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i-was-bored-so-this-happened · 4 months

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Alexandra's Evolution Chapter Twelve: Library Pictures - Part One

Fandom: Primeval Wordcount: 4.4k Warnings: None

Lester struggles to identify the best course of action to get information out of Helen, while Nick, Stephen and Alex adjust to her being back in their lives

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Alex has decided she hates fluorescent lights. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that the entire ARC is lit by them. The break room is the only reprieve, she can switch off the overhead lights in favour of the yellowish strips that line the underside of the cabinets. She’s been sitting there since lunchtime, trying in vain to read a book. The rest of the team is scattered throughout the building. Connor comes and goes. He’s made a good dent in the orange bean bag in the corner of the break room. It’s possible Abby’s gone home, Alex hasn’t seen her in a while. The smell of almost-burnt toast lingers in the air. Tom Ryan knocks on the wall before coming in.

“Connor Temple,” he hands Connor something small before moving towards the table, carefully avoiding the wire that connects Stephen’s iPod to the wall, “Alex Hart.” a little card, laminated and attached to a lanyard. Her full name is stamped into it, her date of birth, and an identification number. Apparently, she’s employee 038.

“What are you, double-oh-seven?” Connor asks from his corner, unlatching and reclicking the snap of the lanyard.

“Lieutenant Sharma’s seven. I’m number five.” When she flips the ID card over there’s new information. Blood type, allergies, the stamp that indicates she’s an organ donor. Just a little concerning. Ryan slides into a seat and takes a handful of dry Cheerios from the bowl in front of Alex after she nods permission. “You’re to wear those when on duty, which means in this building and at anomaly sites.”

“Why’s our logo on it?” Connor asks, holding his up to the light to look through it, “Why do we even have a logo?”

“I didn’t design them,” Ryan answers, crunching dry cereal, “Put ‘em on.” Connor makes a wide circle with his hands to drop the lanyard over his head. Alex clips hers to a belt loop. Ryan’s badge, without a lanyard, is already attached to a loop above his chest pocket, like a nurse’s watch.

“Is Helen talking?” Alex asks.

“Not much. She’s trying to build a case that she’s been kidnapped.” Ryan sighs when Alex’s head tips to the side,

“Well, she was abducted and is currently being held against her will until she gives up information, that’s pretty textbook kidnapping,” she pauses, “Funny thing is though, missing persons are declared dead after seven years, and her eighth anniversary was this May, so I guess it’s not, really.”

“May? Like, when I told you guys about the anomalies May?” Connor asks.

“Like when you guilt-tripped the professor into a day trip over a single tabloid headline May, yeah.” Alex replies.

“Look where we ended up May.” Connor counters, waving a vague hand at his general surroundings.

“May is not a full stop May,” Ryan says firmly, “Alex Hart, if Helen wants to talk to you, are you willing to speak to her?”

“No,” she doesn’t even take time to think about it. Connor shifts in the beanbag and repeats her answer questioningly, “She’s not going to be the person I remember. None of us are the people she knew. I…” she pulls her attention from the table to Ryan, “Why, has she asked to talk to me?”

“It’s likely she’ll ask for Nick, use communication as leverage.”

“Has he not agreed to talk to her?” Alex frowns. That’s not like Nick. Ryan sighs again and she understands, “He’s being withheld,” her chair scrapes as it juts backwards, “Tom Ryan, that’s inhumane. She’s been on her own for years, she told Nick that much, depriving her of human contact is…it’s cruel.”

“She’s in Holding Cell Three.”

“Show me.”

The holding cells that Alex didn’t know existed are downstairs, in the section of the building that’s underground. There are even more strips of fluorescent lights to make up for the lack of windows, bringing Alex’s attention to the uncomfortable lump of lead that sits behind her browbone and makes her squint as she passes under each fresh strip of light. Dry socks from her locker slide a little along the linoleum. Ryan clears his throat to indicate that he’s leaving and turns back to the stairs once Nick and Stephen are in sight. They’re out of place in the almost green-tinged hallway, standing in front of a wide panel of glass that must be one-way. Stephen recognises her walking pattern and holds out an arm ready for her. The arm goes around her shoulders and curls Alex into his chest so he can lift his chin to rest on her head. Nick has a tight grip of Stephen’s hand. Alex shifts so she can see through the window.

Clothes from her old life hang off her frame. Nick had made a pit stop at the house to grab a bin bag of clothes for her. She’s lost weight, enough to show. Her cheekbones, her jaw, and her clavicle are more prominent than in any photos they have of her. That blue shirt used to be one of her favourites, patterned with birds. She inspects the seams and shifts as though ants have been sewn into the fabric. She’d been permitted to shower to get the salt and slime off her and her hair is just starting to dry. Threatening to frizz, just a little, but it won’t. It never did, not like Alex’s did. Still does. The scent of the spray she used to spritz before straightening her hair smacks Alex in the face. Vanilla sugar. She’d sit on the bedroom floor and watch Helen put herself together even though she was too old for it, and Helen would play along for the most part. Their hair smelled the same back then. Body Shop shampoo bars, orange and ginger. It was Stephen who would tie her curls back into plaits on a daily basis, though, she reminds herself. Stephen, whose fingers smelled like pennies every Monday morning from the coins he’d pile on the kitchen table. Nick used to get her hair ribbons when they were in their Austen phase. Stephen had woven the black velvet ones into Alex’s twists for Helen’s funeral so he wouldn’t have to worry about her looking tidy for a few days.

She’s looking at the window. She must at least guess that they can see her. That she’s being watched. She’s been cuffed to the table and given enough slack to reach the white plastic cup of water by her left hand. Her shirt and the jeans are from her past but her boots are the same as those she’d worn through the anomaly. Nick hadn’t kept her shoes. Fresh underwear had been provided courtesy of the BHS on their way back to the ARC. Stephen has wound a coil of Alex’s hair around his finger, it tugs slightly when he gets stuck, and she knows Nick is toying with the leather braid around Stephen’s wrist. They’ve formed a chain on this side of the glass, interlinked and soldered strong. Can Helen see their shadows? Is that how she knows where their eyes are to stare so directly into them? Does it hurt to see them connected when she’s alone? No, she’s adapted to being alone, surely. She’s evolved. But that only brings up the question of why she’d been luring Nick in the first place. She’s uninjured, she seems in control of her mental faculties. Nick’s question persists: why now? There are a lot of questions, but that one is at the forefront.

“What’s the plan, Teach?” Alex mumbles into her uncle’s shoulder. Lester wants the intel she has on anomalies and doesn’t want personal lives to overtake the research project, but giving Helen what she wants by letting Nick in would open the door to personal lives and not to scientific information. Nick and Stephen, they need to know she’s okay. That she’s being fed. If they will take the cuffs off her.

“I’ll talk to ‘er. It might be our only chance to get the truth.”

“What if you don’t like the truth?” Stephen asks.

“No one really likes the truth,” Nick says sagely, sliding a finger under the leather bracelet to find Stephen’s pulse point, “The truth actively changes reality. Do we want that to happen?”

“You’re asking that now?”

***

The next time Lester disappears down the stairs to the holding cells, Tom Ryan breaks protocol. None of them are supposed to be down there without Leek and Lester knowing, and they’re certainly not meant to watch this. Alex is at her desk hunched over a crossword. R.E.M are on the radio. Empty boxes are slowly being filled with tiny swirls.

“Banal.”

“You what?”

“Boring.”

“Gee, thanks.” Alex shifts the position of her legs, which are starting to go numb. Ryan leans his weight on the back of the chair and leans over her shoulder to underline a blank space. When she picks up the pen to print the letters in block capitals Ryan moves closer, head parallel to hers, as though to inspect her spelling and lowers his voice,

“Figured you should know Lester’s downstairs again,” he pushes against Alex’s chair when she tries to scoot back, “Don’t, you’re not meant to know.”

“Then why are you telling me?” she fills in a word that’s been made clear now banal has been written.

“Leek wanted the three of you notified once Lester was in. Slow and casual, yeah?” He lets go of the chair and leaves the ops room entirely. Alex waits for several seconds, unsure if Ryan’s warning was really warranted but not wanting to risk it, before she leaves her desk. Stephen’s in the ops room too, near the door, and as she passes him she hooks her fingers into the collar of his shirt to take him with her. He doesn’t offer much resistance, only leaning forward to grab his coffee before going with her.

“Where’s the fire?”

“Downstairs, Lester’s trying Helen again.”

“Where’s Nick?”

“Dunno, call him.” Alex says, tripping down the steps. She has to count the doors she passes, not fully remembering where Ryan had dropped her off the night before without Nick marking the location. Her head turns to each window the same way a lost child looking for her mother in a supermarket checks each aisle.

She’s there. Helen. Her hair has dried and she is no longer cuffed to the table, but there is a guard at the door Alex can see if she presses her face to the glass. Lester sits with his back to the window. They have both been provided with nondescript cups of tea. Alex finds her pen still in her hand and pushes it into her mouth. Stephen pulls it out and wipes it on his shirt,

“God, how many times have I told you not to chew pens? No, Nick, Alex.” He’s still on the phone. No noise is coming from the room they’re watching, though they can see Helen’s mouth and Lester’s shoulders moving. Alex runs her fingers along the windowsill until she finds a button and tinny speech comes through a small speaker above their heads.

“-you’ll be in here for a rather long time.” The latter half of Lester’s sentence comes through clearly.

“Is there anything in my voice, Lester, anything at all, that makes you think I’ll obey you? Nothing will stop me from doing what I have to do.” The tone of Helen’s voice is unfamiliar. Deceptively smooth to the point of sharpness. Like glass.

“What’s she on about?” Stephen whispers, covering the mouthpiece of his phone as he asks. Alex shrugs and makes a grumbly noise to indicate that she doesn’t know. She’s heard as much as he has.

“How frighteningly ominous,” Lester deadpans, “We don’t want much, we just want to understand the anomalies.” Helen snorts derisively, a sound still familiar to Stephen because Alex does the same thing.

“Do you know what an oxymoron is?” Helen asks. Lester is, as far as the Harts can tell without seeing his face, unfazed,

“What do you want to get out of this interaction, Helen? Besides sanctimonious lecturing?”

“I’ve already told you. I want to speak to Stephen.” The name crackles through the phone at Stephen’s ear at the same time as Helen says it. He mumbles something and hangs up.

“Me?” Stephen asks Alex. He’s whispering again. She looks up at him, searching his eyes to try to discern his internal reaction.

“Stephen?” Lester repeats, “Not your husband?” Helen doesn’t deign to respond, sipping her tea.

“Why not Nick?” Stephen whispers, “We all thought she’d want Nick first. She doesn’t even know he…we…” Alex nibbles at the cuff of her shirt sleeve.

“So much for not bringing our personal shit to work with us.” She mumbles around the fabric. Stephen exhales noisily through his nose. Clattering on the stairs heralds Nick’s arrival. Nick, whose arm automatically slides around Stephen and whose hand finds its place at his hip. “She wants to talk to him.” Alex says simply. Confusion registers on Nick’s face in a frown,

“Him?”

“Him.”

“Will you go?”

While the new turn of events is being discussed, Lester leaves his space at the table. He abandons his teacup and the small plate of bourbons his body had been hiding. Too far away for Helen to reach. He turns to the window to look at his reflection and straighten his jacket and tie. The latter is cerulean today, patterned with fleur de lis in a slightly shiny thread in order to stand out. The door doesn’t hiss or squeak or creak to announce his arrival, making little more noise than a quiet swish.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” he pinches the bridge of his nose, “I suppose you figured out how the audio works?” in response, Alex points up at the little speaker, and he sighs, “Stephen, would you like to go in?” Stephen nods and swerves past Lester into the room without a word. “I suppose there’s no telling you two to clear off.”

“Nope.” Nick tells him.

“They can’t say I didn’t try.” Lester replies. He puts Alex between him and Nick and clasps his hands in front of him not unlike a choir boy. Alex leans on the windowsill, being careful not to press the button that will cut off audio.

“Were you waiting outside?” Helen asks. She visibly relaxes. Not a lot, but enough for Nick and Alex to register, leaning back and aligning her arms with those of the chair.

“We’re concerned,” Stephen says. He’s speaking lightly, carefully. The plate of bourbons slides in Helen’s direction, “They are feeding you, aren’t they?” She picks up a biscuit, inspects it and then puts it back on the plate. “You weren’t set up, I need you to know that. Nick wanted to make sure you were alright and they-”

“Oh, I don’t want your excuses for him, Stephen.” Helen cuts in. She’s breathing rather sharply through her nose.

“Alright, fine,” he’s closing off, settling linked hands on the table, “What do you know?” Someone else is coming down the stairs now, but no one turns to see who it is. Leek, Alex guesses from the creak of new brogues and the presence behind her as he whispers into Lester’s ear.

“About what?” Helen asks on the other side of the glass.

“The anomalies. You said you know why they happen. You’ve got to deliver.” Stephen explains.

“Right now, why is the least of your worries.”

“The fuck does that mean?” Stephen asks, irritation tearing at the edge of his words.

“It means that unless you act within the next few hours, a pack of sabre-toothed killers will be rampaging through central London.”

“Get him out, we’ve got another one.” Lester orders. Leek - Alex was right, it was him - shuffles past the group and into the holding cell. Helen watches him the same way a cat does an intriguing pigeon. Stephen turns to the noise of the door opening, and they can see the clench of his jaw. His response to Leek spawning into the room is well-controlled, and he follows him out without another word to Helen. Once Stephen’s in range, Nick reaches out to rub his arm.

“There’s a library in Lambeth that’s been having a bit of bother with a stray cat,” Lester announces, “It seems when the RSPCA went in they bit off more than they could chew.”

“The surrounding area has been evacuated without disruption to Waterloo station and, as far as we know the creature hasn’t left the building. There’s an ambulance at the scene already, there has been a casualty.”

“Of you get, before we’re on the dinnertime news for stopping the trains.” Lester waves a dismissive hand. All three heads of Nick, Stephen and Alex turn to him with equally incredulous expressions. Nick points at the window,

“You expect me to just leave her here with you?” he asks. Lester blinks, affronted at the accusation that he might ill-treat Helen. In Nick’s eyes, he already has.

“I won’t speak to her until you get back. She told Stephen more there than she has any of us. Big cat? Sabre-toothed killers? I took my kids to see Ice Age, I know what that means, now go.”

***

Minimal military personnel have been assigned to this incursion. Whether that’s to minimise public panic or to maximise team cooperation it’s unclear. The standard orange traffic cones have been set in a circle around the incursion site, monitored by a few soldiers who are trying to turn away police officers. Alex was not given permission to drive so she bounces out of the back seat of the pick up and skips to the boot to open the gun locker. She claims a pistol and waits for Abby to join her. At present, Abby is the one that is trusted with measuring out sedatives for their dart guns. The others haven’t done the training.

“I’m going to go with the same sort of dosage we use for the lions at the zoo,” she mumbles, holding a syringe at eye-level, “How likely is it to be bigger than a lion?”

