simon got out of his realizing they didn’t feel his presence. He was staring at them for so long...he thought people would start staring at him. He sees the headline on Creeksecrets now.

SIMON SPIER: RESIDENT GAY GUY STARES AT HIS BEST FRIENDS KISSING EACH OTHER

IS HE ACTUALLY STRAIGHT? OR JUST FUCKING WEIRD??

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

“YO”

They broke apart like lighting struck in between them. Nick instantly reached for his binder he lazily threw on the floor. He immediately used to cover his boner...Ew...why did he even check to see if he had one….

Simon wasn’t expecting them to break apart so quickly. He prepared a few jokes in his head in case they ignored him. Damn his friends ruin E V E R Y T H I N G. They mumbled their sorrys and hellos, as Simon dug in his locker.  Abby casually tried to fix her hair, reapply her lip gloss and checked reflection on her phone screen. Simon kept the if you make a baby on my locker, you gotta name them after me comment to himself but another sly comment slipped out.  

“They don’t call me walking birth control for nothing..” Simon scoffed and opened in his locker.

“No one calls you that…” Nick said, completely confused by the joke.

“No, but they should” Simon said closing his locker.

He waved goodbye to them, to start his trek to English.

I wonder how many straight people I’ll see boning today.

Being the only (openly) gay kid at Creekwood wasn’t too bad. They were accepting, as accepting a small town in Georgia could be. He no longer had to endure awkward conversations asking him when he was getting a girlfriend.

He wasn’t sure if more pressure was coming from his peers or his parents. They have been dropped hints for some time. Simon pretended to ignore their efforts….well he ignored them until he couldn’t. He snapped one day, he was sitting at dinner with his family and it slipped out.

His dad made a stupid heterosexual joke over dinner, instead of fake laugh and nodding along. He just said it.

“I’m gay”

His dad choked on the jasmine rice his sister Nora made. He cleared his throat, drank some water and dinner continued. Well dinner continued AFTER an insanely awkward conversation.

A few awkward conversations later...he was out to everyone he knew. His friends did a decent job of spreading the word. Every time a girl would approach the lunch table to ask out Simon, someone at their lunch would say “He’s gay”  

It was kind of inside joke with his lunch table. The first few times Simon said it rather awkwardly “yeah I’m gay sorry” . After a while Leah took over, her deadpan scared a few girls, they would turn to Simon to confirm and he would nod. Everyone has their own version of delivering the news to these oblivious girls.

Abby took the nice girl route, she called the random girls sweetie and honey and breaking the news gently.

Garrett used his class clown persona to mess with these girls. “Excuse me, are you dude?” followed by “then Spier isn’t interested”

Nick went the borderline-asshole route, “Do you have a concussion? Simon has been out for like EVER”

Even Shy Bram Greenfeld got in on the joke, “uh you do know he’s gay right?”

Simon wasn’t sure why it was so funny, maybe because Bram rarely spoke or just how nicely he told that girl that Simon was not straight. The lunch retired the inside joke because Bram just fucking nailed it.

Besides, being completely and utterly repulsed by the constant PDA, Simon is jealous of them. He wants to see his boyfriend after class and press him up against locker and make out until the warning bell interrupted them. Simon would settle for a boyfriend that would hold his hand around school. He would settle for a boyfriend.

Simon decided that being of jealous of the straight couples wasn’t going to get him a boyfriend. He resorted to (badly) flirting with guys who didn’t have a girlfriends. Only three boys in his junior class were single.

Bram Greenfeld

Cal Price

Martin Addison (yeah...hell no...Not even it someone paid him)

He started with Cal they were in drama club together. Come on he HAD to be gay, he was in drama club and he had blond highlights. Simon awkwardly approached him after rehearsals one day.

“I was gonna hit up Waffle House tonight, you want in?” Simon managed to not stumble on any of his words.

“That sounds awesome...but not tonight man Taylor asked me to run lines with his at her house” He finished off his sentence with a wink.

Ew ew ew ewwwwww

He just totally asked a straight guy on a date.

Ughhhhhh

Simon cringed, “It’s cool man, have fun. Taylor is a nice girl” Should he wink back? He didn’t…

Bram Greenfeld…..Ughhhh he’s cuteeee

Simon almost crossed him off the list. He played soccer, in Simon’s mind all athletes were straight and went on dates with cheerleaders.

Either Bram is really subtle with his PDA or he’s gay……

How was he supposed to ask this dude out if they haven’t spoken to each other without their mutual friends around.

FUCK

It’s all about timing….Simon didn’t know if it was flu season or the fact that Creekwood had a mini mono outbreak.  He found himself alone with Bram at their lunch table.

“Oh hey, no mono for soccer star Bram”

“Nah” he replied simply….damn Simon is really gonna have to egg him on to get some dirt on his kid.

