Tumgik
#he finally opened applications for me to apply when I was ready
transvampireboyfriend · 7 months
Text
this was supposed to be a headcanon, just me explaining that I want to see their routines bleed into each others and it turned into 3k words. So, you can also read it on ao3 here. And here are the rings I was visualizing. I hope you enjoy it <3
One of the first nights he stays over, Eddie stands outside Steve's bathroom door and asks Steve what he's doing in there.
He got in before Eddie went to shower across the hall and Eddie's clean and changed into his borrowed PJs now, and Steve's still in there, and it sounds like he's banging pots and pans inside.
Steve laughs, but calls "Don't laugh,"
Eddie swears "I would never," as Steve opens the door, and when Steve comes out with his face covered in green goo, instead of laughing, Eddie gasps.
"What's that?" Eddies asks, his finger already drawing a line across Steve's cheek.
Before Steve can answer, Eddie puts the goo into his mouth.
Steve's eyes go wide as plates.
"Eddie!" he protests "You're not supposed to eat it! What if it's toxic?"
"Is it?" Eddie asks, licking his teeth, "tastes like cucumber. But like, way too clean,"
Steve chuckles, "It is made of cucumber, its a mask. Supposed to keep your skin nice." he explains, going back into his bathroom to cover the strip that Eddie scrubbed with more of the goo.
Eddie does not hesitate to follow after him. Hopping up on the ample counter to observe.
"Well, it's doing its job well, I think" Eddie points out.
Steve tries his best not to smile. "Thanks," he says "You're not freaked out by it?" he asks,
"I think it's cool" Eddie shrug,
Steve can't help his smile this time.
"Well this works out well because I have to keep it on for 10 minutes and this way i won't get bored." Steve offers, "What were you saying about Stevie Nicks before?"
Eddie talks his ear off while Steve tidies up the containers in his counter.
Once it's time to wash the mask off, Eddie watches him, then, he dutifully washes his own hands so he can poke a finger at one of Steve's cheeks.
He says it's cool to the touch and really soft. He approves.
Steve feels butterflies fluttering inside his chest.
☀♡☀♡
After that, it becomes a habit, Eddie goes and showers and changes and when he's ready for bed he comes keep Steve company, knocks twice for Steve to open the door and once he does he walks in and takes his place up on the counter.
A few months after they get together, Steve notices Eddie staring during a lull in their conversation while Steve is going through his skin care.
He's done it before a few times in the past weeks, Steve figured he was maybe off on a train of thought but now he's curious. Eddie's got his head tilted to the side, his mouth is scrunched up like he's stopping himself from saying something and he's fiddling with his rings, and suddenly something clicks for Steve.
He's applying a mask with a little wooden applicator and he extends it towards Eddie, presents it in front of his big beautiful brown eyes.
"D'you wanna try?" he offers
Eddie's eyes twinkle. His mouth blooms into a smirk, his dimples showing up as he enthusiastically nods and cranes his neck forward, like the only possible option is for Steve to apply it for him.
Steve laughs quietly, stepping closer to him and placing a kiss to his cheek.
"Why didn't you say?" he asks, still kissing him, his lips moving against Eddie's cheeks and making him giggle.
"I don't know" Eddie says "What if you didn't wanna share it? You've said before, this stuff is personal"
Steve draws back and immediately goes back in to press kisses against Eddie's other cheek.
"Well, yeah, we have to get you your own stuff if you like it, but you can share mine for now, sunshine." another kiss. "I don't mind." and another kiss "I would love for you to share it actually" he presses one final kiss and draws back to admire his work: Eddie's smile as wide as it gets and Eddie's cheeks tinted with the softest, prettiest red.
"You have to teach me." Eddie demands "I know I've watched you do it since forever, but i don't think I can do it on my own" he adds.
Steve smiles, completely enamored "You've done it for me before. Several times" he points out
"Yeah, with you coaching me through it!" Eddie whines, "I'd mess it all up" he's so serious, Steve finds it incredibly endearing.
Steve chuckles and leans over to press a small kiss against the bridge of Eddie's nose. "Mmkay" he murmurs "we gotta wash your face first"
☀♡☀♡
Little by little, Eddie gets confident enough to do it himself. Once he understands what everything does and sees the effects it all has on his skin, he even picks and chooses the steps he wants to do each day.
Steve loves it so much he can't put it into words. And he loves that he doesn't have to do this alone anymore.
Even when they're apart Eddie calls while Steve goes through his routine, sometimes they do it together but over the phone. Even when Eddie doesn't feel like doing anything at all he still sits by him and they talk about everything and nothing. Steve never imagined something so simple could make him so happy.
☀♡☀♡☀♡☀♡☀♡☀♡
For Eddie, it's even more simple but just as important.
The first time he catches Steve eyeing his rings is while he's being forced to listen to a Tears for Fears record.
Steve insists that they're good, Eddie's been staunchly refusing, but only because he likes seeing Steve get riled up. He gets bitchy and Eddie thinks he's the hottest person he's ever met.
Eddie's been trying to rile him up again as they lay on his bed and listen to the record, but Steve is not listening, his eyes are trained on Eddie's hands as he moves them around to explain his points. Once he figures it out, Eddie goes quiet for a bit, just moves a hand.
Steve's eyes follow it.
Eddie slides his skull ring off his hand and offers a waiting hand.
Steve's hazel eyes look at the ring, then at his waiting palm, then at Eddie. Eddie raises his eyebrows and smiles encouragingly and Steve finally places his hand in his.
Eddie slides the ring on and off three of Steve's fingers before he finds the right fit.
"There you go" he says, his voice quiet under the music. His throat dry from all the places they're touching.
Steve raises his hand above their heads, turns it around as he looks at the ring.
"I like it" Steve decides with a smile.
"You can keep it" Eddie says, without thinking.
Steve looks at him with wide beautiful eyes. "I- I don't" he stammers,
"Oh" Eddie says "I mean, you don't have to. It's okay" he tells him.
Steve shakes his head a little. "It's not-" he seems to have trouble finding the words.
"Give it here" Eddie supplies after a beat, offering up his waiting palm again.
Steve puckers his lips and slides the ring off his hand, places it on Eddie's waiting palm for him to slide it back on.
☀♡☀♡
After that, Eddie expects the looks will stop, maybe Steve just wanted to see what it was like to wear one, that's okay.
But, that same weekend, while they're smoking, lying on Eddie's bed this time, Steve is doing it again, his eyes focused on Eddie's fingers whenever they pass the blunt between them.
Eddie tries a different approach this time.
"Which one do you like?" he asks,
When Steve raises his eyebrows, Eddie raises both his hands above their heads, clicks his rings together.
"Which one do I like the most?" Steve asks,
Not what Eddie said, but-
"Sure" he shrugs, intrigued.
"Hmm" Steve hums, bringing his fingers up to trace Eddie's rings. Eddies tries his best to suppress his shiver.
Steve finally lands on a ring, one with a deep brown stone in it.
"This one." he states quietly.
Wordlessly, Eddie hooks his right pinky around Steve's left index finger and holds on while he twists their hands around to slide the ring off his finger and onto Steve's.
"It's pretty" Steve comments, slowly disentangling their hands.
Eddie hums an assent.
Steve moves his hand around. "Feels heavy." he notices.
Eddie turns his head to look at Steve's face. "Yeah," he confirms.
He waits until Steve looks back at him to offer.
"Do you want that one?" Eddie whispers.
Steve looks into both his eyes, one after the other and the handsomest smile blooms on his face, he nods.
"If I can have it." Steve whispers back.
Eddie clears his throat so his voice is not so hoarse "It's yours" he confirms with a smile of his own.
"Thanks, Eds. I'm gonna buy one for you to replace it" Steve promises, admiring his ring.
"You don't have to" Eddie tells him, "I'm giving it to you"
"I know. I want to" Steve says.
Steve holds their blunt to Eddie's lips again, says "Tell me about your song again" and once Eddie leans up and takes the blunt, Steve hooks their pinkies together.
Eddie tells him about the bridge he found and how he can't quite find an ending.
☀♡☀♡
A week or so later they share their first kiss. Huddled together under Steve's bed covers in the middle of the night.
In between that night and the first time they tug at each other's clothes, tucked inside Eddie's van in the early hours of the morning after a very intense Corroded Coffin gig, Steve continues taking Eddie's rings and wearing them for random stretches of time.
He calls Eddie "sunshine" and Eddie calls him "sweetheart". They cook for each other and then together, they watch movies, they talk after they have nightmares, well into the sunrise. They go for swims and they have picnics and they hold hands.
Eddie takes his rings off to go to the bathroom and often he'll come back to find one missing, or, not really missing, just on one of Steve's fingers. Steve usually gives it back by the end of their hangout or the next day they see each other.
Sometimes, Steve takes the rings right off Eddie's hand and Eddie lets him. Steve tries on each and every one, and keeps his favorite, rearranging the rest on Eddie's hands in some particular way, by size, or by color, or by "symbolism" he said once. Eddie adores him.
Those rings he usually gets back within the week.
Some other times, Steve will have a specific request, he even called Eddie once to ask if he could borrow a specific ring he thought would go well with the outfit he had planned for their date the next day. Eddie was delighted.
The first rings Eddie buys for Steve are an ordeal for him. He's so nervous, afraid that Steve won't like them, or that he won't want to have any of his own (even though he wears the one with the brown stone every day), or that he'll refuse to accept them.
He tells Steve that the girl that helped him said he could exchange them even for store credit if he didn't like them. Which, is a lie, but Eddie can make it happen if need be.
Thankfully, he doesn't have to, Steve loves them. Eddie chose one of intertwined metal bands, one with the phases of the moon around it and one that looks like arms are hugging Steve's finger. Steve especially likes that last one.
After that, Eddie takes Steve with him when he goes shopping for rings.
The first ring Steve buys for Eddie, the one that's supposed to "replace" the one with the brown stone, is a sun signet. Eddie maybe tears up a little bit.
It becomes such a part of them, that soon it's virtually impossible to say whose rings are in their bedside table.
Some mornings one of them is in charge of assigning the rings. Some others whoever gets to the side table first gets to choose his rings and leave the rest for the other. Regardless, Eddie loves to sit down and watch Steve pick out and put on his rings for the day. Taking time out of his day, every. single. morning. When he didn't wear rings before Eddie gifted him one. It makes Eddie want to cling to him and press kisses to his beautiful hair.
Some days, when it's Steve's turn to assign the rings he gets a little too into it. Organizing and reorganizing them in different ways, always in neat little rows until they're five minutes late and Eddie has to force himself to say "Stevie, we have to go" even though he could watch Steve organize things and mumble around the explanations for each method for days on end.
The real kicker though, is when Steve buys rings for Eddie that are more Steve's style. He buys rings for Eddie that he would like to wear himself. Because he knows eventually, he'll end up wearing Eddie's rings, no matter what. It's such a declaration of his intent to stick around that Eddie never quite knows what to say.
Steve also plays with his rings now, just as he plays with Eddie's, fiddles with them, removes them for cooking or cleaning, puts them in his pockets or in his glove compartment, they're a part of him as much as Eddie's rings are a part of Eddie, as much as Steve is a part of Eddie.
Eddie likes when their rings clink together when they hold hands, he loves feeling Steve's rings against his skin, in the small of his back or up his sides beneath his shirt. And he absolutely adores stealing Steve's rings too, slipping them off his fingers and into his own, feeling the residual warmth form where Steve's been going about his day with this piece of metal in his hand, Eddie can think of nothing better.
☀♡☀♡
"Eds have you seen my ring?" Steve asks him one night, coming into the kitchen where Eddie's making them pancakes for dinner.
"You're gonna have to be a little bit more specific, big boy" Eddie answers, flipping a pancake.
"No, Eddie" Steve presses, the panic in his tone finally registering and Eddie immediately turns to look at him.
His hair is a mess, like he's been pulling on it, even though he was in the middle of his shower when Eddie left him to come make dinner.
"Oh," Eddie says, finally understanding he means the ring with the brown stone. "I don't have it baby, where did you see it last?" Eddie asks, turning off the stove.
"I left it in the bedside table!" Steve explains, clearly frustrated "it's not there anymore, and it's not on the drawers or on the bed or in the floor or behind the door. I don't know where it is." he finishes, tears forming in his eyes.
Eddie hates seeing him so stressed, he walks up to him and runs his hand up and down his arms.
"We'll find it sweetheart, it's okay. Did you check under the dresser?" Eddie asks.
There was a dresser in their house when they bought it, inside their bedroom. Apparently, the previous owner did not want to deal with the trouble of getting it out and as it turned out, neither did Steve and Eddie. It was a beautiful vintage piece of furniture and it was heavy as a motherfucker.
"Oh. I didn't?" Steve says, "How would it get all the way there?"
The dresser is placed across their bed, so in the wall opposite their bedside tables.
"It seems crazy, but it's happened with a couple of mine" Eddie tells him, "I'm telling you, this place is on a slant" he says, already grabbing Steve and tugging him towards their bedroom.
"Fuck, I hope it's there" he mumbles.
"It will be," Eddie assures him
"What if it went down the drain?" Steve anxiously asks,
"You almost never leave your rings in the bathroom, handsome"
"But what if I did?" Steve insists,
"Then I will go down to the sewers to get it for you" Eddie tells him as they enter their bedroom.
Steve goes to get on the floor but Eddie brings their joined hands to his lips and presses a kiss there, says "Here, I'll look" and gets on his hands and knees in front of their dresser.
Sure enough, there's a small shadow at the very back, the object nearly touching the wall. Eddie comes up to tell Steve and bangs his head against one of the dresser handles.
"Jesus!" Steve exclaims, rubbing Eddie's head for him, "Is it there?" he asks.
Eddie scrunches his eyes shut against the pain and gives Steve a thumbs up, "Mmhm, I think so," he confirms, "You have a ruler on your desk," he tells Steve
Without needing another word Steve goes and gets it for him.
When Eddie finally fishes the ring out, Steve grabs it and clutches it to his chest
"Ohmygod. Thank you" he says, leaning his head against the dresser.
Eddie gets up off the floor and drags him to stand in front of him as Eddie sits in their bed.
Steve takes a couple of moments to breathe deeply, letting go of the last dregs of his panic. Eddie clings to Steve's waist and noses his shirt up to kiss the scarred skin on his side.
Steve finally chuckles softly, bunches his fingers up at the top of Eddie's head.
"Does it hurt too much?" he asks, rubbing at Eddie's head again.
Eddie shakes his head.
Steve switches to petting his hair and softly laughs "God, I almost got a heart attack"
Eddie chuckles, leaning his chin on Steve's stomach to look up at him.
"I love you" he reminds him.
Steve traces his dimples, says "I love you", then grabs one of Eddie's hands from his waist and slides the ring on his hand.
"It's your job to take care of it now. When I'm not wearing it" Steve tells him.
"I will." Eddie promises.
Inevitably, Steve ends up taking care of Eddie's sun signet whenever he's not wearing it, just in case.
The longest they wear those rings for the other is a few months, between getting engaged and exchanging them again at their wedding ceremony.
1K notes · View notes
valeskafics · 11 months
Text
"Sweet to Me" - Professor!Aemond Targaryen x Professor!Reader
Tumblr media
a/n: a new mini series lmao fml
Summary: You get a job at Citadel University and meet public enemy number one (at least to you) - Aemond Targaryen.
