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#I’m like the weird dog that people feed because I’m friendly and cute
fanfictionatic · 2 years
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Just something cats like to do
Pairing: catboy!Joseph x gender neutral!reader
Description: You take in the cat that keeps getting into fights behind your house and discover something shocking
Warnings: Animal aggression I guess. Other than that this is just fluff. I wrote this at 2:00am.
You groan as you pull the pillow over your head and try to go back to sleep. This was the fifth time this week that they had kept you up. Every single night there had been loud yowling, barking, and small angry noises coming from outside your window. Getting rest was starting to feel like a lost cause and you were wondering if you would ever get your sleep schedule back.
You hear the sound of something crashing and you sigh, finally getting up and putting on some clothes. Enough was enough. You couldn’t take anymore of this. It ended tonight.
You step out through your backdoor and finally get a good look at what’s been causing you so much trouble. In the streetlight you can make out one brown fluffy looking maine coon hissing and swatting at three dogs. Was it really the same cat every night picking fights like this?
Carefully making your way over, you wave your hands at the dogs, shooing them away. You aren’t sure if it’ll work or not, but it’s worth a try. Sure enough, it does. They must be intimidated by humans.
“Are you ok little guy?” You stare down at the big cat and look it over for any injuries, sighing in relief when you notice that it’s fine. It seems to be much more friendly than the dogs were, because it starts purring and rubbing up against you immediately. You smile and pick it up. “How about I get you some food and a nice place to sleep?”
You carry the cat inside and go to your fridge, looking around for something that would be good to feed your new friend. You manage to find some leftover chicken and put it on a plate, setting it down with some water off to the side. The cat starts eating the chicken immediately and you watch, laughing a little bit at the way its shakes each piece.
After its done eating and sipping at the water, you walk back to your bed and the cat follows behind you, jumping up onto it after you lay down. You absentmindedly run your fingers through it’s soft fur as it purrs again. Was this someone’s pet? You would probably need to check in in the morning to be sure. Strays usually weren’t this friendly.
You must have zoned out for too long, because you suddenly feel a sharp pain on your hand and look down to see that the cat has decided to bite you while it’s still purring. It must have lured you into a false sense of security because it somehow looks really smug about the whole thing.
You curse and get up, going to wash the wound. Luckily there wasn’t any blood or anything and it had been pretty light. You supposed that it was normal for this to be happening. This was just something cats did sometimes.
You slip back into bed and turn out the light, feeling a light plop as the cat flops down and curls up next to you to go to sleep. You whisper a “Good night” before closing your eyes and drifting off.
When you start to wake up, you can feel the weird sensation of something warm wrapped around you and pressed against you. You make a confused noise before opening your eyes. Instead of the cute fluffy cat you found earlier sleeping next to you, there is now a huge man with the ears and tail of the same cat cuddled up to you and pulling you against his chest.
You panic and grab your pillow, lightly whacking him with it. “What are you doing in my bed?!”
The man hisses and lets go of you quickly moving away with his ears pointing downwards. “That’s no way to treat someone you let into your house and fed last night!”
You lower your pillow and look at him carefully. You had heard about cat hybrids. They were people with cat like features that could turn into the furry animals any time they wanted. They were supposed to be a myth, but it looked like that was in fact what you were staring at.
“I’m sorry. You just scared me and I didn’t expect you to be an actual cat hybrid. My name is y/n.”
He moves closer to you again, relaxing and doing the same rubbing/purring that he did in his actual cat form. You don’t really try to stop him though. Instead you just pet his ears on instinct, not really knowing what else to do.
“I’m Joseph and it’s a pleasure to meet you y/n. I’m lucky that someone as stunning as you brought me in. Those dogs are always fun to mess with but it can get old.”
You roll your eyes and laugh. “I preferred it when you didn’t talk.”
He does a fake pout and you jokingly boop him on the nose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a few weeks now. You let Joseph stay with you because he apparently didn’t actually have a place to go. You felt kind of bad and really, you would be lying if you said his flirting didn’t get to you. Even if he was smug about it, it was also kind of charming and funny in a way?
You step into your house and look around. “Joseph I’m home!”
You notice him laying down on the couch, which seems to have a few new scratch marks. “Did you bring the food I wanted?”
You nod and set your stuff down. “Hey, just because my couch was a mess before you got here doesn’t mean you can wreck it even more.”
“Oh? And how are you going to stop me y/n?”
“Well....I guess I can’t. But I brought some other things home that you might like.” You reach in your bag and pull out a laser pointer that you had bought at the store. You press the button and point it onto the floor in front of where Joseph is laying down, moving the little red dot slightly from side to side.
He seems to immediately sit up, crouching and staring at the dot intently. His pupils are really big and his long furry tail is swishing. You quickly make it dart away and he jumps off the couch, pouncing and trying to catch it. He ends up almost falling flat on his ass and you come over to offer him a hand, turning the button off.
“I think you caught it. I don’t see it anymore.”
Instead of pulling himself up, Joseph pulls you down and onto his lap, pressing his lips to yours and pulling you into a kiss. You close your eyes and return it, draping your arms around his shoulders.
“It looks like I caught something better.”
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Ikevamp Act 2.5
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Chapter 12 Premium 
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Temptation of the Old Castle
Vlad said he would follow after watering the garden, and Charles, with bouncy steps, took me by the hand.
Charles: "Mitsuki, this way!"
Mitsuki: "Waah~! Wait, you don't have to pull me so hard."
Faust: "You're too excited, Charl. You're like a dog who hasn't seen its owner in a long time."
We continue down the long hallway until we arrive at a gorgeous room with a table full of food.
Roast beef, veggies, pies, cream soups, several desserts―foods as good as Sebastian's stunned me, and at the same time, its delicious aroma tickled my nose.
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Charles: "I heard you might be coming, so I put my skills to the test. I hope it'll suit your taste."
Mitsuki: "Eh, you made all this food?"
Faust: "He may look like this, but this guy likes to cook. I can guarantee the taste."
Charles: "It was tough work because Docteur would try to mix weird medicine whenever he had the chance."
(W-Weird medicine?)
Charles: "Oh, but don't worry! I managed to protect it. Come on, sit down."
His unsettling word caught my attention, but Charles pushed me back and made me sit in the chair.
Then, he and Faust sat down on both sides of me.
Charles: "Lord Vlad sure is late. Let's eat first, shall we?"
Mitsuki: ".............."
Even though he urges me to eat, I'm not really in the mood to reach for my food.
(They already got information about the mansion from Shakespeare.)
(I'm sure they know about me already.)
And yet they still act like everything is normal.
Charles is as friendly as ever, Faust is as pompous as ever, and Vlad has a gentle smile on his face.
How should I even act in front of them?
Faust: "You're not going to eat? Charl stopped me, so there are no weird medicine in it."
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Faust: "If you're still in doubt, well, let's see―how about we feed you mouth-to-mouth to test the poison?"
Mitsuki: "Excuse me!?"
Charles: "Oh, nice! I'll carry it from my mouth to yours like a couple of birds."
Charles: "Here you go, Mitsuki. Say ahh..."
(.............)
Charles puts a cherry tomato from the salad in his mouth and moves his face closer to mine.
His straightforward gesture and the distance between us, almost as if we were about to kiss, are making my heart beat crazy.
Mitsuki: "I don't do that kind of mouth-to-mouth thing..."
I jerked my body to the other side, and Faust caught me by the wrist.
Faust: "Haha, no need to be shy. Go ahead and dig in."
Faust: "Obey me as a guinea pig would do."
Mitsuki: "Who are you calling a guinea pig!?"
Charles takes the cherry tomato from his mouth, looks at me, and tilts his head.
Charles: "You really hate it that much? We just want to make you feel welcome."
Charles: "Oh, but you also look cute when you're troubled. And you smell so delicious."
His eyes smile wooingly, and Charles licks his lips seductively.
Faust: "If you're not going to eat, we'll have our own feast."
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Faust: "We'll bury our fangs here."
(----!)
Faust looks at me from behind, and I can feel the chain of his glasses touching my cheek.
Then, his long fingertips stroke my neck, exploring the bite site, and my body shudders.
(Unlike everyone else in the mansion, these two don't hesitate to bite people!)
As Faust restrains me and Charles' lips draw closer in front of me, I'm confronted once again that they too are vampires.
I can't tell if these two are serious or if they're just trying to make me run away from them.
Vlad: "Stay away from Mitsuki. Faust, Charles."
Vlad: "You're going a little overboard."
Vlad's cool voice came into the room and stopped them both.
Faust & Charles: ".............."
(Vlad's smile shows absolute pressure.)
Faust: "*Sigh.* We were just having a little fun."
Charles: "Sorry."
(Oh, thank god.)
(I'm glad he stopped them.)
But as predators to humans, Vlad should be no different.
(So why did he protect me? Is he just trying to keep both of them in check?)
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Vlad: "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mitsuki. I'm glad I can eat with you like this.”
Vlad sat down and smiled innocently.
After that, I munched as much food as I could, even though I didn't really feel like it, to have extra stamina because I didn't know what would happen next.
After eating, which went surprisingly well, Vlad took me to a room.
Vlad: "I'm finally alone with you. You can sit next to me if you want."
Mitsuki: "Vlad, thank you for stopping Faust and Charles earlier."
Vlad: "Yeah, those two startled you, huh? But I guess that means they like you in their own way."
Vlad: "Don’t worry. I won't let them lay a finger on you."
Vlad smiles softly to reassure me.
(Am I imagining that he's being somewhat kind to me?)
(Is it because I'm human? Or is there another reason?)
Still puzzled by this, I tried to look for a conversation starter.
Mitsuki: "Is this your room?"
Vlad: "Yes. I like this area in the castle because you can see the moon here."
The star-studded night sky beyond the large windows and the several books lining the walls showed just how much Vlad has lived.
Looking around his room, one portrait hanging on the wall caught my eye.
Mitsuki: "Vlad, what's that?"
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The figure in the painting didn't have a face for some reason.
Vlad: "That's the person I've been searching for, for an eternity."
Vlad: "There was a time when I almost killed myself because of the despair that was crushing me."
Vlad: "At that time, she saved my life."
Vlad: "But she disappeared, and I couldn't find her, no matter how hard I looked."
Vlad: "I just want to see her again. I've lived with that wish in my heart all my life."
His crimson eyes gazing at the portrait are so wistful and longing that even my chest tightened.
(It's as if he's in love with her.)
Vlad: "I kept thinking about her. And before I knew it, I had already forgotten what her face looked like."
Vlad: "It's as if a sandstorm of time forced me to drown her out."
So the portrait was never completed.
Still, Vlad told me that this is how he displays it, to keep the pieces of his memory in place.
Vlad: "I still remember the warmth and strength of her hug and the promise we made to each other."
Mitsuki: "Promise...?"
Vlad: "Yes. But that's a secret for now."
Vlad smiled slightly and turned his sad, passionate eyes toward me.
Vlad: "Was that unexpected?"
Mitsuki: "Huh?"
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Vlad: "Seeing me getting sentimental after all the terrible things I've done to the great men."
Vlad cuts in, and I'm at a loss for words to reply.
Mitsuki: "I'm not surprised. From the first time I met you, you always looked at people kindly."
Mitsuki: "But that's why I don't get it."
While turning a kind eye on human beings, he brainwashed the great men he revived for his purpose.
And with hands capable of growing beautiful flowers, he mercilessly breaks the hands of unwanted flowers.
(I can't understand your heart, but that's why I want to know you properly.)
Vlad: "............. "
Mitsuki: "Vlad, is your ambition your true wish?"
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foryoumyheroes · 3 years
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Sharing is Caring
How [Midorya + Todoroki + Bakugou + Hawks] steal share food 
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A/N: I miss eating out but what can you do? Please, if possible for you, continue to stay inside as much as you can! I’m saying this bc the actions in these headcanons are not pandemic-friendly LOL Also, crack-ish? 
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Midoriya: 
Oh, what? This little angel can do no wrong, of course he would never take your food without asking and he rarely even asks for a bite of your food unless you offer it up. 
Always shares what his mom packed for the day as well as any other meal he has. 
Willingly eats the things you pick off your plate. You eat what he doesn’t like. A symbiotic relationship.  
Once you guys get to a comfortable part of your relationship he does do weird things in order to be closer to you. 
No matter what he uses the same soy sauce tray as you, even when there’s a perfectly good one right next to him. 
If you’re eating takeout and it’s a picnic or somewhere outside/inconvenient he will use the same chopstick as you. Just...you take a bite, pass the chopsticks, and go back and forth. 
Drinks from the same cup as you. Even if he’s pouring out a cup for everyone and pours a drink out for him too, he’ll drink from your cup and then once you guys are done with that you’ll both drink from his. 
He loves it whenever you guys do share food though!! It makes him [heart squeeze~] doing such a cutesy thing. He feels 100% more affectionate whenever this happens. 
He just likes being next to you. If you guys get street food and have to stab with the skewers into that tiny box or bag, it makes his day standing so close to you for a while. 
Of course, when he first did this he almost died every time because of the mental image of indirect kissing. 
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Todoroki: 
It’s already canon that he offers up his precious soba whenever his close friends are feeling down. 
Honestly such a baby boy. 
This food sparks joy in me? It must do the same for them as well! 
But once you guys get into the extremely comfortable part of your relationship the words “my food” and “their food” get erased from his vocabulary and is now completely replaced with “our food.” 
When you guys go to a restaurant, you’re that couple that sits in the same booth seat, side-to-side, instead of across from each other. 
He only orders one dish. The waiter will just stand there until Todoroki will be like, “We’ll order another if we’re still hungry.” 
If you’re getting takeout, he’ll order two dishes but when you get home you’re still going to be sitting as close as ever eating from the same plate.
As a result every meal you have will always involve him sitting by your side. 
The kind of person that never orders the same dish as you if you’re eating together. 
It happens so frequently that Fuyumi bought this big old bowl for you two to eat from whenever you visit Endeavor’s house. 
You guys are so lovey-dovey and roman -- 🤮 romant -- 🤮🤮 I can’t even say it. 🤮🤮🤮🤮
I mean it’s kinda economical, saving all this money sharing a meal.  
Like a dog when they see you eat without them. 
If you guys are having lunch and he ends up sitting on the opposite end of the table from you, one sound of you cracking apart your chopsticks will have him noooming over to your side to eat some too. 
Quite honestly, if you try to eat without him he will physically fight you to take at least one bite too. He’s just jumping over you while you’re protecting your food from him like a football player with the ball. 
[Aizawa: so...do any of you want to tell me how [Name] gave Todoroki a black eye? 
Everyone starts talking over each other all at once while you’re saying, “I accidentally elbowed him in the face BUT that was my melonpan though!!” and Todoroki’s saying, “Our melonpan.”] 
Kinda cute though because it becomes something you kind of just expect. He’ll buy like a boba, take a sip, and then immediately give it to your awaiting hands so you could taste. 
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Bakugou: 
The person you’re leeching food off of. 
He’s like, “FUCK off!” and “Get your own!” but we all know the truth 😊😊
Even tries to pass off his affections by saying that the portion you took from him doesn’t have the recommended nutritional balance so he gives you more meat/vegetables/rice to “even it out.” 
Sometimes he’ll even feed you straight from his chopsticks, just straight up shoving food in your mouth. He’ll be really aggressive and pushy but he’ll do it. 
If he wants your food, he’ll just gruffly say, “Give me that,” and snatch it. 
He anticipates you wanting to eat his food so even though he’s a spice fan he’ll tone it down for you when you steal some from him later in the day. 
[People will be like, “Wow he’s such a doting boyfriend.” 
And he’ll yell, “Mind your own shit! I don’t fucking feed [Name] all the time!” And then turn around to be like, “Here’s your napkin and I brought you utensils too.” sdfghkl] 
[He’ll refuse to give anyone else food, and he’ll say some BS like, “No one is eating this but me!” 
Kaminari is like, “but you’re sharing with [Name] right now!” 
Bakugou: what of it?] 
What if he lulls you into a false sense of security though. 
He’s been lowering the spice levels this entire time leading you to believe that you’re getting better at spice and your tolerance has gone up but one day he just suddenly spikes it with spice and nearly kills you. 
When you two cooked together you used to grab bites right in the middle of cooking and he told you off saying it was annoying but now he always calls you over to “taste test.” 
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Hawks: 
This bastard. 
Obviously he steals food from you all the time. 
He even strategizes how to steal food from you in the most efficient way possible. 
In more casual restaurants he’ll guide you to the seat that’s closer to the counter/bathroom/water dispenser and constantly asks you to go pick stuff up for him. That’s when he strikes. 
Gets one of his feathers to tap you on the side/behind so when you turn your head he starts shoveling food when you aren’t looking. 
Doesn’t wait for you when you go to the bathroom. You know this. He knows this. It’s survival of the fittest here. 
You get so nervous whenever you get delivery food because if Keigo gets to it first he’s going to eat your fries. 
Once he dipped his bare ass hands into your noodle dish and took the egg on top before you could stop him. 
Every time he convinces you to rock-paper-scissors him for the last piece even if it’s your food. 
Do y’all know that scene from Kung Fu Panda or Power Rangers where they move the last piece around the bowl and maneuvers it with the utensils so the other person can’t get it? If you’re a Pro-Hero too he’ll pull that shit on you. 
LIKE JUST LET ME EATTT. 
This is gross but he doesn’t even care if you licked something or put it in your mouth to “assert dominance” over it. He’ll just get you to spit it out like a mom bird. 
One time he came home early from patrol and found out that you were eating fried chicken without him so the two of you just stood there on opposite ends of the apartment with you staring at him like 👁️👄👁️. 
[Hawks: I thought you were bae-- 
You: Keigo-- 
Hawks:...turns out you’re just fam. ] 
He turns and goes back outside and goes get his own fried chicken and even gets himself a treat ice cream. Takes a picture and sends it to you and everything to gloat. 
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hangovercurse · 3 years
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The Things We Can’t Tell Pete About vi
You and Colson grapple with being “just friends.”
Colson X Reader
Warnings: Cursing
Word Count: 1871
| i | ii | iii | iv | v |
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Hi friend
You were in the studio working on editing one of your songs when you got the text. You hated it, but you smiled automatically when his name popped onto your screen.
Hi friend
The past few days had been weird, but necessary. Colson ended up staying at Pete’s apartment the next night too, so you had plenty of time to figure out how “friends” worked. Unsurprisingly, you hated it. But it was the only way to keep Colson close to you, so you’d take it.
I’m bored
I thought you were friend?
Haha
But seriously you should entertain me
As friends
I’m in the studio rn
U can take a break
What would we do if I took a break?
You tried really hard not to flirt, but it came so naturally. But maybe if you convinced yourselves that you were just friends, it would happen. Because that’s how things work.
Lunch?
I’m hungry
I thought you were bored?
That joke is lame
:)
Will u pls go out to lunch with me
As friends
Hmmmmm
I suppose I could think about it
You sighed, saving the audio project and shutting the computer down. You hadn’t eaten all day and spending time with Colson wasn’t the worst way to spend your lunch break.
Y/N I will find you and drag you out of that studio
You don’t even know where I am
Where do you wanna go?
I could find out…
Whatever u want
Mediterranean? There’s a cute place right by me I’ve been wanting to check out.
You sent him the address, asking him to meet you in 10 minutes.
It’s a date
Wait
No
Not a date
Like I’ll see you then
You laughed as the texts came through your phone, shaking your head. You headed out of the building, walking towards the small restaurant. You weren’t exactly dressed in “lunch clothes,” because you had expected to stay in the studio all day, but you would survive.
You got in line at the blue painted restaurant, thankful that it wasn’t too long. You waited a few minutes before a familiar voice spoke from your side. “Now what’s a pretty girl like you doing all by herself?”
You smiled, turning to Colson. “Waiting for her friend to show up.”
He raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his face. “I hope your friend is as hot as you are.” He chuckled.
You rolled your eyes, “not even close.”
Luckily Colson understood you were joking and he laughed with you. “How have you been?” He asked, “did they catch the guy breaking into apartments?”
“I’ve been good, working.” You nodded, “yeah, they caught him. He broke into this police officer’s place while he was home.”
Colson huffed in amusement, “talk about bad luck.”
“Right? I mean, I’m glad they caught him but, I mean, what are the odds?” You moved forward in the line, reaching the hostess stand.
“Two please.” Colson asked, flashing the girl a smile. You bit your tongue to hide the scowl that almost instinctively came to your face.
The hostess was young and no doubt attractive. She batted her eyelashes towards the tall man, not even acknowledging you. “What’s the name?”
You furrowed your eyebrows as Colson answered, wondering why she would need his name if she was taking you to the table. “And what’s the number?” She asked sweetly. If you were drinking water you would have spit it out.
Colson blushed slightly as you stood in shock. “Um-I’m.” He looked at you as if to say “I’m here with someone” but then he must’ve realized that he wasn’t technically on a date. “You’re lovely, but I’m not interested.” He muttered out, an awkward look on his face.
You were trying your hardest not to look pissed off, because if you looked pissed off then the lie you and Colson have been telling each other about being just friends would be exposed.
The girl looked you over, eyes raking up and down you with a disgusted look on her face. You felt very self-conscious suddenly, your head turning towards the floor in embarrassment. Colson noticed and cleared his throat, “our table?”
The girl didn’t speak a word as she grabbed two menus and led you to the table. “Your waiter will be with you shortly.” She spit out, anger on her face. Your heart was beating very fast, but you couldn’t tell if it was from anger or sadness.
Colson eyed you from across the table as you played with the hair tie on your wrist. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” You spoke too fast to convince him, your quiet demeanor also giving you away.
He sighed, his foot kicking yours lightly and pulling your focus up to him. “Okay, you just seem a little uncomfortable.”
You huffed, “yeah, well, having girls look at me like I’m the scum of the earth does that to a person.”
He frowned, “You know she has, like, nothing on you, right?”
A small blush found your cheeks, and you looked down at your hands again. “You can’t say stuff like that.” You muttered.
“What? Friends say that stuff to each other! I’m trying to make you feel better.” His smile told you he knew what he had done, but he didn’t care.
You sighed, “yeah but you can’t say that to me.”
Colson gaped dramatically, “why not?”
“Because it’s different coming from you.” You laughed. “Why didn’t you give her your number?” You asked, curious for his answer.
He shrugged, “wasn’t interested. Guess I have high expectations.”
You rolled your eyes, “it’s not because I’m here, right?”
Colson let out a sigh, “N-“
He started to speak but was interrupted by the waiter at your table, “Welcome to Shuka, my name is Oliver, I’ll be your server today. Can I get you guys started with something to drink?”
“I’ll get a water, please.” You said, smiling at the man. Colson raised an eyebrow at you. “I have to go back to work after this.”
He chuckled, scanning the menu, “can I get a Nitro?” Oliver nodded, sending you both smiles before heading back to the kitchen.
You sent Colson a look, expecting him to continue your previous conversation. Instead, he continued to read through the menu. “Do you know what you want? I’m thinking about the Shak-Shakshu-.” He tried to pronounce the name of the dish but was failing.
You giggled, finding the dish on the menu, “Shakshuka.” You told him, “and I haven’t even looked.” You scanned through the menu in your hands, reading the names of the various dishes. Colson took to studying you, a small smile on his face.
“It’s not because you’re here. It’s because I’m genuinely not interested in anyone else.” He said out of the blue. Confusion flashed across your face before you understood what he was referring to. You took in a breath, trying to figure out how to respond. “I know I shouldn’t tell you that, but I just think you needed to know.”
You smiled to yourself, “I don’t mind, I just- it makes it harder to convince myself this isn’t a date.”
Colson nodded, “this is not a date. We are just two friends having a friendly lunch. As friends.” He was trying to convince himself too.
“Right. Friendly friends. Two people who are just friends.” You said, exaggerating the word “friends”. Awkwardness hung in the air for a few moments before you both started laughing.
You fell into the familiar pattern of conversation that seemed to come naturally to you both. When your meals arrived, you were both very excited. “Can I try some of yours?” You asked, sending him the most convincing puppy dog eyes you could muster. He chuckled, placing some of the poached egg onto his fork and moving it towards you. You rolled your eyes at the cliché but smiled anyways, letting him feed you. Your eyes widened in shock “that’s so good!”
He nodded, swallowing his food. “My turn.” He said, reaching over and plucking up a falafel from your plate with his fork. Once he finished eating he smiled at you, “you have excellent taste. You’re picking the restaurants every time now.”
You raised an eyebrow, a sly smile on your face. “So we’re going to have more of these friend lunches?” You asked.
“Duh. We’re friends. This is what friends do.”
You giggled, “I don’t hear about you and Pete going out for lunch together.”
The man chuckled, eyes closing for a moment. “If it’ll make you feel better I’ll take Pete to lunch one of these days.” That made you giggle even harder, shaking your head.
 Neither of you finished your meals, packing them into to-go boxes to eat later. When Oliver brought the check over, you were very flustered. Colson automatically reached to pay but you grabbed his wrist, “we’re on separate checks.” You told the server. Oliver nodded, moving to fix it until Colson spoke up.
“I got it, it’s not a problem.” You sent him a look. “I asked you to lunch, I pay.”
“Friends let their friends pay for themselves.” You muttered, moving your hand from his wrist.
He rolled his eyes, “you can pay next time.” Smiling smugly, he handed his credit card to Oliver, who was very confused. “Relax. I’m just being nice.”
You sighed, pouting slightly. “It’s already hard enough and then you make it worse by flirting and paying and- ugh.” You cut yourself off, frustrated.
Colson clenched his jaw, letting out a hard breath through his nose. “I know, I’m sorry. This isn’t exactly easy for me either.” You nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed at your small outburst. “We can do this.” He said, confidently. If only you could feel as confident as he sounded.
Once Oliver came back with the card and receipts, you both left the restaurant. You hadn’t noticed the cameras as you walked down the street with Colson, the conversation returning to light banter and jokes, but they noticed you.
Colson walked you all the way back to the studio you were working at, insisting on going with you all the way inside. “I just wanna see where you work.” He claimed, but you insisted it was just like every other studio.
You got into the elevator to ride up to the fourth floor, where your space was. Colson stepped in with you, a smile on his face. You sighed, pressing the button and waiting for the elevator to close.
“Hey Y/N?” He spoke as the doors began to shut. You looked up to him, eyebrow raised in question. The doors closed and instead of responding, Colson leaned down, pressing his lips to yours.
You kissed him back, hands cupping his face. You heard the elevator beep as you passed the second floor, and then the third floor. He pulled away, smile on his face.
You took in a deep breath, “I thought you…”
“Fuck it.” He muttered, standing up straight. You smiled, biting your lip. “But we’re not hiding this from Pete. We’re just… testing the waters.”
You hummed in agreement as the elevator doors opened, stepping into the hallway and leading him to your studio.
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sonnetthebard · 3 years
Note
a writing prompt maybe? A Lilo and Stitch AU where Hannah is Lilo, Lex is Nani, and Ethan is David and then Wiggly is Stitch and Hannah's trying to teach him to be good.
Ok, I feel where you're coming from and I love it! This is so cute! I'm gonna be a bit flexible with it though, stray a bit from the strict Lilo and Stitch story. It's gonna be similar, but differ a bit.
Genre: Fluff/ Comedy
Words: 1966
TL;DR: When Hannah said she wanted a pet, Lex thought she would end up with dog or a rabbit like a normal person... not an eldritch.
TW: Swearing, mention of sexual themes? I don't know how to label it but you'll know it when you see it.
______________________________________________________
"No, Wiggly!" Hannah chided. "Stop! You got to be good, otherwise Lexie isn't gonna let me keep you!"
If Lex knew half of what was going on, Wiggly would be back to the pound in before you could say "eldritch". She had told Ethan to take Hannah out to get her a dog at the shelter. Duke had said maybe giving her another friend at home would help her to be a bit less hostile towards the kids at her school. Not that she was physically aggressive, but... ever since their mom had been sent to prison, apparently she'd been a bit snippy and reserved. It concerned her teachers. While Lex was technically old enough to be her legal guardian, Hannah's teachers were concerned that maybe she wasn't emotionally ready for that kind of responsibility. They were about ready to file a case for Hannah to be put into the foster system.
So... this was a desperate last attempt on Lex's part. Because she was *not* losing her little sister. She'd been through so much shit to get her mom out of the house. So that they would be safe. She wasn't letting anyone take that away. So... even though she may not really have the money to support Hannah *and* a dog, she'd agreed to let Hannah get one. There were very few people that Lex would trust on these matters, but... Duke was one of them. He knew the system. Mostly because he was a part of it. But he also knew Lex, and he knew that she was the right person to be caring for Hannah. So... if he thought that this was going to help, she'd do it.
But... she probably should have gone with Hannah herself to get it. Because Ethan... was not the brightest, and he was prone to completely crumbling for Hannah. Which is precisely what had happened at the pet store that afternoon. He'd suggested a cute little chihuahua with a limp paw, or a sweet maltese, but... Hannah had gone right for the weird, green thing. Was it even a dog? Probably not. It had tentacles and it walked on two legs. Had the people at the shelter called it a dog anyways? Yes. Because what else were they supposed to call it? The only indication they'd gotten as to what he was was a small collar reading 'Wiggly'- which didn't help at all. Look, they'd just found it curled up behind Toy Zone one night, and it was their duty to care for him and then get him to a family.
Things had not been easy for Hannah so far. It seemed her little green friend had a thing for getting into trouble... and tastes for household furniture. He'd already eaten two of her books and one of her sock dolls. Right now, she was trying to get him to stop eating one of her pillows. He seemed to revel in tearing his prey apart before eating it. His eyes got all wild, and... he looked so happy that Hannah almost didn't want to stop him. But she had to, because if he destroyed anything noticeable he'd be gone. And Webby had told her that she needed to pick this little guy. He seemed to make 'hr' sound in disappointment. But what came next was far from anything Hannah would have expected him to do.
"But Banana... it's so yummy-wum!" A goofy, light and child-like singsong tenor voice protested.
"You talk." Hannah breathed, eyes widening.
"Only to you, Hannah Banana." Wiggly giggled. "You are the only person who can hear my voice."
"Is that why Webby told me to get you?" Hannah asked, curious. He seemed to scowl at the mention of her name.
"Stupid bitch... thinks I need to rehabilitate." Wiggly grumbled.
"What's rehabilitate?" Hannah asked.
"It means... I've been very naughty." Wiggly told her. Hannah cringed at that.
"Don't... Mom..." Hannah mumbled.
"I've been bad." Wiggly corrected himself. "So she sent me to you. She thinks you can make me good."
"Me?" Hannah blinked.
"She says we'll be good for each other." Wiggly mocked her, clearly not happy about it. "She wants me to be your fwendy-wend. Because we both need a fwendy-wend, according to her."
"I don't *need* any friends." Hannah shook her head, her mood dampened by that implication. "I got Lexie and E."
"That's not what the teachy-weachers think." Wiggly cooed, the tiniest hint of amusement in his tone.
"Yeah, well... they're dumb!" Hannah fumed, turning on her bed and putting a pillow over head in frustration. That was a sore subject for her.
Hannah knew what the teachers thought of her. She knew what everyone thought. She didn't care. She knew who she was, and... she knew what she needed. She knew that she shouldn't have to put up with the shit the kids at her school gave her. She knew that they chose her because she was the easy target. Because they could get away with blaming her for anything. She was that girl from the trailer at the edge of the Witchwood, whose mom had gone to jail. That was enough for them to paint her as the punk. But that wasn't who she was, and... she hated that it's what people thought. She didn't even do anything wrong. She never said the things they said she did. She took a few deep breaths under the pillows, trying to calm down.
"That pillow-willow isn't going to help, Banana." Wiggly sighed. "My voice is in your head. "Like Webby."
"Leave me alone!" Hannah snapped.
"Nuh uh..." Wiggly tutted. "Webby says I have to help you be happy again before I can go back to my homey-wome."
"Yeah? You're not doing a very good job!" Hannah huffed. "Don't wanna talk right now."
"But Webby says-" Wiggly started.
"Webby can be a stupid bitch!" Hannah cut him off, frustrated to the point of tears.
"Uh oh! That's not very nice!" Wiggly chided.
"Just... shut up!" Hannah groaned.
"Fine." Wiggly sighed.
He sat on the edge of her bed for a minute as Hannah remained unmoving, trying to cool off. He dangled his feet for a moment before hopping off and walking over to a bookshelf. He tipped it over, letting everything crash and giggling. He surveyed the ruins, grabbing a small clay structure. He started to nibble on it softly, satisfied with it's taste. At around that precise moment, Lex entered the room. She was immediately drawn to Hannah on the bed. Her brows furrowed, and she sat down on the edge of it, rubbing Hannah's back. She was more confused than anything. Ethan had said she was so happy after getting her dog.
"Hannah Banana... what's wrong?" Lex cooed.
"Nothing... just annoyed." Hannah sighed, pulling the pillow off her head and setting it on the bed. "Teachers think I'm bad 'cause of Mom, don't they?"
"Yeah... yeah, Mom kinda gave us a bad rep." Lex sighed. "We gotta fight hard to make people see we're not her."
"Yeah, but... I don't wanna fight." Hannah grumbled.
"I don't either." Lex admitted. "Soon... we won't need to. Soon we'll have California. We just gotta stick it out and make it through life here until I make enough money to get us out of here."
"Okay." Hannah nodded, biting her lip, staying put.
Lex sighed, looking down at her feet. Sometimes he just didn't know what to say to Hannah. It was then that she noticed Wiggly crunching on the little clay figurine, surrounded by the mess of everything Wiggly had broken. It was one of a dog that Hannah had made at a birthday party when she was younger. She'd named him Bruno. He wasn't so special to *Hannah* anymore, but... it was to Lex. Wiggly and Lex looked each other in the eye for a moment, and Wiggly seemed to freeze, already knowing he was in trouble. Lex's eyes widened both in fear and in shock.
"Hannah... what the fuck is that thing?" Lex tried to ask levelly, but her tone was shaky.
"Oh, that's Wiggly." Hannah shrugged, sitting up. "He's our new dog."
"Banana... that's not a dog." Lex chuckled nervously. "It has fucking tentacles..."
"He's cute!" Hannah giggled. And she genuinely believed that, even if it was a jab at Wiggly. She knew he wouldn't want to be seen as cute. He grumbled at that and she stuck her tongue out at him discreetly.
