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lulu24784 · 1 year

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washing machine heart | part 8

"I know who you pretend I am."

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synopsis: | You're absolutely infatuated with Stan Marsh and have even started dating him! It should be a dream come true, but the truth is, he's only with you to make Wendy Testaburger jealous. To help you work through your emotions, you turn to Kenny McCormick, your best friend.

pairings: | kenny mccormick x fem! reader ; stan marsh x fem! reader ; wendy testaburger x stan marsh

cws: | angst, drug use/drug mentions, explicit language, sexual content, unrequited love, mental health themes / sh

everyone is aged up to be 18+

Stan knew he had fucked up. Trying to deny it was a waste of time. He had lied right to your face. He wasn’t even drinking with his friends. He had been drinking alone in his room and lamenting every single mistake he had made in life. The next thing he knew, he was drunk and on his way to Wendy’s home.

It was bad. He knew that. He begged her to give him another chance, despite the fact that he was already dating you. When Wendy threw him out, he went to your place. Some type of date was planned for the two of you. He didn’t even care. It didn’t matter to him. Sure, you were cute… But you weren’t her. That’s probably why he left you with no remorse. You were blessed, in all honesty. He was a jackass, and you should have been able to do much better than him. That much was clear to him. He didn’t want to hurt you.

There was no use in trying to salvage your relationship now, so he decided to cut his losses. It was short anyway.. You’d get over it pretty quickly; he figured. It was a mistake to invite you into his fucked-up existence. He was going to hurt you in the same way that he hurt Wendy, and he didn’t want to subject you to that. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Really and sincerely… He felt like he didn’t deserve to be happy anyway.

After Wendy left him, he started dating you out of selfishness. He was such a prick. He even knew of Kenny’s crush on you and he fucking did it anyway… Just to feel better about himself. He even became envious, believing Kenny would whisk you away, despite the fact that he had no right to be so possessive of you. Looking at how attached you are to each other… His chest ached from it.

It’s not like he actually really liked you like that…

Right?

The thought made him feel nauseous.

You were kind and thoughtful. You tolerated his whining and bitching as well as the godawful ‘dates’ he brought you on that were really just his pitiful efforts to get into your pants… Which he couldn’t even do without chickening out. Truthfully, he was glad you two stopped the last time. If anything had really happened, this would be so much messier.

God, he felt like such a mess.

Surely he’d regret all of this in the morning.

Kyle was sitting at his computer busily working on his schoolwork while Stan lay, sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom, watching the spinning ceiling above him.

“I told you, dude. You just need to focus on yourself for a bit and stop drinking so much.”

“Fuck you, dude. You don’t get it. My life is just… It’s shit. I’m shit. Wendy fuckin’ hates me and now so does [Name].”

While Stan rambled on drunkenly, Kyle rolled his eyes and went back to his homework.

“She was sweet, too. I’m such a fuck-up.”

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

The rest of the night was a blur.

You don’t remember how you got to bed, and you certainly don’t remember the moment when your weeping finally wore you out enough to need to go to sleep.

After a long night of crying, you woke up with swollen eyes and a splitting headache. The mattress underneath you seemed as if it would swallow you whole if you moved, and the blankets that wrapped you were so comfortable and soft that you didn’t want to move in the first place. Unfortunately, it was a Monday morning, and you had to get ready for class.

You pulled yourself out of bed and stomped slowly into the bathroom, where you washed the sleep from your face. When you checked your reflection, you looked quite haggard. There was no amount of makeup that could hide the fact that you had spent the whole night bawling. Sighing, you got ready nevertheless, using concealer to try to hide it as best you could.

“For fuck’s sake…” Mumbling, brushing the knots out of your hair.

Today was a sweatpants and hoodie type of day. You weren’t in the mood to make any effort with your look today. What was the point? There was no longer anybody you needed to impress.

Today also felt like a “Skip breakfast” kind of day. You were certain that if you ate anything, it would come back up immediately, so you didn’t want to take a chance.

The morning stroll to school began as you gathered your books and bag and stepped outside. The chilly air felt refreshing on your cheeks, and you could see little puffs of air form on your exhale. Although the frigid Colorado winter was generally unpleasant, today it was welcomed. It was fantastic to be able to tune out your negative thoughts and instead concentrate only on the chill in the air. You’d be happy if you could just sit outdoors and let freezing air bite your skin forever.

It wasn’t until long that you made it to school. Taking a few steps closer to the entrance, you could make out the four usual boys, causing a commotion.

Eric calling Kyle a Jew.

Kyle calling Eric a fatass.

Stan grumbling about how stupid they were.

Stan…

You paused in your forward motion and looked around the group, your gaze inevitably landing on Stan. He seemed worn out and dishevelled, most likely hungover. When he saw you were staring, you swiftly turned away and entered the building. He called out to you, but you ignored him and kept on. You also heard a muffled call from your closest friend, Kenny.

Ah, fuck.

You totally forgot to check your phone to see whether he had ever responded. Of course, it no longer mattered. Although you knew he meant well, a little part of you was nonetheless disappointed that he hadn’t been there when you needed him. Boys really were the worst.

You walked up to your locker, dumped your things inside, and got out your textbook for the next period. A female standing next to you startled you as you were about to shut the locker door.

A purple beret on jet-black hair.

Wendy Testaburger.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me.” You clutched your chest as you wheezed.

Giggling a little, she smiled at you. “Sorry, [Name.]” She looked away for a second, then stepped closer to you, meeting your eyes with a worried expression. “Can we talk for a minute? It’s really important.”

“Uh… Yeah, sure. Um, what’s up?”

Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you shifted awkwardly. What could Wendy possibly want to talk with you about? Did she already know Stan dumped you? Was she here to tell you they got back together and then laugh in your face?

You gave Wendy your undivided attention as you looked into her eyes.

She exhaled. It was clear that something was bothering her a lot…

“[Name]… Um… Stan. He… He showed up at my place yesterday.”

You felt the static in your ears pick up again, and a rush of nervous energy ran through your body. As you listened to her, you felt a tingling sensation spreading across every part of you.

“He… He was begging me to get back with him.”

The pit of your stomach started to churn, and you could feel your heart pounding against the inside of your chest. Your grip on the textbooks you were holding started to get shaky. Wendy seemed to have noticed, and she put her hand on your arm, presumably in an effort to help settle you down a little. You let her.

“I know you two are together, so I kicked him out. I wanted to text you but.. I don’t have your phone number and all of your socials are private, so I don’t think you got any of the messages I sent.”

“Y-You’re kidding…”

Almost immediately, your hand went to your pocket, and you pulled your phone out of it. You glanced at the roughly thirty missed messages from Kenny, but you quickly dismissed them and opened up Coonstagram instead, going straight to your message requests. Sure enough, there they were.

“I wanted you to know from me first, before word gets out, y’know? Rumors always spread pretty fast here..” Wendy murmured, staring at you as you perused the text messages she had sent.

A little part of you hoped she was exaggerating, attempting to fuck with you… However, you made the decision to go with your gut this time and take her word for it. You noted the time that the messages were sent after giving them a closer look and analyzing them more closely.

4pm.

Stan came over around 5pm.

The wheels in your head turned. He visited Wendy before coming to your house…

Was he going to cheat on you before your date? Did he just feel so guilty about it he dumped you?

He was drunk though… So his mind was probably all messed up…

But he still did it.

Your breathing became harder, and you felt like you were about to cry again. You felt tingles all over, and your stomach wrenched. In retrospect, skipping breakfast was the right call.

That was the last thing going through your mind as you sprinted by Wendy and emptied the contents of your stomach into a trash can not far away, dropping your textbook in the process. Other students gasped and bolted, exclaiming, “Ew!” while you sobbed and vomited.

As you continued to vomit, a kind hand stroked circles on your back and another pulled your hair back. Upon looking up, you saw Wendy. She smiled sadly as you retched again and continued to attempt to calm you down with her touch.

“Oh hamburgers! Is your little buddy going to be okay, Wendy?”

“I think so. Thanks for the concern, Butters.”

While you buried your head in the garbage, you overheard Wendy talking to some of the other students. You forgot how popular she was. To everyone else, her soothing you in this way must appear extremely out of the ordinary.

“Hey Wendy! Oh, ew! Gross! Oh my god! Did you tell her?!”

That sounded like Wendy’s friend, Bebe. Although you had never spoken with her before, you could immediately identify her voice. As you spat out the nauseating vomit taste from your lips, you heard someone else approach.

“Damn, poor girl. You told her, hey?”

Heidi Turner.

You groaned and sat back as you completed the process of purging your stomach. A napkin immediately hit your lips as Wendy knelt down and wiped your face for you.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah… I think so.” You gave Wendy a hesitant nod, still unsure as to why she was being so compassionate towards you. She lifted you up with a kind hand and dusted the dirt from your clothing.

“Good. I’m really sorry, [Name].”

“I mean, it’s not your fault…” you mumbled as you embraced yourself. You cast an eye across at the other two females who had shifted to stand by Wendy. You could feel everyone’s attention on you, which caused you to feel uneasy for a moment.

“Um… Why… Why are you being so nice to me?” You looked down at the ground. “Shouldn’t you hate me or something? For dating Stan?”

Wendy, Bebe, and Heidi all shared a laugh. In that instant, you felt tiny.

“I don’t hate you! If anything, I felt bad for you. I know how Stan is.. I’ve been through it too.” She smiled. “Honestly, I thought you hated me. Stan talked a lot of shit when we broke up.”

“Haha, right?!” Bebe chimed in.

“I wanted to reach out but just kind of figured it wasn’t my place.”

You gazed at Wendy, astounded at how thoughtful she was. You were ecstatic that she was nothing like you had anticipated. Being able to sense genuine concern was wonderful.

“Well, thank you.” Your voice was gentle. “For uh, telling me. Oh, and for holding my hair back.” You and the three girls all laughed. You forced a hesitant “Um” out before grinning dejectedly. “Stan dumped me last night anway, so…”

“Ugh, fucking prick.” Heidi scowled, her arms crossed.

“Girl, you deserve way better anyway.” Bebe moved so her arm was over your shoulder. You felt your cheeks heat up from the closeness; you only ever got this type of attention from Kenny. “We should find you a new man! Or… Woman?” She winked at you, arching an eyebrow in a way that made you flush even more. You stuttered, unable to say anything coherent. Just like your best friend, she was a total flirt.

“Hey, hey…” Wendy interjected, taking your hand in hers and giving you the most adorable smile you’ve ever seen. “Give her some time, you vixen.” She laughed. “Let her get over Stan first. I know it can be a little difficult.” She winked at you with understanding as she pulled you away from Bebe. “How about you sit with us at lunch? We can talk more about it after class.”

“Yeah, Heidi and Wendy can tell you ALL about how to deal with breakups.” Bebe snickered, while the other two gave her dirty looks.

“Sure…” Your voice squeaked as you attempted to smile for the group.

“Perfect! We’ll see you then!” Wendy smiled, squeezed your hand briefly, and then released it. As the three of them walked together to class, they waved goodbye.

You waved back and picked up your book from the floor, where you’d apparently dropped it. You were ready to settle down and go to class when you saw the familiar group of boys making their way into the school.

Eric didn’t direct his attention to you, thank god.

Kyle met your eyes and smiled sadly at you. He was aware of the situation without a doubt.

Stan never looked up from the floor. Your chest felt tight.

Kenny hurried over to you as soon as he could, an expression of worry visible in his eyes.

As he drew nearer, he took off his hood, showing his face and making his anxiety VERY evident. You smiled nervously and waved at him, and he instantly embraced you tightly, forcing your face against his chest. He looked down at you as he drew away while placing his hands on your shoulders.

“You never responded back! Are you okay?!” His voice was frantic.

You couldn’t help but scowl slightly and turn your gaze elsewhere. “I never responded? What about you? You ignored me all night.” You hissed. “You said you’d be there for me. Where were you?”

He froze, his face scrunched up in sadness.

“[Name], Princess, I’m really REALLY sorry. I just got caught up in… some stuff. I didn’t mean’ta ignore you!” Kenny whined and drew you back into his arms, this time encircling your head. He swayed wildly from side to side. “Please don’t hate meee!!”

It was impossible not to giggle at his antics. “Jesus, Kenny. It’s fine. Just… keep your word next time!”

“Oh, of course! I swear! It won’t happen again.” He flashed you a goofy grin before letting go of you and snatching the textbook from your hands. He usually walked you to class, so you figured today wouldn’t be any different. He cleared his throat and looked down at you as the two of you started to walk.

“You never answered me, y’know? Are you doing okay?” He spoke gently and put his hand on the small of your back as you walked together.

“I’m… As okay as I can be.” You spoke, picking your words with care. “Wendy talked with me and I barfed, and now I’m a bit better.”

Kenny paused briefly, bewildered.

“What? Wendy talked with you?”

“Yeah, and then her, Bebe, and Heidi invited me to sit with them at lunch.”

“What? What the fuck? What did she talk to you about?”

You turned your head away from Kenny while chewing your lower lip.

“She told me Stan went to her house… Um… Before he showed up at mine.” You murmured, genuinely wishing that you could simply put this entire incident out of your mind and go on. After a moment, you realised Kenny had come to a full stop. You turned around to face him and… woah. You’d never seen him with that kind of expression on his face. He looked pissed.

“She said she kicked him out… And then he came over and dumped me. S-So…” You trailed off.

Kenny frowned and clenched his fists for a moment before he exhaled deeply, let out a sigh, and walked back beside you.

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Ken, no. It’s fine. Okay? Just… Leave it alone.”

Stepping up to your classroom, you took your books from Kenny. “I appreciate the offer, Ken. I really do. But, it’s done now. I’ll get over it… Probably… It’s not a big deal.”

As his hand came down on your head and he began to ruffle your hair, you saw the bitter expression that was on his face.

“Alright… I’ll see you after school, then? I want to hang out.”

“Sure.” You gave him a kind grin, and he gave you one back before leaving for his own class.

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

Holy shit. Kenny felt something beyond infuriated; he couldn’t put it into words. The fact that Stan arrived drunk at your house and dumped you like it was nothing was miserable enough, but the fact that he went to Wendy’s just before he did it was simply cruel. The blond frowned while he pulled his hood back up over his face so that no one could see what expression he was making.

In the classroom, he remained mute as he observed Kyle’s unsuccessful attempts to engage in conversation with Stan. Kenny glared daggers into the back of the raven-haired boy’s head. He would be dead right now if he had lazer vision.

Speaking about death… A pang of guilt welled up within Kenny at the notion. Last night, when he should have been at your side, he was powerless to be there. Instead, however, he had chosen to assume the role of a superhero, and it was during his attempt to foil a theft that he met an untimely end.

That’s right, Kenny McCormick was officially declared deceased late yesterday. However, just like every other time he has died, he was alive and well the following day. This time was no different. As usual, nobody was able to remember the incident. It was a tough existence at times…

He knew he couldn’t explain what happened, so he prepared a lame answer in case you pressed him further. Like, maybe he was with a girl and lost track of time?

Ah, maybe not.

Kenny was aware of how vulnerable you were and didn’t want to hurt you by making some other person appear to be more significant than you: his best friend. It was pretty silly, and maybe a little unhealthy… But he loved that aspect of you.

No matter how flawed you were, he still loved you nonetheless. He wished you could see yourself as he saw you. Perhaps you’d have a new perspective on yourself. Who knows? Maybe you wouldn’t fall hopelessly in love with the very first person who paid you any kind of attention who wasn’t your best friend? Or maybe you wouldn’t settle with alcoholics who only used you to boost their own self-esteem?

Kenny sighed and laid his head on his desk, disinterested in the lecture his instructor was delivering. He couldn’t wait until lunchtime so that he could confront Stan about what happened. Sure, you told him not to… But he was going to, anyway.

Stan was his friend and sometimes friends needed their teeth knocked out.

Notes:

Hopefully you like the small glimpse into Stan's mind!

Both Reader and Stan are incredibly insecure with themselves and I wanted to really show that. Stan is much more likely to actively sabotage the good in his life whereas Reader focuses everything inward.

Let me know what you think! This is definitely the longest chapter I've written.

#south park x reader #kenny mccormick x reader #stan marsh x reader #lulu works

127 notes · View notes

steddieassheg0es · 2 years

Text

Score One Harrington

“You seriously brought that here?”

Steve isn’t sure if he should be mad or embarrassed, or some combo of the two as he stares blankly at the board in front of him with the familiar “You Rule/You Suck” written on it. There’s still a tally of 0 to 6. And it is currently resting on the break room table at Family Video.

“Of course I did. Gotta keep that ego of yours in check, your highness.” Robin laughs. “Besides, how else am I supposed to entertain myself on a slow day? Watching you strike out is the highlight of my shift. Or was, anyway. I haven’t seen you shoot your shot since Scoops.”

“Yeah, well, forgive me if spider monsters and getting drugged by Russians doesn’t put me in the mood.”

“Aw Stevie, where’s your sense of adventure?”

Steve hold back a groan as he hears the voice of the real reason he hasn’t even thought of flirting with anyone in a while now. Normally he’s thrilled when Eddie drops in to hang out with them at work, but he’d love to keep the humiliation of this to just Robin. The fact that he’s got his hair tied back and is wearing a fucking crop top does not help the situation.

“I know you can read, Munson. That sign on the door is there for a reason. Last I checked you’re not an employee.”

“Like a sign has ever stopped me before. Speaking of signs, what’s with that thing, who sucks?”

Robin lights up with vicious glee and he knows all hope that she’ll spare him is lost.

“Steve-o. Turns out the rumors are so not true. Whoever said he was charming was delusional. I’ve been keeping tally of his epic inability to score.”

Eddie’s face scrunches up adorably with confusion. “Steve can’t get a girl?”

“Nope, you should see him in action. It’s painful.”

—

Eddie finds that incredibly hard to believe. He’s so undeniably charmed by Steve without the man even trying, he can’t imagine being able to resist if he were.

Still, a selfish part of him is glad that Steve’s having no luck with the ladies. Which is dumb. Single or not Eddie knows he doesn’t stand a chance.

But hey a guy can dream.

“Aww Stevie, you’ve lost your touch? That’s a damn shame.”

“Shove it, Munson. That board is woefully out dated. I haven’t struck out in a while now.”

Robin snickers. “Only because you haven’t tried.”

Eddie doesn’t think Robin sees just how uncomfortable Steve is with the continued assault on his lack of a love life. He feels bad for his earlier joy. Steve deserves to be wanted, to be loved. By someone he wants back. Eddie’s pretty sure he’s a huge romantic even if he wouldn’t admit it. Steve’s the kind of guy who has so much love to give, it must be hard to have no where to put it.

“I’m sure you just need some practice to get your groove back, man, don’t sweat it.”

—

Steve thinks something in his brain must have short circuited. It’s the only explanation for why he does what he does next.

Which is to lean forward into Eddie’s space. He gently tucks one of the curls that has escaped his bun behind his ear. He lets his fingers trail down Eddie’s cheek as he pulls away.

Eddie has turned a lovely shade of pink, and stand frozen in place. Steve pushes forward with his stupidity.

“You must not have any trouble, hm? Pretty doe eyes. Those dimples. Bet you can get anyone you want.”

He can see Robin out of the corner of his eye, staring in shock. And maybe a little bit impressed. There is definitely judgement on her face. Whatever game he thinks he’s playing, she sees right through him. He chooses to ignore her for the time being.

Eddie lets out a shuddering breath. He’s blushing to the tips of his ears and seems to be at a loss for words. His eyes flick over to Robin, and then suddenly he’s flinching away from Steve.

“Hah. Right, yeah point made. You still got it. Congrats. I’ll uh…I’ll see you guys later.”

He barely gets the words out before he flees, and Steve is left crushed. And wondering how he can possibly salvage their friendship after he just made Eddie so clearly very uncomfortable.

—

Shit. He’s such an idiot. For a moment he let himself get caught up. To fall prey to incredible force that is Steve Harrington flirting. The second Steve crowded in to his space, the conversation they had just been having vanished from his mind.

When he saw the look on Robin’s face, reality set in.

Of course he wasn’t actually flirting with Eddie. He was making a point. Showing off his charm, still fully intact. Eddie feels the shame and embarrassment clogging his throat. He knows Steve didn’t mean anything by it, he’s too good to intentionally fuck with Eddie this way if he knew, but it doesn’t stop him from dying inside.

He’s back in his van before he even realizes he’s moved, fighting back the urge to vomit. How the fuck is he ever going to face him again? Explain why the hell he cut and run like that? If Steve doesn’t figure it out, he knows Robin certainly has. He’s pretty sure she’s had her suspicions about his feelings for Steve for a while now, no way she has any doubts after that horrible scene.

He’s so completely fucked. The best he can hope for now is that Steve will be a bit distant but at least stay his friend.

Shit.

—

“Well that was certainly…interesting.” Robbin wanders over to the break room table and puts a tally down under “You Rule” with a dramatic flourish. “I mean he did run away, but I think you still earned a point. So Steve, now what?”

“What are you talking about? He ran away. Robbie he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Jesus, I freaked him out. What the fuck was I thinking?” His voice is shrill with panic.

“Woah there. Calm down, dingus. Did you not see the look on his face before he took off? I thought his face was going to actually catch on fire he was so red, oh my god. As hilarious as the two of you being total idiots is, it’s also getting kind of sad at this point.”

Steve is pacing, hands in his hair. He’s not really absorbing anything Robin is saying to him, too busy freaking out. Seriously, what was he thinking? His pride was wounded in front of his crush so he decides to…flirt with him to prove a point?! There’s no way Eddie doesn’t know now. How can he explain that he didn’t mean it?

Well he did mean it, but not really, he hadn’t intended to ever let this slip. He was fine with just being friends, had no delusions of Eddie feeling the same. No matter how much Robin insisted the other man was definitely gay. Didn’t mean he liked Steve. Hell Steve was shocked they were even friends, he knew Eddie could do so much better than him.

“Steven!”

He gets the feeling she’s been trying to get his attention for a while now. “I hate when you call me that.”

“At least it caught your attention. You seriously need to chill out. Listen, I know I’ll never get it through your thick skull that Eddie likes you-“

“He doesn’t!”

“We’ve been over this. I’ve literally never seen him smile at anyone the way he smiles at you…” He opens his mouth to interject again, but she quickly and loudly keeps talking. “BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT RIGHT NOW. The point is, heart eyes or no, Eddie’s not going to stop being friends with you for being bi, Steve. That’s not who he is.”

Steve stops his pacing, collapsing into a heap on the floor leaning against the wall. His head in his hands, he lets out a deep sigh. Tries desperately to hold back the tears he can feel burning behind his eyelids.

“I know that. I’m not afraid he’s gonna be a homophobe. Or biphobe. But being accepting of a guy who likes girls and guys, and being accepting of a guy liking you are two different things. Rob, if my crush on you hadn’t been 90% based on us just being awesome together and 10% me desperately wanting to be with someone who actually liked me as a person…If I hadn’t gotten over it once I realized it wasn’t real, you really think you could have stayed my friend? Knowing I was pining after you?”

Robin looks uncomfortable at the thought and he knows he’s right. “I mean that’s different. I’m not into guys, any guy being into me is weird and uncomfortable. And I’m not Eddie. I love you, but I don’t think the sun shines out of your ass. Steve, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing you could do to fuck things up with Eddie. At least not in a way that’s totally beyond repair.””

“I don’t know Robin.”

“Well here’s an idea, dingus. Go and talk to him. Don’t let this fester. It’s a ghost town in here anyway, I’ll cover for you. Don’t argue with me! Just go.”

And with that he’s shoved out of the break room.

—

Eddie makes it home before he breaks down. He’s thankful that Uncle Wayne is at work, because the second he’s through the door he’s leaning back against it sobbing.

What a fucking mess. He got a glimpse of the thing he wanted more than anything, and for a second he thought his heart was going to burst right out of his chest. And then reality set in and not only was the rug ripped out from under him and his little fantasy, but now he’s ruined the best thing in his life.

Even if Steve keeps being his friend, he knows things will be different. He’s been foolish, taking advantage of Steve’s obliviousness too much. There’s no way he can keep up with calling him things like “sweetheart” and “pretty boy”. The touches to his lower back, his wrist, his hair. Probably won’t be able to hug at all anymore, but certainly not those long lingering ones that make him feel like he’s home.

He’s pathetic enough that he’ll take what he can get. But he knows watching Steve pull away with destroy him.

Eddie’s not sure how long he stays like that. Long enough that he runs out of tears and just sits there feeling hollow. He nearly jumps out of his skin when there’s a knock at the door against his back.

“Eddie? Your van’s outside, I know you’re in there. Can we talk?”

Fuck.

He turns and stares at the doorknob. He’s not ready for this yet. He thought he had time to prepare himself to deal with the fall out. But there’s nothing he can do now. He’s not going to ignore Steve. He can’t. So he takes a deep breath and opens the door.

“Hey, can I…can I come in?”

He shifts to the side to let Steve in. He stares outside for a few beats, delaying the inevitable, then closes the door and turns to face this. Eddie’s surprised to see how torn up Steve looks. Probably feels bad for flirting now that he knows. So he tries to salvage this as much as he can by taking the lead.

“Look, Steve, it’s fine. We’re good, yeah? I’m not stupid I don’t expect anything. I just want to keep being friends.”

Steve’s face morphs into one of confusion. “What do you mean you don’t expect anything?”

Eddie sighs and looks down at his feet, unable to handle looking into those eyes when he says this. “Come on, I know you figured out I’m into you, ok? And I know you weren’t actually hitting on me. I know you don’t feel that way about me and I never expected you to. I wasn’t ever going to say anything. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I get it if I have now and I’m sorry. I just really hope we can stay friends.”

When the silence carries on for too long, he finally dares to look up. Steve is staring at him with wide eyes, looking completely shocked. Shit. Did he not know? Did Eddie just fuck things up by trying to fix them?