TW: profanity, innuendo, she/her pronouns, AFAB reader, fingering, public fingering, aemond being cunty, office affair ig, slight degradation kink oops
Word Count: 2,353 words
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.
Tumblr media
Getting a job at the most prestigious university in Westeros is no easy feat, especially in the field of political science. You graduated at the top of your class from Winterfell University and knew you wanted to teach from the moment you took your first class. Your professor, Brandon Stark, was so passionate about the material he taught, no matter how dry it was, that he made you feel passionate about it too. And that’s the kind of professor you’ve always aspired to be.
When Citadel University had an opening after a recent retirement from their political science department, you knew applying was a long shot. You’re young, without the amount of teaching experience you’re sure the other applicants have. But when you interview with the head of the political science department, Daemon Targaryen, he sees something in you. Perhaps a reflection of himself when you were his age. You’re charismatic, friendly, and a hard worker. Your letters of recommendation are excellent and, in spite of your young age and relative lack of experience, you have had yourself published in quite a few journals.
So Daemon hires you.
You soon learn that there’s more than a touch of nepotism that goes into the hiring of professors at Citadel U, judging by how many Targaryens are professors there.
Professor Aegon Targaryen. Art History Department.
Professor Helaena Targaryen. Biology Department.
And finally?
The bane of your fucking existence. Professor Aemond Targaryen. Political Science department.
Yes, same department as you, aren’t you lucky?
The first time you meet Aemond Targaryen goes as well as can be expected. You sat in the chair he deemed unofficially his at a department meeting. Of course, he walks up to you, in that white button-down with his sleeves rolled up ever so slightly to reveal his forearms. Gods, this guy is one of those academia sluts, isn’t he? You look up at him, getting ready to introduce yourself. He’s kind of hot-
“You’re in my seat.”
Oh, this fuckin’ guy.
“I’m sorry,” you smile at him, a little too sweet for his taste, your red lipstick stained lips curling into a feigned smile of politeness, “I wasn’t aware that there was assigned seating, Mr…?”
“Professor,” he corrects, “Professor Aemond Targaryen. And you are Miss…?”
“Doctor,” you take the opportunity to correct him, “I have a PhD in Political Science. Doctor Y/L/N. Pleasure to meet you.”
From that day on, you two become sworn enemies. It’s melodramatic and it’s stupid, yes, but gods it’s fun making that man squirm, humbling the egomaniacal asshole like he deserves.
For your part? You resent how seriously Aemond is taken by the academic community. He’s dedicated to his work, most certainly, and he’s well-educated. But he doesn’t have a doctorate. Yet, somehow, everyone seems to think he’s this paragon of intellectualism, the epitome of what a perfect college professor should be. For fuck’s sake, you want to cry out, the man is a nepo baby, he clearly should’ve been required to get a doctorate before being allowed to teach. But, with how wonderful Daemon is as a boss, you choose to say nothing and seethe in silence.
You also resent how fucking attractive he is. Those glasses he wears that sit on the bridge of his nose - fuck, that nose itself… You remember what your best friend Sara said about guys with big noses… And when he rolls the sleeves of his dress shirt up, like he had that first day… Gods, his fucking hands, so big, and the intrusive thought occurs to you that they’d make a very nice necklace-
And Aemond?
He resents that he was the youngest professor at Citadel U before you showed up, taking his title and all of the attention that goes with it. You with your little fucking pencil skirts and stockings with high heels that make your ass look like it deserves to be on the cover of a magazine. You with those red-stained lips that seem to smirk at him disdainfully no matter what he does. Your shrewd, calculating gaze that haunts his fucking dreams.
He’s also more than a little resentful of how easily you get everyone to adore you. Your students practically worship you, while his are completely terrified of him, though he doesn’t stop to think that this might have to do with his own actions as well. He watches as you befriend his older brother Aegon, developing a close friendship, both of you having such an easy way about you. How Daemon treats you almost as his protege of sorts. You’re easy going and friendly when it comes to anyone and everyone.
Except for him.
It’s funny, he thinks, how your attitude does a complete 180 the minute he enters a room. From being warm and friendly, you immediately switch over to being snide, snarky, and combative. You’re always ready with a quick insult or some backhanded compliment. He doesn’t think you’ve given him one sincere compliment since the day he met you.
Aemond sits at his desk, entering grades for the most recent midterm exam he gave one of his classes. He’s known for being a notoriously harsh grader and, on more than one occasion, you’ve noticed students leaving his office in tears after having asked for extra credit or a re-grade. In all honesty? You realize that he just wants his students to succeed, as much as you do, the two of you just have different ways of going about it.
However, you’d drop dead before you ever fucking admitted to that.
You sit in the Political Science department lounge, eating the last yogurt from the fridge. Strawberry. His favorite flavor. You snicker to yourself, knowing he’s going to throw an absolute fit the moment he gets in here. You’ve chosen to leave one extra button undone on your blouse, showing the slightest hint of your black lace bra, enjoying how fucking flustered he gets in the middle of an argument when he glances down at your cleavage.
Play to your strengths, right?
You smirk to yourself, sipping your coffee as Aemond walks in, the door slamming open. You pretend to be minding your own business as he walks to the fridge, letting out a strangled noise of annoyance when he sees the strawberry yogurt is all gone. It takes every ounce of self restraint you have in you to keep from laughing at the sound. So fucking dramatic.
You hear him crossing over to the table where you sit, the legs of the chair beside you scraping against the floor as he pulls it out and takes a seat, glaring at you, “The strawberry yogurt. Really? Was that entirely necessary?”
You turn to face him, taking another spoon of yogurt, smirking to yourself as you part your lips, letting out a low moan as you taste it, making Aemond’s eye go wide, “I just love strawberry yogurt, sorry, Aemond. I think I saw some mango.”
“If I wanted mango,” he manages to say through gritted teeth, “I would’ve picked up mango. I wanted strawberry.”
“Well,” you let out a dramatic sigh, “That’s just too bad, isn’t it? So sorry, Professor Targaryen, but it would appear they’re fresh out.”
“You’re doing this just to piss me off,” he grinds out, though his eyes don’t leave your lips.
He swallows thickly as your tongue pokes out to lick your lips, his eyes then traveling along your delicate neck to your chest, where he notices you’ve left one more button undone than usual, making his pants feel as if they’re a bit too fucking tight right now, “How’d your midterm go?”
“C plus average,” Aemond says, clearing his throat and looking away from you, “And yours?”
“Oh, wow, mine was an A minus average,” you give him a cheeky smile, “Something wrong with your teaching methods?”
“No, Doctor,” Aemond spits the title angrily, glaring at you, “Perhaps I just make more of an effort at grading my students fairly than simply telling them what they want to hear. They can call me harsh all they want, but they’ll retain the knowledge from my class in a way they won’t with what you teach them.”
“You know,” you muse, “Maybe if you were a little less harsh with your students, your nickname wouldn’t be Professor Cuntgaryen,” you smile at him, saccharine sweet, as you continue eating your yogurt.
Aemond looks almost offended at you bringing up his campus nickname and begins trying to come up with an appropriate response, “And maybe if you were a little more harsh with your students-“
You glance at your wrist, as if looking at an invisible watch before giving Aemond a catlike grin, “Oh, sorry. My daily time limit for talking to people I dislike is all used up. Same time tomorrow?”
Aemond scowls and watches you sashay away, insisting to himself that he is NOT admiring your ass in that pencil skirt. Not one bit.
Then, a slip of paper “falls” out of your hand. And you bend over to pick it up. Right in front of him.
Shit. Alright. Maybe he’s admiring your ass a little bit.
His eye is glued to your form as you leave the lounge, and leave him entirely on his own.
Later that day, a bunch of the professors get together for drinks, celebrating the end of grading midterms. It’s a fun little tradition, one that you actually started. Aemond never partakes, of course, being too sophisticated in his own mind to go out for drinks with his peers. You tease him that he just doesn’t know how to have fun.
But tonight? He finally decides to join all of you. Though he wishes he didn’t, considering how cozy you look sitting in the booth you all occupy, planted between his brother and Cregan Stark. And judging by the looks of it, Cregan seems to want to get even cozier, considering he’s looking at you like a wolf ready to devour its prey. 
You continue talking to Cregan, his eyes trained intently on you as you speak, chatting about his abnormal psychology course.
“You’re more than welcome to sit in,” Cregan offers, giving you a grin, “It would be a welcome change from all the freshmen who think they’re going to be the next Clarice Starling and only ask questions about serial killers.”
“Oh, I’d love to sit in on your class!” you smile at him excitedly.
“It’s a date then.”
The words hit Aemond like a punch to the gut. He does not like the idea of you going on a date with Cregan Stark. Not even if it’s just to his fucking classroom to watch his stupid fucking lecture. Aegon meets his brother’s eye and seems to be able to pick up on what he’s thinking.
“I’d love to join too, can I come with you?” Aegon grins, tossing a lazy arm around you, “Still a date?”
You grin at your colleague, and closest friend, nodding, “Yeah, maybe Cregan can evaluate whatever is going on in that nasty little brain of yours.”
“I mean,” Aegon lets out a low whistle, “I’m Freud’s wet dream, let’s be honest.”
The entire table cracks up laughing at his comment, continuing to chat and have a good time. Aemond notices you haven’t touched your drink, nor has he. He recalls Aegon mentioning you’re usually his designated driver, and realizes that must be why. You get a phone call after sometime and excuse yourself to answer it.
Aemond watches you go, as does Cregan. The two stare at each other for a long moment, neither willing to back down.
When you return, Aegon slides in, taking your prior seat beside Cregan, gesturing for you to sit on his other side, between him and Aemond. You cringe slightly and take the seat, doing your best to ignore Aemond. But it’s hard to do that when he rests his hand on your knee, his forefinger drawing small circles on your bare skin. You choke on your drink and Aegon slaps your back, leading you to raise a hand, signaling to him that you’re fine. Aegon shrugs and returns to chatting with Cregan while Aemond’s hand moves further up, under your skirt.
You take a sharp breath, though luckily, it goes unnoticed by everyone.
“You have such a bitchy little attitude when it comes to me. But you’re so sweet to everyone else,” Aemond murmurs against your ear, his breath warm against your skin, “I think if I fuck that attitude out of you, I can get you to be sweet to me too. Don’t you?”
His fingers trail over the lace fabric of your panties, pressing against you over them, rubbing ever so slightly, though it’s nowhere near enough. You grit your teeth as he continues working his fingers against you, the fucking tease, before suddenly? He moves your panties slightly to the side and pushes two fingers inside you. And gods, his fingers are so fucking long, they hit spots inside of you that you didn’t even know existed. Aemond continues, smirking to himself as he listens to you try to answer Aegon’s questions about your plans for the upcoming spring break.
Aemond begins moving his fingers faster and faster until he adds a third, hearing you gasp under your breath, brushing it off to Aegon as it being your watching the football game on TV.
“Really?” Aemond muses, staring into your eyes, “What’s the score then, Doctor?”
He knows damn well you aren’t watching the game.
“21…” you swallow thickly and manage to say without moaning as he begins rubbing the heel of his palm against your clit.
“21?” Aemond mocks, “21 what? Goodness, how did they let you graduate with that kind of attention span?”
“21-7, asshole,” you say through gritted teeth as he pinches your clit, your orgasm overtaking you, washing over you harder and more intensely than ever before, the pleasure curling up in your gut being almost too much to bear.
“Well done, kitten,” Aemond murmurs against your ear, “Next time? I won’t be using my hands.”
856 notes · View notes
amberlynnmurdock · 9 months
Text
Blind Faith
Chapter 3: Temperance 
Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader
Chapter Summary: You get private self-defense lessons from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, who you call Mike now.
A/N: The POV switches a bit frequently in this chapter, between Matt and the reader. I tried to make it as clear as possible. Basically, if you see Matt's name when he's with the reader, it's from his POV. But if it's just described as "he" then it's the Reader's POV. Thanks to all for the kudos you've left on this so far <3 this fic is in its beginning stages but I am really excited to see it through. Enjoy! P.S. This entire series takes place after Season 3 of Daredevil, but Matt kept the black suit.
Chapter 2 here
Tumblr media
Hell’s Kitchen
8:00 AM
You hated mornings.
You specifically hated mornings when you were hungover. Your phone alarm woke you up obnoxiously. Groaning, you slammed your finger on the button to shut it off, worried it might wake your friends.
The bright 8 AM sky of Hell’s Kitchen shone directly in your face. No amount of blankets covering your eyes could keep the darkness inside, and you forced yourself to wake up knowing your sleep was well over. You stretched in bed and reached for your phone again on your bedside table.
You scrolled through your notifications.
The Daily Bulletin posted a new article about new restaurants coming to Hell’s Kitchen this summer. You scrolled through mindlessly as you tried to stay awake. You had a few emails from professors, wishing you a happy graduation and good luck to prospective law students. You remembered your job searching app and that you had one new message from one of the firms you applied to.
Nelson and Murdock: 1 view, 1 new message.
You clicked open the message:
Hi __,
Thank you so much for applying to be our new legal assistant. Of all the applications we received, your resume stood out the most to us at Nelson & Murdock. We’d love to have you come in for an interview next week. Does Thursday at 4:00 PM work? We look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Karen Page
Office Manager at Nelson & Murdock
You couldn’t help but smile at Ms. Page’s message. Finally! I get to have some experience working in the legal field before applying for Columbia Law.
You quickly typed out your message:
Dear Ms. Page,
Thank you so much for reaching out! Of course, I would love to come in for an interview. Thursday at 4:00 PM is perfect. Thanks so much for your consideration.
Regards,
___
You added the interview to your calendar and immediately texted your friends’ group chat the exciting news.
Hell’s Kitchen
8:30 PM
You wanted to go out with your friends, but you had other plans for tonight.
“I can’t believe __ is skipping out on tonight!” Hannah exclaimed as she was getting ready in the bathroom. You looked up from the LSAT book in your lap from the couch and mustered up the most convincing shrug.
“If I want to be a successful lawyer, I’ve got to get into law school first. Columbia, no less. That means studying for this Godforsaken test,” you held up the textbook in your hand and clumsily dropped it in your lap.
“Oh, you’ve got the whole summer to study,” Emily pried, dabbing her lipstick on.
“Better start now, then,” you retorted. The truth was, you were absolutely not going to get any studying done tonight. But it was unlike you to decline a night out with your friends, so you used the LSAT as your excuse. You had other plans… of course, if your savior decided to actually show. Who knows? Maybe vigilantes also played games like every guy you’ve ever met at NYU.
“Well, we’ll miss you,” Bella said as she walked out of her room. You smiled at her.
“The bright side is if you guys need me to pick you up, I’ll be sober to do so!” You tried to reason with them.
“True, though we may crash at Ben’s place. Depends how the night goes,” Hannah explained. You nodded, thinking that might be preferable, but you didn’t say so.
You waited patiently, hiding behind your textbook for your friends to leave for the night. Luckily, they decided to get dinner before going out. You would’ve been jealous had you actually needed to study, but the thought of seeing your savior was too exciting to be jealous about anything else.
As soon as they locked the door, you hopped up from the couch and changed out of your pajamas and into a relaxing outfit of leggings, a sports bra, and a hoodie.