“Eh,” Alex wobbles a hand back and forth, “Maybe about fifteen to twenty percent bigger than their modern counterparts. Generally speaking.”

“We can work with that.” Abby, happy with her measurements, begins making up darts. “Two pistols and a rifle?” she checks. Alex nods. Nick doesn’t particularly like guns, and he trusts the others enough to cover him.

“Which one’s mine?” Connor asks, inevitably.

“You don’t get a gun.” Abby reminds him.

“You are never getting a gun.” Alex piles on. In target practice he’d fired three plastic pellets clear past the mark and into her stomach. The training gun had been quickly taken off them before she could retaliate, “You’re a shit shot and you don’t have a license.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.” He gives them a pair of over-enthusiastic thumbs-up and a too-wide smile and dives back into the car for the magnetometer and Geiger counter Alex had managed to wangle out of one of the university professors, an ancient man everyone called Burnie who was the one to teach Alex how each element on the periodic table he could get his hands on burned. Hence the nickname. Connor also pulls out Alex’s bag, which she slings over her shoulder before taking the gun Abby gives her. Out of habit, she checks the safety. As part of a new habit she’s developing, she then shoves it in the side pocket of her bag that’s meant to hold a bottle or some pens or something of the like. At least she doesn’t keep it in the waistband of her trousers like her uncle does, tucking it under his jacket. He can’t really do that with a rifle, fortunately. Abby takes the second pistol and passes Alex a case of darts to slip into her bag.

“Alright, kids!” Nick gathers his team around him in a jumble of a circle, waiting for Tom Ryan and his two-soldier entourage to join them.

“What’s the drill if a big cat goes for you?” Stephen asks the group at large.

“Uh. Run?” Connor says this as though he’s stating the obvious.

“Connor, do you know what a cheetah is?” Alex asks. Connor rolls her eyes. She sticks her tongue out.

“Even if it’s just a cat that’s escaped from a private zoo or something, lions and tigers can push fifty mile an hour in a sprint if they feel like it.” Abby elaborates, having a little more pity.

“If it goes for you, you make yourself big and you make yourself loud, alright?” Stephen asks. “Connor?”

“Big and loud, got it.” Connor mock-salutes.

“Remember, it might not be the creature we’re expecting, it might just be a stray the RSPCA can’t handle.” Tom Ryan reminds everyone.

“Or Helen’s right, which you’ll find she usually is.” Nick corrects. Ryan accepts this with a nod. Stephen takes control of strategy,

“Splitting into pairs may be more effective than confronting this in a lump. We have two floors to cover here so four on each floor, two starting at each end and working their way into the middle. Alex, take Connor. Abby, with me.” This is deliberate, splitting up the trio to avoid talking about Helen. Nick even pairs with an unknown soldier to keep himself apart from Tom Ryan.

“What if it’s just a regular cat?” Connor asks, pulling at his gloves as he walks in step with Alex.

“Not allergic to cats, are you?” She hasn’t quite memorised the list of his obscure allergies and intolerances.

“No. Well, not really. Only the ginger ones.”

“What do you mean, only the ginger ones?” Alex asks. Connor shrugs.

“Me nan always had cats and I was fine, but when I was thirteen she had to put Sugarsnap into Battersea because I’d get so itchy.”

“Sugarsnap?”

“Yeah, she had good names. Monty, Pearl, Caesar, Diplodocus-”

“I can guess who picked that one out-”

“-she always called him Dipstick-”

“-really crushing your creative spirit there.”

“Right?” Connor sounds thrilled that someone agrees with him, and it makes Alex laugh. She pauses in front of the building as the others go in and pinches her fingers in front of her face, drawing a line down to her chest,

“Hey, hey, okay, we’re focused. We’re focused.” Connor copies her motion and her breathing, like actors preparing to go on stage. “You stay behind me, you stay quiet, you’re my lookout.”

“Lookout, got it. Are we on the ground floor or upstairs?”

“Uh. Oh.” Everyone else has gone in, and when they push through the doors no one can be seen on the stairs, “Take your pick.”

“You think I’m going to choose stairs?”

“I figured it was unlikely,” Alex admits. She turns in a slow circle to choose a direction to go in. The ground floor of the library holds a café, the check-out desk, a small IT section with a dozen computers and three printers, and the children’s section behind a set of doors painted to look like they’re in a two-dimensional cartoon, “Check out the kid’s books?” Connor agrees with a shrug.

The floor is linoleum, difficult to move over without their shoes catching and making some sort of noise. Not that Connor’s trying to be quiet. He hasn’t quite gotten that idea yet, strolling casually along but making sure to stay a few paces behind Alex. She plants one foot directly in front of the other, mimicking a fox’s walking pattern to the best of her bipedal ability. She shoulders the door open and leaves it for Connor to catch hold of. The children’s section of Waterloo Library is in a square room with shelves no taller than five feet, large board books and soft toys on display along the tops of the shelves. A deep pile carpet disguises any noise Alex and Connor would be making, but neither of them can quite see over the shelves. Leather-covered cubes and circular corduroy floor cushions litter the floor, a few books still left behind from when the building was evacuated. Brightly coloured rubbery chairs with chunky legs are set around squat little tables covered with gingham tablecloths and abandoned pots of crayons with colouring sheets. Decorations dangle from the ceiling panels, flowers made of tissue paper and little lanterns. A poster on the wall declares the room is currently themed after The Secret Garden, all the books on display being about bugs or gardening. It’s charming, even to the university students who have yet to lose the last of their childishness.

“Aw, cute.” Connor whispers. Alex shushes him, knowing he’s categorically unable to whisper. She moves towards the centre of the square, where the tables are. The shelves form a square sort of spiral, leading an unassuming toddler on a full tour of the room and spitting him out at the centre again. It’s decided that they should follow this spiral. The structure is intuitive, each section holding a clearly labelled subject and each individual shelf rising in age as it does in height: baby board books at floor level and books more suitable for ten-to-twelve-year-olds at the top. Alex and Connor move slowly, the latter in charge of ensuring they’re not being followed, around the spiral. There’s no sight or sound of any sort of animal - or any familiar humans for that matter - until they reach a section that has an adjoining desk, the books dedicated to teaching children how to read. Connor’s hand crawls up Alex’s shoulder and pushes, trying to turn her. She lets him, and they peer over the top of the shelf.

A cat, definitely some kind of cat, is curled up into a kidney-bean shape. Asleep. Its tail covers much of its hind legs, but the size of the front paws can be estimated to be the same size as a dinner plate. Bigger than a regular lion’s paws, surely. It has no mane but there is tufted hair at the scruff of its neck, much like an adolescent male lion would have. The cat stretches, extending its long front legs and proving itself to be male. The mouth opens in a yawn, exposing teeth Alex would guess are five inches long. His eyes open, a deep amber colour, and the pupils contract as they adjust to the level of light in the room.

“Bad news, Connor. He’s ginger.”

#rae's writing #alexandra's evolution #primeval #primeval fanfiction #primeval fic #primeval oc #rae's ocs #original character #alex hart #stephen hart #nick cutter #connor temple #abby maitland #oliver leek #helen cutter #james lester #tom ryan

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toloveandbelovedtoo · 1 year

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Day 5: connection

Wow... Today was... Wow. Not what I was expecting. Like at all. I was having some trouble with myself and thoughts late last night and feeling so uncomfortable in this exploration, but knowing it was because I was outside my comfort zone and this is all just so new feeling. As I was showering, I thought to myself, I should go out to this yoga studio I like that offers their classes for free to trans people. My therapist had mentioned taking in person classes and I finally remembered to look up the classes.

I found one for today called Yoga Nidra, or sleeping yoga and I thought, hell yeah, I like the idea of getting to lay on my back with a blanket and listen to a meditation and singing bowls. I went in a bit nervous cause it's a new location with unknown people, but I wanted to stop being such a hermit and get out of my house more. I had laid down on the mat, thrown the blanket over me, and placed this bean bag thing over my eyes. I laid with a bolster under my knees and palms up as I listened to the teach guide the class through relaxing the body piece by piece.

She had guided us to imagine being in different locations, I can't remember the first location, but she had us imagining being at the edge of a pond facing a sunset. It was in that time I felt like I had sunken into my body and a flood of emotion overtook my body. It felt like a flood of cold, my body was shaking, and I felt so anxious. She told us then to imagine the moon and I tried to think about the moon and the craters and shadows, but my thoughts kept going back to fear, to this feeling of not wanting to dying, to being so scared because I was feeling so much.

I repeated to myself that I was Taylor. I was laying in a building in my city that is in my state and that I was going to be okay. I opened my eyes but they were still covered by the eye mask, but the slivers of light they peaked through grounded me. The practice ended with us rolling onto our sides then sitting up and as I was folding my blanket, I saw a giant palmetto bug making a bee line to me a few inches from my mat. My body was loose and my limbs weren't cooperating with me, but the teacher caught it in a jar and took it out. I think about that bug, one of the ones that creep me out and maybe it was there for a reason.

I was feeling so anxious and shaky after the session and I didn't feel like I could go home just yet. The yoga teacher had explained beforehand that she was also a therapist and she would spend some time after class in the lobby if anyone wanted to talk. I sat down in a chair and wait for the other student to leave and when she did, I asked the teacher if she would sit with me because I wasn't okay. I felt like crying, I did cry, and she stayed with me while I let that emotion out. We did a breathing exercise and I explained to her what I felt and how I felt it was related to this exploration that I was doing, the release of all that I was holding.

I had this beautiful moment with a stranger that I had asked for help, I gave myself that space to allow a stranger see me be scared and vulnerable and it was an act of love for myself to ask for something I need as well as an act of love to receive that care from someone I didn't know. She explained to me the therapeutic uses of yoga nedra and how it releases emotions that we have been carrying and I told her about the practice I felt was similar that my therapist I do to explore what emotions feel like when I give them the space and honor their presence.

I went home after getting a milkshake from Cook-out and tried to lay down to allow those feeling space, but I ended up in the bathroom listening to Encanto's soundtrack while I journaled what I was feeling. The bathroom is a safe space for me, a place where I could go to cry and be emotional without anyone hearing me. I would turn on the shower and cry and I don't really know if the shower and fan drowned out my cries, but it helped. And half way through writing, it just all felt like I understood what I was trying to do by undertaking this project.

That I am worthy not despite my flaws and broken bits, but because they are apart of my whole being. I am worthy of love and being loved and giving love because I'm Taylor, I don't have to be anything else, I don't have to make myself smaller, or quieter, or easier to handle, I am loved for my true being. And sure, I think those that tried to minimize me and make me feel smaller loved me, but not in a way that was healthy, sustainable, and was twinged with toxic believes and actions. I saw myself the way my friends I have now saw me and that I didn't have to have a skill or a service to offer them, I was just loved for being me.

I feel like a butterfly crawling out of my cocoon after being caterpillar goop and I'm learning to look and love my new wings, to let them open and flourish them, to feel the wind around them as I try to take off. I was having a lot of emotions recently after having a really tough 2022, after feeling burned out from work, after doing some heavy trauma healing work the last few months, but especially the last couple of weeks. There was a lot I needed to unleash and that yoga practice helped. I feel scared, but I feel hopeful.

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skywalkerstyles · 3 years

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Kissing Lesson pt.3

Pairing: Bakugou x Fem!Reader

Warnings: light smut, orgasm, angst, fluff, minors DNI

Katsuki gently cups my face in his hands, checking me over, concern clouding his face. “What happened?” he asks. “Where’s Mei?”

“She’s fine. She’s with Kai. She said I could leave.”

“Come over here. Sit down.” I let him pull me into the living room, he sits beside me on the couch, throwing a blanket over my shoulders, I wrap it tightly around myself. “What happened?”

“I fucked up….” I don’t know any other way to put it. I shouldn’t have overreacted like I did. Ash wasn’t trying to hurt me. Was he? “Ash kissed me.” Katsuki narrows his eyes.

“That’s not all. What did he do?” His voice is low, dangerous. He looks pissed, I don’t want to make him angrier, but I have to tell him. Just being kissed by a boy is no logical reason for me to come running into the house like I did.

“It was really hard. It hurt. He bit my lip and he….He forced his tongue down my throat. It was gross and not at all like when we kissed. I didn’t like it….” Katsuki sits there, I look down at my hands embarrassed. When I did look up, Katsuki’s face was inches from my own. I backed away slightly out of instinct, but he grabbed the back of my head, gently pulling me back to him.

His lips are soft and apologetic when they meet mine. It makes my heart flutter, I reach up and cup his cheek in my hand. He sucks on my bottom lip and blows air lightly into my mouth. I moan into the kiss, causing him to break away.

“Shhh. People are sleeping.”

“Why are you still up anyway?”

“I wanted to make sure you and Mei got home safe. But it looks like Mei wasn’t planning to come home….I’m glad you did though.” I smile and he kisses me again, just a quick press of lips to my mouth. He stands up and lifts me into his arms, blanket and all, off the couch.

“What are you doing?” I whisper as he carries me down the hallway. He kicks the door to his room open gently and sets me down on my feet. He closes the door behind him, I hear the lock click. We are surrounded in total darkness.

His hands manage to find my arms and he pulls me into his body. His chest is warm and his heartbeat is strong. I can feel it beneath my fingers. “I want you to stay with me tonight. I promise, all we’ll do is sleep. And if you wanna leave you can, I just….I thought you might like that….dumbass.”

“Oh…..um…..Okay.” I smile into the darkness. Katsuki hands slide up my dress. He grabs the zipper, the noise is loud in the quiet of the house as he drags it down my body. I shimmy out of it, left only in a strapless bra and panties. He pushes soft fabric into my hands, I don’t know how he can see in the dark, it must be muscle memory.

“Put this on.” It’s a t shirt. I pull it over my head. It smells like him. He takes my hand in his and leads me to his bed. I climb onto it, scooting back until I hit the wall. I feel the bed dip as he climbs in beside me. “Just like old times.” I reminisce. When we were kids, if Mei and I got scared we would go find Katsuki and stay with him. He would protect us from all the monsters. Katsuki chuckles.

“You used to be afraid of everything.”

“No I wasn’t.”

“Yes you were, idiot. And you were a crybaby. Come here.” He reaches out for me, he pulls me towards him, my body half lying over his, I prop myself up on my elbows. I feel his fingers against my face, touching my eyes and my lips, my nose, like he’s trying to memorize me in the dark, one of his arms is wrapped loosely around my waist.

I bend down, capturing his lips in mine. He shifts and pulls me into his lap. I straddle him easily, he places both of his hands on my hips now. We kiss slowly, lazily, no real effort or passion behind it, just something we both need. I can feel the...arousal...begin to burn through my legs. My body feels hot and I can feel him start to stiffen against me. I roll my hips gently, causing him to buck up against me. It feels good.

