#*also waves at everyone else who has commented under multiple chapters of my fics*

[newtcallsmetommy]

You ever have those people that comment under practically every chapter of your fic and you're just like "I hope you know your existence gives me so much serotonin"

#*waves at Juliette and Fabienne* #*also waves at everyone else who has commented under multiple chapters of my fics* #writer mood #writing #maria talks

[lizamango]

Finding You (Bucky Barnes x Reader) 2/?

A/N: Hi everyone! I’ve decided to call this fic Finding You, just to inform you for future chapters! Getting my second vaccine tomorrow!! 😁🤩

Summary: You’ve been one of SHIELD’s top spies for years but what happens when the organisation you’ve put your trust in crumbles and Captain America gives you a mission to help him find his best friend? The last thing you expected to happen was to fall in love with your assignment and become best friends with a witch.

Taglist ~ just comment if you wanna be added

@buckylokisimp​, @white-wolf-buckaroo, @austynparksandpizza, @markandlexies

Word Count: 2345 (this is so fucking satisfying omg)

Masterlist

Chapter 1

Warnings: Just curse words, rewrites are hard but it’s kinda like shifting but through fanfiction??

Chapter Summary: Steve Rogers doesn’t trust you very much

Chapter 2: BUT YOU KNOW BETTER

On our way back, the STRIKE team is on celebration mode while Rogers is quiet. It won’t be a surprise if he goes to see Fury about the side mission I was assigned without his knowing. As we land on the Triskelion landing pad I watch as Captain Rogers leaves without a goodbye and heads to, undoubtedly, Fury’s office.

I tune into Fury’s communicator.

“Heads up, Fury. Angry Cap on your way. He found out about my mission.”

“Batroc?” he asks.

“He got away,” I answer regrettably.

“I’ll have international agents on high alert. You’ve done your part. Just leave the drive with me after Rogers.”

“Yes sir.”

I put all the weapons into the cache and go to clean up, changing out of my stealth suit and into a SHIELD hoodie and sweats that I keep in the locker for after missions. I wait by Fury’s office doors and he finally emerges from the elevator without an angry Cap.

“Gave him a little tour of Project Insight,” he says as he unlocks his office.

I walk in behind him. “That’s brave of you.”

“He didn’t like it.” He takes a seat and so did I.

“I’m sure he didn’t.” I fish out the hard drive and put it on the table. “One super secret hard drive for Nicholas J Fury,” I announce like a waitress.

“Good job.”

“He didn’t think so.”

“I want you to keep an eye on him. Just make sure he doesn’t do anything, alright?”

“What could he possibly do?” I raise my brows.

“He isn’t on board. I need you to get him there.”

“Don’t you already have an agent assigned to him?”

“Agent 13 is for when he’s off duty. You will be there for when he’s on.”

I scoff. “Have you met the guy? That’s all the time.”

“That’s an order, Agent.”

I nod. “Fine. Have you heard anything else on HYDRA?”

“The last reliable intel we have is three years old now, Y/N. It’s hard to track them down.”

“I don’t understand why you had to take me out. I was getting close to something. Someone. I don’t know.”

“Finding the world’s greatest soldier just took precedent. You weren’t getting anywhere for a whole year. Whatever it was, they packed it up tight.”

“Because it was something big,” I defend. “I still think you made the wrong choice. Captain America doesn’t need two babysitters.”

“Well, you try being asleep and waking up 70 years after to a whole new world and see how you feel. You’re dismissed. Get some rest. Make nice with the old man.”

I get up and leave his office. Make nice…. How do I do that when he doesn’t trust me anymore?

I get a ride home from Fitz who congratulated me on completing the mission.

“So what was he like?”

“He doesn’t like me very much,” I chuckle.

“Why not? What did you do?” he asks in an accusing tone.

“Me?!”

“He’s the perfect man, what could he have done?”

I roll my eyes but don’t answer. We arrive at my apartment and I thank Fitz for the ride back.

Unlocking my door I go straight to the bathroom for a bath. I run the water to the perfect temperature and add a bath bomb that turns the water a glittery lilac scented with lavender. I also light a candle that crackles like a fireplace that emits a subtle smokey French vanilla. A girl’s gotta treat herself. After a good long soak I get out and decide to rest up not wanting to do anything for the rest of the day.

I wake from my nap to the ringing of my phone. Reaching over to my bedside table I read the screen which has nothing but the number 1212. Well, that can’t be good.

“This is L/N,” I say.

“I need you to find the star. Keep your guard up.”

Shit, I think as I jump out of bed and get dressed in something inconspicuous. Black trousers, leather combat boots, a Kevlar vest under a back hoodie, two pistols on my belt and a knife tucked in each boot. I pick up a grey Von Dutch trucker hat on my way out.

Walking is the safest option so I navigate toward Steve Rogers’ DC apartment that he was relocated to after the New York Invasion as he decided to become a full time SHIELD agent.

I arrive outside his apartment and see Sharon on her way out.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“Mission. Waiting for the Captain,” I say. I look at her scrubs. “How you liking the infectious disease ward?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes and laughs. “Well it’s just a uniform. I guess it’s better than people shooting armour piercing bullets at me.”

“I’ll see you ‘round, Kate,” I wave, using her alias.

I track Steve’s whereabouts on my phone and see that he’s at a counselling centre for veterans. Fair enough, it’s good to admit you need help.

What do you want me to do here, Fury? I wonder to myself. I decide to do a perimeter check for any bugs, wire taps or double agents.

I reach an alleyway and after peering into it I hear the scraping of a manhole against the ground. I reach for my gun and keep it to the side as I slowly approach it.

I hear a grunt and raise the gun.

“Agent,” I immediately recognize the voice as Fury’s. “Stand down.”

“Shit, Fury.” I holster the gun and help him out of the manhole. “What happened, who did this?”

“Not safe,” he says in pain.

“W-where do we go? Rogers isn’t inside.” I inspect his wounds. “Looks like you have multiple fractures on your left arm and abdominal bruising-“

“Car ambush,” he utters as he approaches the fire escape. “Stay out here, keep a look out.” He pushes a phone into my hand, I don’t recognize it as his day to day. “Anything happens, secure line 0405. I have to… get to Rogers. Do not engage unless enemies fire first.”

“Fury-“

“That’s an order.”

I put the phone into my back pocket and stay behind as he climbs up and through the Captain’s Window.

The sky is starting to darken so I make my way through the perimeter again. Sharon returns and shortly after that, Rogers arrives, weary but alert. Just as a soldier would.

I hear some 40s music coming from the walls of the Captain’s apartment. I suppose he heard it too and got suspicious because he exits his apartment building to climb up the very same fire escape that Fury did.

My eyes follow him up and survey the roof of the building for any suspicious activity.

Suddenly three shots are fired right into one of the apartment building’s walls.

“Fuck!” I whisper, looking for the source.

“Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs,” I hear one of my comms come through. It’s Sharon’s voice.

“Do we have a 20 on the shooter?” a dispatcher responds.

Before I know it, Captain Rogers is jumping out of his window and into the building the shots came from.

“Captain Rogers is in pursuit,” Agent Carter says.

I follow the Captain as he runs through a building following the shooter while he runs on the roof. They don’t fight but Rogers manages to throw the shield at him and does what some would say impossible as he catches it and throws it back just as hard. I stop where I am and just observe which is what Fury wanted me here for. The shooter jumps from the building and it looks like he catches himself using his… metal… arm. I look up and see Rogers standing at the edge of the rooftop, looking back down the shooter is out of sight.

“Transporting Foxtrot to BridgePoint Hospital Capitol Hill,” the dispatcher says from my comms. After sweeping the place one more time for any sign of the shooter and coming up empty I decide to take a cab to the hospital.

I put out an arm but it’s not a cab that stops in front of me.

“Get in, L/N.”

“Hill?” I get into the passenger’s seat and she starts to drive. “You’re supposed to be –“

“Fury called.”

“He was shot.”

“I know. Ballistics will tell us more at the hospital.”

“He’s gonna be okay,” I say but it’s more for my comfort than hers.

We arrive at the hospital and Maria takes a phone call while I find his room number, viewing the operation through the glass. Rogers is already there.

“Is he gonna make it?” I ask the Captain.

“I don’t know.”

“Tell me about the shooter.”

“He’s fast. Strong. Had a metal arm.”

“Ballistics?” I ask, knowing he can hear Hill’s conversation outside.

“Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable,” he answers and looks at me.

Hill enters.

“Soviet-made,” I add as I put the picture together in my head.

“How did you know?”

I don’t get to answer her as the surgeons and nurses say that Fury’s in V-tach and rush to solve the problem.

“Fuck’s sake, Fury,” I whisper. “Don’t do this.” My hands start to shake as they lose his pulse and can’t bring him back. I notice that I’m mumbling something repeatedly but I can’t realise what.

I feel Rogers leave as the team gives up.

“Time of death, 1:03am,” the doctor calls.

I watch them wheel him out as Hill goes too. Taking a deep breath, I walk outside into the hallway.

“How did you know they were soviet-made?” Rogers asks, following me.

“Do you trust me?” I ask him, turning to face him.

“No. How did you know?”

“Why are you asking me when you don’t trust me?”

“Why are you dodging the question?”

“Cap!” Rumlow calls. “They want you back at SHIELD.”

“Give me a minute.”

“They want you now.”

“Okay,” he replies irritated.

“You’re not gonna ask me what Nick was doing in my apartment?” he asks.

“I know what he was doing there. Do you?” I raise a brow and turn on my heel, walking away.

I see Maria in the viewing room with Fury’s… body.

“I need to take him,” she says. “Don’t get yourself into trouble, alright?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not a child, Maria.”

“Do you want a ride anywhere?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“What, you’re just gonna hang around here until Rogers comes back?”

Yes that’s exactly what I was going to do. “No.”

She chuckles and walks away. I wait for all the SHIELD and STRIKE agents to clear out of the floor to go back into the waiting area. I go to the vending machine to pick up a snack and notice something that shouldn’t be there… the drive I gave Fury with SHIELD intel hidden behind three packets of bubble gum. Frowning I buy out the stack until the drive also falls to the dispenser. I take a seat, waiting for Rogers.

I don’t realise when I fell asleep until someone shakes me gently.

“I heard.”

I look up and it’s Sharon. “Hey.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t you have an assignment debriefing to give?” I reply.

She shrugs. “That can wait. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Did you wanna know what Fury was doing at Rogers’ apartment too?” I ask, suspicious.

“Do you know?”

I nod.

“Then that’s all I need to know.”

“Fury trusts – trusted him,” I correct myself. “That means we have to.”

A beeping comes from her wrist communicator and she sighs. “I have to go. I’ll keep you in the loop about what happens at the Triskelion.”

I frown. “Why would I need to be kept in the loop?”

