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mercurysnitch · 2 years

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Mother Mercury Part 5: The Show Must Go On

Summary: Trouble is brewing when Mel returns to the set of Bohemian Rhapsody after Thanksgiving break. Christmas is a turning point for Mel and Ben, and the end of filming might just have a few surprises in store.

A/N: Yes, it’s finally here. As previously mentioned, this is the last part of this story, three years and a pandemic after I started it. I do have an idea for a final epilogue chapter, but I'm not convinced I’ll ever get around to writing it. But I may post some “headcanons” of where I was planning for this story to go at some point.

Despite the long gaps between parts this story kept my mind somewhat occupied during multiple lockdowns even though very little of those thoughts ever actually made it onto the page, so I suppose I’m grateful for that.

This part covers the rest of Bohemian Rhapsody filming and a bit extra, so the story’s ending a bit earlier than I initially planned, but I think it works. The filming timeline might not be entirely historically accurate but at the end of the day, this is my fic so the timeline is whatever I say it is.

Not a lot of Eve in this one, but there’s some guest appearances to make up for it. Including, finally, the other surviving member of Queen finally turning up on-screen after many mentions in previous parts. Title is obviously from the Queen song.

The only warning for this one is mentions of illness, I think. Also as usual I think the English and American slang is accurate but I am neither of those things so it’s probably not perfect. Apologies if any Australianisms have snuck in, I try to avoid them but sometimes they’re not obvious.

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Previously on Mother Mercury: The Bo Rhap cast has been introduced to Freddie’s granddaughter Mel, who’s working in the wardrobe department, and her mother Eve. Ben and Mel are going out, and he was invited to Eve’s for Thanksgiving, but no one on set knows they’re together. Also, the director’s a pill.

Mel was feeling quite refreshed after the Thanksgiving break, and she knew the band were looking forward to getting back together. But when she and Ben finally arrived to set on the first morning back, there was a rather unwelcome surprise waiting for them.

The set was never far from organised chaos at the best of times, but that morning nearly everything seemed to be in total disarray. Even Barbara looked worried when Mel arrived at the wardrobe department to start her day.

“What’s going on?” she asked, suddenly concerned. “Our esteemed director hasn’t arrived yet” Barbara informed her, voice dripping with contempt. “And no-one’s heard from him. No one even knows where he is.” “Christ” Mel exclaimed. “So are we still running today, or…?” Barbara just shrugged. “If he’s not here soon we’ll have to shut down for today, nothing’s been properly organised.” “And after that?” Mel asked. “The word is if he doesn’t surface soon he’ll be sacked” Barbara replied conspiratorially. Not a minute too soon, Mel thought.

It was a strange, unsettled day. The assistant directors did what they could, but it was hard to make progress when no one really knew what they were supposed to be doing. After noon arrived with no sign of the director arriving on set, the decision was made to shut down for the day. Some of the most senior crew stayed on to do some contingency planning for the next few days, but everyone else was sent home. None of the cast were exactly happy with this news, but Joe was particularly unimpressed.

“Seriously? This bullshit again? Honestly, I don’t care what this guy’s resume is like, he’s a seriously shitty director right now. Like, does he just not give a shit about all the time and money he’s wasted? And putting everything on the A.D. s all the time, that’s just disrespectful, like, their job isn’t to do his job for him.” “We know, Joe” Gwilym said gently. “You think you’d be better?” Rami joked. Joe looked alarmed. “God, no, I directed one tiny indie with like half a crew, I wouldn’t have a clue what to do on a big production like this.” Suddenly he looked wistful. “Maybe one day, though.”

Lacking anything better to do, the band decided to decamp to Rami's hotel for the afternoon to have a proper post-break catch up. Lucy and Allen were also invited, along with Mel. She was pleased to be included, though she could have sworn she saw a hint of a smirk on Joe's face when he extended the invitation.

At any rate, mid-afternoon found the gang scattered through Rami's deluxe suite, chatting about what they'd been up to during the break. Allen and Gwilym had enjoyed a bit of time off with their partners, while Lucy had taken the opportunity to catch up with a few friends. Rami and Joe had of course gone home to spend the holiday with their families, which for Joe had been extremely bittersweet due to his father's illness.

"I just… He was so much worse than when I left" Joe explained. "I think… I knew he was getting sicker before I left, but it’s just so obvious how much he’s deteriorated while I’ve been away, and I..." At that Joe began to break down, leaning into Rami who embraced him tightly, whispering words of comfort the others couldn't hear. "We're all here for you, mate, anything you need" Gwilym added softly. Joe pulled back, smiling slightly. "Thanks guys" he told them. "But right now I need to not think about it for a while, so Ben, what did you do last week?"

Ben's eyes widened in horror. He'd spent most of the week with Mel, of course, but he could hardly tell everyone that without explaining why. "I, uh,…" he stammered, looking desperately to Mel for support. She merely grinned mischievously. “Y'know, we could just tell them” she said evenly, largely unperturbed. “We’re official now, we have to tell them at some point.” “You sure?” Ben checked. Mel nodded. “Alright then” Ben agreed. He grinned in anticipation. "I had Thanksgiving supper at Eve's, actually." The others were suitably shocked. "You what?" Lucy asked, baffled. "It's a tradition of ours" Mel explained. "We remember Freddie by having a big meal with lots of guests, and wine, once the kids are in bed of course."

"That's all well and good, but why was Ben invited to supper by himself?" Gwilym questioned. Mel and Ben broke into near identical mischievous smiles. “Because he’s my boyfriend” Mel announced, reaching out to take Ben's hand.

“I knew it!” Joe yelled. “I knew there was something going on.” “We’re all very happy for you” Lucy said kindly, shaking her head at Joe’s antics. The rest of the group were smiling, cheerfully congratulating the happy couple. “You’re not surprised” Ben observed. “We’ve been wondering when it would happen” Lucy explained. Ben raised his eyebrows. “When, not if?”

“Mate, you’ve been absolutely gone for Mel since the day you met her” Gwilym pointed out. “I have not” Ben protested to Mel, blushing furiously. She merely smiled. “Naww, love at first sight?” she teased. “Anyway,” Gwilym interjected, “we didn’t know how Mel felt, of course, but we had our suspicions, and, well…” It was Mel’s turn to blush. “Damn, and I thought I was hiding it so well around you lot.” “Hey, we're not holding it against you” Lucy reassured her. “No, no, it's quite alright” Mel agreed.

Suddenly Joe groaned, cutting through the general cheer. "What's up?" Rami said quzzically, speaking for the rest of the rather puzzled group. "I just realised, I'm the only single dude in the band now" Joe explained. "Gwil was the only one with a girlfriend when we started this movie, and then Rami and Lucy happened, which, okay, I’m thrilled he’s found someone, but now my boy Ben's gone and left me all alone in singletown and we're not even done shooting yet. I mean, I know stuff happens on movies but both of you met people, on the same movie, within weeks of each other?"

Mel stared at him in confusion. "Is… Is he actually upset two of his mates have met someone before him?" "No, no, he's happy for us, really" Ben assured her. "He's just whining cos he doesn't want to be the only one on the pull when we all go out." "Eh, it's not like I could be any less successful than I have been the last few months" Joe grumbled. "Yeah, and I can still be your wingman, you know" Ben told him cheerfully. Joe smiled. "Well, that could be fun" he said. "Seriously though, I am genuinely super happy for you crazy kids."

Mel grinned at that. "Thanks, old man." Joe laughed at the insult, though he looked mildly scandalised. But whatever offence he might have taken at Mel’s jibe didn’t last long, and the rest of the afternoon was spent recounting the highlights of Ben and Mel’s Thanksgiving dinner and discussing plans for the remaining weeks of the shoot.

The next day the director was still nowhere to be found, and no one had successfully contacted him. The first assistant director attempted to take charge so they could at least try to get something done, but the mood on set was still unsettled and progress was slow. Over the next few days everyone soldiered on as best they could, but the director remained conspicuously absent.

After another week of radio silence though, both the cast and crew’s patience was rapidly running out. Remarkably, that very day the director finally reappeared, hours after he should have arrived on set on a normal day, claiming he'd been delayed due to having to care for his ill mother. But it was too late. Official complaints had apparently been made, and by noon a couple of Fox executives had arrived to give the director his marching orders. Singer was officially fired, effective immediately, and production was suspended until a new director could be hired.

The cast were universally thrilled to see the back of Singer, but there was widespread frustration at the resulting delays. Although some of the tension that had hung over the production in recent weeks had finally lifted with the knowledge the director was gone for good, there was still some unease about the potential impact of all the disruptions on the production, not to mention the inevitable effects a new director would have on both the set and the eventual film. Rami, though, was apparently confident everything would turn out alright in the end.

“I know who they’re trying to get to take over, and if he says yes, it should be good” he told the band, following the official announcement of the search for a new director to the cast and crew. Gwilym wasn’t convinced. “It’s still a massive disruption though, especially this late on in production.” “As long as they listen to the crew we’ll be able to pretty much pick up where we left off, everything’s still basically set up” Joe countered. “Plus, if Rami says this guy’s good, he’s probably great, so…” Rami grinned. “Nice to know some of you still have faith in me.”

In the end it took only four days for the studio to announce Dexter Fletcher would be taking over to finish the film, and shooting would resume shortly. The cast made the most of the unexpected break, spending an afternoon having a (very) long lunch at Eve’s. Mel did have some slight misgivings about the potential consequences of introducing all of her workmates to her very-much-not-average family, but in the end she needn’t have worried. Everyone got over their awe at being in Freddie’s house very quickly, having been prepared ahead of time by Ben, and by the time the end-of-meal tea and coffee were served quite a lot of the band seemed to be happily ensconced with Eve’s family.

Gwilym and Violet, both keen gardeners, were deep in discussion about the proper care of his new indoor plants. No one else in the band was terribly interested in plants, so he was very pleased to finally find someone who shared his enthusiasm. Joe, armed with his years of experience as an uncle, had won Jamie over almost instantly, and had even managed to get Lavender to warm up to him within half an hour of meeting her. By that point she’d persuaded him to play blocks with her on the floor, Jamie having managed to engage Allen in a detailed discussion of their respective football teams’ recent fortunes.

Rami was discussing something Freddie-related with Eve. He’d had an unpleasant moment soon after arriving, when he’d been happily greeted by Eve’s big fluffy grey cat Oberon, only to immediately sneeze and instinctively move away from the poor thing. Once he’d explained he was allergic to cats Eve had obligingly shut away Oberon and his elegant tabby companion Titania for the duration and assured Rami it was perfectly fine, though she did note the irony of her father’s portrayer being allergic to his favourite animals.

Meanwhile Mel was enjoying a rare opportunity to get to know Gwilym and Allen’s partners. This was in fact the first time she’d met them, but thus far they were all getting on famously despite their various differences in age and professional background.

Lucy, having found herself uninvolved in any of the conversations, turned to Ben, who was watching proceedings with a contented smile.

“You look happy” she said quietly. “I am happy” Ben replied. “The prick is finally gone, I get to spend more time with some of my best mates and my girlfriend… life’s good, y’know?” Lucy smiled. “You really like her, don’t you?” “I do” Ben said softly. “More than I thought… well I thought, at the start, she’d be a-a rebound, or whatever, but then I wanted to be official, and she wanted me to meet her family, and I… it’s still so early, we’re moving a bit fast but… I actually quite like it.” “You’re getting serious then” Lucy observed. “I think we are” Ben agreed. “I mean, I don’t want to get too serious too quickly but… I don’t want to not be serious either.” “That’s a good thing, wanting to be serious” Lucy assured him. “And you just do things when it feels right for the two of you, if anyone says you’re wrong they can piss off.” Ben couldn’t help grinning at that. “Thanks, Luce.”

The rest of the afternoon passed quite peacefully, though Ben couldn’t resist the opportunity to stir things up a bit by encouraging Eve to play Freddie’s piano for the assembled company. At the mention of music Lavender immediately requested ‘All Together Now’, clearly still obsessed. Ben got a big surprise when Mel picked up the guitar to accompany herself while she sang, naturally backed by her mums. The others were of course preoccupied with Mel’s fabulous voice, so her playing passed largely without comment until much later, when she and Ben were walking back to her little house.

“I didn’t know you could play the guitar” Ben said casually. Mel smiled. “And the bass, a bit.” “Really?” Ben marvelled. “Haven’t you ever noticed the absurd number of instruments crammed into my sitting room?” Mel joked. “Well, I’ve seen the piano… wait, can you play that too?” Mel grinned. “Of course, darling, why do you think I have the bloody thing?” Ben was intrigued. “Did your mum teach you then, the piano I mean?” “And the guitar, at first” Mel told him. “Papa taught her when she was young, she passed it all on to me when I was old enough. But even when I was very small I liked it when she played, she said.” Ben nodded. “So does Eve play the bass as well?” “No, Uncle John taught me” Mel clarified. “And more guitar, Mum was always more interested in the piano.” “You’re very talented, you know, all those instruments” Ben commented, smiling. “So are you” Mel said. “Drums are hard, you’re pretty good for someone who’s only been playing a few months.” Ben blushed slightly. “Gee, thanks. But you’re… your whole family is, like, ridiculously musical, it’s insane.” “It’s in the blood, I s’pose” Mel said, shrugging. “I suppose it is” Ben agreed.

***

Dexter Fletcher’s arrival on set after the unplanned break heralded a significant change in working conditions. Much of the tension that had previously hung over the set had dissolved with Singer’s departure, and Fletcher brought a much happier, more buoyant energy to proceedings. The disorder that had arisen from the previous director’s frequent disappearances was quickly sorted out, and both cast and crew were soon back on track to produce a very good movie. Their renewed focus meant that the days passed quickly, and Mel felt as though she barely had time to blink before Christmas was upon them all.

The imminent Christmas break triggered many animated discussions about their respective plans between Mel and Ben. She was of course planning to stay in London, while he was going home to Dorset to see his family. Mel was wondering whether to be miffed she wasn’t invited, until Ben reminded her his parents currently didn’t even know she existed. “I’ll tell them when I get home, I want to do it in person” he assured her. In any case Mel wanted to spend at least some of the break with her boyfriend, as did Ben with her, so in the end he decided he would come back to London in time for New Year’s Eve, to finish off the break. “My parents might come up to London after that, for my birthday, I could introduce you to them then” Ben added, as a small sweetener. Mel liked the sound of that.

But before all that came the Deacon family Christmas party, less than a week before the big day. Ben had agreed to go with Mel quite happily, but he was distinctly uneasy as they prepared for the party. “Nervous?” Mel said lightly. “A little” Ben admitted. “But I just… I feel like I’m representing all of the band tonight, I don’t want to screw it up and end up with John Deacon hating all of us.” Mel grinned. “Yeah, Joe would probably wring your neck” she joked. “But he won’t hate the band, he’s already had a good report from Luke.” Ben smiled. “For a minute there I forgot Luke’s met all of us, I keep thinking he’s just met me. But I’m glad you think he liked us.”

”He did, he told me” Mel said, turning to face Ben with a reassuring smile. “I know you’re worried, darling,” she said gently, “but tonight, as far as Uncle John’s concerned you’re not Ben Hardy the actor playing his old friend in a movie about his old band, you’re just my new boyfriend Ben, coming to meet the family for the first time.” “That’s... barely less nerve-wracking, to be honest” Ben admitted, half-jokingly.

“John and Veronica are the nicest people, truly, you’ll be fine” Mel reassured him. “They’re also basically your grandparents” Ben pointed out. “And some of the things I’ve heard about John…” Mel smiled. “The press love to exaggerate” she said. “He can get a bit grumpy when he’s out and about, perhaps, but that’s just because he hates being recognised and pounced on in public. He’s perfectly lovely to people he actually knows.” “He doesn’t know me” Ben pointed out. “Yes, but you’re with me, and he’s known me quite literally my entire life, so I think you’ll be alright” Mel joked. Ben eventually agreed he’d have to take her word for it, and they got on with making their way to the party.

Ben wasn’t entirely sure what he’d actually been expecting, but the enthusiastic greeting he got from Veronica when she let them in the front door reassured him he at least wasn’t going to be made to feel unwelcome. In fact, they’d barely crossed the threshold of the living room when they were set upon by Luke and Cameron, both evidently pleased to see Ben again. They barely had time to draw breath before Ben was being introduced to the rest of the Deacon clan, who all greeted him warmly.

Ben was relieved at the general willingness to welcome him to the fold, though he seriously questioned whether he’d be able to properly remember the names of all their various partners and children. The children themselves were mostly dotted about the room enjoying playing with their cousins, and Ben was already despairing of keeping track of who belonged to which Deacon child.

As Ben and Mel circulated the room, drinks in hand, chatting to each of the guests, Ben noticed a distinct contrast between Mel’s relationships with the eldest and youngest Deacon siblings. She was of course very close to Luke and Cameron, and Joshua seemed to care for her quite a bit too. But Robert and Michael were apparently a lot more distant. There didn’t seem to be any particular tensions, but the significant age gap between them and Mel presumably wasn’t conducive to a close sibling relationship. Laura, conversely, was clearly rather fond of Mel, if in a distantly benevolent older sibling sort of way. Ben was slightly to shocked to realise she was almost the same age as Eve, which must have led to a few interesting experiences when Mel was born.

And then, finally, Mel led him to a corner where a figure in a dark woollen jumper was bent over the complicated-looking stereo system, fiddling with something. Veronica was standing nearby, glass in hand. “Uncle John?” she said softly. The figure straightened up and turned around, and Ben found himself face to face with John Deacon. His once-flowing hair was all but gone, and his face was naturally a bit worn with age, but the crinkly-eyed smile he broke into on spotting his surrogate granddaughter was unmistakable. “Hello Mel” he said quietly, leaning over to embrace her. “We were so pleased when Luke said you’d be coming” Veronica chimed in warmly. “Wouldn’t miss it” Mel said, as they broke apart. “Uncle John, this is Ben” she added, taking his hand as she spoke.

John’s smile dimmed somewhat when his eyes fell on the newcomer, but he shook Ben’s hand politely all the same, before turning back to Mel, not looking entirely pleased at the sight before him. “So how’s work been?” Veronica said brightly, perhaps attempting to smooth over the awkwardness. ”We heard there was some disruption a little while ago…” “There was” Mel confirmed. “But everything’s settled down since we got a new director.” John nodded. “Well at least it’s all going well now” he mused. “Though it did make me wish even more that you’d never got involved in the film.”

Mel sighed, and Ben guessed from her expression, and Veronica’s evident exasperation, this was a long-running point of contention with John. “I’m fine, all the drama had nothing to do with me” she grumped. “You’re lucky it didn’t, if someone found out it’d be a perfect storm for the press” John countered. Mel groaned in frustration. “It’s been six months and still no one on that set knows who I really am” she pointed out. “Surely I’m safe now, there’s only a few weeks of filming left after Christmas.” John glanced pointedly at Ben. “Clearly some people on set have found out the truth.” “Only because I told them, or Mum did” Mel clarified angrily. “And they haven’t spread it around either.”

“It’s only six of us who know” Ben said quietly. “Just the core cast, and we would never sell anyone out to the tabloids.” John seemed unconvinced as he turned to Mel. “D’you believe that?” “I do” she told him. “Do you really think we would have let them in on the secret if we didn’t trust them?” “Your mother wouldn’t” John agreed. “You, I’m not so sure about.” His tone was utterly deadpan, but he was smiling slightly, his eyes shining with mirth. Ben let out a small sigh of relief when he realised John was only joking. When he felt Mel relax next to him he knew everything would be alright, even if all wasn’t quite forgiven just yet.

Later on, after food was served, Ben found himself next to John, left alone after Mel got caught up talking to someone else and Veronica disappeared off to deal with hostess duties. He suddenly felt rather awkward. Of course there were plenty of things he would have liked to chat to John about, but he had also been warned that John Deacon’s past with Queen was something of a ‘sensitive’ subject for him. “It’s not that he never talks about it” Mel had explained. “But he really doesn’t like being asked direct questions about it.” Ben’s usual fallback would have been small talk about his career, which normally fascinated new people, but even that seemed a dangerous topic of conversation given the focus of his current job, not to mention John’s clear reservations about Mel’s involvement in the project.

Just as Ben was wondering if John was going to say anything to him at all, the older man caught his eye, smiling wryly. “I hope you don’t think what I said about the film was anything to do with you” John said quietly. Ben was confused. “What you said about the film?” “I wish Mel hadn’t taken the job on it, but not because of you” John explained. “I just worry she hasn’t even thought about the fact she’s put herself in the one place she and Eve are most likely to be… exposed, shall we say, let alone what might happen if they are revealed to the world.” Ben smiled reassuringly. “The half dozen of us who know won’t tell anyone else, and we’d do anything in our power to keep it out of the press, if it came to that.” “I’m sure you would,” John agreed, “but I’ll still worry about it.”

Suddenly he grinned mischievously. “You know, I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard Mel was seeing you. All the people she could have fancied at work, and she went for the bloke playing Roger.” “Well, at least she didn’t go for the man himself” Ben quipped. John smiled wryly. “She’s gone for worse, even if he is a bit old for her. Though I should hope Roger still has enough sense to know better than to go after a 21-year-old at his age.” Suddenly John looked thoughtful. “You’re a bit older than Mel yourself, though, aren’t you?” “Only five years” Ben said sheepishly. “It’s alright, that’s not an age gap to be concerned about” John assured him. “Luke and Cameron seem to think you’re alright, and Mel seems very happy, which is the main thing.” “So am I” Ben admitted, wondering whether he was about to get the if-you-ever-hurt-her talk.

But all John said was “That’s all I want, for her to be happy.” He smiled wryly. “She’s an adult now, she’s old enough to make her own decisions, and I just have to trust her not to make any bad ones.” Ben couldn’t decide whether John’s last comment was aimed at him. “I hope you don’t think-” “No, no, not at all, I can see how much you care about her” John reassured him. “So, just remember, she is a Mercury, a rare and precious creature who should be treasured. If you did want my advice I’d tell you anyone who’s serious about her should treat her like the queen she is, but I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” Ben let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, knowing now he had John’s approval. “Of course” he assured John, resisting the enormous temptation to make a Queen reference. It seemed unwise somehow, to draw attention to a topic they’d been carefully avoiding all night. They soon slid into much safer areas of small talk, and in fact John didn’t say much more to Ben after that, but he seemed not to dislike Ben, at the very least.

In fact, John wasn’t particularly talkative for the rest of the evening, but Ben nonetheless got the feeling he’d made a good impression. Well, he hoped he had. He felt rather conspicuous amongst all the Deacons, but they didn’t seem to find his presence particularly remarkable. He did field a few questions about his job, but none of them seemed overly curious, which at least meant he didn’t feel like he was banging on about himself too much.

Much later, when he was home again with Mel, he was relieved to hear she was pleased with how the evening had gone. Apparently Veronica had been very enthusiastic in her approval, and the others seemed satisfied he was a decent person, and seemingly weren’t terribly phased about the age gap. But the best news, at least to Ben, was the fact that John Deacon had apparently indicated he liked Ben already. Suddenly he didn’t think the party could have gone any better.

***

Christmas itself was much the same as always, though Ben left for his parents’ place with some trepidation. Mel for her part enjoyed her family’s low-key London Christmas, even if she did spend a bit of time wondering how Ben was getting on. As it turned out, his family were fairly pleased he’d found someone new, if a bit surprised it had happened so quickly. “Not that they mind much, apparently my mum was already plotting to set me up with one of the the locals before I told her” Ben reported, when he FaceTimed Mel on Christmas night. “So they’re not… unhappy about the age difference?” Mel questioned. “It’s barely a difference” Ben assured her. “But… I don’t think so. They’re pretty keen to meet you, I don’t think they’re too bothered.” Mel nodded. “So they are coming for your birthday then.” “Yeah, you’ll get to meet them very soon” Ben agreed.

In the end, despite Mel’s nerves Ben’s birthday turned out to be a very nice bookend to the Christmas break. His parents were very welcoming, and they seemed to be pleased to start getting to know Mel, at least. She did think she detected a whiff of tension when she mentioned her mums, but it was only a passing mention and as no-one said anything she decided not to dwell on it for the time being. More questions would no doubt be asked later, and if Ben’s parents did get judgmental at any point, she’d have no problems dealing with it head on. After all, she’d been dealing with other people’s attitudes about her unusual family for most of her life, there wasn’t a lot she hadn’t heard before.

***

Once production resumed after the Christmas break, filming was very much on the home stretch, though there was still plenty of fun to be had. One rather unpromising morning Mel was in the midst of organising some spare costumes when an American-accented voice cut through the chatter burbling through the wardrobe truck. “Hi, I’m doing a walk-on today, I was told to ask for Mel when I got to wardrobe?” “Ah, yes, I heard there was a special request.” Mel recognised her boss’s clipped English tones, rather jarring next to the drawling American. “Mel, extra for you!” Mel was slightly startled at the yell, but hurried to the front of the racks nonetheless. She found Barbara smiling warmly. “Special request from Queen; they want you to dress Adam for his scene today” she explained, as Mel emerged into the front.