“Not kissing anyone? What I thought all the soccer guys were required to have girlfriends.” Simon is now teasing him….not integrating him..I mean his tone was joking right?...Does it sound his integrating him?

Bram laughs. “ No no….A girlfriend does not come with the uniform…”

“I mean I really don’t want a girlfriend” shrugging...oh man he’s so cute.

“So what you gay or something?” Yes, Simon did just blantily asked that boy if he was gay...way to be subtle Spier…

Simon realized he waited quite a while to apologize to this poor kid. He was too busy mentally kicking himself.

Okay more than a minute has passed, and there was no sputtering denials, no strong exclamations about how straight he is. Just silence….and mega blushing.

“OH MY GOD” Simon said a little to loud. Bram sunk lower in his seat. He looked around the cafeteria, like someone was going to bust him for being gay.

He looked down to collect his thoughts and have a possible heart to heart with Bram. Everyone deserves a gay is okay talk. Simon went to look into those insanely pretty brown eyes and he wasn’t there.

Bram speed walking out of cafeteria, dumping his lunch in the bin...looking back at Simon. His eyes pleading him not chase after him. He didn’t of course...he tortured that boy enough.  

The next time he saw Bram was at Garrett’s party….well get together. It was a “we got over mono” party.

And by we… they mean Leah, Garrett, Nick and Abby….

This get together started with Garrett wanted to throw a massive party that the whole school was invited to celebrate his brush with death, surviving mono. Leah instantly vetoed the idea, suggested a regular hangout session with alcohol.

Simon was forced to go because it was a “friends thing” not a “couples thing”. And Bram was going so he wouldn’t be the 5th wheel. Whatever I’ll go for the booze.

Simon had to remind himself that he was going for the booze, not that he hasn’t seen Bram in few days. Stupid Winter Break.

A game of Never Have I Ever started, the gang filled their red solo cups with the rest of the wine, supplied unknowingly by Garrett’s mom.

“Never have I ever got shit-faced on wine” Abby stated very seriously.

Garrett chugged his wine then slurred “I RESENT THAT SUSO” Leah jokingly held him back.

“WINE IS DOPE” Garrett said stumbling to find the next bottle.

“Wow Leah, you’re dating a Wine Mom, how does it feel?” Abby said in between laughs.

“Greenfeld you’re up” Garrett egged him on…”give us something good”

“Never have I ever had mono...I don't fucking kno-”

“THATS COLD GREENFELD, THAT’S COLD” Nick grabbing his chest pretending to hurt.

Followed by a chorus of boos, Simon and Bram looked as all their friends drank. They locked eyes with knowing looking. Bram cracked a smile.

“BOOOOOO WHO INVITED THE VIRGIN”

“YOU DID GARRETT”

“Oh right...but seriously B you need to get laid man, you into anybody….a girl? A boy? At this point I don’t give a shit...you just need to laid to chill the fuck out”

Garrett drunken stupor was followed by silence. Nick broke the silence  “OKAY WHO’S NEXT?”

“I’LL GO! NEVER HAVE I EVER SUCKED A DICK”

Simon gripped his cup tighter, his lifeline, the only thing keeping him afloat. He wanted to drink nonchalantly to ease the tension but then it would imply that he has sucked someone’s dick...which he hasn’t...and lying about that would only lead to more questions. Simon looked over at Bram he looked just as uncomfortable as Simon.

“GARRETTTT STOP.”

“Okay okay okay...but you did drink babe?…” Leah and Abby rolled their eyes and cheers their cups, taking a small sip.

“Spier, I thought you were gay….no D yet...you should help him out with Br-”

Garrett was physically being pulled out of the room by Leah.

The damage has been done, Bram was looking down at his shoes. It made Simon’s heart sink, he wanted to go over to him and cheer him up. He didn’t know exactly how he would cheer up Bram they hardly knew each other.

They continued without Garrett...Nick, Leah and Abby went again.

“Oh shit sorry Si we skipped you..go ahead buddy”

“Never have I ever been outed by my drunk best friend” Simon contained his laughter, it was his attempt to lighten the mood. Bram smiled at him, a little twinkle in his eyes.  

Bram chugged his drink very dramatically, and proceed to laugh and giggle.

Instead of waiting for the prying questions he said, “That’s right motherfuckers...I’m gay”

Nick, Abby, and Leah’s jaw’s were on the floor.

Simon was laughing his ass off...Mentally cheering on Bram.

Go Greenfeld go Greenfeld

The wine ran out a little after Bram’s coming out...they toasted to “Bram’s gay ass”

Leah and Garrett went up to his room, Leah practically dragging him, being a little less than loving and caring because of the stuff he said to Simon and Bram. Leah was protective of her friends, Garrett wouldn’t hear the end of this for a while.