It was 9:30—only thirty minutes until your secret meeting with the man in the mask on the rooftop of your apartment building.
Office of Nelson & Murdock
Earlier that day
“Okay, who’s ready to hit up Josie’s tonight?! Karen, Matt?” Foggy Nelson cheered as he slammed his hands on the conference table. Karen Page laughed in her seat as she leaned back in her chair. Her strawberry blonde hair was pushed to one side of her neck.
Matt Murdock suppressed a smile and paused the case file he was just listening to on his Orbit reader.
“I might be inclined,” Karen thought, leaning forward on her desk. “It would be nice to have a drink after coming in to work on a Saturday…”
“Oooh, yeah,” Foggy squinted his face, “sorry about that. I mean, it’s a good thing we’re getting a lot of clients but at the same time, we don’t have enough people here to talk to all of them,” Foggy explained. And then, he remembered something. “Hey, did that applicant ever reply to your message?”
“Oh!” Karen pointed a finger, “Let me check. Ahh, okay! Yes, wow, she did. Uhh, so she’ll be coming in for an interview next Thursday. I just calendared it.”
“Yes!” Foggy put his hands into fists. “Karen, I trust your judgment, unless you want Matt or I to sit in on the interview.”
“Either works. Whoever’s available, I guess,” Karen nodded.
“Cool. So, Josie’s tonight? Matt?”
Matt shook his head.
“I’ve got plans,” he simply said, a smirk on his face. Foggy rolled his eyes.
“Come on, man,” Foggy begged, “you can’t take one night off?”
“I—I can’t,” Matt answered, “I promise next time I’ll join you guys. But not tonight.”
Karen sighed. Matt knew neither of them was pleased with his nighttime activities as they called it, but they’d be happy to know that wasn’t entirely what he was up to tonight—then again, he’s not sure they’d be happy to hear what else he had planned. That was a secret he wouldn’t tell.
“Just let us know if you’ll need us, okay?” Karen asked. Matt nodded.
“Of course,” he said.
“Alright well, guess we’ll hit up Marci to join us,” Foggy suggested.
“Matt, we trust you’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be fine,” he reassured them.
“Well then, I’m going to get a head start on Josie’s martinis. Karen, let’s get outta here.”
Hell’s Kitchen
10:00 PM
You stood by the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the people who walked the streets. You never came up here at all. Sometimes, you and your friends would take pictures up here, but that was it. Being up here alone felt different—it felt like a hideaway. There you were, watching as stores began to close, and bars began to open up. You could see the lights from Times Square in the distance. You shivered when a cool breeze passed.
And then you were startled by something—a thud, somewhere around the back of the rooftop access. You turned around in defense mode, waiting to confirm the identity of what the noise was.
Then, he appeared. Out of the black, into the soft light that reflected from midtown. His black shirt hugged him so tightly, you could see the outline of his muscles on his chest, his abs… his arms. His face was of course covered by the mask, but you saw his lips and the light stubble he had. His hands were wrapped in rope, like a boxer's. He wore black pants and boots to match.
“I wasn’t sure if you would come,” you decided to speak first as you walked toward him. You stopped after a few feet. The man in the mask walked toward the edge of the roof and sat on the edge, facing you.
“I keep my promises,” he replied. “It’s the Catholicism.”
You raised your eyebrows in surprise, “you’re Catholic? And you act outside of the law? Seems like a subjective way of justifying things.”
“I don’t think about it too much,” he responded with a shrug. You eyed him suspiciously.
“So, before we begin,” you cleared your throat to keep the mood light, but truthfully he was making you nervous, for some reason. He had a smirk on his face you wanted to wipe off. “Why did you agree to come here and teach me how to defend myself?”
He was quiet for a few moments.
“You had a convincing argument, from what I remember,” he said.
“That can’t be enough to come out of your way and onto the rooftop of my apartment. Surely, you have more important things to do. So, why did you come? And don’t say it’s because of religion, because that’s bullshit.”
“Maybe I wanted to,” he returned. Your heart pounded when he said this. You were thankful it was dark out, or else he might’ve seen your blush. “And you know, it’s important you know how to defend yourself.”
“Hmm,” was all you said. You pressed your lips together. “Do you give all the girls you’ve saved before private self-defense lessons?”
He laughed. You liked how his laugh sounded.
“You’re my first student,” he said in a low voice.
“So, what should I call you? In my head, I’ve been calling you my savior.”
He smiled, then he got a bit serious.
“Call me Mike,” Mike said.
“Well then, Mike,” you walked closer to him so you were no more than a foot away. You crossed your arms and tilted your head. “I’m a quick learner.”
Mike pushed himself off from where he leaned, so the space between you shrunk even more.
“I don’t doubt that.”
~~~
“Show me what you’d do if someone were to approach you in front of you,” Mike ordered, placing his hands on his hips. You squinted your eyes at him, thinking.
“I’d try to do this,” you began as Mike pretended to “attack” you. You took your arms and tried to hit him away, but he grabbed you by your forearms and steadied you from losing your balance.
“That’s how they can get a hold on you, as I do now,” Mike explained, with a sly grin on his face. “Instead, you want to make sure you move both your arms to one side and do a swiping motion, so they can’t grab you. Try again.”
He got back into position as you did. You braced yourself as he came to you, holding up his arms. You did exactly what he said before, and moved your arms in a swiping motion, gently hitting his arms away.
“Don’t be afraid to hurt me when we do this. I want you to fully grasp how you’d handle yourself, God forbid, you ever had to,” Mike stated. “One more time.”
You repeated your stance as before, and this time, you aggressively swiped his arms away, feeling your forearm clash against his.
“Good girl,” he smiled in satisfaction. Your heart was pounding again in your chest. You weren’t sure if it was from his comment, or that self-defense training was like a workout. You huffed as you caught your breath.
“And what if they anticipate that? What next?” You asked, genuinely curious. Mike thought for a moment before answering.
“Then you have to use your legs,” he replied. “Let’s try that. Give me your arms,” he held up his hands. You raised your arms, and like slow motion, he wrapped his fingers around you, pulling you closer to him. You gasped at the contact. The tip of your nose barely touched his.
“Listen carefully,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve got your arms. You’re going to want to slip from under, using your whole weight.”
You nodded your head, understanding him. His grip on your arms tightened. You took a deep breath and then plunged, slipping out of his grasp.
“Now stop!” He halted. “Raise your right leg and try to kick my shoulder.”
“I don’t know if I can stretch that much,” you stressed.
“You can. This is life or death. Just try it,” he urged you.
You raised and kicked your right leg, hitting his shoulder and using the weight to push him away. He nodded and clapped his hands.
“Exactly that,” Mike smiled.
“I need a water,” you uttered, “I don’t know how you do this every night. Do you need a water?”
“I could use a water,” Mike answered.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Trotting down the rooftop access stairs, you hurried for two water bottles from the fridge. You glanced at the clock—11:30 PM. Sheesh. Time flies when you’re learning self-defense.
Upon entering the roof again, you were confused to not find Mike where you left him. You scanned the roof, looking for him. Did he leave?
Suddenly, a dark figure came charging at you. You dropped the water bottles and immediately went into defense mode, realizing it was Mike. You thought fast and swiped his arms immediately, swaying him to the side.
“That was a test,” Mike said out of breath.
“Jesus!” You exclaimed, “You scared me!”
“That’s how fast an attacker will be. Out of nowhere, and just like that,” Mike explained.
You shook your head, picking up the water bottles from where you dropped them. You handed one to Mike.
“Let’s take a break, shall we?”
~~~
Matt contemplated coming tonight.
There was something wrong about why he chose to come to you, to fulfill his promise. When he started his activities, he told himself he’d never get attached to the people he saved—never get emotionally involved. He would strictly leave it to business: stop the criminals, and save the innocent person. But for some reason, with you, he couldn’t let go.
The second time he saved you was a complete accident…fate, as you had said. He was in a completely different part of town, and you so happened to be in the same area. He remembers hearing your voice, dignified, yelling at that punk kid to leave that innocent girl alone. He recognized your voice immediately. Matt’s hearing was so sensitive, even after hearing someone’s voice once, he could pick it out in an entire crowd. He liked that you talked to him; that you weren’t afraid of him in his suit.
And still, he wasn’t sure if coming tonight was a good idea. Because he knows he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from coming again.
And now, here was, on your rooftop, sharing a bottle of water with you. He sat against the wall, knees pulled up. You sat next to him with your legs in front of you.
“Don’t you ever get tired?” You suddenly asked in a soft voice. Matt tilted his head to listen to your body. You were calm now. You weren’t when he first showed up. Your heart was beating steady. She feels safe. She is safe. He could smell a lingering scent of your perfume on your skin. It smelled like black cherry and vanilla.
“Of what?” Matt asked in return.
“You know,” you shrugged, “expecting to be everyone’s savior.”
Matt shook his head, “not really. It’s easy to not get tired when you’ve accepted this as your purpose.”
“It’s your purpose, to bear the burden of other people’s situations?”
Matt laughed, despite himself. “Maybe.”
“Well, if you ever need someone to share that burden with—I’m right here,” you told him. “Even though I don’t actually know who you are.”
He smiled a little. “It’s better that way.”
“Is it?” You questioned. “I mean, you could literally be anyone. You might be one of my professors and I might not even know it. Actually, I’d hate that. I take it back,” you shook your head. Matt laughed again.
“I promise I’m not one of your professors.”
“Phew,” you said. “Well, who are you?”
“A New Yorker, like you.”
“I guess that counts,” you smiled. “How old are you?”
“Oh, come on,” Matt sighed.
“What? These are valid questions. I won’t figure out who you are, but I can know basic information. Can I guess? You’re definitely older than me.”
Another reason why this felt wrong. He wasn’t that much older than you—about seven years.
“I’m not that old,” Matt argued. You laughed.
“I didn’t say you were, Mike.”
“Let’s try another defense technique,” Matt said, changing the subject. He stood up from sitting and held out his hand for you. You grabbed it and he pulled you up. He let his hand linger in your touch before he let go again.
“Okay,” he said, “turn around.”
“What?”
“Turn around,” Matt repeated. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” you answered. Matt listened to you closely. You weren’t lying. You turned around.
“Do you mind if I…get close?”
It was your turn to pause. “No.”
“Okay,” Matt took a deep breath. He listened to you closely again, and using his senses, he took you in. He knew your hair was down. He slowly raised his hand and moved your hair to one side, revealing a part of your neck. He felt your goosebumps rise at his touch. You shivered. Matt pretended not to notice. He placed both his hands on either side of your waist, bringing you snug against him, so your back was against his chest. You felt warm against him, and delicate. He slid his arms underneath yours so he rested at your collarbone. He was completely holding you against him now.
“You okay?” He whispered in your ear. You took a shaky breath.
“Yeah,” you said in a small voice.
“Someone could come up from behind you, and grab you like this,” he held you tighter for emphasis. “Similar to before if they got hold of your arms, you have to slide out from underneath. And kick back, too.”
“Okay,” you said in understanding. “Let me try.”
Matt anticipated your moves. He felt your muscles tense as you braced yourself to slide down. And you did, quickly. You exited his restraint, and he didn’t feel warm anymore.
“Good,” Matt said, “exactly.”
You caught your breath. “Can we do it again?”
Matt nodded, motioning for you to come to him.
You slid easily back against him, like putting on a glove. It was like your body melted against his, the way you sunk back into position. You rested your head in the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath.
Matt could feel every muscle you had relax when you did this. It was then he slipped his arms under you again, holding you tightly—but not in the way he instructed before, a different way. He held you tighter against him and touched his covered nose on your temple. He took a deep breath, and instantly, like inhaling a drug, you filled his senses to the max. Your fragrance was intoxicating. He listened to your heartbeat slowly pick up its pace until it was pounding against your chest. He heard you take your own deep breath, as you sunk even more into his body.
It took everything in him to practice self-restraint. He repeated Bible verses in his head, the longer he held you.
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28.
“Ready,” Matt whispered.
~~~
You slipped out of his grasp, and you were almost successful, but he held onto your right hand. Mike kept holding on, and suddenly, you were pulled right back into his grasp. This time, facing him, you collided flush against his chest.
He was breathing heavily, and God did you wish you could see his face underneath that mask. His mouth was slightly parted, and you were breathing heavily. You felt Mike’s strong arms snake around your waist, pulling you closer to him. His nose gently touched yours. You felt his hand run up the length of your spine before it rested on the back of your neck. And then, his lips were on yours.
The kiss… you felt his stubble tickle your face, but you didn’t care. His lips crashed into yours, which you accepted gracefully. His lips were soft, but his kiss was rough. Needy. Curious. It was intoxicating, being kissed like that. The closest thing to describing it was like a brand new day. It was like exploring a new universe, where only the two of you existed. Yeah, that’s what it felt like right now. You weren’t in New York City, on your rooftop anymore. It was you and him sharing this kiss, with no one else to see. In secret. His head tilted to the side to take more of you in. You breathed in sharply, desperate for more.
And then, he pulled back and rested his forehead against yours.
“Was that your plan all along?” You asked suspiciously.
“No,” Mike answered. “It wasn’t.”
“Good,” you said, “because that’d be messed up.”
Mike laughed.
“I fear we are way past messed up now, sweetheart.”
Hell’s Kitchen
1:00 AM
Your friends stumbled into the apartment. You were on the couch, LSAT textbook in your hand. You kept reading and re-reading the same paragraph over and over. Your mind kept replaying your moment with Mike, just an hour ago.
“There’s our girl,” Hannah walked in the living room, plopping on the couch next to you. Bella made a beeline for the fridge and Emily sat on the floor, turning the TV on.
“How’d studying go?” Hannah asked drunkenly.
You sighed and closed your textbook.
“Terrible,” you answered with a knowing smile, “I’m in deep trouble for this test.”
136 notes · View notes
barcingmatter · 1 year
Text
The Beginning (Star Witch Au)
"-And thats why I can't become a witch."
The middle aged person across from Danny hummed quietly for a moment, sipping at their tea while he looked back down at the book in his lap, the title 'A Witchlets Guide To Apprenticeship' taunting him.
"And your parents won't let you apply for the public mentorship? There is one in Amity Park that's always accepting applicants," they set their cup down, looking through the tea leaves left in the bottom.
Danny set the book on the table to join the others he'd been picking through. The library's decent selection on becoming a witch only frustrated him.
How was he supposed to put any of the books to use in his situation?
He huffed, sinking into the plush chair. "No, they're only willing to consider it if I can manage to get a private mentorship. They're only doing it because they KNOW I don't know anyone who can do mentoring. They want me to give up and become a scientist like them," he droned.
The person across from him didn't look up from their tea leaves, like they were looking for something.
"I'm curious," they began, "why do you want to become a witch so bad?"
"Well- its kinda- I mean most people think it's kinda childish-"
"I assure you even if it's childish it won't mean any less."
Danny turned to them and they finally looked back, porcelain cup abandoned on the table. "I... I wanna be worthy of the stars."
They raised an eyebrow. "Worthy of the stars?"
The library was quiet for a moment, save for the subtle 'tick, tock' of a pocket watch hanging from the elders necklace.
"The stars guide people who are lost, and they tell stories and preserve history. They're always there, they help people, kinda... I wanna be like that. I wanna be like the stars, and I wanna know them," he explained.