“You…What? You’re into me?”

Now it’s Eddies turn to be speechless. Steve’s face shifts from shock to one that Eddie can’t really decipher and he has no idea what to do now.

Eddie flinches when Steve laughs. “Shit…Robin’s never gonna let me live this down.” Then Steve’s tilting his head like a puppy. “Wait, then why did you run away?”

“…What?”

“I thought you left because I made you uncomfortable. If you weren’t, like, disgusted by me why’d you go?”

Eddie has no idea what’s happening. He feels like he’s trying to read a book but some of the pages have been torn out so he’s left trying to catch up. But the utter confusion is better than devastation at least.

“Why would I be disgusted by you?”

“Because I’m into you. I flirted with you. It wasn’t very subtle. I figured I freaked you out because you caught on to my embarrassingly huge crush on you. But if that’s not it why’d you bolt out of there?”

“I…what? Am I fucking high?”

Steve giggles and in a distant part of his brain he can’t help but think how cute it is. The rest of him is stuck on embarrassingly huge crush.

“I don’t think so. Eddie, you still haven’t answered me. Why’d you leave? Why didn’t you tell me you felt the same way?”

“I didn’t think you were serious! Jesus, in what world does Steve Harrington flirt with Eddie the freak Munson and mean it?”

Steve frowns. “Don’t call yourself that, you’re not a freak.”

“Oh my god, that is so not the point right now Steve. You have a crush on me? Since fucking when?”

The frown gives way to a shy smile. Suddenly Steve is looking at him all soft and fond, and it completely destroys his ability to think. The emotional whiplash is overwhelming.

“I think since you pinned me to the wall with a broken bottle to my throat. Confused the shit out of me, that’s for sure. I didn’t really realize it until I saw you surrounded by the demobats bleeding out on the ground. I thought you were gonna die, man. What a shitty moment to figure out you’re in love with someone, right when you’re about to lose them. I was a fucking wreck. The happiest moment of my life was when you opened your eyes in the hospital.”

Eddie remembers that moment. He was on some good shit, feeling floaty and not even sure he’d actually made it out or if he was hallucinating. But he opened his eyes and there was Steve. Holding on to his hand with tear streaked cheeks, looking at him like he’d performed a miracle by just breathing. Which to be fair, it was close to miraculous that he’d survived. It wasn’t until later he found out Steve had carried him out, and he’d refused any kind of medical care for himself until Eddie woke up. Even then he was practically dragged out by some nurses.

He’d been in awe of his bravery then. He is again now, watching Steve hand him his heart on a silver platter.

—

It’s dawning on Steve that Eddie only said he was ‘into’ him. Maybe spilling his guts and saying he’s in love with him was too much. Just as he’s starting to fully work himself into a panic, a pair of lips touch his own and the chaos in his brain stops.

It’s a painfully sweet kiss, Eddie’s hands so gentle as they trail up his jaw, fingers curling against his neck. He’s never been touched like this. Like he’s something precious. It’s immediately addictive.

Eddie hums around a smile as he pulls back, those huge brown eyes gone soft like melted chocolate. His thumbs stroke Steve’s cheeks.

“I love you. God you have no idea.”

“I love you, too.”

Eddie gives him what Robin calls his ‘Steve smile’. It lights up his whole face, dimples on full display, and it makes Steve’s heart flutter every time. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, Eddie. You have no idea. I’d have hit on you a lot sooner if I thought I had a chance. Actually…that’s why I haven’t struck out since Scoops. I mean first the whole chaos of Starcourt happened, but then I met you and I just didn’t see the point in trying. I knew it would never work with someone else until I got over you.”

Eddie laughs, shaking his head. “Shit, Stevie. I thought you were straight. If I’d known you liked guys I’d have taken a shot at you ages ago.”

“Yeah, I thought so too…you were kind of my bi awakening. I mean looking back I’ve definitely been attracted to guys before, but never anyone I was really interested in beyond that. So I just brushed it off as like, platonically acknowledging that other guys can be hot. Aesthetic appreciation or whatever. What I felt about you was a lot harder to ignore. Hell everything about you is impossible to ignore.”

They’re both all grins, trading confessions back and forth for awhile and just basking in being able to finally say all of this out loud. Eventually the emotions get to be too much, and he just has to touch.

He’s allowed to do that now, too. So he leans in to capture Eddie’s smiling lips.

—

Steve turns out to be right. Robin does not let either of them live it down. Neither does the rest of the party. But no amount of teasing can ruin their joy.

They get their revenge by being disgustingly affectionate all the time, so they call it a win.

#steddie fic #steddie #stranger things fic #eddie munson #Steve Harrington #mutual pining #idiots in love #robin buckley #robin ships it #gay eddie munson #bisexual steve harrington #my writing #my fic #eddie munson lives rent free in my head #eddie munson lives

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bloody-bee-tea · 3 years

Text

Sweat

Jiang Cheng knows that it’s a risky move to show up to this office party with Nie Mingjue in tow, but then again it’s not like he cares. Much.

He had tried to introduce Nie Mingjue to his parents countless times, but they always shot him down, citing that they don’t have time for things like this. So Jiang Cheng never got to introduce them.

But the invitation to the party had said he could bring a plus one. It didn’t specify any further than this and Jiang Cheng had waved the invitation at Nie Mingjue, who of course hadn’t gotten one of his own.

Jiang Fengmian wanted to cut a deal with Jin Corp. and everyone knew that Jin Guangshan didn’t make deals when the Nies were involved. So Nie Security hadn’t gotten an invitation at all.

Jiang Cheng is aware that his father will be furious with him for bringing Nie Mingjue but he will be going in his capacity as Jiang Cheng’s boyfriend. It won’t be work related. And it isn’t either of their fault if Jiang Fengmian wants to make a deal with the slimiest bastard in their business.

Jiang Cheng is going to give his dad a metaphorical fuck you by bringing Nie Mingjue.

At least that had been the theory. Now that they are actually at the party, Jiang Cheng is getting pretty damn nervous again, sweat clinging to his temples and back.

“It’ll be alright,” Nie Mingjue whispers and pulls him close with a hand on his hip. “I’m right here.”

Jiang Cheng doesn’t say that that is part of the problem and instead leans into the contact. He has to admit that it does feel pretty nice to not be alone for once.

“Until someone steals you away and then where will I be?” Jiang Cheng grumbles, mostly just to be contrary, because he does feel better this close to Nie Mingjue.

“I hope you’ll be on your way to save me,” Nie Mingjue gives back and brushes a kiss over Jiang Cheng’s temple. “Since work is not what I’m here for. Look, there’s Wei Wuxian,” he then tries to distract Jiang Cheng and he has to admit that it works reasonably well.

Wei Wuxian drags Lan Wangji over to them as well and Jiang Cheng is sure that Lan Xichen is mingling somewhere, too, so there are at least four friendly faces around. Five, if you count Jin Zixuan and with how hard he’s trying lately with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng is inclined to count him.

Jiang Cheng tries to follow along with Wei Wuxian’s excited chatter about his newest project, but his nerves are getting the better of him once he catches sight of Jiang Fengmian and so most what Wei Wuxian says flies right over Jiang Cheng’s head.

“Uh-oh, here he comes,” Nie Mingjue mutters and steps that little bit closer to Jiang Cheng, making sure that he knows he’s there and he’s supporting him.

Wei Wuxian throws a wide-eyed look over his shoulder before he turns the same wide eyes on Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng sighs.

“Go,” he tells him, secretly a little bit relieved that Wei Wuxian wants to remove himself from this situation and Wei Wuxian is gone faster than Jiang Cheng can blink.

Speaking to Jiang Fengmian is never pleasant, but it’s always worse when Wei Wuxian is present. It seem like the sheer existence of Wei Wuxian makes Jiang Fengmian forget that Jiang Cheng even exists and no matter how much time passes or how many therapy sessions Jiang Cheng goes to, it never stops hurting.

Nie Mingjue puts a steadying hand to the small of Jiang Cheng’s back and presses another kiss to his temple where anyone can see and Jiang Cheng loves him for how little Nie Mingjue minds all that family drama that comes with dating him.

It had been one of his big worries when they started dating, but Nie Mingjue seemingly never cared beyond hating how it always hurt Jiang Cheng and that more than anything helped Jiang Cheng to seek out help and to realize that this isn’t normal.

It isn’t normal how he tenses more and more the closer his father gets. It isn’t normal how his heart starts to beat faster when Jiang Fengmian’s eyes fall on him. And it’s certainly not normal how Jiang Cheng starts to shake when clear displeasure clouds over Jiang Fengmian’s face.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asks once he reached them and he’s not even looking at Jiang Cheng anymore.

All of Jiang Fengmian’s attention is on Nie Mingjue.

“What a surprise to see here, Mingjue,” he says and Nie Mingjue tenses with the address.

Jiang Cheng knows that Nie Mingjue hates how overly familiar Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan get whenever they talk to him and so he leans just a little bit more back into Nie Mingjue’s hand.

“Fengmian,” Nie Mingjue gives back, his voice pleasant, though his jaw is clenched. “I’m here with Wanyin.”

“Wanyin,” Jiang Fengmian repeats and turns to look at Jiang Cheng as if this was the first time he noticed him next to Nie Mingjue. “You should be mingling with the Jins.”

“I should be showing my boyfriend around,” Jiang Cheng gives back, hating how there’s the tiniest shake to his voice.

“Your boyfriend,” Jiang Fengmian repeats and looks back at Nie Mingjue. “You’re colluding with the Nies?”

“I am dating a Nie,” Jiang Cheng says, forcing himself to remain calm and collected. “Which you would know if you had ever taken the time to meet my boyfriend.”

“Ah, you know how it is,” Jiang Fengmian says and Jiang Cheng hates that tone of voice, especially when it’s aimed at him. “I am a busy man and who knows how long this fling of yours will last. There’s no need to introduce us when this is bound to end sooner rather than later. I mean, Mingjue is a busy man himself. You shouldn’t hog his attention.”

It’s a reprimand that Jiang Cheng has heard several times before, in different contexts, but it still cuts him deeply. Deeply enough that he can’t even find his voice and it only worsens his mood, because he should be able to defend his boyfriend and their relationship from his own father.

“Enough about this now,” Jiang Fengmian decides as if Jiang Cheng had actually managed to say anything. “Mingjue, about that contract—” Jiang Fengmian says, his attention completely on Nie Mingjue already, and Jiang Cheng has to bite back some tears.

“I am not here for work,” Nie Mingjue bites out and takes Jiang Cheng’s hand in his. “I am here as a plus one to my boyfriend. If you really do want to talk about the contract, you should make an appointment with my secretary.”

Jiang Fengmian blinks, clearly surprised by Nie Mingjue’s firm rebuke and Nie Mingjue takes that opportunity to drag Jiang Cheng away from him.

“I know he’s your dad, but I seriously hate him,” Nie Mingjue mutters once they are out of earshot and Jiang Cheng laughs wetly.

He hates his dad sometimes, too, but he can’t bring himself to say that.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Jiang Cheng says, slinging his arms around Nie Mingjue’s middle and just breathing for a few moments.

“Even though I just made it more difficult for you?” Nie Mingjue wants to know, but he squeezes Jiang Cheng back.

“He would have found something to criticise me over anyway,” Jiang Cheng mutters. “It’s easier to endure when you’re there.”

“I’m not leaving you out of my sight tonight,” Nie Mingjue promises him and Jiang Cheng is just about to breathe in relief when the severe clicking of heels announces the arrival of Yu Ziyuan.

“Oh, fuck,” Jiang Cheng whispers and moves away from Nie Mingjue only to come face to face with his clearly disapproving mother.

“Is this how we make business deals now? Whoring yourself out?” she asks, clearly not caring at all who hears her and Jiang Cheng is quick to shake his head.

“Mother, this is my boyfriend, Nie Mingjue. We’ve been dating for a while,” he rushes out, hopes to salvage this situation somehow and he has to admit that he wasn’t prepared for the surprised look on her face.

“Boyfriend,” she repeats. “The boyfriend you have been trying to introduce to us several times?”

Ah, so at least she noticed his attempts.

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng meekly gives back and Nie Mingjue holds his hand out.

“Nie Mingjue, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, finally,” he says with a small smile and Yu Ziyuan only hesitates a second before she takes his hand.

“I wasn’t aware my son was dating you,” she says and Jiang Cheng flinches.

He had told her, several times actually, but of course she didn’t listen to him. She listens more to him than Jiang Fengmian, but it is still not a lot.

“I am,” Jiang Cheng says, trying to sound surer than he feels, and he can’t read the glint in his mother’s eyes at all.

There is a very long silence before Yu Ziyuan speaks again.

“If you hurt him, I will ruin you,” she says and then turns around to leave in the same manner in which she arrived.

“Was she talking to me or to you?” Jiang Cheng asks, once his mother vanishes from his sight and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“I think she actually meant me,” he gives back and then pulls Jiang Cheng into a kiss. “That actually went better than expected,” he mumbles against Jiang Cheng’s lips and Jiang Cheng has to agree.

He has anticipated his father’s disinterest in his boyfriend, so even while that had still hurt, it wasn’t unexpected. But his mother is always a little bit of a wild card and Jiang Cheng never knows what to expect with her.

“Come on, after this I need something to drink,” Nie Mingjue says once they part and Jiang Cheng couldn’t agree more.

They mingle for a bit afterwards, speaking to Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen, and even Jin Zixuan for a while before they retreat back into a relatively quiet corner.

“This wasn’t so bad so far,” Nie Mingjue says with a sigh and leans against the wall. “Being your arm candy certainly has its perks.”

“Like what?” Jiang Cheng snorts but he has to admit that having Nie Mingjue here did wonders to relax him.

“Like being able to simply walk away if someone starts to talk business to me,” Nie Mingjue gives back and threads their fingers together. “And I get to admire you all evening, so that’s a definite plus.”

“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng hisses, but he can already feel how he turns red.

“Never,” Nie Mingjue whispers and kisses Jiang Cheng’s burning cheek.

“You’re an idiot,” Jiang Cheng tells him, aiming for stern but of course he softens immediately when Nie Mingjue looks expectantly at him. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too,” is the immediate response he gets and Jiang Cheng didn’t know how nice it was to never having to wonder or wait for those words.

Nie Mingjue always makes very sure that Jiang Cheng knows just how much he’s loved.

“What the fuck is your father’s problem?” Nie Mingjue mutters suddenly, breaking Jiang Cheng out of his pleasant thoughts and he leans around Nie Mingjue to see better.

“Fuck, he had something to drink,” Jiang Cheng whispers under his breath, because Jiang Fengmian is never a pleasant person to be around—at least not if you are name Jiang Cheng—but it only ever gets worse when he had something to drink.

“I’ve got this,” Nie Mingjue decides and hands Jiang Cheng his empty glass. “Get me some more, would you?”

Jiang Cheng works his jaw a few times, but when Nie Mingjue nudges him into the opposite direction of his father he sighs. “Fine.”

Nie Mingjue gives him a winning smile before he turns around to meet Jiang Fengmian halfway and Jiang Cheng can’t help it. He knows that no matter what’s going to happen it will hurt him, but he simply has to know.

He doesn’t leave to get them new drinks.

“Mingjue, what a nice surprise,” Jiang Fengmian says, just a tad too loudly and Jiang Cheng winces. “What brings you here?”

“We already talked today,” Nie Mingjue reminds him, his hands clenching at his side.

“Oh, did we? Remind me again, then,” Jiang Fengmian says, his voice now a little bit more appropriate and he leans into Nie Mingjue’s space. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with your son. You know, because we’re dating?” Nie Mingjue tells him and Jiang Cheng knows what’s going to happen a split second before his father opens his mouth.

It feels like someone reached inside his chest and tore his heart out.

“Wei Wuxian? I thought he is with that Lan boy?” Jiang Fengmian says and Jiang Cheng sees how Nie Mingjue freezes.

Jiang Cheng has trouble breathing himself, but he keeps his eyes fixed on Nie Mingjue, because it’s the only safe place to look at right now.

“You piece of shit,” Nie Mingjue mutters, and before Jiang Cheng or anyone else can react, he moves.

Between one blink an the next Jiang Fengmian is on the ground, clearly knocked out cold, and Nie Mingjue is shaking out his hand as he turns around and looks for Jiang Cheng.

“Fuck, you heard,” are the first words out of Nie Mingjue’s mouth, before he rushes up to Jiang Cheng to crush him to his chest.

“You punched him,” Jiang Cheng mutters, blinking several times, because it doesn’t make sense.

His father is in on the ground and people are staring at them, but it doesn’t make sense.

“Of course I did!”

“You just punched him,” Jiang Cheng repeats and it’s only the arrival of his mother that prevents him from breaking down into hysterical laughter.

“What is going on here? Wanyin, an explanation!”

“Your husband forgot who his actual son is,” Nie Mingjue hisses at her, not letting go of Jiang Cheng and clearly not going to apologize for his actions.

“Ma’am, do you want us to call the police?” a security guard suddenly asks and Jiang Cheng tenses in Nie Mingjue’s arms.

He will not allow Nie Mingjue to get punished for this.

Jiang Cheng is about to tell his mother that when she waves them away.

“That won’t be necessary,” she says. “I think it was deserved,” she then adds, much more quietly, before she turns to the room at large. “It seems like my dear husband had a little bit too much to drink and he slipped in a rather unfortunate way,” she calls out. “Please don’t be worried and continue to enjoy the party.”

Jiang Cheng stares at her, his mouth open and it’s only when she turns back around to him and Nie Mingjue that he gets a little bit of control back.

“I think you should leave now,” she says, and Jiang Cheng isn’t sure she ever heard her sound so soft. “Well done,” she adds and pats Nie Mingjue’s arm before she goes to deal with the situation at large.

“What the hell just happened,” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he allows Nie Mingjue to pull him away from his father and from this party.

It’s only when the cold night air hits him that he starts to realize what just happened.

“You punched my father because he was an asshole to me,” Jiang Cheng whispers and Nie Mingjue grimaces.

“Well. I would do it again,” he declares as if Jiang Cheng was about to tell him to not do that again. “He deserved it.”

“He did,” Jiang Cheng agrees and then steps close to Nie Mingjue. “You punched my father for me,” he repeats and Nie Mingjue frowns.

“I can’t tell if you’re angry right now,” Nie Mingjue admits, but he puts his hands on Jiang Cheng’s hips.

“I am in absolute awe of you and I love you so much,” Jiang Cheng tells him and leans in for a biting kiss. “And I think you should take me home now.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is? Me punching your father is doing it for you?” Nie Mingjue teases him, but he starts dragging him towards their car.

“Hell, yes,” Jiang Cheng breathes out, because no one has taken such a stance for him.

“Good to know,” Nie Mingjue says. “But I’d still rather not make it a habit.”

“I think the memory will serve me well, too,” Jiang Cheng says and before Nie Mingjue can get into the car, Jiang Cheng crowds him against the side of it, tucking his face into his neck. “Seriously, thank you.”

“My heart, I love you and no one gets to behave like that when it comes to you,” Nie Mingjue says and puts his arms around Jiang Cheng. “No thanks needed.”

“Oh, I’m gonna thank you,” Jiang Cheng says with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrow and Nie Mingjue barks out a laugh.

“Alright,” he says and then they scramble into the car.

It’s a quiet ride home, despite everything, but Jiang Cheng keeps a hold of Nie Mingjue’s hand and he has to admit that he has never felt so loved before.

And he will make sure Nie Mingjue knows how much he appreciates his actions.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #the untamed #mdzs #mingcheng #established relationship #modern au #jfm gets punched in the face #and he deserves it #yzy has some rights here #fluff #hurt/comfort #best boyfriend nmj

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keepingupwithpotters · 3 years

Text

summer wine

@efkgirldetective 's Summer of Jily week 4 🍓🍓🍓

picking (mul)berries + I know I've kissed you before, but I didn't do it right

also on ao3

In retrospect, Lily could say none of it had been his fault, but it was hard to remember that when James was walking so sullen beside her now.

The date had started nice enough. Well, the idea of it was nice anyway. A summer picnic date sounded like the perfect first date on paper, if only the execution hadn’t run into some problems… But really, how was he supposed to foresee the grass being wet because it had been watered recently? And they solved that one pretty easily too, before his face could be clouded with the first hitch on his perfect plan, finding a bench by the lake with limited space quickly.

If you asked Lily, she would say the first hitch had been when he decided to keep the nature of the date as a surprise and her carefully decided heels started to sink deep into the fresh mud as they walked through the field. But he had seemed so excited, and she was not about to dim that smile – so Lily Evans marched on, without complaining.

Now that she was thinking about it, she supposed he could be blamed a little about the food – not that she would ever tell that to his face. They dug into the basket right away after they sat down, eager to salvage their first disappointment, only to be crushed once more when they saw the condition of their food. Maybe tuna and egg salad sandwiches hadn’t been the top choices to make for this sweltering heat after all. She appreciated the aesthetic of the peterboro basket, she really did, but a cooler bag it was not. The chocolate for the strawberries seemed to have ended up in the same fate too, melted and beyond recognition. At least they still got the wine, a little warm but still delicious – and desperately needed to forget how hungry they were.

Going back towards the car together, she couldn’t even bring herself to hold his hand as they walked, with his hands in his pockets and head fallen down. In all honesty, this was not how she expected the date would go either, not after the way he had been so charming, so confident the whole summer. Well… not the whole summer. She bit her lip to stop a grin from breaking out when she remembered his panicked face after he kissed her for three seconds, a peck more than a kiss really. Watching him lose his cool for the first time had been a highly entertaining spectacle, and the kiss itself… It was no use thinking about it now, when there was absolutely zero chance that she was getting a kiss after this date. She could feel a scowl settling in on her face. Now they matched.

The frown disappeared when she noticed something from the corner of her eye.

“Hey, are those mulberry trees?”

James was so deep in his, probably self-berating, thoughts that he hadn’t heard her. She gave his arm a little tug after some consideration. “Come on.”

She didn’t let herself look at his expression as they got closer to the trees she spotted from afar, eyes locked on the target. Her hunch was proved right when she saw the black fruits, dangling ripe from the branches.

Hunger getting the best of her in an embarrassingly short time, her hands reached towards the best-looking ones quickly, sweetness exploding in her mouth with nostalgia. She noticed James was standing frozen behind her without moving after a few, okay maybe a handful, berries, scolding herself for not realizing earlier.

She collected some for him right away as an apology, explanation falling from her lips at the same time. “We had a mulberry tree in the backyard of our old house. I learned how to climb trees on it.” Memories brought forth a fond smile. “Tuney hated it, said it always stained her dresses.”

He took the berries from her with a look akin to awe, eyes closing briefly when he finally tasted one. She tried to ignore the flutters in her stomach in response to his blissful face and berry-stained lips.

“I can get more for us if you’d like. The ones up above are always better anyway.” Her heels were off before he could say anything. “Can you help me up?”

He finally seemed to break free from whatever daze he was in, coughing out a hasty “Sure.” His left hand enveloped hers as she put her left foot on the trunk of the tree, the other hand supporting her back behind her. Warmth seeped through everywhere he touched, and she prayed to whoever was listening that she wouldn’t slip and fall on her face from the shock.

When she was finally on the tree, his left hand joined the other one on her back, sliding a little down to grip her firmly on the waist, creating a nice little support system for her. She certainly was glad that he wasn’t able to see her face from down there.

There was no need to go further up anymore, with an abundance of mulberries in front of her now. She felt a sharp pinch in her side when she started to eat them without breathing.

“Oi, I didn’t help you up just so you can feed yourself, did I?”

Berry lips widened for a smile. Oh, he was back.

Her hands filled up quickly with the fruits, she struggled to turn her back without dropping any. There laid another problem when she successfully faced him.

“Sorry, Evans. Hands full.”

There was a dangerous grin on his face, eyes alight with mischief.

“No problem, Potter.” She could match him. He was not the only person here with guts. “Open wide.”

His surprised expression was only there for a second, half open lips doing exactly what she said quickly. Hazel eyes blazed over when her finger touched his lips, burning right into hers with the intense gaze. She swore she could feel a flick of the tongue as he ate the last of the berries, causing shivers to ripple inside her.

“Get me down now.”

Her voice was hoarse, demand falling from her mouth like it belonged to someone else. The hands that never left her side while she was up wrapped around her completely, lifting her slightly with a tight hug. She didn’t know if the reason her breath got caught in her throat was the firm grip or the new proximity, feeling heady suddenly in his arms. They were oh so close as she finally slid down to her feet, reaching his shoulder barely with the lack of her heels. She was so sure they were going to kiss this time before he opened his mouth.

“Lily, I’m so sorry about the date. I just— I wanted it to be perfect and I planned it for so long right until the kiss at the end, and I know I kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right and now the date is ruined too I’m—"

“Do it right then.”

His mouth hung open before he could think to close it. “W-what?”

“I want the grand finale.” She took one step closer to him. “Show me what you planned, James.”

He let out a breathless chuckle. “This is way beyond anything I’d planned, believe me.”

Lily had to stop herself from sighing when his hand finally touched her cheek hesitantly, the distance between them practically nonexistent now. She couldn’t be expected to stop the soft exhale that escaped when his lips finally found hers though, swallowed quickly by him. Berries exploded in her mouth, with the sweet taste lingering in between, kisses feeling black and purple all around. Her hands went to his shoulders first, all thoughts about stains escaping her mind, before they finally reached where they’ve been itching to touch all day, getting lost in the inky strands.

She was gasping for breath when they finally fell apart, head dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

“I would call that a perfect kiss.”

There were little purple fingerprints on his neck, face still in wonder. He looked at her like he couldn’t believe she was real.

She went to pick up her heels without waiting for an answer, gathering them in one hand while she caught her breath. He was right where she left him when she turned back, a hand touching his lips lightly.