“Because I know you’re gonna be on the run, soon. With him. To find that shooter. Pierce won’t like that you’re after him outside of mission directives…”

“I know. You be careful, Sharon.”

She smiles stiffly and I know it’s because she’s worried about me. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were being careless and rash.”

“But you know better.”

She chuckles softly and turns to leave. I get up walk around to stretch my legs. Where the fuck is Rogers?

An hour passes and I’m back where I started but I see the man of the hour stop in front of the vending machine. I pop a strip of gum in my mouth and walk up behind him, blowing a bubble.

His face sharpens and he sighs then pulls me by the arm and takes us into a room.

“Where is it?”

“Safe.”

“Do better.”

“Fury trusted me. I’m on your side if he trusts you.”

“He doesn’t trust anyone. That’s the problem. That’s why he’s dead,” he says harshly.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

Rogers sighs and pulls away. “What’s on it?”

“I don’t know.”

“I bet you knew Fury hired the Pirates didn’t you?” he accuses.

No, no I didn’t. Stunned, I blink at the news. “Made sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.”

“How did you know it was Soviet-made?” he repeats his earlier question, losing patience.

“I know who killed Fury,” I say. “The metal arm… I knew as soon as I saw it. 2009, Natasha had a mission in Odessa. Someone shot out her tires and killed the engineer she was protecting by shooting right through her. Soviet slug, no rifling. Metal arm. The intelligence community call him The Winter Soldier. I’ve heard him as the Asset. That’s who killed Fury.”

“How do we find him?”

“He’s been credited with two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years, Rogers. You don’t go after him. I’ve tried.”

He looks up at that, as if surprised. But he doesn’t know half the shit I’ve been through while working for SHIELD.

“So he’s a shadow.”

“Was.” I pull the drive out of my pocket and hold it up to him.

“Let’s find the Asset, then.”

 💖

Thank you for reading! I’ll update once I’ve finished Chapter 4 but I am busy this weekend!

Chapter 3

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #steve rogers #slowburn #enemies to lovers #steve rogers x platonic!reader #captain america #bucky barnes fic #steve rogers fic #reader insert #rewrite #series rewrite #marvel #mcu

[fictropes]

oh boy i sure did write many words in 2020

Hi! I am copying people due to i want to.  This is a lil (well... 63) round up of all the fics I wrote this year! Cos i’m very evil @ myself and writing fic and think i’m either not doing enough, or not doing it good enough, so i wanna full list of what I actually did so I can see my own accomplishments and can maybe... clap 4 myself for once. And honestly writing has helped MASSIVELY with my depression so.. that’s a bonus. 

ALSO. this is a big huge thankyou to everyone! I only joined here + started writing in august and you’ve all been so so nice and welcoming and supportive  <333 ;_; and I know they say write for yourself... but honestly peoples comments and excitement about my stuff has just been really, really lovely and I would never have written this much without all of you cheering me on<3. 

so here is a list of everything i’ve written, organised by length and everything, so if you find yourself bored over the holidays... have a lil browse. (Sorry if u are on mobile and this doesn’t show as a read more) 

Chaptered:

Can we try again? series (M) Complete - 35k  - “Yeah, Phil. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dan answers, softer than he’d wanted because he already knows what he’s about to do next.(or Dan doesn't turn up in 2009 and bumps into Phil 11 years later at a youtube convention 2. I like cupcakes, especially the gay variety (M) Complete - 30k - Firstly, Dan was 29. How was that a mature student?Secondly, his actual book was on the university fucking syllabus.(or the one in which Dan tries university again in a desperate attempt to prolong his procrastination, and his lecturer Phil is apparently something of a fan) 3. 7 Letters series (M) Complete - 9k - Your penpal can be the person you live with, actually. 4. There's Beans in Here (T) Complete - 2k - Phil has his wisdom teeth removed; Phil says many questionable things. 5. Roadtrip (E) Complete - 8k - “Exactly. I am right, as always.”“As always.” Dan agrees.Series 6. night shift, please (E) Wip - 27k I PROMISE THIS WILL COME BACK IN 2021 - Ten years and he’ll never get over how early he has to get up sometimes. In all honesty he prefers the night shift. 7. Still Not Calling it Fate (M) Wip - 14k - It’s become a bit of a thing, a bit of a thing that everyone he crosses paths with takes the piss out of him for 8. when i met you, a blue rush began (M) Complete - 5k - They end up in a small restaurant overlooking the sea, everything here is so blue. The sky, the sea, Phil’s eyes, the shirt he’s wearing buttoned up all the way to the top. 9. Luggage Tags (E) Complete - 2.5k - Just because it looks like your suitcase, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is. 10. Demon in the sack (E) Complete - 2.5k - Dan’s leg jiggles beneath his desk, knee hitting the table as he tries to force himself to hang up and ring the number he was supposed to ring— he doesn’t, he can’t. Long ( for me) oneshots (3k+) 11. Electronics and the Phil's who break them (M) Complete - 9k - The first time’s an accident, a proper accident— a Phil forgot how to hold his cup and now he’s watching his coffee seep into his keyboard type accident. 12. A Letter of Specifics (T) Complete - 4k - You'll know it's your soulmate because no one else on earth could be doing what they're doing. 13. The Benefits of A Weak Floor (M) Complete - 4k - He quite literally falls through Dan’s ceiling. 14. 10:35 on a Thursday (E) Complete -  3.7k - He’s tapping his pen against the paper, acting as though he isn’t asking Phil to take a sex quiz at 10:35am on a Thursday morning. 15. 2009, catboys (T) Complete - 3.2k - “You have your own ears, can’t have four.”“Why?” 16. Wrong Room (T) Complete - 3k - “Congratulations!’’ And he was expecting to hear a cry, or at least his mother telling him to be quiet because a certain baby was sleeping. Instead he heard the deep clear of a throat, a rustling of sheets. 2k-3k oneshots 17. Dinner with a stranger (T) Complete - 2.5k - @amazingphl hi! second year of doing this, sooo if anyone has nowhere to go for Christmas dinner I am once again offering..my flat (and by extension me) ;oSeries 18. Easy Lover (M) Complete - 2.4k - ''Yeah. We're always fine.'' It was always fine. It was always easy, despite always behind hard. 19. Cold Season (M) Complete - 2k - Dan is ill, insatiable and another word beginning with I. 1k-2k oneshots 20. Morose men on rooftops (T) Complete - 1.9k - “Dunno, maybe chatting up morose men on roofs is my thing.” He laughs, and it’s a nice noise. 21. Love with tongues of fire (T) Complete - 1.7k - So when Dan waltzed into the room, declaring his hunger Phil thought nothing of it. Just another night for another takeaway. 22. Your Rocks are my Rocks (T) Complete - 1.7k - Phil wants a new rock for Norman, Dan wants a peaceful life. 23. Joint Content (M) Complete - 1.6k - It started of a as a joke— a Joint Content joke. 24. 24/7 Fantasies (M) Complete - 1.5k - He thinks about Dan 24/7, constantly in two separate fantasies 25. A Conversation in Multiple Hallways (T) Complete - 1.5k - You're still here then? 26. Sharing Space (T) Complete - 1.5k - It's 2010 and dan has had a day. 27. The Obvious (T) Complete - 1.5k - "Can I use that?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, already scrawling it beneath the only three words he currently has— I love you. 28. I'm Thinking of Ending Things (T) Complete - 1.5k - Dan hears half a conversation, jumps to one whole conclusion. 29. Love Language of the Tactile (T) Complete - 1.4k - “I’m just— that’s a hypothetical.” Dan leans in this time, takes the touches that Phil always so freely gives away. “Can’t kiss in secret rooms if I leave.” 30. Don't Let the Self-Doubt Ruin You (T) Complete - 1.3k - “I’m here.” “Yeah, you’re here.” 31. Conflict Resolution (T) Complete - 1.3k - Following recent events we’ve decided it best we take a combative approach to your current workplace issues, we have booked you into a conflict resolution class this Thursday afternoon - we will not be paying you to attend. 32. when it comes to love (i want a slow hand) (E) Complete - 1.2k - And there it is, the refusal of anything in return. This is just for Dan and it always will be. 33. You're Still The one (T) Complete - 1.1k - “What’re you thinking about?” “You.” 34. Teach Me, Dad. (T) Complete - 1k - "Do you think I could be the next Mozart?” 35. The Logistics of a Clone (M) Complete - 1k - “I don’t think that’s a clone, though, like maybe more of a Doppelgänger.” Dan doesn’t know why they’re delving so deep into this, why he’s so damn bothered about being right. “It’s just literally you.” 36. All's fair in Love and Monopoly (T) Complete - 1k - Phil does not play by the rules, Dan lets him win anyway. Under 1k oneshots 37. Hide out in your heart (E)  Complete - 0.9k - The second time Dan comes to visit it’s different. 38. Oh, there you are. (G) Complete - 0.9k - So after all this, after everything, he doesn’t think anything of it when someone else slips into his dms. 39. The Boy has Attitude (T) Complete - 0.9k - “You didn’t tell me you looked like this.”“Like what?”“This!” Phil’s waving a physical copy of the magazine in his face— so that’s where he’d been. 40. Hairties (and how not to use them) (M) Complete - 0.8k - “Why would you do that? Let us settle in, nice and slow and— gently does it.” 41. The Second Apartment. (T) Complete - 0.8k - It’s a stop-gap apartment, a we’re going to get our forever home after this. 42. Japan, 2019. (G) Complete - 0.8k - NO summary, just an obviously I was going to write this after phil's post 43. Doting Man (T) Complete - 0.7k - They’re both drunk, Phil more so— definitely more so.Series 44.  Imposter (T) Complete - 0.7k - Among us is.. a bastard. 45. Ratemyprofessors.com (M) Complete - 0.7k - ‘Maybe if that Phil bloke from the English dep he’s always staring at fucked him he’d stop being so uptight’ 46. Failed Attempts (T) Complete - 0.7k - Dan enlists the help of Phil for his latest Instagram. 47. Bonus Prize (M) Complete - 0.7k - Phil Trash Number One 48. Feels like home (G) Complete - 0.7k - Home is where the Phil is. 49. We can make Forever work (T) Complete - 0.7k - It’s a moment of realising forever may sound too much to people, but we’ll get through everything together— we don’t have any other choice. 50. Scene in the Kitchen (T) Complete - 0.7k - New place 51. 4'11 (T) Complete - 0.6k - Dan is baby 52. Pillow Imprints (T) Complete - 0.6k - Dan is a menace, and Phil loves him anyway. 53. Parachute Jacket (T) Complete - 0.5k - Dan thinks Phil is obsessed with them Those few times I thougt I was goddamn Ri**ard S*ken 54. Home (G) Complete - 0.7k - It’s their forever home, because their actual forever lives inside of it. 55. secrets spoken in empty rooms (T) Complete - 1k - So he wants to be the same, but he wants Dan more. 56. Separately Together  (T) Complete - 0.9k - Phil’s soft hands and even softer words. It gets harder to leave. Gets to the point where Dan turns off an alarm just so he misses the train. 57. It's not hard to fall (T) Complete - 0.7k - Still a little bit of your words I long to hear Some more Epistolary (apart from 7 letters)  58. A Play in One Act (T) Complete - 1.1k - [Manchester Piccadilly train-station, midday, October 19th, 2009.] 59. R/AITA (T) Complete - 0.8k - AM I THE ASSHOLE FOR MAKING MY BOYFRIEND BE A WORM?Series 60. Lonely Hearts (T) Complete - 1.8k - I will not say you were crying on the tube (out of politeness) 61. Conversations of the Lazy Kind (T) Complete - 1k - eggs? wot? Smells like eggs

[imcryingbuckets]

My Whole Heart "Hates" You

I did it. Ha, yes, I wrote a Bill Hader x OFC fanfiction. Although I write a lot in my spare time, I've never written a fic before so pls be nice :(

It's sorta enemies to lovers, I know y'all love that shit, so I hope everyone likes it. Or at least one person. It's going to be multiple chapters, but I've only written the first one so far!