The elder stood, leaving their cup in its place on the table and picking up one of the books Danny was looking through before their conversation began. "Not many witches do private mentorships outside of family or monetary gain. It would be easier for you to give up and listen to your parents wishes. You might not be good enough to make it to an academy anyways, much less gain an artifact."
Their pocketwatch ticked just a bit faster.
Danny glared at his pile of books, "it would, but that would be stupid. If I gave up on it now I'd probably hate myself for the rest of my life. And then I'd die and still hate myself for not trying." He picked up one of the books and cracked it open, ready to start looking for something, maybe a loophole that would work.
"Alright," they smirked, standing in front of the boy. "I'll mentor you."
The book tumbled to the floor as Danny looked up at the person quick enough to give himself whiplash, "huh?"
"You need a mentor, and I am certified to do so. I only have one condition," they grabbed their necklace, flicking open the pocketwatch.
Danny scrambled to his feet, half sure he was having some weird lucid dream, "yeah anything! Well, not my soul but I mean other than that-!"
"If I mentor you, you will not be allowed to quit. You'll have to push through to graduation, no matter what."
Icy blue met muted red, and Danny nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course! I'm not gonna give up, not when I actually have a chance!" He grinned, hands trembling with energy. Could this really be happening? Could he finally have his in?
"Well then, Daniel-"
"Wait how did you know my name?"
"-I'm clockwork, and I'd be happy to take you on as my apprentice."
They stuck out a hand, Roman numerals and curved lines running along the skin from the palm until it disappeared under a sweater sleeve.
Danny grabbed it, shaking perhaps a bit too excitedly.
The pocketwatch stopped ticking, the stars shone a tad bit brighter, just for a moment.
The tea leaves at the bottom of an old porcelain cup resembled a star.
⏳️____✨️
And that marks the start of danny becoming a witch in this au!
This au is based off of this post I made.
To make it make a bit more sense, in this au magic is practiced by humans and exists parallel to science and the modern world, kinda like little witch academia. Anyone can become a witch but you have to have completed a year long mentorship (at least) to qualify for any magic academy.
Only certain witches are qualified to be a mentor, with it essentially like being certified to be a teacher. Most mentors do public mentorships, mentor a specific family, or get hired on a witch by witch basis.
Clockwork just so happens to be certified, and as a time witch they knew that in quite a few timelines they'd mentor Danny, so they arranged it so they'd 'coincidentally' end up at the library at the same time as the kid trying to look into mentorships. Totally coincidental, not at all staged. Time magic.
Let me know if you want more of this au!
157 notes · View notes
tryan-a-bex · 7 months
Text
A Reunion in the Dreaming
1274 words, Gen, fluff and cheesecake, no dragons. Thanks to @aetheltrythh and @best-wishes for beta reading! Based on this post by @windsweptinred and a prompt by @violetoftheendless; thank you! @themirokai also wrote a version of this reunion, how cool! More cake! Unity's situation is based on Desires well-tended are a hearth by @dancinbutterfly. Read it on AO3.
“Rose! Jed!” 
Unity’s eager greeting floated from where she stood waving beside the picnic she had spread out under a stately maple tree in Fiddler’s Green. Rose blinked as her mind adjusted from regular dreaming to the lucid dreaming state that let her visit with her great-grandmother in the Dreaming. Looking around, she saw Jed beside her also blinking, and watched his face transform into a huge smile as he saw Unity.
“Nana Unity!” he cried, running over to give her a big hug. The joy in her eyes as she snuggled him almost brought tears to Rose’s eyes as she walked over more sedately, joining them in a group hug when Jed and Unity refused to relinquish each other. Laughing, they finally separated and turned to the picnic. 
“Ooh, cherry cheesecake!” Jed exclaimed. Rose had shared with Unity that Jello cheesecake from a box had been Jed’s favourite when he was little, and Unity had asked Lucienne for help replicating it in the Dreaming. It seemed to have turned out well, and Jed’s reaction was especially gratifying. Enthusiastically, they all settled down to catch up over an open-air meal. 
“My manuscript is almost ready to go to the editor,” Rose shared excitedly. At least this was one deadline she wasn’t late for! She reached for a fresh strawberry in celebration.
“And how is your application for grad school going, dear?” Unity asked, pouring some lemonade for each of them.
“I’ve applied at three schools–they all have very good reputations for their Creative Writing Master’s.”
“Excellent!”
“Yeah, my buddy Joe wrote this great story about a monster robot praying mantis!” Jed interjected. “He was telling it during soccer practice. I got a goal that day, it was super awesome!”
“Wonderful!” Unity beamed at Jed’s accomplishment, and Rose glowed with how happy and settled he was becoming. As he dug into the cucumber sandwiches and sipped his lemonade, Rose turned to Unity.
“How about you, Unity? How have you been?”
“Oh, my dear! It’s so lovely to visit with Desire again! They made me happy for over a hundred years while I was asleep, and Dream has been so kind as to allow them to continue seeing me now that I am back!”
“I’m so glad for you!” Rose said. “But I thought Dream and Desire didn’t get along very well?”
“Well, no, you know, they didn’t. But I asked for them specially, and Dream was able to allow it, as long as Desire stays with me. Dream’s been visiting too, you know, at my request.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes! I thought he could use a grandmother, you know. He needs taking care of!”
“Hey, look! What’s that?” Jed pointed as a big green bug leapt out of the grass. “Oh, cool, a grasshopper!” He ran over to see if he could catch it, and crowed with joy as he startled a handful more from the grass. Rose leaned back on the blanket, full of joy at watching him regain the simple childhood pleasures he had almost missed out on.
“For example,” Unity continued, watching Jed chase the grasshoppers, “just the other day, Dream was looking kind of down, when he came for tea, and when I asked him about it, he confessed. He was feeling guilty that it bothered him that Hob was leaving his dirty socks on the floor, and he just didn’t know how (or even whether) to talk to him about it. You see? A grandmother is just what he needs.” Rose and Unity chuckled as they sipped their lemonade, but Rose was actually quite glad that Dream was finally willing to ask for and receive wise advice from time to time. 
Suddenly, Jed came running back to them.
“Look, look, what could that be?” He pointed at a couple of dark shadows high in the sky. “Dragons, do you think? Will I get to see the roc today? What if it’s a pterodactyl?” 
Unity squinted at the sky and nodded in excitement rather than agreement. “No, I think it’s something much better than any of that!”
“What?!” Rose laughed, “Better than dragons?”
“Yes, look!” Unity said as the shapes grew closer and larger. “It’s my friends, Lucienne and Gault!”
“Oh, yes, Lucienne is even better than dragons! I remember hearing Gault’s name before,” Rose mused. ”Wait, was she the one…?”
Rose’s words dwindled off as she watched Jed run toward the two women, raven and fairy wings now clear, carrying them closer to the picnic under the tree. Jed doubled back as they passed low over him, and he ran up laughing as they came in gracefully for a landing several feet from Rose and Unity. 
“Rose! Unity!” Lucienne exclaimed. She came forward to hug each of them in turn, followed by Gault who also embraced Unity. 
“I think we’ve met,” Rose said to Gault as they came face to face.
“Yes,” Gault confirmed, turning to include Jed as well. “We have met, though not under the best circumstances.”
“Wait, I remember you!” Jed tilted his head, scrutinizing the dark, glowing fairy before him. “You’re what mom turned into right before the King of Nightmares took her away.”
“Yes.” Gault smiled gently at him. “I never was your mother, I only looked like her for a time. But I did enjoy the time I spent with you, and I’m so proud of how courageous and strong you were in all of your dream adventures. I see you’ve met your real life adventures just as bravely since we were parted.” 
A thoughtful look crossed Jed’s face and he hesitated–looking around at the four beautiful women gazing at him fondly and surrounding him with love–and found his courage once more. “I have a request. Can you be Mom again? Just for a minute, so I can say goodbye to her?”
“Oh, Jed,” Rose said. “You know it won’t be Mom? Are you sure it will help, and not just make it harder for you?”
Unity nodded. “It’s hard to say goodbye to people. Sometimes saying it out loud with someone else there helps. But living in a fantasy will not help you heal.” 
“I know. But she helped me a lot, when I was at that place, and I want to say thank you.” 
As the women all nodded in understanding, Gault transformed into the shape of Miranda. Jed’s smile broke open like the sun coming through clouds, and he threw himself into her arms. They hugged for a long moment, as tears ran down everyone’s cheeks. 
“Thank you. Thank you so much for helping me there,” he said, his face buried in her chest. “Thank you for not leaving me alone.”
“You are welcome. I’m so proud of you for being so brave, and I’m so happy about how well you are doing now.”
Jed stepped back, knuckles swiping away the tears prickling in his eyes. “Goodbye, Mom.” He nodded, and Gault transformed into herself once more. Suddenly he threw himself into her arms once more. Startled, she embraced him back. “I hope we can be friends,” he said this time.
“Of course!” Gault wiped a tear from her cheek as her face also broke into a glorious smile. “I’d love to be your friend, Jed!”
“Oh, excellent!” Unity exclaimed. “Now that we’re all friends, everyone sit down and help me eat this cheesecake!” They laughed, brushing the tears from their faces, and sat around the blanket.
“So, how have you two been doing?” Rose asked as Unity handed out cake.
“You wouldn’t believe,” Lucienne answered with a smile. “The other day, Merv got himself into such a scrape…”
For the rest of that story, read Fireflies and a Missing Person. @carnelianmeluha I described the food (a little bit) just for you, but it's very simple: cherry cheesecake, cucumber sandwiches, strawberries and lemonade. The cheesecake box link is in the endnotes! @thesandwomen this is really early for your October event and it's not a femslash. But. I was thinking of you.
38 notes · View notes
amiharana · 11 months
Note
literally all of them AJBDJWBD ok but 15 has so many soft domestic vibes 🥹🫶 and 17 literally link seeing revali cry for the first time omgg revali finally learning how to be emotionally vulnerable w link
(ask game from here)
since i wrote more of a headcanon list of what both revalink's bedtime routines look like on this post for @noraiir-arts, i'll do a drabble kinda thing that's like a moment in their routines for 15 lol
🛌 15. Going through their bedtime routine.
"i just don't see why it's necessary," link says, watching revali cut open a second sheet mask. he already has one on his own face, carefully spread and applied across his gorgeous tan skin. link thinks it makes revali look like he's shedding a layer. "your skin's already nice."
"how do you think i keep it nice?" revali says, carefully removing the sheet mask out of its packaging. "my skin's very sensitive, you know, it requires quite a lot of maintenance to keep it this refreshed and clear. you're lucky that you only need to shower and splash your face with water to keep it that way. who knows how you survived using 3-in-1 body wash your entire life."
"hey, i didn't know that it was bad for you," link grumbles and crosses his arms. "i thought it was more efficient to have it all in one than have to buy it all separately..."
revali rolls his eyes. "mhm. now lay down, so i can put the face mask on you."
link complies easily, the tension leaving his body and his eyes falling shut as soon as he feels revali's fingers, gentle and warm across his jaw. then suddenly, he feels a layer of ice spreading across his face and he squeaks, flinching.
"stay still," revali says, tapping link's thigh.
"it's cold!" link whines back, squirming. "you didn't tell me the face masks were cold!"
"they're cold because i keep them in the fridge and your body is a piece of the sun that fell onto earth," revali replies. "of course it's going to feel cold."
link continues to shiver until he finally gets used to the feeling of the mask on his face. revali continues adjusting its application, smoothing or stretching it out in some places until he's satisfied with the way it sits. "there we go," revali says softly. "good?"
"mhm," link says. he can barely move his face with the mask on. "how are you able to talk with this shit on?"
"you get used to it," revali replies. he lies down beside link on the bed and intertwines their fingers together. "now, we wait for thirty minutes and let the serum sink in."
"does it really take that long?" link says, nose wrinkling. the mask shifts due to the movement and he reaches up to smooth it back down.
"i've fallen asleep with them on before. but it's better to let it stay on longer than shorter so the skin can absorb it."
link hums and they both fall silent. with their fingers still intertwined, revali rubs his thumb against the base of link's. their room is quiet, except for the sound of music playing softly from link's phone. he complains plenty about how revali takes way too long to get ready for bed, but moments like this where he can participate in it with revali are link's favorite.
"thank you," revali says suddenly.
"hm? for what?" link says. he struggles to enunciate it; talking with a sheet mask on is difficult.
"for doing this with me. you didn't have to." revali's voice is quiet, almost shy.
link wants to smile under the sheet mask, but he doesn't want it to get messed up again so he resists. "it's something you like to do, so i wanna do it with you too."
he feels revali squeeze his hand, a silent "i love you". "just don't fall asleep," revali says out loud instead.
this time, link can't resist smiling. "no promises."
💧 17. Link has never seen Revali cry, so when he does, Link struggles with how to react.
when link comes home, the house is quiet. which is usually how it is, even if revali is home before him, but at least his boyfriend is being quiet somewhere where link can see him as soon as he comes in. at least revali will call back when link announces he's home, but he hasn't and it's making him nervous.
"'vali," link calls, slipping his shoes off and pushing them onto the shoe rack they keep by the door. "where are you~!" still no response. it puts link on edge immediately. "'vali?"
revali isn't in the living room or the kitchen, so link moves further into the house. he's not in the office or in the backyard, but his car was parked in the driveway so he has to be home. the last place revali would be is the bedroom, so there link goes.
but he's not prepared for the sight before him when he does.
revali is seated on the edge of the bed with a leg tucked underneath him, a look of despair and tears marring his face. he turns his head to look up at link when he hears him enter the room, but says nothing, staring and tears continuing to streak down his face.
link feels like his lungs have been severed from his esophagus, the air he's so desperately trying to breathe in blowing his chest up like a balloon instead. he's never seen revali like this; revali, whose natural facial expression is a scowl and narrowed eyes. or revali, who reserves his softest, most loving looks upon link. this expression on revali's face now... it feels like the world has fallen out of balance.
he knows he should go to revali, hold him tight and close, and comfort him like revali would do for him, but link can't move. he's rooted to one spot, eyes wide but unable to tear his gaze away from revali.
link's throat is dry, but he gulps and still attempts to speak. "you okay?"
for a moment, revali continues to stare. then he sniffs and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "yeah, i'm fine," he mumbles, looking away.
moving feels impossible, like he's trying to swim through quicksand, but slowly, link moves forward towards revali until he's seated in front of him on the bed. "...you wanna talk about it?"
revali stares blankly into space, unresponsive. a streak of fear wraps itself around link's chest as he searches revali's face, for any change in expression because this is terrifying.
"'vali?" link tries again in a whisper.
and this time, revali looks at him directly. but his face is scrunching up, his eyes welling with tears as he sniffs deeply again. "sorry," he murmurs, "i— just, it's—" fresh tears roll down his cheeks again and a sound that link has never heard before escapes from revali's throat, one that should have never made a home within revali in the first place.
"oh, 'vali," link whispers and he lets his instincts take over. he crawls forward into revali's lap, wrapping his arms around revali's neck and legs around his waist, holding him tightly. that's when the dam finally breaks and revali lets out the most gut-wrenching sound that link has ever heard him make, beginning to shake and cry openly into his shoulder. he holds revali tighter, letting him cry as much as he wants; it's the least that link could do. "it's okay, i'm here, reva."
eventually, revali's crying comes to a stop, but he's still holding link tightly with his arms around his waist, breathing softly against link's neck. link just strokes his hair, pressing kisses to the side of revali's face where he can reach. it's still a couple minutes before revali can find the words to speak again.