She was only mildly surprised to find herself face to face with none other than Adam Lambert; wardrobe and makeup had been informed of his cameo ahead of time so they could plan his look. “Mel, this is-” “Adam, I know” she told Barbara. Adam was surprised.“You know who I am?” “Yeah, I’m a bit of a fan actually” she said, endeavouring to keep her tone casual. “Follow me, your stuff’s down here.”

Adam’s jaw had dropped the minute he saw Mel’s face, but he followed her obediently nonetheless. “Uh, has anyone ever told you you look just like Freddie Mercury?” he asked, once he’d recovered himself sufficiently. Mel just managed to hold back an exasperated sigh. “You would not believe how many times I’ve heard that since I started here.” “It’s true though, it’s… kinda scary almost” Adam insisted. Mel turned around to face him, having reached the rack she was looking for. “It’s not scary, it’s just genetics” she said blithely. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m his granddaughter.”

Adam was so shocked at this Mel had to restrain herself from laughing at his expression. “His -? But he never had-?” “He did, he just kept it quiet” Mel explained. “Very quiet, clearly” Adam quipped. “This is, like, super rude, but I just… how did that even happen, Freddie Mercury having a kid?” Mel sighed. “It’s a long story, but basically my grandmother went to a party in Munich, Freddie was there, everyone was drunk or high, or both, and, well, shit happened.” Adam grinned. “Cool story, your grandma partying with Freddie Mercury.” “Yeah, I s’pose it is” Mel agreed. “I’ve never really thought about it to be honest, it’s just… the story of my family, y’know.”

Adam nodded in agreement, but he was looking at Mel with clear curiosity. “So did… did Freddie ever find out about his kid, do you know?” he asked, sounding rather uncertain, almost as if he thought he was edging into risky conversational territory. “He did” Mel reassured him, smiling softly. “And he got to know her very well, over the years.” Adam was understandably confused. “When you say very well…” “Ever heard of someone called Daphne Caddington?” Mel asked. He nodded. “She, like, lived with him for a while, with her daughter, yeah?” “She was my grandmother” Mel explained. Adam’s eyes bugged out in shock. “She was… so does that mean her daughter was-?” “Yep.” Mel grinned. “But Evangeline’s, like, my age and you’re…” Adam mused, puzzled. “She was quite young when I was born” Mel clarified, an amused smile dancing on her lips. “She must have been, like, super young” Adam agreed. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Roger and Brian know about all this, don’t they?” he said quietly. It was barely a question. Mel nodded. “They’ve set us up” he mused. “Probably” Mel agreed. Adam smiled. “Those sneaky bitches.” “Did… did you just call Queen bitches?” Mel questioned. “Oh, they totally are” Adam defended, grinning mischievously. “You should see them in private, they bicker like an old married couple. It’s hilarious to watch… most of the time.”

Whatever the reason Queen had seen fit to make the request, Mel was quite pleased with it by the end of the day. She and Adam had an almost unhealthy amount of fun working together to get him appropriately attired, spending almost as much time cackling over his various touring-with-Queen stories as they did actually working. Despite their differences in age and background they seemed to share a lot of similarities in both interests and personalities, not least the fact they were both musical theatre actors by training.

Adam also seemed a bit awed by Mel’s connection to Freddie, asking her lots of questions in between bursts of work. Frustratingly, she wasn’t able to answer many of them, having never known Freddie herself. “Look, I get that you’re curious, darling, but I really don’t know that much about Freddie, you’d have to ask my mum” she told him, after the umpteenth question she couldn’t answer.

By the end of the day, he’d gone one better and got himself invited to tea at Garden Lodge. Eve had coincidentally happened to video call Mel while she was with Adam, needing an opinion on colours for a half-finished painting. Adam had in fact tried to escape until Mel hauled him over to meet the famous Eve Caddington, who wasted no time in putting him at ease and inviting him round to chat properly about Freddie. “You should come for tea some time, we can have a nice long chinwag over a hot meal” she said kindly. Adam was so stunned he barely managed to squeak out an “Okay!” before Eve hung up. Ever the professional, Adam quickly pulled himself back together and refocused on the job at hand, but Mel couldn’t help thinking there was an extra sparkle in his eye for the rest of the day.

***

Eve made one more visit to the set before the film wrapped. They were filming "the band" appearing on Top of the Pops, and it was all hands on deck. Roger and Brian were all dressed up for a quick cameo, and even Jim Beach was on set. Eve rather doubted he was having a cameo, although she also didn’t think he’d mind too much if he was asked to do one.

Eve was introduced to Dexter Fletcher by Roger himself, with much ceremony. Dexter said nothing obvious, but there was a look in his eye that made her quite sure Roger had spilled the beans about her true identity at some point. At least, she assumed it was Roger, or possibly Brian. There were others who knew, of course, but somehow Eve didn’t think they were the type to gossip, at least not about something like that, and certainly not to the new director.

It soon transpired that Mel had volunteered to be an extra in the background of the “performance” sequence. As the day’s schedule inched towards that part Eve found herself being persuaded to join her daughter in the scene, though she felt she was much too old to be playing a teenybopper in the Top of the Pops audience. The main cast very much disagreed, however. “You’re the same age as us, we’re not that old” Joe pointed out. “And anyway, most of the extras aren’t actual teenagers either” Mel added. “Oh come on, please? It’ll be fun, all you’ll have to do is stand and dance a bit.”

“It would give the scene an extra something, having Freddie Mercury’s daughter in it” a raspy voice interjected. Eve immediately turned around, shocked to see the director himself chiming in. “Roger told me” he added, seeing her confusion. Mel was suddenly uncertain, not having actually asked about adding another extra to the scene. “We don’t have to, if it’s going to be too difficult to change things…” “Nonsense, the more the merrier” Dexter reassured her. “Roger told me about you too, you know. I must say it almost feels like his approval, in a way, having you working here…” Somehow everyone knew ‘his’ didn’t mean Roger’s.

Having received the director’s approval Mel’s enthusiasm quickly returned, and she and Eve spent a very pleasant afternoon moonlighting as extras. In fact, most of the set seemed to be in a good mood that day. The happy atmosphere lasted through most of the remaining days of shooting, almost to the last day of filming. The final day itself, though, was somewhat subdued as everyone had finally realised the carnival really was nearly over.

But after the wrap on the last day came the wrap party, which everyone enjoyed. Roger, Brian and Miami were all in attendance, though Eve had declined the invitation she received after her appearance as an extra. The band were determined to enjoy one last night together, and Mel was almost as set on getting Ben out on the dancefloor at least once.

In addition to the dancing, and the usual drinks and finger food, a bit later in the evening they brought on a spot of Queen karaoke. Joe of course approached it with his usual enthusiasm, and managed to persuade several of the cast, and a few of the crew, to join him at various points. Mostly it was a bit of a laugh for everyone, but then Joe begged long and hard enough that Mel agreed to join him for Bohemian Rhapsody. Her spectacular rendition of the second verse just about brought the house down. Even Queen themselves looked impressed.

“I didn’t know you could sing like that” Roger commented later. Mel was, naturally, with Ben, in a secluded corner. “So can Eve” Ben added. “And they can both play too.” “Just a bit of piano and guitar, nothing special” Mel said, blushing. “Just like your grandad then” Roger mused. “Have you ever considered recording something?” Brian asked curiously. Mel shook her head. “No, not really. Anyway, right now I want to get into musical theatre, but maybe one day...” “Oh, of course, of course” Brian murmured apologetically. “Well, if you ever change your mind I’d be happy to help with the production side of things, if you needed it of course.” Mel was taken aback. Maybe it would be easier than she thought to do more than just theatre. “If I ever decide to record something you’ll be the first to know” she assured Brian.

“Well, whatever you do next, keep in touch, alright?” Roger told her. “That goes for your mum too, I’d like to know what Freddie’s offspring gets up to when she’s not swanning around film sets.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “You know, I should have you both round to lunch next time I manage to round up all of my brood” he mused. Mel wasn’t at all sure how to respond, but she had to admit lunch at Roger Taylor’s house did sound like fun. “I think Mum’d like that, I know I would.” “Partners will be invited too” Roger added, noticing Ben’s less-than-successful attempts not to look miffed at being left out. “Give us a time and we’ll let you know” Mel assured him.

Mel scored a number of comments from various members of the cast and crew as well, mostly complimenting her singing voice. Though a few did notice a resemblance to Freddie’s performance style as well. Even the director wandered over at one point, full of praise. However, it soon became clear he had something of an ulterior motive too. “I want a sort of chorus line for a couple of songs in the Elton John movie,” he explained, “and I’d love to have you in it. If you’re interested in auditioning, of course.” Mel was stunned. “You… you want to cast me in your movie?” Dexter nodded. “You’ve got a great voice, Mel, and exactly the right kind of background for what we’re looking for. I’d be a fool to pass up talent like this that’s just about fallen in my lap.” Mel grinned. “Send me the info and I’ll think about it when I’m a bit more sober.” Dexter seemed satisfied with that response, and soon darted off to talk to someone else looking very pleased with himself.

Mel turned to Ben, still grinning in amazement. “Did you- did you hear-?” she gabbled excitedly. “I’m gonna be in a movie!?” “I heard” Ben assured her, beaming proudly. “You’re a superstar, of course Dexter wants you in his musical… movie… thing.” Ben was still smiling at her, but he was a bit glassy-eyed, and Mel could see the night was starting to catch up with him. “I think you’ve probably had enough for tonight, dear” she said, a clear note of amusement in her voice as she moved his last drink out of his reach. “I do appreciate your support though.”

The festivities didn’t last much longer after that, with many of the crew needing to prepare for flights home the next day. The band were reluctant to say goodbye, eventually deciding to have one last breakfast together the next day before Joe and Rami had to fly back to America. Needless to say, they all regretted choosing an early start when they woke up the next day with pounding heads. Only Mel seemed to be entirely unscathed, although Lucy had also apparently escaped with only a mild hangover.

The others glared at them as they chattered happily over pancakes, though they had perked up a bit by the end of the meal. Even so, it was with heavy hearts that they all finally said goodbye that afternoon, naturally promising to see each other again soon. Exactly when ‘soon’ would be no one quite knew, though Lucy was apparently planning to meet Rami in America when she went over for a job in a few weeks, and Joe was unlikely to be far behind. Mel was sure it wouldn’t be long before Ben caught up with Gwilym either.

*******

Mel had thought, when she started working on Bohemian Rhapsody, that once filming was over she’d go back to her theatre life of auditions and waiting and hoping this part might be the breakthrough that would kickstart a long career. And she did, after taking a bit of time just to relax with Ben and luxuriate in having free time again. Ben was also between jobs, and keen to take a break while he could, knowing he had a round of promotion coming up for another project fairly soon, and more auditions on the horizon.

In the meantime, though, they spent a couple of weeks just enjoying roaming around London together and catching up on all the things they hadn’t had time for during filming. It was a largely quiet and domestic few weeks, though there was a small disruption when one of the more sensationalist tabloids published a couple of photos of them out and about together, with accompanying text proclaiming Ben had been spotted with a “mystery woman” multiple times in recent days.

Mel scanned that paper anxiously over the following days, but nothing more ever appeared. “Those photos were probably from someone who just got lucky anyway” Ben reassured her. “I mean, there’s probably more of them than what was published, but evidently none of them were clear enough to identify you. And ‘former soap star has new girlfriend’ is barely a story, it’s hardly something worth pursuing us over.”“I know,” Mel agreed, “but if they ever did discover who I am, that could be the beginning of how they finally find out about Mum and everything.” Ben found this a sobering thought, but he nevertheless felt it unlikely Eve would be discovered unless the tabloids decided to take more of an interest in Queen, something which could well happen if the movie did well. He refrained from sharing this thought with Mel, however.

Once it was clear nothing more was going to come of the photos Mel turned her attention to her audition for the Rocketman chorus. But just days after sending off her initial audition tape to the producers she had a phone call from Dexter offering her something of an upgrade on the chorus part.

“I’ve changed my mind, I’d really like you to try out for Kiki Dee” he told her, with his usual enthusiasm. “It’s not a big role, but it’s a speaking part at least.” Mel was stunned. “What-? Why-? A speaking part?” “I watched your audition tape” Dexter explained. “Your voice would be wasted in the chorus, not to mention the acting in your reel is streets ahead of everyone I’ve seen for Kiki so far.” “I- uh- Really?” Mel cursed internally at her clumsy response, but she recovered quickly. “I mean, of course I’ll audition for you!” Dexter was very pleased to hear that, and by the time Mel hung up she had a time and a place for a proper in-person audition in the very near future.

The audition, when it happened, went extremely well, and within a few days Mel got a phone call informing her that she’d won the part. She was positively buzzing with excitement when she saw Ben for dinner that night, and he was thrilled for her. “I knew you’d get it, you superstar, well done!” As they celebrated, Ben was slightly startled to realise there was something else he wanted to say to his extremely talented girlfriend. But he kept quiet, knowing the moment wasn’t quite right just yet.

They went back to Mel’s place after their meal, and spent quite a long night together celebrating intimately. The next morning Ben formulated a plan over his coffee, under the watchful eye of Jupiter the black cat, and quietly slipped out before Mel got up. When he returned she was sat at the head of the dining table, Mab purring on the chair next to her. Mel looked up as he came in, breaking into a confused smile when she noticed the large bunch of flowers Ben was holding.

“I, uh, I got you something” he said sheepishly. He smiled as he handed the flowers over. Mel was surprised. "Flowers? Why did you buy me flowers?" "Because. You got your first role" he explained. "Also, you're one of the most wonderful and amazingly talented people I've ever met, and…well, the thing is… I love you." He was suddenly very uncertain as he watched Mel gaping at him, worrying he might be pushing her into something she wasn't ready for. "You don't have to say it back if you're not-, it's ok, I mean I know it's a big deal, but I just wanted you to know" he gabbled, frantically attempting to backtrack.

Mel's face finally shifted into a broad smile. "It's okay, darling" she assured him. "I love you too." She leaned up to kiss Ben, who obligingly leaned down to meet her with a very passionate locking of lips.

“God, I’m so happy you said it back” Ben confessed, when they finally broke apart. Mel grinned. “What, did you really think I might not feel the same way?” she said teasingly. “No, I just - I wasn’t sure if you were there yet” he admitted, shaking his head. “For a moment there I thought I might have freaked you out or something.” “I wasn’t scared, silly” Mel assured him, a hint of laughter in her voice. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say it was all, I just needed a second to get over the surprise.” Ben smiled. “It was a good surprise, wasn’t it?” “An excellent surprise” Mel agreed. As they leaned in to kiss again, she really didn’t think life could get much better.

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

A/N: And that’s all, folks. This was not where I’d originally planned to end the story but I ran out of steam and then it wound itself to a nice conclusion, so I went with it. There’s a couple of things in this chapter foreshadowing events I had planned for later but I think they still work as just parts of this chapter.

Incidentally, Adam’s comment about Brian and Roger is based on a quote I saw somewhere. I can totally imagine it though, they’ve known each other for a very long time at this point.

#ben hardy x reader #roger taylor x reader #john deacon x reader #bo rhap fic #queen fic #ben hardy #roger taylor #john deacon #Brian May #queen band #freddie mercury fic #freddie mercury #mother mercury

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twdmusicboxmystery · 1 year

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11x21: Outpost 22 - Analysis, Part 3

Here is some more discussion about the episode. Hope you all enjoy it!

@galadrieljones:

Okay guys I watched the episode. I loved it—so many throwbacks. @wdway, you read my mind on the W sign. I knew we’d seen it somewhere, and you found it. I was very intrigued by a lot of the setting elements and dialogue in this episode.

I agree it really feels like we’re approaching a Terminus, which of course is both the “end” and the “beginning” of a rail line. More than ever, I’m looking at “A” as the culmination of what I kind of think of as the ur-template for TWD. I know I’ve never really done my deep dive with you guys on “A,” but the final scenes when they get to Terminus, I see as a kind of “play” or postmodern exercise, in which there’s evidence that the scene has already played out multiple “times,” and the Termites, who are the actors, are sort of like metaphorical psychopomps, or reapers, there to metaphorically usher the characters forth to their fate, which lies on track “A.”

I will get into that at some point soon, because I think it’s like one of my favorite theories. I’ve always been obsessed with “A,” since the very first time I saw it, and I knew it was not conventional storytelling.

I know I’ve probably mentioned that it was 4b which convinced me this show was on another level, even if I didn’t fully understand it yet, at the time. Beth is in the background of “A.” This is not a coincidence. Beth’s “death” seals them into the fate they’re currently living out, right now. But with all the loud proclamations of change, and how each of the characters seems to be working through the karmic backlash they’ve earned via their various sins and choices, it seems like we’re coming to the “terminus” of this story, and what lies beyond is anyone’s guess. Of course, we believe it must be connected to Beth, because her arc seems to end prematurely, and it feels severed in the middle, as if it keeps going, but we just can’t see it anymore.

@wdway, you finding that “W” sign, bringing us back to “Us,” is amazing. “A” takes place on New Year’s Eve, remember (or, it does, according to Joe Claimer). I think that’s mostly a metaphor, which is repeated in Michonne’s hallucination of her alternate life as a Savior, in which Negan proclaims that it’s New Year’s Eve, ie: “The Last Day on Earth.”

It’s just crazy to me how these things align. How thoughtful it all is.

Something that has struck me is that Gimple built out 4b and “A” specifically, made it full of weird, disparate imagery and introduced an entire template of its own, so that he could come back to it whenever he had to. So, he pre-built his endgame, like a failsafe, so that whenever the show had to end, which, you know in TV can be anytime, he would have a plan he could execute to make everything feel tied together, and as if it had come full circle. Very smart.

(Also very interesting that so much of it hinges on Beth, and her absence.)

Anyway, I took some notes on the episode, which I’ll share. I also think we’re getting VERY close to the CRM, which is exciting.

The first thing I noticed was that on a turned over train car early in the episode, during a dramatic pan-out, you can see the word “Helix.” A helix is a spiral track used in elaborate model train tracks and builds to transport the model train from one “level” of the model to another.

I thought this was interesting as it kind of jives with the theory that they’re “jumping” the tracks of the narrative, transporting to a new narrative “line,” as this one ends.

The child walker reminded me of “The Grove,” which is episode 4.14. Maggie tries not to kill the child walker, but she has to, while holding it in her arms lovingly. This reminded me of Carol putting Lizzie out of her misery. The ensuing conversation between Carol and Maggie reminded me of something Beth says in Still, during her fight with Daryl: “I remember. When that little girl came out of the barn. You were like me.”

Maggie and Rosita, as mothers who have lost their children in the wild, recall Carol as the original mother archetype, who loses her child in the wild.

Carol talks about how they get to start over, and this time, they don’t have to be alone.

Something I took note of this episode were the fancy green Jeeps. They are super shiny and look brand new. This, to me, screams CRM involvement.

Back to the theme of “jumping the tracks.” When the CW soldier tries to change the tracks, the lever has been jammed. The directional indicators are, quite conveniently, yellow and green.

A reminder that this is all Carol’s plan. Carol is an outsider at Terminus. She isn’t in the A car. I have always felt she, like Beth, and also like Morgan, can navigate between storylines. She has the power to “change the tracks.” The only other characters who were not in the “A” car are Tyreese, who dies suddenly and mysteriously in WHAWGO, and Judith.

@wdway:

Maggie killed the walker boy with a railroad spike.

@galadrieljones:

Oh, you’re reminding me of the railroad spikes in the episode. Bringing us back to Find Me. Interested in your thoughts on this!

Is this a replay of Leah’s story about losing Matthew, her son? Idk if specifically, but again, it’s all connected. Leah’s cabin is marked by a series of railroad spikes hammered into trees, which Daryl follows in the woods.

@wdway:

Yes, when I saw it was a railroad spike I thought if FM and the spikes on the tree and next to the cabin door. The door with the "X" on it.

The top is from Out of the Ashes e5. I think JDM'S son is the walker in this episode. Which means to me that his son in OOTA was a foreshadowing.

@galadrieljones:

I want to share some info in terms of their location. This episode contains real world geographical clues and of course I was all over that lmao

In the episode, the woman on the radio gives Rosita very specific directions on how to get to Outpost 22 from her location. We know Outpost 22 is Alexandria. Here’s what the woman says: “Take [Packard Avenue] south till you hit Hwy 30. Take it East. Get off at Crooks,” etc.

It wasn’t hard to figure out where they are, which is in or near Canton, OH.

US Route 30 is interesting though, as it runs east to west, beginning in Astoria, OR, ending in Atlantic City, NJ

I thought you guys might find it interesting that past Astoria, it runs right through Portland... It also runs just north of Omaha. Perhaps a CRM thoroughfare? I liked this clue lol.

OH, also it does go through Philadelphia as well. Isn’t there some indication that the CR may be in Philadelphia, or that Rick has been there? Anyway, I love geographical rabbit holes. So, I wanted to thank Scott Gimple for giving me another this season.

I was just thinking too about how Iris and I think Elton…? I can’t remember. But they were headed to Portland, two years ago, from somewhere near Ithaca, New York. I just can’t stop wondering what they’re up to right now.

@wdway:

Tptb released a silhouette of the Philadelphia skyline, which was a hint that that's where Rick may be. Then there's all the things about bells we've seen in different seasons. The Liberty Bell is in Philadelphia.

@galadrieljones:

Right, I knew it was affiliated.

Also, 30 is a prominent number, a la “30 Days Without an Accident.” Idk if a coincidence or something Gimple’s used to craft his choices after the fact.

@wdway:

301- s3e1 Seed. TF fought to make a home out of a prison. S11C TF will fight to take back their home of AZ that has been turned into a prison. Story of what a prison is coming full circle.

In AK's Inside the Episode segment, she said Rosita and Gabriel were no later romantically involved but still cared for each other, still family. I was a bit surprised because I didn't feel that we saw that on screen. Why didn't we actually see it, but were told about it?

Then it occurred to me that we have seen Carol and Ezekiel growing their relationship in part B&C but why hasn't AK told us the same thing about Carol and Ezekiel as what was said about Rosita and Gabriel? Could it be because Carol and Ezekiel relationship will be again a romantic one at the end of the series? A reason/chance for Carol to have a happy ending to her story and a permanent home instead of going on a road trip with her brother Daryl.

@galadrieljones:

I haven’t watched the AK segment yet. That’s strange. I wonder if they just are letting it quietly go away, since nothing is going to come of it, and perhaps because they’re gearing toward an eventual reunion between FG and Jadis, who clearly still has feelings for him, since she copped his last name.

I don’t think they’d have made the decision to have Jadis take his name unless FG has a future in the franchise beyond the flagship.

@wdway:

I agree that there must be a reason for Jadis to tell the viewers that she took Galadriel's name.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I had some thoughts about this. I’m going to be mentioning some brief spoilers in the next couple of paragraphs. If you don’t want to read them, skip ahead.

Spoilers say Rosita won’t survive the series finale. I’m having a hard time believing that. Now, of course I could be wrong, and if I am, cool. As I’ve said before, I’m not terribly invested in Rosita’s survival. I’d be sad to see her go, but that’s about it. The problem is that I’ve observed some foreshadowing for her that we haven’t seen fulfilled yet. Stuff that I believe reaches into the CRM arc. So, the idea of her dying so early just seems off to me.

I am open to the idea of someone else fulfilling the foreshadowing I’ve seen around her. That doesn’t happen very often--if something is foreshadowed for Daryl, they use Daryl to foreshadow it, not someone else--but we also have noticed that when they foreshadow something for a character who isn’t currently on the show (i.e. Beth or Rick) or who hasn’t been introduced yet (i.e. before Ezekiel was introduced) they sometimes still foreshadow and use what we call “stand-ins.” Which just means a character stands in for the non-present character. So, maybe it will be this way with Rosita’s symbolism, too.

However, it occurred to me that breaking Rosita and Gabriel up actually gives credence to the idea that she’ll live. Here’s why:

I agree that Jadis taking Gabe’s name suggests the two of them have farther to go story-wise. It’s too big a detail to dismiss. And if that’s the case, Gabe needs to be free to pursue a relationship with her. So, if Rosita dies in the finale, it makes sense. Gabe would be alone again, and when the CRM comes front and center, he would be free to pursue a relationship, whatever that looks like, with Jadis.

But if that’s the plan...why have Rosita and Gabe break up? It would be WAY more tragic for him to lose her as a romantic partner, rather than just as a good friend and ex. Why the detail of the breakup, and why have AK specifically mention it so we know without doubt that they are no longer a couple?

I can only think of one reason: Rosita has more story to tell. They want her to remain alive, but they also want Gabe to single so the thing with Jadis isn’t awkward. TWD really doesn’t do love triangles. So again, it would make sense if they killed Rosita off and then had an arc with Gabriel and Jadis. But I don’t think they would have had Rosita and Gabe break up if that’s the case. The fact that they did makes me think Rosita will live, but they need her and Gabe broken up for the storyline to work.

Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

@wday:

Set up for Daryl's spin-off.

@galadrieljones:

Designation 2 is definitely a set-up for the CRM, and the spin-off, I agree!! I wondered if it was related to the A/B thing with Jadis, and how Jadis says she gave the CRM something of “value,” and she called him a “B.”