"Okay... I think we may need to take Wiggly back to the pound." Lex tried to ease gently. "I... don't even fucking know where to begin taking care of him, and clearly you don't either because he's eating Bruno. I mean... look what he did, Banana! Look at your stuff!"
"Wiggly! I told you to stop eating stuff!" Hannah chided.
"Sorry, Banana! I'm just so hungry!" Wiggly whined. "I need to fill my belly-well!"
"Okay... the little noises are cute." Lex chuckled softly. Hannah blinked, confused, before remembering that Lex couldn't hear him. "You can't just tell an animal to do something. You gotta train it."
"Oh." Hannah blinked. "I think... think he's hungry."
"Yeah... we gotta get him some real food." Lex agreed. "Do you know what he eats?"
"Um..." Hannah bit her lip. She gave him a look. He shrugged. She turned to Lex, shrugging. "Clay?"
"This is yummy." Wiggly nodded.
"We can't feed him clay, banana... I don't think anyone can digest it right." Lex laughed. "This is why we should go get a dog! Let the people at the pound deal with this freak of nature!"
"Well that wasn't very friendly!" Wiggly pouted.
"Webby told me this one." Hannah insisted, ignoring Wiggly.
"Really?" Lex groaned, rolling her eyes.
"I dunno why! Said... said we gotta help him get good." Hannah shrugged. "But... Webby said it, so we gotta."
"Maybe... maybe Webby can find someone else to help him get good?" Lex sighed. "Banana, this isn't Disney. We're not Lilo and Stitch."
"Nani." Hannah corrected. "Lilo and Nani. And Ethan's David."
"No, banana. We're not." Lex sighed, shaking her head. "We're Lexie and Hannah and E. And Lexie is already having enough trouble with child services *without* that thing around. I don't know what it is, and I get the feeling that no one does. I don't think he's from around here, banana. We should leave him to be taken care of by someone who knows how to do it right."
"But Webby told me!" Hannah pouted. "Please! Just a week."
"Just a..." Lex muttered, sighing again. She bit her lip. She knew she would be insane to give in. But... she'd also be insane not to. Clearly Hannah was emotionally attached to this. And hey, at the end of the week, she could take the thing back. "Fine. Fine, we can keep him for a week and see how it goes. But if you can't train him to behave in a week, then he goes back to the pound. Deal?"
"Deal!" Hannah beamed. She smirked at Wiggly. "Welcome to the family!"
Wiggly rolled his eyes, putting on the most obviously fake 'smile' Hannah had ever seen on a pet. Clearly, he didn't think he was all that bad. But Webby had thought he needed the help, and Webby was usually right about these things. So whether he wanted to or not, it was now hannah's mission to make him good. She didn't know the half of what she was getting into, or what the week ahead would entail. But neither did Wiggly. Wiggly didn't know the half of what life on earth could do to you. And maybe, just maybe, that was a good thing. Because people can find the most beautiful things right where they least expect them to be.
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wiypt-writes · 3 years
Text
Leave No One Behind
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Ch5: Doggy Style Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​
Episode Summary: Everyone at the resort feels the aftermath of the blow up from the night before…and they welcome a new member to the team.
Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Tiny bit of smut via flashback- like blink and you miss it (NSFW no under18s)
 Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz 
  Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Chapter 4
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 When Hannah woke up the following morning her eyes were swollen and sore from crying. She winced at the rays of sun that hit her mercilessly and shut her eyes again as she stretched and sat up on her bed. Her head was pounding and she didn't feel like seeing anyone that morning, she was pissed at everyone. Well not everyone. Rachel and Jake hadn't wronged her in any way since they had met. On the contrary, Rachel had been the sister she had never had, her only girl friend in a place brimming with testosterone in a country hostile to women. She’d sat with Hannah, comforting her for a while the previous night, rubbing her back and calming her down till she had stopped sobbing. And Jake had been nothing but friendly and kind with her, he had made her laugh and had showed her the wonders of Red Sea bottom
 The revelation of what Andy had done had sideswiped her greatly. Maybe that out of everything was what had hurt her more and what was worse, there was nothing she could do about it no matter how angry she felt, no face to punch either. She knew she had to move forwards and that there was no point dwelling in the past because as her mama always said, You can't change the past, but you can make your future. And she was determined to follow her mother's wise words but, that said, she still was ready to kill someone along the way. Starting with Sammy and she would probably have killed Andy too if he was there. She certainly wanted to rip Max's tongue off and feed it to the fish. And then there was Ari. Ari ... well, where to even start with that?
She pushed her evil thoughts aside as she got up and pulled a pair of shorts and a top. She brushed her teeth and headed out, deciding to go for a walk before taking a shower. She strolled in the kitchen and grabbed herself a coffee, greeting Rachel good morning and blatantly ignoring Max, who was eating toast. 
"Don't you forget I need you to help me with the aerobics class, Han." Rachel reminded Hannah, looking between her and Max.
"Sure. I'll be back on time." Hannah said as she took her mug and headed off down the shore.
She walked mindlessly for five minutes, enjoying the early morning sea breeze and the calming feeling of the beach sand under her feet and between her toes. The walk took her to her favourite spot just where the shore curved round the bay. It was a huge crop of rocks which were ideal for sitting in between and hiding. It was almost like a little cave, her cave, with two large rocks either side and a flat one which formed a sort of roof. It reminded her of a dolmen, ideal for sitting under and cleansing one's mind and spirit.
She was lost in her thoughts, dwelling on how she was determined to take the reins of her own life from that moment on and fuck the world, as her eyes scanned the ocean in front of her. Then, suddenly, something cold, then warm and wet nudged her hand. She gave a little yell and jumped as she thought it had been a jellyfish. But she didn't feel any itching or irritation, so she then thought it must have been some sort of fish or eel, something that was washed up.
Not that it was a more comforting thought.
Hannah looked around and saw a small, hairless dog cowering in the inner corner of the cave. Or at least it looked like a dog. She approached the animal cautiously to verify it was indeed a dog and not some other random form of life and was pleased to see her initial identification was correct. 
"Hey puppy." she said gently, holding her hand out.
The dog was tentative. He looked at her hand but didn't move a muscle so she stayed still allowing him time to move and sniff her and then his tail gave a small wag and she reached out to scratch his ear. The dog then wagged his tail a little stronger.
"I like you too, buddy." Hannah said softly, smiling at him. 
At the sound of her voice the dog came nearer and put his paws on her legs, wagging his tail before he sat down close next to her, his head resting against her legs. She noticed then the dog needed a bit of patching up as he had a few wounds over its back. He must have been a stray dog living in the cave, she thought, and she had intruded his safe place.
She drank her coffee in silence with the dog beside her. Then she got up and headed to the resort in order to take a shower and help Rachel with the damned aerobics class, but when she looked down she realised the dog had followed her instead of staying behind his home. Her mind travelled then to Cocoa, the dog they had as a kid. A chocolate Labrador who used to growl at Sammy whenever he was teasing her or messed with her dolls. Cocoa used to follow her all over, he was like her shadow and had never let her down. Of course he hadn't because dogs are better than people. They're loyal, which is not something many people at the resort could claim.
And that was that, she was keeping the dog. She made up her mind there and then. This dog had appeared when she most needed something to rely on and maybe he needed her too.
 When Hannah entered the resort, followed by the dog, everyone was sat on a table at the patio, before the guests awoke fully and the busy hours of the day began.
 "Oh my God! Whose dog is this? Hi fella?" Rachel said, immediately spotting the dog.
 "Suppose he’s mine now." Hannah shrugged as she took a seat next to Jake and left the coffee mug on the table.  "Found him on the beach...or he found me."
"We're not keeping a dog...are you keeping him? Seriously?" Sammy asked, raising her voice with every question.
Hannah merely glared at him, she didn't say a word. She turned to Rachel instead before saying "I think I might keep him.”
Simon then pottered over to Max, sitting down beside him, his ears forward, looking at his food.
"The dog wants my food." Max deadpanned.
"Give him some then." Hannah said, rolling her eyes.
Max hesitated before grabbing some beef bacon from Ari's plate and gave it to the dog.
"The dog wanted your food not mine." Ari protested, before taking a sip from his coffee.
He looked at the dog as he wolfed it down and then jumped up, paws on Max's leg, tail wagging so hard his butt was moving.
 "Hey!  He likes me." Max chimed.
"He is kinda cute..hey buddy..." Jake said as he gave a sharp whistle and fed him a slice of toast.
"There's some leftover chicken in the fridge..." Rachel offered, seeing as the dog would guzzle all their breakfast if they let him.
 "Oh, cool, he's hungry...poor thing..." Hannah said standing up.
She slapped her leg and the dog followed her unconditionally.
Once she was gone Sammy started his usual campaign against anything new.
"She can't keep him." he groaned.
"She's so keeping it." Jake snorted.
Ari who was now smoking a cigarette, his left arm leaning on the chair's back, asked "Why can't he stay?"
 "He reminds me of Ethan...no hair" Max joked, with his signature grin. Rachel slapped him on the back of his head and everyone bar Sammy snorted.
"Seriously, Ari, she can't keep it. We're on a mission." Sammy tried again.
"You fucking tell her then..." Ari growled, not bothering to look at him.
"Chill out, it's only a dog. And what's wrong with you two?" Jake asked, looking between Sammy and Ari.  "You're throwing daggers at each other."  He then turned to Max "And you, you're being weird too."
Ari decided then he had had enough and stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray. He too was pissed at Sammy and Max and wasn't in the mood to answer any of Jake's questions whatsoever.  "I'm going for a run." he said as he got up.
"Yeah. Get the fuck out of here..." Sammy snarled.
Ari stopped on his tracks and glared at him "I'm going now before I punch YOU in the jaw...and you wanna upset your sister again, be my guest, because I can't and I won't."
"Yeah, you've never been able to say no to her have you, Ari?" Sammy raised his voice again.  
“Ok, what have I missed?" Jake asked, his eyes darting between Sammy, Max and Rachel.
Ari just shot Sammy another glare, more like a death stare, thinking how he would love to drag him over the table and smash his face in.  But he simply left, his hands turning into fists.
 "Just leave it" Max whispered, leaning over Jake.
The first guests started appearing in the dining room just as Rachel switched seamlessly into Angela, welcoming them. Max, Jake and Sammy stood up and cleared the table they had been having breakfast at. Hannah came back, the dog on her tail after having been fed and patched up, and greeted the guests in a perfect Spanish accent. 
 "Buenos días" she said to the woman she had spoken Spanish to the day before, and then ignored everyone and headed to her hut. 
Just as she was about to reach her door she bumped into Ari as he emerged from his in his running gear complete with Walkman.
"Sorry firefly didn't see you..." Ari apologised.
"It's ok, I was distracted..." she said softly, taking him in but not daring to look him in the eyes.
Ari was in no better position and ran his hand through his hair struggling for words while she checked him out. And suddenly the dog jumped up at him.
"Hey pal..." Ari kneeled down to gently pat the puppy's head and scratch him behind his ears.
"Think he likes you." Hannah said, giving him a small smile.
Ari looked up, and saw Hannah was smiling, and he'd be damned if it wasn't a genuine smile. His eyes locked on hers for a second before he looked back at the dog who was now licking his face. 
"Where did you find him?" he asked softly.
"My rocks." she said, pointing to the curve of the bay. Ari squinted his eyes and then he spotted the place she was pointing out. "I think I might call him Simon."
Ari laughed at the random name. "Simon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Hannah shrugged and just then he let out a snort as he realised "Still hoping Simon Le Bon is gonna come rescue you?"
"Well if you can't have Simon Le Bon, Simon Le Bone will do. What do you think, buddy?" Hannah cooed, bending to give him scratches.
"A substitute for the real thing?" Ari quipped. He sensed Hannah was in good spirits and decided it was worth giving a shot.
"Well, we don't always get what we want." she replied, looking up back at him.
Ari swallowed, remembering the dream he had had the other night and her saying those exact words to him on her 21st. His face then fell and though he tried to collect himself quickly Hannah noticed.
"What's wrong?" she asked, studying him.
"Nothing Firefly, just....I'm sorry." he answered quietly.
"Yeah, you said." she shrugged as she looked down at the dog who was now rolling on the sand. She looked back at Ari and could see the pain was still in his eyes even though he had rearranged his face. She swallowed before admitting "I'm sorry too, Lobo."
"What for?" he frowned. Now, that was a surprise.
"Being so angry at you...I know you're hurting too." she looked into his eyes, just to check they were still in turmoil.
Ari couldn't find the words, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness. He knew he didn't. The only thing he could come up with was looking at her shrugging before stepping forward and in an automatic response, hugging her. He didn't even think about the possibility of her rejecting his touch, even his nearness. But, surprisingly, she rested her head against his chest as his hands gently rubbed at her back and he decided in a bold movement to kiss her head and whisper into her hair "I'm so sorry, Han."
"I know." she whispered back.
They stood there until a moment later she pulled back and wiped her eyes "Look I have to help Rachel with the tourists. Can you keep an eye on Simon?"
 "So we're actually calling him that?" Ari snorted.
"We?" Hannah asked, arching her eyebrow.
Ari simply smiled "I've got you on this, I like him."
"Let me guess, the others want him to go." Hannah asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"No, just Sammy." Ari confessed. But just as the words left her mouth he internally face palmed himself realising he may have just made it worse between the siblings.
"Well Sammy can jump. I'm done letting him take things from me." she said, her eyes burning with determination.
Ari saw her open her mouth to say something, but she shut it almost instantly as she apparently had changed her mind and after a few seconds she spoke again "I don't think there's anything on this afternoon, do you wanna take me into Port Sudan? Simon's gonna need some stuff if he is staying, I was gonna go diving but..."
Ari's mind went directly to Jake and his diving experience the previous day and blurted out  "No!" and noticed Hannah's surprised expression before correcting himself "I mean, yeah, I'll take you...sure."
"Thanks, so you're ok watching him whilst I help Rachel?" she checked.
Ari looked at the dog who glanced up at him, tongue lolling out before replying "Sure Firefly."
****
Ari was in the dining area, reading the American paper they got once a week if they were lucky, with Simon led by his feet when Sammy walked in. 
"Oh fuck me..." he said, stopping when he spotted the dog.
Ari looked at him, deciding if it was worth trying to speak to him or if he was actually in the mood to do so when Simon sat up and growled at Sammy.
"Oh look at that..." Ari grinned "He doesn't like you either."
"Fuck you Ari..." Sammy rolled his eyes "She convinced you, didn't she?"
"The dog stays, Sammy." Ari said sternly, his eyes on the newspaper.
"She did." Sammy said, shaking his head as he scoffed.
"Like I said, the dog stays." Ari looked at him again. "End of discussion."
"You're an idiot." Sammy spat.
"It's just a dog Sammy." Ari sighed "What's the issue?"
"You really can't say no to her can you?" Sammy asked as a response to Ari's question.
"Again Sammy?" Ari groaned as Sammy glared at him.
"Don't even think of getting near her again Ari." Sammy threatened him.
"Fuck off Sammy." Ari bit back feeling his temper fray as he stood up and stormed out of the dining area, pushing past Sammy and headed towards the beach, Simon following him. 
He nearly missed Max who was about to walk in the door and moved out of the way of Ari and looked at Sammy puzzled before saying "Wow, everyone loves you today, don't they?"
"Oh shut up Max." Sammy rolled his eyes and walked into the resort.
"Yeah, that's what I should have done." he muttered. He looked at Ari who was now walking down towards the ocean and turned to follow him.
"Ari..." he called, "Wait up buddy."
Ari stopped and turned and saw Simon ran towards Max as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the man to reach his side.
"Yeah, I ain't got no food now pal...you ate it all.”
Ari called Simon by his name to stop bothering Max and Max looked at him "Simon? Let me guess, Duran Duran..."
"You know Hannah." Ari snorted "Simon Le Bone, meet Max...or Irving...he's Maltese..."
"Le Bone?" Max laughed "Good call..."
"Yeah I thought so too." Ari smiled.
"Look, Ari.I want to apologise. I swear when I told Andy well, I didn't think he would go and do that..." Max spoke, looking at him shyly.
"Well, he did." Ari shrugged.  "But it doesn't matter anymore."
"Doesn't it?" Max asked. Not believing for a moment his leader was going to let him get away with it. But Ari just sighed. "I know you Ari, and I know Hannah too." Max insisted.
"Well, in that case why don't you tell me if it matters or not then Max?" Ari asked, a little tetchy.
"You know it does Ari." Max shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry man."  he added before leaving.
Ari breathed out and looked down at Simon before muttering "Everyone's fuckin' sorry... Well, except Sammy that is."
Simon just looked at him. The dog hadn't got a clue of what was going on so he happily headed down to the ocean, sticking his paws in the water. 
*****
Ari drove the truck down the main road heading towards Port Sudan. Neither of them were talking much, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Both of them were glad to get away from the atmosphere that had descended on the Red Sea Diving resort, even if they were partially responsible for it despite that not being totally their fault.
Hannah was simply looking out of the window, every so often taking something in, an interesting landmark, an animal, whatever it was they passed by. Her passenger side window was opening, causing the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun to blow around her face. Ari stole a glance at her, taking in her profile, smiling softly to himself thinking it was probably a good job her eyes were covered by her shades because he really should be focussed on the road…
“Why are you looking at me Ari?” Hannah questioned as she turned to face him. He hastily averted his attention to the road as he gave her a sheepish smile.
"Was just thinking, it’s been a while since we've been alone in a car." he said, his elbow leaning on the door frame.
"Yeah well this ain’t gonna end the same way as the last time that happened." she said taking a deep breath as she looked back out of the window.
"What do you mean?" Ari frowned.
She turned to look at him "You forgotten that night after the McDonalds drive through?"
Oh…
Ari tossed the scrunched up cheeseburger wrapper into the paper bag as Hannah did the same, before he turned and dropped the trash into the rear foot well of his chevvy behind his seat. Hannah reached over for her coke, taking a large drink as she glanced out of the window.
“So tell me, mi Lobo…did you park this far away from everyone else for a reason?” she asked, turning to him.
“Firefly, I resent that accusation…” he said, shifting slightly so he was side on in his seat, facing her, one arm sneaking round the back of her headrest.
“You’re so full of shit…” she looked at him, and he arched an eyebrow.
“Ok, you got me…” he said, his other hand falling to her thigh just above where her long, over-knee socks finished “I just wanted to make sure no one dented the car…” She let out a laugh and he grinned, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding up over her skin and under the hem of her tartan mini skirt.
“Been driving me crazy sat in the theatre next to you, wearing this…” he muttered into her mouth, as his fingers reached the top of her thighs. She let out a soft moan as she shifted slightly, his hand gently skating over her panty clad core. “I wasn’t concentrating much on the movie.”
“Kinda the point…” she whispered, his eyes locking onto hers.
“You know you give off this sweet, little innocent girl vibe when really you’re nothing but fucking minx…” he mumbled, his lips crashing onto hers as his fingers moved her underwear to one side and he found her hot and wet and so fucking ready. It hadn’t taken him long, as his fingers coaxed her gently he nipped at her neck, lavishing her with the praise and soft dirty talk she loved and just as she’d let out a soft cry of his name and arched her back as she came, wrapping her hand around his wrist, there was a sharp banging on the window which startled them both enough for Ari to jerk upwards, cracking his head on the roof of his car.
“Fuck!”  he said, massaging his head before he moved as Hannah straightened her clothing and he wound his window down.  
“Officer…” he greeted the Cop who looked at him, then to Hannah, then to the back of the car and Ari glanced around, spotting for the first time that the windows had misted up. “We were errr…” “I know exactly what you were doing…” The officer looked at him “Take it home kids.”
“Kids…” Ari scoffed, watching him go. “I’m twenty-fucking-eight!”
Hannah laughed, “Must be your boyish good looks Lobo…”
“I’m not a boy, as well you know Firefly…” he shot her a look as he readjusted his pants and turned on the ignition to the car.
“Awww, would it make you feel better if I stroked your ego and told you that you were all man?” “You can stroke somethin’…” he quipped, shooting her a dirty grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and she laughed, and turned those blue eyes on him as they flashed in the dim street lighting.
“Well take me home and I will.” Yeah, he remembered that very well. And thanks to that memory, his not so little problem from yesterday morning was well on it’s way to reappearing.
"Well, I imagine with the sand and the dust around the place, getting the windows as steamy as we did then would be a challenge." he said, clearing his throat.
Hannah gave a laugh "We nearly got arrested.”
“Why break the habit of a lifetime, sweetheart?” he laughed and Hannah shook her head as her chuckles subsided and she once more fell silent.
Ari glanced at her again before he turned his eyes back to the road. It wasn’t long after that, 2 nights in fact, that following the Surgery Inauguration Party Sammy had turned up on his doorstep and punched him in the jaw, warning him off. Lost in his own thought, he nearly missed the almost whisper from Hannah a little while later when she spoke again.
"Thank you."
Ari frowned "What for firefly?"
"For backing me up with Simon." she turned to look at him.
“Like, shall I count the amount of times you backed me up since we came here?" 
"I backed you up those times Lobo because you were right." she shrugged.
"Yeah, well and so were you about Simon." he said simply, his eyes back on the road.
"Well thanks anyway..."
"You're welcome Han. Besides, I kinda like him." he said, smiling at her.
At that she gave a snort "Sammy doesn't."
Ari rubbed at his eye, “Sammy doesn't like anyone, well not at the moment."
She let out a cheeky laugh, before she grinned and Ari looked at her again "That's part of the reason I wanted to keep him." she said, drawing a loud laugh from him.
****
Jake entered the reception area in his diving gear and was about to say something but shut it closed when he realised only Rachel and Jake were there sorting some schedule for the following day.
"Where the hell is Hannah?" he asked them, his hands on his hips.
"She went with Ari to Port Sudan." Rachel deadpanned without taking her eyes from the folder.
"What the fuck?” Jake cursed, making both Rachel and Max lift their eyes to look at him. "I was gonna take her diving..."
Not missing the whiney tone to his voice, Max vaulted over the reception counter and put an arm round Jake "Come on man, I'll tell you a story..."
They walked towards the seafront part of the resort, the dog behind them. Hannah had instructed Max to babysit Simon while she was away. In fact her exact words had been to take care of her puppy and keep it as far away from Sammy as possible. As long as he didn't turn his whiney bitch mode on, in which case Max was fully allowed to unleash the dog on Sammy having been told by Ari about his little growling incident before. 
Max explained to Jake everything he needed to know about the big fuck up that had taken place nearly nine years before and which was still altering their lives. Jake listened carefully, slack-jawed as he ran a hand over his face from time to time.
"Whoaa, talk about a fucked up story." was all Jake could muster as realisation of what had been happening in front of his own eyes hit him. "So, Ari and Hanna..." he trailed and Max nodded in reply.
Then they abruptly stopped talking realizing Simon was gone. They looked around, turning and walking frantically, searching for the dog but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Cracker is so gonna kill us…” Max groaned as they ran back to the resort. "Have any of you seen the dog? We can't find him." he asked, bending over his body and panting as they emerged into the reception area.
"What?" Rachel shrieked.
"We got distracted for a minute and bam, he gone. We lost him." Jake explained as he tried to steady his breathing.
"What the fuck do you mean you lost him?" Rachel asked fuming. "Find him.  Now!"
"Yeah, you better do it fast before mama bear comes back and rips your head off." Sammy snorted. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the show Dumb and Dumber were putting on.
"Yeah mama bear and wolf daddy." Max laughed.
Both Sammy and Jake glared at Max.
"Let's have a look around the buildings." Jake said, still pissed at Max's comment. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Hannah had bailed on him. That said, he was still quite fond of his head so didn’t want to give her any excuse to be pissed at him, so together they headed out looking for the dog at the front side of the resort but there wasn't any trace of him there either.
 "You know it's a stray..." Jake sighed "He could have just fucked off home..."
"Yeah, I think he did...look" Max said, pointing to Simon who was stood outside Hannah's hut just like he was chilling. He looked at them, his ears pricking up, almost in a greeting. Yo guys. 
 "Fucking dog." Jake hissed.
They tried calling him to them, both relieved, but the dog showed no intention of moving from his spot. He just observed the two sweaty men looking at him with squinting eyes and their hands on their hips.
"If he's waiting for Hannah, he won't move." Jake said. "Unless..." and he turned to look at Max with a hopeful grin.
So Max rushed to the kitchen to fetch some food for the dog and quickly came back, showing it to him. Simon then got up and headed over to Max wagging his tail.
"Like, if this is Hannah and Ari's kid..." Jake snorted "Does this make Sammy his uncle?" he asked as Max fed the dog.
 "Grumpy uncle..." Max snorted, looking at Jake.
"Then you must be food uncle..." Jake offered and Max grinned satisfied with his title. “What am I?”
“Shit shirt uncle?” Max quipped, as Jake shot him a look before the three of them headed back to the main building.
****
Ari had to hand it to Hannah, she hadn’t lost a shred of that tenacity she’d possessed years ago. She was currently stood in a little pet shop on the high street describing Simon to the man behind the counter. The guy spoke really bad English, but had given a yell to someone who had wandered through from the back, who was now attempting to translate.
“No, no hair…” Hannah was saying “Grey, with pink patches…big ears.” “Ahhh…nem, nem!” The man said, and he hurried out from behind the counter and gestured for Hannah to follow him. Ari watched as she did, and he pulled a book from one of the shelves and thumbed through until he found the page.
“Yeah!” Hannah grinned, giving him a thumbs up “Sukran…” The man beamed and nodded, leaving her with the book whilst he went to ring up the total for the dog bowls, the basket bed, food, collar and leash Hannah had picked out.
“You find him?” Ari asked.
“Yup.” she said, as he looked over her shoulder at the page. “He’s an Abyssinian Sand Terrier, also known as an African Hairless dog…” “Sand Terrier is much better.” Ari said, “Makes him sound much more mysterious…” “Says here they are fearless, loyal and willing to please…” Hannah mused.
“Sounds like someone I know.” Ari quipped and Hannah looked at him, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face as she closed the book on Dog Breeds and placed it back on the shelf. She moved to the counter and pulled out her purse but Ari gently placed his hand on hers and shook his head.
“I’ll get it…” “Ari, no,it’s…” “I’m gonna ring it through on expenses.” Ari grinned “He’s a guest after all…” She looked at him before she shrugged “Good luck explaining that to Ethan.” “I think Ethan would like him, like Max said, they both have the same amount of hair.” Hannah laughed and Ari grinned and he paid the man, giving him a tip as a thanks for his help before they gathered the things and headed back to the car. They placed the stuff in the back and Hannah went to the passenger side to climb in, but Ari stopped her when he spoke.
“Whilst we’re here, why don’t we head to the Souk and then the market? I’m not in any particular rush to get back…that is unless you want to?” “No, a walk sounds good.” She smiled, her hands shifting to the scarf that was round her head, making sure it was adjusted properly.
Together they made their way through the relatively busy dusty street and found themselves in a large market place, which led in turn to smaller alleys off which the found the various Souks and Bazars. Ari allowed Hannah to direct, as they spent a bit of time looking at the clothing and the jewellery, a particular piece caught Ari’s attention due to the shape but before he could say anything Hannah’s focus was on a perfume stall which seemed like you could basically mix your own. After smelling a few components, some nice, some really not, they wandered back to the market place and there they spent a little more time at the food stalls. It was fun, they walked around, taking the free samples of the local breads, cheeses, meats and fruits they were offered along with pastries and sauces and dips…and once they’d decided what they liked at Ari’s suggestion they picked up a selection as a treat for the team later when they settled down for their usual end of day chat and drinks. Ari felt encouraged when Hannah agreed, that she was amenable to actually being round a table with Max and Sammy gain gave him hope that she was feeling a little less hostile towards the pair of them.
On their way back they passed a local café and Hannah stopped and asked Ari if they could grab a drink. Given that they’d been in the heat and sun most of the afternoon he conceded it was probably a good idea and they settled at a table, Ari lighting up a cigarette as they drank some form of sweet, iced tea. Hannah made some joke about how Max would be pissed about missing out on free food samples and Ari grinned, agreeing. For the most part, however, he was silent, simply letter her talk as he was happy she was relaxing and the Firefly he knew was coming back to him. It wasn’t just that though, his mind was clouding a little as she was stirring deep feelings, emotions he had been trying to ignore since she admitted the other night that she had loved him.
It had shocked him, it truly had. As it was something that neither of them had ever said to one another, they’d never admitted to the feelings being that strong.
And now he was kicking himself for not doing so when he had the chance.
Mind you, to do so he would have had to have admitted it to himself and at the time he hadn’t. The old adage of not knowing what you had till it was gone had never been more apt.
“We should probably go if we want to get back to help with Dinner Service” Hannah said softly, glancing at her watch “Damned it…is that the right time?”
She held her wrist out and Ari then glanced at his and shook his head “No, it’s short by 30 minutes…”
She groaned “I only set it again this morning. Think it’s on its way out. Mind you, what do you expect when it only costs you 5 bucks huh?” “So it’s not a real Tag?” Ari raised an eyebrow, teasing and she gave him a look of mock indignance.
“That is a genuine fake I’ll have you know, Lobo.” she snorted before she sighed “I’ll get one, one day.”
Ari tossed down some money, thanked the guy who had served them and they headed back to the truck. As they made their way back, the sun was starting to dip, and with it Hannah’s mood as the closer they got to the Resort, the more withdrawn she started to get again.
"Do you regret it?" she suddenly blurted out.
"What?" he frowned.
"Regret being with me all those years ago?"
“Hannah…” he sighed “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Raking over it all…” “Because I don’t understand Ari.” She looked at him, “Before on the beach, when you said you were sorry…I just wonder sometimes if...” she trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, forget it.” “It clearly does matter.” Ari said, his voice carrying a level of frustration. “Spit it out.” “If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”
Ari took a deep breath. "Han I hate the way we ended, I really do...and it tears me apart thinking about why it happened and there's a part of me that will never forgive Sammy for what he did, but he did it because he thought he was protecting you, and I know that doesn’t make it ok..." He cut her protests off before she could launch into another rant about her brother, continuing as he attempted to get his point across. “But I knew he was right. I wasn’t good for you. I was a selfish asshole, still am according to you remember?”
“I shouldn’t’ have said that…” she dropped her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.
“But you’re right.” he shrugged “So I didn’t fight because I believed what Sammy was saying, I still do in some ways but do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
His words hit Hannah like a lightning bolt as she turned everything over in her mind. Over the course of less than 3 days she’d gone from believing that Ari had left because things were getting too serious for him and that he had gotten what he wanted and so cast her aside, to then believing that he had in fact been warned off by her brother and didn't fight because he didn't care enough but now she truly understood. He actually believed everything that Sammy had said. He genuinely thought he wasn’t good enough for her. So had done what in his mind was right, broken her heart to save it in the long term.
“I suppose it worked out for you in the end.” she said gently “You found Sarah, had Maya.”
Ari sighed “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change any of that in the world…but you know, you got Andy…”
He instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as her face darkened again and she looked out of the window.
"Han, don't be too angry at him..." he pressed.
"Angry? I'm fucking furious Ari.” she turned to him, tears in her eyes “I feel betrayed...like...well, my entire relationship happened because he broke us up. It’s like the whole thing was a fucking sham." 
"Don't say that." Ari shook his head "You loved him Hannah, and he did what he did for a reason. He loved you."
"Well I loved someone else back then." she wiped at her face "And he hardly knew me either at that point so he didn't have a right to do anything. It's like he saw me as some prize to be won in some fucked up competition"
“Hey, come on…” he reached out for her left hand which had fallen to her knee and he gave it a quick squeeze “I know it hurts, and I know you’re angry but everyone did what they did because they thought it was right.” “It should have been my choice though Ari.” she looked at him, shaking her head “And you all took that choice away from me whether you meant to or not.” “I know, and I’m sorry…” “I know, I know.” she said softly “And I believe you, I do…” she took a deep breath and she shook her head “Suppose you’re right…not like we can change any of it anyway, unless you’re hiding a TARDIS somewhere...” “Sorry Firefly, you’re The Doctor not me.” She looked at him, before her face creased up and she let out a huge howl of laughter.
Thankfully, the conversation took a lighter turn, Ari getting the impression that Hannah was as tired of being angry and bitter about things as he was and he hoped that she was ready to stop torturing herself over the past. He hated seeing her so upset and withdrawn.
Eventually they got to the resort and once the car had stopped, Hannah climbed out and grinned as Simon came trotting over to greet them, his tail wagging furiously. As Hannah stooped to greet him, Ari was pondering at how the dog seemed to actually be that bonded with her already considering she had found him only that morning, when his attention went to Sammy and Rachel who were emerging from the side entrance.
“Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours.”
"Hello to you too Sammy..." Ari rolled his eyes
"I didn't realise we were being timed" Hannah stood up and folded her arms. "Did I miss my curfew?" she asked sarcastically. "Ignore him." Rachel shot Sammy a look before she walked towards the truck where Hannah was now reaching into the back for the bags.
"Gladly" Hannah mumbled. Rachel took one of the bags from her, looking inside and immediately started cooing over the stuff they had bought, informing them that it looked great. Hannah started to tell her all about the fabrics and the perfumes at the souks as they walked inside, Simon mooching behind them.
Ari watched them go, ignoring Sammy and then smiling at Jake who had also emerged to help.
“Need a hand?”
“Yeah…thanks.” Ari said as Jake grabbed the bag of dog biscuits. Ari tossed the smaller pet items into the basket before he removed it from the truck, shutting the door with his hip. He nodded at Max who was leaning in the doorway eating a sandwich as he entered the resort.
“Where do you want this Firefly?” he asked. She turned to face him and placed the bag she was carrying down, fishing in her pocket.
“Can you take them to my hut?” “Sure.” She crossed towards him, placed the key in the basket he was carrying and he gave her a smile as he headed back outside and down to the hut that was 2 along from his. Unlocking the door he walked inside, placed the basket on her bed and stood up, taking a quick look around. The familiar vanilla notes he associated with her surrounded him and he simply took a deep breath before he turned to go, which was when he noticed that there was frame on her bed side table which was face down. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t help himself and he gently picked it up. It was a photo of her and Andy in her Mama’s garden. Hannah was sat on his knee, smiling at the camera as Andy gently kissed her cheek. Fuck, she’d really, really taken what the man had done badly.
Captain fucking obvious, Levinson….
He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but she’d been happy with Andy. He had been a good guy, what he had done was selfish but he wasn’t a selfish man, not by nature…hell, he’d given his own life to save Ari’s…but as he stood there, Ari suddenly started to wonder whether there had been more to that. Had Andy felt some sort of guilt?