"it's the anniversary of my parents' funeral," he murmurs against link's neck. and it makes link stop in his tracks. oh. "i realize that i never actually talked to you about them. i'm sorry."
"that's okay," link murmurs back, continuing to stroke revali's hair. "you don't have to if you don't want to."
revali pauses for a moment. "i want to," he says softly. "i want you to know about them."
his tone somehow makes link's heart flutters. "okay," he replies in similar volume. "i'd like to, as long as you're comfortable talking about it."
"if it's with you, then i am," revali says. he takes a breath before talking again. "both of my parents died when i was six years old. i... don't want to talk about how they did, but i remember being at the funeral. at the time, i didn't really know what was going on but even as a child i understood grief and sadness." revali's voice grows quieter. "they were all i had, but i can barely even remember them. it's pathetic, i know."
"no it's not," link says softly. "you were still really young and it's a traumatic experience. you can't fault yourself for not being able to remember."
"but they were my parents," revali whispers. "they're the people that gave birth to me and were supposed to take care of me, and all i have to remember them by are legal documents and pictures. i can't even do them justice in memories."
link doesn't know what to say at first. it's an incredibly difficult subject to broach, after all. "even if you can't fully remember them," he decides to start, "i think they would love to know that you're trying. they've probably been watching from above and are so proud of you, because you have so much to be proud of, you know? you're so talented and clever and very handsome, might i add—" revali snorts — "they probably would have been proud to see you grew up well even without them. they would still love you."
"you really think that?" revali murmurs.
"the great revali? uncertain about his greatness?" link says teasingly. he pulls back a little to look at revali's face, whose eyes are still red from crying but hold a fond look. "they would, 'vali. anyone would be proud to have you as a son."
after a beat, revali pulls him back into a hug, squeezing him tight. "thank you," revali whispers. "i appreciate it."
"of course," link replies and turns his head to press another kiss to revali's jaw. "i'm here for you always." they're both quiet for a couple more minutes, content with just holding each other close until revali speaks once more.
"i'm sorry, by the way," revali says into the skin of link's neck. "i probably worried you since i wasn't there to greet you."
"that's okay," link says, his eyes closed. "i get it now after you told me. so don't feel bad anymore, i'm here with you now and i always will be, no matter what. i love you, 'vali, more than anything."
"i love you, too, songbird," revali whispers back. "thank you."
link hums. "i'm gonna get some water for you and then how about cuddles?"
"that sounds... nice." revali's face shifts its position under link's chin. "do you have to leave to get the water, though?"
he giggles. "do you wanna come with me to the kitchen, then?"
"i think we should skip the water and go straight to cuddling."
"nuh uh, you have to rehydrate after crying so much. you do the same to me when i cry."
"...whatever."
link giggles again and then sits back, pulling on revali's arm. "come on, let's go. the sooner we get water, the sooner we can cuddle." revali rolls his eyes but stands up with link and complies. even after all that, revali is still too weak for link and for his cuddles.
39 notes · View notes
fallinallincurls · 2 years
Text
A Heart of Love & Pride
this is a short but super sweet blurb for @stroopwaffle8​ who sent me the soft thought last night. i had a lot of fun writing this and hope you love it. congrats again!!
hope you enjoy!! feedback is always appreciated! xx
word count: 948
~~~~~
Tumblr media
It’s only an email. But you know the moment the little notification is cleared and you look at the contents of whatever that simple email may say, your life is going to be changed for better or for worse.
Over the last several months, you’ve been putting in countless hours of work to apply to nursing school. It had always been a dream of yours and while sending the application in was only half the battle, the anticipation and hope that has been building over the past two weeks has only made finding out feel even more significant.
And now it’s here. The long awaited email.
You’ve been pacing the living room for half an hour, but it feels like an eternity. A million thoughts race through your mind as you keep a tight grasp on your phone. Nate’s at practice, one of the last few before the finals, so despite how you’d prefer him to be here with you for this, you push away the idea of calling him. He’s this close to reaching his own dream which means your support and love is necessary for him more than ever.
But before you have a chance to think any further on the decision, the front door opens and there’s your boyfriend. He’s home early, not that you’ll complain because the timing couldn’t be any better. 
“Hey, babe.” Nate says, flashing the crooked smile reserved only for you. A sense of relief washes over you at the sight of him. He looks unbelievably cozy in his hoodie and joggers, blonde hair perfectly tousled and blue eyes sparkling with happiness. As long as Nate’s here, nothing can go wrong. In no time, he’s wrapping you up in a tight embrace and pressing a tender kiss to your lips. There’s nothing but love flowing through your veins, but Nate immediately picks up on the anxiety still evident. “What’s going on?” He asks, one hand cradling your cheek.
“I got the email about nursing school.” 
“And?” Nate questions, excitement seeping into the single word. He swears you have nothing to worry about. There’s no one smarter or more deserving of this than you.
“And I haven’t opened it yet. It’s a little terrifying.” You admit, leaning into your sturdy boyfriend for a moment of comfort.
“Let’s do it together then.” Nate suggests before pulling you to the couch, making both of you giggle uncontrollably. You settle on his lap and he keeps his arms wrapped around your waist as you unlock your phone. His eyes flicker between your face and the way you navigate to your email app, warmth filling his chest. It doesn’t matter if you got in or not, he’s still going to be incredibly proud of you.
The little blue dot and words seem to be taunting you from the screen, making the anxiety bubble even more. With a deep breath, you speak again which surprises Nate a little bit.
“Can you open it? I’ll read it, obviously, but I think it would be better if you actually opened it.” Nate nods before you’re even done speaking and he kisses your temple before murmuring sweet words that make you feel slightly less nervous.
“Okay,” Nate breathes out, finger hovering over the phone screen. “Ready?” This time, you nod and Nate doesn’t hesitate to click open the unread email. Immediately, your eyes are scanning over the many tiny words and your heart stops when you find the most important line. 
“Holy shit, Y/N! You did it, ohmygod!!” Nate exclaims, a bright smile blossoming across his lips. 
“I got in! I got in!” You almost scream with joy, turning to squeeze Nate in a big hug. His chuckle fills the air as he secures you close to his body and stands from the couch, only to spin you around in a circle. You can’t help but laugh, trying your best to memorize every detail of this exact moment.
You did it. You really did it. All the hard work paid off. 
When your feet touch the ground again, Nate’s blue eyes meet yours and he kisses you as if there aren’t enough words to express how amazed he is. He breaks away too soon for your liking, but pulls you close in a hug that warms your chest like nothing else.
“I knew you could do it, baby. You have no idea how proud I am of you.” Nate whispers, each word dripping with genuine adoration and happiness as he peppers your face with little kisses.
“Couldn’t do it without you, bubs. You know that.”
“We have to celebrate! This is a huge deal.” 
“What are you thinking?” You tease when that familiar look crosses over his face. The one that means he’s putting together some kind of plan.
“Dinner at your favorite place, celebratory ice cream and a few surprises for the bedroom later.” Nate smirks, kissing your forehead. “Now, go get ready. We can’t be wasting so much time for something so important.”
A string of giggles fall from your lips as you head towards the bedroom with a heart full of love, thanks to your boyfriend, and pride, knowing that you got into nursing school which is one step closer to your dream.
“Y/N?” Nate calls out suddenly, making you turn around to face him again. A deep blush colors his cheeks and that smile you love so much is still in place. “I’m really proud of you. I can’t say it enough.”
And with that, you know no matter how hard things may get going forward to reach the end result of what this decision means, you’ll get there with Nate by your side.
144 notes · View notes
thotsforvillainrights · 2 months
Text
-Straight From The Heart-
Tumblr media
~Chapter 4~
By the next morning his mood and schedule had shifted considerably within just a few hours all because of you. He now spent more time checking his phone than he’d ever done in his life. He was waiting for that first text from you while silently battling his inner urge to text first. ‘Listen to Chitose, play it smooth’ his thoughts dragged on as he scanned the notifications again. “Damn, still empty.” He sighed as he plugged his phone up and headed into the shower. Today should be as easy as ever given that he only had to head to the office and answer a few phone calls here and there. In all reality, his team would handle everything for him for now. He really wished you’d taken him up on his offer to work at the office. Then he could train you while having an excuse to spend more time with you as well. He smiled at the thought of lunches with you becoming a regular thing as well as driving you around if you’d allow it. As he scrubbed himself in the shower his mind continued wandering but it always seemed to land right back on the thought of you. What was your favorite food, color, song, show or movie? What did you like doing for fun? What were you up to right now? If he was truly as desperate as he seemed then he would’ve brought you up to Skeptic and had the man put you on his camera radar. 
Maybe he could...
‘No no no, play it cool. Take things slow.’ He reminded himself as he washed the suds away. He stepped out of the shower and dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading to the mirror. He reached under the bathroom sink and pulled out his hairdryer. The sound of the wind was so loud that he nearly didn’t catch the small ding of his phone going off. He instantly recognized the text tone and quickly shut off the dryer before rushing to the room and snatching his phone off the charger. His eyes sparkled when he saw it was from you! Finally his first text from you! He slid the screen open and quickly prepared to reply. 
Tumblr media
Only for a moment did he forget he was a grown man by the way he squealed and squeezed his phone tightly to his chest. He caught glimpse of himself in the mirror and blushed before immediately clearing his throat and regaining himself in the process. He texted you that he could be there soon and rushed back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. Usually he’d taken pretty good care of his appearance but today he’d stretch it just a tad bit further. He made sure his hair was perfect and his mustache was trimmed neatly adorning his top lip. He shaved himself down, applied his most expensive cologne from his collection, applied his skin care, and picked out his most pressed suit. He took one last look at himself in the mirror before cleaning his glasses and placing them on his face. When he was finally satisfied with his appearance he’d headed to his car and made his way to your apartment strictly from memory. He wasn’t sure where to go from there but luckily you’d came out of the lobby when you spotted his car pulling up and parking. He quickly got out of the drivers side and beat you to the door so he could open it for you. “Thank you.” You mumbled as you got into the car. He tried to contain his excitement once he strapped himself back into the driver’s seat and started out to his offices. He didn’t bother turning the radio on as he opted for small talk instead. “So what made you change your mind about the whole thing again?” You sighed and rubbed your arm while turning to look out the window. “Well I figured that I really didn’t want to sit around the house during the job hunt any longer. It’s been driving me absolutely insane having to put in application after application. While I’m still unsure about being paid under the table, I suppose there’s no harm in things. If we’re being honest with each other right now...I really need the money too. Just don’t judge me on that okay?”
“No judgement needed haha. I wouldn’t pay you if I didn’t think you needed it.” 
A lie.
“If it makes you feel better then I won’t go overboard with the money.”
Another lie. He was planning on secretly spoiling you as soon as he got the chance. 
As soon as he made it to the offices he’d parked in his designated spot and looped around to open the car door for you again. “I see no shortage in chivalry eh? Does it get to be that way with age or did you adapt to putting on a good face for the press and your voters?” You teased him and he laughed lightly. “Perhaps.” He closed the door behind you and had to mentally stop himself from reaching out and grabbing your hand. “Follow me and I’ll give you a quick tour.” You nodded and followed dutifully along his side, observing everything you might deem important later on. He showed you the emergency exits, the bulletin board, the various desks and where you’d be working (rather close to his office door), the parking spots and break room, etc. He lead you into his office and showed you around there before chatting with you some more. “I’m going to start you off with a receptionist position but there is room to grow and expand from there if you find something you’re good at. Usually you have to work for it but because I don’t know how long you’ll be here, I’ll promote you as soon as you want me to. There are any number of roles you can take on! Field organizer, finance director, chief of staff, the possibilities are endless! You just give me the word and I’ll put you there.” He reassured you as you scoffed a bit. “Wow...that’s definitely a lot to take in. It’s really unfair when I keep thinking about it and all the people that’ll be affected by something like this. Are you sure you’re really willing to stick your neck out for a stranger like me?” You became a little nervous thinking about the whole thing but when he was the boss, who could call him out on his practices. “Pay it no mind. I don’t mind doing things like this for you. You’re not a stranger after all. You’re 5 cent Y/N!” 
“God, if you keep calling me that then this’ll be the last term you run for office for.” You playfully flicked the dangling strand of hair and he laughed. “Mr. Hanabata? Might I have a word with you?” A voice called out making the both of you turn your attention to his office door. There stood a rather short girl, chubby with a lovely sense of fashion and a nice haircut to fit. She wasn’t timid but rather...gentle instead. “Ah Shoko, please enter.” His demeanor changed from playful to serious as he took a seat at his desk. You stood to the side and watched the two interact. Shoko took another look at you from bottom to top before turning her attention to Hanabata. “My apologies but may I ask who this is? A new hire perhaps?” Hanabata smiled and looked down at his twiddling thumbs on the desk. He silently prayed you didn’t notice the pale pink dusting his cheeks. “Yes, this is Y/N. Starting today they’ll be our temp receptionist. Should they consider staying permanently is all up to her/him/them.” He smiled lightly at you and you returned it. Shoko cleared her throat. “But sir, no offense but you didn’t run her/him/them by the HR department to conduct an interview or anything like the sort. Do you want to carry through with that now?” Your stomach lurched at the thought of having to sit through another interview. Luckily he’d spoken up on your behalf. “Nonsense Shoko! I don’t need to run everything by HR yknow. Besides, I interviewed Y/N just the other day, right Y/N?” He smiled at you and you’d caught onto his lie. “Yes...sir.” Shoko looked uneasy at everything but didn’t have to question anything else as Hanabata spoke up again. “Good! Now that’s settled, Shoko please take time to show Y/N to their desk will you? Y/N on your desk there will be a phone with various lines. Just connect line 8 if you have anymore questions. That’s my line and I’ll be happy to help. Welcome to the team.” He smiled cheerfully.
4 notes · View notes
a-wildemusing · 2 years
Text
The Three of Us: Nervous
word count: 652~ its v short i know. lol
genre: Kenma x platonic!reader, Kuroo x Platonic!reader.
warnings: nothing I can think of. probably any mistakes.
summary: It’s Kenma’s and Yn’s third year which means it’s time to worry about college applications and getting accepted. Yn has been anxiously been waiting for the acceptance email to show up and when it does, they go to their favorite restaurant with their two best friends to see if they got into their university of their choice. 
a/n: this is part of a series I’m doing, called the Three of Us. It’s made up events and adventures with being best friends with Kuroo and Kenma. Hope you enjoy!
The Three of Us. ✨ Masterlist. ✨
---
“Oh god. I think I’m going to throw up.” You said feeling a little anxious.
“Y/n. You need to relax. Everything is okay. I mean Kuroo was accepted, so why not you.” Kenma said nonchalantly.
“Hey…” Kuroo looks over to Kenma shaking his head.
You sighed, “You’re right. If Kuroo was able to get accepted. I’m pretty sure I would be accepted too.”
“Hey!” Kuroo said too. You started laughing and you leaned on him placing your head on his shoulder.
“I’m joking.” you gave Kuroo a side hug.
“I’m not.” Kenma remarked.
“Are you all ready to order?” All three of you looked at the waitress that returned.