@galadrieljones:

Also I don’t get ANY vibes from Daryl and Connie. They’ve barely interacted this entire season. Ofc he doesn’t want her to get abducted and die. He’d feel the same way if it were any of his people. With Connie he might be extra sensitive, since he already lost her once, and he knows she’s been through enough.

@wdway:

Carol took Daryl's hand. He didn't intertwine their fingers. Her hand basically laid on top of his. It was a sweet moment of comfort between friends and nothing more. I doubt that other groups will see it the same way.

@galadrieljones:

This whole episode was very intriguing to me, as we’re seeing this dark outer layer of the Commonwealth where the soldiers are much more hardcore and aggressive. They’re not like the idiot “cops” who keep order within the CW itself. They’re meaner and scarier. There’s also the train conductor, who kills himself with a railroad spike rather than betray the CW, as he knows they’ll kill his family. The roots go really deep here. I really want to know what the affiliation is between the CW and the CRM, because it’s obvious that’s where this is going.

@wdway:

Did this shot of the train remind anybody else of the fire truck?

@galadrieljones

Not initially, but I see it. The red train.

@wdway:

It did not register with me that the train conductor killed himself using a railroad spike. Could railroad spikes indicate territory claimed? Reaper being part of the CRM. The railroad spike would be a acknowledgment of any other agents in the territory. Just throwing things against the wall seeing if anything sticks.

@galadrieljones:

Hmm. Maybe the railroad spikes are indicative of a new railroad being built, or a new story being built? Or like glimpses into another story? Idk lol

Could be onto something tho, since the railroad spikes also appear around Leah, who we have wondered whether she’s a “rogue” CRM agent, or a mercenary for the CRM.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Agree with everything you've said, though. I thought of the RxR spikes in the Leah story as well.

I still kind of think they mean either deception or a wrinkle in the pathway. I've tried to explain this before, and the problem is that I don't understand it well myself, so of course I have trouble explaining it. Train tracks represent the character paths. And the spikes are used to hold the path together. (I really love the idea of changing directions at the junctions = them jumping between A and B storylines. And now we have this added designation 2 to throw into the mix. Would Zeke and the other workers be designation 1? Is Beth a designation 2? We don't know yet.)

Daryl was with Leah but she was...the wrong person? Yeah, maybe there's something to that. He was with her, but she's not the person he was supposed to be with. Kind of the dark version or underworld version of Beth. We could see something similar with Maggie and this walker child, who she was clearing projecting Hershel Jr onto. So, he was Hershel in her eyes, but the deceased, orphaned version. Not sure how that would translate to the conductor killing himself. Except, he was kind of working for the wrong organization. A corrupt, shadow organization.

Idk. I'm just spit balling here.

@galadrieljones:

I really like the idea of the railroad spikes signifying a “wrinkle” in the path. I’ve referred to 4b as a “time wrinkle” before in which many paths are possible. I like the idea of the spikes maybe showing that the path is coming undone.

That works fit with their usage in Find Me, which, even as we’re fairly sure that all happened at this point, we still don’t know the truth of what happened. We have only Daryl’s memories, and we know, based on weird parallels with Carol’s dialogue in the present tense, that at least some of it has been messed up in his mind.

For example, that her hair is red could jive with Frangi’s red flag theory. Much of Find Me is tinted with that autumnal red hue. Maybe it’s all meant to be just a giant red flag. I’m also sort of suspicious of how much tptb is having to leave off-screen. With the revelation about Rosita and FG, I’m wondering what else hasn’t been shown. I feel like there’s still more to Find Me than meets the eye.

I actually want to correct myself to say I think that Find Me is actually washed through a green(e) filter, with Leah being very red—her red hair, her red dog, her red fox pelt, etc.

Daryl’s white ankle covering also changes to red.

@wdway:

It just hit me that Leah's red hair meant Leah=red Apple, shiny on the outside but rotten/poisonous on the inside. Beth=green(e) Apple, she was who and what she seem to be. Daryl saw that Leah was an apple but was blind to the fact that not all Apples are the same.

@galadrieljones

Love it!!

@wdway:

I saw Daryl's leg covering replacement as being more of an orange color. Which would make sense because orange is made by mixing yellow and red. We've talked about earlier in s11A when Maggie and co was hiding in the greenhouse, but Frost said the safe house was yellow, a decoy for the truth safe house, the green(e) one. Beth wearing yellow was a decoy of appearing to be dead when she is truly alive. Green a color of rebirth. Daryl wearing the orange leg cover was him caught in the incorrect belief that Beth/yellow=death and Leah/red=apple and that all apples=good/Beth.

When Daryl saw Leah again he still didn't see her clearly by seeing her as a light blond in a ponytail. Still wishing to recreate a Beth proxy but in the end Leah hair was a dirty blonde and she wore it down. He was able to shot her to save Maggie because he finally saw her for who she really was or who she truly wasn't, Beth.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I’ll stop there. One more post about this stuff tomorrow. Thoughts?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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funnywiccanwritingcorner · 1 year

Text

Le Joyau le plus precieux

A Lucky Luke Modern!AU fanfiction

Chapter VII - A bloody mess

-But isn't that the suit for special occasions, Joe?- Averell commented on seeing his brother in the jacket, tie and black trousers with the white shirt. -Yes. I wanted to see if it still fit.- -You look like a Man in Black!- William added, -Where are you going dressed like that? -I'm meeting someone tonight. And a minimum of elegance is required.- -Oh, are you talking about that handsome guy who dropped you off yesterday?- the younger man said again; the twins tried to shush him but it was too late. However, Joe didn't flinch: -He's a colleague, little brother, and he advised me to study some art to get into Lucky Luke's mind better, to understand his method, got it?- -But those are paintings, not jewellery- objected Jack. -Trust me, I know what I'm doing. I'll go change and we'll go to work.-

Later that day, while observing his colleagues' comings and goings in the office, William absent-mindedly continued to do some computer research on places Lucky Luke might hit, to update their list (contrary to what Joe had said). It was at that moment that a cough caught his attention, followed by a gentle female voice: -Excuse me...- William looked up and stared dumbfounded at the beautiful girl in front of him, because although she was simply dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she had a unique charm, so much so that he thought he heard a choir of angels or something; she must have had some American Indian ancestry. -Hello?- She called him back to reality by waving a hand in front of his eyes. -What? Yes, tell me miss.- -I was looking for Detective Dalton, but I got lost after the guard at the entrance just pointed me up a few floors. Can you help me?- -Certainly! William Dalton!- he introduced himself awkwardly, extending his hand to her. -Cheyenne Strokes; you are one of Joe's brothers, then. I thought there was a certain air of family!- That gentle smile again charmed the policeman, who stood looking at her dreamily. -Uh... I still need my hand...- she giggled. -Huh? Oh! Sorry!- He let her go, embarrassed: -I'll take you to Joe right away.-

The latter, intent on quickly signing permits for Betty, was very surprised to see her; once the girl was seated, the detective told his brother to leave them alone. -I have a message from my cousin- she began in a low voice, -he asked me to give it to you because he is busy with “that thing” at the Olympia.- -Why the hushed tone?- -Even the walls have ears, I'm just being cautious.- She pulled out a white rectangular paper envelope from the bag she had with her: -Inside is a few more instructions, I think, and a flyer with the show times. He wanted to call, but as I said he's busy.- Joe opened the envelope and read the short handwritten message in crisp, thick block letters: “Our man will be at the theatre for the twenty-thirty show. See you later. L.L.” -Thank you very much, Cheyenne.- -You're welcome. I have to run, Amélie gets out of art class in a little while.- Turning back accompanied by Joe, the girl did not fail to wave to William, who reciprocated by adding a shy smile. Noticing his younger brother's expression, Dalton sneered: -Hey, Romeo, don't get any ideas; she has a six-year-old daughter.- -No matter...Wow...- -Earth to William! Did you hear what I said?- But the other's dreamy sigh convinced Joe to let it go: he was now infatuated.

Before leaving his room, Joe checked that he had taken everything: badge, handcuffs, a map of the theatre and the Grand Guignol programme. He glanced at the latter once more: at 8.30 p.m., the two-act play 'L'Homme qui a tuè la Mòrt', which was apparently about beheadings, was to be performed. Not that he cared, after all. He checked his wristwatch: it read a quarter past nineteen. He went into the living room, where his brothers were gathered on the sofa, deciding whether to order pizza or Chinese food.

-Joe, give us a hand!- Jack said, throwing his head back on the backboard looking at him upside down, -What do you recommend?- -Pizza is healthier than that fried stuff, and besides, eating with chopsticks is not your forte.- The detective waited by the window overlooking the street. Despite the hour, the sun was barely setting, colouring the buildings with its warm orange light. -Pizza it is!- exulted Averell, who immediately noticed where the major was sitting: -What are you doing?- -They have to come and get me.- -Ah, yeah, the date with that handsome guy...- Jack teased him, who was plonked down on the couch by the other two in an attempt to shut him up.

-Like I said, he's a colleague. I was just checking to see if he had arrived yet, that's all.- He had looked away for a moment, and when he brought his gaze back outside, there was the silver car parked just below, appearing as if by magic. -But that's absurd! You talk about the Devil and here he pops up!- the detective exclaimed; he waited for Lucky to get out of the vehicle, but after ten minutes Joe's mobile phone rang. -Hello?- -Maybe I'm a little early, but it would be nice if you decided to come down.- -I'm not dressed- lied Dalton. -Liar. I can see you, through the window. Were you waiting for me?- -Avoid that tone, will you?- -What tone?- -Every time you talk to me, it sounds like you're hitting on me! And then there is a thing called a doorbell, come down and ring it!- -They're playing my favourite song on the radio. You can't do this to me.- -... Let it go. I'm coming.- Dropping the call, he gave his brothers one last word of advice: -Order me a pizza too, it won't take long. And woe to you Averell...- -I know, I know. I must not touch it.- -I'll see you guys later.-

Along the flight of stairs, Joe had the misfortune to cross paths with their gossipy neighbour, Miss Fevre, a nosy single old maid who never failed to maliciously gossip about anyone. At first glance she looked like an innocent old lady with curlers in her hair, a dressing gown and slippers; in reality she was a witch who hated children and tried to appear nice to everyone only to sow discord. -Oh, Mr Dalton!- she exclaimed with a smile of mock politeness, her voice croaky and annoying. -Mistress...- -Have you seen that guy parked down here? They should give him a fine! There's no respect anymore, am I right?- -He's a colleague of mine. He's waiting for me.- -He is? Well, he should brush up on his traffic laws, he's too close to the condo's driveway. Tell him.- -Yes, yes; have a nice evening- Joe cut short, passing her and continuing downstairs. Reaching the car, he opened the door and sat in the front passenger seat, mumbling: -I can't stand her...- -Please?-

Turning towards Lucky Luke, Dalton noticed that he too was wearing a suit similar to his. -Are you kidding me?- -Why?- -You dressed just like me!- -That was not my intention. Who are you mad at anyway?- -No, the woman next door... Don't change the subject, will you?!?- -We're not dressed the same. You wear black, mine is a very dark grey.- -... Yeah, you're kidding me, I can see it in your face. Shall we go?- -Fasten your seat belt.- With a growl, Joe listened to him; just enough time for Luke to manoeuvre and the two headed for the theatre.

The Olympia has the reputation of being one of the longest-lived music halls in Paris: built in 1888, it was converted into a cinema in the 1930s until 1944. It hosted artists of all kinds, from singer Dalida to the Beatles, and was declared a cultural heritage site in 1993, escaping demolition. So there was a lot of astonishment among theatre lovers when it was announced that a show like the Grand Guignol would be staged in such a milestone.

Nevertheless, the audience turnout was rich, as Joe and Lucky were forced to observe, who had to hustle to get in. The stage, already set up for the first show, had been stripped of its curtain. A recorded voice announced that for the first rows, a waxed cloth had been placed under each seat to prevent any splashes of fake blood from damaging clothing.

-For now, let's go to our seats; we'll move around the room in the dark- Lucky murmured to the detective. Once they were seated in the red velvet armchairs, Joe asked: -Do you see him anywhere?- -He's over there in the front row. Figures he wouldn't want to miss the special effects.-

The lights in the auditorium went out suddenly, as if the power had gone out, and the audience let out an exclamation of surprise and fear in unison. A rumble of thunder, followed by a great flashing of lights on the stage, anticipated the grand entrance from a cloud of smoke of a man who looked like Uncle Fester from The Addamses, only much creepier and dressed in tattered white clothes. He announced, with a hysterical madman's laugh, that the show was not for the faint-hearted or swooning ladies, and that these people should leave while they had time.

-When do we move?- Joe whispered impatiently. -There will be a break after the first act; after the bloodbath our friend will feel like cleaning himself up. The fake blood they use in the show has a good flow, but it's sticky. I know because I snuck into the company rehearsals.- -Then we could get him...- Touching the inside of his jacket, Dalton noticed something missing.

-Damn it!- -What?- -The handcuffs! I must have dropped them in the car.- -Are you sure?- Before the other could answer him, a deafening and disturbing music filled their ears. The show had begun. -I can't get out, or the ushers and security people won't let me back in!!!- shouted Joe, trying to overpower the music. -Don't panic, I brought plastic ties for every emergency!!!- Lucky replied. This relieved the detective a little. The patrol officers also used them when they could not avail themselves of the handcuffs. At least one of them had proved farsighted.

Blood flowed freely on the scene. Literally. Joe knew it wasn't real, but to call him disgusted was reductive. How could such gruesome stuff please people? However, that didn't distract him from the objective: Ivor was so covered in fake blood that he looked like a monster from the show. It wouldn't be long before he went to the toilet to wash himself. -This first act never ends!- the detective hissed to himself. As if someone had heard him, darkness suddenly fell again; the lights in the hall gradually rose again and the recorded voice announced the interval. -It's time- said Lucky, who had not taken his eyes off their prey for the entire show. The two made sure he entered the men's room before getting up.

-I'll go first, since he knows me.- -No, I'll go in first.- -But Joe...- -I'll slip into one of the cubicles; when you hear me whistle, it'll be the go signal.- -Whatever. What tune are you going to use?- -Something simple, wait... Yeah, the first notes of "Frère Jacques", ok?- -Ok.-

Once inside the room, Joe discreetly looked around. Apparently it was just him and Ivor, intent on wiping the sticky red liquid, now dried up in several places, from his face and bald head. With the most casual manner possible, Dalton walked towards the cubicles where the toilets were. They were the kind that you could see your neighbours' feet from underneath, and the first thing the detective did was to check from there if anyone else was around. At that point, he started whistling. He waited, peeking through the little door.

A few seconds later, Lucky Luke walked in. To Joe's surprise, he greeted Ivor in Russian. He didn't understand a word of it, but they seemed to be using fairly polite tones. At one point Ivor put his still-wet hands on his hips; he seemed more tense and indeed hostile. At the umpteenth statement by Lucky, Ivor chuckled in amusement and suddenly sprang towards him to punch him, which went astray. The other recovered his balance with an agility of which he did not seem capable, and tried again to strike his opponent with a more calculated right punch than the previous one, but it still failed as Lucky was able to dodge easily thanks to his smaller physique. The ex-agent then tried to counter-attack, but his punch was blocked by the hand of Ivor who, sneering, took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach.

At that point, Joe got frightened: he had to intervene, but how?

The big bodyguard grabbed the other by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up like a cat, and punched him in the face, sending him backwards against the wall. The detective plucked up courage: taking advantage of the fact that his back was turned, he pounced on what in comparison to him was a giant, jumping on him.

It was like watching David versus Goliath.

Taken by surprise, Ivor tried to grab him, but Joe stuck his fingers in his eyes and wrinkled his nose as he held on tightly with his legs wrapped around that taurine neck. Unfortunately, the other managed to grab him by the jacket, and easily flung him across the room. Dalton was left lying face down in the shape of a starfish. But that brief distraction had served to give Lucky time to recover: he managed to tackle Ivor to the floor and quickly pinned his wrists together with a plastic band, nice and tight, thanks in part to the fact that Joe had momentarily blinded him.

The latter got up, a little bruised: -This is what a sack of potatoes feels like...- -Are you all right?- -Yes, I have a tough skin. You rather, you're already getting a black eye.- -It's nothing compared to my ribs, but not bad. Come on, let's take him away.- Just then someone came into the bathroom: -What's going on in here?-

The detective and Lucky were distracted for a split second; Ivor snapped back with his head giving Luke a mighty headbutt on the nose, and unburdening himself, with his hands still tied behind his back he got up and ran out the door, running over the unfortunate man who had opened it. Joe sprang in pursuit: -Police!!! Stop that man!!!- he shouted, flashing his badge in the air. Security answered the call, but could not get past the crowd that had massed in panic at hearing someone shouting, and was therefore occupying both sides of the entrance. As a result, no one was watching the entrance. Ivor threw himself in that direction.

Unlike the others, Joe managed to slip through the crowd and continue the chase: -Police!!! Stop, you filthy...!- Three familiar figures threw themselves at the fugitive, knocking him to the ground again and echoing Dalton: -Paris Police!!! You are under arrest!!- Dalton gasped: -What are you doing here?!?- Averell replied candidly: -We just wanted to make sure your date went well, Joe, so we followed you!- -We stayed here, though, since we didn't have tickets- Jack added, holding the prisoner's legs firmly, -But who is this man, Joe? What's going on?- Lucky appeared at that moment behind the detective, dabbing at his bleeding nose with a handkerchief. Joe ran a hand over his face: -At this point... I think it's time for an explanation.-

#lucky luke #joyau #joe dalton #modern au #fanfiction

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alittleoptimistic · 3 years

Text

The ‘Forced Mentorship’ Plot: an exploration

AKA: writing is hard and I really like This Type of story

You know, stories like Soul, Brother Bear, Logan, Up, Stranger Things, Gravity Falls, etc.

The: “grumpy old man forced to work with a young person and slowly softens” ☺️

Alright folks, I’m learning some things I think you guys would benefit from knowing, especially if you are going to try to write a story like this!

So, to start out: Don’t do the story arc thing.

No. No, bad. It’s not as helpful for novel length stories, and it’s really easy to get things in the wrong place? Do you see how this person organized Finding Nemo? It’s completely off!

We’re using this, more,,, mountain range (?) plotline. Obviously, this isn’t the only sort of plot. But, most stories fit well in this, and it’s more helpful for a writer.

Most important are the False Hope and Low Point points, which the simpler arc doesn’t have. I’ll explain in better detail in a bit.

The Forced Mentorship Plot has a few additional points that make it specific to this type of story. I’ve got those additions in pink. You can click on it to read in detail. i know, it’s small.

So let’s look at some examples: I have,,, a bunch. I got excited. Disclaimer: I haven’t seen some of these in a bit, so some stuff might be a little vague, but you get the idea.

I know, I know that is way too much information. Let’s break it down.

The inciting incident:

Forced Mentorship stories force the old protagonist into a guardian-like with the young protagonist

Soul: joe dies and has to work with 22 to get an earth pass

Brother bear: kenai is turned into a bear and has to work with Koda to get to the mountain

Up: Carl’s house floats off to the wrong place, and Russel is on the porch. He has to work with Russel to get to Paradise Falls

Rising action

The characters have various adventures as they journey somewhere. Positive things work toward solving the problem

The FATAL FLAW of the older character will cause most of the problems, at the expense of the younger protagonist. For example: marlin refuses to take risks, and will not go through the scary trench. As a result, they run into jelly fish and Dory is hurt. Every short sighted decision that the older protagonist makes as the Older One, results in getting further from the goal, and hurting the younger person physically or emotionally

False hope

This is also called the Mid Point in the rising action. Here, older protagonist is introduced to a new Very positive element that seems like it is going to solve their problem.

Soul: they get to Moonwind. He has the elements set out to put them in their bodies.

Logan: they stay the night with a kind farmer and his family after a car accident, and things seem safe

Finding Nemo: the pelican knows Nemo!

Immediate Very bad consequence

This is the worst thing to happen so far in the story. The thing they thought would help is actually harmful. At this point, usually several bad things happen at once.

Up: muntz is evil and wants to kill the bird Kevin. Russel is upset at Carl

Soul: 22 runs off. Terry catches up to them

Logan: the bad guys catch up to them, Xavier is killed

Temporary escape and achieving the original goal

The protags will manage to get out of immediate danger, but at this point, the younger protagonist realizes they don’t want to go with the plan of the older protagonist any more, they strike out on their own. Meanwhile, the older protagonist finally gets what they wanted

Up: Russel leaves to get Kevin

Brother bear: Koda learns that Kenai killed his mother, and he runs off. Kenai starts up the mountain

Logan: they reach the border and Gabriela goes with the others cross the border

Finding Nemo: Marlin returns to the ocean, thinking his son is dead, and starts home, leaving Dory behind

Low Point

Older protagonist has what they wanted, but at the cost of their relationship with their new friend. They find this new life meaningless, actually

Soul: joe preforms and is unsatisfied after

Logan: he’s alone now, like he thought he needed to be

Up: Carl gets to Paradise Falls

Realization

older protagonist comes to a realization, prompted by a symbolic object previously introduced, and they choose to do the right thing, change their ways, and save the younger protagonist.

Their choice will cost the older protagonist everything, but they will give it willingly for the younger protagonist.

Soul: joe is inspired by 22’s collection of items every time she saw someone ‘jazzing’ and realizes that life isn’t about a ‘thing’ you do, but just living. He was wrong about 22

Brother Bear: kenai fights and sacrifices himself to save koda, who he loves.

Logan: Logan realizes it’s a trap and takes the serum to be stronger so he can save Gabriela, killing himself in the process.

There is a final big fight, but we’re not worried anymore. They are going to win. In the end, loose ends are tied, and the mentor becomes and Actual mentor to the young person

Some notes:

the older protagonist is different from the typical ‘mentor’ archetype in a few ways. The ‘mentor’ is the main character, not the young character. The story cannot go on once the older character is dead So, the mentor doesn’t die to ‘spur on’ the younger character. Like Obi-Wan, for example. Obi-Wan is not a forced mentor character. If he Was, the story would probably have to Start from his point of view, and End at his death, which would somehow fulfill his flaw.

Alright. So yeah, that’s my research on the Forced Mentorship sort of story.

#writing #writer #fiction #plot ideas #soul #finding nemo #writing advice #logan #brother bear #mentor #gravity falls #Up #stories #this is so much lol #but this is how i learn best #woot woot

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kaorusakurayashikiswife · 3 years

Text

new beginnings

pairing: Kaoru Sakurayashiki x f!reader

wc: 2k

warnings: angst (not really idk); fluff; exes to lovers; not proofread

notes: first post!! I saw that there weren’t really a lot of writings for Kaoru and decided to take it upon myself to write some!! I hope you enjoy, and please do tell me if there’s a mistake anywhere or if I there’s a warning I should add

“Are you ever going to skate again?”

Kojiro grins at you, handing you your food. You were on your break from work and decided to visit your old friend from high school.

“Kojiro you know why I can’t”

“It’s been a year I’m sure everyone wants to see you skating again!” You can’t blame him for his enthusiasm, it had almost been a year after you decided to quit skating due to breaking up with Kaoru. Before you quit you were known in ‘S’ as one of the top contenders, good enough to go against Adam, you had never gone on a beef against him since you had no interest to compete against someone like him.

“C’mon (Y/N)! You know everyone wants to see the infamous RIN again! After your sudden disappearance last year your fans have been missing you, there's even a new guy you can compete against!” You leaned in to cover his mouth, you didn’t want anyone knowing the name you were under while skating in S.

“Fine! I’ll visit but I’m not competing, I just want to see the poor soul that caught Adam’s eye.”

Kojiro smiled, knowing you, you’d probably compete either way, he knew that you’d been missing skating in S after he found you practicing. Your break up with Kaoru had changed their dynamic as you wanted nothing to do with him while he regretted letting you go.

The break up was because Kaoru kept insisting to go against Adam, you knew it was a bad idea, you had tried convincing him many times that the Adam he once knew was gone. Kaoru didn't like it as Adam was very dear to him, he had snapped at you and told you that you didn’t know him and that he’d rather break up with you than listening to your nonsense. You pitied the man, you’d heard what Adam had done to him a few days prior and wanted nothing more than to slap the man for hurting Kaoru.

“You won’t regret it! I’ll see you then RIN”

You hit him again, wanting to keep your professional life and personal life separate, “Say that name again out loud and I’m not going”.

Kojiro watched as you left the restaurant, sakura keychain still in dangling out of your bag like it had been so many years ago.

“You guys really are similar in that aspect”

Once you get home you sigh, your job has been taking a toll on you and you really needed a break. You look into your closet and see your skateboard, the only reason why you quit skating is because it reminded you of him, he was the one to teach you how to skate after all. The same man who decided to leave you to chase after the memory of the friend he once knew.

Making up your mind you change into your outfit and head down the same familiar path leading to the mine.

“Yo (Y/N)! Long time no see”

“You asshole! you call me by my name here and call me by my S name in public! Do you have a death wish?” You get closer to Kojiro to give him a piece of your mind, until you see four guys next to him: two boys who look like they’re in high school, an intimidating guy with clown-looking make-up, and a little boy who you think you’ve seen on TV.