TW: Swearing, a lot of it (I'm British, sue me), no sexual content in this chapter, but if there is any in future chapters I will be sure to notify you (warnings are already tagged on ao3 just in case I forget to add them later on)

Summary: Violet works at Studio 8H, for Saturday Night Live! But one Monday morning she turns up to work to find out that Bill Hader is hosting. They have a past of getting under each other's skin and constantly getting into arguments and spats all over the office, but will that change when he returns to host this time? Will they put aside their differences? Do they really hate each other or are they just bad at flirting? I'm sure you know the answer to all these questions, but how 'bout you read this anyways! I suck at summaries

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31072760/chapters/76766612

Chapter One: Oh, boy.

I walk into Studio 8H clutching a hot cup of coffee in my hand, in attempt to bring myself some warmth during the surprisingly cold breeze of March. Arriving at the building only a few minutes late (better than usual), I quickly set my things down at my desk and walk over to Lorne’s office with my co-workers to find out the host line-up for the next month. We all file in and find seats, some of us sitting cross-legged on the floor, and we collectively gaze upon the corkboard as Lorne fills us all in. My stomach twists into knots as I read the first blue postcard pinned up, blinking twice to make sure I’m not seeing things. I rub my eyes because maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he isn’t hosting, maybe I just have something in my eye. But when I look back up I know I’m wrong because everybody’s eyes are on me, staring closely with hesitance to watch how I’ll react. Right above the yellow card that read ‘Arcade Fire’ was a blue one, reading

BILL HADER

My mind begins to play out a thousand different scenarios and outcomes on what could happen this week, now that Hader would be here. I start getting a light headache (quite the ordinary when it came to working here) and I notice that everyone is still staring at me, some in remorse, and some in fear of how I’m going to react. I decide pretty quickly that I should say something to settle everyone’s nerves.

“Guys, seriously, chill the fuck out.” Perhaps a little harsher than I intended so I backpedal a bit. “I know what you’re all thinking, but stop, okay? It’s not like I’m gonna go batshit crazy when I see him and punch him in the face or something. I intend to keep my job, thank you very much.”

The faces all around the room seem to relax at this and return their attention back to Lorne. Thankfully, no one heard me add ‘As much as he is an absolute cockwomble’. Well, Kate might have as she started giggling on the floor next to me.#

Kate knows of my small hatred towards the man everyone on Earth seems to praise (Hatred is a strong word, annoyance is probably better suited for my feelings towards him but I genuinely just enjoy how the word rolls off the tongue). 4 years ago when Bill hosted SNL back in 2014, Kate was the one that put up with all my complaints and remarks about him, and she was often the one I went to when I needed to vent about anything really, middle-aged-comedian-themed or not. I feel a little guilty seeing as she will probably have to reprise her role as the one who deals with my Hader ‘hatred’ when she actually quite likes the man and has friendly chats and jokes with him whenever he’s around. Normally when I tell people this, they think that the fact that they’re both friends would annoy me. But I actually couldn’t give the smallest of fucks (pardon my French). I think it’s great that everyone gets on with him, good for them! But we never seemed to be able to do that.

See despite our efforts to be professional, we kept getting in small bickering matches across the office the last time he hosted. It was never full on screaming, just very heavily charged snide comments and evil glares to one another.

Back home in the UK, my friends and I would often joke around playfully and poke fun at each other, but it was all light-hearted and we all knew that. Even some of my friends here at work do the same. But when Bill was here, everyone that was unfortunately present to witness our spats and quarrels all knew that it didn’t come from a place of love or admiration as it did with anyone else. No, it came from this annoyance in our guts that we got from each other. It certainly made the entire office largely tense for the whole week leading up to the Saturday, and thankfully he skipped the after party so the terror ended after the last sketch of the night.

I feel bad knowing that we’ll probably put the entire building through the same torment as we did 4 years ago, but I don’t feel an ounce of guilt for Bill. No sir. Every nasty remark I threw at him I meant with 100% intention, and I feel no urge to take any of them back when I see him this afternoon when he walks into the office. Not because I’m some cold-hearted bitch, but because he said some things that were equally as bad as mine. So suck on that, William.

Quicker than expected, the meeting ends. I get up eagerly off the floor, with the intention to get to my office as quickly as possible with hopes to not run into Bill. However, before I get the chance to leave, I hear Lorne call after me to ask me to stay behind.

“I need to talk to you about this week’s host.”

I see Kate give me a small smile that said ‘good luck’ as she left through the door with the others and a wave of her hand. I turn back to the man behind the desk, not knowing what to expect, apart from the fact that it’s probably about Bill. Obviously.

“I’m assuming you’ve seen who the host is for Saturday?” he says.

I give him a small nod with a tight small and a mutter that resembled something close to a ‘yes’.

“Well I know that the last time he hosted, you two didn’t get along very well and had some…”

I watched him for a few seconds as he tried to find the right word.

“…differences.” He decides. “But I don’t want that same thing to happen again, it’s been 4 years now so I’m hoping that you’ve both matured at least a little.”

“Yes well he is like 40 now.” I respond, a little uncomfortable as I feel like a three-year-old getting scolded by their teacher for flicking crayons at the other kid’s head.

“Yes, well… I hope that you both can learn to get along, or at least push your differences aside for one week?”

I nod, “Yes, yes, ‘course.” Wanting the conversation to end before Bill arrives.

“Good to hear, Violet. Although, if I hear any screaming between the two of you, I won’t hesitate to step in and organise something to put an end to it. Understood?”

For a moment I thought he was suggesting firing me, but I caught the slight smirk on his face that told me something different. He was planning something mischievous, but I couldn’t place what. Nor did I care enough to look for it.

I sigh in relief and nod my head for what felt like the hundredth time that day, starting to feel a bit like a bobble-head doll. “Yes, Lorne, I understand. No bickering, got it.”

He smiled with a look that suggested he got the answer he wanted, and waved his hand to say I could go. I gave him a goodbye and made my out of his office and started to speed-walk to my own, crossing my fingers that Hader hadn’t arrived yet.

I thank the mighty beings in the sky that I made it to my desk without seeing him, and shut the door with a click. My eyes fall upon the coffee that I left earlier that morning in the rush to get to the meeting and I frown as I realise that it’s probably gone cold and all icky. I grasp the paper cup and I’m surprised to be met with warmth, I guess the meeting wasn’t as long as I thought it had been. Content with this happy discovery, I sit down in front of my computer and open a script document from the other night, sipping at my lukewarm coffee. I begin to rapidly type away and fall into the rhythm of writing, before I am frustratingly interrupted with a knock at my door.

I pull away from the screen and yell “Come in!” to whoever is on the other side of the door, standing up from my desk to throw my now-empty paper coffee cup in the bin (or trash as these Americans I work with call it). The door opens to reveal Aidy peeking her head hesitantly through to look at me with almost sorry eyes.

“Pitch meeting in Lorne’s office. Got to discuss sketch ideas with…the host.” She smiles kindly at me knowing that I don’t want to go and see him.

“With Bill you mean?” I say knowingly, to which she just nods her head. “Okay, well, best to just get it over with. And besides, maybe he’s less of a dick now?”

She laughs a little in attempt to be supportive. I think.

As we’re walking down the corridor, I think back to when I first met him back in 2014. Obviously I knew who he was, ‘Bill Hader: SNL Alumni, Comedian, Actor, Father, blah blah blah’. At the time, he was also ‘Husband’ but I was told that the fact was no longer true. I make a mental note to not be so harsh on him, not wanting to be that person who bashes him so soon after a divorce.

I remember I was actually quite fond of him at first, I watched most of his stuff and admittedly, he was my ‘celebrity crush’ for the longest time. And when I met him in person, he actually was exactly like everyone described him as: funny, sweet, charming, an all ‘round nice guy. Not to mention insanely attractive. He was cute, even I can admit that. I don’t really remember why we didn’t get along all those years ago. I think it was a mixture of a clash of personalities and the fact that we’re both quite stubborn. Terribly stubborn. From what I can remember, we never exactly agreed on sketches or punchlines or anything really. But like Lorne said, it’s been 4 years. Maybe we’ll get along better.

My train of thought gets lost when we reach the door to Lorne’s office. I see Aidy push it open and walk in as I follow her, hearing that everyone seems to be in the middle of a conversation. Right before I get through the door, I hear him. His loud, obnoxious laugh filling the room. The laugh that so easily gets under my skin and makes my stomach feel all weird and uneasy.

I head into the room and find a seat, and that’s when I look up to see him. Bill. Standing in front of me in a blue shirt and black jeans and those white trainers he seems to wear to every fucking interview. He stands there staring at me with this smirk on his face that make my cheeks go red. He doesn’t say anything, he just stands there by Lorne’s desk and right before he looks away to continue his conversation with Kenan, he winks at me. I look down as not to cause trouble like Lorne said, and partly to hide my cheeks getting hotter and pinker by the second.

I tug at the loose thread of my sweater, looking at the floor to avoid his gaze. I don’t know why I’m getting so flustered, it is Bill after all. The man who so thoroughly annoys and teases me relentlessly. My mind begins to over-analyse everything and before it begins to run any further, I get called on to pitch a sketch idea.

Right before I open my mouth, I see Bill cross his arms in anticipation and looking deeply into my eyes with that stupid smile of his, probably eager to find something to tease me over later. But then I catch him lick his lips suddenly and a chill runs up my arms.

I look back down at my notepad and think, Oh boy, this week will be interesting.

#bill hader #snl #fanfic #bill hader fanfic

[moongoddesslee]

What Once Was...