His hands slide down to cup my ass. I don’t know why this doesn’t bother me. It bothered me when Ash did it. Maybe it’s because I know Katsuki. I’ve known him my whole life. He would never hurt me. He begins to guide me, grinding me down against him as he pushes up towards me. I can feel him now, straining through his sweats.

I hold onto his shoulders tightly as we rub against each other. He gives my ass a light squeeze, licking into my mouth with his tongue and biting my lip gently. It doesn’t hurt when he does it. I completely relax into him as he controls the motion and the speed of the grinding. One of his hands slides up to cup my face, he breaks the kiss to trace my lips with the pad of his thumb, I take a shaky breath.

“I wish all girls reacted the way you do.” His voice is deep and filled with something foreign to me. What he says makes me shiver, my arousal spiking, I can feel something happening.

“Am I good?” I manage to pant. He brings my face back down towards his, I can feel him smile against my lips.

“Very good. You’re perfect baby.” that word makes my stomach knot tightly. He’s never called me that before. He begins to move faster, pressing his lips against mine hungrily. My body starts to stiffen, I can feel something happen.

“K-Katsu…..” I whimper.

“Shhh It’s okay. Let go. Let go Y/N. I got you.” he presses his hand to my mouth as my body tightens and pleasure floods me. I buck and grind against him hard, unable to control my body as it spasms. He pushes his hips up, his hard on pressing against my clit hard. I shiver, suddenly feeling relaxed and tired. He gently pushes me off of him and pulls me into his arms. He kisses my forehead gently as I try to catch my breath.

“What was that?” I ask in amazement.

“That,” he says kissing my nose. “Was an orgasm.”

I wake up feeling warm, someone’s arms are wrapped around me tightly, our legs intertwined. I bury my face in their chest and squeeze my arms around them. I want to stay like this forever.

“You awake?” my eyes snap open. I look up to see Katsuki watching me, a soft expression on his face. He reaches up and brushes my hair back from my face. “Good morning.” he whispers, pecking my lips softly.

“Good morning.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah...I slept really good.” he smirks, releasing his hold on me. He climbs out of bed and goes to his dresser, he tosses a pair of basketball shorts at me. I blush crimson, realising I’m not wearing pants. Memories of the night before flood my mind.

Katsuki senses my distress and sits back down on the bed, he takes my hands in his. “It’s okay Y/N….Things got kinda out of hand last night. I should have stopped it but-”

“No. Don’t say that. It felt good.” I can’t look him in the face. But it’s the truth. It felt really good. Maybe now I’ll be able to get off on my own, just thinking about it.

“Y/N.” he puts his finger under my chin, I try to avoid his eyes. “Look at me.” slowly, reluctantly, I let my eyes meet his. He has a sad look on his face, one of disappointment even. “You need to put those shorts on and go to Mei’s room. Now.” He drops his hand from my face and turns away. I’m surprised and hurt by his sudden change in demeanor.

“Did I...Did I do something?” I ask quietly. He doesn’t answer. I can feel tears of embarrassment burn my eyes. I jump off his bed and pull the shorts on. As I’m unlocking the door he stops me, placing his hand on my wrist. I look towards his bathroom so he doesn’t see my tears.

“Y/N. You didn’t do anything wrong….It’s just...I don’t-”

“It’s okay,” I say, wiping my hand over my face, I pull the door open and he backs away from me. “I get it.” I shut the door before he can say anything else.

I feel like an idiot. I don’t know why I expected anything more than for him to put up a boundary, draw a line in the sand. He’d never see me as anything more than a good friend, a sister. I sink down in Mei’s bean bag chair, covering my face with my hands. I wasn't even supposed to like him! It was supposed to be Ash. Ash, who I ran from last night. Ash, who liked me and flirted with me….he was drunk. Maybe he’s a better kisser sober...I resolve to put Katsuki out of my mind and talk to Ash on monday. I hope he still wants to go out.

Mei comes back later in the afternoon. I spent most of the day in her room, only going out if I was hungry or needed to go to the bathroom.

“Sometimes guys can be a little rough,” Mei says to me as she hands me a bottle of water from the fridge. “Like you said, he was drunk. I think you should give him another chance.” I nod, happy with her advice and approval. “We can go out on a double date. Just us.”

“I’d like that.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” we both jump, turning to see Katsuki standing by the kitchen table, sunglasses on and keys in his hand. I can’t tell his he’s looking at me, but I look at the floor anyway.

“What?” Mei asks.

“Dude man handled her last night and you’re telling her to give him another chance?” Mei crosses her arms.

“He was drunk. And she’s never been kissed before. I do think she overreacted a bit.”

“I think she reacted perfectly fine.”

“How would you even know?” Katsuki opens his mouth and closes it. “That’s what I thought. Where are you going?” Mei changes the subject.

“To meet up with some friends. We’re going to the beach.” He grabs an apple from the little bowl on the table, takes a bite and turns to leave. Mei turns back to me.

“In all actuality Y/N it’s up to you. You don’t have to see him again or you can. Whatever you wanna do I’ll help you. But Ash genuinely likes you and I think he’d be good for you.” I smile as we walk back towards her room. At the very least he’ll be a good distraction, get my mind off my best friend.

I wish I never asked for the kissing lessons. I wish I’d never went to bed with him last night. I wish things could go back to normal, where it was the four of us against the world, best friends to the end. I hate lying to Mei, or at the very least, not telling her everything. It feels so wrong to me.

“Very good. You’re perfect baby.” I swallow hard, trying to forget the way his words made me feel.

I make my way through the crowded halls, searching for Ash on Monday. I haven’t spoken to him since everything happened and I want to apologize. I find him outside my chemistry class, talking with Kai. His eyes go wide when he sees me, he meets me as I walk towards him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” we stand in the middle of the hallway awkwardly, neither one of us knowing exactly what to say.

“Look before you say anything-”

“I’m sorry.” he shuts his mouth, I continue, “I shouldn’t have overreacted like that….You took me by surprise.” Ash leans down, he hesitates, his lips barely brushing mine, I lean forward, pressing mine against his. It's better now, not perfect, but not so rough. He takes my hand.

“I shouldn’t have came onto you like that. I get a little wild when I drink.” I laugh, he puts his arm around me, pulling me into his side. “Can I walk you to class?” he asks.

“That would be perfect.

#bnha imagines #bnha scenarios #my hero academy fanfiction #my hero fanfic #my hero imagines #my hero x reader #bakugou comfort #bakugou katsuki #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugou x reader

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saragargan · 2 years

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Eight Arms To Hold You - 7

Pairing: Doc Ock/Original Female Character, Scorpion/Original Female Character Rating: Explicit Summary: After waking up in the bed of her enemy, Piper spends the day at the FEAST shelter where she volunteers. Later on, at The Coffee Bean, Piper and Mary Jane finally discover the identity of their waitress and friend's mystery boyfriend. Prev. chapter AO3 link

Piper wakes when early morning sunshine shines on her face. She goes to pull the covers up over head and go back to sleep, but something makes her pause. This doesn’t smell like her bed, and she never leaves her curtains open. She opens her eyes to a room that’s almost familiar, but she can’t place it. The sun is shining in from a skylight above. She’s curled on her side and when she tries to sit up she finally becomes aware of the heavy arm slung around her, back pressed into someone’s broad chest.

The night before comes rushing back all at once, Piper can feel her cheeks turn scarlet red. Carefully as she can she slides herself out from under Otto’s arm. She pulls a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt out of her backpack and puts them on. She fishes around for her webshooters, finds them, then picks up her dress from the chair it's set on and pushes it into the bag, zipping it up as quietly as possible. He doesn’t stir as she puts on her boots. She feels bad sneaking out but, he had asked for one night, and now it was morning. She stands and goes to the only window that’s on a wall, right next to his side of the bed. She slides it up but pauses before she climbs out. The morning sunlight shines on Otto’s hair and face, the mechanical arms lay haphazardly across the bed and floor as if they are also asleep. Piper feels her heart clench. The scene reminds her so much of their college days, when she would fall asleep in his bed while studying. She wants nothing more than to drop her backpack to the floor and crawl back into his bed. She sighs, kisses his cheek softly and climbs out the window before she can change her mind. It’s early, about 7am when she finally reaches the block her apartment is on. She takes the elevator to the third floor and immediately regrets it. The jolting of the elevator gives her vertigo, when was the last time she ate? Piper can’t remember. As she enters her apartment she thinks she should probably make herself some toast or a bowl of cereal, but the allure of sleep is too strong. She plugs her phone into the charger and kicks off her boots. Her bed is piled high with moving boxes, so she collapses on the couch instead, falling asleep immediately.

The Daily Bugle wasn’t Piper’s only job, she also volunteered at the FEAST shelter, a practice she kept up even after Aunt May passed. Today was one of those days, her 12:00 alarm screaming at her to get up. Eyes still shut, she flails around looking for her phone to turn the alarm off. She slides off the couch lazily, using the end table to steady herself. The muscles in her thighs ache as she stumbles her way to the bathroom. She turns the shower on to the hottest she can stand it, strips her clothes off and climbs in. Piper spends a good 5 minutes just letting the water run over her, waiting for her brain to wake up. Her stomach feels like it’s trying to digest itself. When she’s done with her shower she wraps herself in a towel and heads to the kitchen. She opens a package of toaster pastries and doesn't even bother toasting them, just eats them straight out of the wrapping. She picks out a tshirt, flannel, and a pair of jeans to wear to work. Two more packets of toaster pastries and forty minutes later Piper walks into work, checking in at the front desk before heading to the employee lounge. She’s hanging her coat in her locker when she hears a gasp behind her. “Oh my god, Piper!!” Her coworker Virginia slams into her, enveloping her in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Piper pushes her away gently and looks at her, confused. “Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” “It was in the Bugle this morning, we were all so worried about you.” Ginny picks up a copy of the paper laid on a bench and hands it to her. The headline reads: DOC OCK KIDNAPS BUGLE REPORTER: A True Night of Horror for the Bugle’s Own Piper Parker! It's accompanied by a blurry photo that is obviously taken as a still from a video. But plain as day it’s her face, her in Otto’s arms as he carries her up the side of a building. At the bottom of the article it says ‘Story by Eddie Brock.’ Piper feels a white hot rage burn through her. Of course it was Brock. Everywhere she turned it seemed like he was there to get on her nerves. She groans and closes her eyes, crumpling the paper in her hands. Piper takes a deep breath and counts to 10. Ginny takes the ruined paper out of her hands. “I can’t believe that you got kidnapped by Doc Ock! That’s literally so crazy! Did Spider-Woman save you? How did you get away?” For a moment Piper considers telling her that she used to know Otto before his days as a supervillain but then thinks the better of it. “Yes, Spider-Woman saved me. Look Ginny, I really don’t want to talk about this.” “Oh, of course. Sorry Piper, I guess it would be pretty upsetting.” Ginny tosses the paper in the recycling on their way to the floor. All throughout the day the other volunteers are staring at her, whispering behind their hands. If only they knew what really happened, that would really give them something to whisper about.

Around dinner, while Piper is helping set up, the tv in the dining hall is turned to the local news. She isn’t paying attention until she hears Jameson’s voice saying her name, and for a second she’s confused about where she is. She turns to look at the tv, and they’re running the story about the ‘kidnapping.’ Piper drops the plate she’s holding back onto the table, and crosses the hall so fast she slams her hip into the corner of a table and spills all the glasses. She picks up the remote and changes it to the channel that plays reruns of The Golden Girls.

Everyone stares as she sets the remote down. She pretends she doesn’t notice and starts cleaning up the mess on the table. When her shift ends, she considers going straight to the Bugle, demand they print a retraction, and beat the snot out of Eddie Brock. They’re spared her temper tantrum when her phone buzzes with a text from MJ.

MJ: coffee. *pleading face emoji* P: at the bean? MJ: where else? P: okay. omw. MJ: see u soon bestie!! *kissy face emoji* Mary Jane is already waiting for her when she gets to the cafe, at their usual table. Piper orders an iced tea and a donut and then joins her. “You look like shit Piper.” “Gee thanks MJ.” Mary Jane smiles at her. “I should, I got home at 7 and only got a few hours of sleep.” Too late, Piper realizes her mistake. Oh my god Piper. Open mouth, insert foot. MJ gives her a confused look. “Seven? But it was only like 2am when we left the party. Why did you get home at-” Mary Jane’s eyes go wide, and Piper shoves the donut in her mouth. “Oh. My. God. You didn’t.” Piper stares at the table, the wood grain has a very interesting pattern. “Piper. Tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.” Piper sips her iced tea and tries to choke down the donut. Mary Jane stares at her with her mouth hanging open. Piper swallows and sets the glass on the table. “Yeah, I did.” MJ gaps at her. Then she shrieks and slaps Piper’s arm. The couple next to them turn and give her a dirty look. Mary Jane’s eyes are alight, her mouth stretched into a huge smile. “You dirty little slut!” “Shhhhh! Keep your voice down!” Piper tells her as the couple glare at MJ again. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t sleep with him. He’s, you know. And you’re-” MJ makes a gesture with her hand, like an upside down devils horns. Piper slaps her hands down, covering them with hers. “Don’t you think that I’m perfectly aware of that?” She hisses. “Okay but how did this even happen like. Seriously Piper what were you thinking?” Piper shrugs. “I don’t know things just got. Heated. Out of hand. It’s not like we planned it.”

As MJ sips her iced coffee, the waitress approaches their table. “Weren't you in here two days ago? Am I gonna have to get a restraining order?” Sara says jokingly. “Well, you know, we just enjoy being around you so much.” Mary Jane bats her eyelashes, blatantly ignoring the engagement ring Sara wore. Piper was never sure if MJ was serious when she flirted with Sara. Sara was petite, no taller than 5’2” and had a round, pretty face. Piper wasn’t sure what her natural hair color was, because about once every three months or so she changed the color. Currently it was a deep emerald green, and curled around her face in soft waves ending at her shoulders. Sara was fun and a little mysterious, Piper could understand why Mary Jane liked her. “Oh is that why?” Sara laughs as she clears plates and cups off the table next to them. “Here I was thinking it was because we have good coffee for cheap. I’m going to have to start being a bitch, being nice keeps getting me in trouble. Last week I had to chase a guy outta here with a broom.”