“IS THAT RIN?!?” the redhead boy yelled, it caused everyone to turn to you, you were now the center of attention, mutters about the sudden appearance of one of the most known skaters in S.

“Who’s she?”

Compared to the redhead, the blue haired guy seemed like he was new, you assumed he was the rookie that Kojiro had mentioned earlier in the day.

“She’s a really well-known skater in S! she’s beaten a lot of people here, it’s said that she’s on par with Adam, but they’ve never gone against each other!”

“damn right and never will, I like not having broken bones thank you” you muttered, as everyone calmed down, they introduced themselves and seemed intrigued to see an old face.

“I came to see the new rookie everyone’s been talking about, I’m only here to watch though” everyone’s faces dropped, they seemed disappointed to not be able to see you skate.

“Then why’d you bring your skateboard hm?” Kojiro smirks at you, knowing that you’d come here to skate a little, even if it was just for fun.

“Fine, how about this? SNOW” you pointed at Langa and motioned him to follow you, “you’re coming with me, I wanna see why everyone is talking about you” you take Langa along and decide to skate against him in the course.

“Sorry I’m late, I forgot to charge Carla earlier today so she finished charging a little later than usual” Kaoru stood next to Kojiro to see why everyone seemed more excited. “Right on time Cherry! Look who’s skating today”.

Kaoru looked at the screen, it was you, he hadn’t seen you in a year and you never bothered to answer the messages he had sent you, not that he blamed you for that. You looked just as beautiful as he remembered, if not more, the way your hair flowed freely made you look ethereal, and your face seemed to glow while you were skating, an expression he had missed seeing from you.

He wanted to apologize, after the incident with Adam that landed him in the hospital he realized that his friend was gone, no semblance of him left. While in his hospital bed he remembered the words you had told him before he broke up with you. He knew he had no right to apologize now, but seeing you at S made him realize he missed you and wanted you back, if you’d have him of course.

Langa was surprised, your style of skating was different from anything he’d seen before, it looked complicated but you didn’t seem to be struggling at all. Due to him being distracted he hadn’t realized that you’d already crossed the finish line before him.

“That was good! You knew how to snowboard before learning how to skate right?” You asked excitedly, it had been a while since you’ve had this much freedom while skating. “Yes, how’d you know?”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to snowboard! Your stance seemed similar to those in videos I’ve seen online!”

As you walk back to the rest of the group you see him. Kaoru’s hair got a bit longer but apart from that nothing seemed too different, he still had that unapproachable aura around him. He seemed to be staring at you but you refused to look at him in the eye, you still missed him after all.

“Long time no see (Y/N)” He tried reaching out to you but you didn’t move at all, “Don’t call me that here.”

“Right, sorry Rin”

It seemed that everyone around you was aware of the tense atmosphere, although nobody really knew of what relationship you and Cherry held.

As everyone headed home, you decided to stay back and skate a little, you didn’t know when the next time you were going to be able to skate again after all. That’s when you notice it, just a little behind you were Joe and Cherry trying to catch up to you. “Rin! I thought you weren’t skating anymore?” You didn’t need to turn to see that there was a smile on his face.

“Don’t you have any fangirls to be with?” You retort, speeding a bit to gain distance from them.

“They all went home, why? You jealous?”

“As if.”

“Cherry over here wants to talk to you.”

In all honesty, you’d forgot he was even there at all, if it weren’t for Carla telling him the angles once in a while, you wouldn’t even have noticed him. You were pondering whether you should listen to what he had to say, “He’s been all gloomy ever since he saw you”. You heard someone fall, assuming it was Kojiro you kept going, he deserved it anyway.

You and Kaoru skated in silence for a bit, the only sounds heard were the wheels of both of your skateboards. As you were the first to pass the finish line you stop, getting off of your skateboard and getting ready to go back home.

“So what’d you want to talk about?”

Kojiro looks surprised, he thought you hadn’t noticed him staring at you. Frankly, he wanted to apologize and ask for a second chance, he knew he was undeserving of it though, you only wanted the best for him, but he pushed you away.

“I wanted to apologize for before, I know you meant well, but I only pushed you away when you tried helping me. I should’ve listened to what you said.”

Although it was a bit short and awkward, you knew he meant it. To be honest, you don’t blame him, he only wanted to know what had happened to his friend after he disappeared and came back with a whole different personality. You would’ve done the same if a friend whom you considered family did the same. You knew that even though he had finally come to terms with the fact that the Adam he knew in high school was gone, he was still hurting. You understood all of this, yet it was still hard to forget how angry he’d gotten at you, how he went on and on about how you didn’t know Adam at all (even though you’d been there when all four of you skated together in high school), and how he couldn’t be with someone who talked ill about his best friend. You remember how he broke up with you through a phone call after being late for a date, how you had to show up in your friend’s front door with all of your stuff, in fear of going to Kojiro’s restaurant because he was probably there.

“You didn’t need to wait a year to apologize to me” He flinched, knowing full-well what you were speaking of. He knew he had messed up the moment he ended the call, but his pride didn’t let him go back to your shared apartment to apologize to you, and he assumed that you were probably packing your bags as he headed to Kojiro’s place to drink.

“I didn’t know what to do after I went back to the apartment with your stuff gone”

“Well, I can’t just stay in my ex-boyfriend’s apartment after he just broke up with me can I?”

There was a silent pause, you were basically ready to head back home, but decided to wait to see if he had more to say. “Alright, if you’re done I’ll be heading home now.”

He quickly grabbed your wrist, stopping you from leaving, “it’s late, let me take you home”.

You declined, Kojiro had already promised you to take you back home. At the mention of his name he looked confused.

“Kojiro left a long time ago though?”

You were surprised, looking around for the tall muscle-headed idiot, but Kaoru was right, he left you behind. You were really going to kill him this time, it was probably part of his plan so you could talk things out with Kaoru.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be grateful if you did then” you offered him a small smile, you had to be nice to the person driving you back to your apartment.

The ride home was silent, all he could hear were Carla’s directions to your apartment. As you got home and thanked him for the ride he stopped you again.

“Can I have another chance?” You stayed silent, he took your silence as a rejection and started his engine to leave, but this time, you were the one to stop him.

“You still owe me a meal at Kojiro’s” He blinked, confused as to what you were saying. Then he remembered, he had made you a promise that every time you beat him in S he’d buy you your favorite dish at Kojiro’s restaurant.

He smiled, frown no longer on his face after the promise of a new beginning, “Of course, tell me when you’re free to get it”.

#sk8 the infinity #sk8 cherry blossom #kaoru sakurayashiki x reader #cherry blossom x reader #sk8 the infinity x reader #cherry blossom sk8 #sk8 the infinity fanfic #sk∞ the infinity #kaoru sakurayashiki #sakurayashiki kaoru

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you-can-call-me-wanda · 3 years

Text

What Have I Done?

Pairing: Sid Vicious x Reader

A/N: You asked for more Sex Pistols and you shall receive

The first time he met you, you had both been drunk.

It was after some gig and every punk in the city seemed to be hanging out, partying and drinking. The night was almost over when he noticed you in the corner of the room with a red plastic cup as your only company. You were attractive, a little blurry, but definitely attractive. So, Sid being Sid (and fairly intoxicated), went up to you to say hello and see if he could get in your pants.

“Hey,” he said, slurring slightly as he sidled up next you. “Whatcha doing all alone over here?”

It was clear immediately what he was up to and clear immediately that you weren’t too interested.

“Piss off,” you mumbled.

Sid was not the first guy to hit on you on that night and you were in a pretty shitty mood after your mates had up and left you all alone to go shoot up or something of the like. Besides, it was clear this idiot had had too much to drink or snort or both.

Now normally Sid would take the hint and move on to someone else, someone more up for going down, but there was something about you that kept him standing beside you. He couldn’t quite place his finger on what it was exactly, but he knew it was having an effect on him.

“You alright?” he asked, shifting tone completely to one of concern. All traces of flirtation left his voice. Something about you wanted him to make sure you were alright. It was a strange feeling, caring for a stranger in that way.

You leaned back against the wall. All the drinks you’d had were catching up with you and you were tired. You rubbed your temples as you felt a headache coming on.

“I’m fine,” you said, not understanding why this guy was still talking to you. You thought you had made it obvious you weren’t interested. “I just need to get back to my flat.”

“Let me walk with you,” Sid said, surprising both of you.

Sid had no idea what he was doing or why. Normally these conversations went one of two ways: go up and shoot your shot, get turned down, and walk away, or go up and shoot your shot then get to fucking. He never asked to escort someone home for fuck’s sake, especially someone who’d just rejected him. What was he doing?

“I’m really not interested,” you said, trying to spell it out for him that you would not be sleeping with him tonight.

“I know,” he responded. “I just think you could use the company.”

His words intrigued you and you regarded the boy in front of you with interest now. He was definitely a bit peculiar. He was dressed in tight leather trousers and a flowy blouse and, most bizarrely, donned a pair of worn-out flip flops on his feet which showed off his brightly painted toenails. Very peculiar indeed, but something about the earnest way he was looking at you made you want to keep talking to him.

“Alright,” you said. “You can walk with me.”

The London streets were dark and almost empty as the two of you made the trek back to your flat. Sid had introduced himself to you by this point and was rambling on about his mates and his mum and David Bowie. You listened half-heartedly, throwing in the occasional comment or nodding. You were more focused on getting home and getting some much-needed sleep.

“This is me,” you said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of your building. “It was nice meeting you Sid.”

“Oh,” he said, looking a little crestfallen at the prospect of you leaving. “It was nice meeting you too.”

“Bye,” you said, turning to walk to your building. Once you reached the front door, you heard him call out to you.

“(Y/N)?”

You turned back to face him with a raised brow.

“Can I see you again sometime?” he asked, looking hopeful.

You gave him a tired smile.

“I’m sure I’ll see you around,” you said, before spinning on your heel and entering the building, leaving Sid standing out on the pavement looking at the now closed door with a frown on his face.

****

He searched for you everywhere. Okay, maybe not everywhere, but it felt like everywhere to Sid. He couldn’t get you off his mind. The way the sides of your mouth had quirked up when he’d said something particularly dumb and the way your jeans had stretched around your thighs left him wanting more of you. He wanted to see you again. He wanted to know you.

And although he had been somewhat hammered that night, he remembered you and your short conversation with him well. Which was why, now, he was scouring the city’s record stores, searching for you. He remembered some offhand comment you had made about working in one and what a drag it could be. You hadn’t said which store you worked in though, which made finding you a difficult task.

It appeared some higher power was on his side though because at the sixth store Sid entered that fateful Sunday, only two days after he’d first met you, you were there.

You were stood behind the counter and took no notice of him as he entered the shop. You were too busy fiddling with the register.

“Hi,” Sid said, feeling a tad intimidated now that he found you. He had spent so much time thinking about when he was going to see you next, he had spent no time preparing for what he would say to you.

Your head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Sid was pleased to see some recognition on your face. He had been worried you wouldn’t remember him.

“Hi,” you said, looking a little confused to see him. “It’s um, Joe, right?” you asked, taking a stab at what the near stranger’s name was.

“Sid,” he corrected.

You winced, feeling bad.

“Sid, right,” you said. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” you said, trying to relieve some of the odd tension in the air.

Sid actually looked embarrassed at your words which surprised you a bit. Actually, this whole encounter was surprising. You hadn’t really expected to see him again ever. You had chalked up the other night to a combination of intoxication and Sid just being genuinely weird.

“Well, I had to find you,” Sid admitted, pushing down his nerves and approaching the counter. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“Me?” you asked, pointing to your chest. “I can’t believe you even remember me. I thought you were pissed.”

“I was, but I couldn’t forget a face like yours if I wanted to,” Sid said, leaning against the counter with his hip in an attempt to act suave.

“Oh, that’s what this is,” you said, crossing your arms across your chest. He was hitting on you. Again.

“I’m not trying to- well, actually maybe I am,” he said. “I just- would you like to go on a date with me sometime?”

“A date?” At least he wasn’t just trying to get laid. Or maybe he was.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “With me.”

“I don’t even know you,” you replied.

“Then get to know me,” he pressed. “You might like me if you give me a chance.”

“I never said I didn’t like you,” you said, softening up. Sid was kind of cute and you remembered taking a liking to his goofy personality the other night.

“Then let me take you to dinner.”

You continued to stare at him blankly.

“It’s just dinner, I swear,” he added. He crossed his fingers across his heart in an ‘x’ motion.

“Fine,” you relented, grabbing a scrap piece of paper, and scribbling your digits down. “Pick me up at eight tonight.”

“Really?” he asked excited. He took the number from you and gazed down at it with a smile.

“Really,” you laughed. “Now let me get back to work. I’ll see you at eight.”

“You won’t be sorry!” he called over his shoulder as he retreated out of the shop, bumping into the door frame on his way out.

Jesus, you thought shaking your head after him. What have I done?

#sid vicious imagine #sid vicious x reader #sex pistols imagine #sex pistols x reader #wanda writes

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deppsessed · 3 years

Text

Good Luck Charm

Hollywood Vampire Series part I

Pairing: Johnny Depp x Reader

Summary: Your lifelong dream to meet your favourite actor, Johnny Depp has finally come true. What happens when you finally come face to face with and manage to impress him?

Feedback is much appreciated

Johnny Depp. Even thinking about his name makes my heart skip a little beat. I’ve been a fan of his for years, seen just about every single one of his movies (and know just about every word in them too). When the Hollywood Vampires had announced their latest world tour a few months back, there was no doubt about me trying to get VIP tickets, but I’d somehow managed to end up with something better. My best friend, Alex, works at the concert venue, and for my birthday, had given me an ‘access all areas’ pass for the show. Not only would I be seeing the concert, but I had full access to backstage. But the thing I was still trying to wrap my head around was the fact that I’d be meeting Johnny Depp.

I’d been thinking about it for months. What was I going to wear? What was I going to say to him? Or would I find a way to make a complete idiot of myself?

Today was going to be the day that I’d finally find out. After days of planning out my outfit, I’d decided on something a little grungy, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a Jim Morrison t-shirt (to maybe grab Johnny’s attention), leather jacket, and a pair of Dr Martens boots. With it being a Hollywood Vampires concert, it only felt appropriate to dress up a little vampy.

“Y/N! Hey! Hi!”

It’s Alex, and she has her arms open ready to hug me.

“How do I look?” I ask once I pull back and give a little twirl to show off my outfit.

“Like you’re about to catch Johnny Depp off guard and take his breath away.”

I snorted. “Very funny.”

“Don’t act as if that wasn’t the answer that you were wanting!”

I have to hand it to her, she knows me well, but she has been my best friend since we were kids.

“I hardly slept last night thinking about it…”

Alex laughs and shakes her head. I know she’ll find it amusing and pretty typical of me.

“But now you’re here, I can give you the whole backstage tour. Come right this way.”

She ushers me towards a door with the lettering “Artists and personnel only”. After a couple of minutes of walking down one corridor, it opens up to a giant concrete looking area. I’m shown places like the wardrobe room, where all of the band's clothes are already hanging up, ready for the show later. The band's green room, where there are bottles of alcohol ready to be opened. The highlight had been seeing the rack of Johnny’s guitars and better yet, the marked out dressing rooms for the band members. The pre-show buzz was starting to take hold with people running about the place in all sorts of different directions.

By the time that we’re done, it’s time to go to meet and greet. Alex escorts me back down the long concrete corridor, to the meet and greet hall.

“Good luck! And promise you’ll tell me everything later.”

The room is already teaming with a couple of hundred fans, all waiting for Johnny, Alice and Joe to come on through. I’m not feeling nervous, but instead, excited. The room erupts into a fit of screams as the band enters the room. My eyes instantly look onto Johnny. He’s wearing one of his usual edgy Hollywood Vampires outfits with layers of jewellery. He’s even more handsome in person. It doesn’t even bother me that I’m at the back of the line, it means more time to be able to look at, and soak up the feeling of being in the same room as him. It’s endearing watching him interact with his fans because he takes his time and indulges every single one of them. I know that when he eventually gets to me, it’s going to be worth it.

Needless to say, when I’m next (and decidedly last) in line, he’s looking a little worse for wear, as if he’s between needing a good drink, a cigarette and a nap… or maybe all three at once, somehow. I hadn’t figured out what my first words to him were going to be, but I wanted to be memorable. Not just for being the last fan. But for not fitting into all the other conversations that I’ve been overhearing him having. I’m not going to be starstruck, he’s only another person.

“You know, if you want to take a moment for yourself to smoke a cigarette or have a drink, you can. I’m not going to go screaming from the rooftops about it.”

Right away, he’s raising an eyebrow at me, as if he’s uncertain by the invitation.

“Honestly, it’s fine. I’ve got all day.”

I can see the little bit of reluctance disappear from his face, and while he doesn’t take up the offer of a drink right away, he does reach into his pocket for his rolling tobacco -- despite all of the no-smoking signs around the room, nobody is going to be telling him off.

“Do you smoke too?” He asks, offering me the packet. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders.

“I wouldn’t put that stuff into my lungs willingly.” I can see his eyebrow-raising again, he obviously isn’t going to retaliate with anything. I let him light up his cigarette and move for the next subject change. I’ve overheard people telling him how much they love the album, and the fact that they do a mixture of original stuff and covers.

“I love the album, you know, Heroes is my favourite cover because you get to sing…” What I haven’t heard once is the suggestion of other songs. “School’s Out is good, but Poison would sound amazing with you and Joe on guitar. I keep thinking how something by the Rolling Stones would sound cool too, like, ‘Paint it Black’ or ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, kind of feels like it would be Alice’s kind of aesthetic.”

I’m not sure where the apparent confidence is coming from, but I’m happy to run with it, especially when Johnny seems to be visibly impressed by it. His lips pull into a grin, clearly amused by the last part of my statement and what I’m trying to get at.

“I wouldn’t be too fooled by the gothic exterior, he’s a softie, deep down.” He pauses to take a drag on his cigarette. “I’ve always wanted to do something by The Doors… A vamped up version of Light my Fire or something.” Ah, so he has spotted the t-shirt.

“Good choice.” I’m hardly going to tell him that there are plenty other songs out there that I think they could do better, but then again, maybe he’s secretly testing me and wants me to. “Break on Through to the other side would sound even better.”

He’s impressed, the way that his eyes light up really shows it. I can see his mouth open, ready for a response for me, when one of the band's security interjects and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Johnny, I’m sorry, but we’re already running ahead of schedule here-”

He scowls, evidently irritated at the fact he’s being told to move things along.

“I’m sorry,” He pauses and pushes his hand through his hair. “But what are your plans after the show? I’d love to see you at the party and maybe buy you a drink...”

Is this a dream? I’ve got to be dreaming. This isn’t happening.

“I’d love that.” I’m trying to keep my composure and not show my excitement, or the fact I’m freaking out on the inside.

“Great -- what’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

He holds his hand out to me to shake. “I’m Johnny.”

---

The music is loud, or maybe my ears are still ringing a little bit from the concert. The band had been simply incredible! I swore that Johnny had been looking right at me at a few points, and even going as far as to wink. Tonight was shaping up to be something.

Johnny had stuck to his promise and put my name on the guestlist for the show after-party. I was still trying to get my head around what was happening. I was at a Hollywood Vampires after-party, and it was everything that I had imagined it to be. The place was decked out in black and red decor, and fittingly playing old classic rock from the speakers. I feel like I’m standing out a little bit. Everyone seems to know each other one way or another and are engrossed in some kind of conversation.

“You made it,” The voice nearly makes me jump out of my skin. Johnny Depp is standing right behind me. “I didn’t have any other invites,” As if I would have been anywhere else. “The show was amazing, by the way, you were great.” He’s probably had people coming up to tell him all night, but it still feels appropriate.

“How do you feel about meeting the band and then I’ll buy you that drink?” My widened eyed expression is enough for him to laugh. “I’ll introduce you, come on.”

The Hollywood Vampires are standing at the other side of the room, laughing together like a bunch of teenage boys. “Guys!” He holds his hand up to try and get their attention. “This is y/n, the girl I was telling you about from meet and greet.”

He’d been talking about me.

“And the reason that Johnny was almost late!” The band start to laugh in unison and Johnny shakes his head and lets out a defeated sigh.

“This is Tommy, Joe and I don’t think that Alice really needs an introduction...” I shake hands with them all in term, but when it comes to Alice, he’s glaring at Johnny. “Hey!” He objects and again, the band are just about on the floor laughing. Making fun of each other in turn is a thing, it seems.

“I feel like I should be offering to buy you all a drink, what an amazing show you pulled off.”

“Thank you, darlin’, really glad that you enjoyed it.” Alice replied, “But we’re buying you the drink.” We stand and talk for a little while, mainly about music, before Johnny buts into the conversation.

“Now if you guys wouldn’t mind excusing us, I do believe I promised the lady a drink.”

I can feel a blush rise into my cheeks at the realisation that he’s talking about me. “It was nice meeting you guys, good luck for the rest of the tour.” We say our pleasantries and goodbyes. The group disperses, leaving just me and Johnny standing.

“Another admittance on my part, I don’t enjoy these after-parties, they’re too loud for my taste.” He scratches the back of his neck, as if he’s a little nervous . “I know I’m being bold, but would you like to come back to the hotel with me for that drink?”

Pinch me.

Johnny Depp’s hotel suite is bigger than my entire studio apartment. It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that it’s that extravagant, but it’s straight-up like something out of Pretty Woman. It’s a little hard not to stare with your mouth open around the place. Plus the fact, I’m in his hotel room.

“Pick your poison,” He gestures towards the rooms mini-bar, “Or if none of this is suitable, I can call for room service.”

I shake my head, “A bottle of beer is fine, you don’t need to order a bottle of champagne on ice on my account.” Johnny laughs and grabs a bottle of pass over to me, which I twist the lid from and bring it up to my lips for a taste.

“You’re an easy girl to impress.”

I scoff, there are plenty out there that I’m sure would say otherwise. “Somewhat.”

He, too, grabs a bottle of beer and sits down on the bed. We start to talk, he wants to know about my life, my job, my friends... And while I’m more than certain of the fact that I’m boring the pants off of him, he’s listening as if he’s absorbing and holding onto every word.

When I tell him about my love for poetry, his eyes light up in curiosity. “Who would you say is your favourite poet?”

I want to set out and impress him, tell him the name of somebody he hasn’t heard before, but I go with my heart. “Oscar Wilde -- I know, it’s a typical answer but there’s just something about his writing which resonates with the soul.”

“I’d agree, actually-” He pauses to bring his beer bottle up to his lips. “There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it’ is one that’s always stuck with me.”

“I can resist everything but temptation.” I grin at him and shrugged my shoulders, always a quote that I’ve related to.

I look back at him, to notice where his gaze is, right at my lips. Before I have a second to comprehend what’s going on, he leans forward, his lips brushing against mine. It takes me by surprise. Johnny Depp is trying to kiss me.

“I’m sorry, shit, I’m sorry. It’s just-” He starts to hastily explain. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I thought-”

He doesn’t get his last word out because I bring my lips back onto his to return the kiss. It’s soft, slow, and tender. I feel his tongue trace along my bottom lip, as if asking to deepen the kiss.

I’m kissing Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is kissing me.

I don’t know how to comprehend it.

Or how I’m even going to begin to tell Alex when she texts me tomorrow.

#johnny depp imagine #johnny depp x reader #johnny depp fanfic

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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years

Note

Hi love! I've had this idea for a bit and I think it would be perfect in the same universe of your plank all over me one shots! Okay do you remember that interview where Conor Maynard planked Tom with the fake interviewer?? What if Tom tried to do the same thing to prank y/n but as soon as the fake interviewer walks in she immediately knows what's happening so then gives super weird answers or tries to mess with tom in all the answers she gives?? You don't have to do it if you don't want to tho!

Plank All Over Me - Prank Interview Edition

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Synopsis: Tom and Connor Maynard try to prank you, but you prank then right back

Disclaimer: you don’t have to have read the others to understand, but check them out ;)

Plank All Over Me

Plank All Over Me - Yoga Edition

Plank All Over Me - Couples Tag

Masterlist

“What’s going on guys? It’s Conor Maynard here and I’m joined by an old friend of mine.” Conor pointed to Tom.

“Tom Holland.” Tom smiled at the camera.

“You May have heard of him, probably not. He’s not very well known.” Conor joked.

“I know, mate. I’m so lucky you’re putting me on your channel. Could be my big break.” Tom replied.

“My other friend Josh Pieters is in the other room with Toms girlfriend, the incredibly famous and lovely Y/n L/n. If you’ve seen my video where Josh, Casper and I pranked Tom with a fake interview, you already know what’s about to go down. If you don’t, Josh has an AirPod in under his headband. We’re going to be giving him things to say and he has to say them to Y/n. We’re gonna try to really freak her out. Are you ready Tom?”

“Very ready. Y/n, I love you pretty girl but you had this coming.” Tom rubbed his hands together.