Abby and Nick went up to the guest room. Nick and Abby were the happy, semi-flirty drunks...giggling and booping each others noses while they struggled up the stairs.

“You kids stay safe! Use protection! Love you!” Simon called up to them, starting his own giggle fit, Bram joined him.

“You sound like my mom,” Bram said in between giggles.

“How so?” Simon looked at him curiously.  

“When I came out to my mom, she gave me the whole ‘use protection’ speech, that put all other sex talks to shame” Bram said blushing furiously.

“Anyways she convinced I was fucking the whole soccer team...actually I think she still thinks I am”

“OH! Other time I told her I was staying Garrett’s house to study, she gave me CONDOMS and lube...after insisting Garrett was in fact VERY straight...she still made me bring them”

Simon knew this story was personal and quite embarrassing, he wasn’t sure if Bram was actually drunk bambling or just using faking it to tell Simon but himself without judgement.  

After exchanging embarrassing and silly stories, they decided that sleep with the best option.

Bram and Simon were left in the living room with pull-out couch and busted recliner. Simon volunteered to sleep on the recliner...before he knew it was broken and did not actually recline.

“There’s room for two you know…” Bram said inviting Simon to join him. Patting the empty spot next him. Before Simon knew it, he was crawling into bed with Bram. A half-naked Bram Greenfeld.

Whew don’t think about that...Yeah I don’t think that you and Bram are half-naked laying on a futon. Geez, why did boys have to sleep half-naked, why just boxers? And if you were shy (like me) you wore tee shirt and boxers. If you were as confident as Bram Greenfeld, you wore boxers and nothing more….OKAY ENOUGH THINKING ABOUT WHAT BRAM IS WEARING OR HIS LACK OF CLOTHING.

Simon noticed Bram was staring at him, yeah he probably because he looked like psycho having argument with himself.

Simon looked into his eyes, and damn he just about died right there. Cause of death: drowning in Bram Greenfeld’s eyes...like chocolate pools, he wanted to drowned, he wanted to devour….He wanted Bram to be his. Be mine...Simon wasn’t sure but those eyes looked like he was inviting him in, come for a swim, make me yours.  

Simon broke the silence, “Can I kiss you?” Simon whispered...he’s not even sure Bram heard him.

“Absolutely not” Bram whispered with a smile on his face. A pure, genuine smile. Jesus Bram is one cruel motherfucker...he doesn’t look sorry about reject him...

Simon was going to turn to face the other way, he thought he could cry right there. A arm grabbed for him, stopping him from turning all the way around.  Bram stopped him. “I was kidding” Bram gently grabbed his cheek and kissed him. He was kissing him, like he fucking meant it.

“Good night, Simon”

Simon didn’t sleep good that night, a little worried about what would happen in morning. He thought about Bram being his boyfriend, Bram kissing him. That’s the only thing on his mind, Bram Greenfeld will be on his mind for quite while.

[westallenfun]

A Long Winter's Nap, Chapter 5

Westallen Secret Santa gift from @jade4813 for @westallen94 

“Cisco, we have to talk,” she said, dropping into the chair across from his desk. His head was bowed over a stack of papers he was trying to finish grading before the break. “I think – that is, I might be falling in love.”

He didn’t even bother to look up. “I know,” he replied, his voice distracted. “It’s been painfully obvious to everyone for months.”

Iris leaned back in her chair. Her voice heavy, she admitted, “Not with Eddie. With Barry.”

Cisco’s pen paused for a moment over his paper. Then, with very deliberate movements, he pushed the stack aside and leaned forward. “Okay, you have my undivided attention. You want to run that by me again? Barry who?”

She winced. “Allen? The new science teacher?”

“I thought we hated him for being so suspicious that you’d be engaged to his brother! Which of course you aren’t, but that’s hardly the point.” She nodded with a groan. “So what are you going to do now? He thinks you’re engaged to Eddie. If you tell him you were lying after all…”

Iris dropped her head into her arms, crossed over Cisco’s desk, and so her voice was muffled when she finished his thought. “I know! He’ll hate me! God, I’ve made such a mess of things. What am I going to do?”

“Mind if I sit here?” Cisco was on bus duty this afternoon, so Iris had grabbed a quiet table in the lunchroom and was wallowing in her romantic misery. As Barry’s voice broke into her thoughts, her heart jumped and she stopped poking her macaroni and cheese dispiritedly. She was already grinning as she tilted her head back to look up at him.

“Not at all!” she said, inwardly wincing when she realized how happy she’d sounded. She took a sip of her coffee and reminded herself that she couldn’t afford for him to suspect her feelings. In a more moderate voice, she asked, “So, how’re you liking it here so far?”