This time when she offered her hand, he took it without hesitance, purple stains and all. They continued their walk back to the car, Lily’s bare feet gliding through the wet grass easily.

“Hey, James?”

“Hmm?”

“For our second date, please don’t plan any surprises.”

#summerofjily #jily #jily fic #jily au #lily evans #james potter #james x lily #jily fanfiction #senem writes #nobody is paying to fucking pick berries in my fic #keep that capitalist shit away from me

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smallandsneezy · 3 years

Text

terrible and wanting

steve and buck go on a camping trip to upstate new york and have to share a sleeping bag. too bad steve is wildly allergic to pretty much the whole state and bucky is wildly attracted to his every sniffle. (ao3)

(WEE WOO WEE WOO it’s another bucky w a snz kink fic who’s surprised not me)

“heh-SHIEW! HAH-SHIEEEW!” Steve sniffed so hard it made his head hurt a bit. “Whose idea was it to come out here anyway?”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep his front far away from Steve’s tight tiny ass, the same tiny ass that was shaking and shifting with every sneeze. Already his dick was twitching, just about as much as Steve’s nose was. “I think that one was you, bud.”

They had started out face to face, eyelashes touching each other’s cheeks, but after Steve had sprayed him a few times, each time going a bright red that made things even worse for Bucky, they had settled into a spooning position, one they were well familiar with but typically didn’t do outside of their Brooklyn apartment. Just about now, Bucky missed that apartment terribly. What the fuck had he been thinking? They were city boys, really, and always had been, and he knew that even the tiniest bit of pollen made Stevie sneeze his little head off. And maybe he had been looking forward to that a little bit, but then they went and forgot a second sleeping bag, and it was early fall but still pretty cold and the second Steve had started to shiver Bucky had lost all willpower.

“heh-SHIEWSHIEW!” Steve practically ground into his dick, the force of his sneeze shaking his whole body. Bucky closed his eyes and started praying to the good Lord above that Steve was too distracted by his nose to notice the hard object sticking into his back. He didn’t even like nature! It was just that Steve had looked at him with those eyes, and that little “please Buck, just for the weekend”, and he really had had no choice in the matter.

“Bless you, Stevie.” Despite his gritted teeth, it came out soft and fond, like it always did.

“Th-th- heh… heh… huh…”

Oh, for the love of Christ.

Steve was hitching wildly now, both arms coming up out of the sleeping bag to help along the effort, rubbing his nose wildly. Bucky could hear the congestion move as he shoved at it, sniffling and building up just to lose it at the last minute.

“Big… big itch…” Steve gasped out, and now Bucky was sure that he was playing with him. The blond curled into himself, pressing harder against Bucky’s cock and he shook his head with abandon, as though that could somehow get the itch out.

“HAHSHEEEEEEW!!!” It came out big and wet and rocked Steve into him, and without Bucky’s permission a moan left his mouth.

Bucky froze.

It was all silent now, with the exception of Steve sniffing, and for just a moment he was able to pretend he hadn’t made that noise, terrible and wanting and everything he’d ever kept hidden from Steve and everybody else.

“Buck?”

Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

Steve’s voice was husky and low with congestion and arousal. “Is there something you wanna tell me about?”

Mark the date. James Buchanan Barnes was about to die, right here in this seventeen year old sleeping bag in the middle of Schenectady. He shut his eyes hard.

“Buck.” He could feel Steve shifting, rolling over so they could be face to face again. He kept his eyes closed.

“Bucky.” Steve poked under his left rib, right where he knew he was ticklish, and Bucky had no choice but to open his eyes. His stomach was now a bottomless pit, and any hopes of salvaging this situation were falling right towards its floor.

“Are you…” he paused to sniff, reaching up to scrub at his nose a bit, and Bucky considered risking it all just to rub it for him. “Are you gonna tell me what’s got you all hot and bothered? Cause I can guess, but it isn’t nearly as fun.”

It was over anyways, so Bucky went for broke.

“It’s your sneezes, Stevie. They’re… I don’t know! I can’t help it. They just… they take you over so totally, you know? Something about the way they make you shake… I’ve liked them ever since we were kids.”

He closed his eyes and prepared for Steve to kick him out of their sleeping bag and tell him to have his stuff out of the apartment before he got back.

“huh…”

God was really and truly fucking with him. On purpose. That was the only explanation. He opened his eyes, telling himself it was instinct, and was shocked to find Steve smiling, even as his face was half slack with the oncoming sneeze and his nose was running half way down to his lip.

“I…hehSHIEW!” Bucky felt the moisture land on his face, a mist settling softly in the air around them, and held in a whimper.

“I’m glad, Buck. Cause… huh… I’m still so i-i-itchy.”

#snz kink #snzblr #snz fiction #fic #pre serum steve fic #OOPS i did it Again #i am Too happy w this one lol

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morganaspendragonss · 3 years

Text

turn to dust all that i adore

whoops it’s a 2b spec fic based on two seconds in a promo love that

title from things we lost in the fire by bastille

ao3 | 2.3k | 2b spoilers

The fire continues raging whenever TK closes his eyes, and he doesn’t know if it’s better or worse than the sight that greets him when his eyes are open. He wishes he could wipe that awful night from his memory completely and go back to where they were just a few days ago, happy and safe and in their home. They don’t even have that anymore, the house little more than ash, and TK would be okay with that - they could rebuild from that - if Carlos weren’t so silent and still in front of him.

The fire was three days ago; TK hasn’t seen Carlos awake in four. He’d been in the middle of a 24-hour shift when the call came through, bickering with Nancy about the merits of various sitcoms, Captain Vega probably rolling her eyes in the back as they returned to the station.

Nancy had quietly offered to drive when they found out the address, but TK had shaken his head. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, and he’d pressed down a little harder than necessary on the accelerator, praying he’d be able to get there fast enough. The house was a lost cause, if what dispatch said was true, but if he could save Carlos, then that would be enough.

He’d failed - of course he had. An explosion had ripped through the building just as they’d pulled up, the glass shattering as flames leapt from their bedroom window. TK had felt a cold dread settle inside him, and his worst fears had been confirmed when the team emerged with Carlos limp in their arms.

He’s alive, but the damage had been done. Too much smoke inhalation and multiple horrific burns left him hanging by a thread; it’s a miracle, really, that the heart monitor is still beeping out a steady rhythm. TK can’t be thankful, though, not when he knows everything could turn on its head in an instant. Not when they’ve already lost so much.

A soft knock on the door grabs TK’s attention. He looks up to see his dad standing there, a sad smile on his face and a plastic-wrapped sandwich in hand. TK twists his face into a grimace and returns to watching the bed.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Son -”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’ve been saying that for days,” his dad points out, walking over and pointedly laying the sandwich in TK’s lap. “Starving yourself isn’t going to make him wake up any faster.”

TK barely spares the sandwich a cursory glance. “Nor is forcing myself to eat.”

His dad sighs, crossing the room and grabbing the extra chair. He sets it down next to TK’s and, though he doesn’t look, TK knows he’s being subjected to one of his ‘dad looks’.

“TK, you’ve barely left the hospital since it happened,” he says. “I know it’s hard right now, but you can always come back and stay with me. You still have a home.”

“Not without him, I don’t.”

He hears his dad’s sharp intake of breath, feels his hand running through his hair, but TK’s detached from it all. He studies Carlos’s face, every part familiar to him, but so strange and foreign now. Carlos has never been a restless sleeper - that’s all TK - but there’s usually some movement. A crease appearing between his brows as his face scrunches up, his muscles shifting as he pulls TK closer, his nose gently nuzzling the back of TK’s neck. This still version of him isn’t Carlos. This isn’t the man TK loves.

But it’s close as he’s going to get until Carlos comes back to him, and TK can’t stand the thought of leaving him. In all the months they’ve been dating, they’ve rarely spent a night apart, and most of those were either on shift or still in their bed, with a pillow that smelt like the other and the promise of seeing each other again soon. Going back to his dad’s house would only be bearable if Carlos were with him, but that’s not possible, so neither is leaving.

“TK, I -”

“If you’re just here to give me this,” he interrupts, waving the sandwich in his dad’s direction, “then, thanks, but you should probably go now. His parents are coming in a bit and the hospital barely lets three of us be in here as it is.”

His dad recoils, wounded, but doesn’t budge, much to TK’s irritation. He’s really not in the mood for any more meaningless talk or thinly veiled attempts to get him to eat or sleep.

“Dad, please.”

“I was contacted by the PD this morning,” his dad says instead. TK’s head snaps up, eyes wide. “They found out what caused the fire.”

TK waits, but his dad suddenly becomes very reticent, his eyes flicking between TK and the bed. Clearly, this wasn’t something as simple as the electrics blowing or the washing machine malfunctioning; it’s worse, and TK’s breath seems to stick in his lungs.

“Dad?” he croaks.

Their eyes finally meet, his dad’s face arranged into a sympathetic grimace. “It was arson.”

Time stops.

“What?” TK breathes, shaking his head. Arson. Someone burned their home down and almost killed Carlos, on purpose. And for what? To kill them? The only reason TK wasn’t caught up in it too, after all, is because he was fortunate enough to be on shift that night. “Do they know who?”

“I’m sorry,” his dad says, voice full of regret. “It’s been happening all over the city, no leads so far.”

TK sits back in his chair, a white-hot spark of anger flashing through him as he once more takes in the many bandages on Carlos’s body. He wonders if this was how Judd felt those weeks ago when he found out the guy who’d run them off the bridge was also in the hospital, because TK would very much like to go out and find the people who did this. He wants them to pay for what they’ve done to the love of his life.

As is sensing where his mind has gone, his dad starts rubbing gentle circles on his back, though it doesn’t calm TK like it usually does.

“I think I’ll stay here until his parents show up,” he says. “If that’s alright?”

It’s a non-question; his tone makes it clear that he’s not going anywhere no matter what, but TK doesn’t have it in him to put up even a token argument. He simply nods wearily, and settles in for another day of waiting - another day without his boyfriend’s comforting presence at his side.

A week after the fire, he’s told he can go back to the house, if he wants. He doesn’t, really, but he goes anyway, knowing that Carlos will have questions when he wakes up, and maybe he’ll be able to salvage something.

Probably not, but it’s never been the stuff that’s mattered to him. It’s been what the loss of it all represents, the memories that now exist only in his head and in the ashes.

TK stares up at the blackened husk of their home, something keeping him rooted in the middle of the street. Police tape is still up and there’s an officer waiting to escort him in when he’s ready, but TK just… He doesn’t know if he can do this.

“TK?”

He jumps at the unexpected voice, turning to see Carlos’s neighbour from two doors down, Molly, her daughter trailing behind her. TK doesn’t know many of the people around here, but Molly and her husband are often to be found playing with Lilia on the porch, and they always make a point of greeting them. Carlos has even babysat for them a few times, though TK’s rarely there for that.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she says, smiling apologetically. “How are you doing?”

He shrugs. “I’m okay,” he replies, and Molly seems to understand what that really means. “Carlos is still in hospital, but we’re, um. We’re hoping he’ll wake up soon.”

She nods, glancing at the house. “It’s terrible, what happened. You’ve got somewhere to stay, right?”

“I’ve only just moved out of my dad’s place, so I’ll just go back there while we figure something out. Guess he’ll be glad we don’t have to transport all my stuff this time.”

The joke is hollow, and Molly’s face twists in sympathy. “Well, if you need anything, we’re happy to help out however we can. Carlos has always been good to us - to everyone here - and we hate that you’re going through this now. Send him our love, okay?”

TK gives her a small smile, nodding. He’s about to excuse himself to finally go inside, when Lilia tugs at her mother’s hand, whispering something in her ear when Molly leans down.

“We were baking when we saw you pull up,” Molly explains, straightening. “Lilia insisted on bringing these out to you, didn’t you, Lils?”

Lilia beams up at him when TK looks over to her, thrusting a small tupperware in his general direction. “Cookies!” she exclaims, by way of explanation.

TK chuckles and squats so he’s at her height, taking the box from her. She’s watching him expectantly, so he takes a cookie - clumsily decorated with mountains of sprinkles - and pops it in his mouth, making a show of enjoying it.

“My compliments to the chef,” he says, licking his lips playfully. Lilia giggles, then, without warning, throws her arms around him, the force of it almost sending him on his ass. Molly gasps and reaches to pull her daughter away, but TK shakes his head at her, mouthing an, It’s okay.

Steadying himself, he gently wraps his arms around Lilia’s back, allowing her to bury her face in the crook of his neck as she attempts to squeeze him within an inch of his life. It’s enough to pull a real smile out of him, though tears also spring to his eyes, a sudden emotion overwhelming him. He brushes them away hastily when Lilia unwraps herself from him, but it’s clear that Molly noticed, judging by the sad smile on her face.

“I hope Mr Carlos gets better soon,” Lilia says, her voice earnest in a way only a five-year old’s can be.

TK nods. “Me too.”

“He gave me sweets.”

A laugh bursts out of him at the sudden comment. TK leans close to her, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Shall I tell you a secret? He gave me sweets as well.”

Lilia gasps as though she’s heard something incredibly scandalous. TK laughs again, before standing back up and turning to Molly, who’s been watching the two of them with clear amusement.

“Thank you,” he tells her. “For coming out and talking, and for the cookies.”

“It’s the least we could do,” she says, waving him off. “Like I said, let us know if you need anything, even if it’s just to talk. We’ll be there.”

TK thanks her again, waving at them both as they head back inside. He turns to his and Carlos’s place, then takes a deep, shaky breath.

He can do this.

Inside is much as he expects. The worst of the rubble has been cleared, but there’s still some detritus lying around, including a few of their things. TK stoops and carefully retrieves a framed photo from the floor, wiping the dust off the cracked glass. The picture inside is barely recognisable, the colours warped, but he knows the image like the back of his hand - a candid of him and Carlos taken by Marjan during one of their hangs. She’d caught Carlos mid-laugh, a grin plastered on TK’s own face as they’d stared into each others’ eyes.

Marjan had grumbled about how frustratingly lovesick they both were, but the photo quickly became one of TK’s favourites, and it had made its way into a frame less than a week later. TK’s heart aches at the sight of it ruined; he can always print another as it’s still saved on his phone, but it still hurts. Everything does, right now.

As he gazes around the space, eyes catching on mementos and remembering how it all used to look, TK is struck by how much this place had felt like home. He’s only been officially living here for a month, but it’s been theirs for far longer than that, TK’s stuff worming its way in among Carlos’s until it became natural to see two pairs of shoes by the door, two sets of keys in the bowl.

This was theirs, and now it’s nothing.

He drops the photo frame on his way out the door, not sparing a look back as he walks away.

He gets the call halfway back to the hospital and TK forgets all about speed limits as he races the rest of the way. He sprints through the corridors, the path to Carlos’s room learned by heart, and skids to a stop in the doorway, his eyes filling with tears at the sight before him.

Carlos, awake and smiling and alive.

TK lets out a sob, his hand flying to his mouth. Carlos turns, his smile widening when he catches sight of him, and he wordlessly lifts his palm up in invitation.

And who is TK to refuse it?

“Hi, baby,” he gasps, before kissing his boyfriend, palms framing Carlos’s face. Carlos’s hands come up to clutch at his wrists, and TK presses their foreheads together, silently revelling in this moment.

There’s a long road still ahead of them - Carlos needs to heal, and they’ll have to do so much to get back on their feet - but he can’t care about that right now. Being here, right now, with Carlos’s warm touch stroking over his skin, is all TK needs.

Carlos came back to him, and that’s the only thing that matters.

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whats-rambled-rambled · 3 years

Text

Long Nights - part 2

Neil x Reader

Chapter 2: Praise you

(see chapter 1)

summary: you found tremendous joy in coming up with new ways to make the lockpicking sessions challenging. And entertaining.

...even if the last part was mostly a one-sided thing.

warnings: 18+, explicit language, teasing, implied smut I guess? oh, and of course - ✨hand content✨

author’s note: Took me a while, but it was fun to write! Didn’t expect it to get this long, but here we are - over 4,2k words of shameless hand content

The song for this chapter is Fatboy Slim - Praise you

Anyway, enjoy! All feedback is greatly appreciated, let me know what you think?

——————

Tag list: @vaneilla @gallifreyan-uprising @ergunbilge @invertedneil @wanderedaway @truly-insatiable (let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list)

-----

You cracked it.

It took you a good while, though. A whole sleepless night, even.

And half of the morning after that.

But maybe the absolute exhaustion was the key, pun intended.

At first, it boggled your mind so much that you were dangerously close to using brute force just to examine that lock. You tried every technique that you could think of - to no effect. It wasn’t like anything you’d seen before. The mechanism wasn’t responding as usual, it was more like a thing from goddamn Upside Down, or however the fuck that was called.

It became a matter of pride.

The sun had risen over an hour ago and the sunlight was pouring through the gaps in the blinds. Grasping at the last strands of sanity, you decided to take a break. You put on your headphones and danced around your apartment to the sounds of a song with that one bloody line that somehow seemed fitting for this madness.

Is it worth it? Let me work it, I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it

Because it felt exactly like that was what had happened to it. And no amount of cursing and switching tools would help in the face of glitched reality.

And when you sat down at your desk again, with your head so empty that your last brain cell was amusing itself by yodeling and listening to an echo, you bound the first pin. The sound was so distorted it almost startled you. The last thing you needed right then was to break the hook inside the keyway, so you leveled your breath and continued, even though your fingers cramped painfully. That wasn’t enough to stop you. Not as you finally got proof that the task was actually within your reach.

With every click like a backwards version of the sound you knew so well, the next pins got set quicker and smoother. And when you opened the lock, you couldn’t help the cheerful scream that escaped your mouth.

“Fuck yes!” You punched the air, the adrenaline rushing through your veins, the biggest grin lighting up your face.

That’s when you knew there was no way you were going to sleep anytime soon. Besides, you still didn’t know how you managed to convince that device to cooperate. You had to prove to yourself that it wasn’t dumb luck, and should you ever come upon a bloody nightmare like that, you’d be able to use the experience to crack it open. Because of that, you spent the next couple of hours reverse-picking it (which turned out to be another level of bonkers) to lock the damn thing, only to open it back again. And again. And then three times more. When you got comfortable with the process, your eyes were burning, your fingers stiff and trembling, but the immense satisfaction was worth every bit of it.

You were about to crash on the bed as your phone buzzed, and you glanced at the incoming message.

//did you pick it?

At first, you assumed you got it from Mahir, but as you were typing in a long rant, you realized that there was no history of the previous conversations on the screen, so you checked the sender again.

Neil.

Huh.

You’d exchanged the numbers the day before, but you didn’t expect to hear from him until they got everything ready to start the lessons. Oh well. You snapped the picture of the open lock and sent it back, adding a short message.

//that was fun, hope you have more of them

As you faceplanted on the bed, the phone buzzed with a reply.

//N: you bet

You couldn’t wait to get all the answers about how they managed to manufacture the most bizarre and mind-bending thing you’d ever seen, but there was no point in asking those questions over the phone. Plus, you really needed to get some rest.

//awesome! now excuse me, imma get some Zs - let me know when you guys are ready to start

After a second, you typed in another text.

//ps. how’s your nose?

//N: will do, sleep well!

//N: as for my nose...let’s say I’m glad it wasn’t the straightest one in the first place

That cheeky bastard.

//hey, don’t try to guilt-trip me, i’m trying to sleep

You almost drifted off, but you couldn’t resist checking that last notification.

//N: ...I wouldn’t dare

Snorting, you rolled to the side.

Then you fell asleep, dreaming of the impossible locks.

-------

It took them another day to prepare all the stuff, and after several further messages you got a date and location.

The building looked like a contemporary tenement house, definitely standing out from two older ones at its sides. You always assumed it belonged to one of those fancy start-ups, but apparently it was some sort of temporary headquarters of your new associates.

It didn’t surprise you that you weren’t given a tour of the place, you assumed you needed to have some sort of clearance to walk freely through the area. For now, you were restricted to the ground floor, or rather to the lobby and your classroom - a rather cozy space, but equipped with everything you needed to begin.

Neil turned out to be a fast learner, at least when it came to covering the theoretical side of lockpicking. You walked him through the basics, but you couldn’t help the itch in the back of your brain. After the encounter with the preposterous lock, your mind started to question everything that used to be unshakeable.

And of course you asked Neil about that bloody device as soon as you saw him, but he just smiled lightly and said that The Protagonist insisted on telling you all that himself when the time was right. So you had nothing left to do but to continue with the lessons, hoping that you the man himself would decide to grace you with his presence sooner than later.

You propped the chin on your hand and watched as Neil grabbed the tools. Your gaze wandered over his outrageously long fingers as he gave the lock a try, but apparently, the most idiotic grin on your face didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hey, eyes up here,” snorted Neil, and you looked at him just to meet his amused face. He caught you shamelessly staring, and there was no point in denying it.

Trying to salvage your mental coherence, you choked out, “Dude, your hands are--”

“What?” he asked, tilting his head.

“...huge,” you finished, the wide smile not leaving even for a second. You bit your lip and glanced back at Neil. “Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna stare for a bit longer.”

A hint of a blush crept upon his cheeks. My, oh my. Blinking rapidly, he cleared his throat and proceeded to bind the first pin, pressing his mouth into a thin line in an attempt to keep a composed demeanor. The sparkles in his gaze were quite telling, though.

The sight was utterly adorable, but more importantly, it planted a rather gut-busting idea into your head.

You stifled a giggle.

All in due time.

____

One of the perks of the location was a small cafe on the other side of the street.

Neil took you there on your second day during a break, walking in with a confidence of a true regular. He knew the staff by name and vice-versa, so it didn’t surprise you as he charmed his way through the conversation.

“I’ve got this,” he said, raising a hand to stop you before you could place your order. “One black coffee and one--...” he hesitated, still preventing you from chiming in. You crossed your arms and watched as his forehead creased, the confidence leaving him with every second passed. He narrowed his eyes, and you could almost hear the gears grinding in his head.

Whatever he was doing, or trying to do, it was time to put him out of his misery.

“Iced mocha for me, please,” you said, wondering which one of you had a more puzzled expression. “Cat got your tongue?”

Neil shook his head.

“No, it’s just…” - he let out a small sigh - “I can’t read you.”

“Good,” you snorted. “Why would you want to, anyway?”

The young barista smiled, putting the first coffee on the counter.

“Oh, your colleague here has a thing.”

“Oh?” You arched a brow. “Do tell!”

“It’s nothing,” said Neil, cringing slightly, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the enthusiastic answer from spilling from the barista.

“He likes to guess the orders of his companions, but this is prolly the first time I ever saw him freeze like that. Can’t wait to tell Doris!”

Neil groaned, avoiding your amused stare. “Spare me, Max.”

“Aww, man, I’m honored to be your first!” you teased, nudging his arm lightly and snickering at the absolutely done face he gave you in return.

That cafe quickly became your place of choice during breaks, but sometimes, if the weather was nice enough, you ordered to-go, just to spend that bit of free time between lockpicking sessions sitting on a grassy hill overlooking a bank of the river. You chatted about everything and nothing in particular, or simply sat in silence, enjoying the ambiance, beverages, and each other’s company.

The last thing took you by surprise, in a way. You’d expected those brief moments of a break during the day to be your sacred moments of solitude, the usual necessity to avoid getting too cranky around people. As Neil joined you on that second day, you found out that his presence was not bothering you, or at least your social batteries weren’t being drained in their regular manner. Sure, it probably helped that he was incredibly easy on the eyes, but a real treat were those moments when you ventured onto a territory he felt strongly about. In a wink, he was ready to drop his typical composure just to go straight into bubbly rants, gesturing wildly, the blue irises lit by the fire that he most often kept under wraps.

There was nothing more boring than people who lacked passion.

Lucky for you, that was not the case with Neil.

Moreover, he made you laugh.

A dangerous combination.

Alluring, even.

Good thing that you were not one to become smitten that easily.

That didn’t mean you couldn’t have some fun, though.

--------

“You need to listen to what the lock has to say,” you prompted, pacing through the room and watching as Neil struggled with a new type of mechanism. “It’s all about feedback.”

He pulled out the tools and rubbed his face, trying to hide the first hints of frustration.

“What if we apply heavier tension to amplify it?” he said and glared at the lock as if it was taunting him from its place on the practice stand.

“Sure, “ - you leaned over the table to rest the chin on your laced fingers - “but can you think of any reasons not to do that, my dear Physics Boy?”

“The higher possibility of breaking tools?”

“Precisely,” you said as you snapped and pointed your fingers. ”Also, you risk binding the pins too tightly and you wouldn’t want that, either.”

Neil sighed and slumped his shoulders.

“So...patience, then?”

“Yes,” you beamed. “It really comes down to one thing - you have to feel it.”

A corner of his lips twitched. “I’ve heard it before,” he said, shifting in his seat.

You shrugged, eyeing him curiously.

“Maybe because that’s one universally useful advice?”

“Would help if I understood it, too.” He gave you a weak smile, but his expression told you he wasn’t convinced.

You hummed in acknowledgment.

“Listen, I can smarten it up for you, but let me just show you what I mean.” You grabbed the second pair of tools from the table and placed them inside the keyway, but as soon as you opened your mouth to provide some follow-up instructions, you got struck by a better idea. Your eyes flared up. “Okay, know what? I’m just gonna-- if you could scoot back a bit--...” you said, shuffling in his direction. Neil’s brows snapped together in consternation, but he moved back. Without further ado, you sat down in front of him, nestling yourself between his spread legs on the edge of the chair, and let out a content sigh. “Should be easier now. Put your hands on mine.“

Neil tensed, and you could swear you heard him swallowing hard behind your back. He followed your suggestion, wrapping his arms around you and placing his hands on top of yours.