No, no. It had been a split, in the moment decision, one any agent would do for another. That was all.
Not wanting to think about it anymore, he replaced the photo so that it wouldn’t appear to have been moved and left, locking the door behind him and heading back to the dining area.
As usual everyone chipped in to help serve dinner to the guests, and then that was it. Their duties over for the day and they were free to do what they wanted. As the Guests started to thin out, either heading to the beach or to their huts the staff-slash-agents retreated to a table outside with a bottle of wine and the stuff Ari and Hannah had brought back. The chat was easy and it was comfortable, which Ari was thankful for. Rachel, in her full Angela role informed them they were booked now until the start of April, at which point Ari, or Guy, nodded and suggested that might be a good time to go scouting again for more diving locations…in other words, their next mission. They all nodded, and he agreed he would clear it upon his trip back to the US (Israel) to chat to their sponsors (Ethan).
“Well, before we go scouting anywhere…” Max spoke, in his Irving voice “It’s Rosa’s 30th…” There were subdued cheers around the table, and Hannah groaned.
“Don’t remind me…” she said, her accent impeccable as always.
“You know we should throw a party…” Sammy said “A proper beach one, like they do back home, in Aus…” Hannah looked at him, and then shook her head. Rachel looked at her “Oh come on!” “A party could be fun, Red.” Jake grinned at her and she sighed.
“Fine, but I am not going naked diving.” she pointed at him “Regardless of whether it’s a birthday tradition in the diving world…” “Isn’t that a 100th Dive Tradition?” Ari looked at Jake, raising an eyebrow. Jake shrugged, mischievously.
“You lying bastard!” Hannah scoffed, slapping his arm. Jake grinned and she shook her head.
“And on that note, I’m calling it a night.” he yawned “I have a double diving tour tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, I should really sort some paper work too, ready for the check out tomorrow.” Rachel said, as they both stood up. Jake bid them all goodnight and Rachel headed into the resort, presumably to the office just behind the reception desk. Hannah watched as Sammy’s eyes trailed after her for a second before he too sighed and said he was heading to bed leaving Max, Hannah and Ari at the table. Hannah glanced down at Simon who sat up at the commotion, cocking his head to the side, his blue collar settled on his neck.
“Think I’ll take Simon for a little walk before bed” she rose from her seat. “Night boys.” “Good night Cracker.” Max smiled.
“Night.” Ari nodded and with that she left.
Ari watched her walk off down the sand. Simon trotting at her heels. The loose, pale yellow top she was wearing blew slightly in the breeze as she walked, barefoot and bare legged thanks to those navy blue shorts…
He turned to Max, the two of them striking up a conversation about Port Sudan, until Ari suddenly interrupted, unable to get the thought that had sprung up as Hannah walked off out of his mind.
“Think she’ll be ok?” Ari turned to Max. Max simply looked at him. “Hannah, you know, with the military being around…” Max considered Ari for a moment before he leaned forward “Why don’t you go keep an eye on her?”
“No, I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Ari shook his head.
“She might.” Max shrugged.
Ari looked at him again, before he gave a nod and headed out. He couldn’t see Hannah, but he had a good idea where she would be, he remembered her talking about the cave she had found Simon in, just at the curve of the cove. He made his way over, exhaling cigarette smoke and smiled as he realised he was right when Simon came bounding out from behind a rock to greet him.
 "Hey pal..." he said softly before he stopped at the entrance to the cave.
Hannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile as the dim light sparkled in her eyes.
"This isn't walking Firefly." Ari smiled, leaning against the rocky wall of the cave by the entrance as he looked down at her. 
"I walked here didn't I?" she raised an eyebrow. 
"Want me to leave you alone?" he asked, fully aware she had hidden in there for a reason. He’d got what he wanted, to know she was safe, so he was perfectly happy to let her be.
"You can sit if you want." she shrugged "But you can put that out before you step into my secret den…” He smiled and stubbed his cigarette out before he ducked into the rock cluster, sitting beside her.
“So, what you up to? Actually, no let me guess thinking..." he said and she gave a soft huff, shrugging “You know I meant what I said before, don't you ever wanna switch off your brain and just stop for a while?"
"Yup." she nodded “But it’s never that simple though is it?"
"Nothing is Simple." Ari sighed "I wish it was.
"I managed it for a bit today." Hannah looked at him. "Switching off I mean. When we were in the market and stuff...it was nice."
"Yeah, yeah it was Firefly." he agreed
She looked at him and smiled "I like that."
"You like what?”
"When you call me Firefly, not Hannah or Han."
"You'll always be Firefly to me." he shrugs "Although Hannah is your actual name, so..."
"Sorry, you mean Rosa Maria, Guy.”
Ari chuckled as did she. "I think we needed that" he smiled.
"Needed what?”
"A smile, and a laugh...chance to be away from it all for a little while." he looked at her.
"Maybe, like I said today was nice. Tonight was nice too...things have gone a bit overboard since we came back from the mission."
"You're telling me." He agreed.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the moonlight on the water as a slight gust of wind blew in from the Ocean, ruffling Ari’s hair slightly. He felt Hannah give a little shiver besides him and he looked at her as she tucked her knees into her chest. He hesitated for a second before he passed his arm over her shoulder.
"If I was wearing a jacket I'd offer it to you..." he nodded to the goose-bumps on her arm as explanation for his display of affection, fully expecting her to push him away but she didn’t.
"This is fine." she shrugged "Thanks”
"You're saying that a lot today Firefly." he looked at her before his attention went to Simon who was digging in the sand at the mouth of the cave, his tail wagging furiously.
"Well, you know, mama always told me to give thanks when it’s due so..."
"Good advice" he nodded.
“Seriously though, thank you Ari…” she looked at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing his cheek. 
He turned his head to look at her and her face was so close to his. “You’re welcome” he whispered, swallowing slightly and her eyes flickered down to his lips. It was quick, and had he blinked he would have missed it. But he didn't...and once more he was catapulted back to the night of her 21st outside the club.
The internal conflict that had been raging inside him back then reared once more with vengeance only this time it wasn’t just about Sammy. There was Andy and everything else that had happened over the past few days, and her question from before rang around his head, silencing the voices... 
“If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”
Whilst he couldn’t answer that, because he honestly didn’t know, he did know one thing. He didn’t regret them being together, at all.
“…do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
And he would, one and a million fucking times over regardless of how it worked out, because he'd rather have had her for those few months than never at all.
He was aware she still hadn’t moved, her eyes were bouncing across his, like she was waiting for him to decide what he wanted, what he was going to do…so he did. His lips brushed hers, in a soft, gentle kiss, their noses bumping together slightly. And she didn't pull away. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, his lips gliding over hers, the kiss deepening slightly. She was mimicking his movements, reciprocating, her tongue sliding against his and fuck he was in heaven, his stomach full of those familiar knots, until she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, her hand on his chest.
"Ari..I..." her voice was raspy, her chest rising and falling deeply as was his. And he shook his head before he pressed it to hers.
“I know.” he sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s not your fault” she said softly.
He looked at her before he moved his arm from round her, running his hand through his hair as he sat back, shaking his head, looking down at his hands. There was a moment or two of silence, Ari mentally cursing himself again for being an idiot before Hannah spoke.
“I need to go…it’s late and I didn’t sleep much last night." she looked at him “Wanna walk me back?” He looked at her, noticing that she was smiling and he gave a soft laugh.
“Sure…come on.”
He stood up, ducking again as the cave wasn’t tall enough to accommodate his full height and held his hand out to help her up. She took it, and once she was stood, she didn’t let go.
**** “Have you seen Hannah?” Rachel asked, walking back out onto the patio “I need to ask her something about the Spanish guests.”
“She left for a walk.” Max said, looking up from the piece of drift wood he had been whittling into shape. As Rachel made to go find her, he suddenly realised he had sent Ari before and hastily stood up. “I’ll go, see if I can find her.” he offered.
Rachel smiled “Thanks.”
Max walked over the sand, down in the direction Hannah had headed in and then paused as he saw them in the distance, slowly making their way back towards the resort, hand in hand. Smiling to himself, Max turned to head back, giving one last glance over his shoulder at which point he saw them both stop at Hannah’s hut. Hannah looked up at Ari who wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back, smiled and headed into her room with Simon. Ari paused as the door closed, his head dropping a little as his hand ran through his hair before he headed towards his own accommodation.
Max made his way back to the dining area and wanderd inside to the bar, pouring himself a scotch.
“Did you find her?”
He spun to look at Rachel and shook his head “Nah, no sign. Must have gone to bed”
She looked at him before nodding “Ok, it can wait until tomorrow. I’m turning in myself now then. You ok to shut up here when you’re done?” Max nodded and watched Rachel go before he resumed his previous position at the table, picking up his carving, a soft smile playing on his face.
This time, he wasn’t saying shit about what he’d seen.
**** Chapter 6
42 notes · View notes
waitimcomingtoo · 5 years
Note
Can you do actress reader x Tom Holland where the reader has a celebrity crush on Ryan Reynolds and fangirls over him and tom gets jealous?
Reynolds
Pairing: Tom Holland x actress!reader
Synopsis: your obsession with Ryan Reynolds has Tom feeling insecure
Masterlist
Requests are CLOSED
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“Where’s Tom?” You read one of the comments on your Instagram live as you played with the strings of Toms Punisher hoodie. “Toms at a meeting but if I timed it correctly he should be eating lunch right about now.”
For the record, you had timed it correctly. Tom was in a quiet cafe, eating the lunch you packed him with a content smile while he watched your Instagram live. Tom continued to eat his food as you answered more innocent questions.
“What are you doing now?” You read another comment.
“Probably reading.” Tom thought to himself.
“I was just reading. Reading and waiting for Tommy to come home. What’s your favorite color?” You read a commenters question.
“Pink.” Tom said out loud as he munched a baby carrot.
“Pink.” You nodded. “I’ve always loved pink. What’s your favorite animal?”
“Dog.” Tom smiled knowingly, feeling like he was acing a test.
“Dogs.” You stated with a happy smile. “Like my baby Tessa. What’s your favorite food?”
“My baby loves ice cream.” Tom said in a sing song voice. He moved back and forth in his chair, blushing at how cute you were in his hoodie. He wished he could be back at home with you, eating your favorite ice cream.
“I love ice cream. I don’t know if that counts as a food but it’s my favorite so.” You shrugged, your eyes darting up and down as you read the comments. “Who’s your favorite actor. That’s easy.”
“Tom Holland.” Tom said, keeping a mental score of all his points for answering questions correctly.
“Ryan Reynolds.” You answered. A sly smile appeared on your face. “Have you guys seen Deadpool?”
Tom sat back in surprise as you got into a discussion with your followers about Deadpool. Since when did you like Ryan Reynolds? And why was he your favorite actor when your own boyfriend was an actor? Tom felt a twinge of jealousy bubble up in his tummy. He had a weird relationship with Ryan Reynolds. They had never met, but were friendly on Instagram and Twitter. Both men liked to feed into the Spider-Man/Deadpool fantasy that fans had created online. There was the back and forth teasing of each other, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Hugh Jackman that Tom always found funny.
Until now.
Until he discovered his girlfriends love for another actor.
Tom pushed it from his mind. He convinced himself he was just being insecure over nothing. He knew you loved his acting. You probably just said Ryan was your favorite actor because saying Tom would be too obvious.
It had completely slipped his mind until a month later, when you and him were doing a couples video for Buzzfeed. It was like The Newlywed Game, despite not being married. You and Tom were tied as the interview started to dwindle down.
“What is Toms go-to activity on a day off?” The interviewer asked. You and Tom immediately got to writing on your white boards.
“Whenever you’re ready.” The interviewer said. You flipped your board around with confidence.
“I said golf.” You said, looking at Tom while you waited for him to flip his board. Toms face lit up as he held his board up to the camera.
“Golf!” He exclaimed, never failing to get excited when you got the right answer. “You got it right.” He high fived you before closing his fingers around yours and kissing your hand. “Good job, love.”
“This is too easy.” You said smugly. You knew your boyfriend too well.
“And, last question, who is Y/n’s celebrity crush?”
“Oh, duh.” Tom scoffed, gesturing to himself with a suave smirk on his face. You didn’t catch his reaction, as you were busy writing down your answer.
“Ready?” The interviewer asked.
“Yep.” Tom said confidently as he held up his board to the camera. “Me” was written on it in his messy handwriting. You peaked at his board and laughed.
“Oh.” You said, flipping your own board around. “I said Ryan Reynolds.”
Tom felt genuinely shocked at your answer, even looking at your board for confirmation.
“What?” He asked, looking between you and the board as you laughed. “I thought I was your celebrity crush.”
“You can’t be my crush if you’re my boyfriend.” You teased, not registering his reaction as serious.
“Yes I can.” Tom defended, feeling uneasy with your answer. “I didn’t even know you liked him like that.”
Him being your favorite actor was one thing. Now you had a crush on him too?
“Are you kidding? I’m crazy about him.” You said as you brushed some hair out of your face. “I thought you knew that.”
“I didn’t.” Tom said through gritted teeth. Crazy about Ryan Reynolds? You didn’t even know the guy.
“I never told you?” You asked and Tom shook his head. He would’ve remembered you confessing your love for the quick witted brunette actor. “That’s surprising. I’ve been obsessed with him for years. My love for Ryan Reynolds is one of the hallmarks of my personality.”
“Obsessed is a strong word.” Tom remarked, feeling that same twinge of jealousy rise in his tummy.
“Not strong enough.” You stated. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for that man.”
You went on to talk about your obsession with Ryan Reynolds as Tom sat, engulfed in his thoughts. This was the second time you’d chosen Ryan over Tom. He couldn’t help the pang of envy that plagued his heart. You were a lot more into the guy than Tom originally thought.
But once again, Tom pushed it from his mind. He didn’t think of it again until you, Tom, and Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on the Graham Norton show together two months later to promote Far From Home.
“Now, Gwyneth, you had a pretty interesting celebrity crush growing up, didn’t you?” Graham said as he read off his cards in his Irish accent. Both you and Tom loved being on his show, especially together. He always got the best stories out of people.
“I did. I was obsessed with Keanu Reeves when I was 15.” Gwyneth answered casually.
“I can see why, he’s a very gorgeous man.” Graham nodded in agreement. “And Y/n I hear you’re quite the Ryan Reynolds fan.”
“Oh yes.” You said immediately. You beamed at the thought of him as the audience laughed. Tom, on the other hand, couldn’t have been less amused. He put on a cheerful face for the camera, but he felt white hot anger bubbling under the surface. Was Ryan going to be brought up in every damn interview?
“Is that true? Do tell.” Graham kicked his crossed leg a little, ready for trouble.
“He’s just”, You shook your hands and balled them in fists, “he just gets me going.” You laughed. Tom rolled his eyes and crossed his legs to mask his indignation.
“Does he?” Graham grinned wickedly, wanting even more out of you.
“Yes!” You leaned back in your chair, taking in the cheerful reaction from the audience. “Can you blame me though? He’s dreamy.” Your face burned bright, like a schoolgirl with a crush, as you discussed the actor.
“He’s very dreamy.” Gwyneth added.
“Back off.” You deadpanned, before bursting into laughter. The audience laughed with you, loving your energy.
“Feisty.” Graham poked fun as he shimmered his shoulder. “Is she this possessive with you, Tom?”
“She better be.” Tom said, more serious than he intended. You were too busy fawning over Ryan to notice Toms indifference.
“I am, I am.” You assured the audience. “But I would cut a bitch for Ryan Reynolds.”
“Would you?” Graham explored. “You’d just knife someone? Right then and there?”
“Absolutely.” You quipped. The audience was loving it, Tom was hating it, and you were having a great time.
“Alright.” Tom spoke up, unable to handle his girlfriend gushing over another man anymore. “I think we get it.”
“Uh Oh. Spider-Mans angry.” Graham teased before looking back at you. “What is it about him that you like?”
“It’s everything. We’ve never met, but I can just tell from his interviews that I watch every night before bed,” You paused as the audience laughed, “that he’s just a great guy. He’s so funny, obviously, and such a talented actor but he still seems like such a genuinely sweet and humble guy. And I mean, how damn cute is he? Those brown eyes? That sexy salt and pepper beard he’s got going on? I die every time he looks at the camera. I love him. I don’t know, I just love him.”
“We can tell.” Tom huffed. So now you loved him? He went from your favorite actor, to being your celebrity crush, and now you loved him too? Toms suit felt tighter and the lights felt hotter. He wanted to get out of the interview and blow off some steam.
“Maybe we’ll see a Spider-Man and Deadpool crossover one day and Y/n can play Deadpool’s girlfriend.” Gwyneth shrugged, only fueling Toms angry fire.
“I wish.” You stated. That set Tom over the edge. He didn’t talk for the rest of the interview unless he had too.
He went to bed that night, barely muttering a goodnight to you before putting his pillow over his head and going to sleep. You were too high on adrenaline to notice his cold shoulder towards you. You went to bed that night with a smile on your face after kissing Toms cheek.
“Tom!” Tom heard your hushed whisper a few hours later. He felt himself being shaken gently. He let out a slight groan and snuggled further into his pillow.
“Tommy wake up!” You said a little louder, shaking him a little more.
“Yes, my love?” Tom said sleepily, with his eyes still closed.
“Look!” You gushed, at full volume now.
And shoved in Toms face at 7:17 in the morning was a fan drawing of Deadpool holding your most popular character in a loving embrace while Spider-Man cried. There was also a little caricature of Graham Norton cheering them on in the corner. Ryan Reynolds had posted the picture on his Instagram story with the caption “Mr. Steal Your Girl.” in bold red letters. Toms face went as red as those letters and shoved your phone out of his face.
“Y/n, it’s too early for this.” Tom grumbled, turning over in bed and pulling the blanket over his face.
“Ryan Reynolds posted a drawing of my character on his story. And she’s in his arms! That means he saw the interview!” You went on, still shaking Tom. He knew he wasn’t going back to bed anytime soon. He threw the blanket off his face and rubbed his tired eyes.
“A lot of people saw the interview.” Tom sighed as he stretched a little. “Go back to bed. Why are you even awake?”
“Because the notification I got that told me Ryan posted something woke me up.” You explained, eyes still glued to your phone.
“You have notifications on for him?” Tom asked, feelings fully awake. “Do you have them on for me?” He wondered out loud.
“I’m usually with you when you post something, silly.” You cooed, giving him a kiss good morning which he accepted graciously. He regretted overreacting last night and not kissing you goodnight. He’s gone too many hours without your touch. “Can you believe this? Ryan Reynolds knows who I am!” You exclaimed, pulling Tom out of his brief happy daze.
“Yippee.” He said sarcastically as he flopped back down onto the bed.
“I’m going to repost his story.” You said decidedly. “Should I write something witty or just put emojis?”
“I don’t care.” Tom mumbled into his pillow.
“You’re right. I’ll put something witty.” Yet again, you were too focused on the task at hand to notice Toms mood. He went back to bed without another word.
Tom woke up three hours later and lazily scrolled through his phone. You weren’t in bed anymore, no doubt too giddy to go back to sleep. Tom saw that ring around your profile picture, signaling that you had posted on your story. Tom clicked it, briefly forgetting the half asleep conversation you’d had just a few hours ago. It was a screenshot of Ryans Instagram story. Under his little “Mr. Steal your girl” comment, you’d written, “all yours, baby. Don’t tell Blake.”
“What the hell?” Tom muttered sleepily. He clicked on where you tagged Ryan and began to stalk his profile. He clicked on his Instagram story, expecting to just see the fan art from before. This time, there was a picture of you and Tom holding hands and walking in the streets of New York with Ryans face poorly photoshopped over Toms. Tom sat up in bed, fully awake. Ryan had only posted it three seconds ago. Tom heard you scream from the kitchen, no doubt meaning you’d just seen it for yourself.
Tom was not happy. That photo of you and him was one of his favorites. In the picture, he was staring at you with a dreamy smile on his face while you pointed at something in the distance. Your eyes were wide like a child and your face was lit up with glee, hence Toms dreamy smile. Tom loved that photo because it was so fitting for your relationship. You admiring the beauty of the world while Tom admired the beauty of his world.
And now freaking Ryan Reynolds slapped his smug, incredibly handsome face right over Toms.
You ran back into the bedroom, phone in hand, with another huge smile.
“Did you-“
“Yeah, I saw.” Tom cut you off. This time, you noticed his indifference.
“Is everything alright, lover?” You asked as you leaned against the doorframe.
“Everything is just peachy.” Tom grouched. He threw the blanket off his body and went into the bathroom, avoiding your confused gaze the entire way there.
After a long shower, Tom felt better. He still felt guilty for snapping at you and knew he had to make things right. He found you on the couch in the living room, half watching an episode of New Girl. Toms tea was on the counter, waiting for him, next to a plate of eggs and toast. You still made him breakfast despite his rudeness towards you all morning and last night. Tom immediately felt his guilt worsen, and he took a seat next to you on the couch.
“You got new lip balm?” Tom asked sweetly, his form of a peace offering.
“Yes.” You said through partially parted lips, never meeting his gaze as you heavily applied your lip balm. “I ran out of my old one.”
So you weren’t mad. You just seemed hurt.
“Is it coconut?” Tom leaned in a little closer, which you let him, and sniffed the air.
“Piña Colada.” You said, warning up to him a little.
“Smells nice.” Tom complimented, seeing how far he could push his luck before you yelled at him for the way he acted. He stroked your hair gently and a forgiving smile tugged at the corners of your mouth.
“Tastes nice too.” You said deviantly.
“I don’t believe you.” Tom said coyly. “I’m gonna need some concert evidence, darling.”
“I think I could help you out with that.” You said, fully forgiving him now as you leaned in.
Just as your lips were about to connect, your phone lit up and went “ding.”
“Op.” You chirped and picked up your phone. “That’s Ryan.”
Tom stayed right where he was, despite you pulling away. He couldn’t hide the irritation he felt. His face twisted in annoyance as he watched your phone screen light up your face.
“What?” He said bluntly, completely unamused. You, however, were busy commenting every compliment you could think of under Ryans post.
“Huh?” You asked, absentmindedly, as your thumbs twiddled away.
“What did you say?” Tom asked you again, restraining himself from completely flipping his lid.
“I said that’s Ryan.” You repeated. You held up your phone in front of Toms face with the biggest smile on your face. Ryan Reynolds annoyingly perfect face looked back at Tom. “He just posted a selfie.”
“And you had to stop kissing me to like his picture?” Tom asked calmly.
“See? You understand.” You patted Toms cheek before diving back into your phone. Tom watched you, more rage building up every second you didn’t look up at him. Finally, Tom had had enough.
“Y/n-“ he began.
“Oh my God.” You interrupted with wide eyes. “Look what he just posted.”
Tom didn’t look down at first. He stared right at you, intense anger behind his usually gentle eyes.
“Are you serious?” He asked you.
“Yes!” You stated, misreading his question. “Look!”
Tom grabbed your phone and looked at what you so desperately had to show him. It was a picture of Ryan, of course, with his big arms wrapped around a cardboard cutout of you. Ryan was leaning in to kiss your cheek. A shirt that said “I love Y/n L/n” in big, bulky black letters was peaking out from behind the cutout. The caption said, “I won’t tell Blake if you don’t tell Tom.” Then he tagged you, along with a million hearts and kissy faces. Tom would’ve found the picture funny on any other day. But now, your love for Ryan Reynolds was impacting his relationship with you and he hated it.
He hated how genuinely excited you were just from him posting a picture.
He hated how Ryan was brought up in every single interviewer, and how you turned into a fangirling mess when he was.
Most of all, he hated feeling like you loved another man more than you loved your own boyfriend.
“Y/n!” Tom yelled, slamming his fist down on the couch. You jumped at his sudden outburst and put your phone down, giving him your full attention. Toms eyes immediately softened. He hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but it was the only way to get through to you.
“Yes?” You asked, confused with his tone of voice.
“I was trying to kiss you and you pulled away to look at some dudes Instagram.” Tom burst out. His tone was assertive, but not mean.
“It’s not some dude.” You dished his words back at him. “It’s Ryan Reynolds, love of my life.”
“I’m the love of your life!” He shouted. You looked at him in surprise.
“What’s gotten into you?” You asked, finally putting it together. Every time Ryan came up, Tom got quiet and weird. “Are you seriously jealous of Ryan Reynolds?”
“Am I jealous of the incredibly handsome that you’re head over heels for?” Tom repeated in exasperation. “Yes, Y/n, I am.”
“Why?” You asked incredulously, not even believing you were having this conversation.
“Because!” Tom exploded. “He’s all you talk about. Like, he’s your favorite actor and not me? He’s your celebrity crush and not me?” Tom listed off, finally getting his feelings off his chest. “And every time he gets brought up in an interview, you get all giggly and blushy. You even told Graham Norton you wished you could play his girlfriend. How am I supposed to feel about that? I’m your boyfriend and you’re so open about being in love with another man that-”
“Tommy, I’m not actually in love with him.” You interrupted. You said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, giggling at your hotheaded boyfriend in the meantime.
“You-You’re not?” Tom stuttered, stunned at your response. He had been expecting you to yell back. He hadn’t expected you to meet his anger with giggles and reassurance.
“No.” You laughed, rubbing Toms heated face with your thumb. “Yes, I love him. He’s funny and cute and a great actor. But I’m not actually in love with him. I’m only in love with you.”
“Then why are you so obsessed with him?” Tom asked, his voice softening.
“Tommy, when I say those things about Ryan, I mean other than you. He’s my celebrity crush, other than you. He’s my favorite actor, other than you. And saying I’m in love with him is just a figure of speech. But when I say I’m in love with you,” you poked his chest as a smile threatened to break out on his face, “I mean it. 100%. I love you. Only you. Not Ryan Reynolds. Not Wade Wilson. Not Chris Brander. Not Will Hayes. Just you.”
“But, sometimes, I can’t help but feel like you like him more than me.” Tom said timidly as he kissed your palm that was resting on his cheek. He was genuinely insecure about your feelings for him, something you hadn’t noticed until now.
“Tom, there is no one in this world I like more than you.” You told him. He gave you a soft smile.
“Are you sure?” He asked, still needing reassurance.
“I’m positive.” You promised him.
“What if he asked you out?” Tom tested.
“I’d tell him I’m kinda seeing someone.” You shrugged, making Tom feel better with every word.
“You’d turn down Ryan Reynolds for me?” He asked in disbelief.
“Without question.” You confirmed, taking his face in your hands. “You are absolutely the one I want. I’m sorry if I made you feel insecure.”
“It’s okay.” Tom told you. “I overreacted. I should’ve trusted you and our relationship.” He felt silly for getting all worked up over something as silly as you liking another actor. He never should’ve doubted you.
“I do have an idea of how we can respond to Ryans post, though.” You grinned mischievously.
“We?” Tom asked with a hopeful smirk.
A few minutes later, Ryan Reynolds got a notification that you tagged him in a photo. He went to his Instagram and clicked on your profile. A rare photo of you and Tom kissing with the caption “Tom knows.” was on your page in response to his “don’t tell Tom” comment from earlier. Ryan laughed to himself and went to comment.
@vancityreynolds: “But I thought I was Mr. steal your girl.” He wrote under your post. Tom was quick to respond.
@tomholland2013: “yeah, but she’s Mrs. Holland.”
“There.” You smiled and put your phone down. “It’s settled.”
A million rumors were already flying around that you and Tom were engaged. Toms comment did nothing to help that fact.
“Finally.” Tom breathed a sigh of relief and tossed his phone onto the other couch. “Can I get that kiss now?”
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@maybemona @sunrise-shawn
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painted-crow · 3 years
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Do you think house pets can have primaries and secondaries too? If so, do you think they might reflect what their owners have?
They definitely have Sortings! This is an excellent ask 😂
I don't think the owner has a whole lot to do with it, though. They influence the way their pet's Sorting shows up in behavior, but the animal's personality itself is their personality, you can make them more or less stable and confident but I don't think they mold themselves after you.
Sorting my family's pets
My folks have eight animals in the house. Eight. My mom is “slowly” turning into a crazy cat lady and I’m absolutely fine with this. However, this post is actually long (and silly) enough that I’m switching to my laptop to put it under a cut.
Lots of cat and dog stories incoming :D
Tesla (my cat)
Double Slytherin, easy. He's ridiculously sweet towards me and mostly ignores everyone else unless they have food. (He's warming up to my mom though.) He's also a great actor. He's tricked everyone else into thinking he isn't cute and affectionate because he only acts needy and adorable when he's alone with me.
Funny story: he badly pulled a muscle in his back leg from a missed jump the year before last, and he REALLY liked the attention he got from me while I was nursing him back to health. I had a kind of kitty painkiller/anti-inflammatory stuff that came as a paste and could be mixed into wet food, which he normally only gets as a treat because too much upsets his stomach, but he was getting it every day for the medication. I also set up a special bed for him with a heating pad and kept checking on him and giving him attention.
He took a long time to heal, and the vet said I was doing the right thing, but I think I might have made it worse by being so nice to him because he really didn't want to get up and move around! He kept up the "I'm completely helpless, keep babying me" act for a year.
My mom finally took him to the chiropractor, who clicked his tail back into place and gave us some kitty physical therapy stretches for his leg... which he did NOT like, and unless someone was petting him at the same time to distract him, he'd scream like we were murdering him.
So, yes. Slytherin secondary 😂
Aardman (my brother's cat #1)
Huffleclaw. Loves everyone, including kids and babies--he's not only very patient with them, he's really enthusiastic and affectionate with them.
Knows EXACTLY how to get into mischief. Will grab your butt as you pass on purpose to get your attention. Often found in weird places, looking proud of himself: "look, I figured out how to get on top of the kitchen cabinets! I'm gonna knock stuff over now."
Thaddeus (my brother's cat #2)
Double Gryff. He's got big jock energy. This cat actually greets people with a loud meow and that upwards "sup" nod. If he wants attention he isn't subtle about it, and if you don't give it to him he'll play attack your toes. Very charismatic and friendly. He's also kind of an idiot who will fall off of things if he gets distracted while lounging.
He's a Gryff primary because when strangers come into the house, he'll vibe check them and decide if he's going to hide from them or smother them in love and cat hair. My mom was talking to a few different contractors about fixing something in the house, and Thaddeus was totally spooked by one and loved the other. I'm not saying that's why we chose the one he liked, but...
Gracie (my mom's cat)
Slytherin primary. Definitely my mom's cat, reluctant to interact with anyone else but very possessive of Mom's lap.
Possibly a Gryff secondary, or neutral state Slytherin. This house has a lot of cats in it and Gracie is tiny, but she takes zero crap and will smack the others in the face if they think they can push her around.
Isador / Izzy (pack mama cat, doesn't have a favorite human?)
You could make arguments for both Slytherin and Hufflepuff primary for Izzy. She loves all her humans and will yell at any of us for pets. We don't know how old she actually is (all our cats are rescues) but she looks and sounds like a prim old lady, which is appropriate since she's the matriarch of the house.
She does have favorites among the other pets, though. The dogs are her babies, she's known them since they were puppies and is very protective of them (which is pretty silly, since they're 65lbs apiece). She does NOT like Tesla, who is the biggest cat and full of ego, and doesn't really respect her lol 😂
She also didn't like the kittens at first. Gracie and Thaddeus were both kittens, only a few weeks old, that were abandoned in our neighborhood a year ago. Gracie showed up in the back yard, mewling, and Thaddeus was brought over by a neighbor who had found him but wasn't prepared to get up several times a night to bottle feed a kitten. My mom took both of them and we ended up keeping them. Izzy was a little bit hostile towards them at first, but she came around and now they’re part of her pack.
Hufflepuff secondary. If any of the other cats talks back to her, she hisses at them and the dogs come running over to check on her.
Maybe she's a Ravenclaw with a very Loyalist looking system? She cares a lot about keeping the peace. Yeah, you know what, Ravenpuff Izzy sounds about right.
Shawn (my mom's cat #2)
Slytherin primary, I think. My mom was visiting the shelter for dog tags or something basic like that, went back into the cat room to give the strays some love, and this gorgeous gray-and-white long-haired kitten climbed up her shoulder and wrapped himself around her neck and wouldn't let go. She had been Chosen.*
Shawn is also kind of a status hound within the house! The boys keep score of who's top cat... well, I don't know if Thaddeus cares (and Izzy knows it's actually her). Shawn likes to play dominance games with the other cats. He'll pick on Aardman and play wrestle with Tesla (who is twice his weight, but Shawn is very fluffy and he clearly thinks they're the same size, which is hilarious).
One of the Improvisational secondaries. I think he's a Gryffindor.
*Tesla also did this. The shelter lady took him out of the crate and within minutes he'd stretched out on my lap, belly-up, so relaxed he almost fell off. This is how you get a cat. I was actually looking to adopt on purpose, though, which my mom wasn't 😂
Rowan (my dad's dog)
This idiot dog. This absolute buffoon of an animal.
Actually, my mom is convinced he's not all that dumb, and he's tricking us all into believing he is so he doesn't have to be an obedient dog. If so, he's a VERY good actor. Slytherin secondary. (He also weaponizes the 🥺 eyes and my dad falls for it every time.)
Slytherin primary. Every time he misbehaves, my dad insists he's my mom's dog, but we all know better: he waits for my dad to come home and runs up and wags his entire body. He's SO affectionate with my dad and doesn't really care about anyone else's opinion. My dad lets this 65 pound, made-of-elbows idiot creature sit on his lap in the least comfortable positions possible, and baby talks to him.
Alex (my mom's actual dog)
Double Ravenclaw. I know, right? I haven't been Sorting many Ravenclaws in this list.
Alex is a very smart and fairly obedient dog. He is also a border collie (both he and Rowan are). He has also decided that Tesla needs a babysitter, and will follow him EVERYWHERE, doing that border collie staredown thing they normally use to herd sheep.
Yes. This dog tries to herd cats. He's very good at it, actually. All of our cats are indoor only animals (it's dangerous for them outside) but Shawn used to be a real escape artist. I'm not sure how we discovered that the dogs could do this, but we can call the dogs and tell them "get the kitty!!!" and they will work as a team to literally herd the cat back into the house. We didn't train them to do this. They're purebred border collies and they just know.