This is written for the SessKag Prompt Raffle, for StormieLikeWeather’s prompt.

@sesskag

"There is a murderer afoot, spoiler it's Kagome, and she has her reasons. What will happen when Sesshomaru discovers that he's been hunting his lover all this time?"

I am still working on this, I had some personal life stuff happen and even went to the hospital. I’m ok now but hopefully you’ll forgive me for this not being completely done just yet Stormie! I will also be posting the next chapters for this on A03. Here’s the link for it https://archiveofourown.org/works/28472691/chapters/69768393

My mind went a bit out of the way with this one, this fic is a bit on the darker side so please take that as a fair warning before you start to read this. It has a brief mention of a subject that most people don’t like to read or hear. So read at your own discretion. Anyways here we go. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even with all the noise, light pollution, smog, and everything else the humans had created. He thanked his few lucky stars that there were still places like this around.

He stood in the middle of a beautiful and enchanting valley.

Inhaling he sighs and stares up at the sky in silent contemplation.

Valleys like this were like a balm to his frayed nerves and senses.

They all seemed to have been frozen in a time long forgotten and he missed it dearly.

From afar if someone were to stumble upon him they would think he was an apparition.

His skin was a chalky white instead of the glowing alabaster it had been long ago.

Though tall he was mostly nothing but skin and bones now, gaunt, and dark black-purple circles under his eyes.

His once regal and authoritative air gone, his stance nothing more than a slumped body shuffling along.

He knew he used to be a downright merciless bastard to everyone who ever dared to cross his path.

He had begun to change slowly when his little Rin had come along.

Even after Naraku had been defeated and the odd priestess had disappeared, Rin had chosen to come back with him after living for some time in Edo.

How he wishes she had stayed in the village instead of following him. Closing his eyes he felt the tears starting to run down his cheeks.

Choking sobs broke through despite his efforts to not and he fell to his knees among the tall grasses and flowers.

His forever cheerful daughter gone in the blink of an eye, taken away, tortured, and killed by the people who he had thought were his allies.

She had been so strong, stubborn, kind, gentle, caring, and free-spirited. He had tried to track down and kill every single one of them.

Though he couldn't seem to find them all. Even after killing only a few he still had hungered for revenge.

He hung his head as more tears kept tracking down his sharp cheekbones, the bone sticking out just slightly from his sunken face.

Rin being killed had been the beginning of what he thought of as the start of his horrible existence. He didn't know which god had it out for him but after she had passed everything slowly went to complete hell.

Opening his eyes as his tears were still falling, traveling down his sharp cheeks to land among the grass and flowers. Closing his eyes again he thought back on his hellish past. _______________________________________________________________

His allies had thought his precious daughter had been brought back to his home to be his bride. What fucking idiots that they had been. He had killed the first five of them that had voiced that opinion without thought. After that, the comments went quiet and he didn't hear anything on the matter again. It however did not mean he was an idiot and anticipated some of his advisors to try something someday.

He had just returned from paying a visit to his half brother's village and had been slightly shocked to see the odd priestess had returned. It had been nearly five years since she had disappeared.

Rin had been elated to hear of her return and thus started the weekly visits to the odd woman. Over time though he came to see her as a friend as they would talk. After a year had gone by of these visits he had realized that he had fallen in love with the klutzy woman. He kept to himself at first but Kagome eventually caught on and surprised him greatly.

By "climbing him like a tree" and soundly kissing him on the lips. Things sped up after that and soon after they were lovers in secret. Though he could guess his brother knew otherwise. Seeming since he stayed away from the village when he came to visit.

Eventually, he started to leave Rin with her in the village more and more. It had become too dangerous for her to stay at the Shiro. His advisors and allies had begun to get more and more deceitful. The sickly sweet scent always rolling off of them in waves as they lied to his face.

Sesshomaru had voiced his concerns with Kagome on the matter and she had agreed to have Rin move in with her. Though he didn't want to have his daughter so far away from him, he knew it was for the best.

She returned with him to the Shiro one last time to say goodbye to Jaken and his mother. Sesshomaru ordered her things packed and sent them ahead to Edo with Jaken.

As Sesshomaru made his way to gather Rin up to take her back to Kagome one of his advisors said there was a report of an attack. A village close to the Shiro was being burned to the ground. Demon and human alike being killed mercilessly.

When he had returned he stood on the hill shocked as he watched his ancestral home burning to the ground. Hearing the screams of agony of his people he snapped out of it.

Landing amid his broken home he started to search for survivors all while trying to locate Rin. The screams of pain had gone quiet as he looked and he couldn't hear a single heartbeat.

As the smoke started to affect his sense of smell he finally caught a slight scent of oranges and sunshine on the wind. Immediately he took off running and came to a stop just outside of the once beautiful gardens. There on the ground was a piece of Rin's usual orange checkered kimono.

Bending down to pick it up more pieces of it caught his attention. Slowly he followed the trail and began to panic as pieces of hair and blood started appearing. As he got closer he started to recognize the scent of his lover, fresh ocean breeze, and calming lavender.

The further he went the more panicked and angry he became as he caught the different scents in the air. He stopped as he came to the end of the scent trail in a field and fell to his knees.

There among the wildflowers was a body torn into pieces scattered around the area. There were thousands of different scents overlapping but the most prominent was that of his daughters. He could make out strands of black hair amount the chunks of body and blood on the ground. His loving daughter was gone, her body strewn throughout the clearing of wildflowers that she loved so dearly. Sesshomaru couldn't comprehend all that he saw for a few moments.

Her now cold blood pooling around the chunks of her body, sticking to everything now. He could see an arm thrown off to the side and part of a tow underneath a thick bush. Sesshomaru could still smell Kagome's scent in the area but didn't see or hear anything nearby. His shock set in even more when he began to think that they had killed off his chosen as well.

He just stayed there motionless for hours upon hours never moving. Even as the smoke began to clear and no more agonizing screams could be heard. _______________________________________________________________

Kagome had had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as Sesshomaru had left from this last visit. She knew he had gone back to get Rin and her things before bringing her back to Edo.

She couldn't shake the feeling all morning as she went about her chores. Sighing Kagome had packed a small pack and told Miroku and Sango she was leaving. They had offered to come with her but she politely declined and headed out.

Along the way she had thought the offer was nice but didn't want to be coddled anymore. In the five years, she had been gone Kagome had enrolled in multiple training classes. Training with multiple different weapons and martial arts just in case she ever did go back.

As she trained over the years the more she came to control her Miko powers as well. Shaking her head back to the present she made her way along for the better part of the day. Stopping as she needed to rest and eat.

It was the nearly early morning of the next day when she finally made it to Sesshomaru's ancestral home. Kagome had only been there twice so far and had wanted to come back but Sesshomaru had told her no. It was for her own safety, if it was getting dangerous for Rin then it would be worse for her.

She was shell-shocked as she looked upon his home and saw it all blazing in a fire. Everything seemed to be just starting to fall apart. Kagome came out of her shock as the screams and cries started to filter through her hearing.

Taking off at a run Kagome made her way to the Shiro as quickly as she could. Pouring some of her powers into her legs to speed herself up. She came to a stop as she registered the auras of some of Sesshomaru's people.

Quickly Kagome took off in hopes of being able to help and save anyone that she could. As she got closer to the burning Shiro she could hear the screams from inside getting quieter. A stray tear fell down her cheek as she knew that they could not be saved.

Shaking herself she moved on and started to help her lovers' subjects and employees as she came across them. Worried about them all she could only spare a few quick moments to check each of them over. Moving on to the next as she circled around the burning building. As she neared back to the front of the once beautiful home she stopped in shock.

Kagome could hear the screams of a child, but she had heard those screams before. Taking off in a panic she raced forward towards the screams. Muttering to herself hoping to be wrong about those screams.

Those said screams were getting quieter as she got closer. It only spurred her on to run faster. Even as her legs protested the extra exertion she carried on. Kagome came across a line of trees and followed the trampled path she could see through it.

Making her way quietly she couldn't help but gasp and cry as she saw two little girls' bodies lying on the ground surrounded by pools of blood. As she walked forward she swept her powers throughout the area checking for auras.

Noticing that the retreating ones she could sense still were that of Sesshomaru's advisors and other staff her powers flickered in anger. Going to her knees in front of the bodies tears started to fall from her eyes. There laid Rin and a little girl motionless. Rin's orange checkered kimono was ripped to pieces with scratches all over her body.

As Kagome looked over to the other little girl she cried even more. The other girl's body was in pieces all over the clearing. Blood and hair splattered over the flowers nearby and pieces of skin hiding among bushes.

Minutes went by before Kagome shook herself and got up and began to look around the area. Hoping to find at least some way to identify the other little girl besides part her head that was laying on the ground.

After a few minutes of searching and finding nothing, Kagome knelt down again. She picked the lost child's head up and wrapped it in an extra blanket from her bag. Going over to Rin's motionless body next Kagome began to cry harder as she brought out another blanket.

Lifting her small body as gently as she could she moved her and wrapped her small body into the blanket. She tied it together with some spare rope the best she could and brought her body to rest against her back and stood up.

Kagome began to walk out of the area as the sun was starting to set. ________________________________________________________________

Someone was slowly coming up from behind him, their footsteps light and unsteady. All of his senses were closed off from the world. Even as the visage of his mother came into view, he couldn't react.

He just watched as she looked around and saw her gasp softly as she clearly recognized the scents. Sesshomaru watched as she walked over to the pools of blood and fell to her knees. Even his own stoic mother sat there at her knees crying for the loss of her adopted granddaughter.

It seemed like hours before he finally came back to the world of the living enough to stand and walk back to the ashes of his home. Not turning back even as he heard his mother calling his name as she stood back up.

He was on autopilot as he walked among the smoke and ashes searching for something, anything. Some kind of clue to tell him that his daughter and lover were alive and not dead. He never turned back around stuck in his self made prison in his head.

He just walked for weeks stuck in his own limbo until he was confronted by his mother again. Being told that there had been reports coming in about the advisors, generals, and lords that had plotted against him. The ones responsible for the two lights of his life being extinguished.

They all seemed to slowly be found killed or dying in some manner or another. Curiosity sparked him from his shock and he set off to find these traitors and kill the rest himself. If he so happened to come across the person already doing it he'd thank them personally himself. That is if he could actually find the person responsible.

#sesskag prompt raffle #sesskag

[ecfandom]

So, I got this less than pleasant comment on AO3 last night, and wanted to address some things and have a productive discussion, for those interested. 

Let’s start with the facts: 

1. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I have always tried to be vocal about welcoming opinions, criticism, etc. That’s all great. 

2. We are not all going to agree on the same things, and that’s okay. 

3. Unless otherwise has been earned (and rarely is there a situation that I can think of where this aggressiveness, etc. is earned in the context of the relationship between authors and readers), kindness, respect and understanding, or at the very least CIVILITY, should be the go-to. 