He grinned as he slid into the seat across from her. “It’s been pretty great! Of course, it’s only my second day and I’m taking it pretty easy on the kids since we’re about to go on break. No homework, even.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and teased, “So you’re vying to win Teacher of the Year, huh?”

“Well, that wasn’t what I had in mind, but that doesn’t sound half bad. What do I get if I win Teacher of the Year?” he joked back.

Iris pursed her lips and pretended to consider the matter. “The students don’t play the game of Haze the New Guy?” she suggested.

“In that case, I’m definitely trying for it,” he deadpanned.

Iris giggled and nodded towards his packed lunch. “And yet you’re not brave enough to try the cafeteria food?” she asked.

“Ah. Well, now that I’m back in Central City, I think my mom is trying to make up for all those meals she’s convinced I missed at my old school. You know how it is.” His voice had been light and joking, but when he realized what he’d said, his smile fell and he looked horrified. “Oh, god. I’m sorry. I-I wasn’t thinking.”

She shook her head. “It’s all right Really. I can definitely imagine Nora fretting that we wouldn’t feed you right.” She paused and then said with quiet sincerity, “Your family is pretty wonderful, you know. You’re lucky to have them.”

“Yeah,” he agreed softly. “They are. I mean, sometimes they drive me crazy, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” The two of them exchanged a smile, and then he added, “You know, they’re going to be your family soon, too. I don’t know if I’ve told you this – probably not, since I was kind of a jerk to you when we met. But Eddie’s lucky to have you, too. I’m pretty sure my parents love you already. I’m really…I’m really glad that you’ll be…you’ll be joining the family.”

Though his voice sounded strained at that last remark, she didn’t really stop to wonder why. She was too busy trying to hide her thoughts from his view. She felt guilty, of course, but she also found herself increasingly aware of how much she’d miss everyone once her lie was exposed. Particularly Barry.

He’d hate her when he learned the truth. The thought made her want to cry.

“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked, reaching towards her. Iris jumped when she felt the warmth of his hand against her own. She wondered if Barry didn’t feel the same, however, because he just pulled his hand away. “And I’m okay. I was just lost in my thoughts.”

He nodded. “Thinking about Eddie? He’ll be all right, you know. I can’t imagine any guy not fighting his way out of a coma if it means he gets to come home to you.”

Iris’s eyes shot to his, and she hoped he didn’t notice her blush. In all honesty, she hadn’t thought about Eddie all day. It would be disloyal of her, if the two were actually engaged. “Ah…yeah. Thinking about Eddie,” she lied. His sigh was drowned out by her own.

Barry sat at Eddie’s bedside, dealing out another hand. He’d stopped by the hospital after school let out, and he’d picked up a deck of cards from the gift shop so he could play some one-sided poker to pass the time. He’d have preferred chess, but the hospital didn’t have a set handy.

“So, what do you have?” he asked as he flipped over the hand in front of Eddie’s unconscious body. “Pair of Jacks! Not bad. But not good enough.” He tossed his own cards down on the table. Read ‘em and weep,” he declared, tossing his hand on the bedside table. “Full house!”

He pulled the pot – a handful of candy – towards his side of the table and scooped up the discarded cards. “You are unlucky at cards, Eddie,” he mused as he began to shuffle the deck. Then he paused and admitted softly, “But you’re lucky in love.”

With a sigh, he put the deck of cards aside and leaned back in his chair. “You know, I remember when we were in school together…people used to act like it had to be hard, being your brother. Everyone assumed I had to be so jealous of you. Captain of the football team. Prom king. And it goes without saying that you never had any problem getting a date. But, you know, it never really bothered me, because I was proud of you. And I was never envious of anything you had.” He paused, letting out a long breath. “Until now.”

Barry groaned and rubbed the back of his neck with both hands. “Just this once…I wish it could have been me. That I could have met her first. I know it’s too late. Even if you weren’t engaged, I would still be too late. I saw the look on her face earlier today, when she was thinking about you. And I sat there realizing I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life pretending that I’m happy to have her as a sister-in-law. And I don’t know how I’m going to do it when I really…” He let his voice trail off.

“You’re a lucky guy, Eddie. I hope you know just how lucky you are.”

That night, at dinner, Iris marveled how seven people could have nine different conversations going on at once. She was having a hard enough time following one.

“Oh, Barry!” Cynthia caught his attention from across the table. “I forgot to tell you. I’m supposed to get together with Linda tomorrow, and we’re going to be right by your school. I don’t suppose we could stop in and grab lunch with you?”

“Uh, sure!” he agreed readily.

Nora paused in her conversation with Joshua about the recent construction downtown and interjected, “Iris, I was thinking. Do you think you could find a nice girl for our Barry?”

Barry managed to hiss a horrified, “Mom!” through gritted teeth, while Iris choked on her mashed potatoes.