Anyway, Tesla and Alex get into drama. If I'm holding Tesla, Alex is ALWAYS staring at him. I think it's that, although he likes Tesla, he doesn't trust him and he's trying to make sure Tesla doesn't hurt me. Tesla is Very Dramatic and will yell or pretend like he's going to bite me if he's stuck in a position he doesn't like on my lap or he thinks another cat is going to try to steal my attention, and Alex Does Not Like That. Tesla won't actually hurt me on purpose, but he puts up a front in public that he's only tolerating me.
Alex doesn't care if I tell him to go lay down somewhere else. He is going to stare at this cat no matter what. Sometimes, the thing Tesla is yelling about is that the dog is staring at him and he's not in the mood for that nonsense (or, he also just likes when I scold the dog on his behalf), and this doesn't help matters. Alex has decided he Must Protect, and that dog code is more important to him than my opinion 😂
Alex is a Ravenclaw secondary. He's put in the effort to learn to communicate with humans, and he's very expressive with his body language and pointing with his eyes/nose. I think if we got him a set of those word buttons people give dogs so they can "talk," Alex would pick up on it right away and use it a lot.
That’s all the animals for now! Will update next time my mom finds a cat xD
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spectraspecs-writes · 3 years
Text
Black Mirror: tumblr in the world of Nosedive
Yeah, here I go again with my thoughts on a Black Mirror episode. This morning’s TV fare was the episode “Nosedive.” To those who haven’t seen the episode, the premise is social media. Each person has the same type of phone coupled with ocular implants that allow you to identify a person on site, connect with their social media, and rank them, one star to five stars. Based on your ranking, you are either denied services or jobs, or get extra benefits. We follow Lacie Pound, a 4.2 desperate to get higher, to be a prime influencer. This gets her more money, a better apartment, better job, all that stuff. The plot follows her as she sinks lower into infamy. Not like villain stuff, but pretty much everyone hates her by the end and she revels in it, being free of the quest for a higher ranking because she’ll never get it.
What I was thinking about earlier is the fact that everyone uses the same nondescript social media. It looked to be picture-oriented like Instagram, and certain pictures for higher rankings than others. And since you could be ranked by your real-world actions, your public life was basically your Instagram life. I personally don’t have an Instagram, so I don’t know much about it.
Point being, though, that was the only social media in the episode. I doubt that it was the only social media in the world. Meaning, if your life is so public that strangers can affect your social standing, I think a lot of people would crave some anonymity. Which is where tumblr would come in.
Tumblr is the antithesis of “Nosedive.” Because each blog is not directly connected to the person. Take my brother’s blog. My brother is just on here to follow some artists. He doesn’t reblog hardly anything. His blog only has two posts on it. If it were so connected to his person, so integral to his progression in society, his feed would be loaded with military history, pictures of trains, and the occasional Zoey picture because you can’t go wrong with cute dogs. If social media was his life there would be more of his life on there. And performative socializing can be exhausting, so logically he would seek a place to stop performing.
Or take me. I’m not a big picture taker. Most of the stuff on my phone is stuff I might need later, or pictures of Zoey. It’s pretty much the same on my iPad, with the addition of art and art references. If my social standing depended on taking pictures, then you would see a lot of activity between 7 am and noon, which are my peak productive hours anyway, and things would drop off in the afternoon. Or I’d keep up that level of activity all day and crash at home like I normally do. I, too, would seek a place to be myself. Where I don’t have to perform.
Enter tumblr. With a few exceptions, none of you would recognize me if you saw me in person. There are two pictures of me on this blog, and you would have to dig deep for them. I’ve shared selfies with a few friends, and a similar subset know my actual name. This is on purpose. This was the plan in the first place. I don’t want people connecting me with this blog. I’m different in person than I am here - more on that in my other Black Mirror analysis, “Be Right Back.” And so is my brother.
Personally, I like the weirdness here. None of us care about the approval of strangers on the internet, not so directly that we cater to them if they ask. I would not stop posting about kotor if someone asked me to. I know none of y’all would stop posting about any of your particular topics if I asked. And there is no social incentive for me to keep posting about kotor. Even the existing kotor fandom on tumblr has no idea I exist, or if they do they’re being awful quiet about it (and frankly I would appreciate more noise. After all I reblog their art. Doesn’t anybody love me? Doesn’t anyone care about Sid the Sloth?) In fact, most of the time, if someone says “stop posting X,” the response is just to double the output of X out of pure spite. And why? What’s the social incentive? What does this get us in the broader tumblr society?
Nothing. There is no tangible reward. Notes are fleeting. The joy of being liked sticks with you, but fame too is fleeting, with a few notable exceptions. And even in those few exceptions, I just assume they have large follower counts because they blog like there’s an audience. But so do I. I guarantee you, my follower count is smaller than you think. My sustainability blog is higher, but the fact that the blog has a focus combined with the fact that my voice is rarely there may have something to do with that. Tumblr-focused accounts on other websites like reddit and iFunny could steal from any blog. There isn’t really an algorithm pushing the big posts to get bigger, like there is on other social media. So influencers aren’t so much of a thing here.
I am... not popular in real life. I’m a pleasant enough person, but I’m not constantly socializing because I have to budget my energy. If I spend it all chatting, then when I come home there’s nothing. I also tend to be quiet because I’ve learned that access to my constant internal bogus monologue is off-putting to most. If I come off as callous or brusque it’s only because I don’t want to come off as annoying. So my ranking in “Nosedive” would be mid level and probably stay there. I’m friendly. But I’m not going to ask questions about your life. There’s too much going on *up here* to focus on asking questions to which the answers are irrelevant. I do a lot of polite listening but if you look deeper there’s nothing there. I’m waiting for a question or something that catches my interest. And I’m used to being ignored. So rather than waste your time with babbling, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Do people miss out? Probably. But as I said there’s a lot going on *up here* and I don’t want to subject you to that if you’re not interested.
My dad would have a high ranking. That’s just the life he lives. He is always trading polite pleasantries with people, to the point where us three autistic people in the house can get a little annoyed. “Stop talking to strangers, we have things to do!” Mom’s ranking would also be mid level and stay there, for the same reasons as me, but she does have a tendency to talk a lot. My brother’s would be a high 3. He’s very pleasant, but he’s been dinged a couple times by people who were wrong, so that would hurt his ranking. But Mom and Dad are already themselves. I on the other hand have come to learn that Specs is a person that does not put a good foot forward. Specs does not make good first impressions. It is best to hold them back until my irl has made their impression and been received well. But Specs is a personality that needs to come out. And they are best expressed here, and will be for the foreseeable future. No matter how dystopian it gets.
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minniewoos · 5 years
Text
Felines over Flowers ➣ Lee Minho
Genre: mafia au, fluff
Pairing: reader x minho
Word Count: 8,460
Warnings: swearing, violence
Summary: Who knew feeding the alley cats behind your home would attract a different kind of alley cat. Aka a hot guy who called himself Lee Know.
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“You’re a little cutie!” You cooed fondly over the new kitten, it was shy to approach and even shyer to eat. But as with every cat you provided for, you were patient. You probably fed around ten to fifteen cats in the alley close to your home, but sometimes a new challenger would appear. Hence, the shy new kitten.
You were crouched down beside a couple food bowls and were surrounded by about a dozen cats. This was always a fun part of your day, and something you looked forward to in your routine. Right after work you stopped by the alley, not far from home, and would pour a couple bowls of cat food. Sometimes you’d stay and watch the cats, other days you’d go straight home afterward. Either way, you helped keep their little bellies full.
You were trying to coax the new kitten over to the food. So you crouched down to try to seem less intimidating and more friendly. And eventually, the temptation of food got the new kitten to make its way over to you and the food bowls. You gently pet its fur as it chowed down.
It was very obvious you were a cat person, you even owned your own feline. You stayed there a little while longer before standing up and brushing off any dirt or dust that may have gotten on your clothes. You sighed and picked up your work bag before making your way out of the little alley, your footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. But before you could leave, a familiar figure walked around the corner, stopping you in your tracks. The corners of his lips twitched up in a striking smile when he saw you. He had a duffle bag hanging off his shoulder and a black cap hanging low on his face. 
Minho.
You met the young man in that alley a few weeks ago. You were feeding the cats but had to take a quick trip to the bathroom. And when you came back you found the strange man among the cats, just sitting on the dirty alley floor while enjoying their company. At first, you were apprehensive and hesitant to approach. He honestly scared you, he was a random guy in a secluded alleyway. So, of course, you were going to be cautious. You also got a weird feeling from him, as if he was more dangerous than he appeared to be. Because despite his fairly harmless appearance he has certain mannerisms, he was always looking around as if on edge and alert. It put you on edge as well. 
But your bag was still laying down by the food so you couldn’t just leave it there. While you were thinking of what to do to retrieve your bag, he eventually saw you there and called out to you. He beckoned you over and you picked up your bag. But also began a conversation with the guy, and you quickly found out he was very charismatic and pretty cool. He told you to call him “Lee Know” but you promptly said no to the silly name and he eventually gave you his real name. So, ever since that day you became friends with Minho, and sometimes he’d stop by the alley to help feed the cats with you. So now here you were standing in front of Minho. You were wanting to go home but you knew you’d be willing to waste some time with him. 
“Were you leaving? Stay a few more minutes, I just got here.” He said casually while walking deeper into the alley and towards the cluster of cats. He sat down beside them, his posture and tone very laid-back and easygoing as he was cross-legged and slouched. He looked over to you and motioned you over with his arm by making a wide sweeping gesture. 
You sighed, you were going to take a nice nap in your bed at home, but you just couldn’t say no to Minho. Well, you could, but not when he has that charming smile on his face. So, you walked back over and sat down next to him. He already had a cat purring in his lap.
“I think you’re some kind of cat whisperer, aren’t you?” You said amused as you watched the cat absolutely fond over him. The cat was purring loudly in his lap, a very content looks on its face, its tail flicked then rested on his leg. Of course, Minho did have a way with cats, but sometimes it surprised you just how much they liked him. 
Minho shrugged, “What can I say, I’m magic. I’m Lee Know.”
“Mhm, are you?”
 “Or a cat.”
You furrow your eyebrows to process what he just said, then chuckled lightly, “You...a cat?” 
 He just laughs to himself and nods.
 “And what else would I be? A Dog?” He scoffed as if the mere thought of it was ridiculous.
“Oh, I don’t know.” You mused, nudging his arm with your elbow, “Just a crazy thought, you a human? You remind me more of an alien though.”
“I get that a lot, actually, thanks.” He thought about it for a second, then nodded to himself, “Yea, I’ve had a few people tell me that.”
“It’s called a 4D personality.” You said, then pointed to his chest accusingly, “and you have it.”
He nodded thoughtfully, then began playing with the cats around him. He started teasing them gently like usual, and you noticed he gave special attention to the new kitten. He picked up a weed or something and was waggling it around, getting it to pounce and jump around and such. He always liked to tease, you noticed that about him as well.
“That kittens a newcomer just came around about 10 minutes ago. He’s cute, isn't he?” You reached out to pet the kitten. 
Minho rested an elbow on his knee and tilted his head to look over to you, an indifferent expression on his face, “Yea, cute like you.”
“Stop saying things like that!” You huffed and smacked his arm, you looked him up and down and pouted. You could feel the blush rising already, “I swear, you’re impossible. Such a flirt.”
"Why are you hitting me, I'm right." He said as if it's obvious. But he smirked, he knew he got under your skin a bit. And you were sure he knew he affected your poor heart as well. Because you were crushing on Minho, but just a little bit; you would never tell him that though.
You rolled your eyes; your little pout slowly grew into a grin as you watched Minho continue to play with the kittens. The silliness made you laugh since he was quickly overrun by the cats. He laid on his back as he held the one kitten up above him and had a few sauntering around him. But he had one specific feline come by pouncing on his stomach out of nowhere. Forcing him to let out a little 'oof' and sit up quickly. He had an over-exaggerated look of pain as he rubbed his stomach.
"Ya! don't laugh at me." He whined, still holding his belly as if he'd been punched. But in reality, a cat just used him as a landing pad.
"Aww, poor you." You giggled, a bright and toothy smile showing.
 ∎∎∎
Today, you found Minho in the alleyway before you. Which was odd considering he usually got there after you, but you saw it as a pleasant surprise. 
However, when you walked up to him you found out he was sleeping. He was leaning against the alley wall, a grimy stone wall belonging to the convenience store neighboring the alleyway. His head was back against the wall and his arms were crossed against his chest, he snored softly. The duffle bag he occasionally carried was at his feet with his legs stretched out in front of him. 
You smiled when you saw him, he didn't seem to have any cat food on him so the alley was currently devoid of the usual felines. And it was one of the few times you saw him at peace and resting. Usually, he would be playing and messing around with the cats...or teasing you. And the other times he would seem to be alert, always very cautious of what was around him. Except now was different, he was just calm and silent. His features were unstressed and at peace for the first time.
You sat next to him carefully as to not wake him up and just scrolled on your phone. You figured he needed the rest and so you let him be. While scrolling through Instagram for a while, you felt a weight on your shoulder. You looked over surprised to see that Minho's head fell on your shoulder comfortably to rest in the crook of your neck. You saw his chest move up and down gently. He was out.
You smiled a little, by now you considered Minho a friend since the two of you have been meeting up for a few months. And you could be yourself and casual around him; he would joke with you and you would do the same. And in that time you developed a tiny crush on the strange guy, he was charming. But sometimes, in moments like these, you would feel something more than just a crush. Your heart would do more than just warm-up, it would overheat. He would cause your feelings to go into overdrive and make you believe you could fall in love with Minho. You weren’t sure how to feel about your growing feelings. So you decided to just enjoy this simple moment. 
And it stayed like that until you felt Minho move a little, his head nudging into you more supposedly to be more comfortable. This caused his hair to tickle the base of your neck, making you squirm a little. You shifted away from him to try not to be tickled, while also trying not to move around and wake him up. But inevitably, you moved away too much and he began to wake up. His hand reaches out to grab your wrist gently. He mumbled a little in his dozed off state. 
"No, stay here, a little longer…" he yawned the last word and kept your hand in his, then intertwined his fingers with yours. You gulped as you attempted to control your rapid heartbeat, but alas, he made your heart go wild.
He mumbled something else but you couldn't quite make out his words clearly. But nevertheless, his little action made you blush and want to smack him for making your heart speed up like crazy. But you only sighed and rested your head against his, looking down at your intertwined hands affectionately. He rested his head back onto your shoulder and swiftly began snoozing again.
You suspected Minho had been busier than usual lately, not like you knew what he did in his everyday life, but you could tell. He didn't visit as often as he used to, and when he did visit he was either exhausted or really distracted. Constantly yawning or zoning out, and you figured he needed more sleep these days. So, despite your bum getting uncomfortable on the cold cement and the few alley cats wandering around you, you allowed Minho to sleep as long as he needed. Because despite his exhaustion and the busy time he was going through in his life, he still took time out of his day to be with you here right now. He took the time and effort to see you in this old grimy alleyway, which was definitely not a comfortable spot to nap. He still treasured the time spent with the alley cats, feeding them with you, and playing with them, and you. It was a little endearing, although you knew he would never admit it. 
 So, you gave his hand a kindly squeeze, and you received one back. 
 ∎∎∎
It's been a while since you last saw Minho.
He hasn’t shown up in about a month or so and you were getting worried. The last you saw him; he was slumped and woke up an hour later to jump up like he was getting ready to brawl. He startled you, of course. But apologized for scaring you before the two of you continued the usual tradition of feeding the alley cats. 
You were concerned for him, to say the least. Not just concerned for his physical health, but mental as well. He’d been not only tired but also very jumpy and it made you question what was going on with his home life. It wasn’t like him, from what you knew Minho was a laid-back guy who enjoyed messing around. He was a little odd, but it wasn’t anything concerning until now. And even though he was essentially a stranger to you, you were very bothered by his lack of appearance. You didn’t truly know a thing about Minho, where he worked, who he was, his family, friends, even his hobbies. And likewise, he didn’t know you either. You could admit it brought your mood down significantly. He was both a stranger and a friend to you. 
You didn’t even have any way to contact him, nothing like a phone number or social media, you just never found it important to know. So you were left to feed the cats alone for a while, and it honestly made you feel like a recently widowed cat lady. 
Today was an especially awful day as well. You woke up late causing you to be late for work, which was on the whole other side of the city… Wonderful. Work was boring as usual, even a little irritating, sitting in an office answering customer service calls. It was torture. Not to mention the fact that your boss hates you but whatever, you just smiled and nodded. You even worked overtime so the day really just dragged on till late evening for you. And by the end of the day, you missed your bus! And so it was either wait another hour or take the walk home, so you walked. Usually, you tried to be cheerful, but today was just not your day. 
You felt bad as well since you wouldn’t have the time to feed the cats like you usually did, you didn’t even have the cat food on you. And if you wanted to visit the alley, you’d have to walk the long way around the city. You considered skipping out on the alley cats for today.
Unless you have a chance at seeing Minho.
Was he really worth it? The small chance at seeing this essential stranger, a stranger you haven’t even seen in weeks? You sat on the idea for a few minutes before deciding, fuck it, Minho was worth it because you have a big fat crush on him and want to see him. Even if the chance is slim.
You sighed heavily, really shaking your head at yourself. He was an absolute stranger...but a cute, silly, and kind stranger. In the time you’ve known him he’s never done anything to harm you, never sent any creepy vibes, and treated you like a true friend. Not to mention he was handsome...but you could confidently say you trusted him. You smiled to yourself as you thought about it, for the longest time you denied any feelings for Minho. Purely because you really didn’t know who he was. But now, after going so long without him, you really couldn’t deny it. You really really liked Minho. 
The walk was long and a little tiring, but it cleared your head so you were grateful for the inconvenience. And ultimately, it put you in a better mood. The only thing you didn’t anticipate was that the long way around was so long that, well, the sun was going down. It was getting dark. And while the city wasn’t known for being dangerous, some pretty sketchy stuff occurred during the night. Your pace sped up just a bit.
By the time you finally reached the alley, the sky was dark and the only lights present were the unreliable street lights. You frowned to yourself, suddenly regretting your choice to pay this alley a quick visit. But you walked towards it nonetheless. And just as you rounded the corner to the entrance, you hesitated. A shudder ran down your back as you stared into the pitch-black cavity, the dripping of water could be heard echoing inside the alleyway. You felt cold. Then you saw eyes, the shining yellow eyes of a little kitten, you smile at the familiar sight. The kitten giving you the confidence to take your first steps inside. You found the kitten sitting atop a dumpster, so you reach out to pet it, its eyes closing as it purred at your touch. You lift the kitten into your arms, holding it close and smiling. The familiar sense of happiness coming back, you could say you were a cat person. 
“Hey...” You whisper softly to the kitten, it’s still purring contently, “Sorry I’m late, my day was a bit rough so I couldn’t pick up any food.”
It only flicks its tail, the soft fur brushing against your arm. It opens its eyes and stares at you, head tilted. Its head lays back down against your chest. 
You smile and laugh at yourself; you really do remind yourself of some cat lady. You pet the kitten once more before thinking you should head out and go home. But before you could move you hear yelling coming from above you. They were angry and vicious shouts, only a couple people but you could hear that they were men. You scrunch your eyebrows, confused as you look up to see where the shouts were coming from. But you couldn’t pinpoint anywhere they could be from. There weren’t any lights on in the sparse amount of windows in the alley walls, the fire escapes were empty, and there was no way you’d be able to hear through the stone brick walls. You hold the kitten a little closer to you as the shouts slowly get louder.
And that's when you realize they were coming from one of the roofs, they had to be, and they were closer than before and still so far away above you. While looking up, head back, and a little kitten clutched in your arms, you saw a quick shadow jump from one building top to the other. You gasp when another figure jumps across and you hear more yelling and fighting. It sounds physical now too. You crouch down and slowly inch your way behind a couple of trash cans, hoping you were obscure enough to not be seen or caught up in something dangerous. 
Listening to the commotion makes you nervous, you feel your heart beating rapidly and your breathing quicken. It sounded serious. There were shouts of angry and distant words, grunts of pain, and rough brawling. You hoped they left soon so you could run away without being noticed, because any step you took in the alley tended to be echoed and noisy, especially at night. 
But your hopes of getting the fuck out of there soon were quickly diminished. Because just then, another shadow of a body flew above the alley, with the second one following closely. There were a couple more shouts and then a thunk so loud you could hear it from the ground. 
Silence, then another shadow above you, except now it was falling into the alley. You held your breath, scared to make a single noise as your eyes tried to follow the body on its way down. It was difficult in the dark, but you immediately knew where he was as soon as you heard the clang then shudder of metal. Then another loud clang was echoed as he fell again, your ears were ringing in the silence that came after. The man landed on the fire escape, second or third floor maybe. You thought the fight was over until you saw the other man swiftly making his way down the fire escape, a cruel laugh bubbling up his chest. His footsteps were deafening until he stood above the fallen man, he crouched down.
“You’re not that scary without a weapon, aren’t you, tough guy.” the man mocked, enjoying himself, “You’re so weak.”
The fallen man only groaned in pain, obviously disoriented and defeated, but he spoke and sat up anyway. His voice was strained, “You’re a dumbass, you just started a war between our groups. And you’ll be the first one dead.”
The man spat out the last words, venom in his tone. It made you pause and do a double-take on his words. His voice made you think, it sounded strangely familiar.
“You’re wrong Lee Know, I’ll just fucking kill you now.” The man snapped back. A brief interjection was heard before sounds of pained grunts and cries resounded through the air, echoing off the walls and filling your ears. You were horrified. 
Your ears weren’t deceiving you right? He said...Lee Know. Lee Know, the silly name Minho had told you to call him. The strange nickname Minho would call himself. Was that Minho up there? 
Your jaw dropped as you stared in horror, your hands began to shake. That was Minho. That was Minho getting beat to death. The same Minho who would feed the alley cats with you and tease you, the very same. Your panic suddenly tripled. 
“S..s-stop.” You whimpered meekly, staring at the horrid scene in front of you. At that time, the kitten began squirming in your arms. You tried to keep her still but your voice squeaked in the process, loudly. 
Almost immediately they had heard you. The man paused, they both did, they were on high alert. The man stood up straight and scanned the alley fiercely. Minho held his breath as he sat up, an arm wrapped around his stomach as his eyes also tried to look around, but he seemed out of it. 
“Show yourself!” The man said sternly, he took a step down the fire escape. You couldn’t breathe for fear of getting caught, any sound meant death. And death was standing right in that very alley. But despite your efforts, the kitten jumped out of your arms desperately, dashing away and out of the alley. Causing the lid of a garbage can to clang towards the ground. 
“...It’s just a stupid cat.” The man muttered, his eyes trained on the kitten as it ran out and far away, just like you wished you could do. But he kept staring, his eyes going back to where you were, quietly sitting behind the trash cans, wishing you could just disappear. You weren’t sure if he was able to see you in the darkness, but you could see him by just barely peeking out from the side of the trash can. And he was still very suspicious. 
Eventually, he did turn away from you and back to Minho. But Minho, he was looking directly at you, he shook his head desperately. Minho saw you there. Silently and passionately telling you not to do anything. And you followed his orders, sitting there like a statue, barely breathing and barely moving. You still watched Minho as he began to talk.
“Hey asshole,” He spat, blood running down his face, “if you kill me, we kill you ten times over. Stray Kids will hunt you down, your family, your friends, and fucking kill them all.”
The man kicked his face, Minho was thrown back to the ground. “Don’t you know how we work? We will torture your loved ones, Lee Know.”
Minho smirked lazily, staring up at the man as his eyes unfocused, “I don’t have any.” 
For some reason, hearing those words from Minho triggered a response from you; causing you to start to crawl away from the trash cans. Away from your hiding spot and away from your safety. Why? Were you crazy? Did you have a death wish? No. You weren’t going to just sit there and watch Minho get beat the shit out of him, you were going to do something. You spotted a broken metal pipe, the edge was sharp and pointed. You were able to get to it and grab it with minimal noise made. 
“Fucker.” The man began to pummel Minho down again, he was hitting to kill and had Minho pinned down. And seeing Minho so helpless, so broken and beaten was absolute torture. You swallowed a lump in the back of your throat as you felt sweat down your neck.
The man was too distracted with Minho to see you stand up and shuffle closer to the bottom of the fire escape. You weren’t going to attempt to climb since it would cause too much noise, but you decided you were going to throw the pipe. They were on the second staircase and it was just low enough for your aim to reach. You let out a breath you were holding and then you felt numb. It was like a wave of adrenaline was suddenly injected into your veins. You suddenly got tunnel vision as you focused your eyes on the man, holding your arm above you as you got ready to throw the pipe. The only noise you heard was your own blood pumping through your ears. You drew your arm back and then launched the pipe up, putting your whole body into it. It felt like an eternity as you watched it move in the air, spinning like a pinwheel. The world was moving in slow motion, your heart was sluggish as was your movements. 
THUNK
It hit, right on the side of the head. The world was suddenly moving normally again as the man collapsed on himself, his head banging off the railing of the fire escape on his way down. You immediately ran up the stairs, almost tripping on yourself at the desperate rate you went. Your breaths were rushed and your movements were distressed as you laid Minho’s head in your lap. Glancing at the man passed out beside you, you made sure he was out for a while.
You held Minho’s face gently, trying to get his eyes to focus on you, it seemed like he got a concussion. Although you spoke gently, it was rushed and panicked, “Minho, Minho hey hey hey. It’s me, you’re safe now. Please look at me.”
His eyes were lidded, unfocused and looking all over. But he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them to stare at you, finally focused. He stared at you in wonder for a moment before his signature smirk graced his face, “I knew it was you, y/n.”
“Oh my god, you’re okay.” You sobbed gratefully, tears welling up in your eyes at the relief. He was okay, well at least he was still there with you. You bit your lip as your face scrunched up, ugly tears and sobs and all. You leaned over him to just hold him at that moment.
“I’m alive, at least.” He groaned, wincing at your touch. You drew back apologetically and smiled at him, a joyful smile full of relief. It was apparently contagious because Minho mirrored that same grin once he saw it, then laughed softly.
“Let’s get out of here okay?” You said, some concern settling back in as you looked at the passed out man. You were worried he would wake up soon. “Can you stand? I’ll help you.”
“I’ll try babe.”
Getting him back to your apartment was difficult, to say the least. He was not only heavy but incredibly dizzy as well. Which meant most of his body weight was leaning onto you. This meant bad news for you because you had to drag a half-dead body two blocks to get to your apartment. You just hoped the police wouldn’t cruise by anytime soon. You grunted as you walked beside Minho, lugging him slowly but surely to your home. This would take a while.
“Minho you so owe me for this.” You grumbled as you inched your way to your apartment building.
Minho only looked up and groaned, his arm was slung over your shoulder as you supported him. He whined, “You live in an apartment??”
“And what’s wrong with that? It’s cheap and convenient.”
“Too many potential witnesses…” He mumbled and hung his head again, hissing in pain as he held his arm around his abdomen.
You raised an eyebrow at his remark, you sighed and began to move again, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
It was late out, so there thankfully weren’t many people out to see you dragging this bloody man into the building. But you did get a weird look from the receptionist, to avoid being questioned you stuck your thumb and pinky out and gestured as if you were taking a swig of beer. Hopefully trying to pass off Minho as a drunk who got involved in some bar fight. The receptionist only shook her head disapprovingly and got back to her paperwork. You sighed and made your way to the elevator.
A few too many minutes later and you and Minho were finally inside your apartment. You quickly guided him to your couch and laid him down gently. Then rushed out to get your first aid kit in the bathroom. You glanced inside, it may have only rudimentary supplies, but it was better than nothing. You grabbed a bottle of painkillers as well and rushed back to Minho’s side. You kneeled down on the floor beside the couch, digging through the first aid kit. Disinfectant, bandages, and gauze.
“I need your shirt off.”
“Mm, you’re being bold y/n.” He smirked, a teasing look in his eyes. You exhaled a long sigh.
“I can’t believe you can joke around while you’re like this.” You lightly scolded, “Now come on, I need to disinfect the wounds.”
A pained look flashed across his face while he tried to move, “I might need help sitting up.” 
You pressed a hand onto his back as he sat up and let out a pained groan. You sat him up as he lifted his shirt off carefully, tossing it onto the ground beside you. Minho then leaned back onto the sofa, his eyebrows scrunched in discomfort. You stared up briefly before averting your eyes quickly, a light blush spread across your cheeks. 
“You shy? Babe?” You weren’t looking at him, but you could hear that teasing smirk in his tone. You rolled your eyes.
“No,” you lied, then picked up the disinfectant and some cotton balls. You furrowed your eyebrows, just noticing his new nickname for you, “since when did you start calling me babe?”
“Today,” he grinned down at you, his tone was soft, “I like it. Do you?”
Now, that question knocked you off your feet, it came to you as a shock. Not just because of the flirty nature of it, Minho was usually fairly flirty towards you. But because of how he said it, he asked you in a gentle way. It wasn’t the same teasing tone he usually flirted with, it was genuine and kind. You began blushing profusely and you felt your face heat up. So, you looked down and avoided his gaze, his soft eyes were trained on you. He was looking for an answer from you. 
And you honestly didn’t know what to say.
So you didn't say anything. You just soaked the cotton balls in disinfectant and began dabbing them onto a small gash on his side. He hissed at the sudden pain, jolting a little.
"At least warn me when you do that." He groaned, his head was flung back. You kept dabbing at the wound until you thought it was acceptable. Then got the wrap out. 
"Sorry...I'm not exactly a medical expert." You apologized. Then sat him up straighter as you wrapped it around his abdomen. You paused and looked up at him, "Actually, before I use the gauze, do you wanna take a shower to clean up? After I help disinfect everything?" 
"Ah," he thought for a moment. His hands were folded between his legs with his knees spread apart comfortably. He was slouched as he analyzed himself and looked at his arms and bloody torso, "I might need to shower." 
You nodded thoughtfully as you moved your attention towards a cut on his cheekbone. You stood up from the ground and sat onto the couch next to him, leaning in close to get a good look at the cut. You cupped his other cheek in your hand to keep his head steady as you dabbed the disinfectant on. It was a small cut, but deep as well, you were worried it would scar. 
"Hey, this cut on your cheek…" you rubbed your thumb gently under the cut, "I have some stuff you could use so it won't scar." 
He raised his eyebrows curiously, "Really? Why are you so worried about my face scarring?" 
You played into his game, a blush once again spreading across your cheeks. Your eyes shifted from the cut on his cheek to his own brown ones. Suddenly realizing just how close your faces were, you were so focused on helping that you didn’t notice the proximity and blushed a little more. There was an unexpected tension that filled the air, and you both felt it. The atmosphere was thick and it made you a little nervous. However, you tried to stay casual, so you shrugged, "Is it so wrong to care about you?" 
"No." he hummed; his eyes boring into yours so intensely you found it hard to look away. "But it feels nice to hear that you do." 
You tilted your head, your eyes widening in a genuine curiosity. "And why’s that Minho?"
"Because, I care about you too, y/n. A lot." He muttered, his eyes shifting down to your lips. He leaned in slightly as his tongue ran over his own lips. A couple seconds passed before he pursued his lips in hesitation, still unmoving. You waited in anticipation, your thoughts were running wild as you thought about what he was going to do.
Minho seemed very calm in this moment. Your faces were barely inches apart, heart was beating out of your chest, face couldn't be any redder, and the tension in the room was as thick as stone. Nervous, your hand was still resting on his cheek and your other was in your lap. You noticed the extended pause he took when he leaned in, it was like he was waiting for your permission. And while you were incredibly anxious, you wanted what he wanted as well. Your eyes drifted to his pink lips. And so, without a moment longer, you leaned in the rest of the way to close the minuscule gap between you and pressed your lips against his gently. 
Minho instantly responded and pushed into the kiss more as he melted at your touch, his shoulders loosened up and he tilted his cheek into your palm. He seemed to relax for the first time today. His one hand reached up to rest on the back of your head, his fingers threaded and tangled in your hair. His other hand reached out to grab your free one, grasping onto it tightly. And the moment was perfect despite his beaten and bloody appearance, despite the stressful situation previously, and despite the confusion swirling around your head; this moment was perfect. It was filled with fervent yet gentle kisses and frazzled yet endearing feelings. And the most important thing making this perfect was Minho himself. His touches and soft breaths were messing with your feeling.
Minho trailed one hand up and around your waist and eagerly pulled you closer to him, settling his hand on your hip. A little startled at the sudden shift, your hand landed on his chest and you pulled away to take a breath. You were both panting softly, your heavy breathing was the only sound heard. You looked up to see Minho focused on you as if he were searching for something in your face; like he was looking for a certain sign or emotion. His eyes bore into yours zealously and slightly shifted every so often, it was like he wasn’t sure where to look. You tracked his gaze as his eyes searched and moved from one eye to the other, then to your nose, and down to your lips. 
You swallowed as you caught your breath, a small smile graced your lips, “We should’ve done that sooner.”
“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to.” He simpered as his gaze steadied on your eyes, he seemed pleased with himself. He continued coyly, “I didn’t know you would be so bold.”
Your head hung a little as your eyes looked away, you felt the intense heat flush through your face once again. You shrugged. His smile widened at your reaction; his head tilted to get a good look at your flushed complexion.
“You’re blushing babe,” he chuckled, “actually you’ve been blushing this whole time.”
“You’re teasing me.” You whine and pouted, puppy dog eyes activated.
“How can’t I when you look so cute. You have me wrapped around your little finger.” he said endearingly and leaned in to kiss you again. With his hand still on your hip, he pulled you closer to him. This caused you to shift your weight and lean into him, both hands on his chest. 
“Ah- ow wait wait wait.” He winced abruptly as his face scrunched in pain. You pulled away apologetically and realized your hand landed right on a nasty bruise on his chest.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry.” You analyzed the bruise and grimaced. You attempted to stand up, but his hand on your waist wouldn’t allow you. His expression showed he was confused as to why you wanted to leave. You answered before he could ask, “You should go and take that shower and clean up, then after that, we’ll ice some of the nastier bruises you got.”
Minho groaned, his head rolling back, “There’s a problem with that.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll need help in the shower, I can’t walk.”
∎∎∎ 
In the end, you decided to just run a bath for him. It was easier and you weren’t about to take a shower with him. You told him he could take as much time as he needed and if he needed to drain the water and re-run the bath, he could. Besides, he might need to relax a little. 