Now, here are the opinions. The opinion in this comment is that Lexa’s involvement in the military in Polis 433, and my writing of her experiences, is “blantanly [sic] mastubatory army propoganda.” I have a few issues with this. One, for someone who clearly has a problem with the military (so do I, it’s okay, I get it), this is quite militaristic and aggressive, don’t you think? Hello, hypocrisy, you rise again! 

Two, as someone who has many, many issues with the military, especially with the brownwashing and enemy washing of what the United States perceives to be its enemies, I took intentional care to try to offer a multi-faceted view of the military in this fic...it’s also important to be mindful of that fact that this story is far from over...including this particular “Memorial Day” section of this story. Now, maybe this person isn’t on Tumblr, and doens’t know that, and that’s fine, but that’s why I always encourage people to use patience when they are feeling upset about something...you never know, maybe it will resolve itself to your liking and you won’t feel the need to comment things like this. Or maybe it won’t resolve itself, you will remained pissed, and you’ll want to leave a nasty comment anyways. I would encourage you to do the easiest thing...stop reading what you don’t like. 

Back to what I tried to do as an author in presenting multiple views points and ideologies. Namely, there’s Clarke’s conversation with Michael in Chapter 6. Believe it or not, I didn’t put this conversation in the story for shits and giggles. I intentionally wrote it to challenge Clarke’s take on the military, a take that she acquired from growing up in a military family and having it romanticized all her life: 

Michael: “My family has done enough taking of lives for a few generations. Figured I’d try to save some for a change.”

“That’s an interesting take on the military.”

“You disagree?”

Clarke props her head on her fist. “Not necessarily. It’s complicated.”

“Nothing complicated about picking up a gun and taking a life.”

“But that’s not all there is to the military. I mean, a lot of it is about saving lives. Keeping the peace. Ensuring democracy and human rights.”

“It’s none of our business.”

“Isn’t it? Isn’t it our business if we can do something to help?”

“Have we really helped?”

Clarke squints at him and smiles, not quite agreeing, not disagreeing, but appreciating the discourse all the same.

Okay, so there’s that. There’s also my author’s note on chapter 8: 

“...I hate war. I hate the death and how awfully it affects our Veterans and their families. I hate the way it's depicted in Hollywood, brown washing the "Middle East" as if it were this one Bad Thing made up of Enemies. I try to stay away from the topic, but I hope in this case, I've done an okay job at keeping things real. Always let me know if there are problems.”

Mmkay, moving on. How about Lexa’s own internal feelings about the subject thus far...

Regarding the Medal of Honor: Her jaw bulges under the force of her teeth trying to stamp out the overwhelming discomfort rolling in nauseating waves through her. “I can’t stand wearing this,” she mutters, her voice raw and thin. (Chapter 8)

She gives her uniform another tug, unable to keep her hands still. They shook in this uniform now. For years she’d worn her Army Blues with pride and a staunch duty to her job and her country. Now, the material feels abrasive against her skin, the collar like a hand tightening around her throat. There’s blood on this uniform that would never come out. Though not literal, it stained just as deeply, ruined just as thoroughly. She couldn’t stand to be in this uniform anymore... (Chapter 8)

She raises her weapon, focusing again. She has three seconds, maybe five.  Her hands shake, her chest heaves. What the fuck was a pacifist doing in the United States Army? They killed her friends, and still, Lexa’s finger trembled in conflict atop the trigger. (Chapter 8)

Lexa stares back, wondering how the world had gotten to this place of hate. Genuinely sorry for whatever had happened to this man to turn him into what he was. Sorry that the world is at war. Sorry for killing so many. (Chapter 8)

So there’s that. And I’m sure that some of this may be problematic, that I might not have as thorough an understanding as I should, and that mistakes will be made, but that’s why I put this out there--to learn, to hear your thoughts, to try to become a better author and global citizen. There is still so much more to come in this story, and so much more of why Lexa’s background is important to the present,  how she got to where she is, and who she is as a person, etc.

I hate America’s war machine. I hate the violence, and I really struggled with whether or not to take this story in this direction, but I told myself that if I promised to try to approach this military content in a multi-faceted, complex way that had various view points and characters being challenged, that I would continue to explore this side of the story and decide later if it would make it into the final version of the story after editing and cutting it down. Maybe I failed, and I am more than happy to hear my readers’ thoughts and criticisms. This comment, however, was not that. This was comment, and commenter, was looking to pick a fight. I don’t normally award these kinds of people with my time or attention, but I chose to for this one because of what I said above...I wanted to open up a discussion. 

I would love to hear what others think about my handling of the military in this story. I’m very curious, because I was very hesitant to put it in here since glorifying the military does not align with my personal values. I respect everyone’s right to make their own decisions about enlisting, and I think that as long as we have veterans we need to take better care of them, but I don’t have any interest in romanticizing the military, the violence, or the racist rhetoric and greedy consumerism that drives wars. That being said, I challenged myself to write a story that had themes that did not necessarily align with my own personal views on the matter, and to write protagonists that I would find problematic in real life, as long as I challenged what I was writing in the writing itself. Perhaps I did not succeed in making that apparent within the story. I had the hopes that I could experiment with these characters and watch them grow.

That being said though, if my experimenting, or my lack of understanding has hurt anyone, I want to know that. I am fully invested in understanding, appreciating, and supporting the importance of representation and author responsibility and liability. So please, never stop giving me your thoughts and opinions. But please do stop looking to pick fights. It’s not worth anyone’s time. Go out for a walk, get some fresh air and sunshine, or do something else you enjoy. A writer writing something you don’t like is not worth your emotional expense, especially when you can just stop reading. Likewise, it’s not worth a writer’s emotional expense to receive your tantrums in their inbox. If you want to have a civil conversation about your disagreements, criticism, etc., great. If you want to throw a fit or are looking to pick a fight, don’t bother. It’s just not worth anyone’s time. Just walk away from what you don’t like. It’s that simple, and it’s better for everyone. 

End rant. 

[sapphireswimming]

Aces: Chapter 1 (a Gundam 00 fic)

For this Gundam 00 week, I’m hoping to post several oneshots set in the same, still-unnamed, slightly-AU universe. Since they need to come at least roughly chronologically to make sense, but are getting written all out of order, I’ll do my best to post some stuff here this week and then put everything up properly on ffn once it’s done

But here is set-up chapter for Day 1 of @g00week since the AEU council felt Trap(ped) after the debacle that was episode 1

2k of political posturing, no warnings, no spoilers

 The meeting room’s harsh artificial lighting bloomed against the marble walls, added to as the looping footage of the white Gundam flickered brightly across the faces of the board members who couldn’t seem to look away from the central screen.

“It was our latest model,” the man in the subdued green suit said again, still hardly able to believe over it seven hours later, “and it was defeated so easily.”

The mustached man beside him crossed his arms. “We’ll just have to halt developments of the Enact…” he offered defeatedly. “Go back to the drawing board and see if we can come up with something better. The technology obviously exists,” he said, tilting his head toward the screen as the recording showed the Gundam hacking apart the suit they had been so proud of that morning before taking off of the ground and flying away, backed by a science that had only been theorized about in their developer’s wildest dreams. 

“It’s going to be as simple as that,” the woman with harshly cropped blonde hair sighed. “This has gone public. It was broadcast live across the world,” she said, gesturing to the screen. “Now, everyone knows that we had more military forces stationed in the elevator than the treaty allows. They all want to know why and to what extent. They’re asking us to disclose everything,” she stressed and the other board members fell silent.

“If we do, they’ll demand that we cease and desist, and put constraints on us to ensure that we do. If we don’t… well… there’s a chance they’ll put a stop to everything pending a full scale inquiry.”

“They wouldn’t be able to halt everything, though, surely?” the green suited man said. “I mean, not at a Bloc-wide level…” he said, looking around the room for reassurance and finding none on the hard faces surrounding him.

“Don’t be so sure,” the mustached man said. “The elevators are barely ten years old. The Solar Energy Wars haven’t faded out of the public consciousness yet. This is the first treaty made under the reorganization and I can guarantee you that the other Blocs won’t take this sitting down. And with our own people against us?” he shook his head. “Don’t underestimate the power of a world united against us. Not with so much on the line.”

The tanned man with normally perfectly manicured hair put a hand to his temples as he studied the fine wood grain of the table. “We have reports that this may have been a plot by the HRL or the Union to intentionally reveal that we were breaking the treaty. I mean, to have developed such an advanced mobile suit in secret would require the scientific knowledge of a highly developed nation, not to mention the funds of someone like…”

“…the Union?” the mustached man ventured. “Their Ace did barge into the unveiling ceremony without a ticket.”

“Yes, but the Flag is still a new model itself,” the woman replied, shaking her head. “And can you imagine the Union developing something like this and not showing it off right away?”

“The HRL, then? The Tierens are ten years overdue for an upgrade. Maybe this was it.”

“Yes, but still. You’d think if they had the technology to take off again from the ground, they’d have stopped using their mobile suits like paratrooper units,” the tanned man said, expressively gesturing across the table with both hands so that the buttons on the sleeves of his white suit clinked against the surface.

The hawk-nosed British Prime Minister interrupted their postulating. “The only thing we know for sure is that this… Celestial Being, whoever they may be, has a very capable mobile suit that is more powerful than the Enact.”

“And if that’s the case,” the green-suited man followed, “we can’t afford to halt developments. In fact, we should be doubling our efforts at making new suits.”

“New or better?” the woman muttered out of the side of her mouth.

“Both,” he said, glancing to her for a moment. “Did you see how easily that thing took out our forces?”

The tanned man ran a hand through his now disheveled hair and pointed it toward the screen between them without a word. Their Ace pilot was unearthing himself from a smoldering pile of warped, twisted metal, a fortune nearly half a decade in the making.

“And that was only with two of them,” he continued as if he hadn’t seen the obvious but silent gesture. “But there are four, at least, that we know of already.”

“We have no idea how many there are. There could be dozens. Hundreds, even,” the green suited man despaired.

“I doubt it’s that many,” the woman said, turning toward him coldly. “Or they would have come out with a larger show of force.”

“They wouldn’t need to, with such advanced weaponry as that. They had two suits and it was already a show of force,” he said, pointing up toward the screen. None of them needed to look up to see the now well-familiar scene of destruction playing out above their heads. “But that’s what I’m saying. If just two of these new suits can take out all of ours, then we need more to try to counter them. More suits… and better suits.”

“Public opinion is already against us, though,” the mustached man shook his head, finally uncrossing his arms. “The other Blocs might even have been lenient now that they’ve seen the Gundams as well, but with public opinion against us like this…” he waved his upturned hands in an arc in front of him.