“Now, lay your fingers on the tools just above mine,” you continued as you slid your digits back to make more room for him. “Great, try not to press them and focus. Close your eyes, if you want.” As you gently moved the tools, you couldn’t resist but to add, “You can breathe though, you know?”

“Blimey.”

You giggled at the sarcastic bit in his tone and drew a long breath, hoping that Neil would follow it, and focused back on the lock. Purposefully slowing down your movements to allow him to feel how the mechanism responded to your ministrations, you kept sliding the hook back and forth the keyway, setting pin after pin. Neil relaxed after a moment, his shallow breath ghosting over your shoulder got deeper and more steady. His palms rested heavier on your hands, and you marveled at their size again, nibbling on your bottom lip. With all your senses sharpened, you stole a brief moment of self-indulgence, closing your eyes and relishing in the warmth radiating from Neil, the way it enveloped you, carrying a scent of his cologne - airy citrus undertones mixed with hints of powdery musk, a fresh and unostentatious combination you found fitting him so well.

The final click, more pressure and voilà - the lock was open.

“Did you feel it?” you asked softly, weirdly unwilling to move, hoping to linger in the position for a little while longer.

“Yes,” said Neil, and his husky voice made you turn your head to look at him. As he pulled his hands back somewhat hesitantly, you noticed his dazed expression and slightly flushed cheeks.

“Good,” you chirped, grinning, then reached out over your shoulder and lightly booped his nose, enjoying probably a bit too much the way his eyes widened. “Your turn.”

-----

Days. Weeks. Or was it months, plural?

You lost track of how much time had passed since that morning in the Old Town district.

The progress was counted by the number of models you introduced to Neil, showing him all the tricks you’d learned over the years. You still waited for the meeting with The Protagonist, although, ever since your student spilled a little too much information during one of his enthusiastic rants at the breaks (seriously, how could a person that bad at keeping secrets survive so long in any sort of spying business was beyond you), your initial curiosity itch had been scratched, and you were now in that blessed moment before it got unbearable again and demanded taking further actions.

It also helped that you found tremendous joy in coming up with new ways to make the lockpicking sessions challenging. And entertaining. Even if the last part was mostly a one-sided thing.

Neil was clearly feeling confident that evening. He really started to get a hang of this, and you loved watching him like that - fully focused, blonde strands falling to the eyes, with the tip of the tongue poking out...

It would be a shame if someone was to test his level of concentration.

“You know, I spend so much time looking at your hands that they recently started making cameos in my dreams.”

The blue eyes darted at you from under raised brows.

“Is that so?" asked Neil, switching his attention to the lock again.

“Yep. Mind you, most of those dreams are rather uneventful.” You pouted, sliding from your place on the windowsill. “Still waiting for one that is not so boringly PG-13.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line and swallowed with effort.

...warmer...

Circling the table, you stopped behind Neil’s chair.

"I’m just saying,” - leaning over, you purred right into his ear - ”that such long fingers like yours can give a girl all sorts of ideas--"

Snap.

You bit back a satisfied smile and smacked your tongue. “Those were perfectly fine tools, you know.”

Neil turned in his seat and gaped at you.

“Why are you like this?” he complained, helpless and flustered.

You shrugged. “I thought it was a high time for a little stress test. Might come in handy later.” Snickering at his puzzled face, you added, “What? You’re not exactly in a stress-free line of work.”

He shook the head lightly and scoffed. “... yeah, I see your point,” he said, a corner of his mouth curling into a half-smile. “But I don’t think there’s a high risk of someone trying to seduce me in the field.”

“Do you think that’s what I’m doing?” you asked, arching a brow, your tone nothing but serious.

“I-...”

The panicked look on his face as he blinked rapidly was more than enough to break your deadpan façade.

“Oh man, I’m just pulling your leg. You should’ve seen your face though.” Giggling, you grabbed a fresh lock from a shelf and tossed it to Neil. He sighed and replaced the messed-up device. “Besides,” you continued, “if there is one thing that the espionage movies have taught me, it’s that the spy always has plenty of beautiful creatures willing to keep his bed warm.”

The playful sparks appeared in Neil’s eyes.

“Is this a very elaborate way of asking me if I’m seeing someone or are you volunteering?”

Well, well, well.

“What if it’s both?”

“Then the first answer is no. As for the second one--” he hesitated, tugging the bottom lip between the teeth. “...a follow-up question - is it a good idea?”

You tilted your head, sitting down on the edge of the table in front of him.

“Why?”

“What if it’s gonna make things… I don’t know, weird?”

You gestured vaguely. “Can’t get any weirder than all your timey-wimey, inverted entropy bullshit.”

“That’s not exactly--”

“I know what you meant,” you sighed and met his darkened gaze, a shade of smile tainting your lips. “And yet, you’re trying to appeal to my reason while looking at me like that.” You left your seat and grabbed your backpack. “It’s getting late. Finish with this one and get some rest.”

Then you left, not waiting for a reply.

It was one of the warm nights and you decided to take a walk. A promenade near the river was not as crowded as you expected, making your journey home way more enjoyable. With your favourite tunes seeping through the headphones, you took in the view, the city lights reflecting in the water only added to the ambiance.

The phone buzzed in your pocket.

//N: I can’t believe you left like that

You chuckled, texting him back.

//why, you had any plans?

The answer came almost instantly.

//N: maybe

He was adorable. But--

//have you finished with the lock?

//N: …no

//N: wait are you gonna use our conversation as some sort of motivational tool now

Even if you weren’t, after getting a message like that?

You just had to.

//maybe?

//N: jesus

//sex is but a great metaphorical carrot. besides - it’s all about that delayed gratification and whatnot

A moment of silence.

And then:

//N: you’re evil.

That spiteful period at the end got you snickering loudly, earning you some curious looks.

A huge grin lit up your face.

//gn <3

-----

You must admit, that game was quite exciting.

And Neil was getting better at it, and soon implying became no longer enough to make him lose his focus.

At first, it was relatively easy to prompt a blush or a slight tremble of a hand. But with every next attempt, he grew more and more resilient, and soon, the only indication that he heard you was the fire burning in his eyes.

Then you got really mean, throwing some ambitious tasks in front of him, tricky locks and complex mechanisms, as your teasing got more straightforward.

And descriptive.

It became hard to shake it off once you left the training room. The lingering looks. The accidental touches. The atmosphere, almost electric. In other words - the heat sink was ready to be popped, and it was no longer a matter of if, but more of when.

“4 minutes.”

Neil barely nodded, lips pressed together and brows knitted in concentration.

3 locks in 15 minutes. Difficult, but doable, considering his current level of skill. Too bad he’d slacked at the second one, not leaving too much time for the final push. Sure, you didn’t go easy on him along the way, but the real challenge was supposed to be a race against the clock, so now you just watched him with bated breath.

Click.

You checked the time.

“45 seconds”

“Goddamnit!” he uttered through gritted teeth, readjusting cramping fingers on the tools.

“Come on, you’ve got this,” you said, taking a step closer.

Another click.

He didn’t know that there was only one pin left to set. You did, that’s why you tried your best not to reveal it with your expression. Too early to celebrate, anyway.

“Nine... eight… seven… six… five…”

That’s when you heard a final click and you looked up from your phone, only to see the lock giving in and opening up.

“Yeah!” Neil cheered, banging a fist on the table and tossing the tools away.

You smiled, hiding the phone in the pocket. “Good job, I knew--” but before you could finish a sentence, Neil sprung up from his chair and closed the gap between you, then cupped your face with his palms and kissed you hungrily.

You froze for a second, but as your mind caught up, you kissed him back, tugging at the light blue shirt. He smiled against your lips and made you back away until you hit the wall, huffing at the sudden coldness of the surface. But he was bent on kissing you senseless until you both ended up gasping for air.

“You’re so paying for all that teasing,” he panted, running the tip of the tongue through his swollen lips. “Not to mention, you’ve given me a few fascinating ideas, and I’m very much willing to give them all a try.”

You grinned, fighting with your evidently short-circuiting brain for a grasp of coherence as his hands traveled down your body.

“My, my, all of them?”

“The night is young,” - his throaty chuckle sent a wave of heat through your body - “and I’m up for a challenge.”

“I’m counting on it,” you breathed, burying your fingers in his hair, and pulling him into a kiss again.

Actually, the challenge started right away, and that meant getting to Neil’s place, as the company conveniently rented him a room in a nearby hotel. Walking distance, but in your current quite heated state, every distance seemed way too long. Especially when you had to keep up appearances.

At least until the elevator’s door closed behind you.

The dark gaze fixed on you. Your breaths intertwining. His bottom lip between your teeth. The five o’clock shadow under your fingertips. Your hands sliding under his shirt. His knee parting your legs. The intoxicating smell of his cologne. Your quiet moan. His tongue slipping into your mouth--

A quiet sound announced you reached your floor, and you stumbled out into the corridor, giggling, unable to keep hands and lips off each other.

Your back hit the door, barely missing the knob. Without skipping a beat, Neil reached to the pocket of his pants, then into the other one. When he tried the third one, you broke the kiss, your expression nothing but innocent.

“Looking for this?” you asked, showing him a key card.

He furrowed his brows. “Yes, thank you, I don’t know how--...” he started, but when he tried to snatch his property, you hid your hand behind your back. His jaw went slack as it dawned on him and he stared at you in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am.”

He groaned.

“You’re unbelievable,” he uttered as he pulled out his wallet. “Credit card?”

“Only if you’re not overly attached to it.” The roguish lights danced in your gaze. “Especially when you’re in a hurry,” you hinted, palming over the bulge in his pants. Neil squeezed his eyes shut, biting back a moan, and you stifled a chuckle. “Try any membership card.”

He glared at you. “You’re so in for it, you have no idea.”

“Promises, promises,” you pouted, trying not to burst into laughter at his wounded expression. “Work it.”

“Gladly, just tell me what to do.”

So you walked him through the process.

Fortunately, Neil really was a fast learner, making the door give way in no time.

“Good boy,” you hummed, and the blue eyes flared up.

He crashed his lips on yours, closing the door behind you.

Then he gave you a taste of what was coming for you.

And then some more.

And then…

...he gave you all.

(next chapter ->)

#neil tenet x reader #neil x reader #neil tenet fanfiction #neil tenet #robert pattinson #tenet #tenet fanfiction #long nights

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lucidtobio · 3 years

Text

caramel brownies !

in which baking brownies with semi doesn't go as planned, but the journey is fun nevertheless.

[ fluff , crack? , ooc semi , gn!reader ]

it was almost friday date night. the long awaited end to every work week that you and semi spent together. every other week, you would switch between who picked the activity for the night. the routine moved as smoothly as clockwork, the evening never being filled with the same affair.

this time around, it was your turn to decide what you were going to do. the wednesday before, you two were studying in the campus library when semi inquired on your plans for the night.

"we're going to be baking brownies!" you informed him with a smile. eita raised an eyebrow with a smile dancing on his lips.

"oh really? how can you be sure that they're actually going to turn out,, edible?" the ash-haired boy teased. you smacked his arm playfully in mock offense. "hey, i'm not the only one making them, eita."

the following friday after school, you found yourself at the grocery store with semi. a piece of paper with ingredients scribbled on it was clutched in your hand while semi manuevered the shopping cart.

moving down each aisle in turn, the shopping cart filled up with various boxes and bags of ingredients. semi was skeptical of how many things you actually needed to buy, but you silenced him with a “who’s the real gordon ramsay here, hm?” the bill was a little ridiculous but it was worth it not really.

you two arrived back at the dorms with multiple bags in hand. after taking each item out of its plastic compartment, you handed semi an apron.

“what’s this for?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. you just blinked at the boy, slowly saying, “to not get your clothes dirty?”

semi questioned how messy this would get, but kept his mouth shut anyways. you wore matching sanrio aprons; yours had melody on the front while eita’s had kuromi.

clearing a space on the small counter provided by the school, you and semi stood side by side with ingredients splayed out neatly. pulling the recipe up for the caramel brownies on your phone, semi fiddled with the blue whisk you had.

while you were skimming the steps, semi stuck his finger in between the prongs of the whisk. imagine his shock when the metal clasps around his appendage, rendering his finger stuck.

“uh, (y/n)?” “what’s up?” “i’m kinda stuck.”

long story short, you had to force his finger out from the whisk. it wasn’t made any easier by semi refusing to help you, worried about hurting you. placing a tender kiss across his knuckle (to make it better of course), you turned your attention back to the task at hand.

“okay. time to start the brownies for real this time.” you sighed, sending a joking glare semi’s way. the ash-blonde simply raised his hands in weak defense.

semi was assigned to combine the dry ingredients while you mixed the wet ones together.

cocoa powder and flour sifted into each other along with sugar, salt, and chocolate chips. eggs and vanilla whipped together and poured evenly into the dry mixture.

while it sounds all fine and dandy, we’ll leave out the part where you cracked the egg too hard and it exploded all over the counter. or the part where semi stirred too aggressively, causing the contents of his bowl to puff into his face.

“you look like a ghost, semi semi.” “shut up, egg destroyer.”

with the base batter completed, you poured half of it into the baking pan. the next step was to melt the caramels. using a small countertop burner, you poured the bag of caramels into the pot. cranking up the heat, you stood and waited patiently for the caramels to soften.

semi had just finished wiping the last of the dry ingredients off of his face as you were waiting for the candies. the setter moved behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. the position allowed his hot breaths to directly hit the skin of your neck.

“i’m glad ‘m here with you,” eita murmured, pressing a soft kiss at the base of your throat. a smile found its way to your face at his words. your hand reached up to thread your fingers between his locks of silky hair.

while you two were wrapped up in your own little world, the caramels were burning to the bottom of the pan. you only noticed this when a charred scent entered your nose.

“shit!” you cursed, quickly beginning the stir the sticky substance. semi suppressed laughter as if it wasn’t partly his fault. luckily, you were able to pick out the most burnt pieces and salvage the rest of it.

carefully pouring the melted caramel over the first layer of brownie batter, semi poked the tip of his tongue out in concentration. your heart warmed at his focused expression. after the caramel layer, you added the rest of the brownie batter on top.

“let’s hope we don’t drop this on the way to the oven,” you sighed as you picked up the unbaked brownies.

you did.

swiftly moving down the dormitory hallway, semi walked beside you with his eyes trained on the pan. your mind was a bit preoccupied by the scent of his cologne, leaving you a bit vulnerable.

by vulnerable, i mean clumsy. exhibit a: tripping over air and spilling brownie batter and hot caramel onto the floor.

a strangled cry left your lips as semi attempted to catch the pan. no such luck. kneeling in front of the spilled batter, you hit your fist against the floor.

semi let out choked laughter as he tried to keep it in for your sake. but your dramatic reaction had tears springing to his eyes.

when you made no move to stand up, semi slung you over his shoulder and brought you back to his dorm. paper towels and wet wipes were the only cleaning supplies on hand, so you would have to make do.

after cleaning up the mess, you sat on eita’s bed with a huff. “so now what,” you sighed. the loss of your beloved brownie fetus pained your heart.

“we could go buy brownies?”

“good idea.”

a/n: i’m so sorry i wrote most of this at 2am

⤿ written 4.8.2021

⤿ masterlist

#mars' works 🍃#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu drafts #semi x reader #semi eita x reader #semi headcanons #semi fluff #semi scenarios #semi imagines

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collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

The Final - ep. 06 - JJ Maybank

A/N: We reached the end of the line BUT if you guys would like to see a “epilogue” chapter let me know.

The S’week Masterlist | Outer Banks Masterlist

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

“A hook-up!?” Sarah practically screeched, standing in the upstairs bedroom that JJ and Pope had been ‘sharing’ during their week in Florida. Despite your request that they pack up and go JJ had barely even started to put things in his suitcase and Pope had fled the room the minute Sarah had appeared in the doorway, leaving all his things in piles on his bed. “That’s all it was to you? Just a random hook-up? God JJ-”

“What do you want me to say Sarah?” JJ asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees.

“You seriously felt nothing? That whole time? Two whole fucking years and it meant nothing to you.” She asked, “I meant nothing to you?” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry? Fantastic. Well that just makes it all better.”

“What do you want me to say?” He repeated, louder this time, “that I loved you? I didn’t. God, I wasn’t even there most of the time I was so blacked out and you know that!” 

“You’re a fucking douche!” Sarah spit out, clenching her fists to try and calm herself down. She wanted to have this conversation and she wasn’t going to lose control during it.

“I’m well aware.” 

“You knew how I felt. I told you it was getting harder to be with John B, you knew I-”

JJ cut her off before she could finish the sentence, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t feel that way.” 

“Why wait so long then? Why not break it off the first time I told you I wanted to be with you?” She asked.

He shrugged, “when you told me last month, when I knew you were serious, I don’t know...it cut through all the haze and I knew I had to end it.” He knew it sounded terrible to say but it was the truth. Most of the time he’d spent sneaking around with Sarah he’d been drunk or high off his ass, barely in his own mind, just trying to numb whatever pain he felt when he was sober. And it had worked for a while but when Heyward offered him a bed and JJ tried to earn it by getting his act together. That light switch that went off when Sarah had told him she was falling in love with him had ruined their relationship but it had saved his life and he felt like an asshole for that.

“Glad I could help.”

“Sarah,” JJ stressed, running a hand through his hair.

“I guess you’re all better now huh? You can just shit all over my feelings and then date my friend.” Sarah snapped. 

“It’s not like that.”

“You told me you couldn’t be someone’s boyfriend but I guess it was just me.” 

“I should’ve been honest with you-” JJ admitted.

“That you were just using me? Yeah you should’ve!” 

“Don’t turn this around like I’m the only one at fault!” He was trying so hard not to get angry but she just kept up with the attacks. And he knew he deserved it and that he’d been awful to her but he couldn’t help getting defensive. She wasn’t innocent in this.

“I told you I didn’t love John B and I wanted to be with you-”

“Don’t I have great timing.”

Both of them turned to the door to see John B standing there, leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.

“John B-“

“Kiara said you were here...I wanted to talk to you.” He said, staying in the doorway as he watched his best friend and his girlfriend look at each other, guilt eating at their expressions, before looking back at him.

“Yeah, lets...uh...let’s talk.” Sarah stepped toward him and John B pushed off the door frame to back up into the hallway. He had come up here to see if there was anything left to salvage of his relationship with Sarah but he was quickly realizing that there wasn’t. If the first person she came to see when she got to the house was JJ then it was clear her and John B had nothing left.

“Yeah...I think I got my answer.” He replied.

“Look man.” JJ stood up as if to move closer to John B as well.

“Just shut up JJ. You always have to fuck everyone over don’t you?” John B said, putting a hand up to stop his best friend from coming closer to him.

“Me?” JJ almost laughed in anger, “You must be fucking joking. If you don’t make every fucking thing about you-”

“Guys! Stop.” Sarah stressed, stepping in between the two of them.

“I’m going home, by the way.” John B announced. You hadn’t gone back to Topper’s last night but you hadn’t been home either. Instead you and John B had spent the night walking around the beach together and talking. He had told you that he planned to go back today anyway, there was no point in sticking around to finish off a vacation with people he didn’t even want to see.

“You’ve got the car man, how are we supposed to get back-” JJ started to say, realizing that if John B left them, he was stranded.

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before the two of you fucked up what was supposed to be a great fucking week.” John B said. He shook his head before he headed back down stairs, leaving JJ and Sarah alone once more. As he came down into the kitchen you were there with Pope eating breakfast.

“You okay?” You asked, noting the absolute wrecked expression on his face.

“Ask JJ and Sarah.” He said, waving his hand toward the stairs.

“They’re upstairs?” Pope asked. He’d seen Sarah come in but he figured she was headed up to talk to Kiara.

“Of course.”

Upstairs, Sarah stood at the door of the guest bedroom. She turned toward JJ, pissed that he’d ruined whatever chance she had of possibly talking to John B about what happened. “I can’t believe-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Sarah, don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who played petty fucking mind games.” JJ said.

“Cause you didn’t?”

“Look. I’m fucking sorry okay? I’m sorry I didn’t like you and I didn’t just say that. And I’m sorry that I like her, I just do. And whatever shit you pull won’t change that. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you but I can’t keep lying to her.” JJ stressed.

“Just get out.”

“I’m sorry Sarah.” JJ sighed, sounding for the first time like he actually meant it. 

☼

With Kiara leaving to find John B and Sarah heading back to Topper’s after her shouting match with JJ, you headed up to your bedroom, tossing all of JJ’s stuff on the bed to dump in the guest room. He’d practically moved himself in during the week and you were in the process of moving him back out.

“There you are...I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” JJ’s voice caught your attention and you turned to see him standing in the doorway. You grabbed your phone off the nightstand and tried to edge passed him but he grabbed your arm. “Hey, come on, don’t leave please. Can we just talk?” 

“I really don’t want to talk to you JJ.” You said, pulling your arm away but stepping back into the room.

Despite your words you really did want to talk to him. There was so much you wanted to ask him about what happened and why he didn’t just come clean with you right away. You’d been as honest with him as you’d ever been and he couldn’t pay you the same curtesy, it felt like a punch in the stomach to know that he’d been fooling around with your best friend just weeks ago and neither of them had said anything to you about it. But you knew that you cared about him, that whatever had happened between the two of you this week had been real and you wanted so badly to trust him.

“Could you at least clue me in on what happened Thursday that has you sending us packing?”

“Could you clue me in on how long you and Sarah were sleeping together behind John B’s back?” You replied, noting the way he looked anywhere but you. “That’s what I thought.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to!” 

“I broke it off with Sarah before we came down here. She wanted to break up with John B and I told her it was a waste of time...that I didn’t want to be her boyfriend.” JJ explained. He ran a hand through his hair before continuing, “I just liked having sex with her.”

“Lovely.”

“I know I sound like a douche okay? We hooked up at some kook party before she was even with John B and next thing I know he’s introducing her as his girlfriend! What was I supposed to do?” He argued.

“Maybe...stop having sex with her. I mean...what the actual fuck is wrong with the three of you?”

“It was just...something easy. I wasn’t in a great place.” JJ said. It was true, he’d said the same thing to Sarah. He had been going through hell the last two years and it wasn’t fair to her but she had gotten caught in the whirlwind of self-destructive behavior that he had been creating in his life.

“And now you’re so much better?” You asked, almost genuinely curious. How could he be better in just a month? And that was the real problem underneath it all. You couldn’t take the heartache if he threw you away too. If he decided this was all just some fun for the first week of summer you weren’t sure you would be able to recover from that.

“You know what it’s like,” he insisted, “you stayed with Rafe.” 

“Fucking your best friend’s girlfriend isn’t the same thing!” You snapped, tears brimming at the corners of your eyes. “I hated myself when I was with him-”

JJ cut you off before you could finish your sentence, “and I felt awesome? The only reason I kept it up was because I felt like shit most of the time! The only good thing I’ve done in the past few years was break it off with Sarah.” He admitted. “Look I...I’m sorry I wasn’t up front with you but it happened before I knew you.” 

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to hear the truth from John B because he figured it out. I wanted to hear it from you or Sarah. You could have told me-”

“So you could react like this? Run off to Topper and kick us all out.” He argued.

“At this point Topper is the closest thing to a best friend I’ve got considering the one I thought I had stabbed me in the back.” You replied. Sarah was just as much a player in all of this as JJ was, “this is so messed up.” 

“Trust me, I know.”

You sighed, taking a seat on the bed. You wiped at your eyes with the back of your hand, “I really like you; I feel safe with you and happy and...and now I feel like that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does!” 

A million things ran through your head but the one question you’d been asking yourself since John B told you that it wasn’t just a one-time deal came out, “how do I know you won’t cheat on me?” 

“I wouldn’t! I swear to god, I know it’s shit what I did but it’s different with you.” 

“Oh my god, you sound like every fucking cliche ever!” You laughed bitterly, looking away when JJ came to sit next to you.

“I don’t know what else to say! I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“I don’t want you to tell me anything other than the truth.”

“Fine. Yeah, Sarah and I fucked the majority of the time she and John B dated. It’s been a really bad few years and I know that’s not an excuse okay but I needed to do something or I was gonna kill myself.” He admitted, “and honestly, Sarah wasn’t the only girl I fucked. But it didn’t matter...none of it meant anything but-”

“I don’t-”

“Let me finish. You want me to tell you so let me tell you. You know what you’ve heard about me...let me tell you the truth.” JJ said, “I know it sounds like a come on but when Sarah told me she wanted to break up with John B I don’t know like...I realized how far into it I was and I told her I didn’t want to do the boyfriend thing.” 

“But now you do?” You asked honestly.

“Yes. Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you! I know I’ve been a fuck up lately and I’m not gonna change overnight but I want to be your boyfriend. I know it sounds like a lie but you have to believe me!” 

“I have to?” You chided, rolling your eyes.

“Yes, you have to!” JJ stressed, “cause I don’t fucking know what to do if you don’t.” 

He’d come down here expecting to have the worst week ever, sequestered at a beach house with Sarah and instead found himself spending every waking moment with you. That first night on the beach with you had been the first time in two years when he didn’t feel like he was drowning in his own head. He’d barely smoked the whole week and hadn’t bothered with drinking as much as he usually did.

“JJ I-”

“I know what I did was fucked up and I’m not asking you to forget it and I’m not saying that I’m ‘fixed’ or whatever. All I’m saying is that from the second you walked up to me on the beach it was like all that shit was worth it. I don’t know if you feel that way too but...I meant it when I said this wasn’t some stupid s’week thing. I don’t-“ 

“I know.” You sighed. You knew exactly what he was feeling because you were feeling the same way. As much as it hurt to know that he and Sarah had been together before this and that both of them had lied to you, Sarah trying to sabotage your relationship, you didn’t want to walk away from it all.

“What?”