When she finally got her breath back, she realized Cynthia was staring thoughtfully in her direction. Dropping her gaze to her plate, she replied awkwardly, “I…uh…I really don’t know. I don’t know what kinds of girls he likes.” Of course, she knew one of the math teachers, Patty Spivot, thought he was cute. She’d flirted enough with him to make it obvious to everybody at the school. But Iris hoped he didn’t reciprocate. The thought of actually watching him date someone else made her kind of want to die inside.

She couldn’t bear to look up at him as Barry responded in a stilted voice, “I like…um…blondes. Tall ones.”

Cynthia snorted. “You have never dated a tall blonde in your life, Barry Allen. Don’t even lie.” Iris wondered if she could find a way to set the table on fire to end this entire conversation.

“That’s not true,” he retorted. “Remember Becky Cooper?” Iris didn’t know her, but she hated her already.

“Oh, please,” Cynthia scoffed. “You went to the fifth-grade dance together, and then she dumped you because Kevin Harris gave her a package of Reese’s Cups at lunch and that meant it was true love. I don’t think that counts.” Iris tried to pretend she was paying attention to the argument Henry was having with Martin about who was the best television host for New Year’s Eve celebrations. But really she was hanging on every word of the conversation Barry and Cynthia were having.

“Anyway,” Cynthia added after a pause, “Becky wasn’t that tall. You were just really short.”

“At least I hit a growth spurt eventually. What happened to yours?” he teased her.

“Well, we all know what Iris’s type is,” Nora declared with an affectionate smile in her direction.

Barry’s fork clanked against his glass as he set it down and blurted, “So, uh, Martin, I think I missed something. Were you saying they’re going to do more construction on Main Street?”

It was with a great deal of relief that Iris turned her attention back to her dinner. Martin didn’t seem to know what he was talking about, but at least they were no longer discussing Barry’s love life.

“I’m heading out, but I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Iris told Cynthia as she hugged the other woman goodbye.

“I’ll walk you out,” Barry offered, already shrugging into his coat before the words were even out of his mouth. Somehow, in the general confusion of saying goodbye, they both ended up at the door at the same time.

“Hey, you’re under the mistletoe!” Cynthia pointed out, her voice managing to carry over the entire crowd.

Iris looked at Barry in something akin to horror. Maybe he hadn’t heard her. Maybe nobody had, and Iris could just slip away without adhering to that stupid tradition that only seemed to exist to break her own heart.

But Cynthia wasn’t going to let it go. “What are you waiting for? Kiss her!”

“But…with Eddie…I mean, I really don’t think –” he began, and Iris felt her cheeks grow hot. The only thing worse than having to kiss Barry and pretend it didn’t mean anything was Barry not wanting to kiss her back.

“Oh, don’t be silly. It’s tradition,” Henry chided him with a smile.

Nora rolled her eyes at him. “Well? Are you going to make her wait all night? Go on! Kiss her!”

Iris looked up into Barry’s eyes and forced a smile. “It’s just mistletoe,” she breathed. It wasn’t like it meant anything.

She ached to smooth away the slight frown line that formed between his brows as he murmured, “Right.” Then his hand was on her waist, drawing her in, and she had to clench her hands into fists in her coat pocket to keep from pulling him down to her.

His head ducked, and Iris told herself that she’d give him a quick peck and be done with it. Maybe it would even get him out of her system. But at the last moment, she lost her nerve and turned her head, shooting for his cheek instead. It seemed he had the same thought, because when they both swerved, their mouths met.

They both froze in surprise, and then she felt Barry’s lips soften upon hers. Tilting her head back, she allowed herself one second to breathe him in. To memorize the exact feeling of his mouth against hers. And then she pulled away.

More than that, she all but jumped away from him, well out of range of the mistletoe. “Well, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow. Night!” she blurted before making good her escape. She was too busy watching her footing to look behind her – also, she was trying to pretend the last two minutes hadn’t happened. However, if she’d looked over her shoulder in that moment, she’d have seen the man she was trying not to think about, watching her with sad eyes as she walked away. But before anyone could realize he had more than just friendly solicitude, he heaved a heavy sigh and drew away from the door, being careful not to meet Cynthia’s gaze as he closed it behind him.

[this-is-big-lady]

Swipe Right part 5/10

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

I finished my second year of my bachelors degree! One year closer to having that super expensive piece of paper in my hands. So to celebrate, have some tinder fluffiness!

As soon as Davey woke up, he could feel the butterflies in his stomach. Today was the day of his first proper date. Not just going to the movies with a bunch of friends, sitting next to a girl who he thought he liked with an arm around her shoulder. This was an honest-to-god adult coffee date with a guy who seemed interested in more than a quick make out session.

And Davey was terrified.