Piper and MJ crack up and Sara starts heading towards the backroom. “I really wish I was kidding.” She says, and disappears behind the swinging doors. Piper believed her, she had seen Sara tell off rude or unpleasant customers on more than one occasion, it wasn’t hard to imagine her swinging a broom at one of them. She wasn’t one to put up with bullshit. Mary Jane turns to Piper. “Okay. Spill.” “What?” “I want details, what was he like?” Piper sputters and turns red. “What?! No way, I’m not giving you details.” “You’ve never had a problem with it before.” MJ points out. “This is different.” “How is it different? Don’t be a prude, tell me!” As the two continue to argue, the bell dings on the door to the cafe as it opens, cool air blowing around the room. Mary Jane cuts herself off, eyes wide as they follow the person who just walked it. She gives Piper a terrified look. As nonchalantly as she can, Piper turns to see who it was. And when she finds him she understands Mary Jane’s terrified expression. “Oh shit.” Piper whispers. Mac Gargan, AKA The Scorpion. They watch as he steps up to the counter, ignoring the cashier, who ignores him in turn, doing her absolute best to not make eye contact. He taps the service bell twice. Sara pops into view behind the service window. Instead of shrieking in terror and running out the back door, which would be the logical choice in this situation, her mouth splits into a grin. She comes out from the backroom and leans across the counter. Her expression mirrors the same flirtatious one Mary Jane was wearing just a few minutes ago as they start to talk. “What are they saying?” MJ whispers. Piper had already started eavesdropping on them, thanks to her spider mutation it was more than easy to hear a conversation from across the room. She beckons Mary Jane forward and the two lean as close as possible so she can whisper in MJ’s ear. “She asked what he was doing here and he told her he came to see the prettiest girl in the world, and that he might as well get coffee while he was here. She’s asking if he’s going to be around later and he says yes but not until much later, he has a job to work.” Sara slides a to-go coffee cup across the counter, and Mac asks loud enough for MJ to hear how much he owes, but Sara just shakes her head. She crooks her finger and Mac leans across the counter, taking her face between his face. Piper is certain she’s about to see this girl get her neck snapped but. No. Mary Jane and Piper wear matching expressions of shock when the two kiss. When Sara pulls back and opens her eyes, she catches their gaze, and they quickly avert their eyes. Mary Jane lets out a breath, followed by a nervous laugh. “Well, looks like Doc Ock isn’t the only one of your enemies getting lucky.” She says, not quietly enough for Piper’s comfort. She shoots MJ an angry look and shushes her. If she could hear Mac’s conversation from across the room, he could definitely hear hers. As he turns to leave, Piper looks out the window, hunching her shoulders and hoping he doesn’t recognize her. Besides the fact that they kicked each other's ass on the regular, Piper and Mac had a history beyond their superhero/villain relationship. A few years back, Mac had started working at the Daily Bugle, and later Piper found out that Mr. Jameson had hired him to pretty much stalk her to find out how she got her Spidey pics. He never had much success, due to her spidersense. Jameson eventually gave up trying to have her followed and moved on to funding a genetic experiment to make the ‘Anti Spider-Woman.’ The experiment was untested and unregulated, but that hadn’t stopped Jameson offering Mac the ‘chance to be a real hero.’ The result had been Scorpion, who was the most sadistic out of all of her enemies.

Out of everyone she had ever fought, Piper was pretty sure that given the chance, Scorpion would have no problem killing her. The others might at least hesitate. Therefore it was extremely shocking to see him not only in a public place and out of the Scorpion suit, but kissing her waitress too. “Is she looking over here?” Piper whispers to MJ, still looking out the window. “No, she went into the back again.” Piper turns back to Mary Jane and pulls out her wallet, dropping a couple bills onto the table. “I gotta go.” “What? You’re going to follow him?” “He said he was working a job.” Piper tells her as she slides her arms into her coat. MJ follows her out of the cafe. “So? It’s probably just like a stick-up or a heist or something.” “Okay but I still have to stop that. Mac is really good at escalating pretty much any situation he’s involved in. Also, robbery is bad.” “Ugh, fine. But our conversation isn’t over, I still want details.” Piper shakes her head and says her goodbyes to MJ. She ducks into a dark alleyway to strip down to her spidey suit. It was easy enough to follow Mac when he was on foot, it would’ve been significantly harder to keep out of sight if they were both jumping across rooftops. How did he get out of the suit anyway? Piper was under the impression that the suit was a permanent accessory, given that it had been fused to his body. Piper follows him a few streets down before he slips into an alleyway. There’s not much elbow room in between the buildings, just enough space for the fire escapes. From her elevated view she can see another figure in the alley, their identity obscured. She climbs down the fire escape above them. As Mac approaches, the shrouded figure stirs. “You’re late.” Piper feels a thrill go through her and a rush of heat across her entire body. It was Otto. “I got held up.” “Oh yes, and that cup of coffee had nothing to do with it, right?” Mac grumbles something unintelligible under his breath. Otto huffs irritably. “Everything is ready to go, we just have to give Sytsevich the signal.” Piper shivers. Otto, Scorpion and Rhino? Her odds were dwindling every second. She had to put a stop to this now. She leaps off the fire escape silently, wind whipping around her as she free falls, aiming for Mac. The tentacle comes out of nowhere at the last minute, apparently she wasn’t as stealthy as she thought. She dodges to the side, but another one slams her aside, right into Mac, and the two of them fall to the pavement in an awkward tangle of limbs. He snarls when he realizes it’s her, and the Scorpion suit appears out of nowhere. Where the hell did Mac Gargan get nanotech? The answer is Otto, obviously, who wraps each of them in a tentacle and separates them before they can swing at each other. Piper has the distinct image of a cat scruffing her kittens. Otto gives her an exasperated look. “Are you serious?” He asks. “Was hoping you’d show up, Spider!” Scorpion’s stinger comes flying at her, fast as lightning, but not as fast as Otto’s tentacles. One of them closes around the stinger inches away from her face. Piper can see the poison swirling around in the injection tube. “What the hell. Hey! Get off!” Mac struggles, but the tentacles don’t relent. “Boss wants her alive.” Otto says, tentacle dropping him further down the alleyway. He puts himself in between her and Scorpion. “Hello little spider. So good to see you again so soon.” The awkwardness of the situation hits her full force, and it’s not lost on Scorpion, who looks at them suspiciously. “Wish I could say the same.” She says, maybe a little too convincingly. A look of hurt crosses Otto’s face briefly. “So, an octopus, scorpion and rhinoceros walk into a bar. What’s the punchline? The punchline being your plan, of course.” Behind them, Scorpion laughs. “Snowball's chance we’d ever tell you, Spider.” “Yes unfortunately I have to agree with Scorpion. It’s none of your business.” “Aw man, I hate being excluded.” Scorpion sneers at her over Otto’s shoulder, stinger poised for attack. Otto opens his mouth to say something, but before he can an explosion shakes the ground as a car explodes at the far end of the alley. It’s accompanied by a heavily accented voice swearing in Russian. Using the distraction, Piper takes it as her cue to leave, wrenching one arm free and thwipping the rooftop, pulling herself out of the tentacle's grasp. She almost clears the roof when Scorpion slams into her, and they start to fall back towards the ground. She thwips the roof with her other hand, and sends a well-aimed kick to Scorpion’s face. The sudden loss of his weight sends her flying up and she flips over the edge of the roof, and hits the ground running. When she’s sure that none of them are in pursuit, Piper stops to catch her breath. She slides down against a wall, and a sharp pain goes through her side. When she touches it her hands come away sticky with blood. Scorpion’s claws had left three deep gashes down her side. She would have no problem healing them, save for being a little dizzy from blood loss. The real issue was that she would have to fix her suit and wash the blood out. That officially made five of her worst enemies who were seemingly teaming up together. And she was sleeping with one of them. Otto had mentioned a boss, Piper could only think of one person with enough pull to organize something like this. That man was Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. The question was, why?

#doc ock x oc #doc ock x original character #doc ock x original female character #doc ock #doctor octopus #otto octavius #scorpion x original character #scorpion x original female character #mac gargan #oc: piper parker #oc: sara drake #eight arms to hold you #oc fic

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himbo-kuto · 4 years

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i saw this screencap from the manga and knew IMMEDIATELY that i would have to write a lil headcanon of aone and his turtle. he is literally the most precious person who deserves the whole entire world.

i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it!

genre: fluff, wholesomeness, a whole baked bean, college!au pairing: aone x gn!reader word count: 2k warning: language

okay so you ended up being roommates with aone, futakuchi, and mai when you ended up transferring colleges last minute and needed housing

you saw that they had an empty spot and with time not being on your side, you decided to take the opportunity!! apt 205 squad!!

at first you kind of felt left out since they all knew each other from date tech but you soon warmed up to futakuchi since you had a few classes with him and mai because well-- you guys shared a room

HOWEVER!! one person you couldn’t seem to get close to was a man by the name of takanobu aone-- lemme tell u sumn about this Baked Bean

whenever you tried to interact with him, all he would do is 👁 👄 👁 or just Grunt in response

you were a bit discouraged because you thought he didn’t like you so you shied away from talking to him again :(

but futakuchi was quick to ensure you that was just his way of communicating and that he was actually really engaged in the conversation

“oh yeah, he’s a great listener-- i talk to him for hours and he just sits and listens”

“ok futakuchi-san, but have you considered that you talk Too much for your own good?”

he gave you the finger for that one

but omg the first time aone Spoke to you????? rocked ur mf world-- what the Heck!!

you were in the mood to bake some cookies and were looking for the big mixing bowls but you just remembered that futakuchi used it to try and make a baking soda volcano

why??? who knows but all you do know is that he put it ALL the way on the top shelf-- and for what????

but u know-- bein dumb as dirt u tried to use a swivel chair to try and reach for them

and of course it was all the way in the back like wtf curse these tall men--

and so you got on your tippy toes and right as you were about to reach it, Of Course the chair decided to turn

and u were 🤏🏼 this close to eating shit but thanks to the one-- the only-- tol angel baby aone, he stopped the chair dead in its tracks just in time for you to regain your balance

“are you okay?”

you were so shook (one from almost breaking your face and two-- AONE JUST SPOKE AND SAVED YOU!!!)

at first you just stood there blinking down at him with the bowls in your arms like hinata season 4, episode 15 - 15:37

he held up his arms to you and you blushed so hard because was he really about to carry you down????

but before your mind had anytime to roam, he pointed to the bowls and you realized with your real eyes that you were not the one to whom he was referring to

it wasn’t long until you got over your initial iron wall with aone (…. 😏) and he actually ended up being someone you hung out with on a regular basis

mai was always out studying for her practicals in the library while futakuchi… well.. who even knows what the heck that man is up to..

but ANYWAYS!! you guys would hang out mostly in the living room to watch TV, do homework and eat meals-- he always helped you with your math homework and you helped him with his architecture models!!

you didn’t really know what he liked to watch but he didn’t seem to oppose whatever you had on-- however, you Did notice that whenever you put on volleyball he stared very intensely at the TV only stopping when commercials came on

aone Always ate your home cooked meals without fail

literally such a sweet and appreciative boy as opposed to futakuchi who would complain but one time aone gave him That Look™️ and he shut right the fuck up

that day forward futakuchi ate all your meals like a good boy

aone has also become very protective of you-- in high school, he may have locked onto the aces of the other teams, but in college he locked onto his close friends to make sure they were safe

one time you guys got onto a cramped bus to go grocery shopping and all it took was this creepo man to just Look at you the wrong way for aone to stand right in front of you and shoot this man a death glare that said “if you even think about touching her i’ll put you into the ground”

HE MAY HAVE A HEART OF GOLD BUT DONT MESS WITH THE PEOPLE HE CARES ABOUT OR ELSE IT’S HANDS

but know this ladies, gents and my non-binary friends, we MOST DEFINITELY sit next to aone on the bus and engage in the best of conversations because tHATS WHAT THIS MAN DESERVES!!!!!!!!!

not to mention all the times he has saved you due to your clumsiness and overall single brain cell fueled activities

one fateful day you were sitting in the living room as you saw aone come home with a whole bag of groceries

he didn’t put them into the communal fridge so you were a bit confused as to why he took them straight into his room

you weren’t one to just bust in there to try and find out so later when you guys were eating dinner you asked him what he bought at the store

he listed off a bunch of produce and then said that they were for his turtle!!!!

you were all !!?!?!??? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 TURTLE?????? WHERE??? HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN HERE??? CAN I SEE THEM?

he goes on to tell you that he’s had the turtle ever since they all moved in!! but it never came up in conversation so you never knew until now

him and futakuchi rescued the turtle but when they tried to let them go, they didn’t go anywhere so they kept them!!

so after dinner you both quickly washed the dishes, and he brought you into their room to show you his turtle

you were honestly a bit nervous going into their room-- like what were you to expect??? was it going to be messy?? stinky?? clean??? were there any secrets????

but to your surprise it was fairly clean and simple-- even futakuchi’s side (which you assumed was aone’s doing)

you looked around his room to find all these old pictures of date tech on the wall, many of them with futakuchi and mai

there was even a photo of all the third years clinging to aone like koalas on a tree and though his expression was faint, you could tell that he was happy

it warmed your heart to see that he got along with his teammates and held these memories close to him-- they accepted him for who he was and that was more than enough for you

he also had plethora of architecture books on his shelves which made you wonder why he picked that major in the first place

but you shrugged it off as you looked over to his desk

there was a table next to it with an enclosure and a cute little turtle sunbathing underneath a lamp inside

you scurried over to the tank, getting down on your knees to get eye level with the animal while you slowly brought your face to the glass

the turtle was half curled into its shell, looking up at you as he gave you a slow blink

you could’ve sworn you felt your heart explode and melt all at once in that Exact moment

you looked up at aone with 🥺 eyes before looking back to reptile to see them poking their head out to fully greet you

you squealed internally as you wiggled your finger as your salutations

“do they have a name?” 🥺

“ichigo-desu...” (strawberry)

you thought your heart exploded before?????????????

oh bitch you felt like you were about to go into full blown cARDIAC ARREST MY G O D!!!!!!

“did futakuchi name them?”

“no i did…”

you literally hunched over, and leaned onto the desk for support as your heart was filled with his soft boy energy because there was no wAY!!! DID AONE JUST NAME THIS TURTLE ICHHHIGOOOO BITCHHH AHHH

but lowkey aone was also being filled with your soft energy and got all blushy-- but thank god you were too occupied by his turtle to notice

“do you want to feed him a strawberry? it’s his dinner time too”

you could not have said yes faster to this man

he went into his personal fridge and there you saw all the groceries he had earlier that day!! he pulled out a single strawberry before handing it over to you

he walked over to the tank and cautiously pulled out ichigo before placing them on the ground

HOWEVERRRRRR!! what came next you didn’t expect at all

he walked around so that he was behind you, gingerly reached for your hand and guided you to hold the strawberry out for ichigo

ichigo craned their neck in the sight of the fruit and started chowing down

and by God you hoped that aone could not hear your loud ass heartbeat and see your red ass face-- (you were surprised that ichigo wasn’t going after you since your face might as well have been a strawberry)

you two sat in a comfortable silence as you watched the little reptile enjoy his dinner

as ichigo drew closer to the leafy bit, you wanted to ask aone if he was allowed to eat that part

so you turned your head to the side to speak but immediately closed your mouth as aone’s face was only centimeters away from yours

you thought you were red back then???? bitch buckle up cause we’re reaching a new LEVEL of red

at that moment you were no think, no thought, head EMPTY as you just stared at his profile

all of his features were strong... the bridge of his nose, his jawline, his expression-- he himself was a strong man and you just wondered how all this soft, fluffy, wholesomeness was packed into this 192cm man

and just as you relaxed into this position

FUTAKUCHI BUSTS THROUGH THE DOOR WITHOUT ANY KIND OF WARNING JUST TALKIN OUT OF HIS ASS

at first he’s so absorbed into his own conversation that he doesn’t even notice you guys in that position

but when he does??? it’s like those moments in animes where you’re all chibitized and you just have circle eyes and a blank expression o_o

you IMMEDIATELY come to your senses, releasing the rest of the strawberry and aone’s hand

if you could peace fade in this moment, you would’ve definitely flashed futakuchi a duces

but alas, you could not..

so you scrambled to your feet-- but not before thanking aone for letting you meet his turtle-- and RAN out TF of that room heart a BEEATTINN

from that day on, you visited aone and his turtle a lot more-- even going so far as buying things for ichigo!!