“I know how you felt...I felt the same way. I had such a crush on you and then Sarah said you guys were coming down here and all the sudden you were interested in me and it was different than...it wasn’t like I was with Rafe and I’ve been really happy.” 

“So don’t make me leave...please.” He pleaded.

“I just wanted you to be honest with me. I told you about Rafe, I told you John B kissed me. You stood there and lied to my face when I was yelling at Sarah. And she covered for you because she likes you that much...JJ, I flipped out on her yesterday because of all this and she let me just so I didn’t find out.” You said, the past two days events sinking in.

“I already talked to her...afterward.” JJ replied.

“But I didn’t.” You hadn’t spoken to her since you yelled at her yesterday and you knew that you couldn’t leave it like that. JJ was important to you but not more important than Sarah. “I like you, you know that. I’m pissed at you for not being honest with me and I don’t know what to do right now, my head feels like it’s gonna explode.” 

“Just...give me next week. Please.” 

“Maybe.” You said, “I need to talk to Sarah.” 

☼

You thought that you knew exactly what you wanted to do. Not forget everything that happened but move on from it, or begin to at least. You hadn’t lied to him, the week you’d spent, the good parts, had been amazing and you would give anything to relive them. You wanted to try over with JJ but you needed to make things right with Sarah before you could do anything.

“Here to yell at me some more? Cause I’ve heard it from just about everyone.” Sarah commented as you came into her room at Topper’s place. It seemed like everyone was packing today, herself included, desperate to get away from Florida and the travesty of S’week.

“No,” you shook your head, walking further into the room, “here to apologize.” 

“Why?” 

“Cause it wasn’t about some dumb hook-up, it was about someone that you thought you had a real connection with and I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t tell me about it.” You said. “You’re my best friend and you should always feel like you can tell me anything.”

“I know how bothered you were when I started seeing John B behind Topper’s back...I just didn’t want that same judgmental look every time I told you about me and JJ. I thought it would be easier to lie.” Sarah admitted, “besides...I knew you liked him.”

“I’m sorry I was such a shitty friend.” 

“It’s whatever.”

“It’s not. Regardless of this week or any past crap, you’re my best friend always. And your friends are cool, I love Kiara and Pope and, you know, bad circumstances but John B is pretty cool too.”

“He’s a great guy.” Sarah replied. “I didn’t mean it, when I said JJ wouldn’t go for you.” 

“Yeah I know that now. Sorry I flipped out on you.” 

“You didn’t know.” Sarah shrugged, dropping some clothes into her suitcase before turning to look at you, “I didn’t want anyone to know, they’re JJ’s friends first. Kiara and Pope haven’t even talked to me.” 

“They’ll come around.” You said, believing it entirely. You knew Sarah was a hard person to love but that didn’t mean it was impossible. “And no matter what shit goes down or how pissed I am in the moment just know that I’m your friend first.” 

“I know...lapse in judgement I guess.” Sarah said, shaking her head. “JJ really likes you, if it’s worth anything at this point.” 

“I really like him, I don’t know what to do.” You admitted. “I know you like him too, I’m sorry.” 

“I think I just liked the feeling that someone wanted me and didn’t expect me to be anything more than a moment. Topper wanted to know everything about me and that freaked me out and John B was so intense...it was fun at first but then it was the same thing. He wanted to know me, to see all the parts of me.” Sarah replied. She’d always been afraid of giving herself away entirely, afraid that if she was totally honest with someone and let them really know her, they would leave. “JJ just didn’t care. Sex didn’t have to mean anything other than that. We didn’t have to talk after or hold each other and he didn’t care what made me anxious or happy or who I was...it was just sex. And I think I confused it for something else.” 

“I’m sorry that you felt like that and I couldn’t see it.” 

“It’ll be okay. I’ve been sitting up here trying to remind myself that I’ll be out of the OBX in August and there’ll be new people and I won’t feel stuck. I can like someone new who doesn’t know anything about me. I can be anyone.” 

“I prefer you just like this.” You laughed.

“Even with the fuck ups?” 

“Especially with the fuck ups.” You said. “I have plenty of my own.” 

“I shouldn’t have involved Rafe, you’re right...I know what he did and I just wanted things to go back to the way they were. I wanted JJ’s attention again. But I should’ve never put you in that situation.”

“I’m not mad at you...I’m just...I don’t know. I’m tired. Or something. Sad I guess? That all this happened...that I thought everyone was having a good time and they weren’t.” 

“You were. And JJ. And Pope and Kiara too, until I went a little crazy.” Sarah laughed, though not in a funny way, “I thought we’d get down here and he’d change his mind about breaking it off but then he started hanging out with you. And you guys just...I don’t know. It clicked I guess.” 

“Yeah but I ignored you. I should’ve realized something was wrong. You’re my best friend, I should’ve never put some guy over you.” 

“Me either.” 

You nodded slowly. “We still gonna be roommates in August?”

“Of course. I don’t think I could room with anyone else honestly.” Sarah replied. She couldn’t imagine anyone else putting up with her shit. She paused for a moment, knowing that she had to make this right with you and JJ before she left. “You should give him another chance. I wasn’t wrong ya know? When I said you too weren’t just ‘hanging out’, I think it’s something serious and I’ll...I’ll move on.” 

“I guess you won’t stay?” You asked, avoiding her comment about JJ.

“I’m gonna head to Nassau with Wheezie for a couple weeks, I think it’ll be good for me to be away. Just be with family.” 

“Well I’m always family too, so don’t hesitate to call or text or whatever, I’m always on the other end.” You promised.

☼

Though you didn’t say it to her the conversation had cleared your head considerably, as had the walk to and from Topper’s house to your grandparents. The day felt incredibly long and all you really wanted to do was go up to your room and sleep but you knew there were still questions hanging in the air.

“Would it be totally crazy if I asked you to stay an extra week?” You asked, coming into the kitchen to find Kiara and Pope there. You knew you must sound nuts to them, throwing them out and then asking them to stay. The week had dissolved into one drama after the next and you were craving that summer vacation you’d been picturing in your head all year. Cute boys, beach days, parties, no worries at all. 

“Just us?” Pope asked, skeptical as ever. He was JJ’s best friend so he’d never do anything to compromise that. He’d been down in the trenches with JJ plenty of times and he’d always be loyal to his friend. 

“JJ too.” You clarified. 

“I might head back home with John B...make sure he’s alright.” Kiara replied, when Sarah told her what had actually happened all she could think was how much John B must’ve been hurting. She’d been skeptical of them getting together but all she really wanted was her friends to be happy and she thought they were. “I’m not really ready to forgive quite yet.” 

“I get that.” 

“I really thought it’d be like, college that put a wrench in the whole ‘pogue lyfe’ thing...not JJ sleeping with John B’s girlfriend.” Pope sighed, obviously a little less angered by the whole ordeal.

“Apparently there should be a ‘no pogue on kook macking’ clause.” You replied and Kiara laughed despite the situation, nodding her head in agreement. 

“It’ll cool down. They’ve always been competitive. I think they just need some time away from each other.” Kiara said. She’d been thinking about nothing else all night. Had she noticed that JJ and Sarah were hooking up. They were her best friends; how could she not have noticed?

“Well if JJ does, and you guys swear I won’t be spending a week third-wheeling it, then I’ll stay. Free vacation is free vacation.” 

“That’s the spirit.” 

“He’s on the beach, by the way.” Kiara supplied. 

The beach outside your house had become a catalyst for the summer. You walked the familiar path out to the end of the fencing where JJ sat, far away from the actual shoreline and the people who had clustered to the beach for vacation. You stopped behind him, feet sinking into the sand. 

“This feels familiar.” You said, taking a seat beside him on the sand. He hadn’t bothered with a blanket or towel, obviously coming out here spur of the moment.

“Did you get to talk to Sarah?” He asked, digging his feet further into the sand as if it would cover him up entirely if he tried hard enough. 

“Yeah, it was good.” You replied. “I don’t...I don’t want to be that person who just lets people do whatever and forgives them cause I’ve been that person before and hated myself because of it. But I also don’t want to just leave this like it is. I like the way I feel with you and I want to feel that way all the time.”

“I know I fucked up, at least let me make it right with you?” 

“That’s why I came out here. I want you to stay. Kiara said she’s heading home with John B and Sarah’s going to Nassau with Wheezie...stay here with me?” You asked, “And Pope.”

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously I want you to stay or seriously Pope will be here?”

“Both,” he couldn’t help laughing, “Pope is staying?”

“I asked Kie to stay too but she said she’s heading up with John B...I felt weird asking him.” You had spent plenty of time with John B in the last 24 hours, condensing the week you missed out on his company into a day and you knew, given the opportunity, that the two of you could be really good friends. Maybe you would be, once you were back in North Carolina and only when you could hang out alone. It would take time before JJ and John B were hanging again like they used to.

“I don’t think we’re there yet.” 

“You’ll get there. I just, would rather have you here. So Kie is going with him but Pope said he would stay.” You explained. You liked John B but you weren’t trying to date him.

“I want to stay. And when we do leave, I want it to be together.”

You finally let yourself lean against him, feeling the comforting weight of his arm as it wrapped around your shoulders. He pressed a kiss against the side of your head as you tucked yourself into him, closing your eyes for a moment to just feel everything that was going through your head. It certainly wasn’t perfect or easy but it was something and it was something you planned on holding on to for as long as it was good.

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criminalminds4days · 3 years

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Family Matters | Chapter 7: Happy Birthday

Hello people!!

I know I just came back, but school and work are really kicking my butt. I have virtual events, classes, projects and papers... On top of that I have to go to work and I barely have enough time to sleep. I am hoping I'll be able to keep writing, and I already have some chapter written in advance but who knows how my life will be by the time we reach the end of those chapters...

Anyway, I hope you guys are having a good week and a good year so far. Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!

P.S. keep in mind I did not have time to proof read this, so it might be wonky.

Warnings: Swearing, sexual references, violence and murder references, public embarrassment, and very bad jokes!

Word Count: 5.2k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Tag list: @mcntsee @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel @evelyncade @haylaansmi @paulaern @myfandomlife-blog

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(This gif is not mine)

Chapter 7: Happy Birthday

It was now time to get everything set up for Reid's surprise birthday party. She was still not talking to him, but something within her didn't allow her to abandon the idea of celebrating his day of birth. She wanted so bad to stop wanting to be his friend and talk to him, be around him and hear him laugh, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"You're gonna let us know your decision soon?" She almost fell down the chair she was on.

"Can you not scare me to death, please?"

"Well stop keeping us in suspense."

"Emily," she stepped down from the chair and used it to sit. "I didn't accept the position, in fact, I told Luke that same day. To help him with his bosses being on his ass I said I would think about it, but I'm going to email them soon to say I won't be transferring. I don't know how Garcia found out but she didn't let me explain that I wasn't even leaving. Then all of you barged in and I just thought it would be funny to let you guys believe I was gonna leave."

"And you've had us in suspense for two days?! Do you know how devastated Reid is? He probably thinks that's why you won't speak to him!"

"That's not the reason I don't talk to him, I ignore him because he's a cheater!" Her mouth closed fast after saying those words.

"What do you mean? Did he cheat at poker or something?"

"No, just forget about it."

"Tell me!"

"No necesitas saber," She said in Spanish. Telling Emily she didn't need to know.

"¿Se te olvida a caso que también hablo español?"

"Yes, I totally forgot you spoke Spanish." She placed for a little bit, deciding whether to tell her or not. "I saw Reid and JJ a couple of weeks ago and they were in a very friendly situation, to say the least."

"Were they making out or something?" She shook her head, and Emily smiled. "Listen, I honestly don't think that they have something going on."

"You didn't see what I did."

"That's true, but I am also not emotionally involved."

"I'm not emotionally involved."

"Sure you aren't." She winked, "does Hotch know you're staying?"

"He was there when I turned down the offer originally."

"That little prick, he's mentioned nothing to me!"

"To you? Interesting." Before Emily could correct herself she had already made her way to the sitting area, setting all the dishes and cups. She looked it over one more time before deciding it was good. "I have to change, I will be back in a half-hour. Everybody should be arriving by then, do you mind just checking that everything is good while I'm gone?"

"Yeah, though it seems rather interesting that you're having a birthday party for a 'cheater' don't you think?"

"It's also weird that you expected Hotch to tell you specifically, rather than the team, things like my possible transfer."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh, but it is."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is, now bye!" With those last words, she exited the building.

She paced her room. She had about thirty minutes before Spencer arrived and she was about ten minutes away, so she still had some time to figure out what she was going to say or do once the party began. She knew someone would tell him it was she who organized the party, and that would only raise more questions about her current behavior towards him.

"I had already planned it, and I couldn't get a reimbursement for the salon." She said to the mirror. "No, that might be too mean. How about, Whatever else is going on, I am glad you're alive. No, that's too nice." She rubbed her eyes, frustrated with her responses, and then, the best idea she would come up with came to her and she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Would it backfire? Most likely, but that didn't mean she wasn't gonna try her best for it to not. With one final look at the mirror, she grabbed her keys and made her way to the venue. When she arrived all the cars from her co-workers were parked, except for JJ's, who out of the goodness of her heart had offered to drive the birthday boy. She wouldn't be surprised if Will didn't attend the event, because that would give them some alone time. Absorbed by this thought she almost didn't notice that almost immediately after she exited her car, JJ, Spencer and Will pulled up in their car. When she noticed them she squealed and ducked, but it had been a little too loud, as all three of them turned to her and saw as she very awkwardly tried to hide by ducking next to her car. She sighed and stood up, waving at the trio.

"Dropped a contact." She weakly explained.

"You don't use contracts, nor glasses for that matter." Spencer reminded her.

"No, but my friend does, and she left them in my car, and when I got out, I ended up dropping one."

"Well, it might be time to go in," JJ said, trying to salvage the surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Spencer asked her.

"I... I didn't know I was, it was sort of a last-minute thing."

"Oh, okay." He looked at her expectantly, as if hoping she would acknowledge the date and congratulate him. That was one of the few things that contrasted his serious demeanor, those small moments in which he would just act like a child and have that twinkle in his eyes.

"Anyway, why don't I go ahead and go inside and you guys catch up later."

"No, you can stay with us. I mean, you can be my date. Today doesn't feel like the day to be the third wheel." He gave her another expectant look, hoping she would ask what made today special, or simply acknowledge she knew what day it was. "Besides, we haven't really seen much of each other lately."

"Yeah, life's crazy. Let me take a rain check on that though. I'll see you all later!" She tried to walk inside but he took her arm, preventing her from leaving.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, she's just trying to prevent you from finding out about your surprise birthday party before we get a chance to say surprise." Spoke the one and only Derek Morgan. They turned to find all of their friends at the entrance with amused smiles on their faces.

"Surprise!" They exclaimed and his eyes lit up even more, if that was possible, at the sight.

"Can you let me go now, please?" He nodded and mumbled an apology as he let go of her arm, she moved next to Emily and avoided all eye contact with everybody.

"Way to go champ, you almost ruined it." The woman jokingly whispered in her ear.

"Happy birthday Spencer!" Everybody said.

"Thank you guys, this means so much to me. I can't believe you all took the time to plan this."

"Actually, it was all-"

"Emily! This was all Emily's idea." She exclaimed before JJ could finish the sentence.

"Well, thank you so much, Emily." He said to her. She couldn't help but notice a small hint of disappointment in his tone, but she decided to not read too much into it.

"Yeah, you're welcome." This one said, shooting a glance at her friend. "How about we go inside and get some food?" Everybody cheered and they all made their way to the table that she had set up earlier.

"So my idea, huh?" She mumbled.

"Shut up Emily, you don't need to read into everything."

"I'm not reading into stuff, it's all just out in the open."

"Whatever."

The dinner had gone great, everyone seemed to be having a great time, especially the birthday boy, though something kept bugging him and she wasn't sure what it was.

"So, have you made a decision about your transfer?" He directly asked her once the conversation had died down.

"Are you asking me?"

"Is anyone else considering a transfer?"

"Touche." She instinctively looked at Emily and Hotch, who casually were sitting next to each other, 'out in the open' she immediately thought. Emily gave her a pointed look while her boss simply nodded slightly. "I'm still thinking. Luke made some really interesting points about the position."

"For example, his deep voice." Emily teased.

"A raise in salary." She countered.

"How do you even know Agent Alvez? I heard of him, but I didn't even know what he looked like before this week." Garcia questioned.

"He was a mentor, per se, when I was finishing up my courses at the academy. I ended up going on my first mission as a graduate with him and his team, I was actually going to start with them when Hotch requested me for the BAU."

Everybody seemed a little impressed by this knowledge. It was true she never really shared her stories, and it was mostly because they were filled with embarrassment, but this was work-related, so it seemed okay.

There seemed to be more questions emerging but before they could be asked, footsteps were heard at the entrance, and soon enough, Anna, Tyler, her aunt Becky (Anna's mother), and her mom walked in.

"Who in the-"

"Happy birthday to my favorite son-in-law!" Her mother cheered and before he even had a chance to stand up he was already engulfed into a hug.

"Son-in-law? Reid, is there something we need to know?" Questioned Derek.

"What are you guys doing here?" She spoke, feeling her throat dry out.

"Well, your mom told us it was Spencer's birthday and that you organized a birthday dinner for him, so we thought we would stop by and congratulate him," Anna said.

"Wait, that's your mom?!" Garcia asked.

"Is there something you two need to share with the rest of us?" This time the question came from Hotch.

She turned to the uninvited guests and gave them the fakest smile to ever exist. "Family, can I have a word with you all, outside? Now."

"Aren't you gonna introduce us to your team?" Her cousin asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, of course." She turned to Emily, begging with her eyes for help.

"Aaron, do you mind coming with me to my car. I seemed to have left something there."

"Right now?"

"Yes right now. It's important." She basically dragged him out of the venue, and she took a deep breath.

"Well, Mother, Anna, Tyler, and Aunt Becky," she signaled to the uninvited attendees. "This is my team, Penelope Garcia, SSA Morgan, SSA Jareau, and her husband detective Will, SSA Rossi, and you already know Dr. Reid. Team, this is my family."

"Pardon me if I sound rude by pointing this out, but you seem familiar," Derek mentioned.

"Well duh, we're one of the wealthiest families out there. The Blackwood family is very well known, and we've had our fair share of magazine covers." Anna said with glee.

"Blackwood? Wait, that's your last name, but you go by-"

"ANYWAY!" She interrupted JJ, "let us congratulate the birthday boy and celebrate, let's worry about titles later!" She grabbed her mother away from Spencer and placed her and the rest of her family in additional chairs that were part of the venue.

"So, how old are you turning Spencer?" Tyler asked, with a hint of annoyance.

"Thirty." The mentioned responded. Both of them stared at each other and she couldn't decide if what was happening between them was pure hatred or sexual tension.

"I thought you didn't like older men that much."

"It is of wise people to change their mind." She responded.

"I honestly feel like I am missing so much information right now," Derek said out loud.

"Same." JJ and Penelope added.

"I think I have a somewhat good idea of what's happening," Rossi said.

"Well, as a gift from me and my daughter, here are the keys to the Noire museum downtown. I personally think it would be fantastic for your children to grow up going there every weekend or something."

"Mother!" She exclaimed.

"Thank you, but I can't accept that, it is too much." Spencer intervened.

"Nonsense. You are the only son-in-law I will ever have; let my daughter and I spoil you."

"Yes Reid, let your future mother and future wife spoil you," Rossi spoke, a hint of glee in his eyes.

"Have you proposed already?!"

"No!" They both exclaimed. She had no idea how much more of this she could take.

"Okay, let me get this straight, Reid and you have been dating, and you didn't tell any of us?! How long has this been going on?"

"Well-"

"One year, and about four months, right cousin?" Anna was asking to get murdered.

"Actually, it's one year five months, and six days since we met, but we've only been together for one year three months and 4 days. Unless I confused my numbers again." He gave her a look and she fought the urge to not smile. Sure, she had to pretend they were a couple, but she was still mad at him.

"Reid getting his numbers wrong?" Will whispered.

"Yeah, because of his dyslexia," Tyler said as if it was obvious.

"Of course, his dyslexia! How could we forget Will?" JJ added. She looked completely surprised and kept glancing back between Spencer and her, but her tone was controlled, making sure the non-profilers in the room would not see through her. She couldn't help but wonder if the blonde was at all upset by the situation, after all, if she was right JJ was Spencer's girlfriend. The reminder made her frown, but she soon erased it from her face: one problem at a time.

"Well, this was grand, getting to know each other but I am sure you guys have a long drive and-"

"Don't worry cousin, we made time for the party. After all, Spencer is practically family, and you two are just so perfect for each other."

After her words, the steps of Emily and Hotch made the room go silent. He gave her a knowing look and took his previous seat as well as her friend who gave her a wink. This was going to be a disaster.

"So cousin, you guys hadn't told anybody about your relationship? Why keep it a secret?"

"The FBI has very strict policies, and both agents needed to demonstrate that their work in the field would not be affected by their relationship, and it hasn't," Aaron said, giving her a faint nod.

"Wait, but what does that mean for your transfer?" Garcia asked. Her eyes opened in shock because nothing could ever go right.

"What transfer?" Her aunt Becky questioned.

"I got offered a position with the team I did my first case with. But that's really not gonna change my relationship with Spencer. It's not like I'm leaving the country if I accept it. If anything I would spend more time in D.C."

"Interesting."

"Listen, family, I really appreciated having you here and taking the time to come and congratulate Spencer, I'm sure he's so happy that you guys could be here, but it's getting late and since all of us have to be back in the office tomorrow morning we're probably gonna call it a night soon."

"Of course darling." Her mother winked at her and Spencer as if suggesting that was not the reason the two wanted people gone.

"Before we leave though, we would love to get a picture of the two of you. It's not every day you get to celebrate your partner's birthday number thirty." The annoying blonde she had for a cousin suggested.

"Maybe another time."

"No, I think that's a great idea." Morgan chipped.

"Sure, why not?" Spencer said casually.

Was this man crazy? Did he not understand that their boss was right there and this could cost them their careers?!

She sighed and approached the brunette she placed her arms around his torso as he enveloped her in a hug, they smiled for the camera and waited a few seconds for pictures to be taken.

"Now Kiss!" Anna said and followed by that Garcia and Morgan joined her in a chorus of "kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss." The rest of the team, except for Hotch joined in, and she made sure to remember to kill Emily at her next best opportunity.

She cursed internally and turned her face, meeting his eyes for the first time in days. Sure, they had made accidental eye contact from time to time in the last few days, but she had tried her hardest to make it rare, and now she felt somewhat vulnerable. He gave her a small nod and leaned in, his lips touching hers ever so softly. It had been over two months since they had last kissed, but she could remember the taste as if it was yesterday.

A couple of minutes and cheers later they broke apart, his hand immediately reaching for hers. She tried not to wince or remove it, but it seemed like an impossible challenge.

"So cute!" The woman said, disgust in her voice. "Anyway, happy birthday Spence, here are some books that we thought you might like." She placed them on the table and attempted to walk towards him and hug him, but both she and Spencer made it clear that was not an option. There was something about her spanking him during the retreat that didn't really sit well with either of them. "You two are just made for each other, aren't you?" She commented before walking back towards her husband.

"Happy birthday Spencer, I hope the next time we see each other it's to ask me about an engagement ring." Her mother squeezed his cheeks and planted a kiss on each one to later repeat the process on her daughter. Aunt Becky simply waved and Tyler gave the couple a head nod before the four left the building.

There was a silence, she let go of his hand rather abruptly and separated herself from him a couple of inches as the rest of the team observed them. "Should I go set up the karaoke machine?" She asked as she tried to navigate the room.

"You should tell us why none of us knew the two of you were a thing," Morgan said.

"Agreed." The rest of the team said.

"Really, Emily you too?"

"That kiss made me doubt."

"Let me just make sure they're gone." She walked towards the entrance, as her mother's vehicle drove away she sighed with relief and made her way back to the table. "All right, let us get this over with."

"Why didn't you tell us you two were dating?" Penelope asked.

"Because we're not." She responded.

"Really? Then what was all that?" Morgan arched an eyebrow, clearly not impressed by her response.

"I asked Dr. Reid to pretend to be my boyfriend for a family event because my cousin kept telling me she was better than me and I was gonna end up alone because I was horrible and-" everybody observed her, the message clear. "Okay, she didn't say that exactly but the intention was clear! Anyway, because he went with me now my family thinks we're a couple and we have to pretend we are."

"That can't be it, please tell me you're lying and you two are actually in love," Penelope begged.

"Sorry, but Dr. Reid and I are simply co-workers who got caught in a big lie because of my big mouth." She shrugged, "Hotch, I promise, you have nothing to worry about."

"I know." He said, but something in his tone suggested otherwise.

"But that kiss though. It seemed more real than it should." JJ pointed out.

She looked at her, wanting to say something to hint that she knew about her and Spencer and that she knew that comment was coming from a place of jealousy, but she decided against it. She simply rolled her eyes, as if disregarding said kiss and made her way to the karaoke machine.

After everyone had moved on from the conversation and had begun cheering at those who participated by singing one or two songs, she decided to take a little break and get some air.

“If I didn’t know any better I would say you hate me or something.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Then what is it, because ignoring me and barely answering me isn’t cutting it anymore. I thought we were friends.”

“JJ, there are just some things that I can’t condone.”

“Like what?”

“Cheating.”

“I didn’t cheat, I was the first one to the office, so I grabbed the first doughnut. I am sorry if you liked chocolate glazed ones.”

“I am not talking about that! Though I am a little upset about that too!”

“Then what did I do?”

“Are you sleeping with Spencer?”