“Looks like she’s in the room. Introduce yourself.” Conor instructed. “But make it uncomfortable.”

“Hi, I’m Josh but you can call me Josh.” Josh said with a blank stare. You vaguely recognized the boy interviewing you but you couldn’t pinpoint where he was from.

“Oh uh, hi Josh.” You laughed lightly. “I’m Y/n.”

“Tell her you had a pet called Y/n and something terrible happened to it.” Conor snickered.

“I had a fish called Y/n when I was younger.” Josh informed you.

“Aw, that’s sweet.” You smiled.

“Yeah. It was my best friend until my brother swallowed it alive.” He said with no emotion.

“Oh.” You replied, not knowing what else to say. You began to sense something was off. He was wearing a headband, for one, and he didn’t look like he normally wore them. Someone was up to something.

“Even more uncomfortable.” Tom ordered.

“I’m a big fan so it’s very nice to meet you.” Josh said. “A huge fan actually, if you know what I mean.” Josh gave you a wink and you swallowed thickly. It suddenly dawned on you where you knew him from. He was Josh Pieters, the YouTuber who pranked Tom. You’d seen a number of his prank videos with Casper Lee and Joe Sugg and had a feeling that this one would be no different. If he wanted to prank you, you’d give him a taste of his own medicine.

“Not that uncomfortable!” Tom said.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” You answered, preparing to have a little fun.

“Be normal. Ask her about the Marvel making Eddie a girl.” Conor said.

“For those who don’t know, the character Eddie Brock, who later gets infected with the symbiote Venom, is a male in the comics. How do you feel about Marvel changing the role to be played by a woman after your audition?” Josh asked. You thought about your answer for a moment.

“I think it was a really dumb move, actually. I originally auditioned for the role of Anne, who’s Eddie Brocks girlfriend. I think they should’ve kept Eddie a boy since women are weak, useless creatures and I hate them all.” You answered matter-of-factly and Josh looked a little taken aback. You nodded as if it confirm your answer and Josh looked lost.

“Oh.” Josh said and leaned to the side as if he were listening to something you couldn’t hear.

“I’m kidding. I love that they made Eddie a girl. I was so excited when they called me and told me who I was playing.” You followed up. You didn’t want them to catch on too soon that you were messing with them. You had to dial it down.

“Ask about the Spider-Man/Venom relationship.” Conor told Josh.

“And me. Ask about me.” Tom added.

“If it fun getting to play Tom Holland’s on screen girlfriend as well as being his in real life girlfriend?” Josh asked you and you smirked. So Tom was behind this as well. Now was your time to really mess with them.

“Not really, if I’m honest.” You answered.

“What?” Conor laughed.

“What?” Tom deadpanned.

“Really?” Josh asked while stifling a laugh.

“It’s just, there are so many attractive men in the Marvel cast, Tom included don’t get me wrong.” You assured him. “I kinda wish they let me date one of them on screen since I already date Tom off screen.”

“Ask her who she’d want to date.” Tom demanded, watching you with hooded eyes.

“Who do you wish you were dating?” Josh asked you.

“Definitely Chris Evans.” You answered too quickly for Toms liking. “Oh, did you mean what character?”

“I’m gonna die. I’m actually going to perish.” Tom backed away from the microphone and covered his mouth with his hands.

“Keep going. Ask more about Tom.” Conor instructed.

“But you like working with Tom, right?” Josh tried to bring the conversation to a positive point.

“Again, not really.” You shrugged.

“Interesting.” Josh stated, silently begging for the boys to tell him what to say. No one was prepared for your answers.

“Ask why.” Conor said as Tom fanned himself in the background.

“Can you elaborate on that?” Josh asked.

“It’s just weird acting along side your boyfriend. I think he should leave the acting me to, honestly.” You smiled innocently, knowing Tom was somewhere freaking out.

“Do you think he’s bad?” Tom grabbed them microphone.

“Do you think he’s bad?” Josh repeated.

“Well, he’s very attractive. I’m sure that was a big factor in getting the part. But his American accent…”, you made a face, “not the best. Being from New York is such a big part of Peter Parker that I feel like Marvel should’ve gone with an American actor. No offense to Tom, of course. He’s great in all his other movies.”

“Wow.” Josh squeaked.

“She told me she loves my American accent.” Tom whispered, bewildered.

“Ask her about her favorite accent.” Conor tried to lighten the mood.

“Do you like British accents better?” Josh asked you.

“I’ll tell you what I like. Chris Hemsworth’s accent.” You gushed. “I think it’s the hottest thing ever.”

“Did you guys hear that?” Tom asked gravely.

“Hear what?” Conor asked him.

“My heart shattering.” Tom answered.

“Tom, it’s just an accent. It’s okay.” Conor assured his friend. Tom couldn’t even hear him anymore. He grabbed the microphone with a heavy hand.

“Ask her if she likes Australians better than the British.” He demanded.

“You think Australian accents are better than British accents?” Josh repeated Toms question.

“Is that even a question? Duh.” You laughed.

“I can’t breath.” Tom wheezed.

“I do like your accent, though.” You said, catching everyone off guard.

“She what?” Tom asked. “What?”

“Oh, thank you.” Josh said, beginning to panic.

“Where are you from?” You asked, leaning forward on your hands.

“South Africa.” Josh told you and you smiled brightly and you continued your plan.

“Wait, really? That’s so exciting. I’ve always wanted to go there.” You beamed.

“Since when?” Conor looked up at Tom.

“She’s never said anything about South Africa.” Tom said in confusion.

“It’s a beautiful place.” Josh agreed.

“I bet. England is so dreary.” You rolled your eyes. “Maybe you can take me to South Africa one day.”

“Maybe.” Josh nodded as he tried to send messages in Morse code by blinking rapidly at the camera. You smirked, knowing your plan was working.

“Change the subject, Josh. Before Tom dies.” Conor ordered.

“Ask her about the wallpaper.” Tom blurted.

“Why the wallpaper?” Conor asked.

“It’s the least romantic topic I could think of!” Tom exclaimed.

“So, this is some really nice wallpaper, wouldn’t you agree?” Josh changed the subject. This threw you off a little but you were determined to win this prank.

“I was just thinking that! You read my mind.” You said excitedly.

“That backfired.” Conor said as he watched Tom fall to the floor in agony.

“Your name is Josh right?” You asked coyly.

“Yes ma’am.” Josh answered.

“I love that name.” You complimented. “I always have.”

“Do you?” Josh’s mouth dried up.

“Totally. It’s so exotic.” You beamed. Toms head snapped up from the floor.

“Exotic? There is a white boy named Josh in every high school movie ever made.” Tom exclaimed. “Exotic compared to what? Toast?”

“Thank you. I like it too.” Josh said awkwardly, wishing the boys would give him something to say.

“It’s so much better than a white bread name like Tom. Who names their kid Tom? What is he, an apostle?” You laughed. “Josh is way cooler in my opinion. It’s like the name of a god or something.”

“A god?” Tom nearly screamed. “What would Josh be the god of?”

“Gingers.” Conor shrugged.

“Thank you.” Josh said and gave the camera a stern glare.

“Tell her about your quail.” Conor suggested.

“That’s perfect. She’ll think he’s a total weirdo! Great thinking Conor.” Tom patted his friend on the back.

“Not exactly my plan, but okay.” Connor nodded.

“Do you have any pets?” Josh began his segway.”

“I do. I have a dog named Tessa.” You answered. “She’s not really my dog, though. She’s Tom’s.”

“I know you’re an animal person. You must love her.” Josh smiled now that the prank was back on track.

“Honestly, I can’t stand her. She’s always sleeping in our bed with us and begging at the table. I’m this close to telling Tom to get rid of her.” You pinched your fingers together and watched Josh go pale.

“That was it. That was the thing that killed me.” Tom mumbled as he slumped in a chair.

“Talk about the quail!” Conor repeated in an effort to save Tom.

“I have a pet too. It’s a quail.” Josh told you proudly.

“A quail? How did you get a quail?” You asked with a smile.

“Well my friends and I bought a carton of quail eggs and put them in an incubator. Only one hatched but I’ve kept her as a pet.” Josh told you the infamous story. You’d seen the video he posted about it but decided to play dumb.

“You saved a quail? That’s amazing.” You gushed as if you’d never heard the story before.

“It was just a fun thing for YouTube but I’ve actually grown quite fond of her.” Josh said, beginning to enjoy the interview.

“That’s the mosh amazing story I’ve ever herad.” You swore. “You’re a hero. A real life hero.”

“Okay. He put a carton of eggs in a hot box. He’s not Mother Theresa.” Tom pouted.

“You and Tom should come over and meet her sometime.” Josh suggested.

“Good. Bring the conversation back to Tom.” Conor nodded.

“Yeah. I’m feeling better now.” Tom agreed.

“Tom doesn’t have time be there. It can just be you and I.” You said as you looked at him through your lashes. Josh looked panicked.

“Never mind.” Tom groaned, clenching his stomach.

“What’s your last name, Josh?” You asked as you twirled some hair around your finger.

“Pieters.” Josh informed you.

“Pieters? That’s so cute. I love the way it sounds. Can you imagine it with my name? Y/n Pieters.” You smiled. “Doesn’t that just sound effervescent?”

“It sounds lovely, Y/n.” Josh said, eyeing you strangely.

“Toms still dead but if he were alive right now, he’d be livid.” Conor sighed as he listened.

“I can hear it. And I am in fact livid.” Tom said from his newly claimed spot on the floor.

“You know who else’s last name sounds good on me? Osterfield.” You were pulling out all the guns now. “I think Y/n Osterfield sounds great. Don’t you agree?”

“Uhhh…” Josh feared for his life if he agreed.

“Don’t you dare agree.” Tom grumbled through the microphone.

“Say you like Y/n Holland best.” Conor suggested.

“That’s good. Say that.” Tom nodded.

“I think Y/n Holland sounds better than both of those.” Josh told you.

“You think?” You made a face. “I actually hate Toms last name. It doesn’t fit with anything. It’s too long.”

“Osterfield is longer.” Josh reminded you.

“I bet Osterfield is longer.” You said and winked at the camera. Tom caught the double meaning and started sweating profusely.

“Ask her if she plans to take my last name when we’re married.” Tom asked, fully panicking now.

“Are you gonna take his last name when you’re married?” Josh repeated.

“Yeah, like we’re getting married.” You laughed.

“She doesn’t want to marry me?” Tom asked, all anger draining from him. It was replaced with devastation and defeat.

“Ask her if she wants to marry Tom.” Conor said as he watched Toms fallen face carefully.

“You guys aren’t planning on getting married?” Josh asked, feeling himself beginning to sweat.

“We are.” You nodded and Tom sighed in relief. “To other people.” You added.

“She killed me and now she’s beating my corpse with a phone book.” Tom said in exasperation.

“Try to change the subject again away from marriage.” Conor pleaded for Toms sake.

“Your hair looks really nice today.” Josh blurted.

“That’s not helping!” Tom shouted.

“Thank you! I really like your hair too. I totally have a thing for gingers.” You nodded.

“Said no one ever!” Tom scoffed.

“Abandon that conversation immediately. New plan! Ask her what her favorite thing about Tom is.” Conor shrugged.

“Speaking of Tom, whats your favorite thing about him?” Josh asked, ignoring the insult from Tom.

“My favorite thing about Tom? That’s easy.” You smiled and Tom did too. “He always puts the toilet seat down after he’s done. I hate when boys leave it up. So, probably that.”

“Her favorite thing about me is how I put the toilet seat down?” Tom asked with a blank stare.

“Ask her something else about him. He’s dying, Josh. He’s on his last leg.” Conor begged.

“Finish this sentence: my boyfriend gives the best…” Josh began.

“Kisses.” You gushed. Josh looked at the camera for approval and he heard Tom sigh happily into the microphone. “Just kidding, he gives the best directions. He’s really good at giving people directions. His kisses are lack luster, but I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone.”

“Ask her what in the the absolutely, positively, burning, bloody hell that meant?” Tom quipped.

“Why not?” Josh asked you.

“Do I have to say it?” You asked.

“Make her say it.” Tom ordered.

“Yes.” Josh nodded.

“No lips.” You shrugged.

“Can’t argue with her on that one, mate.” Conor told Tom.

“Can you get her to say one nice thing about me before my ghost ascends into heaven?” Tom sighed in defeat.

“What do you love about him? There must be something, right? Why else would you be together?” Josh asked you. You decided it was time to let up.

“There is something I love about Tom.” You smiled dreamily.

“Thank God.” Tom said, leaning forward to hear you clearly.

“Finally.” Conor after.

“Really? What is it?” Josh asked.

“What I really, truly love about Tom,” you smiled at the camera, “is how he thinks he can prank me better than I can prank him.”

“What?” Josh laughed as he realized you’d be toying with him.

“Wait, what?” Tom stuttered.

“What?” Conor asked at the 50th turn the video had taken.

“Come on, Josh. I smelt BS as soon as I walked in here.” You declared. “You think I haven’t seen Conners video where you pranked Tom exactly like this? You boys must think I’m dumb.”

“Wait a minute, she what? What?” Tom tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing.

“Would you look at that.” Conor said, dumbfounded.

“You knew it was a prank and you let us believe we were pranking you this entire time?” Josh asked, not bothering to hide how impressed he was.

“Yup.” You popped the p.

“Come on.” Tom pulled Connor out of the room and ran to where you and Josh were. You burst out laughing when you saw Toms red face.

“Ha! I knew I’d get you.” You clapped as you pulled Tom into a hug. “You should’ve known better than to challenge me. You know they call me Prank Sinatra.”

“No one calls you that.” He mumbled as his cheeks flamed up in embarrassment that you’d gotten him so good.

“Modern day Prank Ocean.” You shrugged smugly.

“How did you know it was a prank?” Conor asked you.

“I watch you and Josh all the time. I know a prank when I see one. I got you guy so good, thinking I liked the name Josh and all that.” You said triumphantly.

“Hey.” Josh warned.

“Sorry.” You apologized.

“So all your answers were…” Tom began.

“Complete and utter lies?” You finished. “Why yes, yes they were. Every last one.”

“You made all that up? All that stuff about my accent and not liking to work with me?” He asked hopefully, needing to hear you confirm it.

“Obviously! When do I ever say “effervescent”? You should’ve known I was only joking, lover.” You assured him as you pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’d never say that stuff. I love your accent and I love working with you.

“And the marriage stuff?” He said softly. You knew you took it a little too far with that one.

“If you want that to happen, you know what to do.” You shrugged casually and he blushed.

“I cannot believe you pranked us this badly. I feel so defeated.” Conor sighed.

“You shouldn’t have challenged the queen of pranks.” You told him as Tom presses kissed of relief to your cheek.

“Wait, what about what you said about wanting to date Chris Evans?” He remembered.

“Thanks for watching everybody! Bye!” You said to the camera before running out of the room.

“Wait! You didn’t answer my question!” Tom said as he ran after you.

“Don’t forget to subscribe!” You shouted from the hallway.

“What she said.” Conor smiled again the camera before turning it off.

Tag List 🏷

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my-writings-and-musings · 3 years

Text

I got a wonderful commission to share here today. I hope you're all ready for some ADORABLE shenanigans!!

MTMTE/Brave Police Crossover

The bots rescue an unusual group out in space, and make some unexpected friends.

"So, how are our new arrivals doing?"

Ratchet kept his voice rather low, but had little need to do so with the bots in question chatting away too eagerly to overhear him.

"Good, as far as they've told us." First Aid replied, looking over the notes on his data pad with an expression of still overwhelmed awe. These "Brave Police" truly were a marvel; earth made bots just as capable as any Cybertronian, complete with the ability to transform! Casting a glance back to the group, he had to pause at the sight of Drift chatting happily with them all, feeling as left out as everyone else did for the moment. Being the only one who had their particular earth language in his files, the ninjabot had been their translator from the moment of their unexpected arrival, though had quickly become amicable enough with the gathered group to start chatting away even when there was nothing to interpret. Noting that he technically had yet to speak to any of the new arrivals directly, First Aid amended his statement. "Well, as far as they've told Drift, anyway."

"We'll have a language download primed in just a few minutes, conversing will be far easier in short order." Ultra Magnus reassured the gathered bots from his monitor, finishing up the unexpected language program they had so sorely been needing. Despite the copious quantities of data they had on alien languages, not a single file on earth languages had been ready to go... Rodimus had been less than happy at the news. "A few minutes after that, the whole ship will have access, eliminating further language barriers."

"A few slow minutes!" the captain remarked in a huff, tapping his pede as he watched the loading bar crawl to completion. Casting a longing glance at Drift, he made no effort to hide the source of his impatience. "I should have been able to welcome these bots on board, I'm already late to the job!"

"Complaining will not make this go any faster-"

Even Ratchet had to chuckle at Ultra Magnus's expense when the monitor suddenly pinged to notify them it was finished, but Rodimus wasted no time rubbing it in, practically fist pumping only for a moment before diving in. Downloading the program at impressive speed even for him, the captain booted up the new language straight away, leaving everyone else to catch up as he hurried over to their guests.

"Hey everyone!" he greeted happily, loving the thrill of a whole new manner of speaking. The Brave Police perked up at the sound of their primary language, which Drift had referred to as "Japanese", with the aforementioned bot looking especially pleased. Smirking at his friend in particular, Rodimus addressed the whole group as the bots behind him finished up installing the program. "Am I coming through loud and clear?"

Drift smiled, but looked to the blue mech that had identified himself as the head of their team. Even if he hadn't, however, Rodimus could tell by the way he jumped up and saluted that the bot in question was a natural leader. "Very clear!" he said enthusiastically, offering a hand to shake with impeccable manners that almost seemed to be made all the more charming by his boundless enthusiasm. "Though we've already met, I would like to personally introduce myself and thank you for the rescue."

"Not a problem! We were in the neighborhood, you know?" Rodimus replied, finding things infinitely easier now that the two could talk directly. As the rest of his own team caught up behind him, with Magnus giving him a pointed look of disapproval, he allowed the earth based bots to speak freely at last.

"I'm Deckerd, and these are the other members of the Brave Police." said the police bot, looking to his assorted friends and opening the floor for them.

"I am McCrane." a reserved but friendly mech said, giving a very polite nod of his helm as a greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

A far more brightly colored mech, of a similarly solid build, gestured eagerly to himself. "I'm PowerJoe."

"Call me Dumpson!" a bright red mech announced, flexing an arm to show off his impressive strength. Rodimus had no doubt the bot would be very popular at Swerve's, and almost didn't notice the source of the next introduction from a sparsely lit corner.

"Shadow Maru."

Drift looked immediately impressed at the stealthy mech's skills, but before he could say a word the next member was speaking up quite emphatically

"I'm Drill Boy!" he said from atop a medical berth, kicking his legs eagerly and bursting with so much energy one might actually miss the soccer ball positioned in his chassis. Every bot present mutually wondered if it was a design or an actual functional ball, especially Rodimus, but the topic was minor enough to be filed away for the moment. A red and white mech spoke up next, his tone so flat Rodimus immediately knew Magnus would have a new friend by the end of the day.

"Duke."

At last, a lightly colored bot chilling on an open chair spoke up, lazily offering a playful salute as he introduced himself. "I'm Gunmax, baby."

Rodimus knew, straight away, he had found his own favorite amongst the group. At least, this bot would undoubtedly be the one he related to most. Behind him, a grumpy presence cleared his vents and spoke up.

"I'm Ultra Magnus. Now that we are all acquainted, I believe it is time for some more in depth explanations-"

"Come on, Mags! These bots have been through enough!" Rodimus said, patting the much larger mech on the arm and ignoring the look of frustration it got him. Perhaps there was residual impatience from the language delay, but he had no intention of sitting through anything he didn't feel like. "Besides, I think we established the basics well enough. You guys are from earth, right? Human constructed?"

"Yes. We were in space to foil a criminals plot. We were successful, but had it not been for your rescue, I fear we would not have made it home." Deckerd replied, calling back to the shell of a space station they'd been rescued from. Evidently some human had invented a kind of interstellar travel for nefarious purposes, been stopped by the Brave Police, but not before managing to get them all incredibly lost. Looking to the floor, the police cruiser continued a little awkwardly. His request was wrapped up as a tentative statement. "That is... we are still hoping to return home."

Rodimus smiled, hoping to get the group comfortable eventually by being as welcoming and laid back as possible. Clearly they weren't accustomed to calling their own shots. "To earth? Hey, not a problem! It's a stone's throw from here... on a cosmic scale."

There was a small groan of exasperation, and Drill Boy hopped off the table, pouting like a sparkling. "Aww, do we have to go back right away?"

"Drill Boy-" Deckerd admonished, turning on the spot to face the younger mech but never getting a chance to finish.

"I agree with him, boss!" Dumpson affirmed, making their poor leader's face turn to mortification as he was quickly outnumbered. Power Joe affirmed the sentiment, gesturing to the medical bay that had awed them when they'd first arrived.

"Yeah! We've only heard rumors of beings like us, yet now look where we are!" he said, recalling their impossible wonder at furniture their own size being *everywhere*. The Cybertronian presence on earth had never been especially heavy in their home country, and with official information at a minimum, their rescue had been a discovery for both sides.

"We certainly can't overstay our welcome!" Deckerd countered, blushing as he tried to compel his fellow officers to comply. Far too polite to share his own desire to stay, the police bot flinched as Gunmax piped up, offering his usual level of laidback snark in a single retort.

"Then let's just stay until we're no longer welcome!"

"Everyone-"

"Hey, no worries!" Rodimus said, stepping in to rescue the poor leader before an argument could break out. Endlessly amused by what he was seeing, the captain was quite confident he spoke for everyone when he offered an extended stay. A quick glance along mostly affirming looks told him as much. "You guys are welcome on the ship while we chart a relaxed course for the blue marble, sound good?"

Deckerd flushed again, looking down and kneading his hands together as he replied. "We wouldn't want to impose-"

"No imposing here. Magnus, Drift, can you relay a message to earth so these bots can call home? Ratchet, any chance you can synthesize some fuel for them out of what's in stock?" Rodimus said, putting an arm around Deckerd and speaking quickly so there'd be no time to argue. There was thankfully no resistance, as Magnus appeared too resigned to offer any. Ratchet, however, had a quick request to make before anything else could proceed.

"I'll need access to... diagnostics. Our anatomies differ quite considerably, so if I'm going to offer care, I'm going to need more information." he said, likely recalling how shocked he'd been upon first scanning them and discovering no sparks. Not to mention their use of earth fuel over energon, or how they lacked transformation cogs, and that was to say nothing of their unfathomable processor design... It had been the first time he'd experienced surprise in the medical bay in a long time.

Deckerd nodded politely, gesturing helpfully to himself as he did so. "I can share my own, doctor. Theirs are based on mine."

"There, we all good?" Rodimus said, guiding the group of new arrivals to follow him out the door. He could tell these poor bots were unaccustomed to a world designed around beings like them, and thus he wanted very much to show them what they were missing out on. Plus, they deserved a bit of fun after everything they'd been through. "In the meantime, how about a tour?"

"Yes! Yes please!" Drill Boy replied, hopping right beside Rodimus and nearly bouncing on his spot. The enthusiasm was almost infectious, and the captain couldn't help but puff up as he pinged the doors to open.

"Alright, let's go!"

The entire group followed in short order, even the most reserved of them looking curious as to what awaited them. While the antics reminded him of sparklings, Rodimus had to remind himself they were incredibly young, so the comparison technically wasn't too far off. Considering that, he felt he owed them a good time. Drill Boy made that easy, at least, hurrying beside him with wide and amazed optics.

"Is the whole ship this big?!" he asked as they stepped into the hallway, turning in circles as he tried to absorb the entire space at once. Deckerd stepped forth to explain the actions of his teammate, though he was clearly quite impressed himself judging by the delighted smile on his face.

"Only our office is built to accompany beings of our size." he said, giving the Cybertronian pause as he considered living in a world designed for much tinier beings. Earth had seemed okay while visiting, but suddenly the thought of living there seemed... cramped. Judging by how these bots were marveling at a mere hallway, he wasn't wrong. Did the humans just expect them to squeeze through everything all the time?

Gunmax joined Drill Boy in appreciating the change of stretching out his arms high above his helm and looking quite pleased at how he didn't even come close to the ceiling. "This is way better! There's elbow room to spare!"

"Look! We can fit through all the doors!" Dumpson announced, standing beside a random doorway to emphasize how his bulky frame could easily slip inside. Rodimus had to fight the urge to chuckle at the sight, especially with how delighted every one of his charges appeared at the idea. Several even tried the comparison for themselves with multiple individuals beside a single frame. When they finally did go back home, he'd have to leave them with a parting gift of Cybertronian door technology. Perhaps even some blueprints for a building in their size were due.

"Hold up!"

A familiar voice made him stop and turn on the spot with a delighted grin.

"Drift!" he called out as his friend hurried up behind them, looking just as excited as Rodimus felt. The Brave Police looked equally delighted by the return of their initial interpreter, especially when he was offered a spot on the group. "Wanna help me show these bots around?"