“If any of the member nations start withdrawing support,” the tanned man warned, sitting up and staring pointedly at each of the board members seated around the glorified conference table, “Or worse, passing legislation to prevent our military from developing further weaponry…”

“Then we’ll fall behind,” the woman said bluntly. “We’ll be overrun. By the Gundams. And the Union and the HRL.”

“I can guarantee you that they aren’t sitting back on this,” he said, reaching up a hand to loosen the red tie cinched tight around his neck. “By now, they’ve already ramped up their production teams. If this suit doesn’t belong to them, they want to get their hands on that technology just as much as we do,” he said, tapping on the table. “And they don’t have their hands tied behind their backs by this thing with the treaty.”

“So we can’t afford to stop. And we also can’t afford to be stopped. So,” the green suited man asked, steepling his hands in front of his face, “What do we do?”

“If we could drum up enough morale… enough public support, then it wouldn’t matter if we keep going ahead anyway. By the time anyone found out about it, they would also see how necessary they were,” the tanned man pointed out, unbuttoning the top button of his maroon shirt and opening it wide enough that he didn’t feel suffocated by his own clothing.

“So… we only have to find a way to keep them from shutting down production,” the green suited man said, voice lilting at the prospect of an abbreviated task.

From beside him, the mustached man sighed heavily, his voice laden with doubt. “And just how do you propose to singlehandedly turn around the public’s opinion quickly enough to salvage this?”

The green suited man did not have an answer for him.

Neither did anyone else. The board members of the AEU sat in silence as they pondered the fate of their Bloc’s military might and the footage on the screen in front of them rolled from the top once again, trailing the far-off figure of the Gundam during its initial light-filled descent until it touched down into the training ground arena.

“The Gundams,” the Prime Minister said.

“What?” the green suited man turned toward him with drawn brows.

“Capitalize on the Gundams,” he said again.

“The Gundams are new,” the woman said, slowly realizing what he was driving at. “They’re unknowns. Everyone around the world is clamoring to know more. Where did they come from, who is Celestial Being, and what are they planning to do next?”

“And?” the tanned man asked, propping one arm on the table and resting his head in his hand.

“And… we saw them first. They touched down at the AEU unveiling ceremony. We had a pilot fight one of those things. We had multiple pilots fight those things.”

“And lose. Terribly,” the mustached man pointed out.

The tanned man had sat up again and waved his comment away as he stared at the woman. “We are the only Bloc that has fought them,” he said, looking to her for confirmation that they understood the issue in the same way.

She nodded.  We have footage. We have data. We don’t know what it means yet, of course, but still. We have it.” She stared around the table. “We have something that no one else does. That’s something we can make use of.”

“Sure, but make use of how? What do you propose to do?”

“Broadcast it. Televise it.”

At their unconvinced stares, the tanned man continued, picking up her thread. “If we were to have a television spot, for example,” he said, “interviewing our brave pilots, shot down on a day of celebration, when they were trying to defend the orbital elevator from an unknown mobile suit that commenced hostilities and engaged us unprovoked during an official, peaceful unveiling ceremony…” he drifted off, letting them picture all of the possibilities.

“We can frame the narrative however we want,” the woman said, corner of her mouth twitching up.

He nodded. “Sure,” he agreed easily. “Play up the human interest angle, show how brave our pilots are. How they’ll protect the member nations from this new unknown threat. Get footage from the ceremony – something that never aired on the regular news stations. Its first descent and a close up from when it touched down…”

“People will eat it up,” the mustached man breathed. “Even if they don’t consider it a threat, the fact that we can offer them new glimpses into the Gundams before either of the other Blocs will count for something.”

“The public are fickle,” the tanned man nodded, “But if you know how to cater to them…” he said, spreading out his arms before folding them neatly in front of him.

“I had forgotten you used to be on the other side of the microphone.”

He tilted his head, modestly.

“That might work,” the mustached man said.

“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

“Who was the pilot at the ceremony?”

“Colasaur, wasn’t it?” the green suited man asked, turning to the woman for confirmation.

“Yes.”

“I’m sure he’d love to supply footage for a television special.”

The mustached man blinked. “Wasn’t he hospitalized?”

“Even better,” the tanned man said. “Get footage of him immediately, before he’s released. Really hit up that angle. The brave young man attacked out of the blue and unawares by these Gundams. I’m sure our people will be able to do something with it.”

“So that’s what we’re doing, then?” the green suited man asked. “Salvaging our reputation with a little television special?”

The woman shrugged. “If you know of a faster way to turn around public opinion in time, I’d be glad to consider it. But I had been under the impression that we were in a hurry to make the tide turn in our favor.” She said, pointedly.

“For now, I believe it may be the best thing we can do,” the Prime Minister said, effectively ending the debate. “We’ll have a better grasp of the situation soon enough.”

The green suited man threw out his hands as he ceded his reservations and bobbed his head in acceptance their marching orders. “Alright, can we contact the same crew we used for the AEU special—”

“Already on it,” the tanned man said, digging into the pocket of his blazer for his terminal and hot pressing a number from memory before switching it to voice only mode and pushing out of his seat.

#gundam 00 #g00week #durinswizardwheezes #this is going to be so fun you guys #basically the ace pilots are going to become super famous #and the world is going to have to deal with the consequences of patrick colasaur graham aker and soma pieres being celebrities #mine #ss #fanfiction #(also sorry the aeu people don't have names. if it reads super weird i can change it before it gets to ffn. but it is late and i want this u #p)

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Your Light in the Mist - Chapter 37

TITLE OF STORY: Your Light in the Mist CHAPTER NUMBER/TITLE/ONE SHOT: 37 AUTHOR: http://yourlightinthemist.tumblr.com/ WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor Tom GENRE: Drama, Humor, Romance FIC SUMMARY: Maude Gallagher is a social media consultant to PR firms, speaking at a conference in Kaua’i, Hawaii. Tom Hiddleston is on Kaua’i as well, preparing to shoot Skull Island. After their paths cross, they can’t deny that there’s a connection between them that neither has felt before. Will they be able to reconcile their issues from the past and live the life they’ve longed for, or will everything they’ve worked to build crumble under the weight of it all? RATING: Explicit WARNINGS/TRIGGERS/AUTHORS NOTES: none FEEDBACK/COMMENTS: Thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving Day was spent at Kualoa Beach Park, both of us enjoying a feast of cold turkey sandwiches, cranberries, potato chips and chocolate cannolis while sitting on oversize towels with our toes buried in the warm, glittering sand. Sunday I was granted the immense pleasure of relaxing in a beach chair as Tom learned to surf at Kualoa Point. His instructor, Mark, had short blonde hair and a ridiculously dark tan, a tribal themed tattoo around one ankle, and the words Hau‘oli (happy) and Nalu (wave or surf) around the other. Tom learned rather quickly, which wasn’t unexpected considering he was good at every other fucking thing he tried, and the sight of him in a wetsuit provided me with yet another kink I’d never known I had. He and Mark pestered me to give the board a try, even if all I did was paddle out on my stomach, but I refused on grounds that I’d seen Jaws too many times, which made Tom’s eyes widen. After the lesson was over he revealed that he’d always been terrified of sharks for the same reason, but managed to keep the fear at bay unless he was the person furthest out from shore. A joint viewing of the film followed as soon as we got back to the cottage, complete with lots of clutching, squeaking, screeching, eye covering and thigh slapping.

When Tuesday arrived, it was back to business as usual…Tom filming, me working. Time seemed to have sped up inside the chaos of our lives, and suddenly December 18th arrived, bringing with it the Skull Island wrap party. Though I’d been invited, I insisted that Tom attend on his own, and he agreed with a single contingency…that I’d be present at the wrap party after shooting in Australia was completed. He had no clue, but I’d already been in touch with Brie and Jordan about that particular matter. The finish date would be close to Tom’s birthday, and the general opinion was that a surprise party was in order.

On the morning of the 19th we checked out of the cottage and relocated to Kauai, where we were spending the weekend at ‘our’ Marriott in order to meet with Melanie Hale. I’d spoken with her on the phone several times and had booked the Paddle Room and a beachfront spot for the ceremony, but hadn’t gone over any other details. As soon as we sat down and started a guest list, Tom and I realized that there was no way in hell that everyone could fit inside Talk Story, and we didn’t want anyone to feel left out, so we begrudgingly decided to have it all in one place that offered ample room. Or at least that’s what we were going to TELL everyone. The truth was that I’d asked Roger Marshal for permission to use the store after hours and tracked down a judge willing to come out at the ungodly hour of half-past midnight on the 29th and marry us at there…just the two of us, in private, exchanging our own vows in the exact spot where we’d met. Afterward, we’d head back to the hotel and do it all over again in a few hours, the same judge presiding over our second ceremony and pretending it was the first. He volunteered that it perhaps wasn’t the most becoming conduct for someone in his position, but he was a romantic at heart and said that ‘love should always take precedence over all else’.

Our room was on the main floor this go-round, and as soon as we set our bags down inside we turned back around and walked down the hall to the check-in desk hand in hand, stopping off to the side in order to be out of the way of other guests as we waited for Melanie. I had no idea what she looked like, but I had a feeling she’d recognize Tom with no problem whatsoever. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen…Trudy. It was noon in Hawaii, which meant it was ten PM in London, and on a Saturday, which told me it had to be in regard to something important.

“Hey, Trudy. What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Maude, I’m so sorry, I know you’re busy and that I’m supposed to be handling all this but Mark is being a huge wanker and is now telling me there is no way they’ll have the rest of the servers up and running by January 1st and I…”

I could hear the frustration in her voice, so extreme she was near tears. “Don’t give it another thought. You keep running tests on the server they have up, and I’ll call that asshole and set him straight. Okay?”

A sigh of relief. “Thank you. You’re the best. I’m sorry, again.”

“Totally cool. I’ll text or call you later. Go have some truffles. I hide them…”

She snorted. “I know where you hide them. How do you think I’ve been able to get all this done?”

We both laughed, I hit end call and searched for SecureServe in my contacts. Tom kissed my forehead as I hit call and then speaker, walking further towards the wall away from the desk. Mark picked up on the first ring.

“Maude, I know what you’re going to say but I…”

My ‘this bitch will cut you’ voice was in full effect. “Mark. Did you tell Trudy that you wouldn’t be able to have all the servers up in time for our launch?”

“Yes, because it’s just not possible…”

“And why is it not possible?”

“She didn’t get all the specs to me in time, I didn’t have the proper security settings and they’re SO strict and I need time to…”

“So you’re saying Trudy didn’t send you the specifications you needed?”

“Yes, exactly, it’s entirely her fault for not making me aware…”

“Mark, I want you to pause for a moment and really, really think about what you just said. Okay? Here.” I waited for five seconds. “Do you want to change anything? Last chance.”