After those words came out of her mouth and JJ processed them, the blonde couldn’t help but laugh her ass off. She observed as the woman continued to laugh without a sign of stopping soon. “Me, and Spencer?” she asked between laughs, “Have you seen this?” She pointed at the ring in her hand and began to draw images with her hands as if hoping to represent that she was married, and she and Spencer were nothing but friends, she even confessed to her second pregnancy, something only Spencer knew about. But the other woman didn’t really understand, she thought everything was signaling at her avoiding to answer. “You are a funny one! Now, let’s go back inside, I will buy you a whole box of glazed doughnuts on Monday.” She managed to say as she continued to laugh, “me and Spencer? Hilarious!”

After watching her enter the venue, she waited before following suit. The whole scene seemed bizarre at best. Her confrontation had backfired and now she was back to square one on that front. On the bright side, she would be getting her chocolate glazed doughnuts so not everything was lost.

After two more hours, the venue was completely empty. Though they didn't have to go into the office the next day as she had told her mother, they all were more than happy to sleep early when given the opportunity. She had stayed behind to clean up some of the areas, hoping to make it easier for the cleaning crew the next morning.

"Do you need help with that?"

She jumped at the voice. "Jesus! What is it with you people and trying to give me a heart attack?" She said to the brunette.

"Sorry, I just wanted to help."

"Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"That's the thing, JJ and Will got a call from the nanny and they had to go. I was in the restroom, so I didn't know and they, well they left me behind." He looked really embarrassed by the situation.

Don't do it, she told herself. Don't say the words that you're thinking, she urged. "I can give you a ride home." She said despite her best efforts.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem."

She turned back to her duty and the silence that engulfed them was so awkward she almost backed out from giving him a ride home.

"What did I do?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm a profiler, you know? And I'd like to think I'm good at my job. I know you're mad at me, I just wish I knew why."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please, I can't keep going on like this. I miss you, I miss spending time together, joking around, and just being us. I really miss it and I will do anything so we can go back to being friends."

"Dr. Reid, six months ago we weren't even friends." She pointed out.

"But four days ago we were."

"Are you sleeping with JJ?" She blurted out before she processed the words.

His face went from confusion to amusement and soon he was laughing his ass off. Great, now both of them had laughed at her.

"Me and JJ? You do know she's married, right?" He said between laughs.

"Not everyone that gets married is faithful."

"You're mad at me because you thought JJ was cheating on Will with me? Why would you even think that?"

"I saw you two at the office the other day."

"JJ asked me to be the godfather of her second child. She's pregnant. And no, it's not mine." His smile grew wider as the laughter stopped as if knowing she thought he was cheating was the best news he could receive.

"Oh." She mumbled, everything making sense. JJ’s reaction, the whole signing, and laughing. The idea seemed so foreign to both of them she couldn’t help but feel like an idiot for thinking it to be a possibility. She wanted to hide under a rock and never come out again. How could she possibly think that the two of them would do such a thing? Now that she had all the pieces the idea seemed so far-fetched she couldn't even understand what led her down that path. "I-I'm sorry, I interpreted everything wrong."

"I'm glad you did though." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It gave me a really important insight."

"About what?"

"I need to tell you something." He said, and his other hand moved a strand of hair behind her ear. She couldn't help but think this was all too similar to a movie and how horrible that was, and yet how much she wished she was part of a movie in that precise moment. A part of her already knew where this was going and she felt all bubbly inside at the notion. "I like you."

"I like you too Spencer. You're my best friend." She spoke, completely shattering her internalized movie.

"No, I like you romantically. If it was up to me that kiss would have not been as short nor as innocent as it was."

"Why are you being a dumbass?" She said as she pushed his hands off her shoulders. "Quit playing, let's get you home."

He shook his head, slightly annoyed by how dense she was. "Will you please stop for a minute? I am trying to tell you about my feelings for you because I have been hiding them for days and every time I see you I want to kiss you and hold your hand. When I saw Luke and you, first I thought he was kind of hot, but then I saw him as a threat, and I was dying to punch him in the face. Because I want to be more than your best friend. I've probably wanted to be more than your friend for a really long time, but it took Emily barging into my hotel room and scaring Derek into the cafeteria for me to realize it and now I know that you must feel something for me, otherwise why on earth would you get so upset about the idea of JJ and I having an affair? So, can you please put the pieces together and come here so we can make out in the middle of a salon on my birthday like I dreamt last night?"

"You're joking, right?" She said, her heartbeat speeding up, half of her body wanting to run and the other half wanting to do exactly what Spencer had suggested. Well, it was more of an eighty percent for staying and twenty percent for running.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"You actually like me?"

"Yes! And I'm pretty sure you like me."

"I mean, sure, you're funny and a great friend. Not to mention cute, well I guess we have to be honest here, you're hot, like really hot, but just because I see that doesn't mean I like you, does it?"

"Do you want to kiss me right now?"

"Yes! Wait, no! I mean yes! I-"

"Let me help you out a little with that." Before she could ask how Spencer had already shortened the distance between them, placing his lips on her. This was the first time they had kissed without an audience, or as a part of their fake relationship. To prove how real this was, Spencer didn't hold back. First, his hands were on her cheeks, but they slowly moved to her hair, hips, and pretty much anywhere he could find. Hers never left his hair, appreciating how soft it actually was and the fact that despite his immense love of his hair and that he despised people touching it, not once had he complained.

She thought back on her conversations with Emily, on how Reid always made her feel safe. Sitting on a couch with her head resting on his shoulder had felt so right, and the idea of losing him to JJ had made her spiral. She knew that Will's feelings were not going to be the only ones hurt if it had been true. She wanted him.

She liked him.

It was so ridiculously obvious that she had to laugh. One would think metaphorically, but since she can't ever have a good moment without ruining it, her body decided to actually laugh, interrupting what had become a heated make-out session. As she tried to stop her laughter, he looked at her, confused.

"That bad?"

"What?" She said between laughter, "no! It's not that, it's just that I am so dumb. How did I not see that I like you so fucking much?" She continued, her laugh subsiding. "Spencer Reid, will you be my real boyfriend?"

"This has to be the best birthday present ever." He smiled, “but I don’t know if I am convinced by this offer."

"How about I second it by offering a make-out session in my car, and instead of driving you to your apartment, you can stay with me tonight?"

"Yes, please!"

“Is that a deal then?”

“How could I ever say no to you.”

After what seemed like a lifetime, but also a blink of an eye, they had made their way to her apartment. His shirt was wrinkled, and both their lips were read as can be. The small hickeys that he had graciously given her were now on full display as her neck was left exposed. She opened the door and he stepped inside after her, making sure to close and lock the entrance.

“Before we go any further, I need to ask.”

“No, Spencer, I am not a virgin.” She responded with a smile.

“That’s not what I was going to ask.” She observed him, encouraging him to continue. “Are you seriously thinking of leaving the BAU to go work with that jerk?”

“First off, he’s not a jerk. You don’t need to be jealous; Luke and I are just friends. And secondly, I turned down the offer as soon as he presented it to me. I was just giving you all a hard time.”

He frowned, clearly not as amused by that knowledge as she was. “There is something you should know.”

“What is it?” Her smile faded as his expression turned to a serious and concerned one.

“I sleep on the right side of the bed.”

“But you said-“

“I know what I said, I simply didn’t want you to feel bad, so I took the left side.”

“Spencer…” They almost fell as she crashed her lips to his. For others, this simple gesture might seem like nothing but knowing he would do something just to accommodate her was somehow so amazing and heartwarming. This knowledge summed by her newfound feelings were giving her the urge to pull him to her bedroom right then and there, but sadly for her, there were still certain things that needed to be addressed. “Before I undress you, and trust me I am dying to do that, I need to request something from you.”

“Anything.”

“Stop wearing tight pants to work.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have a very nice ass, I have noticed. And recently you have decided to use dress pants that don’t let me forget about this knowledge. We need to keep our relationship secret, at least for the time being, and watching you in those pants is not gonna help me, at all.”

“On one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You need to stop wearing blue.”

“But it’s my favorite color!”

“I know, and you look really good in it, like really good. It’s not good for me.” He planted a soft kiss on her neck, and that alone would have made her agreed to pretty much anything he asked.

“Okay, yes.”

“Good, now can we please get to business.”

“Never call us having sex business again.”

“Noted, as long as this isn’t the only time we have sex.”

“As if.”

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer x y/n #spencer reid x reader #Criminal Minds #CM #fanfic

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emu-lumberjack · 4 years

Text

A Quick Meeting pt. 2

Damian is an exchange student in Paris, and Marinette doesn’t know too much about him, till a chance encounter provides an opportunity

I finally figured out what was going on and am finally able to post part two here, finally. I’m not gonna retag those who wanted to be tagged, (tell me if you want to be) but I will put on the post that I figured it out. Thanks for sticking with me during the technical difficulties

Read part one here

Part 3 here

part 4 here

They looked at each other vibrant blue eyes meeting piercing green. The entire class which minutes before were laughing and jeering had quieted to little more than a faint buzz. The two hadn’t said anything after they introduced themselves, both too startled to say anything else. They were left there in peace until a brunette slid between the two blocking Marinette's view of Damian.

“You must be the exchange student, I’m Lila. Don’t worry, I'll introduce you to the rest of the class and give you the tour later.” The liar herself took Damian by the elbow and dragged him off before he could say anything, still caught off guard by Marinette’s blue eyes.

There goes my chance at a friend. Marinette thought to herself fully knowing how much Lila could worm her way into anyones head. The bluenette with the sketchbook in hand went back up to her desk. She sank into her chair glad to be ignored by her former friends. Looking down she saw that most of the pages were pretty ripped up but still salvageable and right on top was the picture she had begun drawing of Damian’s eye. Grabbing her pen she started drawing the second one resolving to make it a matching pair. She was beginning to shade the second eye when a small tap on her shoulder made her jump three feet out of her chair.

“Is there someone sitting next to you?” The familiarly cold voice said.

“What? Right! No one is sitting next to me, except if you want to then I guess there is someone sitting next to me and…” Marinette tapered off as she saw Lila glaring at her. Even though she was Ladybug Marinette still wanted to avoid Lila’s ire, it was a pain to deal with at school.

Damian let out a quiet chuckle, “I guess there’s gonna be someone sitting next to you then.” He quietly sat himself down in the chair next to Marinette and started getting his books out. “Nice drawing by the way.” Marinette blushed slightly.

“Ok class time to start.” Madame Bustier said walking into the room, the conversation ceased from there, yet both parties knew they had just found a new ally.

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

“What’s up Buginette.” Chat Noir said hopping down next to Ladybug. His bell made a soft little chime.

“Ya know, just the fifth night up in a row, I have three sewing projects to do.” She paused a beat, “Hey do you know anything about that new kid in class?” It had been a few weeks after Marinette gained guardianship when they decided to reveal their identities. With Adrien dating Kagami and Marinette thoroughly over her crush they both laughed at the situation and came out as good friends, and even though Damian had been in class for a week she still knew barely anything about him.

“Same as you, exchange student from Gotham. Cold, calm, and about to murder Lila.” Chat replied. He must’ve seen Damian’s face when Lila claimed she knew the Waynes. “Why? Do you like him?” Ladybug looked over to see Chat Noir’s face was filled with mocking innocence. Ladybug blushed under her mask.

“I will push you off the Eiffel Tower, or worse yet, sick Auroroe on your and Kagami’s relationship. I can see the headline now ‘Superhero Chat Noir dating girlfriend of Adrien Agreste! What will the model do when he finds out?’” Chat gave her a half-hearted punch in the arm for that, and they both had a laugh.

A few minutes later Ladybug noticed a quick blur ducking between alleyways. She gave Chat a nudge, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” He responded groggily.

“I thought I saw something ducking between the allies. It’s nothing”

“Ladybug, I know you, if you thought you saw something you saw something. I’d say go check it out. If it’s nothing, no big deal.”

“Alright, I’ll be back so don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” she smirked back at him, without looking she threw her yoyo in the direction of the blur and swung herself out.

“That happened one time!” He yelled after her.

Ladybug swung through the alleys looking for the blur when she spotted a small light out of the corner of her eye. There it is. She stopped her approach when she heard a low voice murmur

“Yes Kent I will get you those pastries you can pick them up tomorrow?” It was Damian, Ladybug would have known the voice anywhere. She opened up her yoyo to call Chat “Hey meet me at the eiffel tower in five minutes.” Now all she had to figure out how she would get Damian up to the tower.

It didn’t take the superheroine to think up an idea. Sorry. She thought to herself before throwing her yoyo his way.

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

Damian had just disconnected the call when he felt a cool wire wrap around his body. I do not need this right now he thought to himself as he was whipped up from the ground and into the arms of a familiar red and black clad superheroine.

“Ya know you could have just asked.” He said annoyed.

“But where’s the fun in that, and anyway I’ve got some questions for you.” her voice was lighter than it had been the other day, probably because there was no villain to fight.

She carried him up to a part of the Eiffel tower not easily seen by the public, where she proceeded to tie him dangling upside down by her yoyo.

“Whyyy.” he grumbled to himself, if he wanted this kind of treatment he would have stayed in Gotham with Todd.

“Ok first question, big one here. Do you know who I am?” She said sitting down.

“I don’t know your hero name, although I think your partner said Ladybug the other day, right after his terrible pun.”

“Rude.” A black clad boy said coming out of the shadows. A tail swished behind him.

“Well it’s true, you’re almost as bad as Grayson.” Damian was getting tired of this, he tried to feel into his pockets for his knife, before remembering he had left it back at his apartment.

“Everyone knows I’m Ladybug, I’m asking if you know who I am outside of the mask.” Damian turned towards the girl when she spoke.

“Well yeah. It’s rather hard to hide the blue hair.” And I’d never forget those blue eyes. The thought surprised even him.

She said something under her breath before looking at him, “This could be an issue, but if you already know then I guess there’s no use in trying to tell you off. I’m surprised, but I guess despite your looks you’re actually rather smart.”

The boy next to her let out a small laugh. “Are you going to introduce us Buginette, or am I going to have to guess.”

“Chat Noir, meet Damian. Damian meet Chat Noir.”

“So you’re the new exchange student. Ya know, put you in a fancy suit and add a little more scowl I’d think you were the Damian Wayne.” This warranted a rare laugh from Damian who after a few moments said,

“Because I am.” Chat Noir and Ladybug went pale. Damian took advantage of them being dumbstruck to feel into his pocket, There it is! He felt his phone, with a few taps he was able to hopefully get Jon’s contact up after all it was the last one he texted. He typed:

Eiffel Tower. Get here now.

“Oh. Shit.” the soft expletive dragged him from the texting. Marinette. No Ladybug in this costume, looked at him. “Lila’s new lie. Oh, my Kwamii. She’s gonna get it.”

“What’s the lie?” Chat Noir and Damian said at the same time.

“She said she’s dating, well, you.” She looked at Damian, after a beat the costume clad heroes burst into laughing, Damian looked horrified. He knew about her lying about knowing his family but this was new.

The giggling of the two heroes was interrupted when a blue blur came out of nowhere a few minutes later, and a moment after that the blur solidified into the form of a boy who had a too familiar blue suit. Damian who had just been swinging upside down was now being carried bridal style by the boy.

“We never speak of this to anyone.” He said in a low voice to Jon. “If my brothers find out I will personally end you.”

“Yeah, yeah. You say that every time I have to come save you.” The boys southern twang was more prominent than usual, probably because Damian had been spending so much time around the French. A soft “Ahem” broke the two out of their talking..

“Hello, who are you, what are you doing here…”

“And would you mind putting down the angry child.” Chat interrupted Ladybug.

“I am your age cat boy.” Damian responded, his voice may have been cool but there was a slight blush to his cheeks.

“Oh yeah. Sorry, I just got a text from Damian here saying ‘Rival them get here now.’ I had to ask Con to help, but we figured Damian meant the Eiffel Tower.” Jon put Damian down and handed the yoyo back to Ladybug. “Anyway I figured if Damian was asking for help then he actually needed it. Also my names J-”

“Superboy.” Damian interrupted before Jon could give away his secret identity. Again. Ladybug was looking at Damian, probably wondering why he had Superboys phone number, she’d hopefully come to the same conclusion everyone else did. That the youngest Wayne got into enough trouble he needed a fast way to contact the supers.

“Good to meet you superboy, I’m Ladybug and this is Chat Noir.” She took her gaze off Damian to focus it on Superboy. “Will you be in Paris long?”

“I’ll probably stay the night, make sure no one else tries to hurt Damian. Plus there's a bakery I really want to go to when it opens, the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” Ladybug paled a little bit and looked at Damian.

“He doesn’t know, he’s just focused on his stomach.” Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey that's rude.” Jon said to Damian.

“It’s me, you expect anything different.”

“Ladybug gave a snort, “Well as funny as this is I need to talk to Damian alone, Chat can you handle patrol for a little bit? Maybe take Superboy show him around Paris for a bit.”

“Yeah I’ve got it.” with a mock bow he motioned for Superboy to follow him. Jon recognizing a fellow weeb on sight asked him about anime, and the two went off singing some theme song from their favorite anime.

“I’m suddenly very glad I’m not on patrol.” Ladybug said quietly to Damian.

“Agreed.”

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

It had been a long night for Marinette, first finding out Damian was a Wayne then meeting Superboy, she had to get him alone before she exploded.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Damian turned his green eyes towards her.

“I have several questions, but is there somewhere more private we could talk?” The Paris night grew colder as the stood still.

“Yeah, we can talk at my place.” Which is how Marinette Dupain-Cheng wound up drinking hot coco sitting on the couch at Damian Wayne's apartment.

“I can’t believe that your father lets you stay in the apartment on your own.”

“Well I’m seventeen, he knows I can take care of myself. Plus he either has one of my brothers videochat me, or pop in for a ‘quick visit’ which is their version of making sure I haven’t done some irreparable damage to anything.” He said, pouring himself a cup of tea.

“Fair enough, now do you want to tell me why you were slinking in the alleys?” She said.

“Well I needed some air. And I was maybe… looking for you.” He begrudgingly said the last part.

Marinette blushed a little bit, “And why were you looking for me?”

“Well learning that Paris has heroes, plus getting saved by one makes me a little curious. Plus after class the other day I wanted to talk.” He took a sip of his tea.

“Alright. Also since you apparently know superboy,” Marinette was still surprised about that fact, “there’s something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“I noticed that ever since you came here a week ago Robin, usually right next to Batman, hasn’t been seen. Red Robin has been popping up, but no Robin. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?” Although she tried to make her voice as non confrontational as possible, she still saw Damian pale. He tried to mask it by drinking his tea but Marinette still saw how he hesitated before he said,

“I don’t know Robin, I know Superboy because he is freakishly friendly and helps out around Gotham a lot.” Marinette noticed how he stared at his drink the entire time he was explaining it to her. She was debating about pushing the point further before he interrupted saying, “It wouldn’t matter if I knew him or not, the Bats all keep their identities close to their chests. No one knows who any of them are.” When he was done he looked up at Marinette, she noticed how his eyes were pleading with her to just go with it, so she did.

“Ok, so what did you want to talk about regarding Paris’ heroes.” He looked relieved, finally able to change the topic.

“Well, how did you get your powers? How long have you been active? Who are you facing? And why haven’t you called the Justice League for help?” He fired off the questions, not giving her a chance to respond.

“One at a time,” she laughed, “We get our powers from our kwamis, little gods who reside in the miraculous jewel, my kwami is named Tikki.” At mention of her name the Kwami came out and gave a little hello. “We’ve been active for about 3 years, we’re facing a villain named Hawkmoth who can use people's emotions and turn them into villains. And we did call the Justice League for help when we first started.. Green Lantern told us not to prank call him again.” When Marinette finished Damian looked angry. Mainly at the Green Lantern bit she mentioned.

“I’ll have to talk to Superboy about it.” His voice which had been warming up suddenly felt icy.

“Speaking of which I should get back to Chat, before he and superboy decide to test their powers on each other.” Setting her cup down on the coffee table she stood up. “Thanks for the hot chocolate, and the conversation Damian, I’ll make sure to send Superboy your way. See you in class.” She said her transformation words followed by a quick “bug-out” before leaping through the window.

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

Damian sat in the suddenly empty room which smelled like freshly baked bread. Marinette was true to her promise and a few minutes later Supreboy came crashing through the window. After he changed he spent the next ten minutes telling Damian about how he and Chat went around the city just talking about anime, and the differences between English and French dubs. Both eventually agreeing subbed was the best. Damian wasn’t listening instead thinking about Marinette. Smarter than she seems he thought to himself, afterall she came very close to figuring out who he was. He made a mental note to his father that they need a Robin appearance soon.

“Damian. Damian! Are you even listening to me?” Jon’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“Sorry Kent I was thinking about someone else.” Jon looked at Damian incredulously.

“I might need to get my ears cleaned. Did you just say you were thinking about someone else?! Was it that superhero Ladybug? Do you like her?” Damian’s fury was undercut by the blush that appeared on his face.

“I don’t like anyone Kent you know that, and anyway she’s a hero with a mask. I can’t like anyone who is still wearing a mask around me.” Damian set his cup down a little harder than he needed to.

“I’m sure the great detective can figure out who's behind that mask pretty easily.”

“Keep it up Kent and I’ll be sending you back to Metropolis tonight. The hard way.”

Jon held his hands up in defeat. “Fine. Fine, but you and I are going to that bakery tomorrow.”

Damian looked at Jon, “The Dupain-Cheng Bakery?” A plan was forming in his head.

“That’s the one.”

“Not a bad idea.” It was time to talk to Marinette outside of class, and outside of the mask.

#marinette dupen chang #marinette x batfam #damian x marinette #dcxml #damianette #platonic lady noir #platonic adrienette #chat noir #ladybug #adrien agreste

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lochrannn · 3 years

Note

Hi! For the Diego and Lila prompt thing, I was thinking about 44, 46 or 50, whichever inspires you the most ❤️

I know I’ll end up doing all of them but the first one I got an idea for was 44. Thanks so much for the prompt! I’m so glad I’m not on my own in my love for these two idiots!

Read “A Moving Gesture” over on AO3 or below the cut.

Prompt: “You’ve always felt like home.”

No Warnings.

Diego pours syrup over his waffles and bacon strips and looks up to watch Lila push something around in her frying pan with a spatula, while he idly uses his fork to tear off a bit of his waffle and pop it in his mouth.

They both have a day off work and whenever that happens they try and spend a lazy morning together before going off to deal with their respective errands. They couldn't agree on breakfast, as Diego wanted waffles and Lila wanted a full English so they've each made their own.

While he chews he takes the time to let his gaze roam over Lila's body. It's fine, she tells him she likes it, so he feels like they both get something out of his inability to keep his eyes off her.

She's wearing nothing but underwear and one of his white undershirts, which she's tied a knot in the front of. Diego is currently following the line of her leg up to the swell of her butt, admiring how her dark skin accentuates the tone of her slender muscles and he thinks if he licked a strip up her thigh, her skin would probably taste sweeter than his waffles.

That's weird.

He's glad he didn't say that out loud.

Diego doesn't always know how to put into words how absolutely insane Lila drives him, but he hopes she knows and he tries as best he can to show her.

“Get your head out of the gutter, Knife Boy” Lila says sharply, and Diego looks up to see that she's spotted him staring.

He can't come up with a quick response, so he lets a lazy smile break out on his face, one he knows she can't resist, and quirks his eyebrow a little suggestively.

True to form, Lila rolls her eyes, but lifts the heavy cast iron pan up from the burner, saunters over to him while she holds the pan out and away from her in an impressively strong grip, and stops in front of him to plant a solid kiss on his lips.

When she pulls away, Diego watches her lick the syrup off her lips and the images that evokes shoot straight to his groin. Lila smirks at him, knowing full well the effect she's had and somehow Diego feels like he's lost a game he didn't know he was playing. He doesn't actually care as long as it involves making out with his super hot girlfriend.

Lila uses her spatula to push the fried eggs, mushrooms, and tomatoes, as well as some gunk she calls black pudding on to a plate that already has beans and toast on it, and sits down in her chair after leaving the pan on the stove, which she's turned off with a twist of the dial.

Before she starts tucking into her food, Lila lifts her legs and pops her feet on Diego's lap and while they eat in comfortable silence, he uses his free hand to massage the sole of one foot at a time.

Diego has finished his breakfast and is using both his thumbs to push into the bottom of Lila's foot, making her twitch a little on occasion but he can also tell that her posture is steadily relaxing, when she asks him, “So what're you getting up to today, then?”

“Was gonna head over to the mansion. Luther wants some help fixing up one of dad's old cars and I think Allison told him it would be a good opportunity for the two of us to bond. We've been doing just fine, I don't know why we need organized play-dates...” Diego says, laughing a little sheepishly.

“Don't tell me you won't enjoy getting all greasy and tinkering with heavy machinery!” Lila chuckles and kicks him very lightly in the chest, causing a slapping sound to reverberate around the kitchen when the sole of her foot hits his naked torso.

Diego grabs her foot and holds on tight, as he's pretty certain she's about to do it again from the way she smirked at the silly sound.

He ignores her antics and goes on, “Was gonna swing by the post office as well and get my mail from the PO box...”

Diego had set up a PO box after his third move in six months when he was nineteen and it had served him well through the years. He'd even held on to it after living at the gym for a few years, because with the anger he drew from Al if he had to take a call for him, Diego never wanted to imagine how the old man would respond if he had to take in his mail as well.

“I was thinking about that, actually...” he begins a little uncertainly and he isn't sure whether Lila is properly listening, as she is concentrating on cleaning up her plate with her last bits of toast.

He squeezes her foot meaningfully to get her attention and when she looks at him, he swallows a little nervously and goes on, “... I was thinking... uh, maybe I could start putting this address down...”

He's not quite certain he's brought his point across, at first, but the way Lila's eyes go wide and then narrow, makes him think that probably he has and there's a sinking feeling in his gut at her reaction.

“You want to use my address for you mail?” she asks harshly, and Diego tries to interject, to explain himself better, but she goes on, “ 'cause you're tired of having to collect it at your PO box?”