"I'd love to! Magnus is handling the transmission message." he said, looking to their guests with a helpful smile as he explained what that meant. Not that he wanted to assume anything, but interstellar communication didn't seem to be amongst their skills. "You guys will be able to call home when we're done."

"Boss will certainly be relieved to hear we're all safe." Deckerd said, looking like the news had taken more than a little weight off his own shoulders. Exactly who their "Boss" was hadn't been specified, but from the sound of things they did admire and care for whoever it was. Which was good, because if there was even an inkling the humans weren't treating them well... Rodimus had his thoughts cut off by a polite question. "If I may ask, where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"When I was on earth I spent some time in Japan." Drift replied happily, recalling how he'd explored the country and added the native language to his database to better understand what was going on around him. Thankfully he had kept it despite leaving earth behind, or these bots wouldn't have had a way to communicate their medical needs. Considering how flabbergasted the medics had been... that was an immeasurable blessing. "I've still got a number of other languages saved up, more for the memories."

"Can you speak English?" Duke said, surprising even his cohorts with the question. Looking a little flustered at the attention, the surprisingly shy bot quickly clarified with an addendum under his breath. "It was... the first language I was programmed for..."

"I'm pretty sure most bots who have been to earth can speak English, learning a language isn't too hard for us as long as we have a download pack for it." Drift explained helpfully, and Rodimus had to stifle a smile at how his friend appeared ready to take the bot under his nonexistent wings. Ultra Magnus might have some competition befriending this one, it seemed.

"Hey, what's a "Swerve's?" Drill Boy asked, pointing ahead and totally oblivious to the conversation they'd just been having. The bright neon lights on the wall and the bots hanging about gathered the attention of the entire Brave Police, and in an instant Rodimus and Drift shared a knowing look of anticipation. Hopefully, this would be the most fun their guests had ever had.

"The best place on the ship to unwind, make friends, and knock back a few drinks." Rodimus declared proudly, gaining the attention of the bots outside the bar as he did so. While the news of the "Earth made bots" had traversed the entire ship several times over, no one had seen them yet, and thus there was an immediate buzz of excitement. Rodimus hoped they were all ready to become very popular in a short stretch of time.

"Drinks? For real?" Gunmax said, quickly moving to the front at the mere mention of the word and looking absolutely ecstatic. "About time, I'm parched!"

"But we don't consume the same types of fuel!" Deckerd reminded them all, looking uncertain and perhaps, a little hopeful to be wrong. While he didn't actually know the ins and outs of their differences in fuel consumption, Rodimus knew there was a bot who would, and was banking on him to have already crafted something.

"Let's see about that." he said, somewhat obscure on purpose as he guided the group past Ten. Each one appeared to go through a cycle of intimidation to confusion when the big tough door guard said his single word and welcomed each of them with a wave. The inside of the bar was buzzing already as they squeezed inside, the newcomers optics going wide as they beheld the incredible activity thumping away to the music. Chatter only increased as their presence was noted, but Rodimus made it clear the group was with him and on a mission. He didn't want to unleash them to the chaos without loosening them up a bit.

"Hey Swerve!" he shouted over the noise, clearing enough space for everyone to gather beside the bar. The barkeep pretended to have just heard him, despite clearly having been watching them all from the moment they came in, and he stepped right up to the counter with a glowing visor. Clearly, he'd been waiting for this.

"Need something, Captain?" he greeted, still playing coy and acting as if he wasn't buzzing with excitement for the new arrivals.

Rodimus, ever the sport, happily played along. Having ensured the whole ship had access to the language file, and allowing everyone interested to download it at their convenience, he spoke so that their guests could easily overhear the conversation. "Not me, but do you have anything for some travelers from earth?"

Before Swerve could answer, Drill Boy secured a seat at the bar, grabbing an empty drink and holding it up as the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. By the sparkles in his optics it might have been.

"Deckerd, look!! Everything is our size, even the cups!" he exclaimed happily, sitting up haphazardly on the stool as if he'd never had a place to sit in his own size. Technically speaking, he'd only ever had the one, so this might as well have been life changing.

"I've got more than cups, I've got some mixes for you to drink out of them!' Swerve declared proudly, producing a bottle of oil based liquid that astounded the gathered bots. Having only ever had fuel for practical purposes, the very idea of consuming for fun was resulting in some beautiful expressions of surprise. Loving the reaction, Swerve explained his process with well deserved delight at the accomplishment. Dark, iridescent liquid that shimmered at the smallest movement was poured into waiting cups as he did so. "I looked at your usual fuel formula and made a few tweaks that should make it taste a lot better. What do you think?"

While each bot took their cup and drank with varying levels of bravery, there was still undeniable curiosity from every one of them, even the most cautious. Dumpson, Power Joe and Gunmax knocked theirs back like a shot while Duke, McCrane and Deckerd sipped politely, the rest falling somewhere in the middle as Swerve held his metaphorical breath. Thankfully, the results came in with incredible speed.

"Fuel can taste this good?!" Drill Boy shouted, finishing off his entire cup in a rush and leaning over the entire bar in a desperate search for more. "Please tell me you made enough for us to take home!"

"No wonder Gunmax always drinks it, this is amazing!"

"It never tastes like this, this is something else!"

"Is this why the Boss always drinks so much?! It can be this good?!"

Rodimus and Drift couldn't back some good natured laughs at the reactions, quite happy to have introduced the bots to some much needed fuel and a fun time at once. Swerve, looking like he was overwhelmed with pride and genuine emotion at the compliments, had to regain himself before opening another bottle.

"I made plenty! Plus, I can make more!" he said, pouring more glasses for his new group of fans as the rest of the bar quickly fed off the growing celebratory energy. "As much as you want while you're here!"

"Hear that, everybot?!" Rodimus said above the din, taking advantage of the segway to set the newcomers free to mingle and hopefully befriend a few more bots. He could already see a few potential takers now; Tailgate appeared to be bursting with questions, and First Aid had reappeared to do the same, not to mention Ultra Magnus and Ratchet were stepping inside... The whole ship had to be present, and thus he made sure to be audible by everyone as he issued a statement so informal it could hardly be called a command. "The Brave Police will only be with us until they have to return to earth. In the meantime, let's show them how to have fun, Cybertronian style!"

A hearty cheer rose up, and by the natural fusion and fission of social groups, the earth bots were soon surrounded by eager and curious Cybertronians acting like long lost siblings.

Rodimus was vaguely aware of a tap on his shoulder, and while he expected to turn and see Magnus, Deckerd appeared rather sheepish as he held a partially drunk cup in both hands. Speaking just loud enough to be heard, he asked a question the captain hadn't actually prepared for. "If I may ask, what is this "Cybertron" I've heard referenced so often?"

The query was unexpectedly heavy, but he answered regardless. "It's our home planet, and-"

Before he could finish, Deckerd appeared shocked by the mention of " planet", as if something had finally come together in ways he struggled to process. "There's truly a whole planet of beings like us-you?" he said, betraying the source of his wonder in a single misspoken word. Rodimus felt his spark, something he had to remind himself the other bot didn't share, ache a little in sympathy for the bot. One could hardly tell they were of different worlds, but for all the problems of Cybertron, it was clear to him who had the advantage. The Brave Police didn't have an entire species of their own, and their time here had undoubtedly made them a bit more aware of that. It only made Rodimus all the more determined to give them a good time.

"Yeah! It's a little rough right now, but once we clean up a bit you'll be welcome to visit." he said, noting that plenty of friendships would be made today to help that happen. Drill Boy was showing off tricks to a whole team of bots, Gunmax was competing with Dumpson and Power Joe to down shots, McCrane was having a conversation with Cyclonus as Tailgate watched with a glowing visor, Shadow Maru was actually chatting with Ravage, and Duke was indeed hitting it off with Ultra Magnus. There was no shortage of enthusiastic camaraderie to go around. Primus, he merely had to blink and there was a transformation speed contest, his shipmates awed at their shared ability to transform...

"I'm certain it will be fun." Deckerd said as he surveyed the minor chaos with a chuckle, optics warming with delight at his team having so much fun beside their newly discovered companions. Rodimus wanted to tell him that it would be more than fun. The Lost Light was wonderful, obviously, but there was a whole galaxy out there to explore! Hopefully he'd be able to convince them all to come on some future trips when they slung by earth again in the future. Maybe they weren't durable enough for meteor surfing, but they'd undoubtedly appreciate theme parks, virtual reality hubs, and the countless bars that lined the stars.

"I promise it!" he said enthusiastically, putting an arm around the other bot like an affectionate big brother. For all of his reserved traits, the police bot chuckled at the gesture. Beaming as a monitor and microphone in the corner caught his optic, Rodimus guided the other mech through the crowd, speaking over the noise as he gestured with excitement.

"Now, while we're still sober enough to appreciate it, let me introduce you to bot sized karaoke!"

#transformers #maccadam #mtmte #more than meets the eye #transformers lost light #lostlight #idw #tf #ll #my writing #kofi commission #commission #commisions open #brave police j decker #brave police #rodimus prime #deckerd

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thebrochtuarachs · 3 years

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Something in the Rain - “Finding Solid Ground”

A/N: Hi all! This chapter has been in the drafts for quite sometime now but I only had the time to pick up the writing. Thank you so much for your patience with my slow updates but rest assured, I absolutely love this story and daydream about the chapters ahead. As always, your comment and suggestions help a lot moving this story forward. Hope you all are keeping safe and healthy! Till the next one!

AO3 / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again : C4: Friday Lunch

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She was 45 minutes late.

Claire was running as fast as she could, catching some curious eyes on her as she raced towards Mrs. Kim’s Korean Street Food Hub to hopefully, still catch Jamie for their lunch.

She got off from her morning surgery quite late due to some complications but she still went as courtesy and because, in all honesty, she still wanted to see him. Their last encounter kind of left them in an awkward place and she was hoping that this meeting could help clarify some things. She has been waiting for this all week but alas, life (and medicine) had other plans.

Claire entered the store and knew instantly that he wasn’t there. The place was empty after the lunch rush and she sighed in disappointment.

“Claire!” Mrs. Kim suddenly called out. “This is for you, left by your friend”, she said while handing her a piece of paper.

“Thank you” Claire replied, opening it on spot.

Hi Claire,

Sorry, I left before you arrived but I have to get back to the office. Don’t worry about the wait, I really don’t mind but I just have a packed schedule today.

Forgive me if this is too forward but here’s my number. No pressure! Just figured we can text or call whenever is a better time to catch up. Just hit me up when you feel like it and I’ll be on the other line.

I do hope to hear from you soon. If not, I’ll be here next Friday, same time :)

Jamie

Claire did not waste any more time and punched in Jamie’s mobile number to call. After three rings, he answered.

“Hello?”

“Jamie? It’s me, Claire.”

“Claire, hi! I see you got my note.”

“I did. I am so sorry. My surgery ran a little bit long and…”

“Don’t worry, I figured that must be it.” he said cheerfully, cutting her off before she went into a long explanation. “I mean, you save lives and all, couldn’t be angry about that.”

Claire sighed relief on the other line and couldn’t believe just how understanding he is. So understanding that she’s starting to wonder if he’s even real. She hasn't really met anyone that chivalrous and it captures her.

“Oh, wow. Thank you - and thank you for the note and your number. My guilt would’ve eaten me alive if I couldn’t apologize to you.”

“You don’t think it was too forward?”

“No, not at all. To be honest, I was going to ask it last week before we got, erm, interrupted.”

“Well, that’s good to know. And in any case, I would’ve given it.” Jamie said.

She could hear his smile from the other line and she couldn’t help but smile too.

“Anyhow,” Claire followed. “I am so sorry I missed you today. To make up for it, would you happen to be doing anything tomorrow?”

“Hmm, let me check." Jamie checked his board calendar. "Nope, my weekend is free. Anything you had in mind?”

“Well, if you’re up for it, I’d like to invite you to the center tomorrow, see what we’re doing with the kids. Fair warning though, they get a little rowdy sometimes.”

“I’m game! Text me the details and what time to meet you.”

“Really? Great! Sure, I’ll text you the details in a bit”

“Will wait for it. Claire, sorry to cut this short but I have to run to a meeting. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Oh no, please. Go ahead. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alright, bye!”

It was a Saturday, two weeks since their encounter by the crossing, and now she’s waiting for him to arrive and bring him to one of the most special places for her.

Claire hadn’t absolutely thought through what inviting Jamie to the center would mean. Reflecting on yesterday, a part of Claire thought she may have panicked and this invite might’ve been a mistake. On another end was a part of her that was excited to see him and if she was really being honest, spend time with him, and show her the work they have been doing.

She had told her their meeting story and the extended invite to her friends and staff but left out the part about their lunches. She messaged the team on WhatsApp about their upcoming guest and her inbox has blown with messages asking her for more details about the man himself. She messaged that they’ll be able to find out for themselves tomorrow when they meet him and turned off her phone.

“Claire?” Deep in thought she hadn’t seen or hear Jamie arrive. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. Spaced out there for a bit” she embarrassingly admitted.

“A penny for your thoughts?” Jamie asked as Claire pointed the way in.

“Erm, nothing much. Just thinking about giving you fair warning about everyone upstairs. They’re quite curious about you, Jamie Fraser.” she said jokingly the half truth.

Jamie got a bit nervous suddenly and Claire felt it. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll save you if they get too rowdy. Be ready to answer questions though." She said, smiling, hoping to ease his thoughts.

“Is any topic off limits? Should I not mention anything to them?”

“I leave it to you. But if you ask me, just be yourself and charm everyone away”

Jamie chuckled and Claire turned to him. “What?”

“You think I’m charming?”

Claire laughed and smacked him in the arm. “Oh, bug off!”

“I’ll take that as a yes”

“Anyway!” Claire interrupted. “Today’s event is just art and crafts and a story session. The rest, the kids can do and play how ever they like. I usually just play with any kid who asks me to and time just flies and suddenly, the afternoon is done.”

“Got it. I honestly hope I can help more than distract or whatever”

“Pssh, you’ll be fine, Jamie. You’ll be fine”

The moment the elevator doors opened, a line of people greeted Jamie and Claire at the entrance.

“Hello, everyone” Claire greeted but to her surprise, no one spoke or moved. Everyone was just looking at Jamie. “This is Jamie. Jamie Fraser, our guest for today”

She ushered them closer to the stunned group and began to introduce them one by one.

Mary, the receptionist and admin assistant.

Mrs. Graham, the secretariat and head of operations.

Joe, also a surgeon from Claire’s hospital.

Frank, the history professor he’d met a week earlier.

Geilis, a botanist and herbalist.

“It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for having me this afternoon.” Jamie said and it was only then that the ice was broken.

“Hi, Jamie was it? Can I call you Jamie?” Mrs. Graham prodded.

“Yes, Mam”

“Alright, this way. Let me show you around”

As Mrs. Graham swept Jamie away for a short tour, the rest of the group crowded Claire with questions.

“Okay, he is even more handsome than in the pictures!” Geilis excitedly said.

“Pictures?” Claire asked.

“Ugh, I sometimes forget you’re a doctor who needs to catch up to the times” Geilis pinched her nose jokingly. “Jamie was named one of Scotland’s most eligible bachelors in a tatler magazine last year. There’s pretty striking photos of him in a tux and in casual clothes.”

“I remember that issue. Gail had one lying in the house and I happen to peruse it one time. You’re right, the pictures don’t do him justice.” Joe chimed in.

“I had no idea. I mean, I just literally bumped into the guy on the street!” Claire said, a curiosity pooling in her mind. She had to look for that magazine later.

“Such a meet-cute story. Ugh, Claire! It’s like something out of the books or movies” Geilis added.

“Psh, he seems too manly for me. I mean, who is that fit and that put together.” Frank mused.

“I think he’s quite charming” Joe added.

“If you ask me, Claire, I don’t know what’s going on between you two but keep it going” Geilis added.

“Aish, nothing is going on. I just extended a polite invite to make up for - “ Claire stopped as Jamie and Mrs. Graham arrived back, thankful for the Interruption.

“Make up for what?” Geilis asked, not missing that info.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Mhm” Geilis hummed raising an eyebrow to Claire. She’ll pull it out of her later.

---

It was a long but fun afternoon for everyone.

Afterwards, one by one, the space cleared out, the kids were picked up, saying goodbye to the staff with some even approaching and waving at Jamie as they left, leaving him with a heartwarming feeling.

“Well, another successful weekend, folks!” Frank called out and the team gave themselves applause.

“Great job to Joe and Mary for taking on the storytelling and painting sessions this afternoon and I would also like to thank our guest, Jamie, for being patient and helpful with the kids” Mrs. Graham added, earning another group applause.

“Thank ye, I hope I helped at all today but otherwise, I enjoyed today and thank ye for inviting me.” Jamie shared.

“Come join us anytime” Joe patted him on the back. “Alright, everyone, have a goodnight. See you all next week, I’ll bring Gail and Lenny along.” With that he made a way for the elevator and it was everyone’s cue to leave.

Claire approached Jamie just as he was going to her. “Well, how are you and how was it?” she asked. If she expected to spend time with Jamie, well, it didn’t happen. First, he was whisked away by Mrs. Graham. Afterwards, it was Joe asking help to build his set. Next up was Mary who got him assisting on getting and serving the food, and the rest of the time, it was kids calling out on Jamie here and there and he was more than happy to oblige.

“Fun and a little bit tiring” he replied and Claire gave a small laugh. “But in all honesty, thank ye for inviting me to come here. Made me miss my niece and nephew”

“I’m glad you had fun and I’m glad you got to see what we’re doing here.”

Jamie might be overthinking things but he knew that Claire sharing this part of her to him seems like a big thing and he intends to cherish that.

“Anyway, I’d like to offer to drive ye home...or to the nearest bus stop” he added, panicking he put her in a tight spot.

Claire paused, eyed him jokingly, intentionally making him more flush and nervous.

“I’d take that offer but” she began and Jamie swallowed the lump on his throat, “I actually live nearby so we don’t need to drive”

“Okay,” Jamie sighed in relief which Claire found very cute. “Lead the way, then”

#outlander #outlander fanfic #outlander fanfiction #SITR #something in the rain #fanfic #fanfiction #jamie fraser #claire fraser #jamie x claire #AU #light AU #fun AU #mia writes #TB writes #feel free to drop your comments and suggestions #would love to hear from you guys

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band-of-bitches · 3 years

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Band of Brothers week - Day Four

Prompt - Favorite Replacement/Favorite Dynamic

BabeRoe if you squint lmao

Babe considered himself lucky. Somehow he managed to befriend the Toccoa man all the others seemed to look up to and admire, only to find out they were from the same town and grew up a few blocks away from each other.

Babe likes to think it was his spectacular personality, but earning the respect and likeness from the men who jumped into Normandy was probably heavily due to the fact that Guarnere had taken Babe under his wing immediately.

Before they were to jump again, Babe managed to get to know the other men of Easy, and despite being a replacement he already felt like he was welcomed.

“Babe? How does someone get the nickname Babe?”

The question came from a man called Toye. He leaned back on his chair in the bar, voice low as he asked. It wasn’t harsh, but Babe could hear that his nickname seemed funny to the guy.

“Don’t really know,” Babe admitted. “My ma just called me that growing up, and it stuck.”

“Eh, I’d go by ‘Babe’ too if my ma named me Edward,” said Bill, laughing as he whacked Babe’s shoulder from where he leaned against a bar post.

Babe shook him off but smiled all the same. He knew it was in good fun, and oddly enough Babe appreciated the teasing. Hearing Bill kid him made him think of back home, when his brothers and the other boys would rib each other, making fun of pretty much whatever they could.

“Leave the kid alone, Gonorrhea,” said another voice. Babe turned, recognizing the shorter man as Martin. Beside him stood the other Joe, the taller one with the long face.

Babe stifled a laugh at the nickname, knowing if he was any other replacement then that would have earned him a glare from the other Toccoa men. It’s wild how being buddy-buddy with Bill had already elevated Babe’s status among them all.

“What are you laughing at, huh?” Bill said, making Babe raise his hands in defense.

“Nothin’ Bill.”

“Uh-huh,” Bill said, crossing his arms in a way that made Babe think about the big guys back home. Bill had the face of one of the fellows who may have beaten Babe up for running into them and being too stubborn to apologize.

“You gonna beat up a replacement, Bill?” asked Luz, placing a large glass of beer in Toye’s hand as he came up to the group, one equally large glass in his other hand. “Should I call Doc?”

Bill snorted. “Nah. I’d rather deal with a Kraut than the Doc when he’s angry.”

“For someone so quiet he’s got a tempter,” replied Liebgott, taking a sip of his glass of whisky. “When Floyd god stabbed, I was in his way or something. I’d never had anyone yell at me to ‘move my ass outta the way' then go back to being all nice and second later so fast.”

Toye hummed. “Sounds like Doc.”

“Doc?” Babe questioned, raising an eyebrow as he tried to think about which medic they were speaking of. “Spina? The one from Philly?”

“Nah,” replied Bill. “Other other Doc. Impossible to miss. Pale as snow but hair is darker than damn tar.”

Babe thought back to all the medics he’s met so far. The one he befriended was Spina, and probably only because he recognized his accent and locked in on him as a Philly native almost immediately. He’s seen some here and there, but hasn’t spoken to any others, and not the one they were describing.

“Don’t know him,” Babe said.

“You will,” Martin replied. Babe looked at him with raised eyebrows. Martin chuckled. “Doc is always there. If you ever get hit, you can always rely on Roe to show up.”

Babe hummed. Roe.

“Ah, speak of the Devil!”

It was Luz who’d exclaimed, cigarette hanging loosely in his mouth as he raised his arms. Babe followed the direction of where he was looking. Babe spotted a man at the bar and was confident he was the Doc the second he saw him.

Bill wasn’t exaggerating. The guy was pale, maybe paler than Babe, which was a feat of its own since Babe was as Irish as they came. His hair was also practically pitch black, which only emphasized his pale complexion.

And Babe didn’t know how to explain it, but he looked like a medic. Babe could imagine him running to men in the heat of battle, ready with morphine and sulfur.

“Ay Doc! Get over here!” Luz exclaimed.

The doc, or Roe, gave them a small smile at the corner of his lips as he pushed himself off the bar and walked over to the group. Immediately, Liebgott clasped an arm on his opposite shoulder, shaking it as he welcomed him. A chorus of greetings erupted from the small group as Roe made his way up, clear booze starting to take its effects as the men all seemed to be unaware of their volume. Babe noticed how Roe grinned at the men, obviously one of the only men in the bar who had seemed to maintain all his sobriety.

“Hey Gene, have you met Babe yet?” asked Guarnere, gesturing towards Babe. “Heffron’s from Philly, and only grew up a few blocks down from my place believe it or not.”

Gene’s eye met Babe’s. He had kind eyes, Babe noticed.

“That's your given name, Heffron?” Roe asked, holding out a hand. Babe looked at it, a little surprised, but shook nonetheless.

“Nah. Edward, but no one’s called me that since Catholic elementary school.”

“Alright,” Roe replied, taking his hand back. “Good to meet you, Heffron.”

Babe avoided making a face but noticed the avoidance of his nickname. He wasn’t necessarily surprised by it since most people had questions when he introduced himself as ‘Babe’, but still. It seemed odd to him.

“You too, Doc. Hear you’re the guy to come too if I get the flu.”

Eugene chuckled, looking away as he wiped his nose with his finger. “Hardly. These guys just don’t know the first thing about not being clumsy idiots.”

Simultaneously, the men all erupted in protest as they defended themselves. Doc grinned as they did, finally laughing when Luz put on a hurt expression, grasping at his chest dramatically.

“Well, I’ll see you around fellas,” Roe said, nodding at the group.

“Leaving already, Doc?” asked Toye from his chair.

“No, but Shifty over there looks like he’s had a few too many.”

Babe glanced to where Roe gestured, noticing the way their resident sharpshooter swayed into another, obviously at a complete loss of balance. Babe chuckled at the image.

“Well, see you around, Doc,” Lieb said, clapping him on the shoulder again.

Roe nodded at the group, then caught Babe’s eye. “Good meeting you, Heffron.”

Again, Babe avoided making a face, and instead nodded at Roe as he walked away and towards Shifty’s side, putting a hand on his elbow to help with his balance. Babe looked away, unable to stop thinking about the interaction.

“Don’t take it personally, Babe,” Bill said, slapping his back harder than he probably thought he was. “He don’t call anyone by their nicknames.”

Babe gave him a confused look. “Why not?”

Bill shrugged, as did the rest of the men surrounding them.

“That’s just the way he is,” Liebgott said, taking another sip of his drink. He suddenly laughed into his glass. “I heard him call Popeye ‘Robert’ once and I swear I’ve never seen so many confused faces in my life.”

“Wait, his name’s Robert?” asked Luz, emphasizing the name.

Immediately, a now standing Toye slapped the back of Luz’s head, making him yelp out unexpectedly.

“Yeah, dumbass.”

“Shut yer trap, Toye,” Luz replied, rubbing the back of his head.

The men continued to talk, all of them joking with each other here and now. Babe was mostly silent but was content with simply watching. Now and then he’d spare a glance at Roe, unconsciously finding himself seeking him out in the crowded room. Bill was right; he wasn’t hard to miss.