Right now, you were laying on your bed and scrolling through whatever caught your interest. You weren’t really sure what else you could do. After the event, you just witnessed you were inclined to call the police, but that would mean getting Minho involved as well. And you were pretty confident he was doing some pretty illegal things so that was out of the question. Despite being confused to high hell, you knew you didn’t want to see Minho in jail. So in the meantime, you just got ready for bed. You threw your pajamas on and rummaged around your room to find clothes to give to Minho. 
You eventually found some clothes that would fit him, it was a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts that your friend accidentally left at your place. Your friend had stayed over after he got shit-faced drunk and puked all over himself, so you washed his clothes for him. You had to scold him like you were his mother and somebody picked him up the next morning with new clothes. The gross incident ended up being very convenient for you in the end. You laid the folded clothes at the end of your bed and just waited until Minho was finished. 
When Minho came out, the little shit came out in just a towel wrapped around his waist while leaning against the wall. He caught you looking at him and smiled coyly. He spread his arms out and waggled his eyebrows satirically, “Like what you see?”
In response, you rolled your eyes and laughed, “You’re such a dope. Just get dressed already.”
Minho spotted the clothes at the end of your bed and held them up curiously to see if they would fit him. “Whose are these, your brothers?”
You shook your head, eyes on your phone, “No, they belong to a friend of mine. He stayed over the other night.”
Minho’s eyebrows scrunched up, a small frown settled on his face. He questioned you, his tone was a little disgruntled, “Why’d you have a guy over? Did he do anything to you?”
You turned your full attention to him, surprised at the change in his tone. Was Lee Minho jealous? A smirk played on your lips and you teased him a little, “Why? Are you jealous Minho?”
“Come on, answer me. What’s his name?”
“You are jealous!” you gasp, an amused smile on your face. You giggled a little and waved his annoyance off, “Don’t worry, nothing happened. His names Mark and he’s just a friend.”
He visibly loosened up a little, “Did he do anything to you?”
“No, he was too shitfaced drunk to do anything other than puke and complain all night. But don’t worry those are clean.” You pointed to the clothes. Internally rolling your eyes and trying to forget the night Mark Lee came to your doorstep drunk off his ass about to puke on you. And being the good friend you are, you took care of him for the night. Minho sighed and apologized for being jealous, then went back into the bathroom, using the wall for support. He came back out fully dressed and brought his bloody clothes out to and you threw them into the laundry basket real quick. 
Minho thought he was going to sleep on the couch, which honestly baffled you because he was injured and the couch felt like a rock. You quickly dismissed his idea and told him you were going to give him your bed for the night. After you helped him sit down you went to get a few ice packs and the gauze from earlier. You came back to the bedroom to discover your cat already snuggled up close to Minho. You honestly weren’t surprised. 
“I didn’t know you had a cat.” He commented, she was in his lap and he was rubbing behind her ears affectionately.
You nodded, “Yea, you think I only feed those cats in the alley without owning one myself? Her names Mini, I guess she already warmed up to you.”
“What can I say? All cats love me.” He smirked and shrugged.
“Yea yea I know, I still don’t know how you’re so good with them.” You climbed onto the bed next to him, the few ice packs in your hands. Then you started to treat his wounds once again. He pulled off his shirt since the worst of them were on his body, the nasty cut on his side and bruises littered all over. You frowned as you looked at it all in detail. But you began wrapping him up anyway as he held an ice pack to his temple. Meanwhile, your cat Mini decided she didn’t want to hang around you guys anymore and left the room. You didn’t pay much attention to it since you had a lot of questions going through your head. 
“So,” You began as you finished wrapping his cut up, “is it time to explain yourself now?”
He chuckled, “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.”
“Oh really?” You questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Try me.”
“I’m serious, it’s pretty out there. You’d seriously doubt me.”
“Well, then you gotta convince me.”
“I’m in the mafia.”
You blinked at him blankly, but smiled as you were slightly amused, “You’re right, I don’t believe you.”
“I’m serious though, I’m a top member in the mafia.” He looked at you solemnly, he wasn’t teasing you. Your smile fell as you frowned and picked up more wrap and began patching him up more. 
“I wasn’t aware this city had an actual organized mafia, I just thought it got pretty dangerous at night.” You said skeptically. 
“Yea, that’s mostly us. We’re named Stray Kids, or SKZ.” He continued explaining, “We’re very underground and barely have any media attention.”
You eyed him up and down, still very skeptical but willing to listen, “Okay, go on.”
And so Minho explained to you about Stray Kids, of course without disclosing the important info. He told you what went on in his life, that he stayed with the other top members of the organization, and his position in it. Apparently, he was their weapons and combat guy, he was an expert on how to use basically any kind of weapon. He explained how they operated and what they did, their goals and ambitions, and their morals. You listened respectfully and decided to trust him on his word, especially since he was very detailed about all of this. Eventually during his explanation you began asking questioned, very curious about his life. You asked constantly and he answered patiently. 
“So, during the fight tonight, you lost your weapons?” You asked, clarifying for yourself.
He nodded, “Yea, he was sly and ended up tricking me and I lost them. I’m not bad at hand to hand combat, but he was a lot bigger than me, you saw him.”
“And you’ve been so absent lately because of your job?”
He nodded again, “We recently got a big job we’re working on as a whole, I had a big part in it because it was mostly focused on fieldwork.”
“And your alias is Lee Know?”
He nodded again.
“Why are you letting me know all of this? You’re telling me a lot.” You tilt your head, it was weird, if he was a part of such a secretive organization then why would he tell you all of this so willingly.
“Because I really like you, and I trust you. And you know you can’t repeat any of this.” He responded truthfully. “I’m not going to lie to you y/n, you really have me wrapped around your little finger.”
You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head, “Minho I still don’t understand. I’m really really grateful you’re telling me this, but just...why? We barely know each other.”
“I’m being serious. I really believe I fell for you. I want you to know this.” He grabbed your hands and told you earnestly. And you weren’t used to this side of him, the serious and business side. You were used to the cat-loving, teasing Minho. It wasn’t a bad change, but very unexpected coming from him. “And I hope nothing scares you away from me.”
You saw the sincerity in his eyes, he was being honest and transparent with you. Even though you were barely a stranger, he was open to you. And at that moment you promised to yourself that you were going to take care of his feelings; as you looked into his eyes there was no way you could betray this man. Because despite how irrational and absurd he sounded by telling you these secrets about himself to a person he barely knew. You felt the same way. Hell, you went out of your way to go to a dark alley at night in the hopes you would meet him again. Your big fat crush on Lee Minho was more than a crush now. It was reciprocated and you trusted him to protect your feelings just like you were going to do with his. 
You squeezed his hands and answered him wholeheartedly, “Lee Minho, you could never scare me away. The only thing that could worry me would be your safety.”
He frowned, “That’s not guaranteed y/n.”
“I know. But that’s what I’m worried about.”
He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a comforting hug, his hands rubbed your back. “I’ll be sure to be here for you. I will keep you safe as well, okay?”
You nodded as you finished helping him with his wounds, you set the supplies on your nightstand. You yawned deeply and you checked the time, it was past midnight.
“It’s late, we should sleep.” You said, rubbing your eyes and getting up out of the bed. 
“Wait,” he grabbed your wrist, stopping you in your tracks, “sleep here tonight. No offense but your couch is awful.”
“Tell me about it,” you mutter, then climb back into the bed and under the sheets. You were too tired to be flustered about the implications of sleeping in the same bed. It was like the crazy night just caught up to you and you were exhausted. Your eyelids were drooping already, “You don’t mind me here?”
“Are you kidding, it’s like a blessing.” he scoffed and laid down carefully. His tone shifted to a gentler one, “It’s more comforting with you here anyway.” 
You smiled as you laid down and faced him, “Minho this is the last thing I thought I’d be doing tonight.”
“Yea me too.” He pulled you close to him and wrapped his arms around you comfortably. His heartbeat was steady as you buried your face into his chest, “I’m glad though, I guess you can’t call me a stranger anymore huh?” 
“You haven’t been a stranger for a while Minho, you became my friend a long time ago.” You told him. And it was true, while you called Minho a stranger often, he really was a good friend to you. You only called him a stranger because you barely knew anything about the boy. He was a mystery until now. But now, you were getting to know him, the true Minho. And you felt like it was the beginning of something new for you. Meeting Minho was going to change your life up, but you were fully prepared for that. The two of you were going to be transparent with each other, you were no longer strangers.
“And now, what are we now?” He asked you, his eyes were searching your face again.
“Are we lovers?” You wondered before you yawned, already drifting to sleep as your heavy eyes closed shut.
“Yea, I like the sound of that.” Minho smiled softly. He kissed the top of your head before turning the lamp light off. “We’re lovers.”
A/n: so this is done! Yay! This is a part of a greater mafia series I'm doing for stray kids. The first one was Chans called The Sun Will Rise Again, check it out if you want. Also, the titled Felines over Flowers is a reference to the k drama Boys over Flowers :)
also i forgot to put the keep reading thing in at first, im dumb, lmao sorry
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Text
Leave No One Behind Ch5: Doggy Style
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Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​
Episode Summary: Everyone at the resort feels the aftermath of the blow up from the night before…and they welcome a new member to the team.
Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Tiny bit of smut via flashback- like blink and you miss it (NSFW no under18s)
Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz
Song for Episode:  Passenger Seat by Stephen Speaks
A/N: Yes we know this song isn’t an 80s one but we don’t care! It fits too well, please give it a listen. As always, we hope you enjoy!
Series Master List // WIYPT Master List   
I look at her and have to smiile, as we go driving for a while, her hair blowing in the open window of my car 
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When Hannah woke up the following morning her eyes were swollen and sore from crying. She winced at the rays of sun that hit her mercilessly and shut her eyes again as she stretched and sat up on her bed. Her head was pounding and she didn't feel like seeing anyone that morning, she was pissed at everyone. Well not everyone. Rachel and Jake hadn't wronged her in any way since they had met. On the contrary, Rachel had been the sister she had never had, her only girl friend in a place brimming with testosterone in a country hostile to women. She’d sat with Hannah, comforting her for a while the previous night, rubbing her back and calming her down till she had stopped sobbing. And Jake had been nothing but friendly and kind with her, he had made her laugh and had showed her the wonders of Red Sea bottom
The revelation of what Andy had done had sideswiped her greatly. Maybe that out of everything was what had hurt her more and what was worse, there was nothing she could do about it no matter how angry she felt, no face to punch either. She knew she had to move forwards and that there was no point dwelling in the past because as her mama always said, You can't change the past, but you can make your future. And she was determined to follow her mother's wise words but, that said, she still was ready to kill someone along the way. Starting with Sammy and she would probably have killed Andy too if he was there. She certainly wanted to rip Max's tongue off and feed it to the fish. And then there was Ari. Ari ... well, where to even start with that?
She pushed her evil thoughts aside as she got up and pulled a pair of shorts and a top. She brushed her teeth and headed out, deciding to go for a walk before taking a shower. She strolled in the kitchen and grabbed herself a coffee, greeting Rachel good morning and blatantly ignoring Max, who was eating toast.
"Don't you forget I need you to help me with the aerobics class, Han." Rachel reminded Hannah, looking between her and Max.
"Sure. I'll be back on time." Hannah said as she took her mug and headed off down the shore.
She walked mindlessly for five minutes, enjoying the early morning sea breeze and the calming feeling of the beach sand under her feet and between her toes. The walk took her to her favourite spot just where the shore curved round the bay. It was a huge crop of rocks which were ideal for sitting in between and hiding. It was almost like a little cave, her cave, with two large rocks either side and a flat one which formed a sort of roof. It reminded her of a dolmen, ideal for sitting under and cleansing one's mind and spirit.
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She was lost in her thoughts, dwelling on how she was determined to take the reins of her own life from that moment on and fuck the world, as her eyes scanned the ocean in front of her. Then, suddenly, something cold, then warm and wet nudged her hand. She gave a little yell and jumped as she thought it had been a jellyfish. But she didn't feel any itching or irritation, so she then thought it must have been some sort of fish or eel, something that was washed up.
Not that it was a more comforting thought.
Hannah looked around and saw a small, hairless dog cowering in the inner corner of the cave. Or at least it looked like a dog. She approached the animal cautiously to verify it was indeed a dog and not some other random form of life and was pleased to see her initial identification was correct.
"Hey puppy." she said gently, holding her hand out.
The dog was tentative. He looked at her hand but didn't move a muscle so she stayed still allowing him time to move and sniff her and then his tail gave a small wag and she reached out to scratch his ear. The dog then wagged his tail a little stronger.
"I like you too, buddy." Hannah said softly, smiling at him.
At the sound of her voice the dog came nearer and put his paws on her legs, wagging his tail before he sat down close next to her, his head resting against her legs. She noticed then the dog needed a bit of patching up as he had a few wounds over its back. He must have been a stray dog living in the cave, she thought, and she had intruded his safe place.
She drank her coffee in silence with the dog beside her. Then she got up and headed to the resort in order to take a shower and help Rachel with the damned aerobics class, but when she looked down she realised the dog had followed her instead of staying behind his home. Her mind travelled then to Cocoa, the dog they had as a kid. A chocolate Labrador who used to growl at Sammy whenever he was teasing her or messed with her dolls. Cocoa used to follow her all over, he was like her shadow and had never let her down. Of course he hadn't because dogs are better than people. They're loyal, which is not something many people at the resort could claim.
And that was that, she was keeping the dog. She made up her mind there and then. This dog had appeared when she most needed something to rely on and maybe he needed her too.
When Hannah entered the resort, followed by the dog, everyone was sat on a table at the patio, before the guests awoke fully and the busy hours of the day began.
"Oh my God! Whose dog is this? Hi fella?" Rachel said, immediately spotting the dog.
"Suppose he’s mine now." Hannah shrugged as she took a seat next to Jake and left the coffee mug on the table.  "Found him on the beach...or he found me."
"We're not keeping a dog...are you keeping him? Seriously?" Sammy asked, raising her voice with every question.
Hannah merely glared at him, she didn't say a word. She turned to Rachel instead before saying "I think I might keep him."
Simon then pottered over to Max, sitting down beside him, his ears forward, looking at his food.
"The dog wants my food." Max deadpanned.
"Give him some then." Hannah said, rolling her eyes.
Max hesitated before grabbing some beef bacon from Ari's plate and gave it to the dog.
"The dog wanted your food not mine." Ari protested, before taking a sip from his coffee.
He looked at the dog as he wolfed it down and then jumped up, paws on Max's leg, tail wagging so hard his butt was moving.
"Hey!  He likes me." Max chimed.
"He is kinda cute..hey buddy..." Jake said as he gave a sharp whistle and fed him a slice of toast.
"There's some leftover chicken in the fridge..." Rachel offered, seeing as the dog would guzzle all their breakfast if they let him.
"Oh, cool, he's hungry...poor thing..." Hannah said standing up.
She slapped her leg and the dog followed her unconditionally.
Once she was gone Sammy started his usual campaign against anything new.
"She can't keep him." he groaned.
"She's so keeping it." Jake snorted.
Ari who was now smoking a cigarette, his left arm leaning on the chair's back, asked "Why can't he stay?"
"He reminds me of Ethan...no hair" Max joked, with his signature grin. Rachel slapped him on the back of his head and everyone bar Sammy snorted.
"Seriously, Ari, she can't keep it. We're on a mission." Sammy tried again.
"You fucking tell her then..." Ari growled, not bothering to look at him.
"Chill out, it's only a dog. And what's wrong with you two?" Jake asked, looking between Sammy and Ari.  "You're throwing daggers at each other."  He then turned to Max "And you, you're being weird too."
Ari decided then he had had enough and stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray. He too was pissed at Sammy and Max and wasn't in the mood to answer any of Jake's questions whatsoever.  "I'm going for a run." he said as he got up.
"Yeah. Get the fuck out of here..." Sammy snarled.
Ari stopped on his tracks and glared at him "I'm going now before I punch YOU in the jaw...and you wanna upset your sister again, be my guest, because I can't and I won't."
"Yeah, you've never been able to say no to her have you, Ari?" Sammy raised his voice again.  
"Ok, what have I missed?" Jake asked, his eyes darting between Sammy, Max and Rachel.
Ari just shot Sammy another glare, more like a death stare, thinking how he would love to drag him over the table and smash his face in.  But he simply left, his hands turning into fists.
"Just leave it" Max whispered, leaning over Jake.
The first guests started appearing in the dining room just as Rachel switched seamlessly into Angela, welcoming them. Max, Jake and Sammy stood up and cleared the table they had been having breakfast at. Hannah came back, the dog on her tail after having been fed and patched up, and greeted the guests in a perfect Spanish accent.
"Buenos días" she said to the woman she had spoken Spanish to the day before, and then ignored everyone and headed to her hut.
Just as she was about to reach her door she bumped into Ari as he emerged from his in his running gear complete with Walkman.
"Sorry firefly didn't see you..." Ari apologised.
"It's ok, I was distracted..." she said softly, taking him in but not daring to look him in the eyes.
Ari was in no better position and ran his hand through his hair struggling for words while she checked him out. And suddenly the dog jumped up at him.
"Hey pal..." Ari kneeled down to gently pat the puppy's head and scratch him behind his ears.
"Think he likes you." Hannah said, giving him a small smile.
Ari looked up, and saw Hannah was smiling, and he'd be damned if it wasn't a genuine smile. His eyes locked on hers for a second before he looked back at the dog who was now licking his face.
"Where did you find him?" he asked softly.
"My rocks." she said, pointing to the curve of the bay. Ari squinted his eyes and then he spotted the place she was pointing out. "I think I might call him Simon."
Ari laughed at the random name. "Simon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Hannah shrugged and just then he let out a snort as he realised "Still hoping Simon Le Bon is gonna come rescue you?"
"Well if you can't have Simon Le Bon, Simon Le Bone will do. What do you think, buddy?" Hannah cooed, bending to give him scratches.
"A substitute for the real thing?" Ari quipped. He sensed Hannah was in good spirits and decided it was worth giving a shot.
"Well, we don't always get what we want." she replied, looking up back at him.
Ari swallowed, remembering the dream he had had the other night and her saying those exact words to him on her 21st. His face then fell and though he tried to collect himself quickly Hannah noticed.
"What's wrong?" she asked, studying him.
"Nothing Firefly, just....I'm sorry." he answered quietly.
"Yeah, you said." she said as she looked down at the dog who was now rolling on the sand. She looked back at Ari and could see the pain was still in his eyes even though he had rearranged his face. She swallowed before admitting "I'm sorry too, Lobo."
"What for?" he frowned. Now, that was a surprise.
"Being so angry at you...I know you're hurting too." she said looking into his eyes, just to check they were still in turmoil.
Ari couldn't find the words, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness. He knew he didn't. The only thing he could come up with was looking at her shrugging before stepping forward and in an automatic response, hugging her. He didn't even think about the possibility of her rejecting his touch, even his nearness. But, surprisingly, she rested her head against his chest as his hands gently rubbed at her back and he decided in a bold movement to kiss her head and whisper into her hair "I'm so sorry, Han."
"I know." she whispered back.
They stood there until a moment later she pulled back and wiped her eyes "Look I have to help Rachel with the tourists. Can you keep an eye on Simon?"
"So we're actually calling him that?" Ari snorted.
"We?" Hannah asked, arching her eyebrow.
Ari simply smiled "I've got you on this, I like him."
"Let me guess, the others want him to go." Hannah asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"No, just Sammy." Ari confessed. But just as the words left her mouth he internally face palmed himself realising he may have just made it worse between the siblings.
"Well Sammy can jump. I'm done letting him take things from me." she said, her eyes burning with determination.
Ari saw her open her mouth to say something, but she shut it almost instantly as she apparently had changed her mind and after a few seconds she spoke again "I don't think there's anything on this afternoon, do you wanna take me into Port Sudan? Simon's gonna need some stuff if he is staying, I was gonna go diving but..."
Ari's mind went directly to Jake and his diving experience the previous day and blurted out  "No!" and noticed Hannah's surprised expression before correcting himself "I mean, yeah, I'll take you...sure."
"Thanks, so you're ok watching him whilst I help Rachel?" she checked.
Ari looked at the dog who glanced up at him, tongue lolling out before replying "Sure Firefly."
****
Ari was in the dining area, reading the American paper they got once a week if they were lucky, with Simon led by his feet when Sammy walked in.
"Oh fuck me..." he said, stopping when he spotted the dog.
Ari looked at him, deciding if it was worth trying to speak to him or if he was actually in the mood to do so when Simon sat up and growled at Sammy.
"Oh look at that..." Ari grinned "He doesn't like you either."
"Fuck you Ari..." Sammy rolled his eyes "She convinced you, didn't she?"
"The dog stays, Sammy." Ari said sternly, his eyes on the newspaper.
"She did." Sammy said, shaking his head as he scoffed.
"Like I said, the dog stays." Ari looked at him again. "End of discussion."
"You're an idiot." Sammy spat
"It's just a dog Sammy." Ari sighed "What's the issue?"
"You really can't say no to her can you?" Sammy asked as a response to Ari's question.
"Again Sammy?" Ari groaned as Sammy glared at him.
"Don't even think of getting near her again Ari." Sammy threatened him.
"Fuck off Sammy." Ari bit back feeling his temper fray as he stood up and stormed out of the dining area, pushing past Sammy and headed towards the beach, Simon following him.
He nearly missed Max who was about to walk in the door and moved out of the way of Ari and looked at Sammy puzzled before saying "Wow, everyone loves you today, don't they?"
"Oh shut up Max." Sammy rolled his eyes and walked into the resort.
"Yeah, that's what I should have done." he muttered. He looked at Ari who was now walking down towards the ocean and turned to follow him.
"Ari..." he called, "Wait up buddy."
Ari stopped and turned and saw Simon ran towards Max as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the man to reach his side.
"Yeah, I ain't got no food now pal...you ate it all."
Ari called Simon by his name to stop bothering Max and Max looked at him "Simon? Let me guess, Duran Duran..."
"You know Hannah." Ari snorted "Simon Le Bone, meet Max...or Irving...he's Maltese..."
"Le Bone?" Max laughed "Good call..."
"Yeah I thought so too." Ari smiled.
"Look, Ari.I want to apologise. I swear when I told Andy well, I didn't think he would go and do that..." Max spoke, looking at him shyly.
"Well, he did." Ari shrugged.  "But it doesn't matter anymore."
"Doesn't it?" Max asked. Not believing for a moment his leader was going to let him get away with it. But Ari just sighed. "I know you Ari, and I know Hannah too." Max insisted.
"Well, in that case why don't you tell me if it matters or not then Max?" Ari asked, a little tetchy.
"You know it does Ari." Max shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry man."  he added before leaving.
Ari breathed out and looked down at Simon before muttering "Everyone's fuckin' sorry... Well, except Sammy that is."
Simon just looked at him. The dog hadn't got a clue of what was going on so he happily headed down to the ocean, sticking his paws in the water.
*****
Ari drove the truck down the main road heading towards Port Sudan. Neither of them were talking much, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Both of them were glad to get away from the atmosphere that had descended on the Red Sea Diving resort, even if they were partially responsible for it despite that not being totally their fault.
Hannah was simply looking out of the window, every so often taking something in, an interesting landmark, an animal, whatever it was they passed by. Her passenger side window was opening, causing the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun to blow around her face. Ari stole a glance at her, taking in her profile, smiling softly to himself thinking it was probably a good job her eyes were covered by her shades because he really should be focussed on the road…
“Why are you looking at me Ari?” Hannah questioned as she turned to face him. He hastily averted his attention to the road as he gave her a sheepish smile.
"Was just thinking, it’s been a while since we've been alone in a car." he said, his elbow leaning on the door frame.
"Yeah well this ain’t gonna end the same way as the last time that happened." she said taking a deep breath as she looked back out of the window.
"What do you mean?" Ari frowned.
She turned to look at him "You forgotten that night after the McDonalds drive through?"
Oh…no, he hadn’t forgotten...just not thought about it for a while. But now he was.
Ari tossed the scrunched up cheeseburger wrapper into the paper bag as Hannah did the same, before he turned and dropped the trash into the rear foot well of his chevvy behind his seat. Hannah reached over for her coke, taking a large drink as she glanced out of the window.
“So tell me, mi Lobo…did you park this far away from everyone else for a reason?” she asked, turning to him.
“Firefly, I resent that accusation…” he said, shifting slightly so he was side on in his seat, facing her, one arm sneaking round the back of her headrest.
“You’re so full of shit…” she looked at him, and he arched an eyebrow.
“Ok, you got me…” he said, his other hand falling to her thigh just above where her long, over-knee socks finished “I just wanted to make sure no one dented the car…” She let out a laugh and he grinned, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding up over her skin and under the hem of her tartan mini skirt.
“Been driving me crazy sat in the theatre next to you, wearing this…” he muttered into her mouth, as his fingers reached the top of her thighs. She let out a soft moan as she shifted slightly, his hand gently skating over her panty clad core. “I wasn’t concentrating much on the movie.”
“Kinda the point…” she whispered, his eyes locking onto hers.
“You know you give off this sweet, little innocent girl vibe when really you’re nothing but fucking minx…” he mumbled, his lips crashing onto hers as his fingers moved her underwear to one side and he found her hot and wet and so fucking ready. It hadn’t taken him long, as his fingers coaxed her gently he nipped at her neck, lavishing her with the praise and soft dirty talk she loved and just as she’d let out a soft cry of his name and arched her back as she came, wrapping her hand around his wrist, there was a sharp banging on the window which startled them both enough for Ari to jerk upwards, cracking his head on the roof of his car.
“Fuck!”  he said, massaging his head before he moved as Hannah straightened her clothing and he wound his window down.
“Officer…” he greeted the Cop who looked at him, then to Hannah, then to the back of the car and Ari glanced around, spotting for the first time that the windows had misted up. “We were errr…” “I know exactly what you were doing…” The officer looked at him “Take it home kids.”
“Kids…” Ari scoffed, watching him go. “I’m twenty-fucking-eight!”
Hannah laughed, “Must be your boyish good looks Lobo…”
“I’m not a boy, as well you know Firefly…” he shot her a look as he readjusted his pants and turned on the ignition to the car.
“Awww, would it make you feel better if I stroked your ego and told you that you were all man?” “You can stroke somethin’…” he quipped, shooting her a dirty grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and she laughed, and turned those blue eyes on him as they flashed in the dim street lighting.
“Well take me home and I will.” Yeah, he remembered that very well. And thanks to that memory, his not so little problem from yesterday morning was well on it’s way to reappearing.
"Well, I imagine with the sand and the dust around the place, getting the windows as steamy as we did then would be a challenge." he said, clearing his throat.
Hannah gave a laugh "We nearly got arrested.”
“Why break the habit of a lifetime, sweetheart?” he laughed and Hannah shook her head as her chuckles subsided and she once more fell silent.
Ari glanced at her again before he turned his eyes back to the road. It wasn’t long after that, 2 nights in fact, that following the Surgery Inauguration Party Sammy had turned up on his doorstep and punched him in the jaw, warning him off. Lost in his own thought, he nearly missed the almost whisper from Hannah a little while later when she spoke again.
"Thank you."
Ari frowned "What for firefly?"
"For backing me up with Simon." she turned to look at him.
“Like, shall I count the amount of times you backed me up since we came here?"
"I backed you up those times Lobo because you were right." she shrugged.
"Yeah, well and so were you about Simon." he said simply, his eyes back on the road.
"Well thanks anyway..."
"You're welcome Han. Besides, I kinda like him." he said, smiling at her.
At that she gave a snort "Sammy doesn't."
Ari rubbed at his eye, “Sammy doesn't like anyone, well not at the moment."
She let out a cheeky laugh, before she grinned and Ari looked at her again "That's part of the reason I wanted to keep him." she said, drawing a loud laugh from him. .
****
Jake entered the reception area in his diving gear and was about to say something but shut it closed when he realised only Rachel and Jake were there sorting some schedule for the following day.
"Where the hell is Hannah?" he asked them, his hands on his hips.
"She went with Ari to Port Sudan." Rachel deadpanned without taking her eyes from the folder.
"What the fuck?” Jake cursed, making both Rachel and Max lift their eyes to look at him. "I was gonna take her diving..."
Not missing the whiney tone to his voice, Max vaulted over the reception counter and put an arm round Jake "Come on man, I'll tell you a story..."
They walked towards the seafront part of the resort, the dog behind them. Hannah had instructed Max to babysit Simon while she was away. In fact her exact words had been to take care of her puppy and keep it as far away from Sammy as possible. As long as he didn't turn his whiney bitch mode on, in which case Max was fully allowed to unleash the dog on Sammy having been told by Ari about his little growling incident before.
Max explained to Jake everything he needed to know about the big fuck up that had taken place nearly nine years before and which was still altering their lives. Jake listened carefully, slack-jawed as he ran a hand over his face from time to time.
"Whoaa, talk about a fucked up story." was all Jake could muster as realisation of what had been happening in front of his own eyes hit him. "So, Ari and Hanna..." he trailed and Max nodded in reply.
Then they abruptly stopped talking realizing Simon was gone. They looked around, turning and walking frantically, searching for the dog but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Cracker is so gonna kill us…” Max groaned as they ran back to the resort. "Have any of you seen the dog? We can't find him." he asked, bending over his body and panting as they emerged into the reception area.
"What?" Rachel shrieked.
"We got distracted for a minute and bam, he gone. We lost him." Jake explained as he tried to steady his breathing.
"What the fuck do you mean you lost him?" Rachel asked fuming. "Find him.  Now!"
"Yeah, you better do it fast before mama bear comes back and rips your head off." Sammy snorted. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the show Dumb and Dumber were putting on.
"Yeah mama bear and wolf daddy." Max laughed.
Both Sammy and Jake glared at Max.
"Let's have a look around the buildings." Jake said, still pissed at Max's comment. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Hannah had bailed on him. That said, he was still quite fond of his head so didn’t want to give her any excuse to be pissed at him, so together they headed out looking for the dog at the front side of the resort but there wasn't any trace of him there either.
"You know it's a stray..." Jake sighed "He could have just fucked off home..."
"Yeah, I think he did...look" Max said, pointing to Simon who was stood outside Hannah's hut just like he was chilling. He looked at them, his ears pricking up, almost in a greeting.
Yo guys.
"Fucking dog." Jake hissed.
They tried calling him to them, both relieved, but the dog showed no intention of moving from his spot. He just observed the two sweaty men looking at him with squinting eyes and their hands on their hips.
"If he's waiting for Hannah, he won't move." Jake said. "Unless..." and he turned to look at Max with a hopeful grin.
So Max rushed to the kitchen to fetch some food for the dog and quickly came back, showing it to him. Simon then got up and headed over to Max wagging his tail.
"Like, if this is Hannah and Ari's kid..." Jake snorted "Does this make Sammy his uncle?" he asked as Max fed the dog.
"Grumpy uncle..." Max snorted, looking at Jake.
"Then you must be food uncle..." Jake offered and Max grinned satisfied with his title. “What am I?”
“Shit shirt uncle?” Max quipped, as Jake shot him a look before the three of them headed back to the main building.
****
Ari had to hand it to Hannah, she hadn’t lost a shred of that tenacity she’d possessed years ago. She was currently stood in a little pet shop on the high street describing Simon to the man behind the counter. The guy spoke really bad English, but had given a yell to someone who had wandered through from the back, who was now attempting to translate.
“No, no hair…” Hannah was saying “Grey, with pink patches…big ears.” “Ahhh…nem, nem!” The man said, and he hurried out from behind the counter and gestured for Hannah to follow him. Ari watched as she did, and he pulled a book from one of the shelves and thumbed through until he found the page.
“Yeah!” Hannah grinned, giving him a thumbs up “Sukran…” The man beamed and nodded, leaving her with the book whilst he went to ring up the total for the dog bowls, the basket bed, food, collar and leash Hannah had picked out.
“You find him?” Ari asked.
“Yup.” she said, as he looked over her shoulder at the page. “He’s an Abyssinian Sand Terrier, also known as an African Hairless dog…”
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“Sand Terrier is much better.” Ari said, “Makes him sound much more mysterious…”
“Says here they are fearless, loyal and willing to please…” Hannah mused.
“Sounds like someone I know.” Ari quipped and Hannah looked at him, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face as she closed the book on Dog Breeds and placed it back on the shelf. She moved to the counter and pulled out her purse but Ari gently placed his hand on hers and shook his head.
“I’ll get it…” “Ari, no,it’s…” “I’m gonna ring it through on expenses.” Ari grinned “He’s a guest after all…” She looked at him before she shrugged “Good luck explaining that to Ethan.” “I think Ethan would like him, like Max said, they both have the same amount of hair.” Hannah laughed and Ari grinned and he paid the man, giving him a tip as a thanks for his help before they gathered the things and headed back to the car. They placed the stuff in the back and Hannah went to the passenger side to climb in, but Ari stopped her when he spoke.
“Whilst we’re here, why don’t we head to the Souk and then the market? I’m not in any particular rush to get back…that is unless you want to?” “No, a walk sounds good.” She smiled, her hands shifting to the scarf that was round her head, making sure it was adjusted properly.
Together they made their way through the relatively busy dusty street and found themselves in a large market place, which led in turn to smaller alleys off which the found the various Souks and Bazars. Ari allowed Hannah to direct, as they spent a bit of time looking at the clothing and the jewellery, a particular piece caught Ari’s attention due to the shape but before he could say anything Hannah’s focus was on a perfume stall which seemed like you could basically mix your own. After smelling a few components, some nice, some really not, they wandered back to the market place and there they spent a little more time at the food stalls. It was fun, they walked around, taking the free samples of the local breads, cheeses, meats and fruits they were offered along with pastries and sauces and dips…and once they’d decided what they liked at Ari’s suggestion they picked up a selection as a treat for the team later when they settled down for their usual end of day chat and drinks. Ari felt encouraged when Hannah agreed, that she was amenable to actually being round a table with Max and Sammy gain gave him hope that she was feeling a little less hostile towards the pair of them.
On their way back they passed a local café and Hannah stopped and asked Ari if they could grab a drink. Given that they’d been in the heat and sun most of the afternoon he conceded it was probably a good idea and they settled at a table, Ari lighting up a cigarette as they drank some form of sweet, iced tea. Hannah made some joke about how Max would be pissed about missing out on free food samples and Ari grinned, agreeing. For the most part, however, he was silent, simply letter her talk as he was happy she was relaxing and the Firefly he knew was coming back to him. It wasn’t just that though, his mind was clouding a little as she was stirring deep feelings, emotions he had been trying to ignore since she admitted the other night that she had loved him.