“hey aone-san, did ichigo like the squash i cooked?”

“mm.”

“hey aone-san, does ichigo like the new hide?”

“mm.”

“look aone-san! he can’t grip onto the cherry tomato!! it keeps rolling around!”

“mm.”

many of your conversations went along like that and he always appreciated the amount of effort you put into them

he wasn’t a man of many words but did his best to make sure you knew that he was listening and engaged

at one point mai and futakuchi said that “he has spoken more words to you in these past few months than he has with us in 3 years”

you were surprised but also flattered by the fact that aone was comfortable enough to open up and have conversation with you

although it was a bit of a rough patch in the beginning, you were glad that you became a part of the 205 squad! it was you, aone, futakuchi, mai and ichigo against the world!!

#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #hq #hq imagines #aone takanobu #aone headcanons #aone x reader #headcanon #im simping for this man know that rn AHAHAH

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amerrierworld · 3 years

Text

Supposed To Be

Ocean’s 8 fanfiction

request: the reader finds out what Tammy does at party with the girls and maybe gets angry at Tammy for not telling her and lying to her. Then hets angry at everyone else and they all fell guilty. And maybe tammy says something that’s losses the reader of more. Then the reader walking out. The next morning the reader is ignoring all the texts and calls from Tammy and the girls. Tammy going over to talk to her...

Summary: Tammy is planning something for you with the team, but can’t let you know about it.

Characters: Tammy x fem!reader, the Ocean’s girls, (divorced!Tammy)

Word Count: 2,550

Warnings: Angst angst angst angst angst angst!!!!!! Miscommunication!! Hurt & comfort! Eventual happy ending :)

You first started feeling uneasy when Tammy’s text responses went from excited paragraphs and emojis to one-word answers. It was such a simple thing, but you barely got to see her in person some weeks, and this was the only thing that kept you connected.

After an inevitable divorce, Tammy moved to the city to be closer with the entire group, sharing custody of her children every other week. It had been stressful, but you had been there for her every step of the way, and a fruitful, happy romance had blossomed.

But now, even after all those months, there was a sudden barrier you couldn’t seem to get through. Her phone calls were hasty, her texts short, and no one else in the group seemed concerned like you were. You got no updates on her kids, which usually she couldn’t stop taking about. Frankly, it felt like she had gotten tired of you.

So, you shut your phone off and went out for the rest of the day, window-shopping and wandering around the city to get your fuming mind off of things.

On the other side of the city, in Lou’s spacious loft, Tammy had gathered the other ladies, vigorously typing lists on her phone as she paced back and forth.

“Really, Tam, you’re overthinking this! Why do you feel the need to go through all this?” Lou sighed, swirling her glass of rye.

“Because it has to be just right,” Tammy snapped back.

Everyone knew how detail-oriented and perfectionist Tammy was. It was a life-saver for criminal activity and ensured safety for the gang to get through undetected. But sometimes, in ordinary life, it was a bit overkill.

“I really don’t think Y/N needs all this, babe,” Nineball added, lounging in a large, velvety bean bag and a joint between her lips. “Lou’s right, you’re overthinking it.”

“Listen, she’s my girlfriend, and this is my plan. Can you please just be a little bit supportive of this?” Tammy threw her hands up, exasperated.

“Her birthday isn’t for another month,” Debbie pointed out.

“Exactly, I’m already running behind!”

The remaining seven shared a few bemused glances before Daphne handed Tammy a glass of wine to calm down. Debbie sighed, pulled up a chair and reached for the snack bowl.

“Alright, what’s the plan, TamTam?”

You still had one of Lou’s door keys from the last heist, and figured it was the best time to return it. It was starting to get late, and it was a bit of a walk, but you didn’t mind. The fresh air did good for your nerves and bad mood.

You hadn’t seen Lou in ages either, so you figured a quick catch-up was needed too. Not even thinking, you used the key to let yourself in, washed over by warm light coming from inside, and-

Laughter? Music?

You froze. The first person you saw, of course, was Tammy. Your eyes were drawn to her in any room, always. She was laughing, nursing a drink in her hand, chatting with Lou and Debbie, who looked equally as pleased.

There was popcorn popping in the microwave, and the TV was showing a movie. Your heart sank little by little, as you realized that yes, they really had gotten tired of you. You didn’t register the pile of paper and notes on the coffee table, at all.

Lou saw you first, and went a little pale. She registered the keys in your hands were hers, and it clicked in her brain why you were there. She nudged Debbie, who immediately turned off the music, as if they’d been caught doing something illegal.

Then Tammy turned her head and saw you, her beautiful smile fading away instantly. Her mouth hung open a little, as if she didn’t know what to make of you standing there, in the flesh.

Suddenly your confusion melted into anger, and your heart broke little by little as they stood there, staring at you, not even bothering to say anything.

You tossed the keys to the floor, turned around, and slammed the front door shut.

No one was moving. Tammy’s brain was lagging, still trying to register why you looked so distraught, so betrayed. The rest of the group eyed her shyly. Constance had a mouth full of popcorn that she was afraid to chew down on because of how loud it would be in the silence.

“You fucking idiot,” Rose was the first to speak up- Tammy was shocked to hear her swear. “What’re you doing jus’ standing there? Get out and go after her!”

“Yeah,” Amita said, “she didn’t look too happy when seeing all of us.”

“Did you tell her where you would be today, Tam?” Debbie questioned her, looking her squarely in the eye. Tammy bit her lip, and shook her head. Cue a collective frustrated groan.

“Tammy, we love you, but you can be so stupid sometimes,” Lou said, grabbing her glass from her. “Go on!”

Tammy nearly stumbled over her heels as she hurried after you, fearing she wouldn’t be able to find you in the dark.

“Y/N?” she called out, frantically looking out as the door closed behind her. She spun around, looking left and right. “Y/N!”

“Stop yelling,” you snapped. She turned and saw you leaning against a streetlamp, face washed in eerie light.

“You’re still here,” she said, relieved.

“No, I’m just waiting for a cab,” you said, not meeting her gaze. “You should go back to your party.”

“Do you want to come inside?” she asked you, wringing her hands.

“No, thanks,” you said, shoving your hands deep in your pockets. “I wasn’t invited, so.”

“Oh, Y/N, I didn’t mean to-,”

“No, no, you clearly did,” you shook your head, interrupting her. “It’s fine, really. But next time you get sick of me, have the fucking courtesy to actually break up with me, please?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re barely answering any of my texts, and every time we talk you’re miles away. And now you’re throwing a party with the whole team, except for me. What gives?”

“It’s not what you think!”

“What the hell am I supposed to think, then? Do you even realize what the past few weeks have been like for me? Jesus, Tammy, I’ve been worried sick.”

Tammy didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to lose you, she knew she couldn’t lose you, but to explain the plans and explain everything she’d prepared would ruin so, so much.

“Y/N, I love you with my entire heart. I can explain, I promise.”

“No, forget it,” a cab pulled up to the sidewalk and you yanked open the door. “Come back when you’ve made up your mind, I guess. Unless it’s something I don’t want to hear. Bye, Tammy.”

With that, the cab sped away, and you left a stunned Tammy standing on the sidewalk.

It was nearly two weeks later. You didn’t know how on earth you got this far without talking to Tammy at all, but you figured you made it clear where you stood. If she never talked to you again, you understood the message, and you were through.

A bit overdramatic, maybe, you wondered? If it was, you weren’t prepared to be the first one to cave. You wouldn’t go begging and crawling back to her. You were too stubborn and proud- even with the constant crying over the past few days.

You were sitting at a bar, drinking a sweet and fruity drink while watching some mindless sports game on the monitor when a familiar blonde slid into the seat next to you.

“Go away,” you said, not looking at Lou. She waved her hand, and the bartender set to work on a drink for her.

“Good evening to you too, sweetheart,” she said.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. This is my bar after all,” she received her drink and took a big gulp, leaning forward on the bar and looking over at you.

“No it isn’t,” you frowned, trying to piece your memory together. “Your club is dozens of blocks from here.”

“Yeah, and then I bought almost every bar and club on this side of the city. You’re looking at one rich-ass owner, Y/N.” Lou grinned, but you couldn’t be bothered to return the smile.

“Well, congrats Lou. No need to rub it in. Some of us are meant to just be broke.”

“Since when did you become such a downer?”

“Uh, since my girlfriend decided her life was better off without me?” you scoffed.

“Is that really what she said to you?” Lou asked, blue eyes piercing. You shifted in your seat.

“Not exactly, but I know when people are tired of me,” you muttered. “Walking in on the whole team who went through hell together having a party without me kinda sends a clear message.”

Lou chewed her lip, and sighed. She pushed the empty glass away from her and took her time to unwrap a stick of gum.

It was quiet between the two of you as she got up and straightened her jacket, flicking her bleach blonde hair away from her eyes.

“It wasn’t a party, Y/N,” she said. “Talk to Tammy. She’s been absolute shit the past week.”

You bristled, not wanting to think about Tammy again. But Lou left you to it, paying for your drink, and headed out the door. You rubbed your face, tired, and lonely, and cursing yourself for letting it get this far.

Hesitantly, you took out your phone, reading the ‘six new voicemails’ notification, and lingering your finger over the green listening button. All from Tammy.

“Hey, Y/N. Giving me a taste of my own medicine, huh?” A weak laugh. “I’m sorry for not responding or talking more with you.. you have every right to be angry.”

You got up and headed home slowly, going through each voicemail carefully, listening at least twice.

“God I don’t even know where to start. It’s been so... empty without you. Please call me soon? There’s so much I want to tell you.”

Turning multiple corners, you put on your sunglasses, hoping it would hide the tears threatening to spill over.

“I feel terrible. And the girls are mad at me for letting you get away. Not-not like you ran away, but- but not fighting for you, you know? For such a stupid, stupid reason too. I, uh, hm... I miss you.”

I miss you. You stared at your front door, listening as the voicemail ended, frozen. You were mere steps from getting inside, but there was something in the way.

Tammy looked over her shoulder, standing on your doorstep, and you nearly burst into tears all over again. She was startled just like you were, surprised to see you there.

Your arm dropped limply to your side, voicemail forgotten, and you took a shaky breath,

“I miss you too.”

You sat across each other awkwardly. You offered her a cup of tea, she politely declined. Tammy was carrying a large tote bag with things inside, and you were intrigued, but didn’t make any effort to start the conversation. You would remain stoic, and not cave. No matter how beautiful she looked, how rosy her cheeks were, how done up her hair was. But there were giant bags under her eyes that you could not ignore, and something pulled at your heartstrings.

“You look well,” Tammy said, smiling weakly.

“No I don't,” you replied. Her face fell. “Neither do you.” Ouch.

“Crazy what only two weeks can do to a person, right?” she chuckled hoarsely.

She continued, “I realize that... that I didn’t handle things very well, with how it ended.. on the sidewalk that night.”

“Hmm.”

Her fingers were shaking, and your resolve nearly crumbled. She reached into the bag and grabbed a massive binder, nearly bursting with the amount of pages. Your name was written in thick letters on the front.

“This is why I wasn’t talking to you,” she muttered, bashfully. “And I realized that keeping this a secret from you isn’t worth the risk of losing you.. like, actually losing you and never getting to have you in my life again.”

Your mouth fell open as you turned to the first page. It was one of those massive wedding planner books that some young girls like to have when dreaming of their future wedding.

Only it was for your birthday. Lists and lists of your favourite music, your favourite foods, restaurants, colours and clothes. Plans for venues, DJs, special outings and reservations. Plans for each member of the team to take care of little things; drinks, dances, meals, performers...

“Oh my god,” you whispered.

“It was going to be your first birthday with the two of us really together. It was supposed to be a surprise... perfect and special. I guess I went a little over the top..” she rubbed her neck with her hand and blushed.

“Tammy... oh my god,” you kept saying, with every new page, and new intricate lists and ideas. “Oh my god.”

“This is incredible,” you breathed, tears falling freely now. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“No no, I should be the one apologizing,” Tammy replied firmly. “I should have told you.”

“But then it wouldn’t have been a surprise! Oh my god, I should have been more trusting in you,” you cried softly. “Tammy, oh, god. Tammy, I love you so much.”

Every detail was spot-on. She knew you inside and out, like no one else ever knew you. No one had ever cared so deeply for you, to think so deeply for you.

Now Tammy was crying too, and you were two blubbering messes, clasping hands across the table and spilling tears on the pages. Thankfully, they were laminated.

“I’ve scrapped it all,” Tammy confessed.

Your head snapped up, “What?”

“Well, when I say scrapped.. I rescheduled it for next year.. I didn’t think that you would want this anymore. Not after what I did.”

“Debbie thought it a good idea to just move it to next year, in case you still wanted it, and.. well, in case you and I are still...” she cleared her throat, face red, not wanting to finish her sentence for fear of jinxing it.

You pushed your chair back and walked over to her, cupping her face and kissing her sweetly. She melted in your touch.

“Of course I’ll still want it,” you said, brushing her mouth with your lips. “I want you.”

“So-, are- are we o-okay?” Tammy’s breath hitched with increasing sobs and you kissed her, again and again.

“Yes, yes, yes,” you laughed, kissing her tears away. “I don’t want anything except you.”

“Good,” Tammy giggled, “because I don’t think I had anymore energy to finish these plans.”

“When did you start making this?”

“About a month ago.”

“Oh, Tammy, my God,” you threw your head back, understanding why she had gotten so distanced now. “You can’t possibly think all of that-” gesturing to the thick book, “would be possible to plan in just a few weeks right? Not with your perfectionist habits, at least.”

“Hey,” Tammy warned, but her eyes were twinkling.

“Plus, I love every single detail you put in there, I swear, but I don’t need anything except you and the people we love on my birthday. Seriously.”

“Good, because that’s exactly what Lou offered after she slapped some sense into me,” Tammy confessed. “A party at her loft or one of her clubs? And then.. cake?”

“Yes!” you clapped your hands. “Our friends, and cake.”

You slid forward to sit in Tammy’s lap and pressed your warm face in her neck, kissing her there and hugging her closely.

“That’s all I need,” you murmured. “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Tammy let out another sob, wrapping her arms around you tightly and kissing the side of your head, nuzzling your hair without abandon.