He groaned and rolled himself out of bed, ready to face to day. Somewhat. If he took a little longer getting ready in the bathroom, ensuring he didn’t nick his face shaving or stealing a bit of Crutchie’s conditioner in the shower, that’s for no one but him to know. Davey hoped that the toast he forced down could satiate the butterflies in his stomach, but found the opposite to be true. If anything, it made him more nervous than he was before. Stupid butterflies.

“I’m sorry, what?” Crutchie asked Davey, mid-way through preparing his lunch. He was leaning on the kitchen counter, bracing himself without his crutch, and looking to the small dining table in the adjoining room where Davey was sat.

“What?” Davey questioned, slightly muffled, as he had a hand held up to his mouth to prevent a spray of crumbs from landing on the table.

“You mentioned something about butterflies…” Crutchie could see Davey’s cheeks tint red as he looked down to the table. Today of all days he should really be careful that he didn’t say anything out loud that he didn’t mean to.

“Lemme guess, you’re nervous about your big date with Jack?” Crutchie turned back to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he was making, and could hear Davey sigh a “yeah…” from the table.

“You’ll be fine, Davey. It’s only coffee! I’ll even make you my signature PB and J for lunch as a good luck charm.”

“It’s not your signature PB and J, Crutch. it’s just PB and -“ Davey was cut off by Crutchie turning back to him, brandishing a butter knife covered in jelly.

“David Jacobs, you know better than to push a guy with a knife.” Crutchie tried to sound threatening, but the little blob of strawberry jelly that fell from the knife to the floor undercut any joking menace in his voice.

Davey stood, looking a little disgusted at the sticky addition to the kitchen floor, and walked with his plate to the sink next to his room mate.  While washing the plate clean from crumbs, he retorted, “It’s a butter knife, Crutch. It couldn’t even cut through paper.” Crutchie just rolled his eyes as he pulled out two more slices of bread from the loaf, ready to help out with Davey’s lunch. “And besides, we both took behavioural psychology last semester. You know that good luck charms are bullshit.” The taller boy shut off the water, popping the wet plate into the drying rack, and then grabbing an apple for his lunch, a banana for Crutchie’s, and a muesli bar each for both of them. It was going to be a long wait for his date.

At 1:55 Davey’s phone buzzed with a text from Crutchie saying that he was inside Starbucks with his essay, and that Jack wasn’t there yet. His butterflies from this morning had had children by now, his stomach a tossing, turning mixture of of nerves and adrenaline. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Davey stood up from the study desk where he had been staring at his laptop for the past 15 minutes, the blinking cursor on his literature assignment mocking him for being unable to focus. He slammed the laptop shut and shoved it into his bag, making a beeline for the bathroom  and its mirrors to ensure that he had no remnants of peanut butter or jelly on his face, and that his hair was still in place. Reassured that his face looked as presentable as always, Davey walked out onto the busy footpath, and headed south to Starbucks.

He could feel his hands shaking, so he pushed them into his pockets to minimise the tremors. Davey’s phone vibrated against his hand, and pulled it out to check the notification. Crutchie’s name popped up on the screen above the words ‘he’s here. and cute.’ Letting out an unsteady breath, Davey slipped his phone back into his pocket and tried to walk to the little coffee shop without thinking about what he’d do when he arrived.

Being a student hotspot, he didn’t know how easy it would be to spot Jack when he was inside. The shop would likely be filled with other stressed out students cramming for mid-terms or finishing assignments at the last minute, and Davey didn’t want to stand in front of them, looking desperate as he scanned for a face he only knew from a couple of photos.

Which is why it was a blessing to see a guy with familiar floppy brown hair leaning on the wall beside the door to the small coffee shop. The boy was staring at this phone, giving Davey a second to do a once-over of him. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There were little flecks of colour across his hands and forearms - this had to be Jack, he had paint up his arms! Simple blue jeans and scuffed black Doc Martins finished his outfit. Davey had to admit, he pulled off the casual artist look very well.

Before he even registered what he was doing, Davey took a step into the bubble around Jack that passersby were leaving around him, and simply asked, “Jack?” The guy in question looked up from his phone, squinting a little as he was looking into the sun.

Shit. He’s got blue eyes. He’s gorgeous.

“Oh hey! You must be Davey! I’m Jack.” He extended his hand out to Davey to shake, and after a beat too long of staring at Jack’s eyes, he got the hint and clasped Jack’s hand in his own.

He’s got a firm grip. Oh no.

“Shall we go inside?” Jack tipped his head back in the direction of the door, Davey managing a choked agreement and dropping Jack’s hand from his own. Jack smiled and pivoted on his heel, heading towards the doors which automatically opened for him. Davey trailed a couple of steps behind him up to the counter.

I will not look at Jack’s ass. I will not look at Jack’s ass. I will not… Jack’s got a nice ass.