It had shocked him, it truly had. As it was something that neither of them had ever said to one another, they’d never admitted to the feelings being that strong.
And now he was kicking himself for not doing so when he had the chance.
Mind you, to do so he would have had to have admitted it to himself and at the time he hadn’t. The old adage of not knowing what you had till it was gone had never been more apt.
“We should probably go if we want to get back to help with Dinner Service” Hannah said softly, glancing at her watch “Damned it…is that the right time?”
She held her wrist out and Ari then glanced at his and shook his head “No, it’s short by 30 minutes…”
She groaned “I only set it again this morning. Think it’s on its way out. Mind you, what do you expect when it only costs you 5 bucks huh?” “So it’s not a real Tag?” Ari raised an eyebrow, teasing and she gave him a look of mock indignance.
“That is a genuine fake I’ll have you know, Lobo.” she snorted before she sighed “I’ll get one, one day.”
Ari tossed down some money, thanked the guy who had served them and they headed back to the truck. As they made their way back, the sun was starting to dip, and with it Hannah’s mood as the closer they got to the Resort, the more withdrawn she started to get again.
"Do you regret it?" she suddenly blurted out.
"What?" he frowned.
"Regret being with me all those years ago?"
“Hannah…” he sighed “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Raking over it all…” “Because I don’t understand Ari.” She looked at him, “Before on the beach, when you said you were sorry…I just wonder sometimes if...” she trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, forget it.” “It clearly does matter.” Ari said, his voice carrying a level of frustration. “Spit it out.” “If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”
Ari took a deep breath. "Han I hate the way we ended, I really do...and it tears me apart thinking about why it happened and there's a part of me that will never forgive Sammy for what he did, but he did it because he thought he was protecting you, and I know that doesn’t make it ok..." He cut her protests off before she could launch into another rant about her brother, continuing as he attempted to get his point across. “But I knew he was right. I wasn’t good for you. I was a selfish asshole, still am according to you remember?”
“I shouldn’t’ have said that…” she dropped her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.
“But you’re right.” he shrugged “So I didn’t fight because I believed what Sammy was saying, I still do in some ways but do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
His words hit Hannah like a lightning bolt as she turned everything over in her mind. Over the course of less than 3 days she’d gone from believing that Ari had left because things were getting too serious for him and that he had gotten what he wanted and so cast her aside, to then believing that he had in fact been warned off by her brother and didn't fight because he didn't care enough but now she truly understood. He actually believed everything that Sammy had said. He genuinely thought he wasn’t good enough for her. So had done what in his mind was right, broken her heart to save it in the long term.
“I suppose it worked out for you in the end.” she said gently “You found Sarah, had Maya.”
Ari sighed “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change any of that in the world…but you know, you got Andy…”
He instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as her face darkened again and she looked out of the window.
"Han, don't be too angry at him..." he pressed.
"Angry? I'm fucking furious Ari.” she turned to him, tears in her eyes “I feel betrayed...like...well, my entire relationship happened because he broke us up. It’s like the whole thing was a fucking sham."
"Don't say that." Ari shaking his head "You loved him Hannah, and he did what he did for a reason. He loved you."
"Well I loved someone else back then." she wiped at her face "And he hardly knew me either at that point so he didn't have a right to do anything. It's like he saw me as some prize to be won in some fucked up competition"
“Hey, come on…” he reached out for her left hand which had fallen to her knee and he gave it a quick squeeze “I know it hurts, and I know you’re angry but everyone did what they did because they thought it was right.” “It should have been my choice though Ari.” she looked at him, shaking her head “And you all took that choice away from me whether you meant to or not.” “I know, and I’m sorry…” “I know, I know.” she said softly “And I believe you, I do…” she took a deep breath and she shook her head “Suppose you’re right…not like we can change any of it anyway, unless you’re hiding a TARDIS somewhere...” “Sorry Firefly, you’re The Doctor not me.” She looked at him, before her face creased up and she let out a huge howl of laughter.
Thankfully, the conversation took a lighter turn, Ari getting the impression that Hannah was as tired of being angry and bitter about things as he was and he hoped that she was ready to stop torturing herself over the past. He hated seeing her so upset and withdrawn.
Eventually they got to the resort and once the car had stopped, Hannah climbed out and grinned as Simon came trotting over to greet them, his tail wagging furiously. As Hannah stooped to greet him, Ari was pondering at how the dog seemed to actually be that bonded with her already considering she had found him only that morning, when his attention went to Sammy and Rachel who were emerging from the side entrance.
“Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours.”
"Hello to you too Sammy..." Ari rolled his eyes
"I didn't realise we were being timed" Hannah stood up and folded her arms. "Did I miss my curfew?" she asked sarcastically. "Ignore him." Rachel shot Sammy a look before she walked towards the truck where Hannah was now reaching into the back for the bags.
"Gladly" Hannah mumbled. Rachel took one of the bags from her, looking inside and immediately started cooing over the stuff they had bought, informing them that it looked great. Hannah started to tell her all about the fabrics and the perfumes at the souks as they walked inside, Simon mooching behind them.
Ari watched them go, ignoring Sammy and then smiling at Jake who had also emerged to help.
“Need a hand?”
“Yeah…thanks.” Ari said as Jake grabbed the bag of dog biscuits. Ari tossed the smaller pet items into the basket before he removed it from the truck, shutting the door with his hip. He nodded at Max who was leaning in the doorway eating a sandwich as he entered the resort.
“Where do you want this Firefly?” he asked. She turned to face him and placed the bag she was carrying down, fishing in her pocket.
“Can you take them to my hut?” “Sure.” She crossed towards him, placed the key in the basket he was carrying and he gave her a smile as he headed back outside and down to the hut that was 2 along from his. Unlocking the door he walked inside, placed the basket on her bed and stood up, taking a quick look around. The familiar vanilla notes he associated with her surrounded him and he simply took a deep breath before he turned to go, which was when he noticed that there was frame on her bed side table which was face down. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t help himself and he gently picked it up. It was a photo of her and Andy in her Mama’s garden. Hannah was sat on his knee, smiling at the camera as Andy gently kissed her cheek. Fuck, she’d really, really taken what the man had done badly.
Captain fucking obvious, Levinson….
He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but she’d been happy with Andy. He had been a good guy, what he had done was selfish but he wasn’t a selfish man, not by nature…hell, he’d given his own life to save Ari’s…but as he stood there, Ari suddenly started to wonder whether there had been more to that. Had Andy felt some sort of guilt?
No, no. It had been a split, in the moment decision, one any agent would do for another. That was all.
Not wanting to think about it anymore, he replaced the photo so that it wouldn’t appear to have been moved and left, locking the door behind him and heading back to the dining area.
As usual everyone chipped in to help serve dinner to the guests, and then that was it. Their duties over for the day and they were free to do what they wanted. As the Guests started to thin out, either heading to the beach or to their huts the staff-slash-agents retreated to a table outside with a bottle of wine and the stuff Ari and Hannah had brought back. The chat was easy and it was comfortable, which Ari was thankful for. Rachel, in her full Angela role informed them they were booked now until the start of April, at which point Ari, or Guy, nodded and suggested that might be a good time to go scouting again for more diving locations…in other words, their next mission. They all nodded, and he agreed he would clear it upon his trip back to the US (Israel) to chat to their sponsors (Ethan).
“Well, before we go scouting anywhere…” Max spoke, in his Irving voice “It’s Rosa’s 30th…” There were subdued cheers around the table, and Hannah groaned.
“Don’t remind me…” she said, her accent impeccable as always.
“You know we should throw a party…” Sammy said “A proper beach one, like they do back home, in Aus…” Hannah looked at him, and then shook her head. Rachel looked at her “Oh come on!” “A party could be fun, Red.” Jake grinned at her and she sighed.
“Fine, but I am not going naked diving.” she pointed at him “Regardless of whether it’s a birthday tradition in the diving world…” “Isn’t that a 100th Dive Tradition?” Ari looked at Jake, raising an eyebrow. Jake shrugged, mischievously.
“You lying bastard!” Hannah scoffed, slapping his arm. Jake grinned and she shook her head.
“And on that note, I’m calling it a night.” he yawned “I have a double diving tour tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, I should really sort some paper work too, ready for the check out tomorrow.” Rachel said, as they both stood up. Jake bid them all goodnight and Rachel headed into the resort, presumably to the office just behind the reception desk. Hannah watched as Sammy’s eyes trailed after her for a second before he too sighed and said he was heading to bed leaving Max, Hannah and Ari at the table. Hannah glanced down at Simon who sat up at the commotion, cocking his head to the side, his blue collar settled on his neck.
“Think I’ll take Simon for a little walk before bed” she rose from her seat. “Night boys.” “Good night Cracker.” Max smiled.
“Night.” Ari nodded and with that she left.
Ari watched her walk off down the sand. Simon trotting at her heels. The loose, pale yellow top she was wearing blew slightly in the breeze as she walked, barefoot and bare legged thanks to those navy blue shorts…
He turned to Max, the two of them striking up a conversation about Port Sudan, until Ari suddenly interrupted, unable to get the thought that had sprung up as Hannah walked off out of his mind.
“Think she’ll be ok?” Ari turned to Max. Max simply looked at him. “Hannah, you know, with the military being around…” Max considered Ari for a moment before he leaned forward “Why don’t you go keep an eye on her?”
“No, I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Ari shook his head.
“She might.” Max shrugged.
Ari looked at him again, before he gave a nod and headed out. He couldn’t see Hannah, but he had a good idea where she would be, he remembered her talking about the cave she had found Simon in, just at the curve of the cove. He made his way over, exhaling cigarette smoke and smiled as he realised he was right when Simon came bounding out from behind a rock to greet him.
"Hey pal..." he said softly before he stopped at the entrance to the cave.
Hannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile as the dim light sparkled in her eyes.
"This isn't walking Firefly." Ari smiled, leaning against the rocky wall of the cave by the entrance as he looked down at her.
"I walked here didn't I?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Want me to leave you alone?" he asked, fully aware she had hidden in there for a reason. He’d got what he wanted, to know she was safe, so he was perfectly happy to let her be.
"You can sit if you want." she shrugged "But you can put that out before you step into my secret den…” He smiled and stubbed his cigarette out before he ducked into the rock cluster, sitting beside her.
“So, what you up to? Actually, no let me guess thinking..." he said and she gave a soft huff, shrugging “You know I meant what I said before, don't you ever wanna switch off your brain and just stop for a while?"
"Yup." she nodded “But it’s never that simple though is it?"
"Nothing is Simple." Ari sighed "I wish it was.
"I managed it for a bit today." Hannah looked at him. "Switching off I mean. When we were in the market and stuff...it was nice."
"Yeah, yeah it was Firefly." he agreed
She looked at him and smiled "I like that."
"You like what?”
"When you call me Firefly, not Hannah or Han."
"You'll always be Firefly to me." he shrugs "Although Hannah is your actual name, so..."
"Sorry, you mean Rosa Maria, Guy.”
Ari chuckled as did she.
"I think we needed that" he smiled.
"Needed what?”
"A smile, and a laugh...chance to be away from it all for a little while." he looked at her.
"Maybe, like I said today was nice. Tonight was nice too...things have gone a bit overboard since we came back from the mission."
"You're telling me." He agreed.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the moonlight on the water as a slight gust of wind blew in from the Ocean, ruffling Ari’s hair slightly. He felt Hannah give a little shiver besides him and he looked at her as she tucked her knees into her chest. He hesitated for a second before he passed his arm over her shoulder.
"If I was wearing a jacket I'd offer it to you..." he nodded to the goose-bumps on her arm as explanation for his display of affection, fully expecting her to push him away but she didn’t.
"This is fine." she shrugged "Thanks”
"You're saying that a lot today Firefly." he looked at her before his attention went to Simon who was digging in the sand at the mouth of the cave, his tail wagging furiously.
"Well, you know, mama always told me to give thanks when it’s due so..."
"Good advice" he nodded.
“Seriously though, thank you Ari…” she looked at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing his cheek.
He turned his head to look at her and her face was so close to his. “You’re welcome” he whispered, swallowing slightly and her eyes flickered down to his lips. It was quick, and had he blinked he would have missed it. But he didn't...and once more he was catapulted back to the night of her 21st outside the club.
The internal conflict that had been raging inside him back then reared once more with vengeance only this time it wasn’t just about Sammy. There was Andy and everything else that had happened over the past few days, and her question from before rang around his head, silencing the voices...
“If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”
Whilst he couldn’t answer that, because he honestly didn’t know, he did know one thing. He didn’t regret them being together, at all.
“…do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
And he would, one and a million fucking times over regardless of how it worked out, because he'd rather have had her for those few months than never at all.
He was aware she still hadn’t moved, her eyes were bouncing across his, like she was waiting for him to decide what he wanted, what he was going to do…so he did. His lips brushed hers, in a soft, gentle kiss, their noses bumping together slightly. And she didn't pull away. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, his lips gliding over hers, the kiss deepening slightly. She was mimicking his movements, reciprocating, her tongue sliding against his and fuck he was in heaven, his stomach full of those familiar knots, until she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, her hand on his chest.
"Ari..I..." her voice was raspy, her chest rising and falling deeply as was his. And he shook his head before he pressed it to hers.
“I know.” he sighed. ��Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s not just your fault” she said softly.
He looked at her before he moved his arm from round her, running his hand through his hair as he sat back, shaking his head, looking down at his hands. There was a moment or two of silence, Ari mentally cursing himself again for being an idiot before Hannah spoke.
“I need to go…it’s late and I didn’t sleep much last night." she looked at him “Wanna walk me back?” He looked at her, noticing that she was smiling and he gave a soft laugh.
“Sure…come on.”
He stood up, ducking again as the cave wasn’t tall enough to accommodate his full height and held his hand out to help her up. She took it, and once she was stood, she didn’t let go.
**** “Have you seen Hannah?” Rachel asked, walking back out onto the patio “I need to ask her something about the Spanish guests.”
“She left for a walk.” Max said, looking up from the piece of drift wood he had been whittling into shape. As Rachel made to go find her, he suddenly realised he had sent Ari before and hastily stood up. “I’ll go, see if I can find her.” he offered.
Rachel smiled “Thanks.”
Max walked over the sand, down in the direction Hannah had headed in and then paused as he saw them in the distance, slowly making their way back towards the resort, hand in hand. Smiling to himself, Max turned to head back, giving one last glance over his shoulder at which point he saw them both stop at Hannah’s hut. Hannah looked up at Ari who wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back, smiled and headed into her room with Simon. Ari paused as the door closed, his head dropping a little as his hand ran through his hair before he headed towards his own accommodation.
Max made his way back to the dining area and wanderd inside to the bar, pouring himself a scotch.
“Did you find her?”
He spun to look at Rachel and shook his head “Nah, no sign. Must have gone to bed”
She looked at him before nodding “Ok, it can wait until tomorrow. I’m turning in myself now then. You ok to shut up here when you’re done?” Max nodded and watched Rachel go before he resumed his previous position at the table, picking up his carving, a soft smile playing on his face.
This time, he wasn’t saying shit about what he’d seen.
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xplrvibes · 3 years
Note
B is clinging on to the whole traphouse as much as he can. "My brother", what a hypocrite. He knows he's thrown shade at Jake before but suddenly hes all supportive of him. Its sad that shade accounts picked up JC tweeting at Jake Paul about who was the first content house but not Oscar going in on B even with the fan response.
Apologies in advance, this is a long one.
The thing is, neither Oscar nor B are that well known (no shade towards Oscar whatsoever, I am 100% team Oscar on this one).  B has a small following that are loyal to him, but most of the people who know him either simply know him as that guy that does the food hacks on youtube, or that guy that hangs out Colby and feeds us additional Colby content.  Maybe years ago, he might have had a following and fanbase of his own that was following him for him but those years are far and gone, and that’s pretty much all that’s left.
Meanwhile, Jake Paul is, for better or worse, one of the most recognizable names in the influencer world today. Anything he does is going to make headlines.  Any beef he starts is going to be all over the shade/tea accounts.  JC, for his part, is really well known as well-especially for being part of O2L which holds a special place in a lot of peoples’ hearts because that was really where a lot of us first started getting into youtube back in the day.  So, it makes sense that they would pick that up.
To anyone who doesn’t know the deal with B or Oscar, it looks like Oscar just randomly tried to start something with Mr. Positivity Food Hack Guy, who rose above all of the drama and refused to be acknowledge it.  It’s a non-starter.  It’s not even worth their time reporting on it.  I hate it, but I get it.
Now if say, Colby or JC or someone like that were to start something with B?  Maybe something would come of it.  But I don’t see that ever happening for many reasons.  
As for B-he fascinates me in a weird way, because I view him in the same light I view used car salesmen.  All smiles, lots of charm, lots of outward personality that gets you buy a rusted out piece of crap oldsmobile for way over Kelly Blue Book value and walk out of there thinking you’re walking away with a bargain.  He is really, really good at being manipulative and putting out a persona that hides what he’s really about.  
Like, the other day when Oscar was threatening to box him so suddenly he “found Jesus” and was flooding his ig story with inspirational quotes, Bible passages, and cute videos of his and his sister’s dogs.  If I hadn’t have already known what was going down, or what he was about, I would’ve probably given him props for trying to be a positive force in the influencer community.  And since most people still don’t know what he’s about, he continues to employ those tactics to hide in plain sight.  
As far as the traphouse goes-I get why Colby stays friends with him.  I don’t like it, but I understand where it comes from.  I also get that he and Corey have been close, possibly for even longer than he and Colby have been close.  Sam used to be wary of him, and I think that was more to do with the “threat” he posed to SNC’s relationship than anything else but they seem to have buried that and Sam seems to be cool with him now.  That confuses me a bit, but I figure its one of those, “if you can’t beat them, join them,” type of deals.  Plus, I think Sam is a lot more secure now in his role in Colby’s life versus B’s role and has nothing to worry about there.
But Jake?  That confuses me a lot.  B has openly shaded Jake multiple times in the past.  Even as recently as when Jake appeared on his podcast, he made mention that he thought Jake was “sus” when he first met him.  There is no way Jake doesn’t know about all of the Oscar drama, being so close to that group (and especially with Reggie being so close to that group)...so what ties them together?  I’m assuming B knows he has to be friendly with everyone in that house or he’s slowly going to lose the connection he has with SNC, so he turned on the charm and decided to make nice with Jake and Tara...but what do I know.  
TLDR; B is manipulative as shit and has next to nobody else in his life to cling to, so he is going to ride the traphouse clout train for as long as he can until they finally kick him off.  And I fear it is going to take A LOT to get them to dump him. 
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sheeple · 4 years
Text
The intern | 5: Friendly meetups
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GIFS NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): intern!au / fluff / mild angst Group(s): NCT / Red Velvet Pairing(s): Moon Taeil x fem!reader Summary: The new Elysion Publishings intern is the youngest they ever had. It’s not a problem until she grabs the attention of the IT guy. Warning(s): Age-gap of five years [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist]
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Taeil and I walk into a chicken restaurant and a pair of hands shoot up, waving enthusiastically at us. 
He drags me all the way down the back until we arrive at a table with three guys already sitting at it, enjoying their beers and snacks. 
“Aye”, the guys cheer as they see Taeil and give him each a hug with a big smile. 
I stand awkwardly at the back until one guy notices me and holds out his hand for me to shake with a wide smile. He kind of reminds me of a titan of AOT. 
“Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Nakamoto Yuta”, he says brightly as we shake hand. 
“Nice to meet you too! My name’s (Y/n) (Y/l/n).”
“Oh, we know”, says one teasingly as he nudges the one sitting next to him. 
Taeil rolls his eyes as he pushes a chair back for me to sit on. I thank him while removing my coat and hanging it on the backrest. Taeil takes a seat on the right of me, doing some weird handshake with the guy in front of him.
“I mean, who wouldn’t talk none stop when a cute foreign girl walks into their life?” 
A blush creeps on my cheeks as I look at Taeil. He avoids my eyes as his ears turn in a bright shade of red. 
He coughs. “Those two idiots are Doyoung and Sicheng, but we call him Winwin. You already met Yuta.”
I nod politely to the two other guys with a slight smile. Winwin gives me a small have and Doyoung winks. 
“So you’re colleagues with our resident old man?”, asks Winwin with a smug smile. 
Taeil scoffs and gives him a push on his shoulder. 
I laugh. “Yes, I am. I work in a different department as him.” I take a sip of my water.
A waitress comes for our orders and everyone lists what they want before she turns towards me. 
“For me... the boneless chicken coated in honey-lemon.”
She nods while writing it down on her notepad. “What would you like to drink with that.”
“Just coke is fine.” I smile uncomfortably as she nods again and turns away.
“Typically, people would take some beer with that”, says Doyoung. “Are you legal to drink alcohol?”
I nod quickly. “Of course. I’m just not a big fan of beer, that’s why. I rather have a pina colada or Pisang with 7up.” I smile slightly at the thought of a cold glass of that.
“And that is...?”, questions Doyoung with raises eyebrows. 
“You guys don’t know what Pisang is? I guess that you don’t have it here... But Pisang is a banana flavoured liquor that’s way too sweet to have it without mixing it. Mixed, it kind of tastes like these little green frog sweets. Just really sweet.”
Yuta hums. “Sounds delicious.”
“Right!”, I beam and high five him.
“You must really miss home”, says Doyoung while popping some food in his mouth, 
While I grab the chopsticks of the table, I hum. “Kind of? I mean, as much that I miss my family and friends, I just love the freedom of living on my own, you know.” 
“So, you share a house with roommates?”, asks Taeil interested as he leans back and puts his arm over the back of my chair. 
With a laugh, I shake my head. “I wish. I still live with my parents since I am too you to live on my own.”
They all look at me dumbfounded. 
“You live with your parents?” Yuta frowns while looking at Winwin next to him. 
“Lucky you, my parents kicked me out when I finished college and had a stable job”, grumbles Doyoung with a pout. 
Winwin nods in agreement. “Enjoy as long as it lasts.”
“We just redone the whole house, including my room. I don’t want to leave.” I look down sadly with a big pout. 
Taeil softly mumbles ‘cute’ under his breath before pinching my cheeks. 
I let out a high whine and push his hand away. “I am not cute.”
The guys coo and I frown. “If you all are going to be like this, I could better leave.”
“That would be a shame of your chicken”, says the waitress as she places my plate with delicious looking chicken on it.
My mouth waters already by the sight of the chicken. “Oh my god, you are right”, I laugh and she winks while placing the rest of the dishes and side dishes on the table.
We thank her and the guys begin to stuff their faces with chicken. 
“You have to taste the kimchi here, it’s delicious.” Taeil picks up a bit of kimchi with his chopsticks and holds it up to my mouth. 
I lick lips before opening my mouth, letting Taeil feed me. As I chew, the different kinds of flavours explode in my mouth. 
“Woah!”, I exclaim as my eyes lid up. “This is by far the best kimchi I ever tasted. Please don’t tell my neighbour, Mrs Do. She will murder me if I ever admit her kimchi isn’t the best in the world.”  I send a wink towards the boys and they chuckle.
Taeil laughs loudly and zips his mouth, throwing the key over his shoulder.
A giggle escapes my lips and I push against his shoulder.
“Not to ruin your cute moment, but, as a foreigner (Y/n), what is the most confusing or difficult thing about moving to Korea”, asks Winwin as he points with his chopsticks.
“Frikking Konglish, man. If I say ice cream, just the English way, nobody will understand what I am saying. But if I say iceu creameu, y’all know what I mean. It really blows my mind. Also the whole thing with age. I kinda get it, you need to show respect to people who are older than you but what’s up with just being friends, regardless their age?”
“I had some trouble with the whole honorifics”, says Yuta and I nod with big eyes. 
“Or just how you have to say something to someone and what you can and can’t do”, adds Winwin. 
“Exactly”, I point out before turning to Doyoung and Taeil. “How do you guys do it.”
They both share a look while shrugging. “Just years and years of practise.”
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After we ate and Winwin, Yuta, and I complained about things in Korea, we paid and left for the mall. 
“Please, why didn’t you let me pay for you?”, whines Taeil as we walk behind the three other guys. 
“Because I would feel bad about it. Don’t worry about it, okay? I am a big girl.” I reassuringly grab Taeil’s hand and smile at him, searching his eyes. 
He nods slowly while looking down at our hands.
As Yuta calls me over, I let go of his hand and hurry towards him as he points at something cute. 
I don’t see how Taeil’s face falls as he sees me running towards his friend and standing really close to him. 
“A bit jealous, aren’t we?”, asks Doyoung with a smug smile as he nudges Taeil’s shoulder. 
“Pff what? No! Am not!”
Doyoung hums while rolling his eyes. “Yeah sure, hyung. When was the last time you asked someone else to our hangouts?”
Taeil bites his lips as he watches the brunette interact happily. He... doesn’t know why he asked her. He just knew he wanted (Y/n) to come, to spend more time with her.
“You’re--”, he sighs, “you’re right. I don’t know why, to be honest. My thumbs acted on my own when I texted her.”
Doyoung stops his friend. “Are you gonna act on your feelings?”
Taeil looks at me, as I look at him and wave, pointing at a cute dog I see and signing him to come. 
“I don’t know, okay? Just, let me think about it”, he says hushedly before walking towards me. 
“Oh my god, it’s so cute”, I squeal as I crouch down and hug the Shiba Inu. I squeeze its cheeks and the owner laughs heartily. 
“Come, before you smother the pup with kisses.” Taeil lightly pulls my arm and I get up, apologizing to the dog’s owner. 
“Don’t apologize, dear. I find it very endearing to see such a reaction.”
I thank the owner and wave goodbye to the Shiba. 
“Do you have a dog?”, asks Taeil and I nod. 
“Two. A beagle and a french bulldog”, I beam proudly while pulling my phone out of my pocket and showing him pictures of them.
“They're my babies. I was very sad I had to leave and say goodbye to them for half a year.”
Doyoung’s head peaks over our shoulders and I also show him and the others my darlings. 
“The beagle’s name is Peanut and the french bulldog’s name is Ziggy”, I beam proudly. 
“Taeil has a dog too. A Samoyed”, says Winwin with a snicker before Taeil hits him on the back of his head. 
“Don’t be mean, Bong Bong is a good dog.”
“Can I see a picture?”, I ask with big eyes as he grabs his phone. 
I coo as I see the cutest, fluffiest, whitest dog there is on earth. “Oh my god, I am in love! Your dog is the cutest!” 
A bight smile grows on his face as his eyes begin to twinkle with excitement. “Do you want to see her when she was a puppy?” 
My eyes grow big at the thought of a small walking cloud. “Please”, I plead with clasped hands. 
Taeil swipes a couple times on his phone before opening a picture folder filled with adorable pictures of his Samoyed. 
He lets me swipe through the folder and at every photo my heart melt more and more.
“I would die for Bong Bong”, I say while eyeing a cute puppy photo of the waling cloud.  
“Do you want to meet her someday?”
My jaw falls slack at just those simple words. “Can I?” 
Taeil chuckles while squeezing my cheeks. “Of course!”
Out of pure happiness, I hug Taeil with the biggest smile on my face. 
I feel Taeil’s arms hesitantly wrapping around me as he leans with his chin on my head. 
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“I had so much fun, you guys”, I smile as we say our goodbye’s. 
Yuta pulls me into a hug. I blink surprised while patting his back. 
“You’re part of the gang now so you get a hug goodbye”, says Doyoung before he also hugs me, followed by Winwin. 
I smile brightly and wave them goodbye as they walk towards the metro. 
“Ready to go?”, asks Taeil as I turn around with a big smile. 
We walk down the street, towards the parking garage and I shiver as the temperature has dropped significantly since the sun has set. 
Taeil notices me hugging my arms and rubbing them for some warmth. He chuckles and shakes his head. “Why didn’t you bring a thicker jacket?”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t think it would cool down this much”, I defend myself with a pout. “And it would ruin the aesthetic of my outfit.”
He shakes his head, stopping me and makes me take off my jacket. Taeil pulls his sweater over his head. “Here”, he says as he takes my jacket out of my hands and replaces it with his sweater, “wear that.”
I frown. “What about you? Won’t you be cold?”, I question, eying his thin shirt. 
Taeil sighs and pushes his sweater over my head, making sure my arms are through the sleeves and he pulls up the hood.  
I look down and smile at how large and soft the hoody is. 
We resume walking towards the car in comfortable silence as I look up every now and then from the ground to admire Taeil’s features in the city lights.
“Did you have fun?”, he asks when we arrive at the car.
I hum. “Your friends are really nice”, I say while placing my shopping bags in the trunk, next to my backpack
Taeil insisted on buying me something because he couldn’t pay for my dinner. So he bought me three little cactuses for on my kitchen windowsill.
“They are now. Wait until you know them a little bit better and they will tease you to no end.” Taeil smiles fondly while getting on the driver’s side. 
“Isn’t it a lot smarter if I drive? Didn’t you drink like two bottles of beer?”, I ask concerned. 
He shakes his head. “Don’t you worry, I can drive. Can you even drive?”
I raise my brows. “Yeah, of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t ask, would I?”
Taeil nods as he rubs his eyes. “I mean like sure? But that would still mean I have to drive home.”
“You can crash on the couch. I have brought some extra blankets and pillows from home. And the couch sleeps pretty nice, better than my bed.” I look at him with a cock of my head. 
He sighs. “Sure... But what about Bong Bong?” 
“We can pick her up and bring her to my place. Or... I know a better plan. I will drive to your place and take the subway home.”
“Absolutely not!”, shrieks Taeil with wide eyes. 
I lean slightly back with a hurt look on my face. “Why... why not?” 
“Because it’s half-past ten, (Y/n), that’s why. This isn’t like your town back home, this is Seoul we’re talking about. Creeps are lurking around every corner.”
I fold my arms over each other and chew on the inside of my cheek. “What is your plan then?”
Taeil drums his fingers against the steering wheel. 
“You can... you can also stay the night at my place? I will drive you home tomorrow.”
I lick my lips, thinking about the options. Going home alone at eleven o’clock and probably being stalked by a weird dude. Or be safe and stay over at Taeil’s. 
“Fine”, I sigh. “I’ll stay over at your place.”
Taeil nods with a faint smile and gets out of the car, letting me sit behind the wheel. I take a deep breath in and out before turning around the key in the contact. Here goes nothing.
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Text
Bark
Part of the Tsuredure Seventeen Series
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Summary:
When you first met Wonwoo it was while he was running at the local park. You guys were pretty far from one another and he couldn't keep his eyes off of your dog. So logically you just assumed he really wanted to meet it because why else would he be staring at it like that.
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You never believed in love at first sight.
That is, you never believed in love at first site until you met him.
From the first moment you laid eyes on him you knew that he was
He was a small chocolate lab- the runt of his family- with a beautiful, shiny coat of fur. He loved to run and exercise and some days you thought that if he could run away and live outside forever he would. Of course, he loved to sleep in your bed with you too much for that. He always curled up against your stomach under the bed covers to avoid the cold of the small apartment you two shared.
Every day, you two ventured out into the world together. Before and after work you went running with him.
You named him Luck.
This was your first time in this big of a city, after all, your first time living alone and you needed all of the luck you could get at your new job.
You had no friends here. No family. No acquaintances or anything.
It was just you and Luck.
So every day, the two of you went for a run in the park and because you were so lonely, and so obsessed with running into someone you could at least recognize, you were inclined to notice the guy that ran at the same times as you on a different path who couldn't stop staring at your excitable little pup.
Luck never noticed.
He mostly liked your runs because, as mentioned before, he loved the outdoors. He watched the squirrels as you guys made your way down the sidewalk and he tried to go see everyone that you guys passed.
The guy that you saw every day… Running guy, was always there, watching as Luck ran about on his leash, and watched as you tried to keep him on track.
And Running Guy was so cute.
He ran in glasses for one, which you found to be beyond adorable. His frames were thin and large on his face, and it was emphasized by the waves of his short hair that just covered his forehead. His hair was a dark brown, that couldn't be natural, but it looked just like Luck's fur.
He had a bit of a cold look settled on his face. You wondered why that was.
He must want to meet Luck.
You tilted your head to the side as you sat in your apartment. You looked down at Luck who was napping in your lap and began to rub the small pups head.
"Do you think he wants to meet you, buddy?" You asked the dog. Luck looked up to you, and his mouth popped open, tongue rolling out as he did so. That seemed like a yes to you.
For crying out loud, who didn't love dogs.
So the next time you saw Running Guy at the park, you smiled, you waved and you jogged towards him.
He smiled back, a look that warmed your heart. He had really well-pronounced cheekbones that made his smile seem just that much larger.
"Hello!" You greeted politely. "I'm y/n."
You switched the hand that Luck's leash was in so that you could stretch out your hand to take his.
"Wonwoo," the boy returned. He glanced down at Luck, an odd look in his eyes.
"Oh! Of course, this is Luck my dog!" You introduced cheerily. Running guy bit out a chuckle.
"Ah…" He hesitated. "How… How old is he?"
"Barely a year," you replied. You knelt down and scratched Luck behind the ears, surprised to find that your dog was being so calm. You were so used to him reacting wildly around everyone he ever met that for a second you thought maybe he was sick.
"Oh, that's nice."
Running guy raised his hand and nervously scratched the back of his neck. He opened his mouth after a moment to say something but then looked back down at his wrist where he was wearing a watch. He swallowed hard.
"I've got to run, maybe I'll see you around?"
Before you could respond, Running guy was already- ironically enough- jogging off in the opposite direction. You stood there for a moment, watching him job off with confusion riddled across your fast. You glanced down at Luck who was giving you an innocent expression, his tongue lolled lazily out of his mouth.
"Weird guy," you murmured in disappointment.
Luck got up off of his hind legs and shook out his body, beginning to walk calmly in the opposite direction. You rolled your eyes at the dog's weird behavior.
Maybe all men were just weird nowadays.
Every day during lunch you went to your local coffee shop for a break.
You hadn't been much of a coffee drinker in the past but nowadays you had to get up so early that by noon you were too tired to even imagine going without caffeine every day. Of course, your caffeine was more sugar than anything else, but that was okay because you were the only one drinking it.
You were admittedly a person of strict habit. You weren't proud to admit it, but everything you did followed a strict day to day schedule that you almost never wavered from.
Every day you woke up early and took a jog with Luck. Every day after you got home you feed Luck, took a shower, took luck to the bathroom and then left for work. During your lunch break, you went home to play with Luck outside for thirty minutes and then went to the local coffee shop in order to get caffeine. Then you went back your paperwork and coffee pouring until after work, you took Luck for another run, you both had dinner and you spent your free time however you wanted to.