A/N: A bit longer than usual but I wanted to do the lovely request justice :D Miscommunication is such a bitch... especially when it doesn’t work out, but in this fiction land it does!! We love soft!Tammy~

#tammy #tammy oceans 8 #tammy x you #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x you #sarah paulson character #wlw #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #ocean's eight #oceans8 #oceans 8 #oceans 8 fanfic #ocean's 8 #cate blanchett #Sandra bullock #fanfiction #merry writes

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luvring · 2 years

Note

the interior design hcs idea is so cool?? u also seem like a really nice person 🥺

anyway if you’re still taking recs, my oc’s name is haseul. she’s korean and 23, three years younger than felix. she usually dyes her hair but rn it’s burgundy and mid back length. she’s kind of an asshole and VERY blunt, always frowning/scowling + she talks really fast and curses like a sailor. she likes wearing skirts and dresses the most, likes to wear makeup. she has a huge family like. 6 siblings but she’s not very close to her parents. she has her own apartment and hates minimalism, has the most random shit lying around but is also a neat freak. is this enough for hcs idk help 😭

note from nia: i am so sorry this took longer than i thought it would😭 help . u guys are so nice do u want me to cry and throw up. anyway ur oc sounds like a girlboss but like,, in the cool way. PLS i love to see it fr!! (if smth doesn't fit w her apartment,, erm...ignore it . pretend she's the one that moved MSSHFJ)

they move in together and felix has never appreciated something more than her hatred of minimalism.

have you seen this man and all of his things? it works out with haseul's own random stuff around the house—anytime they have friends over they act like it's a game and point out any and all of the new decor

i think they'd find a compromise between their aesthetics with like, darker wood and earthy tone/pastel decor and then felix gets his dark study (i don't want to think about apartment hunting for one with a study but i know they exist)

there's a place to hook jackets or scarves when you enter the living room (they're these cool looking key hooks)

possibly weirdly specific but i think they'd have an L shaped couch . i don't know why. it's a dark shade of brown and there's a bunch of muted pastel throw pillows

there's always a blanket or two because one of them falls asleep and the other covers them (and joins)

the coffee table has a permanent bowl of snacks they just refill

felix has a very interesting mix of aesthetic dark academia and also funky weird decor

did he put a very nice tall lamp up? yes. is there a mushroom lamp he found thrifting on the table below the tv? yes because "why wouldn't we be able to have both? they're both for ambient lighting"

there's some board game on the table and also,, you know those kind of weird but cute creature plushies? the ones that are like "oh he's just a funky guy." felix keeps buying them. they're all hanging out there for some reason

big fluffy brown rug. specific but needed

i think felix would love if haseul picked out some things that tied to her culture !! whether it's some pattern wall decor, flower pots, art, etc. he's happy to see her put them up :-)

felix's study is probably the darkest room aesthetically in the apartment

most of his,, weirder things are in there away from prying/judging eyes.

it's where he keeps his taxidermied animals, Crab Man, other weird creatures that probably should not exist

there's dark oak bookshelves on the far wall with a couple of book nooks in them that the two made—i just know this guy has a little section with books for haseul i know it (novels, botany books, etc.)

is it a hot take if i say he'd have a bean bag chair next to the sofa because that's what i'm saying

the sofa in his study also has a blanket, it's knitted and soft and sometimes he wraps himself in it while walking around

he has a moon lamp. he thinks it's so cool

he has this one locked drawer that he keeps things hidden away in. it's literally his fanfiction ideas and go-to spot for hiding gifts. haseul is still looking for the key

their bedroom is kind of cluttered but in like, a cozy way.

big comfy bed, sort of a rustic oak bedframe with light coloured bedding

there's a cool floral tapestry above it

little plants on the windowsill in cute pots. thank you

they have a desk + three-part mirror combo in front of their bed (like an unofficial vanity) with,, many things

there's a jewelry organizer, a smaller mirror for when they do eyeliner, a tiny crocheted plushie, backup earphones (this might be a specific problem for me with losing mine), a small fake plant, this random animal skull felix decided to put on it? he put a couple of rocks in the corner and left them there at some point

the wall above it has art prints/posters and a collection of sticky notes they keep leaving each other as reminders or doodles

the apartment has a balcony and it's small but one of their favourite places to be together

loveseat and a small wooden table,, boom you have outdoor seating

it's so pretty there's a little lamp on the table and hanging lights above the door

they have one of those small bluetooth speakers so they can play music outside

it's another reason why there always seems to be blankets in the living room—they end up bringing them outside when it's chilly

this is where they usually go to think or vent since it's calming and they get fresh air ( ´◡‿◡`)

general hcs

felix helping dye her hair or do eyeliner ohhh sorrow...pain...sorrow and pain /pos

the rants they have about their families. they just go back and forth like "oh my god, don't get me started on that,"

she was so blunt with her insults to escell that felix did a spit take. he finds her personality almost freeing sometimes just because he can rant and she's just like, "so true. fuck that guy"

at first her whole style vs personality thing kind of gave him whiplash?? but now he's just like "yeah that's her i love her. do you not?"

haseul walks in on felix eating his little olives in the kitchen at night and he can Feel the look she's giving him before he even turns around. he hears her "what the fuck" before facing her

#🛒nia.reqs #last legacy #fictif felix #felix iskandar escellun #last legacy headcanons #might still be hidden from tags tbh #oh well LOL #i guess we'll see

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mxndoscyarika · 3 years

Text

Honeydew (Marcus Pike/Moreno x OC) | Chapter 7

Summary: Erin He moves to DC after working for the FBI in Texas and runs into a hero in disguise; Marcus Moreno. Something about him is familiar, too familiar, yet different in a way that she can’t quite place. Although confused, she can’t deny her feelings for him; perhaps, after years of regret, she finally found the one.

Warnings: food/drink mention, mention of dead loved one (Marcus’s wife), brief nudity, kissing

Ao3

Honeydew masterlist

Like my writing? Here’s my masterlist.

Author’s Note: Here’s the next chapter! I wanted to let them have a moment to just be together after everything that happened, and this was one (of many) of them. Enjoy!

“I just don’t understand why it’s not working. It doesn’t make sense.”

Sometimes she wondered why she had to be a supervisor that knew how to code. If she were non-technical, like many of her past managers, she could have simply told the developer to do some code reviews with his colleagues. Well, it wouldn't have been that simple either way, but at least she would get to go home.

Erin sighed and sat down by Brian’s desk. The empty coffee cups and notebook with scribbled ink was a familiar sight, though his desk did seem to be missing one crucial thing: a rubber duck. “Let’s just take a step back and go through the logic, ok? So we have that….”

She and the developer went through the specifications for the updates and the high-level implementations that needed to be done. It seemed like he managed to get most of the framework for the code set up; all that was left was, well, writing the code and making sure it was correct. However, the deadline for shipping the code was coming up in the following days, and he was still at the debugging stage.

Although it had been a while since she’d programmed anything in a work-related context, she thanked the CS gods that she still remembered enough to take on some of the debugging. Conveniently, Brian had prior commitments that night and needed to leave on time–as if an engineer’s shift was ever truly over. But while there were others who could help out, something told her that it would be faster if she did some of the debugging herself. After all, she’d just spent half an hour reasoning through the logic.

“Why don’t you finish up as much as you can, push your changes to the repo, and I’ll take a look later?” she suggested, scanning the code. At first glance it looked fine–as most code normally did–but there were obviously issues somewhere that caused all the tests to fail. “I have some other work to do, but if we can get everything ready within the next couple days I don’t think they will mind the update being slightly delayed.”

With that, Erin went back to making her rounds through the work area, picking up any stray folders and getting last-minute status updates from the others. The sky was already dark, any trace of the sun long gone. Normally she would be getting ready to leave soon, but there was more work to do ahead of the op she was leading.

Ignoring the vibrations of her phone, she made her way back to her office and set up her desk to keep working. One thing she’d learned over her years of experience as a supervisor was that an organized desk was crucial for concentration. If only other aspects of her life were as organized as her desk.

It had been days since she found out about Marcus’s secret identity, but she couldn’t help but still feel utterly stupid. She was stupid to think that she could move on. That she, for once, was enough.

The truth was that she was never enough. She wasn’t enough to bring Marcus back after his disappearance, and she wasn’t enough to make hiding his past life unbearable.

She would have been lying if she said she didn’t consider breaking things off. But at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. He said that he and Pike were the same, that everything they had was real. And if that was true, then maybe things would get better. They could try to make things work, and show up for each other. After all, wasn’t that what caused the mess anyways? Them not being there for each other at the most important moments?

Someone knocked on her door.

Erin didn’t look up from her work. “Come in.”

“Hi honey.”

This time she looked up, a small smile on her face. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home with Missy?”

Marcus chuckled softly. “I guess I should, but my mom convinced her to stay the night so that we could have some alone time,” he explained, sitting in the chair in front of her desk. Eyes twinkling, he lifted a paper bag. “I texted you asking what you wanted for dinner but you didn’t reply, so I got your favorite.”

Now she really was smiling. “You brought canh chua? I’m sorry I didn’t reply, I’ve been running around the department trying to get everything together.”

“It’s alright; I figured you were busy, so I wanted to make sure you at least had dinner,” he said, pulling out the container of soup along with some utensils and a couple to-go bowls. “I know you love the bạc hà, so I asked for extra. They’re in one of the small containers, so we can add them in ourselves.”

“You’re too good to me.” Erin pushed her laptop to the side so he had more room to organize the slew of containers. The tamarind-flavored soup was often a treat rather than a regular meal, one that she normally savored in the cozy atmosphere of the Vietnamese restaurant. Her heart melted a little as she realized that Marcus had to have driven across town to get it from the restaurant.

“You deserve only the best.”

Some containers were filled with jasmine rice, fragrant and pillowy. Others overflowed with toppings like aromatic cilantro, spicy Thai chilis, and crisp bean sprouts. And, as promised, there was an extra container with fresh slices of bạc hà, the spongy stem of the elephant ear plant.

Her mouth watered as she helped fill the bowls with rice and soup, letting the golden broth soak into the grains. The tomatoes and pineapple chunks were perfectly cooked and plump, brightening the salty, nearly fruity, broth.

When she pushed the bowl towards Marcus he shook his head. “You eat first, Rin. You’ve had a long day. How was work?”

“Tiring,” she scoffed lightly, adding a questionable amount of chili to her bowl. The soup was still pleasantly warm when she scooped some into her mouth, the salt giving way to the fruity sourness and inferno of chilis. She moaned in satisfaction, “This is exactly why you are my favorite person in the whole world. Thank you for bringing this, brown eyes.”

He smiled softly, adding a significantly smaller amount of chili to his bowl. “Of course, honey. Just like the old times, huh?”

At that, Erin sighed. Sometimes she forgot that her memories of Marcus Pike were really of Marcus Moreno, and it still hadn’t ceased to be jarring when that realization hit. “Yeah.”

Noticing her hesitation, Marcus looked at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that–”

“No, it’s okay,” she interrupted, waving him off. “I just...I missed this. Us in an office sharing food in the evening. I never thought I’d ever get to experience this again, but now you’re here.”

His eyes softened and he reached over to hold her hand in his. Stroking the back of her hand softly, he said, “I know. I missed this too.” He shifted in his seat. “And I know we can’t go back to what we were before, but I don’t want you to feel like you need to separate our memories. They’re ours, honeydew. Nothing can take that away.”

“I know,” she said, eyes burning. “I’m sorry I’m not as happy–”

“It’s alright,” he interjected gently. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

And, if she would let him, he was going to spend the rest of his days showing her how much she meant to him. It was a mistake–a huge one–to hide from her for that long. If time was money, he’d cost her so much. Maybe he wouldn’t ever be able to give those years back to her, but he could make the most of their time in the present. Now he just hoped his paperwork would get approved at HQ.

“I’m just so tired,” she said quietly.

Of everything. Of being herself, and of feeling like the biggest fool in the world for not realizing the man she loved had been in her life eight years ago.

She’d long since stopped caring about what her colleagues thought, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pride herself on her intelligence and knack for details. With everything, she wasn’t quite sure what hurt most: the blow to her pride, or the fact that Marcus had lied.

But deep down, a part of her was happy. He finally came back, and while the past was wrought with cracks, the future felt...secure. And if there was anything she knew about Marcus, it was that he wore his heart on his sleeve, and that he wanted to stay for the long run. She knew that, no matter what, he wanted to make things right.

“Why don’t we head home after this, then?” he suggested, lips quirked up in a small smile. “They can’t get too mad if the smartest woman in the bureau takes the night off.”

---

“Would you like to stay?” she asked, unlocking the door to her apartment. Marcus’s car was parked in the visitors’ parking area, and it was starting to get late. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I’d love to, if you’ll have me,” he answered, heat rushing up to his cheeks when her eyes met his. Even after all this time, he couldn’t get over the way she looked when she smiled at him like that. When she looked at him like he was everything she ever wanted.

They settled into the apartment as usual, with Erin checking on her plants and Marcus helping to plug in her laptop. Something about the way Erin moved around in the space was just...right. He’d seen her navigate government buildings and sites for operations, but at home, there was a different kind of confidence about her. It was a confidence that he knew only a select few were allowed to see.

Once they reached the bedroom, Marcus kissed her forehead and went into her bathroom. “Stay here, I’ll get a bath ready for you.”

Erin let out a huff of laughter at his eagerness, resigning to putting away her bag and changing into more comfortable clothes. As much as she loved a good suit, she also loved the warmth of sweatpants and the softness of silk. But seeing as she still needed to wash up for the night, she slipped on a silk nightgown, the hem stopping just above her knees.

Eventually, Marcus returned and led her into the bathroom, presenting her with a bathtub full of gardenia-scented bubbles and steaming water. He’d also found her electronic candles, placing them strategically so she could see in the dimmed lighting.

“It’s perfect, Marcus. Would you like to join me?” she asked, biting her lip in anticipation. The bathtub was just large enough for two people, and she wanted to know what it would feel like to be with him in her most vulnerable state. After all the secrets and waiting, she just wanted more .

He shook his head, trying to not let his mind linger too long on the way her nightgown hugged her chest like liquid gold. As much as he wanted to be with her, something told him that it wasn’t the right moment. “You’ve had to take care of yourself for so long, honey. Let me take care of you, ok?”

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Their lips melded together as their resolve grew strained. She tasted sweet and intoxicating, and it took all his strength to not give in. “You deserve to be treated like a queen. You’re my queen, and I want to make you feel good. Is that alright?”

She hummed softly and kissed him again. A low moan escaped her lips. “You really know how to make a woman conflicted, Marcus.”

“Sorry, it’s a bad habit.”

“I know you are. I’m just glad you’re here now,” she said. Pulling away, she stepped up next to the bathtub. Slipping the straps off her shoulders, she suggested, “If you’re not going to join me in here, why don’t you get comfortable and keep me company?”

The bath felt as amazing as it looked, the hot water melting away the tension in her muscles and the bubbles acting as a blanket to keep her modesty. Well, not that she hadn’t undressed in front of Marcus, but she wanted to keep some parts of her a surprise.