You, Kenma, and Kuroo were all sitting at your favorite restaurant, you got an email today and it is your acceptance letter. You saw the notification and you rushed to the group chat.
“And I think that will all be it for us.” You placed the menu down and smiled at the waitress.
“Okay, got it! Thank you, I will have your water and drinks soon.” The waitress left.
“What was I saying before?”
“Mocking me,” Kuroo remarked.
“Oh yeah,” you paused to chuckle, “I think I will wait until the food is here to read the email. So good or bad news, I will still have good food.” You gave a satisfied smile.
“And we’ll be here for moral support for the good or bad outcome.” Kenma offered.
The waitress returns and places the water and sodas on the table. Kuroo thanks her and then turns to Kenma.
“Did you get any emails from the colleges you applied for, Kenma?” Kuroo asked.
“Hm, yes I did. I got rejected by two, but the rest I got accepted. Just need to pick.”
“Wow. only reject by two.” You teasingly said, "Out of how many?”
Before Kenma could answer you the waitress comes back with some of the food.
“Here we go! Be careful they are hot plates.” She slowly sets down everything. “That’s everything. Does anyone need anything else?”
“I think we are good, thank you.” Kuroo gives a charming smile to the waitress. Kenma and you share a look and playfully rolled your eyes. Kenma gave you a small smile.
“I guess, it's time.” You open your email app. Your finger hovering above the email. “Okay! Okay. I don’t think I can do this. Someone read it for me.” you placed your phone on the table. Kenma reaches over and grabs your phone and your hands go straight to your eyes to cover them.
“Kenma, give it to me. What does it say?” You said. But Kenma doesn’t say anything. You slightly move your fingers away from your eyes and look at him.
“Kenma,” Kuroo chirped in.
Kenma finally looks up from your phone–his face looking grim. You dropped your hands from your face. Your heart was going to drop. You knew it was hard to get into the university, but for a moment you thought you had a chance.
“Joking. You got in.” He reaches over and hands you your phone. “Congrats,” he gives you a smirk.
“Dude...” Kuroo started laughing.
“I-I-” You started trying to speak. “Kenma! You legit don’t understand how my heart dropped just now.”  The dread was slowly starting to fade. “Dude you legit owe me one for scaring me like that.”
“I mean you had me too,” Kuroo said. “But yes congrats are in order!” Kuroo grabs you and hugs you tightly.
“I’m feeling so much better! All that nervousness is gone.” You sighed in contentment. “Now! Come on let’s grub.” You gave heart eyes to the different dishes of food on the table.
Kenma and Kuroo nodded in agreement.
The three of you started to eat. All that hard work you have done paid off. You got into the school of your dreams. This was going to be a new chapter in your life.
---
bonus~ 
“Can we get dessert?” You asked the two boys. 
“I’m down for dessert.” Kuroo adds. 
“Me too.” Kenma speaks as he pushes the door open to exit the restaurant. All three of you stood now outside of the restaurant on the side walk.
“And Kenma is paying!” You chirped in. 
“What?” Kenma started to laugh. 
“You owe me for scaring me, remember?” 
“Mmhm. but only you Yn.” 
“I’m offended!” Kuroo dramatically says, “First the mocking, and now I’m being left out with this free dessert.” 
You started laughing and wrapped each arm around your best friends, and led them to start walking. Kuroo just playfully rolled his eyes. 
end notes~
-this was inspired from true events. couple years ago, i was with my fam at a vegas buffet lol and my cousin just got the email saying if she got accepted to grad school and she made me read it bc nerves. and i trick her bc why not. it was pretty funny bc we were kind of buzzed from drinking.  
-also wanted to write this bc i’m going back to school and yeah lol 
tip jar?
23 notes · View notes
deathwife · 2 years
Text
acceptance
neil from tenet x f!reader. word count idk, that's how i operate. word estimate? short.
summary: you have a huge surprise for your boyfriend, one which ends in a surprise for you, too.
a/n this is just a silly little short thing that i wrote. no warnings but still, 18+ only on my blog, thank you.
Tumblr media
Today was the day, finally. You had been waiting for this for months, working hard and spending way too much money on stamps. Today, you would find out if your labor had been worth the time.
A thick, creamy envelope sat in the mailbox, embossed with the name of the prestigious university that your love dreamed of attending. At the beginning of your friendship, your now-boyfriend had expressed a desire to pursue a scientific doctorate, at the very university whose correspondence had just arrived. He'd always been busy, though, and not entirely certain that he could qualify for the program, so you'd taken it upon yourself to apply for him. Secretly, you had obtained all of his transcripts and credentials, had found his draft research proposal, and you had written his essays and cover letter. You paid for the application and sent it off, staying in touch with the university and sending over anything they asked for. The verdict was in, and you were holding your breath. You snatched the envelope and ran back inside, locking yourself in the bathroom. If it wasn't an acceptance, you would never tell him.
You ran the shower to cover up what you were doing, hoping he wouldn't get lonely and come looking for you. Your hands shook, making it difficult to get the envelope open and take out the papers, but you managed it. The words on the page blurred together in your anticipation, but you got the message-- Mr. Neil Smith, thank you for your application to our physics Sc.D program. We are delighted to extend to you an invitation to join us this fall. It took everything in your power not to scream at the top of your lungs. He did it! He was in! Oh, god, you had to move, had to uproot everything, but it would be worth it. Your sweet angel was going to get to live his dream.
You took a quick shower to cover up your excuse, and headed back to the bedroom, where Neil was reading in bed. "Angel," you said, smiling when his head snapped up at the sound of your voice. "Get ready. I want to take you to lunch."
"What's the occasion?" he asked, setting his book down still open.
"I have to have an occasion to take my one true love out for food?"
He blushed, as he always did when you called him your true love. You knew he adored hearing it from you, since his feelings for you were so strong. "You have a point. Give me a half hour?"
"Of course. Wear something nice."
His eyes narrowed. "Okay, there's definitely an occasion."
"Shut up, just get ready!" You tried to keep from getting too wound up too early.
When he left the room, you took the envelope out from under your sweatshirt and stuffed it into a purse, making sure it was completely concealed. You had never been so happy, apart from the day that Neil had told you that he loved you for the first time. Your heart fluttered today the way it did then, knowing that your life was about to entirely change for the better. You wondered how often you would have this feeling with him. The feeling had been there on the day he asked you to move in with him. It would certainly be there once he asked you to marry him, and on your wedding day. For him to love you was all you had ever wanted, and though he told you that your love was everything he wanted, you still ached to see him pursue his other ambitions. He would do the same for anything you had your heart set on. This new life was going to be fantastic.
He was dressed to the nines when he told you he was ready, and so were you. You were grateful he had taken you seriously, because he wasn't much of a dress-up kind of guy. It didn't matter to you, but you knew you'd take some pictures today, and he would want to look nice when he looked at the photos again later in life. When you saw him, you whistled. "Damn, look at you!" you exclaimed, running down the stairs and into his arms, which, for some reason, alarmed him.
"Please be careful!" He held you out at arm's length. "Oh, good. Okay," he said, seemingly processing that you were fine. You ran down the stairs to him all the time. What was wrong with it today? "Carefully, my love, please, for my sanity."
"Oohhh-kaaaay," you said, side-eyeing him. "Why?"
"No reason," he said, his eyes flashing that there was definitely a reason. "Let's go."
You plugged in directions to the nicest restaurant in town, and left the car with the valet, who you tipped before you led Neil inside. Never before had you chosen something so fancy, but today was a huge celebration, or it would be once he knew what was happening. When you were seated, you ordered a bottle of champagne, and Neil's eyes went wide. "What?" you asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"I... I mean... Darling, you can't have champagne! Am I supposed to drink it all on my own?" He looked deeply troubled.
"What do you mean, I can't have champagne? I can have whatever I want," you said, with a puzzled frown.
"My love, you're pregnant!" he said hastily. "Champagne is bad for the baby!"
Your jaw dropped open, and it took you a solid minute to wrap your mind around the conclusion that he had come to. "That's what you think?"
"Of course! What other news could you have for me that I wouldn't have gotten some kind of hint about?"
You shook your head, and then started laughing. "Honey, I'm not pregnant!"
His face fell. "You're not?"
Your heart broke. "Are you disappointed?"
"Yeah, a little," he admitted, his cheeks scarlet. "I thought I figured it out while I was in the shower. I thought you were taking me to a nice lunch to tell me that we're having a baby."
"Oh, Neil." You moved to the same side of the table as him, wrapping your arms around him. "You want a baby?"
"Yeah." He wouldn't make eye contact with you. "Sorry I made this awkward."
"Angel, just because we're not having a baby now doesn't mean that we never will." You rubbed his back to comfort him.
"Really?" He perked up. "Someday?"
"Someday. Not today, but someday."
"Okay." His relief was enough that you could feel it too. "So what's all this for?"
The champagne came then, and you poured two glasses before you pulled out the envelope and handed it over. "Here."
"What? Is this from--"
"Yes."
"What do they want?"
"Just read it."
"All right." He slid the papers out and scanned the front page, freezing in place before frantically scanning it again and then cautiously reading every single word. "Y/n, what is this? Where did you get this?"
"I spent the last few months applying in your place," you explained. "I wrote your essays."
"What about the research proposal?"
"I found and proofread your draft."
"And they..." He teared up. "They want me?"
"They want you!" you confirmed, still over the moon. "So are you going?"
"Are you coming too?" he asked, staring at the page.
"Anywhere you want me, I'll be there, so if you want me to move with you, then yes."
He finally looked back at you. "You're willing to change your whole life for this?"
"It's your dream, sweetheart. I'd do anything for you. Especially this."
"Marry me," he blurted out, leaving you shocked. "Oh god, I'm sorry!"
"Why?" You placed a hand on his cheek. "Why are you sorry?"
"I shouldn't have said that. I should have waited until I have a ring," he explained.
"You know I don't care about a ring!" You kissed him, overjoyed by his outburst. "Do you really want me to marry you?"
"So much, but even more now. I was planning on asking you soon, actually. I just said it because I'm so overwhelmed," he said, tears streaming down his face. "No one else would ever do this for me. The only way I could think to return the amount of love this must have taken was to ask you to marry me."
"Well, that's perfect. I'd be honored."
"That's a yes?"
"It's a yes." You were crying too. He hugged you tightly, his love radiating out of him wordlessly. You hoped he could feel how much you loved him too, how adored he was, how worthy.
He wiped away his tears. "I love you so dearly, darling. I can't believe you did this for me."
"I knew you could do it. I love you so much I can hardly stand it," you answered. "You're so brilliant. Now the whole world will know it, Doctor."
"Pending." He pulled back, smiling and shaking his head. "I'm getting my doctorate. We're getting married. Jesus Christ, this day could not possibly get better."
"It can if we order dessert."
He laughed. "Consider it done."
Neil wouldn't let you go back across the table. He was very cuddly and affectionate when he was happy, and he kept giving you hugs and kisses throughout the meal. You loved it when he got like this, and welcomed his joy. Your mind wandered back to his earlier assumption that you were going to have his baby, and you felt strong reassurance when you thought about his reaction. If you had been pregnant, he wouldn't have flipped tables, and wouldn't even have been ambivalent. He would have been ecstatic. It was comforting knowing that he would have a positive reaction even to an unplanned pregnancy, and made you feel yet more secure in your already extremely secure relationship. He was a dream come true, a real-life prince from a fairytale. When the dessert arrived, you fed him tiramisu from your fork and followed it with an intense, passionate kiss, grateful that it wasn't a particularly busy day in the restaurant so you could go all out.
Those gorgeous, stormy grey eyes of his shone with pride when he looked at you. "You are truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you."
"You've made every wish I've ever had reality, so we're even," you said, looping your arm through his and leaning onto his shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you, my beautiful fiancee." He stood, offering his hand, after you had paid the check. "Now how about we take care of that ring?"
"I don't need a ring, honey."
"Maybe not, but I want you to have one. Will you help me?"
Your heart melted, and you took his hand. "Sure, but only if you let me buy you one, too."
"Deal." He sealed it with a kiss.
22 notes · View notes
artificialqueens · 9 months
Text
🏳️‍🌈 Hurricane Bianca: More Family, More Problems, Chapter 2 (Bianca x Katya) - BiancaDelRioIsTheBest
Summary : Richard and Demitri decide to go through with fostering a kid and Deborah takes a souvenir with her to milford.
A/N: possible TW for mention of firearms.
The next day Deborah was back in the car and closer to Milford than before, as well as closer to her successfully completing her plan. "We're crossing into milford right now tell me where you need me to stop". The man from the day before stated. After a few more miles Deborah stopped him, just a few miles away from her house. "Thanks for the ride, I appreciate it, you've been a real helper". Deborah said before she hoped out the car and started trotting along the side walk. The man drove off quickly and she opened her purse to look at something she had stashed from the man earlier.
She looked at the handheld gun in her purse and smiled knowing she finally had a way to get rid of Bianca Del Rio for good. It was a good thing she still had a key to her house, she had a feeling Carly was still in the house getting ready for work, so she didn't go in yet. She didn't want anyone to know she was back, not until she was ready to finalize her plan.
Meanwhile Richard and Demitri were getting ready for their separate school day and they finally brought the kid situation. "So do you think we should go through with the foster kid thing". Richard asked. "Maybe, I mean, it would be nice to have child in house". Demitri reasoned. "So we're doing it, I'll call Karma for the number of the agency when I get to the school".Richard stated.
After Deborah had seen Carly's car had left the drive way she unlocked the house door and immediately went to her own room. Nothing was moved, she moved her bags next to a wall and took out her purse. And after applying some lip gloss she inspected her gun again. She was certain this plan wouldn't fall through.
Meanwhile while one of Demitri's 7th grade classes had ended and one of his students, Olympia, had handed in her paper. "Oh Olympia, I noticed your parents weren't at the last parent teacher conference". Demitri stated. "Oh yeah, I don't live with my mom and dad, but I can ask my aunt to talk to you when she gets the chance". Olympia said in her thick southern accent. "That would be great, I've noticed you've had a little trouble concentrating in class these past few days, is everything ok". Demitri asked. "Yeah everything's fine, I have to get to my next class". Olympia said quickly and left. Demitri wondered if something was wrong but didn't stay stuck on the issue.
During a break he had in the school day Richard decided to call that foster care agency. "Hello, this is amazing grace child and family services, how may I help you". A woman with a low pitched southern smoker voice answered. "Um hello, a friend gave me this number, I'm looking to foster a child with my partner and was wondering if you could help me". Richard asked, semi nervously. "Sure thing, I see you already filled and application, you now need a home study to make sure your home is suitable, allow a criminal history background check. As well as attend 35 hours of PRIDE training, and obtaining a CPR and first aid certificate. After those are completed you will be invited to meet with the DFPS to ensure that fostering is perfect for you, you will also have to complete universal precautions training and psychotropic medication training which is not included in PRIDE training.
Richard was struggling to keep up as the woman droned on and on, but he persevered through the rest of the instructions. This was gonna be a lot more painstaking than he thought it would be, but it would be worth it. Hopefully.
Pride Challenge Points: 1832
3 notes · View notes
madbags · 9 months
Note
How are things going?