Jack ordered first - a grande caffe latte, and after waving his card over the machine, he smiled back to Davey. Not that Davey was paying attention, he was just staring up at the menu board above the counter. After a few pained seconds of silence, Jack staring at Davey and the employee behind the counter staring at the pair of them, Jack reached out a hand, gently holding onto Davey’s arm. Jack pulled the stunned boy forward slightly, accompanied by the question, “What do you want, Davey?”

Davey could feel the heat of Jack’s hand through the thin button-up he was wearing, and looked down to ensure he wasn’t imagining it. He most certainly wasn’t. Jerking his head back up, he locked eyes with Jack, who was smirking with amusement at Davey’s shock. Glancing over to the bored employee, unamused by this brief exchange between her customers, Davey simply asked for a grande hot chocolate and paid.

Get your head in the game, Jacobs. This is your first ever proper date. You can do this. Make Les proud.

They found a table by the window looking out to the street while they waited for their orders to be called. Jack leaned back comfortably, his hands resting in his lap, while Davey was perched on the edge of his chair, leaning forward with his hands clasped on the table

Jack was the first one to start the small talk, slowly carding his hand through his hair, giving Davey a quick look over. It was clear he was stressed, maybe nervous, maybe anxious? Davey’s prominent brows were furrowed together and his knuckles were turning white. Jack knew that these tinder meetings could be stressful, he certainly was when he first started, so he decided to ease the tension. “How has your day been, Davey?”

Nodding his head slightly in reply, Davey responded with a simple, “It’s been good.” He finished the sentence with a gentle smile and looked back down to the table. A flicker of confusion darted across Jack’s face at Davey’s short answer. “That’s good,” Jack continued, the pair falling into an unpleasant silence.

Davey quickly realised his blunder once Jack subtly pointed out his awkwardness to him. He desperately racked his brain for any interesting event that happened today, deciding to blurt out, “I mean, my room mate made me his ‘signature’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich today for lunch. So that was good.” Davey placed air quotes around Crutchie’s ridiculous use of the word signature, but he could see the confusion on Jack’s face morph into amusement at that. Davey also thought he could hear a spluttering laugh from someone behind a laptop a few tables away.

“Tell me Davey,” Jack started, leaning forward a little to mimic Davey’s posture. “What exactly makes a humble PB and J, “signature”?”

“Absolutely nothing, Jack!” The sentence was laced with laughter, Davey realising the idiocy of where their conversation went quickly. “It’s literally made of the cheapest bread, peanut butter, and jelly that we could find, since we’re both broke students. Nothing signature about it.” The corner of Jack’s eyes crinkled a little when he laughed, his nose scrunching as his mouth spread out in a smile. His laugh was a gentle baritone. A sound Davey could definitely get used to.

“Aw man Davey, you should try being a broke art student sometime! I don’t even have enough money for paint and pencils, yet alone peanut butter!” Jack was a very lively talker, his hands were either waving around to illustrate his point, skittering across the table. Davey was almost hypnotised by them, but was broken out of his reverie by a voice behind the counter calling out Jack and his names back to back.  

Feeling his confidence climbing and supported by Jack’s laughter, Davey quipped, “I’ll drink to that,” in reference to the drinks that Jack stood to fetch. Jack let out a huff of laughter, turning to Davey and placed a hand on the table in front of him, leaning towards Davey, intruding ever so slightly on his personal space. “That was funny, Davey,” he urged, locking eyes with his date before walking away.

Les would be proud.

A blush was quickly rising to Davey’s cheeks under Jack’s gaze, and he tried to get it under control slightly before Jack returned. And partially succeeded, his face a gentle shade of pink that brought out the light dusting of freckles across his nose. Jack had plopped back into his seat, scooting Davey’s hot chocolate towards him and taking a huge gulp of the caffe latte. “Anything else exciting happen other than that sandwich?” Jack asked between sips.

How the fuck can he drink that already when I can barely hold onto this scalding cup.

“Not particularly,” Davey warmed his hands on his hot chocolate cup, bouncing his fingers on it when it was too hot for his palms. “I had a literature lecture this and worked on a couple of assignments, then came here.” He couldn’t help it, Jack was too intriguing. Davey watched the muscles on his forearm move under his paint-splattered skin as he lifted the coffee cup to his mouth, brown hair falling forward on his forehead and brushing his brow while the hair at the nape of his neck curled up to his ear. And his first attempt at flirting just fell out of his mouth.

“But being here with you is definitely the best part of my day.”

fuckfuckfuckfuckshitfuckfuck

Jack smirked into his coffee cup, swallowing his mouthful before placing the cup back down and lifting his eyes to his date. “Davey… Whatever your last name is-“

“Jacobs.”

“Well then, Davey Jacobs, are you trying to flirt with me?”