After some shy laughs, Marcus stayed by her side the entire time, sitting on the edge of the tub. It was just wide enough for him to sit comfortably, close enough that they could talk softly and he could help wash her hair. The golden glow of the candles and the warmth from the bath soothed their nerves until they were just two people in love.

Relaxed and back in her nightgown, Erin sat on her bed and checked her emails one more time. Thankfully, there weren’t any that she needed to reply to.

“Careful, hot tea incoming.”

She smiled up at Marcus, who was holding out a cup of steaming pu erh tea. Accepting it, she remarked, “I’m surprised you were able to find the tea leaves.”

“It helped that I remembered that you always have a designated cabinet.”

“I guess not that much has changed after all these years,” she said, sipping from the cup. As she did, she wondered if it was just herself that hadn’t changed.

“Dance with me?”

Her eyes widened in confusion when he broke the silence. “Hm?”

Marcus held out a hand, which she instinctively reached for. “Dance with me. Please?”

It didn’t take long for her to give in, setting the cup down on the nightstand. They swayed slowly in the bedroom, moonlight streaming in. Although there wasn’t any music, it was just what they needed. They just needed a moment in each other’s arms.

Erin’s head rested against his chest, the warmth from his body sinking into her. “I missed you so much,” she said softly.

“I missed you too.”

He missed her too.

But there was still something nagging at the back of her mind. Part of her didn’t want to disturb the peace, but she also wanted answers. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to ask him. Maybe it would undo everything. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Can you tell me about your wife? Missy’s mom? Did she..?”

Marcus sighed softly, but not out of frustration. No, it was the kind that was borne of fondness. His arms tightened around her. “Yeah. We actually met not too long after I had my documents changed back. I didn’t want to tell her. I wanted a fresh start, but I still felt very much like Marcus Pike rather than Marcus Moreno. So, I told her about my past and we went from there.” A soft chuckle. “She was definitely shocked, but it was different because she never knew me as Pike, only Moreno.”

She wasn’t you, he wanted to say.

“I’m glad she knew,” she replied, snuggling closer to him. At least he told her, the mother of his child. It was...comforting to know that he hadn’t been all alone during those years. Eight years was a long time to keep a secret. “And what about now? Do you still feel like Marcus Pike?”

“Some days I feel more like Pike,” he admitted. “But with Missy and the Heroics, I feel like I’ve settled into being Marcus Moreno. It took a few years, but….Pike will always be a part of me. It wasn’t ever not me, just…a different side.”

“I see.” When his arms shifted, Erin clung to him tighter. “Don’t leave. Please.”

Marcus kissed her temple, his lips soft and warm. “Never again, honey. I’ll be here until you’re tired of me.”

< previous chapter | next chapter >

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elsewhereuniversity · 4 years

Text

Mellow was reading a murder mystery when the knights crashed through the door to her tower. She closed the book and listened to the voices on the stairwell, smiling when she heard the tone: giddy, drunk on relief, the kind of dazed wonder that only comes after the adrenaline stops. She recognized one- Magpie, if she wasn’t mistaken.

Her suspicion was confirmed when the pair stumbled through her door, soaked to the skin, dripping what she sincerely hoped was water onto the floor. Magpie was all in plate armor, except her torso was bare, which seemed to defeat the purpose somewhat. The other girl, unfamiliar, was dressed in what appeared to be a bathrobe, and was looking around with undisguised suspicion. Mellow smiled, did her level best to appear nonthreatening.

“Magpie, you’re back,” she said lightly. “I’d say it’s good to see you again, but if you’ve found me, that only means one thing.”

Magpie’s smile turned crooked, a familiar mixture of bashfulness and pride on her face (like a hundred other knights before).

Mellow didn’t entirely understand how it worked. She wasn’t sure if it was a curse or a gift. She didn’t even really remember what she was before she became… well, whatever it was that she was now. She distantly remembered climbing the tower stairs, but even that was foggy, and before that… well, just fog, and the distant sound of the Unsea.

Mellow didn’t try to remember things very often.

But, for better or for worse, people found their way to her tower. Not just people- knights, those recently returned from their quests. And never whole ones. If she was lucky, she got people like Magpie, who would bear scars with pride. If she was unlucky, she’d be sitting with someone with less fingers than expected, or short an eye. The kinds of wounds that even she couldn’t fix, just take the pain away.

The worst ones were the silent ones, or the crying ones. The ones that told her through words or otherwise that dear ones hadn’t made it back, or that they were not as they were.

“How did we get here?” asked the newcomer, jolting Mellow back to the present. Her suspicion was fading into curiosity as she looked around, peering out the window. “I swear, I’ve gone past here a hundred times, and this wasn’t here.”

“Beats me, love,” Mellow said, smiling wryly. “From what I understand, it won’t be here unless you’re, ah…"

"Oh.” The girl looked out the window to the swirling fog, then asked, “Are you a ghost?”

“Lark!” Magpie looked mortified. Mellow just laughed.

“Not on my good days.” She looked at her hand in spite of herself, a little self conscious. She shouldn’t have worried- you could barely see the floor through it.

“And on bad days?” Lark asked with genuine interest. Magpie looked about to die of embarrassment.

“On bad days, you could read a book through me,” Mellow admitted cheerfully. “But enough about me. What happened?”

The two women shared a look, and having met hundreds of knights over the years, Mellow could read the where to begin without trying.

“Let me put it this way,” she said, pulling two chairs to the floor and gesturing for them to sit. “Where are you hurt?”

Magpie immediately held out her right arm, and Mellow winced. There were a couple of shallow gashes along her arm. Something twinkled in the longest one- glass, she realized.

“What did you do, punch a window?” she asked sardonically.

“Something like that,” Lark said, and held up her left arm. It was similarly injured- actually. Looking between the two of them, the cuts were exactly the same size, same length- just mirrored. Mellow raised her eyebrows.

“All right,” she said, “I’ll admit I haven’t seen that very often.”

It was only the work of several minutes to retrieve the shards from the girls’ arms. The unsettling thing was that when the matching shards were closer together, they vibrated and then snapped together into one. Mellow did her level best not to think too hard about it, particularly after hearing the story- something about a trap, a thrilling duel between Magpie and some-random-fae-or-another, and a particularly belligerent library book with the solution to escaping. After hearing about the tome’s quest, Mellow supposed she couldn’t blame them for trying a more, uh, direct way out.

“But,” Lark said brightly, “I did find Escher.”

“What?” Mellow asked, confused.

“Escher. He’s been gone for like, two years now. Turns out there was some to-do about his comp sci project, and one thing led to another, so he got thrown in there same as me.” Lark held up her other arm, where the wrist was surrounded by a ring of bruises. “After I was taken prisoner by the frogs, we managed to set the place on fire and escape. He’s fine.”

“The- I’m sorry, where do frogs come in here?” Mellow pulled a bottle from the top shelf, squinted at it, added a few drops to the bowl of water she was carrying, and brought it over to Lark’s chair.

“It’s kind of a complicated story,” Lark admitted.

“I’ll say,” Magpie said, glaring at Lark. “You didn’t tell me about any frogs.”

“It’s been a weird couple of days,” Lark said defensively. Mellow grinned, wetting a clean cloth and gently dabbing the liquid on the worst scratch, her hands as gentle as she could make them. Despite that, Lark winced.

“I’d say so,” Mellow said, talking to distract, moving onto the second one. “There are frogs in a mirror?”

“I mean, not really the mirror,” Lark said, watching with interest as the first cut slowly healed, leaving a pink line of new scar. “The mirror was the portal, not literally where I was. Admittedly, I was put in a gladiator’s arena to fight my own reflection to the death, but I think that’s just a coincidence. Also, to be clear they weren’t really frogs, they were… frog-like.”

She didn’t elaborate, and after seeing the shadow cross her face Mellow was wise enough not to ask her to. The relief was clearly wearing off, and Lark looked like she wanted nothing more than to dry off and go to bed. She moved on to Magpie, doing her best to make small talk, smiling, keeping her hands gentle. This is what she was good at.

As the last cut sealed shut, and Mellow tipped the faintly-pink water down the drain, Lark sighed and got to her feet. Mellow couldn’t help but notice she had no reflection in the mirror.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but unfortunately I’ve missed half my midterms and I need to make them up tomorrow, so I really need to sleep.”

“Skip physics,” Magpie said, but she was yawning as well.

“Out,” Mellow said, handing each of them a small bag. “Freely given,” she clarified. “Just like my aid.”

Lark visibly relaxed, and Mellow kicked herself for not setting her at ease earlier. “What is it?”

“Tea,” Mellow said. “Don’t waste it. It’s my favorite.”

“Are you sure you don’t want it?” Lark asked. Mellow did her best to keep her smile light.

“Don’t drink much tea these days,” she said, and out of habit looked down at her hands. She could distinctly see the floorboards now through them. She closed them into fists, tucked them behind her back- don’t scare her, don’t unnerve her. This is a safe place, healing and kind words and careful hands.

“We should go,” Magpie said into the awkward pause. “Come on, Lark.”

They were at the door to the room when Lark turned around, narrowing her eyes in that quizzical way that Mellow had learned meant she was about to ask a question that Magpie would cringe at.

“I have one more question,” she said. “The stairs, they end here.”

“Yes,” Mellow agreed.

“But if this is the highest room,” Lark said, cocking her head to the side, “Who keeps the light lit?”

The sharpest ones generally did ask. Mellow thought maybe she had asked someone once, the day she had entered the lighthouse, beckoned by the steady glow of the beacon at the top. She didn’t remember who, or where they had gone.

“I couldn’t say for sure,” she began. She paused, looking at the two knights who she sincerely hoped she would never see again (for the right reasons, of course.), at her careful, gentle, see-through hands.

“But do you know? I think it’s me.”

-Bean

#stories #bean #long post #oh i LOVE this #the lighthouse #the unsea #lark #magpie #mellow #everything about this is great #the non sequitors about their quest #are fantastic #submission

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ashyblondwaves · 3 years

Text

Just Ask Her (Part 2)

Part 1 can be found here. Also posted to AO3.

There were ingredients everywhere. Fresh green beans and artichokes, chicken and lemons. All in disarray. It certainly looked much easier on television, when all the ingredients were already prepared and measured. All the host had to do was dump them in a pan. Vision realized he wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t have a behind the scenes team to prepare his ingredients for him. It was all up to him.

“That should be everything,” Tony said, putting the last of the canvas grocery bags in the kitchen drawer. “Before you ask, candles are already in holders in the dining room. Left you some matches too and I told the team the kitchen and dining room were reserved for you tonight. If they want food they can go out and get it. They should leave you alone.”

Vision stared at Tony, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over him. “Mr. Stark, you’ve done far more than I asked and I don’t know how to thank you for that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said, nonchalantly. “Don’t say I’ve never done anything for you. I gotta go, I’m taking Pepper out to dinner tonight. You got it from here?”

“I hope so,” Vision replied, reaching for the bundle of green beans. He looked at the long stems coming from them. “I guess this is what I trim then?”

Tony nodded, looking at Vision almost sympathetically. “Yeah, just get rid of those stems. I used to do that all the time as a kid. It’s actually really cathartic. Try it, just snap off the end.”

Vision plucked a green bean from the bundle and held it between his fingers, using his other hand to bend the stemmed end. With a satisfying crack, the bean was trimmed.

“Magic,” Tony said, waving his hands through the air. “Alright! I have to go.” He moved around the kitchen quickly, yelling over his shoulder as he left. “Good luck, you’ll be fine. I’d tell you not to do anything I wouldn’t but that wouldn’t be very fun!” With a slam of the door, he was gone.

Vision stared down at the ingredients once more, quickly forming a plan to tackle it all. He didn’t hear Wanda pad into the kitchen.

“Vis?” She asked gently. “I hope I’m not underdressed for the occasion.”

When Vision looked up, all he saw was Wanda standing in front of him. She’d changed out of the clothes she went shopping in and was now wearing a soft, gray sweater that hung off her frame in all the right places. Vision couldn’t help but notice the soft skin of her shoulder peeking out from the lush fabric. With it, she wore a pair of black leggings that hugged her legs so perfectly it almost felt wrong to look at them. Her feet were bare. She looked perfect. Truth be told, according to Vision, she could have worn a potato sack and still looked perfect.

“You look stunning,” Vision said, snapping a green bean and dropping it into a bowl. “Dress codes aren’t implemented in my kitchen.”

“I didn’t realize this was your kitchen now,” Wanda laughed, walking closer to the kitchen island. “Is there anything I could help you with?”

With a sigh, Vision gave in.

“Normally, I wouldn’t dream of asking you to help prepare your own meal,” he said, looking down at everything still in disarray. “But would you be willing to finish trimming these beans so I can work on the artichokes? I’m afraid my knife skills leave a lot to be desired. I can chop ingredients easily, but the finesse required for this part may take awhile.”

“Of course,” Wanda said, hopping up onto a stool at the island and sliding the bowl of trimmed beans in her direction. “I know you want to do this on your own, but it’s ok to ask for help. Besides, I’ve always liked the idea of cooking a meal with my…” she trailed off for just a moment before finishing her sentence. “Friend.”

Vision couldn’t explain it, but the slip in words gave him a jolt of confidence that the night wasn’t going to be a complete disaster. She almost said boyfriend, he thought, smiling to himself as he grabbed a knife from the drawer and set the oven to 425. They were on the same page. They had to be.

They worked in silence for the next few minutes as Vision broke down the first artichoke, peeling away leaf after leaf in search of this so-called heart.

“It seems very wasteful to buy all these artichokes just to use one piece of it,” Vision said, pulling another leaf from the vegetable.

Wanda looked at Vision with sympathetic eyes. “I’m pretty sure they sell cans of artichoke hearts you could’ve used.”

“I certainly wish that chef on the show I watched had mentioned that,” Vision said, looking down at the mess of artichoke parts in front of him. “At least I know now.”

“Wait,” Wanda paused, green bean in hand. “You watched cooking shows for this?”

Vision nodded. “I wanted to be a little more prepared for the task than I was last time. But it appears I’ve hit my first obstacle.”

“This’ll be fine, Vis,” Wanda said, pushing the bowl of finished green beans away. “Give me a few of those artichokes.”

They tackled the artichokes together in companionable silence until each one had been stripped down to the heart.

“Thank you,” Vision said gratefully. As he spoke he tossed some thyme onto a baking sheet with the green beans and started with the seasoning. “That went much faster than if I’d done it all myself.”

The rest of the cooking went surprisingly smooth once the artichokes were on the baking sheet with the green beans and in the oven. Vision moved swiftly through the kitchen, grabbing a skillet for the chicken and quietly seasoning it and browning it.

“Okay,” Vision said with a relaxed sigh. “Lemon, please!”

“Here’s your lemon, sir!” Wanda played along, plucking the lemon from the countertop and handing it to Vision, who cut the lemon in half and placed the halves in the skillet with the chicken. To finish it off, he added the rest of the thyme and put the skillet in the oven.