Every day was practically identical to the one before. You saw Wonwoo at the park every morning and afternoon. You saw a group of kids walking to school every morning on their own. On Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's, Seungkwan was there to serve you coffee, and on Tuesday's and Thursdays, it was Vernon.
Today was a Thursday.
"Well hello," Vernon greeted politely. You smiled at him, giving him a friendly wave.
"Afternoon Vernon."
The coffee shop was practically empty on Tuesday afternoons. There was no explanation as to why, but you reveled in the time you got to drink your coffee and talk to one of the few people that gave you the time of day.
Today, the coffee shop wasn't empty. There was a man standing at the counter that you had never seen in there before. You didn't pay too much attention to them because you were just so happy to see Vernon.
He had orangish hair- he had recently gotten it dyed lighter than usual- and a large goofy smile.
"You going to try something different for once or do you want another heart attack?" Vernon teased politely, setting a drink on the counter with your name on it. You rolled your eyes.
"If I had known you would always make so much fun of me I wouldn't have started frequenting this shop."
"And now you like me too much to stop coming in," Vernon agreed with a laugh. You paid him for your drinking and peered at the cup.
"What is it today?"
"Try it and find out," Vernon replied. You smiled and took a sip of the drink. It was warm, reminded you of Christmas.
"There's… Hazelnut, chestnut, and butterscotch…"
"Missing two," Vernon corrected.
You took another sip.
"Vanilla and toffee nut."
Vernon turned around and rang the little triangle that he kept behind the counter to celebrate your victory. You just laughed at him. You swore that he must just sit in the back all day, constantly drinking that coffee he was always so energetic.
"Oh, meet my friend Wonwoo, he just might start working here," Vernon said introductively. You laughed, about to comment that he had just met a Wonwoo earlier that day when the guy being referred to turned around. Your lips spread out into a large smile.
"Fancy seeing you again."
This time Wonwoo smiled without even a hint of hesitation riddled on his face.
"Hey, this is the coffee girl you are always talking about?" Wonwoo asked in surprise. "We just met earlier today."
"You did?" Vernon asked in surprise. You nodded, a laugh on your lips.
"Yeah, we go running at the same time every day," you replied. Vernon started laughing. Not just normal laughing either. Cackling. Laughing so hard that he ended up falling down to the ground he was so overjoyed.
You peered at him over the counter.
"That definitely violates some sort of health code," you mumbled.
Vernon sat up and you could almost swear that there were tears in his eyes.
"Wonwoo, run?"
He burst into another bout of laughter that confused you to the point that you turned and looked at Wonwoo in confusion. He was bright red.
"Inside joke?" You asked. Wonwoo opened his mouth to respond but Vernon beat him to it by jumping up to his feet.
"Wonwoo doesn't run," he stated.
"Didn't run," Wonwoo corrected, glaring daggers at his friend. "I run a lot now."
"The last time we all went running you cried."
"Hey," Wonwoo blurted. "I will come back behind the counter and hit you, don't think I'm afraid to."
Vernon began to laugh even harder, and even though you didn't quite understand the situation you started to laugh at a little too. When you did it caught Wonwoo's attention, he glanced at you with a pleasant expression on his face that embarrassed you. You raised your hand in front of your mouth and ducked your head.
"Uh, I should probably run, a lot of work to get done back at the office," you mumbled softly. You turned to leave but before you could, Wonwoo was pushing the door open.
"I'll accompany you too, I-I'm actually headed that way too," Wonwoo stated confidently. You eyed him suspiciously.
"Yeah? Towards Plymouth road?" You asked, pointing down the street.
"Yeah!" He agreed positively. You sighed and tilted your head to the side.
"Except I'm actually heading that way."
Wonwoo faltered.
"Did I say I was going that way? I meant that way of course," he corrected with a chuckle. You rolled your eyes.
"Wonwoo if you wanted to walk with me you could have just said so," you teased him lightly. He bumped your shoulder with his own and smiled at you pleasantly.
"Yeah, I guess I could have," he agreed. "So, uhm, where do you work?"
"The office on the corner of the block," you directed, pointing down the road. Wonwoo nodded his head.
"Just a temp job?" He asked. You nodded.
"Yeah, I just got here so, I was pretty lucky to get the job I got," you mumbled back. You took a sip of the coffee that Vernon had brewed for you. It was really sweet. You reminded yourself to mention to Vernon to put a little less sweetener in it. It was good, but you could barely taste the distinctive coffee taste that had drawn you so much to the little coffee shop in the first place.
"Where do you work?" You asked him.
"I actually freelance," he responded. "So I spend most of my time just trying to find inspiration."
"Oh! What kind of stuff do you write?" You asked. Wonwoo's eyes lit up and he began to talk about the latest thing he had found the inspiration to write.
You had never met a writer before. Well, not one who wanted to talk to you about what they were writing anyways. Wonwoo, once he had started, clearly didn't want to stop talking about his story.
It was a romance novel, a big deal apparently because he wasn't much of a believer in romance himself. He said that he usually wrote about more mature topics. Making statements on society like George Olsen would in his novels. The more he talked about it, the more that he got lost in his words to the point that you couldn't help but note that he was very articulate. Every word that he chose was specific, well thought through and always reflected. If he hadn't told you he was a writer then you probably would have figured it out yourself.
The more he spoke, the less you wanted to interrupt him and the more that you wanted to listen to what he had to say. You saw your building coming up and you knew that you should say something and bid him farewell for the time being.
You opened your mouth to do just that, perfectly willing to interrupt him as he spoke about his editor and how he really liked her but sometimes she was just wrong and didn't understand how every minute detail tied into the conclusion at the end when you saw the glint in his eyes.
Fuck.
You texted your boss that something had come up and you were running late returning back to work. Then you slid your pocket back into your phone.
"She told me to cut the conversation that I wrote between Jinwoo and Yunu, but that conversation is essential for getting to understand why Yunu kills the man she kills in the first place," he was explaining. You nodded sympathetically. "Then she told me I should change the wording because Yunu curses at Jinwoo and she said that wasn't very 'in-character'. I know that's not in character, I wrote it and they are my characters. God that's the whole point, Yunu committing murder, in general, isn't in character, she just doesn't get it."
"Sounds like you put a lot into these characters," you commented, unsure what Wonwoo wanted you to say. That seemed to be right though because he smiled shyly and ducked his head looking away from you.
"Yeah… Well, it's just normal writer things," he mumbled. When he looked back at you his face was tinged pink, and when he saw you were watching him so intently his face reddened even more. "I've been talking way more than you. Tell me about your job. Are we almost there?"
Now it was your turn to be a bit embarrassed.
"We actually passed it," you stated with a laugh. "I was so involved in Yunu and Jinwoo that I couldn't bring myself to interrupt you."
You didn't know Wonwoo very well yet. You had just met him but if you didn't know any better you would say that he looked embarrassed. His face had returned to that slight tinge of pink, and the smile on his face was timid at best. It was… Pretty cute.
"You can't be late to work on my part," he said anxiously. He lightly took your arm in his hand to turn you around. He had you halfway there when he realized what he had done and retracted his hand in embarrassment. "Sorry… But really, go to work."
You nodded, admittedly a little uncomfortable by the touch. You didn't comment on it though. You just shrugged.
"Alright, well you go back to Vernon. Can't believe you left him just to walk a pretty girl to work," you teased. The color rose on Wonwoo's cheeks again which made you feel warm. You liked being able to make someone so flustered so easily.
"See you later."
You smiled.
"See you later."
From that moment on, whenever you saw Wonwoo you made sure to say hi. In the mornings and nights when you were walking your dog. He always avoided coming over to say hi when you were out at the park, but he wasn't afraid to say hi when it was just you and whoever else was in the coffee shop.
You learned a lot about him over the weeks. He was surprisingly nerdy for such a muscular looking guy. You discovered that he was really into video games, and was caught up with all of the latest Marvel movies.
You noticed that when he did speak about things, he seemed to enjoy himself, but he was generally just satisfied sitting back watching everyone else interact. Glancing at you when he thought that you weren't paying attention.
Smiling when he thought that you guys were too distracted in your conversation to notice just how much he adored you. But you noticed, and you knew that he really liked you.
That was what made it so odd whenever he refused to run with you every morning and night. When you did get him to stop and talk when you saw him he refused to stay long or join you but wasn't afraid to make plans for you to go over to his place later.
He was weird about coming over to your place, and never came inside when he was invited over.
It was weird.
The behavior was really, really weird.
But Wonwoo's quiet, caring nature was too endearing to ignore.
"Hey, Y/N?" He asked softly. You looked up from your book, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yeah?" You asked. He smiled.
"You're really pretty you know that? Like completely stunning in and out," he stated politely.
"Shut up," you mumbled in embarrassment. "You know I'm an awful flirt."
Wonwoo smiled warmly at you, his eyes clearly focused on the red flush that was spread across your cheeks. It just made you that much more flustered.
"I know," he teased back lightly. "You should go out with me."
You laughed before finally realizing what had been said.
"Wait-"
"Before you ask- I'm not kidding. I look at you and I'm happy. Everything about you makes me so happy," he said. "I don't want to let you go."
A smile crossed your lips.
Yeah, I'll date you, of course, I'll date you," you agreed laughing. You were so excited that you got up and pulled Wonwoo into an excited kiss.
The two of you's first kiss.
You were too excited to be embarrassed by the kiss because even as you pulled away, the expression of Wonwoo's face was too precious to ever make you regret your actions.
"Uhm… There's something you should know."
You looked up at Wonwoo, a patient smile crossing your lips. You could tell from just a glance that he was nervous. Something had been bugging him recently and his odd behavior was undeniable. You guys had been dating for a few months, after all, you were still in your early stages. If you two weren't both very careful, the smallest thing could tear you two apart.
"Yeah, what's up?"
Wonwoo fumbled with his fork.
"So I've been kind of... Hiding something… I was afraid you wouldn't want to date me if you knew and…" He faltered and dropped his fork. You laughed softly at him. He was really cute when he was nervous about something. He was a soft and generally honest person, so you tried not to take his nerves too much to heart. He was generally worried about small things that overall didn't endanger your feelings.
"Are you cheating on me?" You asked teasingly. You plopped a grape tomato in your mouth as you did so in order to emphasize that you didn't really think there was any sort of chance that was true. Even so, Wonwoo's eyes widened.
"No!"
"Then just tell me!" You encouraged. "It can't be that bad."
Wonwoo nodded. He took a deep breath and you looked you dead in the eyes.
"You know I love you right?"
Your heart skipped a beat. Sure, of course, you knew that he did, but he had never actually said it before. Neither of you had ever actually said it before.
"Wonwoo-"
"I'm scared of dogs!" Wonwoo blurted. You froze taking note of Wonwoo's frigid body, his heaving chest, his wide eyes.
This… This was it. This was the reason Wonwoo didn't talk to you at the park and didn't come to your apartment and was weird around Luck.
Cause he was scared of dogs.
You couldn't help yourself. You started to laugh.
Once you were finally done laughing you had to reassure Wonwoo that you were not, in fact, going to break up with him over something as ridiculous as him being scared of dogs. And then that pout on his lips meant that you started laughing again.
You couldn't comprehend how you had gotten so lucky as to get to date a guy as cute as him.
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opinuun · 4 years
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Do you guys remember when this was a studio Ghibli blog and I’d post gifs? 2017 was a good year lol. Anyway. As a child, I never knew I’d thirst for a 2-D otome man, but sadly I’ve stopped. Yes, after two years of obsession, it’s time I retire from the fandom. I’m keeping the blog though. Ran this shit for years, ain’t gonna give up now that my horny-meter has plummeted to an all time record low. Did you guys know blogs don’t have a character limit??
Oh god. I didn’t know this blog would suddenly receive so much attention. Please, I am begging you to not scroll down. It’s endless MysticMessenger posts from two years ago.
Hey, I'm once again: back, you can't possibly have more time than I do. I mean, after all, I made this blog. You're only browsing it. And most people don't even come here. Not even my friends...*sniffle* The just ignore this poor, pathetic little page. All they do is fill out the TAB form and leave. I think. Maybe they're here right now! HI! HOW ARE YOU DOING? I'M FINE! THANKS FOR COMING! YES, I'M YELLING! Who am I kidding. This page won't get a single hit, unless I bribe people...now that has possibilities. Okay, fill out the TAB form, so I have proof that you bothered to come here and...uh...I'll...uh...send you a sandwich? Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. I'm bored. I'm gonna go hug a moose. MOOSE! I love-d you moose! Hey, I'm back again! Yea...*waits for applause* okay! Now I want all you loyal fans...*cricket chirps* to go to the link to see what I'm like. I took a whole bunch of personality quizzes and posted them there. I'm an evil villain, kitty and a freakazoid so far. And I only took the quiz once, too. Spooky how accurate they are...anyway, I command you to go! I'm going. I'm back. I'm gonna start counting how many times I say back. Let's see: 1...2...3...4...5! Wow. I must really be desperate for something to do. I now officially have proof that someone has been here! It was one of my friends. Apparently this page really is getting long, because my friend said something to that effect. Maybe. Anyway, moving on! I'm just basically typing nothing. Just like all those reports people have to do. You know? With a specific number of words. They start out with half that number, and then just fill in words until they have the right amount. I salute those people. You're great tradition is being carried out here, on the second most pointless site ever! Well. Maybe eventually some weird, bored person will wander onto my site on accident and be mildly entertained be my site until they wander onto a live video feed of a coffee maker. Or maybe not. I only know that I'm entertaining me, which was my original goal. So. I've done what I've set out to accomplish. Yea, me! I'm so special. You see, most people, they don't like reading or writing. So if you're not most people, you've made it down this far without skipping, skimming or getting the spark notes version. (Which I think does not exist) My point is, if you've bothered to read this, then, (like me) you probley have also read the ketchup bottle so many times that you have it down verbatim. Look verbatim up. It's a word. But, you should know that, since you like reading. Or maybe you're just skimming. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with reading food labels. You might be asked a question about them on a quiz show. And now, for the million-dollar question: How many calories are there in a single serving of Mustard? I can just see it now...It could be called Know-Your-Food. Or You are What you Eat. It'd probley be as popular as those game shows that no one's ever heard of. Speaking of food, what's up with pie? There's strawberry pie, apple, pumpkin and so many others, but there is no grape pie! I know. I'm just as upset about this unfortunate lack of development in the pie division. Think about it. Grapes are used to make jelly, jam, juice and raisins. What makes them undesirable for pie? Would they dry into raisins? Couldn't you just stick some jelly in a piecrust and bake it? It just doesn't make any sense. Another thing that bothers me is organ grinders. You know, the foreign guys with the bellhop hats and the little music thingy and the cute little monkey with the bellhop hat who collects the money? Okay. They're basically begging on the street. How did they ever afford an organ-thingy? Wouldn't it make more sense to get a kazoo, if you're broke? And if they're so poor, what possessed them to buy a monkey? I mean, I don't think I could afford a monkey, and I'm not exactly on the streets. Obviously I at least have a computer...so, back to the organ grinders. I would have sold the monkey and the organ and been able to eat for at least a year. Or, if I was weirder than I am, I could at least kill the monkey with the organ and eat it. Why on earth did they keep the monkey? It must have cost a fortune to feed...not to mention the mess. That's just one of those many facts of life that are better left mysteries. Especially since no one but me would ask the question. I better go. I think I hear a monkey...Okay...now I'm back. That's the sixth time I've said back! I realize that this longest text ever must be very boring and not worth anyone's time. But I'd like to take this time to thank the 2 and 1/2 people in the entire universe who have bothered to read this entire thing. I'm not exactly sure who they are, but: thanks! Right now, my spacebar is malfunctioning...that's not good...I have to press it two or three times just to insert a freaking space. Maybe the evil little faeries with the sharp little teeth have put their evil faerie dust on my computer. Or maybe not. This is too frustrating. Goodbye for now...Now I'm back. And still frustrated. But for a different reason. Today I had the misfortune of playing a Treasure Planet game on neopets.com It was terrible. Apparently the point of the game was to get your character to shout "Whoo-Hoo!" as many times as possible before you splattered your brains on the rocks, all the while listening to a soundtrack that is similar to a dying ceiling fan. Of course, when I started out I accidentally hit the rocks approximately three million times. Halfway though I used my four remaining brain-cells to decide that the game was dumb. So my goal changed from surviving to laughing evilly while my character died. So the game naturally did everything it could to preserve my life. The stupid game is still going on and I refuse to quit because I want my points. My character is actually dodging the stupid rocks better now then when I controlled him. I hate irony. Seeya. Okay. Now I'm back again. Today I added an update page, which is basically a less chaotic, outlined version of this without all the ranting. It's more like techno talk about arrays and how much I suck and whether or not the Braves will win this year. Okay, the whole braves thing is made up. But everything else I've said so far is true. I think. Maybe I should start on a boring disclaimer...Eh-hem. All contents of this site were designed for entertainment purposes only. Any use thereof that is not stated in the above mentioned statement would make the author, hereby referred to as Patron Saint of Paper Clips, very angry. Should you violate the purpose of this site: i.e. become not entertained, the Patron Saint of Paper Clips will be forced to take drastic measures. This is specified in Code: 343 of the Flaming Chicken Handbook. Ooooo…that’s a great idea! I’m gonna start quoting from the Flaming Chicken Handbook! Code: 343 of the Flaming Chicken Handbook states that the Patron Saint of Paper Clips (that’s me) is allowed to cause vague, pain like sensations while the offending person (or alien life form, dog, etc.) isn’t paying attention. Now I have a purpose in life! To make up quotes from the non-existent Flaming Chicken Handbook, which I’m sure you have a copy of. No? Too bad. It’s in the mail, I promise! Now I must take my leave…and remember. Cheese is watching. Okay...I'm back...I think that eventually half of this thing will consist of the word back over and over again...that's just weird. Which fits the motif of the rest of the site. There's even a money back guarantee. Isn’t' that nice? See? Now no one can ever say that I don't take care of my viewers. Especially since I don't have viewers. I have readers. Wait...I really don't even know if anyone bothers to read this. Even if I put it in a less chaotic, more user-friendly format people would still ignore this because it involves: reading. Yes. Sad to admit, but the majority of people would rather read the summary at the back of a book rather than the whole book itself. What has the world come to? It's pathetic. Especially since I'm bothering to write all this. It's not fair! Why can't I have more readers?! All the other internet writers have nothing on me, except they're better at advertising, having a central theme/plot and basically more talented. Whereas I'm more into the whole ranting and raving stage right now. Plus, I am horrible at spelling. Which is bad. Thank the powers that be for spell-check. The single greatest invention of the computer gods. I'm getting bored, so I think I'm done for the day. May your day be shiney! I'm back again! And I feel weird! I found at that yet another one of my friends is reading this. Creepy. Just how much time do they have on their hands. Perhaps their just trying to be nice. I can just see it now...an organization devoted not to feeding the hungry, or peace, or love or whatever, but to giving recognition to all those poor, pathetic, unpopular websites. I wonder what it's name would be. Don't Ignore Sites? Would it be called DIS? Isn't that like a slang term for an insult? Would that be considered poetic justice, or just a nice coincidence? And why do I even care? I'll tell you why. Because I have nothing else to do right now. I could be playing neopets, but ever since my bad experience with Treasure Planet, I don't feel like it. Oh, by the way, I noticed that whenever I use spell-check, my stupid computer turns the word probley into to word problem. To prevent this, I did nothing. So, it is now up to you, the imaginary reader, to decide whether I mean probley or problem...it's almost like a game! But without the bad sound track. And I promise not to force you to live when you would rather die. Moving on, I have nothing else to say, but don't feel like quitting just yet. I'm like the little engine that could. Or maybe the Energizer Bunny. I just keep going, and going and going. Or I could be like that annoying guy on T.V. who keeps asking if you can hear him. If my site manages to last a decade, my readers *snicker* will probley wonder what I'm talking about. My answer is simple. It doesn't matter. I'm just rambling. Which means that it doesn't matter if you understand anything I say. Doesn't that make you feel better? I bet it does. Wow. Look how long this has gotten. I even impress myself. Who would have thought I have this much free time? And I congratulate any reader who has gotten this far. Ooooooo! You must check out the fortunes section of the random stuff page! I've just gotten an idea for some more, original, fortunes...I gotta go!(may the moose be with you) And now I am back. I swear. If iI fill out the fake tab form I'm gonna have to put back as my favorite word...I already have filled it out, though. Would it be cheating to fill it out again? Only if I had multiple personalities. Or would it be cheating if I didn't have multiple personalities? The world may never know. Just like how many licks it takes to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop. Would it vary? The number of licks, I mean. Someone could have super-disolving spit, or watery-spit. Or what if you took big ol' slobbery licks? Does the commercial take that into account? No. It doesn't. And let me tell you, it's an outrage. It deludes all of American's sweet, innocent, candy-loving children into thinking that a cartoon owl is smarter than they are! "Mr. Owl, can you tell us how many licks does it take to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop?" Or whatever. And "Mr. Owl" replies "One...Twoo...Three! Chomp" And he bites it. That teaches our youth that it's okay to agree to help someone, and then ruin their experiment. Well...it's not. I am going to start a protest group. Teens Against Cartoon Owls. We could call ourselves TACO! I love the little tacos, I love them good! That is a direct quote from GIR, co-star and comic-relief on INVADER ZIM. Hmmmm...intersting. I put hyphens in both of his titles...it must be a conspiracy! I gotta go. Those TACO buttons don't make themselves, you know. I'm back again. And not so cheesed off about the whole tootsie roll pop thing. Right now, I have another twenty minutes on the Internet before I'm gonna watch T.V. And I can't think of anything else to do. So, predictably, here I am. It's not like I have anything better to do. Obviously, you know this. After all, look how long this text is. I wonder if I've made the world record? If I did, would I stop this? Why bother asking? I'll will most likely still be adding to this on my death bed. Hmmmmm...has any old, senile person ever written anything? Was it coherent? Did it make more sense that this text? Is it possible to make less sense? Am I enjoying asking retorical questions? Yes. Yes, I am. But I seriously wonder what something written by a senile person would be like. I've heard of poems and stuff written by people who were high, insane or paranoid. But never senile. Can a senile person write? Aren't they regressed to a child-like state? Does it even matter? Is anyone even reading this? Did I resume asking retorical questions? Do you care? Is this eating up time? I feel like I'm playing questions only on whose line is it anway. I probley should have capitalized something, or underlined but I'm feeling lazy...hey, you try to keep your two and a half readers happy! It's really stressfull. Someday, I'm gonna snap and just delete this entire thing. Gee, I hope not! I worked sorta hard on this. It's great for making random topics weave together to form an overall infrastructure of chaos. That made little sense. That's why it's here, and not some critically acclaimed site. Ooooooooooooo! I'm gonna quote from the FLAMING CHICKENS HANDBOOK again! Yep! I bet you were just breathless in anticipation. Okay. Here goes. Code: 472 of the Flaming Chickens Handbook states that this site in no way aknowledges the existance of other, better sites (hereon reffered to as the Losers) The Losers are a myth. The Patron Saint of Paper Clips (me again!) claims no knowledge as to where that particullary nasty rumor started, but confirms that this is the best site ever. It would be a sin against humanity for a better site to exist. Should you refuse to aknowledge the Patron Saint of Paper Clips as the ruler of the Internet, you will be subjected to punishment as stated in Code 343 of the Flaming Chicken Handbook (i.e. Experience vague, pain-like sensations when you're not paying attention) This has been a public service announcement. This is a test, I repeat only a test. Had this been an actual emergency, we would have bought up all the can openers and charged 3 cows and a pig for each one. I repeat, lock all you doors and windows, this is it. I repeat, there is nothing to worry about. Everything is fine. The end is not here. I'm going, you're on you're own! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm back!*smiles brightly* And apparantly delusional! Anyway, I just finished rereading my longest text ever. And I became inspired to talk about nothing. You see, I periodically read the longest text ever to check the constant downward spiral of my sanity. Hmmm...I seem to be entertaining myself though, even while reading what I wrote. Which is why I still go to the Really Really Big Button That Doesn't Do Anything website. Because I am easily amused and have lots and lots of time on my hands. Maybe, some day far in the future (like next Thursday) I'll print a copy of this insane text. And then go door to door distributing it. Eventually, this would become a monthly tradition. Whole families would gather around their front door, in breathless anticipation while they attempted to barracade me out. I can just see the whole community rising to thwart my attempts to spread love, joy and insane chaos. I probley wouldn't actually print this out (think how much paper it would take!) but if I do, only friends and enemies will receive copies. Hmmmm...maybe my condition is worsening. Or not. I'm still peeved about the cartoon owl from the Tootsie Roll Pop commercials. He is pure evil. TACO will eventually destroy him. Unless he has already been destroyed by an even more radical Anti-Cartoon-Owl group. I hope not. Or, would that be good? I suppose I could let someone else have the glory. After all, I'm not in this line of buisness for the fame, fortune and power. What line of buisness, do you ask? Why, the assasinating annoying cartoon characters buisness. (Actually I just question them untill they spontaneously combust, I ask lots of questions) So, in conclusion, ladies and gentleman of the jury(that's you) I could not have possibly tortured "Mr. Owl" to death. I love owls. Hmm...I seem to be jumping from one subject to another more frequently. Either I am growing more comfortable with my on-line writing, or I am progressivly getting more insane and chaotic. I also am psyco-analyzing myself a lot today...hmmmm...I'm even saying "hmmmmm..." a lot. Just like a real psychologist. Hmmmmmmm. Time for another boring disclaimer!!!!!!! Code: 742 of the Flaming Chickens Handbook states that in no part does the Patron Saint of Paper Clips (That's still me!) actually claim to be mentally ill. That's either a) a publicity stunt b) An attempt at humor c) a cry for help or d) none of the above You can e-mail your responses by conducting a scavenger hunt of this site. Some of the pages of this site contain a link encouging the two and a half people to e-mail the Patron Saint of Paper Clips. There may also be evil little links that are designed to confuse you. These links send stuff to someone named [email protected] Saint of Paper Clips does not know who this individual is, but sincerly wishes that you send all your hate mail to him. Not that the aformentioned individual claims to have received hate mail (or mail of any kind) via a website link. Thank-you for your time. Remember to send your answers to my sanity quiz to the e-mail account, [email protected] Oh, and once I refer to myself in the first person again, the handbook quote is over. I just thought that I might like to mention that. Oh. You're still here. I figured you rush right on over to e-mail me. Perhaps you don't have time to waste e-mailing me. HA! HA! HA! That's funny!!!! If you you don't have time to waste, what are you doing here?!!! Oh, who am I kidding. I figure that even the people I manage to lure onto my site from neopets don't even bother to come to this particular page. Maybe I should make the link come here directly...Hey! What a good idea! That way I can spread my love, joy and insane chaos to more people! I'm a genius. Gotta go, must lure innocent victems to the second most pointless site ever!!!! I'm back. And really angry, and confused. I've always known that I was weird, that's always been a given. But now I realize that I am considerably more normal than the rest of my family. Today we had a "family outing." Now, most families will go bowling, or putt-putt golfing. They may go to a resteraunt with an arcarde, or the movies or to a theme park. Not my family! No, we got the greatest family outing of all. We got to go to a bar and play pool!!!!!*waits for readers to become insanely jealous* Yep, that's right, a bar with a pool table! Not only did we get world class cuisine (under-cooked hotdogs and over-cooked hamburgers), my little sister (age 10) got taught pool by someone I strongly supect is an ex-convict! Naturally when it was announced that we'd be eating dinner in this place, I could hardly contain my excitment(I glared at my mother and asked why we couldn't go to Pizza Hut) When we arrived, we were promptly served (after thirty minutes) In the meantime, we played a family game of pool(my parents played while my brother and sister and I watched) After two rousing rounds, our food came. The food was superb, (our food came the exact opposite of how we ordered it, and half of the onion rings were missing) Then we joyfully returned to our game(my sister and the ex-con played my mom) We spent hours there (from 5p.m.-7:15p.m.) There were many people that were the same age as me and my siblings (no one in the room but us were under 30) Us kids had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the bar ( I almost fell asleep during the last game I watched) As we left, there was a feeling of goodwill and fellowship between all(my sister locked me out of the car and wouldn't let me in untill I started yelling profanity in her general direction) The high point of the entire night was when my mother gave me $21 for my report card. She promptly borrowed $1 to help with the waitresses tip(This part I'm not being sarcastic about) All in all it was a night I'll remember forever (as the lowest point in "family outing"history, except for that time my mom dragged me to a church thing on the concept of truth.) My brother(age 13) even decided upon a new job he wants when he's old enough to work, a busboy at the bar. We had to tell him that he would probley have to wait untill he was 21.(Absolutly nothing about that statement was sarcastic) As you can see, I love my families outings(Not unless you're blind...or stupid) &#!#%&&!!!(*%$ WHAT THE %$#@ WAS MY MOTHER $#$#%$# THINKING!!!!!!!???? BRINGING $#$$# KIDS IN A BAR!? I know it was her idea, 'cause my dad hates it, too. My mom and my stupid little 10-year old sister loves it, though. *sighs* Why does my life have to be so weird? I'm leaving...now I'm back! And not so pissed at my weird family. Now is the time to mourn the loss of one of my most loyal readers (I think she's read the entire thing one time, which is more than anyone else has done so far) She has been banned from accesing any portion of the Internet, do to reasons that must remain confidental due to security reasons. If I told you, I'd have to kill you and all that stuff. So...now I am down to one and a half readers. Untill such time that I have more. I wonder why anyone would read this? You would have to have several characteristics that I possess. First of all, you'd have to have an extrodinary amount of free time. Second of all, you would have to have the patience to read through all of this. And lastly, you'd have to know where the heck this site is. I admit it. I haven't exactly advertised this site. Nor can I find it on any search engines. Some of my pages have stuff written in to make search engines recognize me, but it doesn't seem to be working. What must I do to rise above obscurity? I tell people I know about this site, but they either ignore this page, or don't even bother coming to the site in the first place. I suppose that is the bane of all authors. To pour your heart and soul into a passage, and have everyone ignore it. *sniffle* Why must this be? Maybe I should just give up. After all, no one would really care if I quit updating this site. But I can't help but think of stuff like the evil over lord list and REALLY REALLY BIG BUTTON THAT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. They are not great neccesarily because of the content, (although that helps some) they are great because of their sheer length. You can read a little each day. And almost never finish. Also, I guess I still am trying to get the world record. I have heard some feedback suggesting that I make someway for people to remember where they stopped reading. It can be very confusing, especially if you weren't paying attention in the first place. Well, I dont want to organize this page, in any manner. This is chaos. And insanity. Not neat little text in classifiable rows, in alphabetical order. If you want neat, go to some other site(though, as mentioned in Flaming Chickens Code:472 there is no such thing as a site better than this one). Otherwise, I guess you're stuck with me. Awwwww...I'm touched! You didn't run screaming to another site, thankfull for the chance to escape this insanity. You're still here, which must mean that you'd rather be here than anywhere else! Hey, where are you going?! I thought you were gonna stay here and keep me company?! *drags reader back* See, I knew you'd stay! *gagged reader glares* What's that? I know this is the best site ever, thanks for the compliment! *reader starts inching towards freedom* I better go...I think that I may have a problem brewing. I'm back. And very concerned about this new, younger generation (all 10 year olds who were born in 1992) They are supposed to be the future. Instead they appear to be a nuclear armagedon in the form of a fifth grader. I chanced to have an interview with an informant from this evil generation (my little sister) who will be called Mrs. X for security reasons (no, she's not married, the "Mrs" makes it good as a disguise) I was quizing Mrs. X on Civil War History for an upcoming test in her classroom (whose location can not be devulged) Mrs. X seemed fluent in the subject. Using prior knowledge, I deduced that Mrs. X was full of crap. Out of sheer curiosity, I asked Mrs. X who participated in the Civil War. She immediatly replied "Clara Barton". I clarified, which countries fought in the Civil War. She answered: England, Russia, and (out of sheer desperation) Iraq. I believe that she was just listing countries she knows America has fought against. Now, correct me if I'm wrong...but Iraq? I don't know if Iraq even existed in the Civil War Era! Why on earth would we go have way across the world to fight them when we didn't even really need oil?!! Moving on, I finaly managed to coax my sister (I'm tired of writing Mrs. X) to tentativly guess that America fought in the Civil War. I mean, who'd a thought? America? Fighting in the American Civil War? In a moment of inspiration, I asked her who America fought. Her first guess was enslaved africans. Well, at least she knows that slaves were involved in the war. Before she could start listing all of America's enemies, I gave her a hint. I said "The Union fought..." With a crack, snaple and pop, some random synapses in her brain connected in the right order and she said "CONFEDERACY!!!" I was very proud of her, just as you would be proud of a two-year-old who has just announced: "I WENT POO-POO ON THE POTTY!!!!!" What I mean is, you wouldn't be very proud if the average person said that they just took a dookey on the toilet, and you wouldn't be very proud if they knew who fought against the Union in the Civil War. I confirmed that the Union was Northern and Free, and that the Confederacy was Southern and Slave. We resumed quizzing and she got every question on the worksheet correct. This is because she memorizes the questions. That way, she can pass the test without actually learning anything. You see, if you memorize stuff, you only have to remember that the answer to number 6 is Clara Barton for a week, rather than having to remember that Clara Barton started the Red Cross for the rest of you life. I sincerely appologize if anyone is offended by my view of memorization. I also would like such persons to immediatly leave my site. You don't belong here. You see...knowledge is good. If my sister...uh...Mrs. X were ever asked a question on the Civil War on a quiz show, she'd come up with nothing. With knowledge you can win money and the opportunity to look like a dork on national television. My sister is a big believer in the memorization system. I previous time when I was studying with her (American Revolution, this time) I was trying to help her remember the difference between the Patriots(Patriotic to America) and the Loyalists (Loyal to Britain) She didn't know what the word patriotic meant. I tried to explain. I asked her how you dress on the forth of july (she said nice) I asked what the colors red, white and blue were (pretty). I gave up in exasperation. More recently, I was trying to instill a sense of empathy and niceness in her. I asked her what the golden rule of christianity was. She didn't know. When I pressed her, she confessed she didn't know what chrisianity was. Completly defeated, I told her that it was the religion she practiced every Sunday when she went with her friends to church. This confirmed my suspicion that she only went so that she could have the use of the church's playground equipment. My family also strongly suspects that she stole $20 