They're going pretty OK. I dropped my entire savings into my car to do some necessary maintenance maybe a month or two ago, and then two weeks ago she overheated and there's oil in the coolant, so I've likely blown a head gasket. I got her dropped off with my mechanic, being completely transparent that i have zero money for repairs, but he insisted on getting it diagnosed and seeing if anything could be covered under warranty.
So I started biking and taking the train to work. Cool. Except my pedal crank fell off on day 1. So I started walking, making my daily commute to and from work about 4 and a half hours. I got my bike fixed, and then the crank fell off again in less than 5 miles. My dad finally felt bad enough for me to let me borrow his bike that he's absolutely never used. So at least my commute is finally getting better.
I was gonna move out of Tutu's this month, there's just been too much drama around caretaking, and I don't want to be accused of being a freeloader with a nefarious plot to take advantage of the situation. But then a little while back Tutu had a fall in the middle of the night and pulled down a heavy furniture piece on top of her and split her head open. I took care of her, called the paramedics, got her to the ER, stayed up all night with her and took her home, I freaking handled it. And now I can't stop thinking about how much worse it could've been if I wasn't there.
She's not doing good. She's probably 90lbs or less by now, she's very lethargic, it's hard to get her to eat or drink, and she's very prone to fits and meltdowns when she gets confused or frustrated when she is up and awake. It's hard. I don't think she's going to last the year.
I need to be ready to move out. I already have a storage unit, I've moved most of my things there. I have a gym membership, so I can live out of my car if I have to. Which I likely will. It's whatever, that's just the state of things. Why pay an exorbitant amount of money to live in a studio, when I can be a gym rat who literally sleeps in parking lots? The trouble is getting my car back up and running. Ugh. Hoping and praying and wishing that whatever happened is under warranty and she'll be returned to me better than ever, completely free of charge. Very optimistic, I know; I've been told I'm doing that a lot lately.
I was going to apply to CALFire this month. I was going to drive up to Fresno to apply in person, but then my car blew up. This round of applications ends July 31st, and I can apply online or by mail. So it's not like I can't apply. But just for myself, I really wanted to apply in person. And now I'm having a serious crisis of faith and really doubting myself. Since I've been doing all this walking for work, it's really made me examine how capable I am. I mean, I'm sometimes putting in 5 miles before I even start work, and then by the time I get home I might be up to 12. I've been so exhausted, and my body aches, and it so hard to imagine doing all the walking (or hiking through rugged terrain to the Fire Line) and then digging line all day, AND then hiking back. It sounds awesome to me, really it does, but I literally just don't know if I have what it takes. I know I'm not in my best shape right now, and I have plans to work on that, but I really question whether I'm capable. It's tough. Maybe I need to try anyways and accept that it's ok if I fail. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.
And Stabby. I think i've learned to stop wondering what we are and just be. Most days we talk on the phone before I've even made it to work. And we'll talk again when I get off. We try to make plans to watch movies together when we both have a free weekend. I introduced her to a friend who was hiring, and now they're working together and she's really happy getting into this field more. She proofread my resume and helped me really polish it. We made a deal that if I get sober this year she'll go to a Tegan and Sara show with me next year. But then she invited me to two other shows this summer anyways. This weekend she texted me late at night and offered to fly me out next month to go to a show with her. It's kind of really uncharacteristic of her, so I jumped at the chance. Hopefully work lets me take the time off, even with only two weeks notice. If this works out we'll get to spend more than a week together. She needs help moving stuff out of storage and her truck needs an oil change, and I am thrilled to do mundane, ordinary chores with her. I want to Life with her so badly. I don't know if she'll ever let herself entertain the possibility, but it's my little impossible dream.
I'm pretty ok. Work is kind of a mess, my future prospects are messy and uncertain, I'm literally just a few more unfortunate circumstances away from total destitution, my family relations are tenuous and sad, and it feels like almost everywhere I look the world is burning around us. But it all just keeps going, doesn't it, with or without you. So I keep getting up everyday hoping that maybe my little impossible dreams aren't as out of reach as I think. Maybe I'll be able to save my car, maybe I'll get sober, maybe I'll be able to be a firefighter, maybe I'll make it. It's all pretty OK.
1 note · View note
aziz-reads · 5 months
Text
Secondhand faith (Pt. 34)
First Prev Next
Taglist: TBD (Ask to be added)
I tried to lay back and think relaxing thoughts, to sleep so I could wake up refreshed and ready for school tomorrow. To start over. But I couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the headlights of the train coming and Larissa's face as she pushed me off of the tracks. Every time I tried to tell my brain to turn off, it would poke back at me with a reminder that it should have been me. Today should have been my funeral. The Spring musical should be starring Larissa Duarte, who literally shared a name with the main character, and not whoever they chose as her backup.
I sat up. It was too hot in my room, despite the last dregs of winter frosting up the window. My scalp felt like a bunch of needles were stabbing at it and that sensation traveled down to my arms until I got all the way out of bed. I rubbed my hands up and down my arm and tied my hair into a bun tight enough to pull strands out and looked for something quiet to do that would stave off the pinpricks but not wake my mom.
My eyes landed on a slightly dust covered CD player my mom had given me, a complete set with cheap pull out earphones that had tattered foam protecting the speakers. The disc inside was a Christmas compilation of the Carpenters. I gently took the holiday disc out and unzipped the special disc holder my mother also gave me.
My collection wasn't huge, but it was meaningful. I had one for the Trans Siberian Orchestra, which was great for studying, along with other instrumentals and Broadway collections. I swapped out the Carpenters with one of my mom's CDs. All of the songs were in Spanish, but they were also high energy and didn't take a lot of mental capacity to listen to.
With the brass heavy dance music playing through the headphones, I carried the whole thing over to my desk and opened my laptop. Winning money by using mostly scholarships wasn't cheating, as long as they didn't cover more than 75% of what I earned. Darren wanted that to be 50%, but I pointed out that he was allowed to apply to specifically Vacation, getaway, and destination contests which would automatically be more than 75% of his winning based on airfare and hotels alone.
Okay, so it wasn't the most thought out contest, and we would likely do both college prep and a fun road trip, but framing it like a contest was motivating when I was staring at a 40 hit page of raffles to enter on my favorite scholarship matching website.
I cracked my knuckles and leaned back into my chair, getting comfortable for a long sprint of my name, grade, colleges and majors I was interested in, what email should receive the winning notification, if applicable.
After filling out about a third of the entries, I stretched and my eyes fell on the thermos shaped bulge in my backpack. Despite the mindless work and upbeat music, I still couldn't relax. I copied the list of raffle names I entered and pasted them into the shared spreadsheet Darren had set up to track our winnings and what we applied to, then closed the laptop.
Just one, I thought, as I unzipped my bag and twisted the thermos top off to grab a fortune. Just one, then I'll go to sleep.
I went to my bed and threw my blankets over the cookie to dampen the sound of crinkling plastic and pulled out the thin piece of paper.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see it.
Okay. So not every fortune was prophetic. This was good. It definitely made the cookies seem less spooky. And it wasn't a bad fortune, so I might as well keep it.
So I pried open the lid on Larissa's death bucket just wide enough to push the new fortune inside so it could join the First one. With that done, I no longer felt hot or prickly so I turned off the CD player and finally was able to relax enough to sleep.
1 note · View note
functionbydesign · 1 year
Text
Arrested again part 31
(with apologies to cuffedstories deactivated 202211)
All the legal manoeuvres were going to take time, so I threw myself into my teaching role in the prison. Due to my head injury I had not been able to do this for some time. To some degree it was a welcome distraction from everything else that had been going on in my life, and it gave me a sense of satisfaction observing the progress that several of my students made. Many of them had grown up in dysfunctional households, where education had been a low priority. One student named Evan often approached me during yard time to go over things we had covered in class. It was encouraging to have students who were so keen to better themselves.
After two months, and numerous visits from my lawyer, the DA was ready to apply for a vacating of my murder conviction, based on the tampering of the evidence by one of the the detectives handling my original case. Because it was simply a case of lawyers dealing with legal issues my attendance in court was not required. The errant detective had in the meantime been sentenced to five years in County jail, with a non parole term of three years. The sentencing judge had not minced words, describing his actions as reprehensible, and a serious breach of trust.
It was a Friday afternoon when a CO appeared at my cell door.
“Turn around, hands through the slot, Inmate!” barked the CO. “The Warden wants to see you”.
After he had cuffed my hands behind my back he spoke into his radio and my cell door slid open. After exiting the cell block, the CO walked me along a long corridor, finally reaching an elevator. We entered and he pushed the button for the 5th floor. When the doors opened we walked across the corridor where the CO pushed open a door marked “Warden”. Beyond that was a secretary at her desk, a stern middle aged woman.
“Inmate Beck” stated the CO. “The Warden wanted to see him”
“Sir, Inmate Beck is here to see you” she spoke into an intercom.
“Send him in” emanated out of the intercom.
The CO and I proceeded into the warden’s office. He passed me some sheets of paper, which due to my cuffed wrists I could not pick up.
“Here is a court order vacating your sentence for second degree murder” he stated. “Also attached is a summons for you to appear in court on a replacement charge of second degree murder. As you have not completed your County jail sentence, and the charge is a serious one, you will continue to remain in maximum security custody here. All court appearances will be conducted under maximum security protocols rather than those applicable to County Jail.  Bail has been formally refused. Any questions?” he asked.
“No Sir” I replied.
My retrial was happening.
I had to wait a full month before the retrial would start.
I don’t know how, but news quickly spread that I was getting a retrial. Inmates who were complete strangers approached me to ask how I had achieved this feat. All I could tell them was that it paid to have been put away by crooked detectives that subsequently got caught out.
Eventually the day of the retrial had arrived. Shortly after the 6am count, Officers Ramirez and Lopez appeared at my cell door. Officer Ramirez was carrying the same suit, shoes, shirt and tie that I had worn at my original trial, and that my lawyer had arranged would be available for this trial.
“Here’s your glad rags for the trial” he said. “Could you put them on as quickly as possible, as your transport to the court is ready”.
I removed my prison uniform, and slipped on the suit, shirt, tie and shoes as promptly as I could. Once I’d finished, Officer Ramirez ordered me to face the rear wall of the cell and place my hands on my head. I heard the door of the cell open and the two officers entered.
They promptly secured a wide leather belt around my waist. My right hand was grabbed, cuffed, and the other half of the cuffs opened and fed through a slot at the rear of the belt. My left hand was then pulled down and secured using this cuff. I was the ordered to kneel on my cell cot, so that they could shackle my ankles and attach them to a chain from the belt.
Once complete I was then shuffled by the two officers along the long corridors leading to the sally port, where the van was waiting. All along the route I received encouraging cheers from inmates, elated that I may be potentially getting out of the clutches of State Prison. In the sally port the two officers manhandled me into a stainless steel compartment within the van, and secured me in with a seat belt. The whole arrangement was incredibly uncomfortable and dark, and I felt every bump on the way to the courthouse.
The van pulled up in front of the courthouse, where a throng of media was waiting. There was no shortage of redneck media types, the sort who asked me why I thought I was so special that I could beat a murder rap. I made a point of keeping my head down and ignoring all questions, as I was perp walked to the main courthouse doors.
“Back yet again” came the sneering remark from the head bailiff, as officers Ramirez and Lopez delivered me to the cells.” I can’t say I like it when career crims try to rort the system” he continued. To his credit, Officer Ramirez shot the head bailiff an icy stare.
“Shall we put him in cell 8?” Ramirez asked. “After all it is the Chinese lucky number”.
The head bailiff went beetroot red at the implied rebuke from Ramirez. “No, put him in the first cell here” he replied.
Ramirez and Lopez removed all my restraints and left, as the head bailiff, who had now gone strangely silent, closed and locked the cell door.
I sat alone in the cell, nervous like I’d never been before. This was a make or break moment in my life. Would I be able to anticipate freedom again in the near future, while I am still relatively young, or would I rot in prison for most of my remaining life, with the only hope being released as a bitter old man who would only taste freedom in his dotage?
After what seemed like an hour, two junior members of the bailiff staff appeared at my cell door. One was tall, with blonde wavy hair, while the other was shorter, had a shaved head, but sported a dark bushy beard.
“Inmate, were here to escort you to the courtroom. We have been advised that we are to apply a maximum security level of restraint while you are in court. Is that understood?” said the bearded one.
“Yes Sir” I answered.
“Good. Move to the back of the cell and place your hands on the back of your head” he ordered.
I did as he said. The two bailiffs opened the cell, the tall one brandishing pair of handcuffs.
“Bring your hands down in front of you, with your palms facing outwards” commanded the taller one. “Now swivel your left hand towards your belly, but above your right hand.”
I was left with my hands pointing in different directions both horizontally and vertically. He then clasped a blackbox over the handcuff chain. A belly chain loop was passed through the blackbox as an anchor, the belly chain passed around my waist, fed through the loop again, and then padlocked in place.
“Kneel on the ledge” came the next order. After I had done so, my ankles were locked in shackles, which were pulled up by a chain attached to my waist. This chain was considerably shorter than normal, with the result that I was limited to very short steps.
The end result was that I was very tightly and, and uncomfortably restrained. I could not imagine how I would last the long hours ahead in the courtroom.
At this point the head bailiff turned up. “You’ve done a great job boys” he stated. “Murdering crims should always be kept under tight control”. To emphasise the point he gave me the same supercilious smile as when he perp walked me out the front after my original sentence. Obviously all the tight restraints had been his idea, and he had instructed his underlings to do it all so no one could accuse him of anything. He had clearly been doing the job for too long, and sought to impose his own views on proceedings.
The two younger bailiffs walked me ever so slowly towards the courtroom. “We would like to apologise for the restraints. We know they're over the top, but that is what the boss instructed” said the tall one.
“That's not half obvious” I replied.
We finally arrived at the courtroom. The bailiffs guided me over to the defence table where my lawyer was waiting. I tried to divert my gaze from the family of the guy that I had killed, who were seated in the public gallery. The DA Had appointed totally different counsel to prosecute the case. The opposing counsel was a tall thin man with thinning hair, probably in his mid 40s.
“I’ll have to do something about those restraints” said my lawyer. “The head bailiff can be over the top sometimes.  He is due for retirement shortly, thankfully”.
At this point a bailiff announced “all stand!” the judge shortly afterwards walked in, sat down then said “please be seated”. He then looked in my direction, staring at me for a good 10 seconds before asking “Bailiff, could you please explain why the accused is trussed up like a Christmas Turkey?”
“Your honour, the warden of the state prison asked that he be held in maximum security restraints while outside the prison” replied the shorter of the two bailiffs.
“While the accused is in the custody of the court, the court will decide what restraints are necessary. Please remove all restraints other than the leg irons” said the judge.
After this had been completed and a few other preliminaries conducted, the court set about empanelling a jury. In a way I was pleased that the jurors had not seen me in a mass of chains, as I have little doubt that would have increased the chances of me being found guilty.
The judge began addressing the jury. “Members of the jury” he began. “The case you are going to deal with is a retrial of the accused, William Beck, on a charge of murder in the second degree. His retrial has been ordered as parts of the evidence introduced in the previous case were found to have been tainted. You may have been acquainted with the case due to the extensive media reporting on it. I would ask the jury to ignore any reporting they may have seen on the case, and certainly not to do any research on the previous decision.  What you decide in this case should be based totally on the evidence presented during this case and nothing else. I would now call on the prosecution to commence its case”.