Babe liked Roe enough, even just from their small interaction. He was the type of guy Babe would want to talk to, and he had a kind face.

At some point in the night, both Roe and Babe caught each other’s eye, Babe nodding his head in a silent hello as Roe smiled back. Then and there, Babe made a decision.

He’ll get Eugene Roe to call him ‘Babe’ someday, whenever that was.

#band of brothers #bob20anniversary #BabeRoe #Eugene roe #babe heffron #Yes your honor after two years these bitches still own property of my soul

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stillbandofbrothersthirsty · 3 years

Note

Hello love! Could I request Who by Lauv ft. BTS, slow burn love and Skinny Sisk? Nobody ever writes about him. He’s so underrated!💓

Hello angel! Thank you for the request!! 🤗This was so fun, Skinny really is so underrated! (P.S. I'm slowly making my way through the rest of the requests. THANK YOU to everyone who sent them in, it's been so fun writing these.)

Skinny downed the rest of his beer, which was mainly froth now. He was supposed to meet Dalia half an hour ago but she had only just arrived and seemed in no rush to find him. They hadn’t even made eye contact yet, but he had spotted her. Like always, she was the most striking woman in the room, impossible not to notice. When she first entered she had been immediately rewarded with greetings from acquaintances, mostly men. Skinny wasn’t really the jealous type; he was only jealous of her time. Dalia didn’t seem to have a lot of it. The time she did have was often split between many people and Skinny had to wait his turn. That night, he noticed gloomily, she had brought a golden haired friend dressed in yellow. She was beautiful, but Skinny only saw her as one more person he had to share Dalia with.

He and Dalia had been dating - well kind of - for months now. After a string of successful dates Skinny had asked Dalia if she would like to go steady with him. She explained she wasn’t ready, so Skinny was patient. After a few more weeks he asked again, but Dalia had another excuse. She continued to flirt with him and Skinny continued to wait anchored in the hope that one day she would accept him as hers. But lately he was beginning to feel like a chump.

Finally, Dalia made her way over to him, the girl in the yellow dress trailing behind her.

“Hi Wayne,” Dalia gave him a kiss on the cheek. He leaned in to kiss her on the other cheek but she was already moving out of the way. He let his hand linger around her waist as she introduced him the stranger.

“This is Natasha, she’s an old friend from home,” Dalia smiled toothily, “I brought her to work for you boys.”

“Yes,” Natasha’s smile was strained, “Dalia was kind enough to recommend me for a job.” It was clear that they had recited this script more than a few times.

“Nice to meet you,” Skinny shook Natasha’s hand. He was keenly aware of Dalia’s eyes on him and he wanted to make a good impression. “So you’re from Maryland too?”

Natasha nodded, “never lived anywhere else, until now that is.”

“And what made you want to work here?” Skinny asked politely. He felt Dalia on his right turn to respond to another man’s catcall. She giggled and it took all of Skinny’s concentration to focus on what Natasha was saying.

Suddenly, Dalia touch his arm, interrupting the conversation, “I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere you two,” she winked at them then disappeared into the crowd.

Skinny stared helplessly at Natasha for a moment before regaining himself. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure,” Natasha smiled wearily at him. They approached the bar and continued talking.

“So you're one of Dalia’s boyfriends?”

Skinny nearly spilled the drinks in surprise, “um not quite. We’re dating but…”

“but can’t get her pinned down?” Natasha accepted a glass from him.

“We’re taking things slow.”

Natasha nodded but didn’t say anything more on the subject. Much to Skinny’s disappointment he didn’t see much of Dalia for the rest of the night. She was busy talking and flirting with other groups of the bar’s patrons. Every time Skinny began to feel down about it he reminded himself that Natasha had it worse. Her friend had all but abandoned her; at least Skinny knew other people in the bar. Natasha was new to the city and had no one. Skinny made a point of sticking with her, which turns out was far from a burden. Natasha was fun to hang out with. She was kind and had this quiet humor about her that Skinny found quite entertaining. He wasn’t the only one to notice either.

“Who was that dame you were chattin’ up Skinny? Don’t think I’ve seen her around,” Joe Liebgott asked as they walked home together.

Skinny dug his hands deep into his pockets, trying to get his mind off of Dalia. “That was Natasha, Dalia’s friend from home. She just moved here.”

Joe raised a curious eyebrow, “she got a fella?”

Skinny shrugged, “dunno.”

He soon found out that Natasha was in fact single but not looking. On another night out Dalia had once again abandoned them. Skinny, the dutiful wannabe boyfriend, stuck by her friend. As Skinny’s friends were collecting refills, he and Natasha enjoyed the last of their drinks. That’s when a drunken soldier came up to them. Natasha grabbed Skinny’s arm when the soldier began hitting on her.

“I don’t think my boyfriend would like that,” she responded when he invited her to do some explicit things in the back alley.

The soldier looked at them suspiciously, “he’s your boyfriend?” he gestured sloppily at Skinny.

Skinny was lost for words but he nodded his head when Natasha looked up at him with a pleading look. The defeated soldier scoffed but stumbled off to find a new victim for his harassment.

“Thanks,” Natasha said, but there was little gratitude in her voice.

“Does that happen often?” Skinny asked with concern.

“All the time,” Natasha smiled dryly at him, “not to brag.”

“Do you actually have a boyfriend?” Skinny asked.

Natasha snorted, “no, but are you surprised? When those are my options?” she gestured at the retreating soldier. Skinny took the opportunity to really look at her. They had spent all this time together but he had always been so distracted by the distant shadow of Dalia. The faintest freckles were endearingly sprinkled across Natasha’s nose, and her hair shone bright even in the dim lighting of the bar. Any guy would be lucky to have her, Skinny thought, no wonder she got hit on so often.

Skinny and Natasha found themselves in each other’s company many times as he continued to pine after Dalia. At points, he wondered if he actually knew Natasha better than he knew Dalia. But those thoughts quickly dissipated as soon as he lay eyes on Dalia again. Sure, Natasha was easy to be around; Skinny felt like himself when he was with her. But Dalia was electric. She was beautiful, and charming, and he was addicted. He was willing to do anything just for a few moments of her attention.

One night Skinny settled into a chair beside Natasha, his eyes on Dalia.

“You know you don’t have to sit with me,” Natasha said. Her feet were propped up on a stool and her dress skirts hung messily, hiked up her legs. Skinny shrugged in response.

“Go have fun with your friends! Or go talk to Dalia!” Natasha urged him.

Skinny looked over to where Dalia was laughing with a co-ed group, “she’s busy, I’ll talk to her later.”

Natasha smiled pitifully at him.

“What?” he asked.

 “You’re a sweet guy, Wayne,-"

“You know you don’t gotta call me that,” Skinny said, “really only Dalia does. Everyone else calls me Skinny or Sisk.”

Natasha nodded, “well maybe it’s not my place, but if it were me, I don’t know if I’d stick around for Dalia.”

“What do you mean?” Skinny asked innocently, though he had idea of what was coming. He had heard if from his buddies before: whipped.

“Dalia’s an old friend, I think she’s lovely, but she’s always been like this,” Natasha said. “How long have you guys been dating? How long have you been waiting around for her?”

Skinny didn’t respond but he turned to look directly at her. Natasha’s eyes were like pools of melted chocolate and Skinny felt the oddest sensation looking into them. “Clearly she’s not giving you the attention you want,” Natasha continued, “and you deserve someone who gives you what you want and need.” Skinny looked away, those round brown eyes were making his stomach flip in the most peculiar way.

He shrugged, “yeah, maybe.”

“Anyways,” Natasha sipped her drink, “that’s my two cents. Do what you want with it.”

Skinny tried to ignore Natasha’s words but they gnawed at him every time Dalia rebuked him. Slowly, his thoughts of Dalia began to be replaced by images of Natasha; of her laughing, playing darts, and those big, warm eyes.

One weekend Skinny and his friends met up with Dalia and Natasha a dance in the local city hall.

 “You gonna ask her to dance or what?” Joe Liebgott pointed to where Natasha was sitting on a bench on the edge of the dance floor. Dalia hadn’t left the dance floor since she got there. It seemed nearly impossible to get on her dance card.

“You’re not seriously waiting around for a dance with Dalia are you?” Joe asked him.

“I don’t know who else to dance with!” Skinny said.

“Natasha,” Joe gestured, “obviously!” Skinny hesitated. “Skinny, Dalia is a khaki wacky, it’s about time you get over her. There’s a perfectly good dame over there who you’re clearly into!”

Skinny stared at his friend in confusion, “into? Who? Natasha?” 

“Yes.”

“I’m not into Natasha.”

“Are you kidding me? You two are inseparable,” Joe said.

“We’re friends,” Skinny shrugged.

Joe rolled his eyes, “sure, well, go ask your friend to dance. She looks lonely over there.” Joe disappeared into the crowd, leaving Skinny to his own devices.

Skinny finally asked Natasha to dance but of course, with his luck, as soon as they were on the floor a slow song for lovers came on. He wasn’t going to be rude and ask her to wait for the next song so he pulled Natasha close and they began to dance. The lights dimmed as the music slowed. The scent of rose wafted up from Natasha’s hair and Skinny couldn’t help but think how perfectly she fit in his arms. He didn’t think of Dalia once, that is until the song came to an end. Natasha reached up and pressed her lips against his. For a moment, Skinny leaned into the kiss. Her lips were soft and warm, her breath sweet. Then a vision of Dalia came into his mind. Skinny broke the kiss and was met by Natasha’s questioning brown eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Natasha asked.

“But we’re, we-,” Skinny stumbled, “we’re friends?”

Natasha stepped out of his embrace, her face flushed pink. She turned and hurried off the dance floor. Skinny followed after her, “Natasha, wait!” he called. But she didn’t slow down until she reached a corner of the hall.

“What?” she hissed. Her arms were crossed and her eyes darted around the dance hall to see who may be eavesdropping.

“That kiss,” he gestured at the dance floor, “I just- you kissed me.”

“Yeah, and?” she demanded in a hushed voice.

“Well, we’re friends,” he repeated dumbly.

“No, we’re not friends,” she said coldly, but there was hurt in her eyes. “You’re just an idiot in love with my friend, and I was a fool to think you’d ever get over her.”

Skinny looked as if he had been smacked. His mouth hung open in shock as he desperately searched for the words to respond.

“See you around, Skinny.” The disappointment was clear in her voice. And then the girl in the yellow dress was was gone.

Skinny wandered back to where Joe and their other friends were standing around chatting.

“What wrong Skinny?” Floyd Talbert asked.

“I fucked up,” Skinny said. Mentally he was kicking himself. Why had he reacted so stupidly? He had enjoyed that kiss!

Joe looked at him with a knowing look. “What happened?” Floyd asked.

“I just- I didn’t realize what was right in front of me until it was too late.

Joe nodded sagely. Floyd looked between Skinny and Joe in confusion, “what was right in front of you?”

“You know what you gotta do right?” Joe said, ignoring Floyd.

“What?” Floyd asked.

Skinny swallowed and looked at the floor, “it’s too late, I embarrassed her. She’ll never forgive me.”

“All ya gotta do is say you're sorry!” Joe said, “and mean it!”

“I don’t know Joe,” Skinny said hesitantly.

“Is anyone gonna tell me what’s going on?” Floyd asked flatly.

“The longer you wait, the worse it's gonna get,” Joe insisted.

Skinny took a deep breath considering his friend's words. He exhaled, and after a pause said, “okay, okay,” he felt the confidence growing inside of him, “okay, I’ll see you fellas later.” He dashed off out the door hoping that Natasha was still nearby.

“We won’t wait up!” Joe called jokingly after him, but Skinny hardly heard him. He was off to win over the girl he wanted and the girl he needed.

#hbo band of brothers #band of brothers #skinny sisk #request game #fanfiction #oneshot #wayne sisk

18 notes · View notes

cjsinkythoughts · 3 years

Text

Erased From the Stars: Chapter 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 4254

Series Warnings: Toxic Relationships, Cheating, Physical Abuse, Underage Drinking, Drug Use (marijuana), Motor Vehicle Accident, Cursing

Chapter Warnings: Cursing, Mentions of Sex, Cocky Bucky, Nervous Bucky, Bucky Bucky

A/N: I actually have ideas for this story, so I’m cranking it out! I definitely wasn’t expecting to post today, but here we are! This chapter has a lot of dialogue and some of Reader’s thoughts, but not much action, yet. We’re kind of still getting in the roll of things, it still being the first week of college and all that. We do get to meet Bucky, though! Next chapter we’ll meet mostly everyone else, and there will be more things happening other than classes and work. I kinda feel like I’m rushing these first few chapters, so I’m sorry about that, but it’s mostly introductions and setting up the story and I’m the type of person who likes writing the climax and only the climax. So this is steady growth for me.

I do want to point out the series warnings, just in case! I don’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable or being triggered while reading this so please take those seriously as it will happen later on in the story! Thank you!

Once again, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

Erased From the Stars Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts’ Masterlist

You woke up in a much better mood on Tuesday, having gotten more sleep than the previous night, especially considering how tired you were when you got home past midnight from working at Shield. You crashed as soon as your head hit the pillow.

You took your time getting ready and eating breakfast, saying bye to Christine and the kids, leaving first that time since your Public Speaking class started before Kayla’s preschool did.

Which you were late to.

Of course as soon as you let your guard down, thinking you’d be fine since your first day was fine, you weren’t fine.

Fortunately, you were only a few minutes late and didn’t miss anything, since today would be another day of going over rules and course requirements for the two new classes you had.

Public Speaking was the worst. You’re older - and only - sister, Kimberly, convinced you to take the class after saying it was one of her favorites. Of course, you forgot that you and Kim were very different people. For starting at 9:05, it was too early of a class, especially when the whole point was, you know, public speaking. You hadn’t done anything yet, but one glance at the plans your professor had for the semester and you were dreading it already.

Your next class was a US History lecture, which started fifteen minutes after Public Speaking. You were again late because you severely underestimated how far the buildings were and your professor let you out a bit later than you anticipated.

You practically threw all your stuff into your bag the moment he dismissed you and sprinted out.

Arriving, you tried slipping in as silently as possible, but the door slammed shut, rather loudly, making you cringe. You felt yourself heat up as several pairs of eyes snapped towards you, but luckily the professor, Coulson you remembered, was just gathering papers and hadn’t started yet. Ignoring your peers - none of whom you knew and you weren’t sure if that made it worse or not - you shuffled over to the nearest empty seat a few rows down and to the right. You were surprised and extremely grateful to find it was an aisle seat.

Pulling out your laptop, you huffed when it wouldn’t turn on. You hadn’t used it in your previous class, meaning it was dead before, but you could’ve sworn you plugged it in last night. Whatever. You were fine with pen and paper.

“Aw shit.” You resisted the urge to smack your head on the table as you dug through your bag. Seriously?! You forgot to pack a pen?! That couldn’t have been your only pen, right?!

This is why you were anxious. Next morning, you swore you’d get up early and triple check to make sure you had everything.

You quietly threw your bag to the ground and slumped in your seat, your arms crossed. That meant you couldn’t even doodle! You had to sit there for over an hour and listen to this guy talk about another syllabus. Joy.

Suddenly, something hit you in the back of your head. You rubbed where it hit and looked down at your feet, eyebrows knitting together at the scrunched up ball of paper sitting there. “Psst.” Another hit to the head made you whip around, glaring at the culprit.

“What?” You hissed before faltering. Damn. Now that was one hell of a specimen.

Steel blue eyes crinkled at the corner as pink lips pulled up into an entertained grin, pearly whites on display. Sharp jawline covered with light scruff. Fluffy chestnut hair styled with the perfect amount of gel fell a little past his ears, with a single pesky strand falling in his eyes. The white shirt he was wearing was loose with a low collar, a leather jacket thrown over it. You could see the combat boots from underneath the table. He was a pretty boy, yeah, but you hung out with (*cough cough* dated) enough guys dressed like him in high school to know his game.

“Need a pen?” He offered in a whisper, holding up the said object.

“Uhm…yes?”

He smirked, leaning forwards in his chair, closer to you. “I’ll let you have it on one condition.” You raised an eyebrow, giving him a pointed look. “Just a name, babygirl. Yours, specifically.”

You rolled your eyes, glancing around the room to see if you were disturbing anybody. Not seeing anyone paying attention to you two, you turned back to him. “Y/N.”

“Bucky.” He introduced himself, reaching over to shake your hand. You took it, a bit hesitant, blinking when you felt something fall into your palm once he pulled back. The pen.

“I, uh, thanks.”

He winked at you, leaning back in his chair, hands linked behind his head. “No problem, doll.”

You turned back to the lecture, holding in your scoff at his pet name, hating the fact that it nearly made you smile. He was definitely a fuckboy and you told yourself before college that you wouldn’t play around with them anymore.

So you tuned him out of your mind for the rest of the lecture and, thank God, you had to rush out of class once it ended because you had to work in half an hour, not even letting the blue eyed pretty boy say a word in your direction.

You worked for the rest of the day, Russo’s for lunch, a few hours break to look over school stuff and have dinner with your family, before Shield from 9 to 1. It was fine. Long, but nothing you weren’t used to already. You really enjoyed both your jobs and you got lucky with your bosses.

Joe and Anthony were brothers who took over Russo’s for their parents. The pizzeria had been in their family for generations, and they gladly took on the tradition. They had kids of their own and dealt with their school, so they were very understanding - almost parental - to you.

Phillips had started Shield after retiring from the Army, wanting to settle down with a place to drink, smoke, and play poker with his buddies. He was stern, but that was to be expected. He always told you, “you can take the man out of the Army, but you can’t take the Army out of the man.” Despite him being strict, though, he was reasonable, and had taken a liken to you since the moment you stepped foot in the bar.

And not only did you like your jobs, the money wasn’t too bad either.

But, despite that, you were still human, and having two back-to-back college classes and then working two jobs for over eight hours was draining.

You made sure everything was ready for the next day before you left for Shield, that way you could just get home, change, and sleep. Tuesday might’ve been a rough starting day, but you’d learn for Thursday, and Wednesday’s morning was definitely better.

Peter even texted you his coffee order, telling you he’d probably be late. You chuckled to yourself when you got the text at breakfast. You totally called it.

In his defense, he really was running late, and you could tell just by looking at him. One shoe untied, hair messy like he just rolled out of bed, sweater haphazardly thrown on like it was an afterthought, which it probably was.

“You,” he puffed, sinking into his chair and taking the coffee cup you held out. “Are my savior and I’ll love you until the end of time.”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “And you, my friend, are so much more chaotic than I thought. What’d you do? Stay up until three last night?”

He shrugged, shooting you an innocent smile while his cheeks turned red. “I got caught up binge watching Clone Wars.”

“Of course you did. Here’s the notes you missed so far.”

He gave you an adoring smile. “Did I tell you I love you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sap. Hurry and copy them down so I don’t miss anything.”

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

It was when you were checking your things Wednesday night when you realized you had an extra pen. It took you a moment to remember the blue eyed pretty boy from Coulson’s History lecture, but when you did you groaned.

Your dating record in high school was pretty bad. Not that you would really call it dating. But Whitney was right when she said it was you wanting attention. It wasn’t easy being the middle of seven. But you dealt with it and now that you were across the country from your family - who you loved but Jesus Christ did you need a break - you didn’t need to act out to seek attention.

You were an adult. Meaning you wouldn’t goof off with guys like that anymore. Meaning you didn’t even want to talk to guys like that anymore.

Meaning you were severely regretting taking his stupid pen.

Maybe he wouldn’t notice if you didn’t give it back. Yeah. Maybe you could just ignore him and he won’t even remember that he let you borrow it.

Those were your hopes as you walked into your US History lecture, taking the seat you had on Tuesday.

“On time today? Glad to see we’re learning.” And there go your hopes, crashing straight into the floor, shattering into millions of tiny pieces. Going for ‘not interested’, you quirked an eyebrow, twisting your head as a bag landed on the table next to your open laptop, a body falling into the seat beside you. The leather jacket was replaced with a denim one, his black button up tighter around his chest than Tuesday’s white t-shirt. “And you charged your computer! Very nice, doll.”

You shrugged, going back to your doodling. “Time management’s always been a bit of an issue for me.”

“Ah. Gotchu, gotchu. I’ve got a pal like that too. A couple of them, actually.” He chuckled. “Is that why you high-tailed outta here Tuesday?”

“I’ve got work right after this class.” You answered shortly.

He leaned his elbow on the table, his legs spread as he turned fully to, a slight smirk on his face. “I haven’t seen you ‘round campus before. You new here? A freshman? You don’t look like it.”

You hummed. “Maybe. It’s a big campus.”

“Which you don’t live on.”

Frowning at the question that he said more like a statement, you moved your head back to him. “I don’t?”

He shook his head, setting his cheek in his palm. “Nope. I know everyone who lives on campus.”

A bit distracted due to Professor Coulson just walking in and announcing the lesson for the day, you hummed and shut your notebook and set up a page on your laptop for notes. “Everyone, huh?”

He nodded with a click of his tongue. “I get around.”

There it was. “Oh? A party animal?”

“I wouldn’t say that. My friends and I are just outgoing. We enjoy life.”

“Enjoy life or enjoy getting into girl’s pants?”

He hissed, shaking his hand like he burned it. “Ouch, doll. That stung. For your information, quite a few people in my group are goin’ steady. And we’re of mixed genders and sexualities. It’s not always girls’ pants.”

You raised an eyebrow, turning to him while still trying to pay attention. “For you or your group.”

“Does it matter?” He shrugged. “Would it bother you if I did fuck guys? ‘Cause I have experimented and it’s not half bad.”

“Nope.” You popped the ‘p’, shaking your head. “You do you, pal. Or…do whoever you want to. Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to-”

He nodded. “Right, right. Yeah. Sorry. Just…listen. I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m not gonna force you to do anything, you know. Yeah, sure, I’ve seen a few beds around campus, but I’ve got female friends who I don’t sleep with. What if I just wanna be friends with you, huh doll?”

“Just friends?”

“Yup.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Okay. How many of these so-called female friends you don’t sleep with single?”

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “The list gets smaller, but yeah.”

“How about single straight female friends?”

He paused at that, eyebrows scrunched up. After a moment you clicked your tongue with a slight smirk, facing your computer and typing the notes Coulson was writing on the projector. “Hold on, hold on. Yes, I’ve got a few of them. Listen, babygirl, you’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be.”

You scoffed. “Don’t call me ‘babygirl’ and we’ll see where that gets you.”

“Okay, okay. That’s fair. What? Don’t you believe that guys and girls can be friends with nothing between ‘em?”

“Yeah, I do. Just not guys like you.”

He frowned, eyes narrowing. “Well that’s not fair. You don’t even know me!”

“Mister Barnes.” Bucky winced at the teacher’s annoyed shout, before throwing Coulson a dashing grin.

“Hey, Phil! How was your summer, man? You still goin’ out with that cellist?”

The professor raised his eyebrows, unamused. “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

“Oh yeah! Thanks for the reminder, Phil!” Bucky stood up and cleared his throat. “Yo! First football game of the season is next Friday! It’s gonna be a blast! Watch out for number 41! Handsome devil’s gonna score the winning touchdown! Avengers assemble, am I right?!”

Coulson gave him an unamused look as the room cheered, making you laugh behind your hand. Bucky fell back into his seat, shooting you a wink as Coulson calmed down the room.

“You’re a football player?”

“Fullback, yes ma’am. Co-captain of the team, in fact.” He smugly leaned his seat onto the back two legs, setting his feet up on the desk.

Unbelievable. Why were you always attracted to these idiots? A player in both senses of the word. “There it is.”

He blinked, his chair falling forwards with a ‘thud’ that made Coulson shot him a warning glare. Bucky smiled innocently, before shifting his chair so he was turned towards you again, the smile turning upside down. “There what is?”

“That cocky, conceited air you fill the room with. Attention is what you live for. I should’ve guessed you were a jock too. I’m surprised you’re not wearing a letterman jacket or something just to make sure everyone knows who you are.”

His frown deepened. “Look, doll. I dunno what you think you know about me, or what you’ve heard-”

“I’ve never heard about you before you lent me a pen Tuesday. Which I appreciate and here it is back, by the way. But I know your type. I’ve been down that road. So excuse me for trying not to make the same mistake twice.”

He stared at the pen you set down by his bag, before his gaze flitted back to you, but you wouldn’t meet those pretty eyes of his. “Fine. Sue me for trying to get to know the new girl.”

“This is a mainly freshman class. Half the girls in here are new.”

“Yeah, but they’re chattering away with the posse they’ve already discovered.” He nodded over across the room. Your eyes scanned the lecture hall to find that he was right. Most girls were giggling and whispering to each other, no doubt freshman straight from high school. The others were most likely maturing sophomores. “And, hey, if you want extra reassurance I’m not trying to get you in my bed; I don’t fuck with freshman. Nothing against you or anything, just…straight outta high school and all that? Not really my jam.”

You eyed him, before shrugging and looking down to make sure you got the notes Coulson was starting to talk about. “Yeah, well, too bad I’m not straight out of high school, then.”