“That's not... no, fuck... why does everything have to be a confrontation with you?” Diego tries not to be exasperated but this is not how he wanted this conversation to go.

“Oh please,” Lila scoffs, “You threw a hissy fit last night because I chucked out the tooth paste before properly squeezing out the absolute dregs out of the tube.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, but Diego notices that she's not pulled her feet off his lap, so he thinks this situation might still be salvageable. “I just don't like being wasteful,” he says in a small voice with a half shrug.

Lila pulls one of her feet out of his grip again and puts the sole against the side of his stomach, the way she might her hand if she were closer and wanted to reassure him.

“You know, for a man who has seen his fair share of apocalypses, you seem oddly hung up on the small stuff...” She gets up and takes their plates over to the sink.

While she rinses them under the tap Diego sighs heavily, “It's not just my mail. I was thinking I could pay rent here, bring my stuff over... you know... move in... officially...”

Lila shuts off the water, puts the dishes on the draining rack, dries her hands on the dish towel, and turns around to lean on the counter. “Why?” she asks bluntly.

“Huh?” Diego says dumbly, a little surprised at her question.

“Why do you want to move in here? We talked about this when I first got the place. I like my independence but you're always welcome here, you know that. Why do you need to live here 'officially'?” she even does air-quotes on the last words.

Diego feels crestfallen. Not only does Lila not want him to move in, which was always a possibility, he knew when he started thinking about it, though he's more disappointed than he expected, but on top of that it seems like he really hasn't been able to convey to her how much she means to him, how much he needs her.

Sure, they tell each other they love each other, but maybe that's not always enough.

He starts rubbing his hands together. He wants to explain himself, but before he even opens his mouth he can feel the words slipping from his mind, he knows for certain that his tongue won't co-operate, so he stares down at his hands a little miserably instead.

But Lila must work out what's going on, because she walks over to him, strokes her hand through his hair and then unceremoniously plops down in his lap. While he reaches out to grab her waist and thigh, to make sure she won't slip off, she says none to gently, “Come on, spit it out!”

Diego huffs a laugh at the way the harsh and insensitive words contradict her gentle gesture. He takes a deep breath to settle his nerves, tries to work out what he wants to say, arranges the words in his head and says, “Whe-hen I left the mansion when I was s-s-seventeen, I didn't think I'd ever find a home again, let alone want one,” he's struggling to control his breathing, ironic as he doesn't need it to survive, but he does need it to talk properly, so he takes another deep breath, “but with you that's changed! You've always felt like home to me, Lila, and I just don't understand why we can't build one together!”

He looks her in the eyes and is trying to read what she's thinking but he's finding it hard to tell.

Then she leans in and kisses him on the temple and when she pulls back there's a little smile on her lips that has his heart stutter in his chest and she says, “Good answer! I'll call the landlady tomorrow about the rental agreement, I need to talk to her anyway about the light fitting in the bathr-mmmmmhhh”

Diego cuts her off by kissing her deeply. Right now he couldn't give two shits about the light fitting in the bathroom, but he's already looking forward to that being another one of their shared problems.

#fanfic #tua #lila pitts #diego hargreeves #dielila #liego #diego x lila #diego/lila #prompt fill

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stones-x-bones · 3 years

Text

Anxie-tea || Grace and Bex

TIMING: About two weeks ago PARTIES: @silveraccent and @inbextween SUMMARY: Grace and Bex meet up for coffee to catch up. The two have different ideas about what exactly the meeting is. CONTENT: Allusions to Internalized Homophobia

Grace teetered outside of Coffee Plus, the nerves building in her stomach the longer she stood there looking in. It was busy, or at least, she felt like it was busy. The emotions from the other side of the door hit her like a truck, a distraction felt needed, but how easily acquired, she wasn’t sure. She looked down at her phone, her fingers growing numb from the cold as she sent off a quick text to Bex letting her know that she had arrived. Finally, she stepped into the shop, the smell of coffee and pastries curling around her nose. Though she hadn’t seen her from outside, she glanced around for the brunette anyways, hopeful that she’d be there that way she wouldn’t be in charge of finding a table. She stuck her hands into her pockets, fingers fidgeting with the pop socket on the back of her phone. She stayed by the door, ignoring the glances from the baristas who, in her opinion, knew her a little too well.

Bexley needed some normalcy. After everything that had happened at school, and her first few weeks in White Crest, a coffee date with a friend sounded nice. Her and Grace had met back over the summer, and they’d hit it off pretty quick. Back then, though Bex had been careful, she hadn’t been quite as...afraid to be her true self. She’d left White Crest in quite a hurry, and hadn’t even bothered to tell Grace where she was going. It felt not good, but she hoped once she explained, she’d understand. So now, she was hoping to at least salvage something of a friendship with her, and coffee seemed like the perfect start. Her eagerness had led her to arrive early to Coffee Plus, getting her chai tea with coconut milk, sitting in a booth towards the back-- she remembered Grace didn’t like being around lots of people-- and waited. When she saw the shyer girl enter and glance around, she tried to wave her over but realized she couldn’t see her. So she got up and scuttled over. “Grey!” she waved, smoothing down the fringe of her dress, fiddling nervously for a moment. “Hey! I got us a table, but-- I can wait in line with you while you get a drink, if you want?”

The chatter of the coffee shop was loud enough to drown out Bex’s call, and it wasn’t until she made her way over, that Grace noticed her. “Oh, hey!” She smiled at the girl. The nickname made her ears burn and she looked towards where she had been sitting. “Oh, cool-- yeah, give me a second.” She turned back towards the counter to one of the baristas who stood there, patiently waiting for her order. After putting in her order for a London fog, she made her way to the side counter. “So,” Grace looked at Bex, trying to figure out if anything seemed too different. It had been a few months since she had last seen her, and though she wasn’t sure what the implications of this meeting had been, she hoped that there was affection involved. For once. “You said you’re helping with your parents' firm? How is that going?”

Bexley stepped off to the side and waited patiently for Grace to order her tea before stepping back over to her, tucking a strange of loose hair behind her ear. She’d chosen to wear one of her more wintery dresses, a lovely shade of sky blue, with a white cardigan, tights, and some boots. She wanted to look nice for Grace, after all, and she liked dressing up. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that, right? “Oh, uh--” she startled when Grace asked her a question, pulling her eyes away from the other girl, “--it’s, you know...I’m still getting used to it! It’s really busy and everyone there is super bossy. Especially Fran, the front desk lady. She’s the lowest on the employee tier so she really enjoys bossing me, the intern, around.” Rolled her eyes before giving a smile. “How’s work? I know I sort of already asked, but, like-- that’s so cool that you got a job like that already! I hope it’s a good one?”

Out of respect, Grace tried to focus on the hum from others. She felt weird being able to dissect whatever it was that Bex was feeling, and while it was a bit harder to focus on the baristas, she knew she’d be better off for it. Bex’s peeked through, just a bit, but Grace made an attempt, and that’s all she could really try towards, right? “Sometimes being busy is better though, right?” Grace asked with a smile as she took a few napkins from the side counter. At the very least, when Regan was seemingly bossing her around, if she could even call it that, Grace had been learning something. She hadn’t seen it as that. She felt slightly bad for Bex, mostly because even now that Regan was gone, Rickers left her alone for the most part, allowing her to do her work, sans the few conversations about his grandchildren. “That sounds frustrating,” she said with a small frown. She wasn’t sure what else to offer, so she instead nodded at Bex’s question of how her work had been going. “Um, it’s good--” She thought for a moment, “I got sort of lucky that there was an opening and that they were taking somebody fresh out of college, but, you know.” She shrugged. She took her drink once it was ready, “it’s quiet for the most part, so I don’t mind it all that much.” She took a deep breath as she flexed her fingers around the warm paper mug.

“It can be, yeah,” Bex agreed with a nod, but the kind of “busy” she was at her parents’ law firm wasn’t the kind of busy that was helpful or made time to go fast. She swallowed down the thought and smiled. “It’s, well, you know! Everyone likes to boss the newbie around. I’m sure they’ll get tired of it eventually.” She sidled up a little closer to Grace, glancing around them to see if she recognized anyone else in the cafe. When she was sure she didn’t, she sidled even closer and brushed her arm against Grace’s. “I’m sure you were lucky that the job opened up, but you definitely deserved a good job like that, too. Give yourself some credit,” she said, taking her arm and leading her over to the table she had picked out for them, hidden in the little nook in the corner. “So,” she said, sliding into the chair across from Grace, putting her chin in her hands, smiling, “tell me how you like White Crest so far! I know you haven’t been here too long, but people seem to form opinions on the town pretty quickly.”

“That’s how it sort of goes, right?” Grace hadn’t ever understood the way that most structures worked within business. She hadn’t ever wanted to know. She knew, for the most part, that most jobs held a hierarchy, but it wasn’t ever something Grace respected, mostly because she thought everyone was holding onto the same idea of, fake it till you make it. When Bex took a step closer, she felt the tips of her ears burn. Bex’s hand on her arm made Grace lift her drink to her lips, allowing for the burning hot liquid to scald her tongue in an attempt to hide the deep rouge that began to seep through. Could she not? Just for a moment, blush at the act of even being touched by a pretty girl on the arm? She followed Bex to the corner table and slid into her chair, setting her drink down. She reached up to rub at her cheek, pretending that it itched. When Bex asked her how White Crest had been treating her, she thought to all of the… terrifying things that had happened. Grace forced a smile, “I mean, there have been some ups and downs, but for the most part I really like it.” It wasn’t necessarily a lie. She made some good friends here, even if they all seemed to spiral into anxiety at any given moment. “I think it’s the people that make it, you know?” The smile dissolved into something more natural the longer she looked at Bex. In their quieter corner, it was harder to focus on the other cafe patrons, but she continued to try and give the girl her privacy. “How about you? Aside from work, how are you liking it now that you’re back?”

Ups and downs sounded about right for White Crest. Bexley had spent most of her time away from the town, off at boarding school, and when she was in town, her parents had insisted on her having an escort when she went most places. They told her that the world was dangerous, especially for someone like her, but she understood that it was for another reason, too. She shook away the thoughts and looked back across the table at Grace, tracing a circle around the top of her cup. Steam drifted out and she fiddled the string from the tea bag. “I’m glad you like it here. Does that mean you’ll be staying for a while?” she asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in her voice. Grace was one of her only friends at the moment, even if Bex had stopped talking to her after she’d left for school. “I kinda think that’s universal anyway. Staying for the people that you find, but yeah! I get that. I’m glad you met some good people.” She took a sip of her tea, and tried to hide the fact that it nearly scolded her tongue. Scratched her head. “Uh, it’s, you know! Home. It’s not bad, though! I think I’m just still getting used to it, being back with my parents. Living by myself in a dorm room was a very different experience so I’m just, you know...readjusting.” That was one word for it. She was having strange nightmares again and things were getting weird around her again as well, and, of course, her parents were blaming her for it all. She took another sip, forgetting it was still too hot. “Where’s your apartment now? Is it in a good neighborhood? Please tell me you don’t live in the Bend.”

“I think so,” Grace admitted with a smile. She hadn’t planned on leaving anytime soon-- though, that had been before everything that had happened. She could see herself living in White Crest a little longer, mostly out of concern. Fear had gripped her, had pushed her towards leaving, but she couldn’t let it win, not yet. She didn’t want to leave those she cared about behind. Others, on the other hand, seemed to have no issue with doing so. Cece’s face flickered before her and she shook it away by gripping her cup and lifting it to her lips, allowing the liquid to scald her tongue. She held it close to her mouth, just in case she needed another distraction. “People are kinder when they have something to lose, I think,” Grace said it without much thought, realizing how… odd it might sound. She set her cup down and quickly began, “I meant that in more of a… if they sense that you’re going to dip out on them, they’ll do everything in their power to keep you around kind of thing.” She wasn’t sure if that was what she meant, but the words were out into the open now regardless. Grace didn’t know what dorm life had been like-- when she was in college, she opted out for living in a room alone. College was already enough of an emotional buzz, she didn’t need the constant reminder of a roommate only a few feet away from her, especially when she could feel everyone through the walls. “Living with other people is hard, especially when you figure out your own routines.” Grace was sure that the only person she could ever think about living with had been her Grandma, but that had come and gone-- long in the past now. “It’s by the University, so no, not in the Bend.” Grace offered her a smile. She now knew to be careful of certain areas of White Crest-- though, when she had first moved, she knew nothing of where to be concerned about. It seemed the building she lived in, for the most part, offered safety. “It’s fine, but college students really like to party-- then again, I can’t complain… the rent is cheap.” She shrugged. “Do they expect you to live there long? With them, I mean.”

It was an interesting statement, and Bex regarded the words for a moment as she thought about what it meant. “No, I understand what you mean, yeah. It’s like...you want to hold onto something tighter when you think you might lose it, and it’s something you value. That can apply to people, too,” she said, nodding. It made sense. She wasn’t sure why Grace had chosen to say it, but she meant it all the same. She picked up her tea again and blew gently on it to cool the surface before taking a sip. It warmed her insides and she let herself deflate a little, putting on a gentle smile. “Well, it’s nice that you were able to figure that out! I mean, a lot of people think they can live on their own and then end up spiraling, so it’s really a wonder that you were able to figure it out and know what you want.” And what Bex wouldn’t give to live alone, or at least not with her parents. She missed her old dorm room, she missed having freedom. She was a twenty year old adult still living with her parents, and from the sound of it, they wanted her to stay there until she finished Grad school. It made her stomach churn. “Cheap rent is good,” she tacked on from behind her tea cup. “Um...a while, I guess. They want me to stay through Grad school, though I’m not sure what the plan there is anymore. I was supposed to go to Harvard, but they pulled me from Penn and I don’t know if Harvard will accept UMWC as a good enough undergrad.”

Grace tapped her fingers against the side of her cup. She could feel the liquid lightly swishing inside, so at the risk of not knocking over the now half-empty tea, she dropped her hand into her lap. Grace continued to do her best to focus on others around her, though the more people began to spill out the door and into the cold winter’s day, the harder it was. She glanced down at her mood ring and rubbed her thumb against it before looking back up at Bex. “Yeah, living alone just works better-- I have weird routines.” She tensed, “not weird routines, but work-- it’s weird.” It wasn’t that weird, and it wasn’t like she worked late hours-- just early ones. “Cheap rent is great,” she mused as she picked up her mug, knocking her knuckles against it. It tilted slightly, but Grace managed to catch it. “Oops,” she hissed under her breath as she picked the drink back up and lifted it to her lips. Longing-- that was what Bex was feeling. Grace shifted uncomfortably in her seat and crossed her ankles to the side, hooking them against the leg of the chair. Why the longing? Grace wondered as she looked at her friend. She looked back down at her drink, the liquid visible through the lip on the lid. “That’s really long,” Grace furrowed her brows, “that…” She wanted to tell Bex that it sucked, but wasn’t sure if it was her place-- though it was obvious that the brunette was unhappy with the development. “I’m sure if you’re good enough, they will-- Not that I don’t think you’re not good enough, because I’m sure you are, you know?” She felt the tips of her ears redden as she let out a laugh, “I just mean that isn’t it your grades and you that matter? Not the school?” Grace hadn’t ever cared about school and had floated by with the bare minimum in order to get her degree, so she wasn’t sure if that was the case or not. “Maybe by then you’ll be old enough to say to hell with Harvard or something.”

“And, you know, that’s totally fair. Some people just need to be on their own,” Bex agreed, giving another smile. This was nice-- really nice, especially after all the weird stuff that had been going on. This was nice and normal and good. She sipped her tea again and found it nearly gone, staring down into her cup. She looked up quickly when Grace said Oops, watching just in time as she fumbled with her cup. She couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. “You always were kinda clumsy. I hope that doesn’t translate to your job, I don’t think accidentally dropping a body is as funny as knocking your cup over.” Brown eyes glistened as she looked across the table at her. Maybe life could just be normal. Maybe she could just have normal. “Yeah, it’s-- I mean, it’s not what I had planned, but sometimes life just...doesn’t want to cooperate. It’s okay for now, though, I think. And yeah! Hopefully...though they do sometimes look at your undergrad, I’m sure if I get high marks they’ll look past it.” That, or they’d look at her father’s checkbook. It wasn’t that she was worried about not getting into Harvard-- quite the opposite, in fact. She knew she would, and that was what scared her. She didn’t want that. She’d never wanted that. Being back here just...reminded her. And she found it harder and harder to ignore the part of her that wanted something more. She gave a weak smile. “Yeah...maybe.”

“Oh, well--” Grace let out a laugh of her own, “luckily I’m not really in charge of any of the heavy lifting.” Luckily they were typically on gurneys to begin with-- or what resembled them. The awkwardness that she had felt, as well as the longing surrounding it, dispersed slightly as she sank into her chair. Grace looked up at Bex with a tilt of her head, “well, hopefully they look at your grades and you, not whatever school got you there.” She wasn’t sure if she was going to make things any better. “I’m clueless when it comes to school or whatever, I only really went for…” She went for the quiet, but wouldn’t that sound odd? She instead decided to go with a lie, “to make my Grandmother proud.” She dropped her shoulders, arching them up to her ears before dropping them and drinking down the rest of her tea. “I hope that you’re able to…” She paused, “I don’t know-- feel better about the whole situation?” She offered with a tentative smile. Bex looked fragile, like she was getting ready for everything to fall apart at a moment’s notice. “Thanks for coming out,” Grace said after a moment of silence between them, the only sound in the cafe the chatter and shuffle of feet from around the corner. It was getting hard not to focus on Bex. “I’m glad we did this, since--” She thought about before Bex had left, “we didn’t get to before. I was bummed that we didn’t get to go out on a da--” Grace felt her stomach drop, “I mean, hang out, we didn’t get to hang out.” Why the hell had she called it a date?

“Oh, well-- that’s good then!” Bex chuckled back, giving a lopsided grin. “I’d hope they wouldn’t make you do all that alone.” She drained the rest of her tea and set the cup on the table, still holding it in her hands as she tapped fingers along the side of the cup. She gave a small, dismissive sigh and put her chin in her hand as she leaned her elbow on the table. “Yeah, that’s really all I can hope for now! I’m sure it’ll all work out, though.” And she had to believe that, because what else did she have if she didn’t? Nothing. “Was she?” she asked before she could stop herself. “Proud?” She wondered what it would feel like, to have made someone proud. To hear someone say they were proud of her. She wondered if she’d ever get to know. A painful jab made her have to blink and look away a moment. But everything else Grace said fell to the wayside when the almost word was said. Bex’s elbow slipped from the table as she reared back, blinking. “Did you say--” did she think that this was a-- No. Oh no. Bex’s heart dropped like a stone into her stomach. “I-- I have to--” she scrambled from the table, stood up awkwardly and snatched her purse, “This was nice! But I-- I can’t be-- I’m not like that,” she said, a little more harshly than she’d wanted, wincing. “I’m sorry. I have to go. I’m sorry.” And with that, she bolted.

“Wait--” Grace got to her feet as Bex rose, hurriedly gathering her things and bolting towards the door. “Don’t, please--” Why had she said that? It had been a misstep-- obviously this wasn’t a date. Clearly this was a meeting between friends, and even though there had been some flirting prior to Bex’s departure the first time, Grace had no right to call it a date. Anxiety and embarrassment filled the small space and it nearly knocked Grace off of her feet. She watched in desperation as Bex ran towards the door. Grace tried to keep her voice low as she called after her, “that’s not what I meant--” She blinked at Bex’s retreating figure and fell back into her seat. Grace wrangled her hands together in her lap and pressed her nails into the skin, leaning forward as she reached up to cover her ears. She was such a fucking idiot for even thinking that somebody like Bex could… Grace grabbed her bag after a moment and stormed out of the cafe.

#chatzy #wickedswriting #chatzy: grace #anxie-tea #grace #tw internalized homophobia

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jumpship90 · 3 years

Text

wip whenever

cheers for the tag @damejudyhench. This (quite long) excerpt is kind of cheating because it’s actually being removed from my next chapter (and just referred to briefly by Jaq instead) but here is something from Felix’s POV as he attempts to watch a tossball match and is instead distracted by having to convince Jaq to go for it with Phineas.

I think most people have been tagged but just in case, tagging in @antoncrane @lamiahypnosia and @saltunafish

“I call shotgun on the shower!” Felix yelled, bounding up the stairs of the Unreliable two at a time.

The boss made an irritable noise but they didn’t argue and he heard the familiar sound of the captain’s chair creaking as they settled into it. They were probably going to contact the Doc anyway, he thought. They usually did whenever they returned from a mission.

They’d been on Monarch almost a week, beating back the bandits who were attacking the supply routes and delaying the rations making it out from Stellar Bay to rest of the settlements. It had been heavy going, but with the support of the Iconoclasts they had eventually cleared the route. Felix had hoped they’d have been due some sort of reward on return to the city but instead Jaq had spent several hours in meetings with Mr Nandi and Zora, and rather than hang around listening to them talk politics he had drifted over to Left Field to catch up on the tossball league. There were games on tonight he didn’t want to miss.

He stripped off rapidly and dove under the showerhead before the water had finished warming up. He shivered and puffed out his cheeks, working to scrub the marauder blood from his skin. The pressure wasn’t as good as he’d gotten used to on the Hope but it would suffice in washing out the stains and the smell of sulphur from his hair.

By the time the steam had started to rise in the bathroom and obscure the mirror, he was done and out, wrapping himself in a thread-bare towel before darting down the corridor with soggy feet. SAM would get to the puddles before Jaq was done chatting, he could still hear their voice echoing up from the cockpit, and very faintly in the background, the familiar laugh of Doc Welles.

He was glad to be back aboard the Unreliable but Felix did miss the Hope, more than he’d expected. At first he’d been disappointed when Jaq had told him he was staying behind and missing out on the adventures they were having but he’d discovered it was actually pretty good fun getting to rebuild the abandoned facility and help out with experiments. That and it was nice hanging with the younger lab techs and watching tossball with them.

Oh, shit! If he was quick he might catch the end of the Hammers game before Rangers v Backers kicked off.

Felix bounded down the hallway and into the mess, snagging a case of zero-gees from the fridge and a bag of spacer-chips. It sounded like Jaq was still finishing up their conversation so he flicked on the aetherwave and flopped down on the sofa.

It was nearing the end of the first quarter when Jaq finally emerged from their room. They dropped down beside him and Felix passed them a bottle of zero-gee that had grown lukewarm in the time it had taken them to freshen up.

“Everything ok with the Doc?”

He sure hoped so. The old man was surprisingly fun to be around, always ushering Felix over when he had a cool new chemical to show him or something really weird happened with an experiment. And Phineas never made him feel stupid, even when he had to ask for the super long science words to be explained. The Doc would get all excited and break it down for him so he could understand and Felix was starting to get a grasp on some of the processes that went on in the lab.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Jaq replied taking a long swig on their drink. “One of the door mechanisms had jammed in the crew quarters and apparently the team of four bio-chemists he sent to fix it couldn’t figure out the wiring.”

Yeah, Felix could imagine that all too well. In his time aboard the Hope he’d discovered half those lab-coated so-called geniuses couldn’t figure out how to build a bunk or salvage the workable bits from an old air-scrubber.

Jaq snorted and took another swig. “Anyway, Phin wanted me to talk him through the electrics whilst he had the panel open. He’s fixed it now.”

“That’s good. He’ll be disappointed he missed the Hammer’s game though.”

Jaq gave him a confused look.

“Phin watches tossball? I thought he hated it,” they said, as a crunching tackle sent a chorus of cheers up from the crowd watching in the stands and Felix punched the air.

He reached for the chips and stuffed down a handful before nodding. “I’ve been teaching him the rules. He seemed real surprised how much maths is involved. I never really thought of it like that, but anyway, he’s kinda starting to get the plays. I think.”

“Huh. And he supports the Hammers?”

Felix frowned. “Well, yeah, obviously. I said he had to pick a team and he asked who your team was and I said you backed the Hammers but that was a real bad choice because their twenty-eighth back has been injured all season and they don’t have a good defensive play and – oh come on, ref!”

The replay showed the towering Rizzo’s fifth back hurling the Backers forward off the ball.

“Anyway. I did warn him but I guess it makes sense he’d pick them, to avoid rows and stuff. I mean, I could never date anyone who didn’t support the Rangers. No offense, boss.”

There was a sudden spluttering noise from beside him and when Felix finally dragged his eyes away from the aetherwave Jaq was wiping frothy suds from their mouth with a damp sleeve. They gave another cough before taking a tentative sip.

“We’re not . . . dating,” they said eventually and Felix didn’t miss the red glow to the back of their neck.

“Oh, really?” That didn’t make any sense. “But you talk over the secure transmission all the time and he’s always real happy afterward, like bobbing around the lab and humming and stuff.” Felix scratched his head and turned back to the game in time to see a two man tackle go in on a forward who’d begun a promising darting run at goal. He winced as the player hit the deck with a thud picked up clearly by the mics.

“Really?”

Jaq didn’t seem to be paying attention to the game and Felix really wanted to concentrate on it but they were being kind of weird so he nodded. “Yeah, and he talks about you all the time. It’s always, ‘Jaq did this’ and ‘Jaq said that’ and ‘Jaq’s a big hero.’”

It was kind of fun actually. Phineas always wanted to hear all the cool adventures the crew had been on and he never seemed to get tired of Felix talking about what life used to be like aboard the Unreliable. He’d always listen intently and chuckle at things or ask questions about the boss and the others. Well, mostly the boss, now he really thought about it.

“You really aren’t . . . like . . . a thing? But didn’t he stay in your bed that time?” he asked with a grimace. He liked the two of them and it was nice to think they might be happy together but he really, really didn’t want to think about them smashing asteroids. Gross.