The prosecutor began his presentation.
“Members of the jury, the inescapable fact which will be presented in this case is that the accused, William Beck, while a convicted inmate of the County Jail, solely caused the death of another inmate, Nick Allen......”
My heart sank as these words were uttered.
1 note · View note
heyitsmarysblog · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Finally exposing and revealing by sharing pre pandemic photo dumps...
"Your brokeness may not be your fault but your healing is your responsibility"
#CanWeJustTalk#Pagsamo#Katawan#IkawAtAko#HindiTayoPwede
#CanWeJustTalkSeries#NovemberSeries
What can i say about this mind blowing topic and series that we just had and talk about i had a lot of learnings and realization within the whole series of this month, which means leads me to an application where exposing myself and finally revealing who "Taurus" is..
Disclaimer:
No harm done as i exposed and reveral if this is what healing meant then so be it though i don't know how will i start but i guess let me just say and be cleared, that yes i am nbsb and i meant it and clearly sincere that i am ther The Unbothered NBSB and if i am not bothered then why would you be?...
In these following photos below and few of the conversations i last had is where i will be sharing with you these are photo dumps by the year 2010 till 2020 while the conversations where around 2021, and those previous conversions where triggering however i or we did alrfeady had already a more calmly exchanges of messages and emails i would say...
So flashback duuring pre pandemic and around mid end of the year 2019 where i was starting with my very first job there i would say that i may had or may had been not, in a sort of "mu" stages but let me tell you how and when did it go that way..
So it all started without me having no idea that a man from a young adult who is around his 30's that time while i was 24 had told his mentor by that time that he was praying for me, i only figured it out by the time my mentor told me about it after seeing my post when this man visited and prayed for my youngest nephew and even my father..
It all started through and by a prayer request until my mentor told me about it and i was shocked and completely totally clueless and had no idea, during those times we had no intimate conversations so when did it start and happened..
The moment i had my first work during pre pandemic days and i was promoting the cafe inviting friends to come over so we could have sale, this man started eating out at the cafe and would brought his workmates and boss during those moments and i appreciate the fact that this man was supporting me and the cafe for our sales..
Then eventually we started having conversations up until late night after work beforre going to bed and we don't have those kind of intimate or cheesy conversations, and then this man even asked my mentor to hand me over some books to read and even lend me some books to read because this man was working in a bookstore back then..
Until one day this man together with these man's workmates would eat on our cafe and we started going out, and date mostly together with this man former workmates back then and i would be on this man workplace where i first tried to applied for a job and it got me frustrated and traumatized when i wasn't able to get the job..
Then this man invited me to eat together with his family and i introduced him not just to my family and friends, but with my relatives and even brought him to my frontliner sister's fiancee house, back then i saw his seriousness and i thought that this would be my first and last during those time it reminded me about the bae series on our YAN about the characteristics of "boaz" so i opened my heart the heart that was locked and put a great wall of brick i took the risk and was ready to give a chance..
We both invested times for each other but to be clear the onlly extent is us having holding hands we never kissed or something much more, then these man asked permission with my mother and my frontliner sister while we are at the road of the car although we basically hide from our mentors..
Even though these person did asked permission however there was a great and huge twist this was before lockdown and quarantine came along, and the very last event which is LPF and even before LPF came something had changed.. so after the event we did talk it out our supposedly closure and right before the talk i handed back over the books and letter where i didn't want to keep anymore from that talk, where back then that this man says God hasn't confirmed yet and apologized to me back then i told this man there's nothing to apologized..
I was wrong not until this man ghosted me and let me wondering and confusing i knew he was serious but he wasn't sure, to be brutally honest it was painful and i got hurt badly it added to my horrifying triggering traumas and this man knew what and how i've been through..
This man tried apologizing but this time i couldn't have the same response and said it was unforgiveable yes there was a seed of grudges hatred and unforgiveness, leading me to cursing and ranting and started labeling him as "taurus" i unfriended and blocked him on messenger after receiving a long message in respond to my emails where i tried avoiding not to say anything because i was in a very triggering depressive episode at that moment..
Until he used the platform of kumu to message me where there i completely gone out of control because the nerved and audacity i would even say that, this man doesn't know what or how love or to love really is because that's not love giving up without even starting yet and not trying to fight for it or loving just good side and not accepting everything..
I don't think that is love or that was love because unconditional love is never giving up, or not getting tired of loving the person and accepting everything, that regardless and despite the flaws still you will choose to love and not give up and i already had figured out who were those and people who loved me unconditionally..
My Creator my family and friends my mentor my spritual parents and my support group i remember my merntor being asked if i did became a manhater due to that, yes not only dad but there has been a much huge and greater brick of walls and the heart where i thought had opened.. closed again and starting to be cokl as stone everytime forgiveness will be talked about i couldn't understand why this person will come to my mind and everytime i would try it's hard specially when i am being reminded how traumatizing it was i mean back then i was on the phase where i am embracing and enjoying my season then someone would came along to a nbsb where all wanted is to have someone to be the first and last..
I had this visions and dream wedding back then where it all went away and i already accepted the fact, and accepting this much earlier while i am younger due to my health issues where my ovary is inverted i have low probability to have a child and i had lost all my desires of wedding and marriage since if so ever that i would have or could been married yet can\t produce a family what's the point..
As for this man whom i thought would be my first and last that ghosted me during the first topic and introduction of this series, i literally exclaim and said thank You Lord because i realized that He saved and protected me back then i imagined what could have happened if that man really fought for it and we might and could have did much worse..
However i am thankful and grateful but i ain't lie or denying that at this p;oint i am still not capable to forgive, it hurts and it is painful but i must say that we were able to finally able to somehow settle through emails and a conversation after seeing him at the conference where i purposely avoided and we or may not been avoiding each other...
After trying to step foot on his workplace couple of times my mentor did tell me that in order for me to heal and forget, i have to overcome to stepping foot in places where we been when my brother in law was here my family and i eat on the same place where we eat together with his family, and i've trying to get my spritual parents a wedding gift and i tried stepping foot on his workplace but then i bumped into him..
After this series this month i had a lot of realization and i am grateful and thankful to God because He saved and protected me, besides i am indeed the unbothered nbsb if i am not bothered then why would they bey..
I mean i am all good and perfectly fine i can managed on my own eating out on a cafe or fastfood, taking myself out on a date having milkteat watching cinemas by my own and strolling to the park alone yes but not lonely beliieve it or not i may have been grudges hatred and bitterness but i guess it would be safe to say that i am in a phase where i am not asking wanting or even praying for someone because i am so done with the phase and stage of that level..
Right now i am in a major mid life quarter crisis what bothers me is my future if there something i am asking and wanting it's not a person ot someone it;s something, and that is soon finally moved out of this country and moved with my frontliner sister in New Zealand to restart my toxicated chaotically traumatizing life here..
Yes healing indeed is what i need and i am on the process of it so thank You for making me realizing and contemplating with this month series entitled Can we just talk i learned a lot and i encouraged you to go back through it watched it again if you haven't seen or watched it check it out just visit the official facebook page of Light Church..
Again i am in no harm of means with these post or exposing and revealing i juist felt the need of doing so, in order to express and share my experience of realization and might be healing as well this is unfilthered thank you and goodbye..
#CanWeJustTalkSeries#Maryexposed#TaurusReveal
0 notes
Text
Old Hide
(Tinkering with a new fic for my Terratron AU:)
“Um, hi?” Ironhide cycled one optic partially open, and squinted at the kid standing awkwardly in front of him. “What’s your name?”
“...Old Hide,” he rumbled. It was the designation he’d put down on the application, anyway.
“Cool,” the kid said, trying for a smile and falling short. “So. You’re, um. You’re a veteran, right?”
As if they couldn’t tell. A room full of hopefuls, all of them Cybertronians sparked within the last thousand years, or humans born less than a century before. Ironhide had to be a hundred times older than all of them put together. And he looked it, too - scars marred much of his silvery protoform, some visible even in his dull red armor where he adjusted the paint strokes to highlight rather than hide the imperfections. Even his old Autobot decals were scuffed from battle, worn around the edges but still proudly displayed on each shoulder.
Rather than reply with dry sarcasm (nah, I’m no veteran, I just decorate myself like this for fun), Ironhide tipped his head forward in a nod. The kid’s optics lit up, and he aimed a quick, excited grin back at a cluster of friends watching the two of them intently. More young faces, impressed, awed, very clearly gearing up to come over and start pestering him with questions-
Double doors on the far side of the room slid open. Every youngling in the room immediately straightened, gazes locked on the slim femme who stepped through, all four of her wings angled upwards in a silent call for attention.
Ironhide winced.
The femme raised a datapad and began reading off of it, calling names to sort the applicants into groups. One by one, sets of five or six hopefuls gathered in different spots, ready to line up and head out the door. Ironhide’s alias was second to last, putting him in the final group. Included were also the kid who’d come over to talk to him (white plating with a few bright blue flames painted along his arms), a rotund copper femme (some kind of rotor attachment hanging around her hips), and two humans (one taller, bigger, brown hair cut in a short fringe and some visible scars on bare arms; the other small and slight and overall wispy, expression eager despite nervously twitching fingers).
Beyond the door, each group went down a short corridor and into separate waiting rooms, smaller and clearly meant to encourage more mingling. The femme thanked them all en masse for their patience, and promised to meet with everyone in short order.
As soon as they were left alone, Ironhide’s group immediately set about introducing themselves, before moving on to speculation.
“They can’t just be sorting us based on specialty,” insisted the copper femme, Guidewire. “I mean- I don’t think all of us are applying to medical positions, right?” The rest of them glanced at Ironhide, and he resisted the urge to snort.
“Maybe they’re assigning us to rapid response squads already,” the smaller human suggested. Nathaniel-but-call-me-Nate, as if he couldn’t have just gone with ‘Nate’ for the introductions.
“More likely they need to make the announcements of who made the cut and who didn’t,” said Bec, the other human. Bec, N-B, Earth Nations Air Force, they’d stated when asked, in a no nonsense tone that Ironhide couldn’t help but approve of. “I’ve gone through something similar before, with ENAF. We probably won’t see some of those other guys anymore.”
The kid who’d first spoken to Ironhide, Swiftstreet, sagged a little at that. “Or maybe we’re the ones getting told ‘thanks but not thanks’.”
“You really think these guys would pass up him?” Bec asked. After a beat, they turned to look at Ironhide directly instead of just gesturing in his direction. “Why are you here, anyway? I thought all the Autobot veterans had retired by now.”
Alright, for that, the old mech did snort. “Kid, this is my retirement. Everyone keeps insisting my work is done, I should take up a hobby- fine. My hobby is high-powered weaponry and thumping idiots over the head. Either the Patrol’s willing to let me in, or I go become a professional bar brawler to fill up my time.”
...they probably would’ve approved him in a sparkbeat, if he’d called up any of the ‘commanders’ who ran the place to ask for a spot. But he wanted to test the oil first, try applying under a different name but the same skills, see if the application process had room for an old timer who could remember Cybertron in an age long before the War.
And speaking of commanders...
“Good morning,” the same femme from before announced, stepping inside to join them. “And congratulations on passing our entrance exam for the Terratron Patrol.”
It took a beat for her words to register, but the kids all perked up as soon as they realized they’d gotten in. But, before any of them could whoop or do more than grin, the femme smirked in a way that boded nothing good.
“My name is Dragonfly. I run all combat and safeguard operations for the Patrol, and I’ll be in charge of your final stage assessments. For the next ten days, we’ll be putting you through the worst sorts of drills and tests to get a better idea of how you’ll hold up under pressure. Every Patrol member is expected to maintain a certain level of physical capability, regardless of assigned duties - if you pass these tests without dropping out, you’ll henceforth be handed over to mentors within your preferred specialties as probationary agents.” Her green optics flickered over to Ironhide, and Dragonfly tipped her head in a slight, acknowledging nod.
After a beat, he returned the gesture.
---
She was taller than Bee, but constantly managed to seem smaller than him, head ducked and shoulders hunched, wings never giving off more than the slightest twitches from where they stayed folded against her backplates. Bumblebee was the only one she ever let get within arm’s reach, often hiding halfway behind him when bigger bots were around. And Ironhide got it, to some degree: spend so long isolated, with no one around to talk to, slowly losing your mind from being trapped underground without wind or sky... It could take a while to get used to being around a bunch of other folks again.
Or, y’know. If one were a semi-former Decepticon, suddenly living in the midst of a bunch of potentially hostile Autobots. That could make a spark awful skittish too.
---
To her credit, Dragonfly proved to be a fairly decent drill instructor.
All five of them were put through some basic evaluations first and foremost, as she studied their ranges of motion, their top speeds, upper limits on strength - for the humans as well as the Cybertronian kids. To no surprise, the numbers all came back vastly different, though that didn’t seem to phase the femme.
Afterward came proficiency analysis with different types of weaponry, both handheld and from within assorted vehicles. Ironhide could’ve done better on the spacecraft cannons, he’d be the first to admit it; his systems were old enough to be cranky when getting linked up to the ship’s targeting module, and it showed. But otherwise? He blew the kids out of the park.
At the end of the day, Dragonfly brought them all into a room with separate consoles for single use, and started a final assessment for tactical priorities. She used a holoboard to walk through different scenarios of various types: responding to a convoy ambush, an assassination attempt on a politician, teammate down, ship damaged, so on and so forth. Ironhide and the kids all typed up responses on their consoles to submit, explaining their responses to each situation. Not a bad method for seeing which recruits focused on details, versus who looked at the bigger picture.
“That’s all for today,” the femme finally announced, shutting down her holoboard. “I’ll walk you all to your temporary quarters. There are washracks at one end of the hall, our central commissary at the other, but we ask that you don’t go anywhere else after the evening bell unless it’s an emergency.”
Ironhide moved deliberately slowly, letting the young hotshots get ahead of him. They passed by another group of recruits along the way, and Swiftstreet got to wave at a couple of his friends, looking relieved. A human in that bunch did a startled double-take in Ironhide’s direction, but he frowned sharply, and she thankfully moved on without saying anything.
“Here we are.” Dragonfly stopped at the front of the hall, letting each of the kids go on past. “Your rooms are already labeled; basic sanitation and maintenance items have been provided, along with appropriately sized uniforms.” Bec gave the femme a quick salute before stepping through one of the human-sized doors, Nate continuing on to the next one down. Guidewire and Swiftstreet disappeared into their own rooms, leaving just Ironhide with the former Decepticon.
He glanced at her. She stared back. “Bee know I’m here?”
“No,” Dragonfly said, folding her arms. “But honestly- ‘Old Hide’?”
All he could do was shrug, prompting her to sigh. “Figured it didn’t matter what name I gave, when I wasn’t gonna bother disguising my frame any.”
“Hmph.” Green optics studied him for a long moment, a far cry from the perpetually nervous ‘Con who’d constantly hidden behind her one proven friend. “He would have approved a spot for you in a sparkbeat if you asked.”
Ironhide’s turn to sigh. “I know.”
“Well. Since you didn’t, you have to prove yourself to me instead.” Her lower wings flickered, and Dragonfly offered him a small smirk. “And I’ll have you know, I’ve got high standards. Might be hard for a small-time grunt like you to meet them.”
An unbidden grin crept onto his own faceplates. “We’ll just see about that.”
1 note · View note