“Change what? This is all on her…”

I looked back at Tom, rolled my eyes, then turned around and moved again, nearing ever closer to the wall. “Mark. All of the specifications for the project, including all of the security settings, down to the minutest detail, as in TO THE HUNDREDTH OF A DECIMAL POINT WHERE APPLICABLE DETAIL, were part of the contract you signed at the beginning of October. You initialed every pertinent paragraph. You signed the bottom of every page. Remember that? The contract? The one you signed? The one that very clearly states that if you breach it in any way or are unable to complete the project by January 1st 2016 you are liable for the funds you’ve been advanced as well as any damages incurred by my company as a result? DO YOU REMEMBER THAT CONTRACT? And, now you’re in a time crunch and you’re going to whine and point the blame at the person who’s done a good portion of your own work for you?”

There was nothing but silence on the line.

“And do you ALSO remember the clause that you initialed stating that if, at any time during the final 30 days of the contract, we weren’t satisfied with your performance or had a firm indication that you wouldn’t be able to complete the project by the deadline that we were free to terminate your ass and have the advance refunded to us? Probably not, right? Well, you’ll have lots of time to look it all over now. Because you’ve provided that firm indication and now you. Are. FIRED. I’ll be expecting payment in full within seven business days. If it’s not received, you’ll be hearing from my attorney.”

I hit end call, wondering if steam was pouring  out of my ears, took a deep breath and turned around…to see Tom standing four feet away with a lovely woman, blonde hair braided and twisted around her head, clad in a white floral-print tank dress, standing next to him. She was short, only five four or so, and her blue eyes were wide as she stared at me, speechless. Tom was grinning widely as he cleared his throat.

“Melanie, allow me to introduce you to Maude…”

I strode over, hand extended. “Well, I’m guessing you heard a good bit of that…please don’t be frightened. I promise not to go all Bridezilla on you. Really. I’m a relatively nice person. Most of the time. Probably. Anyway, lovely to finally meet you!”

She took my hand, shaking lightly, then letting go. “It’s lovely to meet you as well.” He voice was high, and slightly nasal. “If you need to reschedule…”

I shook my head. “Thank you, but it’s fine. That’s a multiple alarm fire…like six, maybe? I’d like to get the single-alarm one put out first, if that’s okay with you.”

Tom snorted. “Did you just compare planning our wedding to fighting a fire?”

Turning toward him, I patted his bicep, which was bulging against his white T-shirt. “Yes. Yes I did. Which probably made it totally obvious that I’m a nervous wreck about the whole shebang. Damn.”

He grabbed me, pulled me to his chest and planted a kiss on the top of my head. “You’re perfect and amazing, so by default the wedding will also be perfect and amazing…”

I wriggled away quickly, blushing in spite of my attempt at resistance. “Dude. Stop. Seriously.”

He roared, his laugh making people turn and gawk. When I turned my gaze to Melanie she was smirking, and decidedly more relaxed, lifting her hand and extending it toward the hallway on our right. “Shall we begin?”

Sighing, I shook my head again, feeling Tom’s fingers entwine with mine. “Sure thing. Pass me the extinguisher and let’s roll.”

****************************************

The Paddle Room was 3,150 square feet of open space, walls a muted deep yellow with native wood beams crossing the gable-style ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered the pool side of the space, with an exit door a third of the way in from the main entrance, allowing guests to move freely between both areas. The outdoor pool and patio added an extra 2,600 square feet, which we hoped would ease any congestion during the party hard and wander around phase of the reception. The Paddle Room was only designed to hold 230 guests, and we were pretty sure we might top that. Not because of my people, of course. Those I could count on the fingers of both hands. But Tom…that was an entirely different story, and by this point I’d either spoken to or corresponded with a good bunch of them so they were quickly becoming my people too, which was strangely, dare I say, delightful. Once they were all in a room together I wasn’t sure that feeling would remain, but there wouldlikely bea bathroom for me to hide in somewhere nearby until someone wondered where the bride had gotten off to and hunted me down.

Two tables had been set up in the center of the room, one round eight-top and one rectangular ten-top. The rectangular was a simple but sturdy-looking folding table, left bare, and the round was likely the same, but had been covered with a dark green base cloth, white topper, with dark green dishware atop silver chargers, dark green napkins, silver flatware, and silver vases with white roses in the center and a dark green ribbon tied in a bow around the center of the container. Melanie motioned to the rectangular table, upon which rested a laptop and several large binders.

“Is it all right if we sit and talk here? If you’d rather go somewhere more private, that’s fine…”

I turned to Tom to discuss his preference, only to find him pulling out chairs for Melanie and me. I sat, chuckling as he pushed me in.

“Looks like we’re good here, Melanie.”

She sat in the chair he’d pulled out across the table from me, and Tom came back around and folded himself into the seat on my right. I rooted in my bag for my tablet, where I’d stored all my notes to date.

“Okay, Maude and Tom. First things first…does this space meet your needs? Does it feel like the place you’d like to celebrate your union?”

Tom snorted, and I kicked him under the table. “If you think it’s large enough, I’m good.” I patted Tom’s hand. “You?”

He nodded. “I’m fine with celebrating our union anywhere, actually.”

It took all I had to not roll my eyes, hoping Melanie wouldn’t pick up on our inside joke. She was smirking again, and cleared her throat before proceeding.

“I believe it will accommodate your guests comfortably, as well as allow plenty of room for a dance floor and so forth. If you’re planning on a live band, we may want to use the rectangular tables, though.”

Tom held up a hand. “We’ve decided to opt for a DJ, and possibly karaoke, if that’s permissible.”

Melanie made a note on her pink legal pad. “Excellent, that’s certainly a space saver. Will you be bringing someone in?”

I shook my head. “Actually, we were hoping Sammy would be available that night.”

Her eyes grew wide again, mouth falling open, then closing quickly. “Wow. Really? That’s…that’s…wow. I’m not even going to check with him…he’s going to be available for this. Thank you. He’ll be over the moon, and karaoke is definitely allowed. Wow. Okay. Where were we? Right. So, when you booked this space, I took the liberty of reserving 100 guest rooms from the 26th through the 30th, just in case you found it easier for most to stay on the premises. I’ve also had our reservation specialists inform everyone booking for your week that the pool will be closed on the 29th, in order to provide you with maximum privacy. Speaking of which, we do have hotel security available but your own and that of your guests are welcome. We can coordinate a plan if need be, and I assure you we’ll do our best to keep the paparazzi off site. They may camp out down the beach, and we can’t control helicopters…”

Tom interrupted her. “No worries, Melanie, but thank you. I honestly can’t think of any guests that will arrive with anything more than a nanny or two in tow. And as far as the media is concerned, we don’t mind at all as long as they keep their distance. Maude’s taught me well…they’ll get their shots no matter what, and making it more difficult for them only makes things less pleasant for all involved. We’d rather just focus on enjoying the day, our guests, and each other.”

I grinned. “I almost have nothing else to add.” Tom laughed. “We’re not advertising the date publicly, but we’re aware that it will probably leak, and that’s just the deal. If we have any fans trying to crash, we’ll just give them some cake or something. But I don’t think it will be an issue, honestly. Tom’s fans are, so far as I’ve noticed, very respectful. And, we’re going to let everyone know that we’ll be posting pics and videos all over social media, so they’ll feel like they won’t be missing out. Except on the cake.”

Melanie laughed. “So you’ve chosen a cake already?”

My jaw dropped this time. “Oh god, no. I haven’t. Nope. I thought I was ahead of the game because we picked out a color scheme. Sorry…I’m like, totally new to this. The only reason I knew I needed a color scheme is because I’m maid of honor for our friends’ wedding at the end of the month and, wow, you want to see a Bridezilla you should meet Simon…”

She pushed an open binder across the table to us. “I assumed you’d already hired a wedding planner and just wanted to use the venue here…and you’re welcome to do that, but we do offer full service packages. Soup to nuts, everything included. Food, flowers, marriage license, all of it, if you’re interested.”

My head spun to the right, and Tom was staring back at me. I raised a brow, and he smiled. I turned back to Melanie. “Oh my GOD am I interested. Yes, please. Where do we sign?”

We went over all the paperwork, and I tried to not flinch at the initial total, which was more than I’d ever thought I’d spend on a single day, and all the custom stuff wasn’t even factored in yet. Two hundred thousand dollars, which, though it included all the guest rooms and meals for the duration of their stay, the planning of the event itself, a bachelor and bachelorette party if we wanted them and the rehearsal dinner, seemed over the top expensive to extremely frugal me.

I bit my lip and looked up at Melanie. “Would you mind giving us a few minutes to look this over, please?”

She nodded and rose from her chair. “Of course not. Take your time. Just text me when you’re ready. I’m going to go admire the pool.” She smiled, and headed outdoors.

Tom twisted himself around in his seat, slipping his arm around me, concern in his eyes. “Tell me what’s on your mind, love.”

I remained silent for a few moments, blinking, then rested my hand on his knee. “Dude, this is, like, a FORTUNE. And we haven’t done food or flowers or cake or dresses or décor yet…is this, like, typical? Are you okay with us spending this much money? We never talked about it and I just…”

His left brow rose, and I could tell he was carefully considering his choice of words. “Well, neither of us has done this sort of thing before, so I’m not sure if it’s typical…but then again, we’re a bit outside the norm as far as financial stability is concerned so perhaps typical isn’t applicable. That being said, I don’t care if it’s a thousand dollars or a million dollars, Maude. All that matters to me is taking our vows and exchanging rings and having you as my wife. But I do feel like it’s an occasion to celebrate heartily, because…”

He’d begun to tear up, brushing a knuckle under one eye in an attempt to contain the moisture. I stood and embraced him, holding his head to my chest. “Thank you. Nothing like a little perspective to clarify everything. I agree, we should make it exactly what we want. Buuuttt…is it cool if I call Simon and see if he’ll dish on how much they’re spending? Not necessary, but man, I am SO cheap…”

A laugh rumbled forth from him, tickling my ribs. “There are simply things that demand splurging. Even penny-pincher me knows that.”

“Yes, but you splurge on things like five-hundred dollar shoes and then wear them over and over until they fall apart, so that kind of makes sense…”

He released me and stood. “True. But, please do call Simon because curiosity has gotten the better of me…”

I snorted as I pulled my phone from my pocket, located Simon in my contacts and pressed call. “Shocking. And shit, it’s late there…but it’s Saturday, so they should still be up.”

He answered on the second ring. “You had best not be calling me to announce a delay in your return, Maude Gallagher, because I AM LOSING MY SHIT LIKE NEVER BEFORE AND I NEED YOU HERE.”

“Jesus. Have some wine or something. Where’s Luke? Hiding in the office again?”

“I HAD WINE. LUKE HAD WINE. WE HAD WINE. IT IS NOT HELPING. Christ. Sorry. This wedding insanity…you guys should totally elope. Really. Elope. SAVE YOURSELVES.”