from the donation thingy. Anyway, that's my rant on the new generation that contains my little sister. When someone of her generation runs for president, I'm gonna do a complete background check. If they're anything like my sister, I'm movin' to Canada. Gotta go...the Russian-Brittish-Iraqi-enslaved-Africans are coming to defeat the Mexicans. I'm back! *there's that darn cricket again* And I have a genuine question to ask all of my loyal readers *cough-cough* Okay, here it is: Is it normal for a non-gender specific sibling to carry around various dead reptiles (snakes, turtles, lizards etc.) Furthormore, is it considered accepted behavior to talk to these dead reptiles, in a cooey, baby talky kind of voice? Finnaly, is it expected for said sibling's non-gender specific parent to encourage such behavior, citing "I was just like that as a child" as an excuse? It's an honest question as I fear that my non-gender specific sibling is weird. Who am I kidding? My entire family is weird. It's just a matter of degree. Hey, by the way. I'm sorry that my last few entries have been only about my various family antics. Although I can't see why you care, because there is a large probability that you do not exist, because I don't think anyone is reading this anymore. How discouraging. People need to make the time to waste time. It's a time honored tradition. Who'd thought that I could use time that many times in only a few sentences? It's been pretty quiet here lately, which is why I haven't added anything to this text in awhile. I know, you were just crushed that nothing new was happening. It's a sad, cold, cruel world out there and you had nothing to relieve the monotony of it. *sniffle* I feel so sorry for you! Next thing you know, you're internet connection will die. Well, too bad! Do you know I never even had a computer untill just a few months ago (that's why I'm obsessivly writing here) So I won't pity you if you're computer dies for unexpected reasons. Time for another quote from the FLAMING CHICKEN HANDBOOK!!! Code: 843 of the Flaming Chicken Handbook states that in no way is the Patron Saint of Paper Clips (guess who?) responsible for any faulty wiring or lack thereof in your computer. The Patron Saint of Paper Clips in no way wishes harm on your computer. Any derogatory statement is simply an opinion of an individual, not of the flaming order of the flaming chickens. Said order will in no way be held responsible for any damages, injuries, loss of life, limb, head, or organs. Okay, quote is done. Maybe I should put quotation marks around them...nah, too much work. But I probably will eventually get around to having a seperate page just for the FLAMING CHICKEN HANDBOOK. That way all the members (what members) can print out a copy of it for themselves (if they didn't get that copy in the mail) I guess I'm done for the day...I know. You want me to stay. It's okay. Because eventually, I'll be back! Seeya! I'm back. And once again suprised. When I was at a TAB poetry thingy (TAB is good TAB is great We love TAB) I met some new people. One of these people (who shall remain nameless untill such time that I have explicit permission to use her name) turned out to be almost as weird as me. As in...she read the ENTIRE Longest Text Ever. The whole thing. So far two whole people (to my knowledge) have read the entire thing, and a few people have skimmed it. That means I really can justify claiming to have two and a half readers! I'm so happy! That means my pointless obsession has actually entertained someone besides me! Perhaps, one day, far in the future, this will actually be a world record and random people will acutally voluntarily read this text every day. Or maybe not. The point is that it is nice to have readers. Or maybe it's not...I mean...won't the quality *snicker* of my work deteriorate if I am no longer writing for the target audience of me? If that happens, then no one will read this. And then I'll be writing for me again. And then the quality will rise. And then people will start reading. And then the quality will go down and the vicious spiral of good and bad will continue untill I either give up this text, or go crazy...er. In any case...I should probably find a topic. Yeah...a topic would be good. Or...I could just continue to write about finding a topic. Ooooo! I know a topic! Ice cream trucks! This has been bothering me for a while. You see...when it's hot, you want something cold to eat. Conviently, ice cream trucks come around during the hottest part of the year (it must be a conspiracy). As you may or may not know, small children swarm the ice cream trucks. The vendors even play whimsical music which I strongly suspect contains subliminal messages to make you hungry for ice cream. The vendors get oodles of cash, and the kids get ice cream. Now, in today's society of buying groceries on-line and getting them delivered, why hasn't any other food industry marketed this ingenius idea to bring the product to the consumer. I can just see Hot Dog, and Pizza trucks roaming the neighbor hoods, selling treats to hungry children...and adults. Of course, said adults would have to peel their butt-cheeks off the couch...but they'd have to do that for the delivary man anyway. The food trucks could even play music that made you hungry for their food. Then the problem with obesity in America would be blamed on evil food truck drivers as opposed to the harmless, benificient television and computer. We could all breath a sigh of relief as parents kept their children inside, away from the evil truck drivers and near the T.V. Gone would be the days when parents told children to play outside, it's a nice day. Parents would buy their children computers, video games and other television neccesities. This, of course would expand the market for such products. This would lead to a better, more stable economy. Food industires would be buying cars, gas and music. Parents would increase the purchase of entertainment items. In return companies would make a profit, pay their workers better. The workers would then be able to afford more entertainment items and the upward spiral would continue, as opposed to the evil downward spiral of my writing. In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen...if you implement my idea, there will be peace and prosperity for all. As long as you don't mind a few more couch potatoes. Gotta go...I think I hear a catchy jingle. I'm back...it's been awhile since I've written here. A lot has happened. Like my EVIL school computer deleting my updates page. But it's all good. Especially since I just saw The Matrix: Reloaded. The following text may spoil the movie for you, so WARNING: do no read this unless you have already seen the movie. Okay. What I liked best was the philosophy on choices. (the mindless fight scenes were really cool, too). It's like this. In the beginning of the movie, Neo is having dreams about Trinity's death. Later, The Oracle tells him that he has already decided her fate. Towards the end of the movie, Neo chooses to tell Trinity to stay out of the Matrix, since he saw her die in it. She agrees, but only after seeing how important it is to him. After a horrific chain of events (is it coincidence, or fate) the people who will deactivate the secondary power source of the building Neo is infiltrating, die. So...the plan is going to fail. Unless someone does something, Neo, Morpheus and many others will die. Trinity, who is of course outside of the Matrix, knows this and chooses to enter the Matrix to save the day. The events of Neo's dream unfold. So...when the oracle said that the choice had already been made, she was completely correct. The moment Neo woke from dreams of Trinity's death, he made a choice. He would do everything in his power to keep his dream from becoming reality. So he kept her out of the Matrix, and she saw the problem, and entered the Matrix to fix it. If she had been in the Matrix, she would have likely been with Morpheus, never would have known about the plan's failure, would therefore not have been in the situation that resulted in her death. And the plan would have failed and Neo might have died, along with a large portion of the city (the building was set to blow if there was any intruders) So...Neo's choice to attempt to save Trinity triggered the sequence of events that led to her death. As Neo realizes all of this, through a nearly omniscient Architect of the Matrix, he makes another choice. This choice is simply an extension of his original choice: he will save Trinity at all costs. Neo is told that he has two choices. He can save mankind, and doom Trinity. Or he can try to save Trinity and doom mankind. No guarantee that he'll succeed in saving Trinity. He goes for Trinity, makes it just in time to catch her body, and starts her heart back up. In return for not taking the easy route, he gains a power in the more or less real world. He can deactivate the machines, (squidies) but at great personal cost. The movie ends with him in a coma. Now, you must realize that I have described only one aspect of this movie of all movies. There are not enough words in the English language to describe the sheer coolness of the fight choreography, special effects and the plot. I highly recommend you see the movie yourself. I'm sorry that today's rant isn't random, insane or completely chaotic, but I must right my experience with The Matrix before I forget. I am so buying this movie when it comes out on DVD. I love it! You have to admit its sheer coolness. I mean, come on! It's the sequel to the movie that revolutionized the standard by which we judge special effects. I better stop typing before I have a heart attack...just remember...The Matrix has you...I'm back. And throughly pissed off at my school system in general. You see...they feel that the only way to reward academic achievement...yada-yada-yada...is to force the smart kids to be ushers for Senior Honor Nite, and Graduation. Where is the logic in this? I for one, didn't know about such dire consequences for not deliberatly failing classes. It was bad enough that I was forced to "volunteer" my precious time (i could have worked on this site)...no...I was forced to wear formal attire. My school system is stuck in the past...and formal attire means...a dress...a white dress...(for those you who never bothered to find out...I am indeed female). So...for the first time in about 5 years...I wore a dress...and something that was complelty white. What cruel fate is this? To compound the EVIL situation...I was forced to wear feminine shoes. In other words...they hurt. And they pushed my toes together. Since I have a rather weird phobia of touching my own skin...this made my evening my own personall torture session. I think that such gender-specific torture should be deemed inhumane and abolished from our great society...of flaming chickens. Henceforth...Code: 666 of the Flaming Chickens Handbook states that under no circumstance will the Patron Saint of Paper Clips (guess who) be forced to wear anything other than a t-shirt and preferably black jeans. Should you violate this right, you will become destroyed or possibly dizzy. I'm leaving now...I have some destruction to do. i'm back. from graduation. we had to get there one hour and fifteen minutes early because there was traffic. After standing around a lot...the ceremony started. Lots of people spoke. by the time I had to do my part (tell people where to stand before getting their diploma) it was dark. there were bugs. they liked landing on me. then...i got to go stand while people said a lot of stuff. i couldn't hear it because someone had put the speakers facing the audience. we clapped. the whole time, even during the name-calling, seniors were playing with silly string and beachballs. afterwards...they turned off the lights. there were lots of fireworks. i wandered around for 20 minutes looking for a cell phone. i called home, and waited another hour for my ride...traffic to the school was one way. i felt sorry for my dad. i am tired...but cannot go to sleep. i'll copy and paste this to my site. maybe the longest text ever. you will all suffer as i have suffered when and if you graduate. i cannot feel my feet. i hate dress shoes. I'm back. Today, I'm here to salute the Pointless Signs Of America! The PSOA have been whole-heartedly working for you, and what have you done for them? NOTHING! These so-called "pointless" signs are doing just what they were meant to do: entertain you! You cannot judge them simply because they have no apparant function. They expand your mind, making you think about all the things they could do. They could do anything they wanted to, if they just put their minds to it. If you judged everything by what it doesn't acomplish, then the entire world is populated by pointless beings. Noone can do everything, so how can you expect a SIGN, with the I.Q. of toilet paper, to do everything. You people sicken me. You expect far to much of the inanimate world. The inanimate world, on the otherhand, expects nothing of you. Which is exactly what it gets. If you expect nothing, and get nothing, you feel nothing. If you expect nothing and get something, you're happy. But, if you expect something and get something you feel nothing. And if you expect something and get nothing, you feel cheated. If you're following along, and not completly confused, you'll realize that it is better to be a pessimist than an optomist. Yep that's right. This entry went from saluting the PSOA to making a statement about my ideals. This has been a weird day. You can thank my associate "Meg" she came up with the PSOA acronym. Everyone, clap for "Meg".I gotta go...seeya later! I'm finnaly back! Today, I took a long look at this site, which is the acomplishment of almost a year of work. And I asked myself "How could I have better spent my time?" And so, in the interest of wasting even more time, I made a list. Here we go! Number One: I could have cured cancer. Not that I know anything about medicine...or cancer for that matter. But I'm sure that if I just would have put my mind to it, I could have done it. Number Two: I could helped the earth to find eternal and lasting peace. Which would be boring. So I at least have an excuse for not doing that. Number Three: I could have studied and stuff. Uh...don't think so...Number Four: I could have learned to drive. This would have resulted in the deaths of numerous pedistrians...and I would still probably be wondering around in search of a McDonalds. Number Five: I could have read more books, played more video games and watched more mindless television. Gee...I wish I'd thought of that sooner. Number Six: I could have implemented one of several plans for world domination. Or, as an alternative, I could have ruined several plans for world domination that other people made. Number Seven: I could drive people crazy. Wait...aren't I already doing that? Scratch number seven. And on to: Number Eight: I could have...uhhhh...ummmmm...actually thought up these things before hand. Number Nine: Now it's just getting redundant, isn't it? Number Ten: This is the list that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friend. One person, started typing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue typing it forever just because this is the list that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends, some person started typing it not...etc, etc. Okay...I admit it. I have officialy run out of ways I could have better spent my time. I don't think there actually are any. Except for maybe five and six. Now, those have possibilities. However, I am currently content to just sit here and type. For the benefit of you, the reader...who may or may not exist. Either way, I'm continuing to sort of entertain myself. I feel like I should be outraged about some topic or another. I just can't work up the energy to be outraged. Perhaps a nice, soothing mistrust. Yeah. I can work with mistrust. I definitly mistrust lots of stuff. Like organ grinders, and the evil conspiracies. Did you know, that Kodak was part of the conspiracy to assasinate John F. Kennedy. Now, some of you are probably thinking "Gee, Really?", or "Wow, I never knew that!" while others are thinking "Who's John F. Kennedy?" or possibly "Who or What is Kodak". I fervently hope that you're not thinking the last two...especially about Kodak. Kodak, as you may know, is a film developing company. And John F. Kennedy (JFK) was an alien bent on global domination. Or possibly a really good president who wanted to fly to the moon. Either way, he got assasinated. And ever loony in America decided that it was a conspiracy. Some even go so far as to claim that Kodak "changed" the pictures of the assasination to make an assasination in the bushes become a tree's shadow. I didn't know that they had such good technology back then. I have to wonder...why would Kodak do such a thing. Perhaps Kodak is actually a front organization for a shadowy governmental system that controls the entire world and didn't want mankind to obtain the freedom of the stars and so tried to sabotauge the space program even though it didn't work as well as they planned. Or perhaps not. Either way, Kodak is undeniably evil. How can any company that takes so many "wholesome" pictures not be? You can just bet that they look at every one that get's turned in to them, judging blackmail value, and whether or not you could get arrested. It's just sickening, you can't even take a simple photo nowadays. Unless you have a digital camera, which are a symbol of freedom from the old ways and willing enslavement to the new ways. We can only hope that the digital camera manufacturers are kinder masters than the evil Kodak Lords. I better go...I think Kodak is tracing my site....I'm back now! And, once again, I have proof that someone actually took the time (two hours) to read this entire Longest Text Ever! It's amazing, it's incredible, it's unbelievable. But true. Even more incredible, this time it's someone I don't even know! Wooooooo! I feel inspired and happy and other really good emotions and stuff. And so, I'll take a trip down memory lane, to the dark depths of the past, to when I decided to make this page. It was inspired, in part, by my sheer and utter boredom. In school, back before I even owned a computer, I'd type random words for long periods of time, 'cause I had nothing better to do. Once I got this computer, I decided to do something similar on my beloved site. But, it ended up making more sense than I anticipated (scary thought, huh). Oh, well...I tired of nostalgia. Back to the present. Right now, I'm just typing so that no one can say that I've been slacking off. I don't think I have any conspiracy theories...except pop-ups/pop-unders. Have you ever had the evil pop-up that says that if you click here, it'll get rid off all the annoying pop-ups? Isn't that sort of ironic? Could the pop-up blocker people have chosen a better means to advertise their product? It's like grand-theft auto 3's talk show, you know, the one where there are Citizens Raging Against Phones? Or CRAP, for short. And the lady representing them, calls the radio station...on a phone. It's stupid and ironic and just shouldn't exist in a better world. Pop-Up ad's help you get rid of pop-up ads? Insane, chaotic...hmmmmm...I wonder who thought of it? Was it on purpose, or was it just some mistake? It is now my civic duty to discover this ancient mystery, and reveal it to the uncaring world. Or maybe I'll go make a frozen pizza. Yeah. That sounds good, too. Since I'm not particualarly inspired at the moment, I should leave and let you gather what is left of your sanity. I just can't seem to stop, though. Okay...I can do it. I'm leaving. I'm back...and it's several hours later. I've decided to imortalize the stupidity of my dog, Moose. She is a heavy-set Yorkshire Terrior (12 lbs.) In otherwords, she's a small yappy dog who is big for her breed. Today, I met her arch-enemy. An enemy so terrifying that Moose cannot stop shaking. An enemy so hideous that Moose must destroy it at all costs. An enemy so dangerous that Moose fears it above all others. Now you may be wondering what horrible beast is Moose's arch-enemy. And you probably suspect that it is something pathetic. You would be correct in your suspiciousness...for Mooses arch-enemy is...*dramatic drumroll*...a small, white, feather. Now, Moose has seen many feathers, birds even. But none have struck terror in her little moose heart like this particular feather. So...naturally I put her arch-enemy in my pocket and brought it home with me. This action has made her very suspicious of where my loyalties lie. She tracks the feather smell all over the house, and goes crazy whenever I take it out of my pocket. She even got her sister and mother in the spirt of things. Now her sister sounds an alarm whenever she sees the evil feather. Now, you may be wondering what is so terrifying about a small, white, feather. So am I. It doesn't smell funny, (I asked my brother, since I don't have a sense of smell), it seems perfectly ordinary. So, I've decided that Moose works for some secret government organization, and that the feather is the key to the destruction of the world, and I am just blithely letting it enter our home, so that it may furthur its evil plans to destroy the universe. That is the only possible explanation as to why it upsets her so much. Or...maybe it's the feather off of the cartoon owl from the tootsie-roll pop comercials (one...two...three..*crunch*). Whatever the case, I decided that the whole world, (or three of four random people) deserve to know that if the world and or universe are destroyed, it's the evil, little, white, feather's fault. Now I'd better go and torture my Moose with it...:) I am officially back. And you, the potentially non-existant reader gets a once in a lifetime chance to hear me rant and rave about my Horrible, Horrible Family Vacation. I know. You feel very, very honored. It's like this. My mother is a control freak, and she decided on the spur of the moment that we were going north to visit relatives. Later that day, she decided we were NOT going north, we were going south to a beach resort. Still later that day, she got offended at some trivial thing and decided that we weren't going anywhere at all. The very next day, she decided that we were going north, after all. So, we packed everthing up. Before we knew it, we were on the road. The first part of the trip was fairly easy. As in, I was half-asleep, hoping that we'd arrive while I slept. Then, in an inspired move, my brother talked my mother into letting him sit up front. That meant that my mother would be in the back, with me and my younger, eviler sister. Immediatly, my mother started complaining. It was uncomfortable in the back, it was too hot, it was too cold. Then, she accidently woke our three yappy dogs up, and they relized that they were in a car. That meant only one corse of action for them. They started shaking and barked their little heads off. This annoyed my mother further, untill she asked, no, demanded that my father turn the car around so that we could go home. Unfortuantly, we had already driven 337 miles toward our destination. After much argument, my father was going to turn around, untill he realized that my mother was going to drop the dogs and me off, and then turn around and continue north. This seemed slightly unpracticle, so we ended up not taking that 337 mile detour. We eventually reached our destination after 16 hours of virtually non-stop driving. We got there, we ate. We slept. My mother visited relatives. And so the week went by. I got to go to a huge library, and see Terminator 3 at the local theater. That was the high point of the entire trip. The last day, we were deciding where to eat. My mom said that she didn't care. So my dad picked a steak place. My mother tried to order a mushroom-swiss burger...only to discover that the place had no swiss-cheese. So she decided on a salad, only to discover that they didn't have her favorite salad dressing. After much deliberation, she decided that she wouldn't eat. After complaining how hungry she was, and about the poor quality of the resteraunt, she walked out of the resteraunt, instructing the rest of us to "enjoy our meals". And I wonder where my little sister gets her annoyingness. Not that my mother is annoying...just set in her ways. The whole meal thing was about the only interesting thing to happen during the week. On the way home, we had gotten approximatly 4 hours into the trip when my mother predicatably decided that we had to go back and eat at the 50th aniversary of her favorite ice cream place. Needless to say, we ignored her. Oh, and when my sister had to go to the bathroom very badly during a traffic jam, my mother had the good taste to making hissing/water noises to make my sister's problem worse. She claimed that my little sister always did it to her, and she was getting pay-back. Between her bickering with my sister, and obsessivly playing neopets games, I don't know what to do with her. Anyway...that was my family vacation rant. It sucked. No suprise. At least it's over. Sorry if I complained a lot. If you don't like it, start your own longest text ever. Anyway, I promise to go back to my usual routine the next time I rant here. I thought of a topic on the way home, but forgot it. Seeya. I'm back! I know, I took you completly by suprise. You thought you'd gotten rid of me. *cheesy super-hero voice* Well, fear not, random citizen, for I, PSOPC am here! *normal voice* Today I have a very important to discuss with you in this: PERFECTLY NORMAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT. Yes, that's right. It's time to warn you, the viewer...er...reader...about the evils of various stuff. Today's lesson is: subliminal messages . That's right, folks, mass hypnosis via commercials. Now, I'm sure you've at least heard of subliminal messages , right? No? Well...prepare to be enlightened. Subliminal messages are an advertising technique that puts hidden pictures and words into a main image. You don't see them, but your subconsious (dreaming) mind does. Your subconsious mind acts on whatever it is told. What does this mean to you? It means that WAL-MART TV IS EVIL! EVIIIIIIIIIIIIL!!!!!! Why else would they invest all that money to show commercials in their own store? Because they put subliminal messages in them, of course! Subliminal messanging also explains the successes of certain fast-food resteraunts, and brand name items. BEWARE YOUR TOASTER OVEN! Okay. That had nothing to do whatsoever with subliminal messages...it's just cool to say. Anyway, only watch wal-mart if you WANT to be subliminaly entertained into purchasing a new set of TUPERWARE, even though your old set is PERFECTLY fine. This has been a public service announcment. Pretty cool, huh? Uh...you don't have to take the subliminal stuff seriously. It's true, and all, but I have no proof about wal-mart, or certain fast food resteraunts. It makes sense, though. Wal-mart TV is evil. You cannot deny it. Seeya...hmmm..I wonder if there's subliminal stuff in my computer...I'm back. And I feel that it's time for a FAKE commercial break, for the highly informed, obviously brain-dead consumer. And now, a word from our non-existant sponsor. Ketchup: The only food that you'll want to eat after traveling to the 5th Dimension. It's been practically proven that Ketchup transforms into a highly intoxicating (non-addictive) delicious substance upon returning from the 5th Dimension. Stock up now with our Valu-Pak to recieve 3-metric tons of Ketchup, all for the low, low price of your brain, since you're obviously not using it anyway. Then, just wait for technology to "catch-up" (get it, catch-up, Ketchup?)so you can travel to the 5th Dimension like our scientists almost did. (Next Commercial) Get ready fo: Faux's new "reality" TV show, "How Low Can We Go?" It's about six contestants who compete to create the worst, least likely "reality" TV show. The winner not only gets the million-dollar prize, they get the chance to produce the show they created. Remember: if the show sucks, it's their fault, not ours!(Next exciting commercial!)And for all the idiots out there: Try new and improved Dum-B-Gon! Dum-B-Gon stimulates brain activity, making you up to 10 times smarter! Not only that, Dum-B-Gon: stimulates weight loss, cures "any" illness, does simple houshold chores, never leaves the toilet seat up and is the perfect gentle companion for your kids. How can you pass up this revolutionary new product? It's yours for only 3 bi-monthly payments of $3.95 ($3,95,000 on days ending in "y")Don't forget, Dum-B-Gon is practically guaranteed!* (*Not a guarantee) (Next commercial)Have you ever wondered why food sometimes goes bad in your fridge, even if you've only had it a few years? It's because of the "evil little faeries with sharp little teeth." These "faeries" sprinkle your food with highly toxic "age dust" and ruin a perfectly good four-year-old meatloaf. How do you stop them? With our patented "spray". Our "spray" kills over 99.9% of "faeries" (which are much to small to see) Our "spray" also kills most disease causing agents, like rats, or pigeons. WARNING: Leave food sit in an open, well-venilated spot for a week before eating. And now, back to our featured presentation. Wasn't that semi-entertaining? I bet you wanna go eat some Ketchup covered Dum-B Gon right now, while watching "reality" TV. Just make sure you "spray" your food first. Pathetic, wasn't it? Oh, well. I was bored, and a dilligent reader suggested I make fake commercials, so...therer they are. Happy? Good. I'm leavin', for now. I'm back. And I'm willing to enlighten you, the potentially you-know-what reader. Today, I was checking out some weird news. At one point, I read an article that stated that it had been proven, conclusivly, that Kansas was flatter than the standard pancake. The researches even used highly advanced technololgy to map the surface of a pancake and compare it to documented geology of Kansas. Some people disagree, the director of the Kansas Geological Survey said "I think this is part of a vast breakfast food conspiracy to denigrate Kansas. It's a cheap shot." So...doesn't that make you want to take Kansas' side (I sincerly appologize if you are from Kansas). It just seems extremly weird (and worthy of mentioning) that this semi-important guy from Kansas believes in a "vast breakfast food conspiracy". Makes you think that the long held belief that Kodak conspired with the JFK assasin(s) is normal. Another article claims that an anitseptic turned a polar bear purple, drawing large crowds of people. I sure hope other zoos won't copy them. Before you know it, we'll have orange alligators, pink tigers and blue lions. School children won't be able to correctly identify the color of a zebra. Random people will think they've gone crazy, after a seemingly innocent visit to the zoo. It's wrong, I tell you. A complete and total degregation of our societies values. What values, you say? The basic moral belief that Polar bears should be WHITE. Unless we spray-painted the snow purple, too. Then it would be okay. As long as the bear blends in, you know? Speaking of animals, there's a cat in California who is a kleptomaniac (likes to steal stuff). He sneaks into neighboring homes, and takes clothing, wrapped christmas presents, and anything he can find. He then leaves them under his owners car. Okay, better leave. I'm back. And I don't really have a topic today. I'm just bored. Sometimes I just do this, you know? Start typing without any idea about what it is I intend to say. Maybe I subconsiously DO know what I'm doing here, but refuse to admit it to myself. Or maybe I am monumentally bored and don't have anything else to do at the moment. Either way, I'm here. You must be pretty bored, too. Otherwise, why on earth (beta, krpto, zkdjf, Planet X, whatever) would you be here? It would make no sense. If you have something better to do, why wouldn't you be doing it right now? I would be. But, maybe that's just the difference between you and me. Yeah. That must be it. Unless you're bored. Then I completly understand. I need to find a topic. Here, topic, topic, topic! Come on, I won't hurt you, I promise! *hides large ax behind back* Come here, topic! Why are you afraid of little ol' me? *sigh* There are no topics anywhere near me. Kinda like me and "Meg" webcomic we are trying to do. It's called Hit-Or-Miss, any topics, plot, etc. are completly accidental and are not the fault/responsibility of the creators. That was sort of a topic, even though it was sort of random. Which is what I do best. Okay, I'm done with that litte commercial. What now...hmmmmm...should I share with you more of my paranoid/delusional conspiracy theories? Or have I been doing that too much lately? Oooooo! I know, I'll start of list of why it's fun/good to be insane/weird! #1You can say or do anything and normal people will agree with you in the hopes that you'll be satisfied, shut up, and go away. Far away. I will show you an example with this completly true stuff that I experienced several years ago. ME: My vicious, psychotic, flesh-eating bunny-rabbit wants to rule the world. RANDOM PERSON: Uh-huh, that's nice. ME: Yeah, but I told her that she'd be a terible ruler. I mean, she traded Asia for a carrot! And she doesn't even LIKE carrots! RANDOM PERSON: You don't say? ME: Yep. She also is the goddess of red jello. RANDOM PERSON: *head explouding from sheer insanity* As you can see, I was a very weird child (this happened in elementary school...uh...except for that head-explouding part). Okay...on to: #2 You can get out of practically anything by saying: a)It's against my religion b)I'm allergic to that. c)I have an extremly irrational fear of that. d)I already did that in a past life and it sucked. e)My psychotic bunny predicted I'd die doing it. Unfortunalty, several of those reasons LEGITAMITLY apply to a certain activity I do every Tuesday, which WILL NOT BE NAMED HERE LEST I GIVE IT POWER OVER ME! I'm allergic to parts of it, have irrational fears about others and I'm pretty sure it's against my Jenny religion...along with eating mashed potatoes, or potatoes of any kind. I'll add that to the FLAMING CHICKENS HANDBOOK. Thou shalt not eat spuds. Hmmmm...time for #3You can obsessive over ANYTHING, and people will think nothing of it. I, personally, am obsessed with, kitties, bunnies, bats, this website, drawing, making intriate little patterns with strings, doing mildly repetitive activities, being weird, apparantly making lists and cheese...and chickens...and flame. Fire is good. Fire is free. Fire is my friend...until it burns me. Then it must die...painfully. And on to:#4You make your friends look normal in comparison. And #5: You can give each of your pets several weird names such as: Ringling-Raison-Bailey-Suzana-Midnight-Schultz, Squirell, Moose, Moose-Moose, Moosey-Moose, Linzey-Moose, Muffin, Squirell-Muffin, Yabby-Doodle, Abby Normal, Wiggle-Baby, Wiggle-Muffin, Witle-Baby, Cheese-Monkey, Muffin-With-Squirell-Juice, Squirell-With-Muffin Juice, Moosey-Juice, Squirell-Monkey, etc. Now, wasn't that a fun list!? Doesn't that just make you proud to be weird? I should make bumber stickers saying that. Proud to be weird. It'd be cool. Anyway, gotta go! *yawn* I'm back. Last night I was super-charged with lots of sugar and not a lot of sleep. I ended up writing things during the time of night when EVERYTHING is hilarious, including the word sheep. To compound things, I wasn't alone, and things just escalated. The following is everything I wrote during that sugar-coated time period. Some are answers to e-mails, the rest are just stuff I wrote.
Definitly. THen we go to library. Guess what? Me and Josh ate lots and lots of sugar, and it's late at nite and everything is funny but we can't laugh 'cause everybody is sleepin' so it's even funnier but ever since we drank the water we sobered up even though we weren't drunk but we ate sugar...lots and lots of sugar. MOstly donut cake. Okay. JOsh says it was only one piece of cake. WE got it at Wal-mart. Or his mom did. OR something. Goodbye..
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- Know your friends - (Writing Henry reflecting is honestly such a nice time. I don’t actually come to the same conclusion as he half the time, but you know, it is super great in ordering my thoughts, it makes me happy. >Frankly this one is something I really needed to reflect upon after having looked through my follower list and found out that one of them with a cutsie name and aesthetic has told someone who shared some vulnerable information that they were a “crackbaby” that shouldn’t have existed, because of some vague callout post that floated around. People suck man. I don’t care about much, like really. I don’t. Opinions can differ, I’m cool with you disagreeing with me unless you declare me as evil for it. But telling other people such horrible thing to their faces? Big no. Alas, sorry for this lil vent(?) here? I just felt like giving unneeded background. IT’S MY BLOG. YOU CAN’T JUDGE ME, I VICTIMBLAME YOU FOR LOOKING AT THIS DUMB STUFF. Well, hopefully you get at least SOMETHING out of it.)
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It was dark in the room. Smoke was the only thing that somehow managed to illuminate the area around the man. He wasn’t actually smoking, but he had lit up something that looked akin to a cigarette and moved it about, making forms out of the smoke. It smelled like lavender. “You know…” He laughed, quietly. “… I met a lot of bad people. Shady, disgusting men and women, who were up to nothing but harm. People who lived in a dog eats dog world, who saw people who wanted to believe in good as an easy payday. I saw people who screamed at every opportunity, using violence to force whatever they wanted out of those who couldn’t defend themselves.” Another little spiral of bright smoke. “… and yet… somehow… I enjoy their company far more, than the other type of predator I saw around. Predators behind desks at a prestige firm, predators behind cute little icon on screens, behind small bodies and cute little smiles. Behind an “understanding” attitude. Behind claims to champion everything good and noble. I hate them more. People who think goodness is an inherent trait, who think as long as they follow arbitrary rules and never doubt them, they are never at risk to act horrible. Thinking about the rules or trying to analyze them at their core is already a sign you are evil and deserve everything coming your way.” He laughed quietly, the glowing tip of the cigarette flaming up for a small moment. “These are the people who decry everything as bullying- until they find a person they think is weird. It’s okay to hurt them. It’s just “correcting” them. You could just stop being weird, you know? How dare you having problem. You are bothering them. Empathizing with those that are evil means you secret are on their side. And if they say the right things in public, if they dress nicely, if they act all kind, harmless and innocent, well then it’s okay for them to wish the most abhorrent type of abuse onto those that differ from them. They are defective. In their little groups, they feed off their shared hatred of the outgroup, because that is what makes them feel important, that is the only way they can achieve worth. Sweethearts, talking about how abhorrent it is what people fantasize about and then joyfully describe how they would like to torture those that do, failing to see any irony. But I suppose that is not the point.” Thoughtfully he looked at his little cigarette. It almost had burned fully through. “You never know when they will strike. One day you admire them and let them inspire you, you trust them with your weakness- and suddenly the witchhunt begins. Fully justified of course. Considering why you feel the way you do or did what you do is forbidden. One false step and they stop seeing you as a person with nuance. Yes, one false step and you need to be discarded. And after they discarded of you? It’s back to the kind, gentle aesthetic, the self-image of being soft and too pure. Any sort of defense will be taken as a direct attack. Another oh so immoral act.” He leaned closer. “If you ever meet someone, ask them what bad thing they did in their life. And if they say nothing, or start making excuses, then you know to keep your distance. I applaud them for explaining. I directly oppose excusing though. We all did something horrible in our life. When we were younger, when we were sillier, when we more emotional. We all have bad traits that have hurt other people. And those who say they do not. Well. They simply ignore those traits. Never work on them. Let them fester and seep. The abuser never actually thinks about how much they love abusing the other. Just about how annoying the abused is. How complicated. How obnoxious. How restricting. How loud. How insensitive. And that is the trick. The big secret to becoming a monster by heart. Never, ever look at it.” With that Henry crushed the still glinting item inside of his hand. “Watch out for those who say they value “morals” but only champion themselves and their in-group. They will shroud their intention and viciously hunt you down. Abide to their demands or you are evil, because obviously, they are good and everything that isn’t them is by virtue of that evil. And the demands will never stop. Unless you know the game, you will always be the expandable of the group. And they will delight in getting rid of you. It is a feast.” Softly he sighed. Darkness was now all that was left. “These people will befriend those like me. Because I know the game. And defend me with their own spitefulness from the “outsider”. Not even allowing themselves to consider the darkness within their own acts. Because reaching in the darkness will taint you. And then nobody will want you. Nobody will love you. Not ever again.” For a few seconds, it was completely silent. “Alas.” His voice sounded friendly again. “I will get myself a cup of tea now. Would you like one too?”
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