The gentle pink across Davey’s face quickly changed to fuchsia, or at least that’s what it felt like. He was like a deer in the headlights, being called out within the first five minutes of the date. Did he admit it or deny it? If Davey was being honest, the idea of flirting with Jack wasn’t exactly repulsive. So he played the middle ground.

“Am I succeeding?”

Jack’ smirk changed into a smile, complete with a murmured, “maybe.”

Davey, 1. Jack, 0.

A beat of silence washed over the pair, and Davey took a sip from his hot chocolate. “So veering away from my attempts of flirting with you…” Another smile from Jack - success. “How has your day been, Jack?”

“It’s probably been one of the weirder days I’ve had in a while, to tell you the truth. You know I’m a Fine Arts student, right?” Davey nodded, mid-sip. “Well, this semester my class is combined with the Dance students. We’re doing a course together called Dance and Interdisciplinarity, and-“

Davey waved a hand in front Jack, pulling him out of storytelling mode. “I’m sorry, I’m an English major and I have no idea what that word means.”

“Sorry to tell you Davey, but I’m 5 weeks into this course and I have no idea what it means either!” Jack articulated through his grin. “It basically means the area where dance meets other art forms - the fancy name for performance art.” Davey nodded, that made sense.

“They thought it would be good to combine dance and art students, “broaden our concept of art”,” Jack mocked, complete with air quotes, “and all that bullshit. And today we were discussing feminism and interdisciplinarity, which is cool and all, but with no warning - no bloody warning,” Jack really seemed to be iterating that point, and in a few seconds Davey would come to regret that he chose now to have a drink. “The lecturer puts up a picture of this woman, completely naked, pulling a scroll out of her vagina.”

Davey choked. Straight up choked. Not a great impression for a first date. But then again, mentioning that particular piece of live art may have not been the best topic for a first date either. After a few moments of coughing and spluttering, Davey managed to take another drink from his hot chocolate to stop the burning feeling from gagging on his previous sip.

“Woah, Davey, are you okay?” Jack’s voice was laced with concern, an arm extended and his hand rubbing Davey’s arm soothingly.

“I’m… fine…” Davey articulated while patting his chest to expel the last of his coughs. After his heart rate and breathing were back under control, the duo launched into a huge discussion about the work, and art in general, and whatever else took their fancy.

A couple of hours flew by Jack and Davey’s table, customers coming and going - even Crutchie leaving when Jack excused himself to the bathroom for a minute. He could see the date was going well and could tell Davey was doing just fine on his own - Jack was decidedly put in the ‘most probably not a murderer’ category of tinder dates.

When they noticed that the employees started giving them dirty looks as the coffee shop started to fill up in the late afternoon with students preparing for all-nighters, they thought it was probably best to wrap it up.

“Hey Davey, you know how I’m drawing people for my art project?”

“Is that the vagina class?” Davey teased.

Rolling his eyes, Jack managed to explain that no, it was not for his live art class, but for his core drawing class.  “I was wondering if you’d like to be one of the people I draw?” Davey could sense a true hint of vulnerability in Jack’s eyes. Davey could say no, but he selfishly wanted to see how this captivating artist could portray him.

“I would love to Jack.” He reached forward and lightly placed his hand on top of Jack’s, and the artist’s face lit up at the confirmation that he’d have another compelling subject for his project. He fished around for something in his pocket, grabbing his phone and unlocking it before sliding it across the table.

“If you can put in your phone number, we can arrange a time for a portrait sitting?” Davey tapped in his name and number, and handing it back to it’s owner. Jack then lifted the phone in front of his face, exclaiming, “Smile!” and Davey heard a shutter click.

“Hey, not cool! I wasn’t ready!” he protested, while Jack set the candid as his contact photo. Jack spun the phone around to his date, simply admitting, “You look adorable. And I’m an artist, I like to has a visual representation of who I’m talking to.” Davey just groaned at how he was immortalised on Jack’s phone, wide-eyed with his collar slightly skew-whiff, and that damned blush still on his cheeks.

But he called you adorable.

Jack pushed his chair back, giving him room to stand up. Davey mimicked him, and Jack took a step around to his side of the table. “So, I guess I’ll see you soon, Davey.” Jack reached up and held on to Davey’s bicep, giving it a light squeeze that made his heart soar. Jack was standing close to him, not uncomfortably, but definitely closely than a stranger would do.

“I guess you will, Jack.” Davey shot back a gentle smile and Jack grinned back. He let go of Davey’s arm and walked towards the exit, but spared Davey a glance and a small wave as he passed the window where they were sitting mere moments before. Davey was still rooted at the spot, slightly surprised at how well that had gone. Complete with a promise of a second date. Well, a session where Jack would draw him. Close enough.

Les will never be as good as me.