“Hey, thanks for the warning, but we’re meeting with the wedding planner, like, right now, so day late, dollar short and all that. Which is why I’m calling, actually…she just gave us a price and I have serious sticker shock and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind divulging how much you’ve spent. For comparative purposes.”

“Maude, you can’t really compare the two because you’re having a big fancy destination wedding and we’re just getting hitched here in London and aren’t paying for guest lodging, but so far, in US dollars, two hundred.”

“As in…two hundred thousand?”

He noted the incredulity in my voice. “Yes. Reserving the space alone for New Year’s Eve was eighty thousand. So, I think we’ve done pretty well…how much were you quoted? A million?  Two?”

“Um, no. Base price is same as yours.”

“What?! Are you fucking kidding me? That’s just for the space, right? Not with rooms?”

“No. That includes rooms. For four nights and three days.”

“Well, now I feel like I got royally fucked. Thanks. Some maid of honor YOU are.” He laughed. “Actually, I think we got a good deal. It’s New Year’s Eve so everything is pricey, and I know I overspent on a bunch of things, but this is an end all be all we’re only doing this one time event, so…but you, YOU are getting the BEST deal. Really. I’m going to go have more wine now, though. LOTS. OF. WINE. See you on Monday?”

“Yep. We should be home by around 9 PM, London time.”

“Good. I miss you, you bitch. The office is tres boring without you, and I’m finding the lack of snark to be DEEPLY disturbing. Good luck with everything. Love you. Tell the beautiful asshat I love him too.”

“Will do. Love you too. Give Luke a smooch from both of us.”

“I’m planning on giving him MANY smooches…”

“Okay then. Bye!”

I hit end call, and Tom held up his left hand, palm out. “No need to repeat any of it…I heard everything even with him OFF speaker.”

“Loud, drunken Simon is loud. And drunk.”

He embraced me again, meeting my gaze. “Feel better?”

“Yeah. One more thing before I text Melanie, though…are you okay with using a wedding planner? Like, you’re not disappointed that I’m not handling everything?”

“You’re joking.”

“Uh, no. You’re filming until spring and have no time for this, so it should be my responsibility and I’m pawning it off on someone else and it’s…”

“Maude. Shush. You’re working just as hard as I am, if not harder. And you just lost your server…thing…so now you have that to deal with and I’m THRILLED you want to use a wedding planner. I wanted to suggest giving it a try but…”

“But your fiancée is a total control freak and you didn’t want to piss her off?”

He chortled. “More like offend, but yes. That.”

“Probably a good call, my man. I’ll text Melanie. And, thank you. To be honest, I feel like this huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders and maybe I’ll actually enjoy the process now, though part of me is still all YOU FAIL AT LIFE, MAUDE…”

He kissed me, tongue caressing my lips before sliding inside my mouth, the retreating quickly, a huge grin spread across his gorgeous face. “I’m sorry, were you saying something?”

My head moved slowly from side to side. “Nope. Nothing. Texting now.”

Melanie rejoined us almost immediately, and though she did a rather excellent job of trying to mask her feelings, I could see the change in her demeanor and realized she thought we’d changed our minds. I sat back down at the table without saying a word, Tom followed, and we began signing all the required documents before she reached her own chair. When I finished the last one, I looked up at her, smiling.

“Okay, Melanie. The Gallagher-Hiddleston wedding is officially your fire now.”

She laughed loudly, then sobered. “Before we discuss your color scheme, which I’d like to do now if you have the time, I just want you both to know that I will do everything humanly possible to make your day perfect for you. My goal is to ensure that the process is as stress free as possible for you both, so you can focus on feeling nothing but happiness and joy. I’m so blessed and honored that you’ve entrusted me with your wedding celebration…it means…it’s just amazing. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

I hadn’t thought until that moment about the fact that one, she was a longtime fan of Tom and his work and two, a large ‘celebrity’ wedding could have enough of an impact on her career that she could break off from the hotel and work on her own, if she wished. Life is so strange that way…you’re just moving along and BOOM. The boom can be bad, or it can be good…I hoped this one would turn out to be nothing but good for her. And then I realized that I could do more than hope.

“Melanie, I don’t know if the hotel allows you to promote yourself, and even if you have to include them, but I’d like to make sure you’re given full credit for the work you do for us. Publicly.”

Tom reached under the table to grab hold of my hand, and Melanie blushed a very deep red, clearly flustered as she began to speak again.

“That…that would be…thank you. I can’t tell you how much I’d appreciate that, or how much it means to me. This isn’t the first celebrity wedding for me, but…it’s incredibly special, because, Tom…your work has brought me so much joy and I’ve met some great people online who feel the same way, and a few have become very close friends. Even if I can give a little of that back…well…”

He stood, walked around the table, and bent to hug her, the rose to his full height again after letting her go. “Melanie, thank you for your kind words. One of the best things about doing what I do is hearing that it brings people joy. That’s just…everything. An actor is nothing without an audience for the work. Again, thank you.”

He came back around to sit next to me again, and I was afraid the poor woman was going to pass out. The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile, she took a deep breath, placed her hands palm down on the table, then continued.

“Well, I’m not even going to pretend I’ve recovered from that, so instead I’m going to look at this as if it’s my chance to illustrate my ability to retain my professionalism under any circumstances. So, Maude…your color scheme, then?”

We all laughed, and I pulled it up on my tablet. “We’re going with white, a light neon-esque green, medium lilac-y purple and silver.”

She examined it, nodding, then looked up at me. “The bridesmaids…which color have you chosen for their dresses?”

Pondering, I pictured Simon in a suit of everything but white. “The purple.”

“Okay, good. Men in black tuxes?”

“Yes. With purple vests and silver pocket squares. And orchid boutonnieres. The flower, not the color. Well, they ARE sort of that color, the purple orchids I found online…”

She chuckled. “See, you’ve got much more than a color scheme done.”

My eyes rose skyward briefly. “You’re right. I do. I can see what I want the room to look like, actually.”

Pen in hand poised over the pink pad, she grinned. “Give me the details and I’ll make it happen.”

I turned to Tom, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat. “If you don’t like something or want something different, feel free to chime in.” He kissed my cheek and I continued. “Round tables are a must. Silver fabric as the base cloth…and a subtle, satiny silver, not lame. On top of that white cloth, with a purple square in the center of that.” The round table next to us had three different chairs, one oval backed and padded with a metal frame, a bamboo-ish styled rectangular style, and another which I assumed to be the oval type but slip-covered. “Purple slip-covers tied back with green fabric. No bows, please. The bridal party table will have to be different, though, so let’s do a white base cloth, silver on top, green center square, and green slip-covers tied back with purple.”

“Maude, that’s…I love it. The bridal party table…do you want that round or rectangular, with all of you on one side?”

Tom cleared his throat. “I’d like to be able to chat easily, though I can’t imagine we’ll be sitting down for very long.” He rested a hand on my shoulder and I swiveled to meet his gaze. “Is round all right with you?”

I nodded. “That was my first choice. So, yep.”

Melanie scribbled for a few more seconds. “Excellent. How about centerpieces?”

Shrugging, I raised both hands, palms up. “I don’t really want it to be flowergeddon, and I want at least one thing other than the location to be kind of tropical so I was thinking…orchids there too? I saw some really cool LED light containers online with orchids inside the cylinder, and I love them, but it feels like one alone on a table wouldn’t cut it. I haven’t been able to come up with anything else…”

Tom’s hand slammed down on the table, scaring the living shit out of both me and Melanie. He snickered. “Sorry about that. I’ve got an idea…since we met at Talk Story how about books as a component of the centerpiece? Maybe a circle of them around the LED cylinders, and that would have to be elevated a bit, and we’d put them spine out…”

I slapped his bicep. “Oh my god, that is fucking GENIUS right there. I love it. High five, babe.” As he granted my request, I realized I’d said fuck. “Whoops, sorry, Melanie.”

“No worries. Feel free to be yourselves around me, both of you. I’ve been known to swear like a sailor myself…”

I snorted. “You and I are going to get along just fine then. Just. Fine.”

We all laughed, then decided upon silver flatware, silver chargers, white plates with a silver art-deco pattern along the edges, and napkins to match the seat covers. Glassware would be simple with no embellishments. Melanie finished her notes, then rose from her chair. We followed suit.

“Well, that was some excellent progress. And Maude, going forward, all you need to do is phone or email with ideas, options or changes and I’ll take care of everything. Whatever you need, I’ll handle it and make sure it’s done on time and done right. So relax, focus on the fun parts, and let me do the work. The fire, as far as you’re concerned, is OUT. All right?”

Though not typically in the habit of hugging strangers, I felt compelled to give her a quick squeeze. “Thank you, Melanie. I appreciate you taking this on. So much.”

“You’re welcome. One more thing before you go, though…I have you booked for beachfront, but did you want the ceremony right on the sand or just above the beach overlooking it and the ocean? Let’s take a little walk so you have a better perspective.”

We descended to the water’s edge, stood in the sand, and Tom and I stared at each other, the ocean roaring in our ears. If our actual ceremony wasn’t being held at Talk Story, we both would have wanted it to be right there, barefoot, our toes in the sand. But since it WAS taking place elsewhere and this one would be just for show, we figured it would be more comfortable for all our guests if we set up shop on the lawn overlooking the water. The grass was perfectly green, the view spectacular, and there would be no worries about sand in shoes or…wherever. An arbor would be set up cliff side, draped in our colors with orchids on each post, and the guests would sit in white wooden folding chairs, facing the arbor and ocean. Melanie had shown us file footage, and I could picture it all, me walking to Tom past the crowd, and I panicked briefly, but was then overwhelmed by happiness when I paused to consider that HOLY FUCK WE WERE GETTING MARRIED. I grabbed Tom by the T-shirt.

“I’m so busy that I forget that this is happening, you know? Like, dude, we’re getting MARRIED.”

He laughed gleefully, pulled me to his chest, then picked me up and spun me around. “I KNOW! I’m uncontrollably EXCITED!”

“Really? You? Excited? Get me a blanket because I think I’m in SHOCK.”

As he set me down I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Melanie had her phone up and pointed towards us.

“Sorry, you two…didn’t mean to intrude…I was getting ready to ask if I could snap a quick picture for the files and then…THAT happened. I’ll email it to you.”

Tom ran over to hug her. “Thank you, for all of this. Again. And for capturing that moment.” He released her, then waved me over, standing in the middle, slipping his left arm around my waist and snatching Melanie’s phone with his right hand, extending that arm way, way out. The man was built for taking selfies. “Here, let’s all be in it.”

Five shots later we said our goodbyes, then headed back to our room to change. A few more hours on the beach, dinner, sleep, and then it was off to the airport to begin our journey, Hawaii to LA then on to London. Home.

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