Jaq’s neck was about as red as a landing beacon at this point and Felix decided it was best not to look in their direction.

“I told you before, the camp bed is uncomfortable,” they muttered.

Felix shrugged and went in for another handful of chips. Jaq really didn’t seem interested in the food and they’d finished their beer but were still picking at the label on the empty bottle, swilling the last of the dregs.

“So, you think . . ?

The Rangers’ forward pack were beating their way through the Wednesday zone now, repelling backs left right and centre. He fidgeted in his seat, gripping the edge of the sofa as they battered through the last defensive line on the way to the goal . . .

“You think he might be interested in me?”

Felix whooped, diving out of his seat and spraying crumbs across the floor. “What a shot!”

He punched the air, grinning with elation before dropping back onto the sofa. Jaq didn’t seem very excited about the goal.

“Sure, boss. Trust me, I’ve watched loads of serials, I know what a proper romance looks like.”

Felix drained the last of his zero-gee whilst the teams set up for the restart. If Rangers kept this up then he would be collecting his winnings from Left Field tomorrow morning before they got back to work. He was contemplating whether he might be able to afford a new souvenir jersey when a sudden thought occurred to him.

“Wait, hang on,” he said, turning to Jaq who was staring into space. “If you and the Doc weren’t busy raising profits that night then Ellie owes me 20 bits!”

#felix millstone #captain jaq #phineas welles #jaq/phin #tossball is complicated #offcuts #my writing

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years

Text

Smoke and Mirrors

Dramatis Personae

Wally West, the energetic, enthusiastic, and confident third Flash

Iris Allen, the wife of Barry Allen and a daredevil reporter

Mirror Master, alias Sam Scudder, a talented inventor and the de facto second-in-command of the Rogues

The Top, alias Roscoe Dillon, an arrogant elitist who is suffering from a mysterious disease

Weather Wizard, alias Mark Mardon, a rather dimwitted thief with an obscenely powerful weapon, the weather wand

The Trickster, alias James Jesse, a charming con man with no fashion sense

Script

Act I

(Enter Wally West and Iris Allen, who has just arrived to the Flash Airport of Central City)

Wally: Hi, Aunt Iris! How have you been? It’s so nice to have you back!

Iris: Hi, Wally. It’s good to be back. How’s your Uncle Barry been?

Wally: He’s been great. Really slow since he lost his super speed, of course, but otherwise, he’s fine. He even took down the Trickster all by himself!

Iris: I heard. It made a great story. (Pause) How have he and Bart been doing since I went on my trip?

Wally: Bart’s still really impulsive, and he scared Uncle Barry half to death when he ran to New York City and watched an off-off-Broadway show without telling anyone, but overall he’s been doing great. Uncle Barry enrolled him in sixth grade and he’s become friends with this girl named Carol and this boy named Preston, and he’s finally kind of adjusting to life outside the speed force. He’s still not crazy about Irey and Jai, though-he thinks they’re annoying tagalongs. Oh, and he discovered anchovy pizza for the first time, and, for some reason, he loves it! He’s eaten 45 slices in the past two days, and Uncle Barry says that he thinks he’ll single-handedly keep the neighborhood pizza place in business. (Pause) How was your trip?

Iris: I loved it! There’s nothing quite like the thrill of investigating the government of Kandaq.

Wally: But isn’t Kandaq led by Black Adam?

Iris: Yes. That’s why it was so much fun to investigate what he’s been up to! Before I did some snooping around, no one knew what he was doing because everyone was too scared to check, so I was able to write the biggest exposé of my career and take down a supervillain at the same time. It was awesome! I even got to interview Captain Marvel after he rescued me from Black Adam.

Wally: No wonder you won a Pulitzer. (Pause) So, besides risking your life, did you do anything else in Kandaq? I’ve heard it has delicious food.

Iris: (Laughs) Of course you would focus on the food.

Wally: Well, is it as good as Dick told me?

Iris: Actually, yes. The spices in particular are delicious-and unique to the country, too!

Wally: I’ll be right back. (Wally exits, then rapidly re-enters) That was delicious!

Iris: That’s my Wally. (Pause) And to finish answering your question, besides eating and investigating, I did a lot of sightseeing and even more souvenir-buying.

Wally: Sounds fun!

Iris: It was. (Pause) And in speaking of souvenirs….. (Pulls t-shirt out of bag) This is for you.

Wally: (takes shirt, reads) “I stood in the presence of the all-powerful Black Adam and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” (Laughs) Thanks, Aunt Iris! I love it!

Iris: I thought you might. I also got a doll of Isis for Irey, a book on Kandaq’s history for Jai, a longer book on the same subject for your Uncle Barry, a necklace for Linda, a fan for Joan, a scrapbook for Jay, and Captain Marvel’s signature and promise to visit our house for Bart.

Wally: Sweet! (Pause) Do you have all your bags?

Iris: Yes, I do.

Wally: Then let’s get you home! (Pause, then in “official” voice) The West Delivery Service will get you there in three seconds, or your money back!

Iris: (Laughs) Definitely my Wally.

(Both Exit)

Act II

(Top is onstage, sitting at table and talking on the phone)

Top: (on the phone) Greetings, my darling. How are you? (Pause) Excellent. I’m glad to hear it. How fares the mission? (Pause) What sort of complications? You know as well as I do that I haven’t much time. If you do not find a cure soon, my powers will quite literally be the death of me. We do not have time for failure! (Pause) I’m sorry, honeybunch. I did not mean to snap at you. I am simply anxious. Even I cannot come out on top in a battle with the grave. (Pause) Of course I trust you, sweetums. Remember though, my darling, if my calculations are correct, I only have a month left. We must get the cure! (Pause) Well that, at least, is good news. If Allen likes you, it will not be long before he is willing to trust you enough to help you find the cure. (Pause) I love you, dearest. Farewell. (Puts phone away and puts on earmuffs) And now to enjoy my meal in peace.

(Enter Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard)

Weather Wizard: So, how’d you guys find me?

Trickster: It’s simple, Wiz! We followed the reports of snowstorms in July.

Mirror Master: You aren’t exactly subtle, Mardon.

Weather Wizard: Fair enough. I guess being able to control the weather doesn’t leave much room for subtlety. (Pause) So, what do you two want?

Mirror Master: Your help. If there’s anyone who can keep the Flash away from our heists, it’s you. You’re more powerful than all of us-even me.

Weather Wizard: I know.

Trickster: And you’re modest, too.

Weather Wizard: Hey, if you could control the weather with a flick of the wrist, you’d be a little arrogant, too.

Trickster: Fair enough. (Pause) Say, last I heard, your wand was busted. How’d you get it working again?

Weather Wizard: (Defensively) None of your business. I just did, okay?

Trickster: (Suspiciously) Oh, really? Then let me see the wand.

Weather Wizard: No! You can’t touch it!

Trickster: Why not?

Weather Wizard: Because it’s mine, and you aren’t gonna touch it!

Trickster: (Grabs wand) Too late! I already have it!

Weather Wizard: Give it back! (Tries to grab wand, but fails and falls on his face)

Trickster: All right, Mr. Weather Wand. Make it rain! Bippity boppity boo! (Waves wand, nothing happens) That’s funny. I thought you said you fixed the wand, Wiz.

Weather Wizard: (Gets to his feet and grabs the wand back) Okay, so I exaggerated about being able to fix it. I’ve used the weather wand long enough that I was able to do a patch job and get it to make some snow, but it’s pretty much useless for any other form of weather. I can’t even make it whip up a decent blizzard!

Mirror Master: All you can make is snow? (Trickster notices the Top)

Weather Wizard: (Weakly) Yeah.

Mirror Master: Well, that’s just great. Here I was thinking that we had tornadoes, lighting, and hail on our side, and all we have is a glorified snow machine! (Pause) And when were you planning on mentioning the fact that you can’t make anything but snow, anyway? When the Flash showed up to take us to jail?

Weather Wizard: Well, to be honest, I hadn’t really thought out that far. I was trying to save face, not come up with a battle plan.

Mirror Master: (Despondently) There goes my Ferrari.

Trickster: Don’t give up on the Ferrari just yet, Sam! I have a way to salvage our heist!

Mirror Master: James, I already told you. I am not going to use a “whoopie cushion of doom” to stop the Flash. Unlike you, I have some dignity.

Trickster: First, the Whoopie Cushion of Doom is high comedy, and you should be honored that I offered to let you use it. Second, that’s not it.

Mirror Master: Then what is it?

Trickster: It’s the Top! He’s sitting right over there! (Points to Top)

Mirror Master: (Surprised) So he is.

Weather Wizard: What’s he doing here? I thought he and Golden Glider were in Hawaii on the fifth anniversary of their first date or something.

Mirror Master: Who knows with those two. Maybe they came home early.

Trickster: Came home early ? They never went ! They’ve been in Central City this whole time!

Weather Wizard: They have? But then why did they tell everyone that they were on vacation?

Mirror Master: Probably so they could spend time together without Captain Cold breathing down their necks. Given how overprotective he is, if I was dating Lisa, I would probably pretend to be out of the city, too. It’s hard to have romantic moments when you know that her big brother’s watching and will maim you if you look at her funny.

Trickster: Nah, that’s not it. If Roscoe was afraid of Captain Cold, he wouldn’t challenge his authority all the time. I think they’re planning something, something they want to keep secret from the rest of us, and I want to find out what it is. (Taps Top on shoulder) Hiya, Top!

Top: (Takes off earmuffs; Aside) Why me? (To Trickster) What do you want?

Trickster: Well, Mirror Master wants a Ferrari, and I want some excitement, so we need your help to rob the jewelry store on Fifth and Main.

Top: I am afraid that you will be disappointed. I am quite busy, and am being pressed to the top of my bent. I have no time for frivolities, Giovanni.

Weather Wizard: Giovanni? Who’s Giovanni?

Trickster: Me.

Mirror Master: You gave the Top an alias when he asked for your real name?

Trickster: (“Offended”) No! I’d never do anything like that! (Pause) I didn’t give him an alias when he asked for my real name. I gave you two an alias!

Weather Wizard: Your real name’s Giovanni?

Trickster: Yep! Giovanni Giuseppi. My family is Italian.

Mirror Master: Then why do you always go by James Jesse?

Trickster: Because Jesse was our family’s stage name from the circus. Since we used an alias in our performances, I got used to being called James, so I eventually decided to just start using it as my regular name. Besides, it’s easier to say than Giovanni Giuseppi.

Mirror Master: Well, whoever you are, clearly, your plan failed. Dillon doesn’t want to get involved in our plan, and so it’ll be a bust.

Trickster: (Aside) Oh, ye of little faith. (To Mirror Master) I’ll be able to get him to come around. Trust me.

Mirror Master: Forgive me if I’m less than convinced. (Trickster walks over to Top)

Trickster: (To Top) What if I told you that there would be something in it for you?

Top: I would still refuse. As I already told you, I am quite preoccupied. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going home.

Trickster: (Stopping Top) Top, old buddy, just hear me out. If you don’t like it, I promise you can leave, but you’ve gotta at least learn what it is.

Top: We are not “old buddies”, but, since you seem determined to annoy me until I listen to what you have to say, I suppose I will give in to the inevitable and allow you to speak. But be quick about it. I am giving you five minutes- tops .

Trickster: You know what? Never mind. It was silly of me to think you would be motivated by something as small as an engagement ring. (Moves out of Top’s way; To Mirror Master and Weather Wizard) Come on, guys, let’s go. I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something else.

Top: What was that about an engagement ring?

Trickster: Oh, you wouldn’t be interested in it, I’m sure.

Top: You are mistaken. Do tell me what you think I will get out of this heist.

Trickster: Are you sure? If you really are busy, I don’t want to bother you.

Top: No, no. I am fine. Please, tell me what you mean.

Trickster: Well, if you insist…..A few months ago, Lisa told me that she saw the perfect engagement ring at the jewelry store that we’re planning to rob, and that she would be thrilled if you proposed to her with it. But like I said, if you don’t want to help us….

Top: (Quickly) If it will please Lisa, I would very much like to help ensure that you come out on top .

Trickster: Great! Glad to have you aboard, pal!

Mirror Master: (Draws Trickster aside) How could you have talked to Glider “a few months ago”? You spent the last six months on a cross-country swindling trip and didn’t get back until three weeks ago!

Trickster: (Aside to Mirror Master) That’s right…..but he doesn’t know that.

Mirror Master: (Aside to Trickster) Clever.

Trickster: (Aside to Mirror Master) I know, right? (Aloud) So, what’s the plan?

Act III

(Enter Wally and Iris)

Wally: Is there anything else you need me to do, Aunt Iris?

Iris: Wally, you’ve already gotten me home from the airport, unpacked all my bags, put everything away, pulled everything out when you put everything away wrong, put everything away in the right places, delivered my letter to your Grandpa Ira in Florida, fixed my car, and repainted the garage. You’ve done enough.

Wally: Aww, it was nothing, Aunt Iris.

Iris: It wasn’t nothing. That was a lot of work, and I really appreciate it. (Pause) By the way, you haven’t eaten much since you brought me home. You should probably get some food.

Wally: Good idea, Aunt Iris! (Wally exits, then quickly re-enters) I love Japanese food!

Iris: Did you really run all the way to Japan just to get food? Wally: Why not? I can get there and back in three seconds!

Iris: (laughs) Oh, Wally. You’ve gotta stop doing that before it rubs off on Bart.

Wally: I think it might be too late for that. He’s already running to New York City to watch off-off-Broadway, after all.

Iris: I know, but now that Barry doesn’t have his super speed, we need to dissuade him from doing that again. We can’t be calling you all the time because we can’t bring him back when he disappears to another continent. Without at least one parent with super speed, he needs to stay close to home so that we can help him if he gets into trouble.

Wally: I don’t mind bringing him home.

Iris: Yes, but I’m pretty sure your boss will mind if you have to keep leaving work to bring Bart home from Namibia or Laos or Bithynia.

Wally: But he knows I’m the Flash! I have to leave work all the time!

Iris: True, but there’s a difference between leaving work to stop crime or save people and leaving work to track down your cousin who went on a joyride.

Wally: Yeah, you probably have a point there.

Iris: As soon as he and Barry get home from their trip to the park, I’ll have Barry sit him down and have a little chat with him about running off to other states or foreign countries-assuming that he can focus long enough to get the message, that is.

Wally: Hey, do you mind if I stick around until they get back? I wanted to talk to Uncle Barry about the Rogues’ latest escape from jail.

Iris: Of course you can stay here! (Pause) And why didn’t you tell me that the Rogues escaped? That always makes for a good news story!

Wally: I don’t really know a lot about how it happened yet, so I guess it just slipped my mind.

Iris: In that case, I’ll have to do some investigating to find out how….after Barry, Bart, and I have our little chat, of course.

Wally: Have I ever told you that you’re awesome, Aunt Iris?

Iris: Not lately.

Wally: Well, you’re awesome. (Phone rings) Sorry! I have to get that! (Pulls out phone) Hello? (Pause) Oh, hi, Mrs. Rowen. Why are you calling? (Pause) Suspension? Why? They’re only kindergartners! (Pause) They did what? (Pause) Well, yes, I’m sure that the school having all its windows broken by dual sonic booms would be problematic, but they don’t know how to control their speed. I know they didn’t do it maliciously. (Pause) $600,000? Wow….That is a lot of money. I’m really sorry. I didn’t even know they were moving at supersonic speeds yet. Did anyone get hurt? (Pause) Two teachers are going to need stitches? Oh, no. I’m really sorry. I’m really, really, really sorry. (Pause) Yes, of course I’ll come meet with you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I’ll be right there. Bye. (Puts phone away) Looks like I won’t be able to talk to Uncle Barry. My kids shattered all the windows at the elementary school when they accidentally created a sonic boom, and now I have to meet with their principal. I swear, parenting super-powered children is a million times harder than fighting supervillains. At least with supervillains, I don’t have to pay for the damages that they cause. I’ve gotta run. Bye!

(Exit Wally)

Iris: It’s at times like these that I’m glad Bart stayed in the Speed Force until he was old enough to know how to control his speed. (Pause) In speaking of Bart, there he and his dad are now. Hopefully, Bart will cooperate with the limits he sets on his travel, because if not, I’m not sure that Barry and I will be able to enforce them. Even Wally wasn’t as impulsive as Bart is.

Act IV (Enter Top, Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard. Trickster is wielding a fearsome rubber chicken and a kazoo)

Mirror Master: Did everyone make it through the Mirror Realm all right?

Top: I feel more than a little nauseous, but otherwise, I am fine, since we managed to arrive at our intended destination.

Mirror Master: What are you implying?

Top: Nothing. It is simply that I would feel far more comfortable if I knew that the realm through which we traveled so shortly ago was controlled by a man who had at least completed his secondary education and who hailed from somewhere other than the part of town colloquially known as “Skid Row”. In all candor, your credentials do not inspire confidence.

Mirror Master: Hey, I might not have your fancy education, but I’m just as smart as you. How else do you think I discovered an entire alternate dimension?

Top: My supposition would be that the goddess Fortuna smiled upon an unworthy candidate with the freakish caprice for which she is known.

Mirror Master: Are you saying I just got lucky?

Top: Indeed.

Mirror Master: You’ve got some nerve, Dillon! I worked for years to learn how the Mirror Realm worked! Just because I’m from Skid Row doesn’t mean I’m stupid!

Top: My experience, and the experiences of my father, would suggest otherwise.

Trickster: Girls, girls, girls . You’re both pretty. Now, let’s start the heist already! I already deactivated the alarms, but they’ll come back on eventually. And besides, I’m bored!

Weather Wizard: Trickster’s right. I already created enough snow to slow down the cops, but that won’t hold them forever, and it won’t hold our friend in the red pajamas at all. We need to hurry.

Mirror Master: Well, if the Top is ready, so am I.

Top: I was not the one delaying us, but I am quite prepared to proceed in our enterprise. (To Trickster, as Weather Wizard and Mirror Master start grabbing jewelry) Where is the engagement ring that my beloved desires?

Trickster: (Looks around at the various rings) Let’s see…..I know it’s around here somewhere ….. (Finds a particularly ostentatious ring and points at it) Oh! There it is!

Top: Are you certain that that is what she desires? It seems a bit gaudy for her tastes.

Trickster: Of course I’m sure! (Aside) And I’m not lying. I’m sure she’ll hate it, and I’m sure that learning that he got outsmarted by a circus brat will take Mr.Phony British Accent down a few pegs. He’s smart, but he’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Top: You have my gratitude, Giovanni. (Takes ring) Is there nothing that you are inclined to take?

Trickster: Not really. I’m here to put on a show, not to take money. (Pulls out bottle of paint) Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to replace the bathroom sinks’ water with paint.

(Exit Trickster; Top analyzes jewelry and slowly begins to select the sophisticated jewelry)

Mirror Master: (To Weather Wizard) I know I said that I was getting a Ferrari, but I’ve been thinking it over, and I think I might get a Lamborghini instead. What do you think?

Weather Wizard: Which one’s faster?

Mirror Master: I’m not sure. Except for a three-day period where I was in possession of W. W. Wiggins’s stolen Ferrari, I’ve never actually owned a car.

Weather Wizard: (Surprised) You’ve never owned a car? How’s that possible? Before I became the Weather Wizard, I was the world’s biggest loser, and even I had a car. I mean, granted, I crashed it into a tree, but I had one!

Mirror Master: (Defensive) I grew up in the inner city. Have you seen the traffic in the interior of Central City? It’s a nightmare! There’s a reason everyone takes the subway to work. The traffic gets so jammed that cars are basically useless.

Weather Wizard: But you still live in the inner city. If there’s no use for one, why do you want it so bad?

Mirror Master: (Angrily) Because I’m tired of being poor! I’ve spent my entire life either in jail or in tiny two-room apartments on Baker Street, and I’m sick of it! I’m sick of always being behind on rent, I’m sick of wearing other people’s cast-offs, and I’m SICK of Roscoe implying that I’m stupid! I want a car because it would be a sign that I finally have enough money to get off of Skid Row! People would have to give me some respect then!

Weather Wizard: If it makes you feel any better, without the weather wand, nobody gives me any respect, either. The only reason that I’m here right now is to earn back the reputation I lost when it broke. I don’t really need the money.

Mirror Master: You don’t?

Weather Wizard: Nah. I won a $20,000 poker game a few weeks ago.

Mirror Master: But you’re terrible at poker!

Weather Wizard: (Shrugs) I was playing against an 18-year-old who had just inherited his daddy’s company and had never played a game in his life.

Mirror Master: And Dillon says I’M the one who gets lucky!

Weather Wizard: Don’t take it personally, Sam. He’s a jerk to everyone-except Lisa, that is.

Mirror Master: What does she see in him, anyway?

Weather Wizard: That, my friend, is one of the great mysteries of life. He’s not even that attractive!

Top: (Comes over) It is not so mysterious as that. Unlike the rest of you ruffians, I am a man of birth, breeding, and education. Our relationship is a great boon for her social status, especially given the “trailer trash” from whence she comes-to use a colloquialism, of course-and I am certainly better company than any of you could hope to provide. Her selection of me as a paramor proves that she, alone among you “Rogues”, has taste.

Mirror Master: (Sarcastically) Yeah, you’re a real prince, Dillon.

(Alarm goes off)

Weather Wizard: Oh, no! The alarm! We must’ve lost track of time, and now the Flash is gonna show up and make me a laughingstock all over again!

(Enter Trickster)

Trickster: Where’s the Flash? He should be here by now!

Mirror Master: Who cares? Let’s get outta here!

Trickster: Wait! I want to fight the Flash! It’s no fun if I don’t get to fight the Flash!

Mirror Master: Trickster, we got what we came for! Now let’s go!

(All exit quickly, Mirror Master dragging a flailing Trickster)

Act V

(Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Top, and Trickster are onstage, sitting. Trickster is pouting)

Weather Wizard: We...we actually did it?

Top: Obviously. We are here and not in jail, are we not?

Weather Wizard: I know that, I just can’t believe that we actually did it! We never get away with heists this big!

Mirror Master: You’re right, Mardon. It’s been over four years since we had a heist that the Flash didn’t stop….and we got away with it!

Weather Wizard: So, what do we do now?

Mirror Master: I….I don’t know. It’s been years since we got away with anything, so I haven’t had a plan beyond “get away” in years.

Weather Wizard: I guess you can buy your car now.

Mirror Master: Yeah. I guess so. (Sighs) It’s so weird that we’re not in jail right now.

Weather Wizard: Tell me about it. I haven’t had a run of luck this good in ages!

Top: It is not so peculiar as you are treating it. After all, I accompanied you on this heist, something I have not often done. It is not, therefore, terribly surprising that you were successful-I enabled you to come out on top .

Mirror Master: Dillon, do the world a favor and shut up. I’m not in the mood for your attitude.

Weather Wizard: (To Trickster) Hey, James, why are you so upset? We just got away with a million dollars! You should be on cloud nine!

Trickster: I’m upset because the Flash didn’t show up! He’s what makes crime exciting! Since he wasn’t there and we did it at night, I didn’t have an audience, and it wasn’t any fun! Besides, escaping changes up the game. How are we supposed to start the game over if we don’t get captured and have to escape again?

Weather Wizard: Now that you mention it, I did feel like our heist was lacking in that rush. It’s hard to feel excited when there’s no danger that you might be stopped.

Mirror Master: Yeah. It’s not enjoyable to beat him when he doesn’t even show up. (Pause) But hey, at least we’re rich now, right?

Weather Wizard: (Without confidence) Right. And I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with something to do. It’ll be great!

Trickster: (Petulantly) No, it won’t. The game’s been ruined!

Mirror Master: How has it been ruined? You don’t need the Flash to trick people.

Trickster: No, I don’t, but it’s not the same. I came back to Central City to play the game, and now the game has been ruined because the Flashes won’t play!

Weather Wizard: (Too cheerfully) Hey, why don’t we go get some ice cream? That’ll make us all feel better.

Mirror Master: Sure, why not?

Trickster: I guess so. But only if I can get gummy bears and rainbow sprinkles.

Top: I will pass on that offer. I have fulfilled my part of the agreement and must get back to work.

Weather Wizard: Okay. More for us, I guess.

Mirror Master: (Mutters) Good riddance.

Trickster: I had better get two dips, too.

(Exit Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard)

Top: Ahh. Peace and quiet at last. (Pulls out cell phone) Hello, Lisa, darling. This is Roscoe. How fares the mission? (Pause) Allen is willing to help you get the cure? Good. Good. Very good. You, my sweet, are a veritable Sarah Siddons. (Pause) Oh, my apologies. I thought that was common knowledge. Sarah Siddons was a famous Shakespearean actress who was renowned for her life-like portrayal of Lady Macbeth in the 19th century, and you are quite as talented an actress. (Pause) Oh! I almost forgot. I have pleasant news as well, honeybunch. I appropriated the engagement ring that you so desired! (Pause) Wait, you never picked out a ring for that purpose? My profuse apologies, sweetums. It seems that I was misinformed. (Pause) Don’t worry, my dearest darling. The pain has been quite manageable, and given what you have just told me, I have no fear for my life. (Pause) Thank you, darling. Your snuggle-bunny loves you, too. Good-bye. (Puts phone away) TRICK-STER!

(Scene change. Enter Wally, in jewelry store)

Wally: Aw, come on! I’m getting sued by the school district AND I let the Rogues get away? Man, this just isn’t my day! (Pause) Oh, well. If there’s one thing that Uncle Barry’s taught me, it’s that a true hero never gives up. I’m sure to find them eventually-especially since they aren’t exactly subtle. (Pause) And if there’s one good thing about all this, it’s that things can’t possibly get worse! I’ll go get a quick snack, and then I’ll find Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry so that we can take down those Rogues- in a Flash!

#wally west #flash rogues #dc comics #fanfic

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