He tilted his head, an eyebrow raising in curiosity. “So you’re not a freshman. I didn’t think you were.”

“No, I am. But I took a year break between high school and college. But if you didn’t think I was a freshman, that reassurance doesn’t really work, now does it.” He opened his mouth to defend himself, but you continued, not wanting excuses. “What about you? You’re definitely not a freshman.”

“Nah. I’m a junior. I studied abroad for a semester last year and there were mishaps my freshman year, so I’ve got a few classes to make up. My friend had this class last year, so I just took all his notes. Coulson never changes his lectures. Pretty sure he doesn’t even change the tests.” You hummed, pretending you were barely listening when you really heard every word loud and clear. Bucky huffed, reaching out to grab your wrist gently, making you stop typing and look up to meet his eyes. “Can we start over? Please. I don’t know what type of guys you used to know or whatever and, yeah, I’ll admit I started the conversation like an idiot, but I promise I’m not that bad.”

Pursing your lips, you scanned his features, taking in the pleading eyes and the pouty lips. Clearing your throat, you took your hands off the keyboard, straightened a bit, and turned to him, holding out your hand, your full name falling from your lips.

The beam he gave you had you severely doubting your initial thoughts about him, his larger, calloused hand taking your eagerly. “James Barnes. Everyone calls me Bucky.”

You nodded, before starting to type again. “What are you studying?”

“Mechanical engineering.”

You paused, not expecting that answer. Maybe you were wrong - majorly wrong. “Really?”

“Yeah. I dunno. Technology’s always interested me and I like fixing cars and stuff; I work at an auto shop actually. I dunno what I’m gonna do with it yet, but it feels like a step in the right direction, ya know?”

“I’m afraid not.” You shook your head. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He chuckled, drumming his fingers against the table. “That’s alright, doll. I don’t think anyone does. They just think they do.”

“That’s…very true, actually.”

He grinned, running a hand through his hair again, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I told you: I’m not an idiot all the time. I swear.” That made you laugh.

Bucky talked to you throughout the rest of the class, never going above a whisper as he babbled about his other classes and how one of his friends, Sam, tripped down the stairs that morning. You were almost annoyed at him, but he was a very good conversationalist and he wasn’t distracting you too badly. There weren’t any awkward pauses while he stumbled around for something to talk about and if he wasn’t talking, it was a comfortable silence filled with Coulson’s voice, pen scribbling on paper, and the clicking of computer keys. He never pushed you for responses, either, only asking a couple questions, like where you worked and what other classes you had.

“Sorry if I’m bothering you.” He said a few minutes before class was over. “I’m just bored.”

“No. You’re fine.” Honestly, besides a few flirty comments and that pet name ‘doll’ popping up here and there, he wasn’t as bad as you were thinking.

He went quiet for a moment before clearing his throat, almost nervously. Your forehead creased as you snuck a glance at him. He licked his lips, a hand combing through his locks, scratching the back of his head. You wondered why he did that so often.

“So, uh, there’s this cabin in the woods by the lake about half an hour away…” His eyes widened at the weird look you shot him. “Oh fuck, that sounds so bad. No, no. It’s not - I’m not a serial killer or anything. My friend owns it. Well, technically his dad does, but it’s his. Anyways, he always throws a party the first weekend of a new semester. On Saturday. Noon to midnight. If you’d wanna come.”

You quirked an eyebrow, packing up your stuff as Coulson dismissed class early. “You’re asking me to go to your friend’s cabin in the woods-?”

He shook his head with a little laugh. “It sounds so sketchy. I promise it’s legit, though. Honest. You can ask anyone. It’s Tony Stark’s party. He holds one every-”

“You’re friends with Tony Stark?”

He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. We’re in the same circle. I know how it sounds, but-”

“I’m working.” You cut him off, finding it amusing how he rambled. Who knew a fuckboy could get so nervous about asking a girl to a party. “But if you give me the address I’ll see if I can get some time off.”

“That’d be awesome. Yeah, yeah. Here.” He quickly grabbed the post-it note you handed to him and scribbled the address down. “It’d be really cool if you could make it.”

“I’ll try. Cross my heart.” You smiled, taking the paper from him. “I do have to go, though-”

“Oh right. Yeah. Work. I’ll see you this weekend, then. Maybe.” He grinned.

You bit your lip, nodding. “Maybe.”

As he started walking out, you looked down to grab your bag, the pen left on the table catching your attention. “Hey!” You called after him, making him turn around, walking backwards with that grin still on his lips. You lifted the writing utensil to show him. “Your pen!”

He shook his head. “Keep it! I don’t take notes in this class anyways!” He shot you a wink, before spinning on his heel, his hands in his pockets, whistling some random tune, without a care in the world.

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

“There she is! So?! How’s school been?! I wanna know!”

You grinned at Whitney as she bounced in, looking at you excitedly while going to wash her hands. “You’re working early today. It’s only 3.”

She shrugged. “They wanted me in before dinner rush tonight. Don’t dodge the question!”

“It’s been fine. I’ve met a couple people, doodled a few things, ignored syllabus talk - the usual.”

She sniggered, moving her eyebrows. “Any cute guys so far?” You thought back to your History lecture and Bucky, who confused the hell out of you. Whitney’s squeal pulled you out of your thoughts. “That’s a yes! Tell me about him immediately!”

“It’s not a ‘yes’. There’s nothing to tell.”

“But he is hot, right?”

You rolled your eyes, but your lips pulled up at the corners. “He’s…very easy on the eyes.”

Whitney gave an excited squeak, quickly drying her hands and putting on gloves before sliding up to you. “So? Tell me all about him.”

“Nothing to tell.”

“Bull.” She called out. “What’s his name?”

You huffed, focusing on the pizza you were making. “Bucky.”

She tried it out on her tongue before nodding. “Cute, cute. How old is he?”

“He’s a junior, so I’m guessing 20. Maybe 21 if his birthday was in the past week.”

Whitney hounded on you for every detail of your conversation, which you told her with some exception, leaving out the pen and some of the random stuff he told you. “So he’s a fuckboy?”

“Oh yeah. No doubt.”

“But he’s a charming fuckboy?”

“Mhmm.”

“And he’s not a dick?”

“So far.”

“So…he’s your type.”

You scoffed, giving her a look. “I don’t have a ‘type’.”

She gave you a bemused expression back. “Honey, it’s not a secret you like the charismatic guys that every girl swoons over. You just don’t swoon over them and that’s what makes you different.”

You scowled. “I don’t swoon over them because they don’t deserve my effort. And no. I don’t have a thing for them. I just…tend to get their attention more than other guys.”

“Because you don’t swoon over them.”

“Whitney-”

“Okay, okay. What happened next?”

You shrugged. “Nothing. He just sorta…talked the entire class. He did invite me to a party on Saturday though-”

“Oh my God! You have to go! College parties are the best! You’ll have so much fun!” She stopped to give you a serious look, pointing a finger towards you. “You’re going, right?”

“I dunno. Maybe. I’ve got to ask Phillips if I can get time off and I-I dunno if I even want to go.”

Whitney groaned, throwing her hands in the air and letting her head fall back. “This is the first party of your college life! There shouldn’t be any doubt!”

“Apparently Tony Stark is the one throwing it-”

“Are you fucking - you can’t not go!”

You snickered, Whitney’s persistence amusing you. “Again. It depends on Phillips. We’ll see. I promise.”

“At least tell me you got this guy’s number.”

“Nope.”

Whitney glared at you. “You are the absolute worst person to try getting drama out of, you know that? You’re not interested at all in this guy?”

You shrugged, turning to throw the pizza in. “Maybe. I wanna try out this whole friend thing first. Tommy’s the first real guy friend I’ve had since middle school and that’s mostly because he’s gay and we barely even talk outside work. I’ve never just…let myself take a break from dating before.”

A sigh came from the other girl, who reluctantly nodded. “That’s good, actually. Take a mental break. I respect that. But please, for the love of God, please try to have fun.”

You smirked, nodding. “I’ve told you, Whit. I know how to have fun. Don’t worry; if I do go to that party, I’ll have enough for both of us.”

“Yes! I have to live college through you now, so it’s your responsibility!”

You mockingly saluted. “I won’t let you down, babe.”

64 notes · View notes

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

for the meet ugly asks, 18 with the ot4? nsfw, if possible? thanks

Here you go! It is indeed NSFW.

18: we were just introduced at a party by our mutual friend and when my partner comes to join us, you freak out because you were just outside making out with them and you pull me aside to tell me

“Duck! Over here!” Aubrey waves him through the crowd, pointing to the lumberjack lookalike next to her, “this is the guy I was telling you about. Barclay’s an old friend of Dani's and, get this, he and Indrid know each other too. Wait, where is mr. mothman?” Aubrey cranes her neck.

“He had to work a late shift, but he says hi. Literally” He fumbles his phone, “fuck, sorry, first thing to go when I’ve been drinkin is my coordination.” He eventually triumphs, showing them the photo of Indrid, silver hair tied back and Void the Rat perched on the sleeve of his ‘Waffle House’ shirt. The sticker on the photo says “Hi!”

“Aww” Barclay’s voice is the epitome of gentle giant, “he always wanted a rat. I’m glad he got one.”

“Whelp, now that I got you two talking, I’m gonna go spend some ‘quality time’ with my girlfriend.”

“Just don't get caught makin’ out in a closet again.” Duck calls. Aubrey flips him off with a smile.

“So how did you and Indrid--oh, there you are babe. Thought you mighta snuck out to take a work call.”

“No, just had to de-escalate a shoving match on the back porch. I know you love Jake, but maybe next time we should just have him over rather than coming to the kind of party we outgrew in undergrad. I’m discovering I don’t enjoy being under the influence in this kind of cramped party anymore."

“Yeah, not really loving the noise. I lose my voice enough in the kitchen. Duck, this is my boyfriend, Joseph. Joseph, this is Duck, he’s a friend of Dani and Aubrey’s.”

Duck crunches his cup as his mind takes a violent spin an hour into the past.

He’d been out on the side deck getting some air and sipping his beer when a guy who looks like he walked in from the set of some splashy T.V show where everyone is hot joined him. His lips looked damn good whenever he sipped his beer and Duck did his best to turn on the southern charm. It was sort of working, until he complimented the guys button up; it was covered in drawings of cryptids--including mothman, Indrid’s favorite--and fit him in the way that made Duck want to rip the buttons off with his teeth. As soon as he demonstrated his enjoyment of listening to a hot guy talk about monsters, the taller man moved gradually closer, bumping shoulders and locking eyes with growing boldness. When Duck said the song booming out of the house was his go-to for putting the moves on someone, the other man asked to see his technique.

They spent the next three songs in the darkest corner of the porch, Duck’s back pressing into metal slats as his new friend wove his fingers into his hair and teased their tongues together with an experts touch.

When Duck breathlessly asked if he wanted to go somewhere more private, he murmured, “Only after we’ve had a chance to talk about some things.”

Then his phone buzzed and he was gone, leaving Duck horny and tipsy under the stars.

Back in the present, he does everything possible to keep from meeting Joseph’s eyes as he mumbles, “I, uh, I, I need some help with somethin in the kitchen? Fuck, yeah, kitchen, Barclay can you come help?”

“Sure. Be right back, babe.”

The kitchen is packed with people doing ill-advised things with drinks, so Duck keeps Barclay in the hall as he whispers, “Man, I, I’m so fuckin sorry but I gotta say somethin’. Joe and I, we, uh, we already met.”

“Makes sense, he’s been in town a year. I just got here.”

“That ain’t the kind of meetin I mean. We got a little, uh, friendly on the porch tonight.”

Barclay gives an “ah” of understanding. Then he chuckles, “thought he looked a little ruffled when he passed me earlier.”

“I’m real fuckin sorry, I didn’t know. ‘Drid and I got an, an agreement, but I shoulda checked to see if he was datin someone.”

“That would have been smart.” Joe appears at Barclay’s shoulder, “but that’s why I said we needed to talk before we did anything else.” He strokes Barclay’s beard, “you and Indrid aren’t the only ones with an open relationship of sorts.”

“Ohthankfuck.” Duck slumps against the wall.

“While I was making sure no one made a punch that could give them alcohol poisoning, you were getting hot and heavy? That’s not fair, babe.” Barclay teases.

“I’ll make it up to you, big guy. Are you safe to drive?”

“Gonna give it another half-hour, just to be safe. You need a ride home, Duck?”

“Uh, sure, that’d be great.”

Soon, he’s bundled in the back of a Subaru, Joe sitting beside him while Barclay navigates through Saturday night traffic. They luck out; the game ran long, so they’re not fighting the throng coming out of the football stadium. When they reach his apartment, Joe stops him and hands Duck his phone. Duck didn’t even feel him take it in the first place. As he waves goodnight, he spots a new number sitting in his contacts and smiles.

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

“...the point is, it amuses me that Joseph shares my taste in me.” Indrid sips his white chocolate mocha, then yawns wide enough for Barclay to spot his tongue piercing, “apologies, I didn’t get to bed until three.”

“Jesus, man, gonna tell Duck to start knocking you out.”

“I was working on commissions.”

Barclay gives him a disbelieving look.

“....I was working on commissions until midnight. Then I spent three hours watching videos on the finer points of home entomology.”

“There it is. You can’t fool me, I remember what you were like at sleepovers.”

“It was very important to read every single Eyewitness book your parents generously bought you.” Indrid takes another sip with an imperious tilt of his head.

Barclay bumps his unoccupied hand, “It’s so fucking nice to see you again.”

Indrid looks at him over his glasses, brown eyes as beautiful as they were when he was sixteen, “Likewise. Oh!” He perks up, “do you know what this means? We can have a double-date! I’ve always wanted to try that.”

“Sure Joseph will be into it; he has a spreadsheet of optimal date locations. Bet he’ll have fun making one for double-dates.”

“That is...exceptionally geeky.”

Barclay sends a love-struck smile into his coffee cup, “Yeah, he is.”

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

Joe is more diabolical than Duck gave him credit for. And he thought he was pretty fucking cunning after he suggest seeing the local hockey team; the chilly arena gave Indrid and excuse to cuddle up to anyone who held still for too long and gave Joe plenty of opportunities to make double entendres about sticks in Duck’s ear.

But a night out at “Woofs” AKA the kind of gay bar where Duck and Barclay get hit on constantly is a whole new level of torment. Especially because Indrid hangs off Duck proudly (when he’s not teasing Barclay for the number of free drinks he’s getting) and Joseph even asks him to dance. When he peeks over the taller man’s shoulder, he sees Barclay resting his hand on Indrid’s arm while whispering something that makes him grin.

Dancing really is the most fitting thing he could be doing, because it’s what all four of them have chosen to do about this; dance around the fact that Indrid and Barclay dated, dance around the fact Joe and Duck kissed, danced around the fact that they’re more or less acting like a polycule already.

“Oh no.” Joe mutters, eyes on the door, “things are about to get loud.”

Duck’s about to point out that the club is already loud when he’s pulled out of the path of not one, but two bachelorette parties. They opt to stay, although Barclay gets hit on by someone who doesn’t believe he’s gay. Joe takes him onto the floor for a slow dance while Duck steps into the bathroom. When he comes out, his boyfriend is nowhere to be found.

“You guys seen ‘Drid?”

Joe shakes his head, all three of them already moving for the door. They find Indrid across the street on a bench, hunched over and tapping on his knees.

“‘Drid?” Duck sits gently beside him, “you get overwhelmed?”

Indrid nods.

“You wanna head home?”

Another nod. Duck suspects the overstimulation spiked without warning, which usually means…

“You need to be nonverbal for a bit?”

This time Indrid looks at him when he nods, then cringes when he sees Joe and Barclay are watching.

“Our place is closer.” Joe offers, copying Duck’s tone, “we can all bus back there so you can be somewhere quiet. Or, um, if you need it to just be you two, that’s fine too.”

Indrid holds up a finger, indicating option one. Duck helps him up and let’s him stay hidden against his shoulder while they wait for the bus.

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

This used to terrify Barclay. He and Indrid would be hanging out, would be stealthily holding hands in the top row of the football stadium, and his boyfriend would shut down. Barclay, sensing distress, would try to figure out what was wrong, would start to panic when Indrid couldn’t communicate the things happening in his mind and body. They had more than one fight where his attempts to help only made Indrid more overstimulated to the point he snapped at him to fuck off (and, on one occasion, hissed at him).

They worked it out eventually, Barclay keeping a mental list of things that soothed his friend. Watching Duck do some of them, how calm and loving he was, makes something complex bloom in his chest, as vibrant and beautiful as the Dahlias Duck brought them from the garden (“weather’s been so fuckin weird things are bloomin when they shouldn’t”).

When they make it home, Duck stops in the living room and looks between Indrid and Barclay for a moment. Then he murmurs, “‘Drid, you want Barclay to keep you company for a bit?”

Indrid smiles and nods, takes Barclay’s hand and follows him to the bedroom. He lets his memories drive, keeps the light off, arranges his body so Indrid can relax against him, and pets his hair with slow, light motions. His friend hums, meaning he’s on the right track. As he strokes his head he notices the black roots peeking through the silver; it was jarring to see Indrid with pale hair when all his memories were of dark locks of it falling over his face or catching on Barclays hands.

He looks good with the silver. More like himself.

Metal pokes his chest. He takes the glasses Indrid hands him, sets them on Joseph’s stack of library books, then gives a startled, “nnfph” as his friend pulls Barclay on top of him.

“Like the weight” Indrid mumbles, wrapping his arms around him. The longer they lay there, the easier it is to overhear the conversation in the other room.

“I feel awful, if I’d known I’d have never recommended we go somewhere like a loud bar.”

“S’okay, Joe. ‘Drid is still a little wary of tellin people that’s something he has to consider when goin’ out; Dani and them get it, but other folks think he’s bein’ a buzzkill.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You’re tellin me. Besides, sometimes it comes up so fast, or happens in places he ain’t anticipatin it. He’ll be okay, especially with Barclay takin’ care of him.”

A pause, then, “Do you need someone to, um, take care of you?”

“Joe-”

“It’s alright if the answer is no. But part of my plan was to get everyone in a, um, bit of a frisky mood.”

A snicker, “Frisky?”

“I was trying not to be too crude.”

“Joe, you know how I feel about you. But we gotta check with the others to be sure everythin is on the level.”

“Tell them to come in.” Indrid whispers, a smile plain in his voice.

“Uh, babe? Could you and Duck come in here a sec?”

“Everythin oka--ffft” Duck snorts a laugh, “guess he improvised not havin a weighted blanket.”

“That I did.”

Duck bursts into a grin, hurrying to settle on the bed near Indrid’s head, “Hey, sugar. How you feelin’?”

“Much better. It helps that this one is very soothing.” He toys with Barclay’s hair, sending goosebumps up his arms, “though it seems he had a slighty different reaction to our contact.”

Barclay was so distracted by the conversation that he hadn’t realized his cock was hardening along the familiar warmth of Indrid’s thigh whenever one of them shifted.

“Fuck, Indrid, I’m sorry-”

“It’s alright. In fact, it is rather relevant to what you two were discussing in the hall. Am I correct that we all wish to be in some form of polyamorous relationship with each other?”

“Yes” say two voices along with his own.

“Wonderful. I suggest we hash out details later. Right now, it seems you two have, ah, unfinished business.”

“Fuckin finallyAH” Duck cackles as Joseph knocks him backwards, kissing him frantically while yanking up his shirt. As soon as his belly is exposed Joseph begins pawing and groping from there up his sides. Indrid nudges Barclay so they can sit up, allowing the other two more room to disrobe. Or, more accurately, for Joseph to disrobe both himself and Duck, since the shorter man is having trouble moving his limbs between bursts of laughter and moaning.

Joseph crawls backwards, shoving Duck’s legs apart and groping his thighs, “I’ve wanted to get my hands on these since the party. Lord almighty did you look good in those jeans.” He kisses his way up the left thigh, moaning and mouthing at the skin. His posture puts his perfect ass in the air, which happens to be one of Barclay’s favorite views in the whole world. He unzips his pants, fights to get his cock out as Indrid begins offering commentary from beside him.

“Mmmm, were I not still rather exhausted, I’d make him do that to us both.”

Joseph raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t move his mouth from where it’s teasing Duck’s inner thigh.

“Know you would.” He reaches down to play with Joseph’s hair, “‘Drid’s got a whole fantasy where you blow him while I sit on his face.”

“Funny” Barclay’s voice is turning rough with desire,“he’s got one where he takes all three of us at once.”

Joseph’s face lacks any trace of self-consciousness, a rare thing for him, which means this whole arrangement is fucking brilliant. He simply nods, then takes Duck’s dick into his mouth.

“JEsus, fuck, Joe, ohfuckyeah.” Duck holds Joseph’s head encouragingly, “shoulda known you’d be good at this, you’re so fuckin good at everythin, fuck, fuck.”

Barclay grips his cock, trying to stroke in time with movements of Joseph’s head. Slender fingers carefully push his aside as Indrid purrs, “allow me.”

“You, you don’t have to, you said you were tired-”

“Not too tired for this” he strokes up more firmly, then brushes their lips together, “or this.”

It’s like tasting Hershey Chocolate or Marionberry Pie, transporting him back to their shitty hometown in Eastern Oregon, to summer heat on his skin and basement air in his nose as Indrid proved that yes, kissing boys was what he wanted to do.

Indrid’s certainly gotten better at it since then. Barclay likes to think he has, hopes the other man is feeling even half the things currently piling up in Barclay’s chest.

“Oh.” Indrid sighs as he pulls back, “that’s even better than I remember.”

A particularly loud moan from Joseph, underscored by Duck cursing happily, brings them back to the present.

Barclay moans as Indrid’s hand moves more deliberately.

“Do you remember the first time we did this?”

“Uh huh, c-couch, in that, fuck, that basement rec room at my house.”

“You came so fast.”

“Can’t really blame me.”

“Given the sounds he’s making, he might do the same thing now.” Joseph smiles at them from over Duck’s knee, “that’s one of the best things about you. You’re so sensitive, big guy.”

Barclay whines his name. His boyfriend winks, then dives back down to render Duck speechless.

“You really are” Indrid nips his ear, “remember when we, ah, lost it to each other?”

“Mmmhmm” he whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut as if that might make all this last longer. Joseph echoes the noise, making Duck groan.

“Just picture it, Joseph” Indrid is getting into it now, panting and pink-cheeked, “Barclay, eighteen and even shyer than he is now, in my lap, begging me to fuck him.”

‘I, I wasn’t the only one begging.” He grins.

“Of course not. I was desperate to get to it because just seeing you naked had me certain I was going to--one moment” he releases Barclay’s cock, ignoring his whimper to clamber into a position that allows him to kiss Duck as the shorter man grinds into Joseph’s mouth. He doesn’t pull back until Duck’s hips slow and Joseph is busy wiping his lips.

“I can never resist kissing you while you cum.”

“Fuck I love you.” Duck cups Indrid’s cheek. The silver haired man rubs against his palm a moment, then retreats. Duck growls at Joseph, “as for you, you got ten seconds to open your legs so I can show you a good time.”

“So thoughtful” Indrid pecks his cheek, returns to Barclay, “now, where was I…”

“Shy, AHshit, fuckingchristthat’s good.” Joseph’s legs sprawl open as Duck finger-fucks him, sitting on his side to kiss him without obstructing Barclay’s view.

“Ah yes.” He kisses Barclays neck, hand teasing the head of his cock, “you insisted on bottoming because you were so scared you might hurt me. I can still see it, you on your hands and knees, asking me to take you--those were your exact words--then whimpering when I finally got my cock in.”

“Fuck” Joseph is clearly enjoying the story; if Barclay had known he was into this, he would have made all his exes record voicemails describing their exploits.

“If memory serves I came very fast, because you were so much tighter than I expected and you, you felt so good. I used my hands to get you off-”

“Uh huh, fuck, you hadn’t pulled out yet and it was so fucking good, fuck, Indrid-”

“You made such cute noises when you came” a slow, deep kiss as heat floods him, “I wonder if you’ll do the same now.”

“Probably” is all he grunts out before he’s cumming hard enough that most of it hits Joseph’s stomach rather than Indrid’s fingers. His head lolls as his cock pulses, and beneath his own heartbeat he picks up Duck ordering Joseph to be good and cum for him. After a moment, there’s the distinct moan his boyfriend makes during his climax. It’s followed, confusingly, by weak laughter. His eyes flutter open to see Indrid licking his cum off Joseph’s chest, which happens to be ticklish.

He scoots over to join them, Joseph kissing him sleepily the instant he’s close enough.

“You sure you don’t need to cum, sugar?”

“I’m only half-hard, and I know I’m too tired to make it the rest of the way. Not that this wasn’t supremely satisfying. But you each owe me an orgasm sometime in the future.”

“All in favor of blowin ‘Drids mind tomorrow mornin’”

He and the other two raise their hands in sync. Then the four of them collapse, laughing, in each others arms.

#meet ugly #OT4: Government Men and Their Cryptid Boyfriends #indruck #sternclay #inclay #autistic Indrid #trans duck newton #trans agent stern #reader request #duck newton/agent stern

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