The finishing touches were easy. It was just a matter of combining everything into one dish. Tossing in a little more parmesan, Vision plated Wanda’s meal and stood in front of it proudly.

“Let’s hope it tastes as good as it looks,” Vision said. “Follow me to the dining room?”

The dining room was dimly lit, the candles arranged on the table in such a way that it gave the illusion that the table was smaller; just enough for two people on a date rather than the large and luxurious piece of furniture it really was.

“Here you go,” Vision said, setting the plate down and pulling out a chair for Wanda. “Dinner is served.”

As Wanda settled in with her meal, Vision lit the candles. They flickered, casting a beautiful dusky glow throughout the room. Vision sat quietly across from Wanda, watching nervously as she took her first bite.

“Mmmm,” she hummed, nodding enthusiastically as she finished her bite. “Vis, this is really good. Really good.”

A swell of pride filled Vision’s senses. “Thank you,” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I should be thanking you,” Wanda replied, finishing another bite. “I would have been ok with Mac and Cheese out of the box. But this is absolutely delicious. Thank you, Vision.”

They stared at each other for what seemed like days, smiles wide on both of their faces. Now, Vision thought. It was time to ask her.

“Could I get you something to drink?”

No! Wrong question.

“I’m okay for now,” Wanda said, cutting into her chicken. “But a nice glass of chardonnay after this will hit the spot.”

Vision nodded, taking note of Wanda’s request. But now was not the time to discuss an after dinner wine. If he didn’t ask her now, he was afraid he never would and they’d spend the rest of their time together dancing around the idea of being something more.

“Wanda,” Vision started, steeling himself for what he was about to say. “As you know, I regard our friendship very highly. Getting to know you has helped me learn so many things. Happiness, sadness, laughter but most importantly.. love.”

By now, Wanda had stopped eating her meal. She clutched her fork in her right hand, eyes wide and body at attention as Vision continued.

“Please stop me if you think I’m overstepping any boundaries,” he said. “But I get this feeling that there may be more between us that we’ve yet to talk about, let alone explore. Is that something you feel, too?”

Wanda stayed silent and Vision immediately wondered if he’d said something wrong. Had he made her feel obligated to say yes? Maybe a meal wasn’t the right idea after all.

“You can tell me,” Vision assured her, resisting the urge to reach out for her hand, just in case. “No matter the answer.”

With a shaky breath, Wanda finally answered.

“So much that sometimes it almost hurts,” she admitted. “Just being near you brings me so much comfort. But I’ve been wondering what it could be like between us.. as more than friends.”

“I’d really like to find out,” Vision said, finally reaching across the table and taking Wanda’s hand. “This game we’ve been playing..”

Wanda shook her head. “It’s not working anymore. Maybe it never did.”

“I think we were just fooling ourselves,” Vision agreed. “And wasting time where we could have been together.”

“Soo..” Wanda urged, running her thumb over Vison’s hand. “Are we done wasting time?”

“We are done wasting time.”

They shared a quick smile as Wanda picked her fork back up and dug into the rest of her food and continued on in silence back to the kitchen to clean up the cooking aftermath.

“TV in my room when we’re done?” Wanda asked, scrubbing her plate at the sink. It’d become a nightly routine with them, but she still always made sure to ask him and let him know he was welcome to join her.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Vision said over his shoulder. He tackled the mess of artichokes before joining Wanda at the sink to finish the dishes.

“Hi,” Wanda said coyly, bumping Vision’s side with her shoulder playfully.

There was a sense of relief between them now. One that finally allowed them to do all the little things that they’d been skirting around for months for fear that it would escalate into something they weren’t ready for.

“Oh,” Vision said, pretending he hadn’t seen Wanda next to him. He scooped up some bubbles from the sink and flicked them in Wanda’s direction. “Hello.”

Wanda laughed a genuine, hearty laugh -- one that Vision had never heard before -- and returned the favor, spraying bubbles all over Vision’s sweater before turning the sink’s sprayer on him.

“Unfair advantage!” Vision yelled, trying to shield himself with his arms. “Unfair advantage!”

“Don’t start what you can’t finish,” Wanda teased, releasing the button on the sprayer and setting it back in its place. “You may have to take that sweater off.”

Vision narrowed his eyes at Wanda, a lopsided grin spreading across his face, ready to play along. “You certainly don’t expect me to do that here in the middle of the kitchen, right?”

“Nooo. I wouldn’t dream of it,” Wanda hummed. “You can take it off in my room.”

Wanda grabbed Vision’s hand and pulled him down the hallway with her toward the bedroom. Once inside she closed and locked the door, sending Vision’s thoughts reeling. They always closed the door but never did they lock it. Tonight was going to be different.

“Before I take this off,” Vision said, toying with the hem of the sweater. “Can I kiss you first? I realize I should have kissed you twenty minutes ago in the dining room and I didn’t, which was foolish.”

Wanda took a step forward, nodding her approval.

Vision took Wanda’s hands in his and pulled her close until their bodies were touching. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, feeling Wanda’s body melt against his. There were no fireworks, no fanfare, but something stirred deep inside Vision that kept him rooted to the spot, lips working against Wanda’s. As far as first kisses go, Vision didn’t think he did half bad.

When they finally parted, Vision pressed his forehead to Wanda’s, whispering his next sentence.

“I’ve wanted to do that for far too long.”

Wanda sighed and closed her eyes, letting her hands wander underneath Vision’s wet sweater. She ran her hands along the unique combination of vibranium and skin, feeling it contract as her hands roamed. Soon, Vision’s hands were at the hem of his sweater again, pulling it up and over his head in one quick motion and without a word, he kissed her again.

They moved toward the bed, movements clunky but effective and climbed in. Vision went to his usual spot at the head of the bed. He sat with his back against the headboard and watched as Wanda hung back just for a moment. In that quick moment, she pulled her own sweater off, leaving her in just a bra and her leggings.

“I wanted to join you,” she said, shrugging at Vision’s surprised look.

Without another word, she crawled across the bed and toward Vision, straddling his hips when she reached him. She took his face in her hands and kissed him, bucking her hips so her middle rubbed against him.

“Can you feel that?” Wanda asked, grinding against him again, lips grazing against his with each word. “Does that do anything for you?”

“Yes,” Vision groaned. “Keep going.”

Wanda didn’t need to be told twice. She continued her movements, smiling against Vision’s lips when she started to feel him even more between her legs. She wasn’t sure if it’d work. If it was something Vision was even capable of, but with each snap of her hips he groaned a little more and grew a little harder underneath her.

They spent their night taking turns on each other. Exploring, teasing, tasting. Learning what combination of hands, fingers and tongues made them come undone the most.

As they lay in bed, naked and sated for the moment Vision remembered something Wanda had said earlier in the night. He propped himself up on his elbow and asked her the question.

“Did you still want that chardonnay?”

#scarletvision #scarletvision fics #wandavision #wandavision fics #wanda maximoff #vision #wanda x vision #fanfiction #i write shit #just ask her #apologies if this is terrible #I cannot be held responsible for what I write at the wee hours of the morning lol

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guiltysecretpasttime · 3 years

Note

we NEED more ✨soft/protective✨ Lin!! Maybe taking care of Tenzin after he’s hurt or something- reverse the roles!! ❤️👄❤️

Note: Here’s another response to a prompt from @altheasideas. Another Linzin AU.

Title: Respite

One-shot. Let me know what you think. :)

There is a shortage of recent Lin/Tenzin stories so I figured… why not? I feel like this might have been done already but here’s my spin to it following the prompt I received. Hope you enjoy.

Chief Beifong knew there will be a lot of work to be done once they land at Republic city. But for now, she grabbed the opportunity that her sister presented her (“I’ll take care of all the coordination for now – take care of your family.”). It was not often that Suyin offered help without any hidden agenda, but Lin was far too exhausted to think of the ramifications of this decision and opted to take it at face level.

Two down, one more to go, she thought as she pressed the button that closed the door behind her. She pushed forward the cart she got from the airship’s kitchen. There was only one food tray left; she had already delivered the other two meals and then some. Her equanimity was not left unscathed though.

It was perturbing to help the normally capable Bumi bandage himself as he barely cracked a grin at her (he had cracked ribs after all).

It was similarly disorienting to assist the usually limber Kya in changing into more comfortable clothes that would allow better movement with her crutches.

She knew there was a few more hours before they reach Republic City. This gives her enough time…

Taking a deep breath to ready herself for what lies beyond the last metal door, she pushed the button to slide open the door.

“I said I’m not hungry.” A cranky and hoarse voice imposed from the middle of the room.

“That’s too bad,” Lin entered, carrying the food tray and a small medicine bag. “You don’t really have a choice, Tenzin.”

Contrary to popular belief, between the two of them, it is the airbender who is a difficult patient.

She could see the man lying prone on the bed, propped up by several pillows, squinting at her. “Lin.”

It is the first time that husband and wife had been alone since they separated in Ba Sing Se.

Chief Beifong had seen a lot of blood and death in the years that she had been serving in the force. She was no stranger to injury as well (she’s a Beifong, no one would have expected any different).

However, nothing could have prepared her to see her pacifist husband bruised, bloodied, battered and the brink of death.

He had leaned heavily on her when he got down with Mako from the bison. He was vacillating between wakefulness and unconsciousness at the time.

It was jarring to see him in that condition. He had always been her pillar of strength, someone she sought to rely on whenever the going gets rough. For him to need to depend on another person… it was unthinkable.

As someone trained for the police force, she made sure to tamp down any emotions or worries at that time to focus on their task at hand – which was to retrieve the airbenders and hunt down the Red Lotus. She knew that if she let her emotions take over, she would have probably committed something worse than the fate that had befallen the combustion bender. There would have been no going back from that – it could have jeopardized their mission and it was probably something that Tenzin might hold against her. Never mind that she did it for him.

At present, she pulled up a chair at his bedside, placing the food tray on the nightstand.

Finally summoning the courage to address her husband directly, Lin sat down and swallowed drily.

Lin was thankful that all the grime and the blood had been cleaned off Tenzin. On the other hand, it further highlighted each bruise and each cut that littered his face and skin.

She leaned over, gently running her fingers at the lump that that formed near the blue arrow. “You gave us quite a scare.”

You gave me a scare.

“How are Bumi and Kya?” Tenzin evaded addressing the comment.

“They’re in no better shape than you,” The metalbender leaned back, one hand carefully cupping the airbender’s cheek. “They, however, could feed themselves, which is more than I can say for you.” She felt Tenzin lean into her touch. “Don’t even try saying you’re not hungry.” She ran her thumb on her husband’s chapped dry lips. “I know for a fact that you sent out the last staff that Su sent with food.”

Tenzin rolled his eyes but did not refute her.

“Drink some water first,” Lin opened the water bottle she brought. “Please?”

Gingerly, she helped the airbender ease himself to a better sitting position, not missing the several winces the man made while doing so.

Even if Tenzin opened his palm to ask for the water bottle, Lin curled her hand around it, not drawing attention to how his hand shook as he took a sip.

He lowered the bottle and their hands, smacking his now wet lips. “There, does that satisfy you, dear?”

Lin shook her head and twisted to remove the cover of the soup bowl. “Finish half of this, at least.” The appetizing aroma of the lentil spinach soup wafted from the bowl.

“I’m not -.” He began to say before his grumbling stomach interrupted him.

On any other day, Lin would have teased him. On any other day, Lin might have glared at him and probably out of childishness, taken the entire bowl and drank the entirety of it in two gulps, leaving none for him. On any other day, Tenzin might have attempted to wrestle the bowl from her and then feed her himself.

Today was not one of those days.

Instead, Lin threw him a concerned glance as she unfolded a cloth napkin which she placed on his lap.

Tenzin sighed across her, a sound of acquiescence, of defeat.

She blew lightly on a spoonful of soup. She edged closer to draw the spoon to his reluctantly opened mouth.

They repeated this several times in silence before Lin had the strength to voice out her fear.

"We could have lost you."

I could have lost you.

"I had to hold them off." Was the stilted reply, voice cracking from exhaustion and lack of use. "The kids…" He trailed off.

"I know you did," Lin looked down at the bowl, biting her lip, scraping soup stuck at the sides. "They're okay now, both of them."

Their two children, one airbender and one earthbender, had both been at the Air Temple at the time of the attack.

The couple had reasoned that it would be the safer alternative to travelling around the Earth Kingdom with the Avatar.

Lin could not help but think what that decision had almost cost them.

"I don't know what I would have done if you -." She choked up, grip loosening and the spoon clattering on the porcelain.

She quickly turned away, busying herself in tidying the food tray; one hand in a tight fist, a sign that her husband knew to mean that Lin was grappling with containing her feelings.

Tenzin did not fail to notice his wife's red-rimmed eyes when she entered the room. He knew she was trying to keep it together for his sake. Thankfully, Lin thought, he knew better than to bring it up.

The crinkling of foil echoed in the quiet room as Lin inspected the rest of the food tray. "There's also sweet mung bean bun for dessert. Would you want to eat it now?"

Without waiting for a reply, she tore a small piece and bumped the bite-sized bread to his mouth.

As Lin was about to get another piece, Tenzin reached out to grasp her wrist, keeping her hand against his lips. He landed a kiss to her palm while maintaining eye contact. Angling himself painstakingly, he patted the side of his bed.

Come here, the action implied.

Lin could feel her neck heating up.

The action brought to mind a different time and a different place, when their positions were reversed.

I need you with me. Please.

Make me forget what we almost lost.

(Truth be told, that might have been when their youngest was conceived.)

The earnestness in her husband's tired gaze was enough to remove her reservations in joining him in bed.

Lin thanked the spirits for her presence of mind in having the burns from P'Li treated earlier before checking on her in-laws and husband. There was no way she would have been able to hide those injuries from Tenzin.

He did not know about the confrontation with the combustion bender - and Lin wanted to keep it that way.

She fluffed his pillows and lowered the back of the bed.

With cautious and measured movements, Lin climbed in beside him, taking prodigious care not to jostle the airbender or unnecessarily hit his injuries.

Her husband smiled gratefully at her, he tried to circle an arm around her shoulder but found it too painful to stretch.

Instead, Lin pushed herself closer, close enough for their heartbeats to sync. She could feel his hand still shaking as he lightly carded his fingers through her hair in a bid to reassure her.

There was almost no part of him that was not rubbed with salve or wrapped with bandages so Lin had to tread carefully where to place her hand. She settled for a section above his ribs and she reached up to place a kiss on his collarbone.

She did not react to the drops of moisture she felt on her skin, which could only come from the silent tears of the airbender. She recognizes that he needs this, to grieve unobtrusively.

There would be a world of disorder that awaits them. But, just for now, just behind the closed metal doors, they can breathe.

#linzin #linzin fanfic #altheasideas #lok fanfic #lin beifong #tenzin #writing prompts maybe #toccatina's fanfics #toccatina completed

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