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pensat-i-fet · 1 year

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Wrong player, right time: Part 1 (Pablo Gavi, Pedri x Reader)

Part 2

**Hi! 😊 So...I was asked to write some sort of love triangle and while I liked the idea, I thought I could do something a bit different. Hopefully you like it. And because this ended up being so long, it’s divided in two. The next part will be posted tomorrow so not a lot of waiting 😉 Enjoy!! ❤️**

Word count: 5177

Masterlist

Wattpad

“I got a present for you”.

Your mum’s words made you look up. “Why?”

“For passing your exam. And it kind of is related to that”.

You frowned slightly, smiling at the same time. Last year, you decided to retake a few classes to get a higher grade and study the major you really wanted to study in university. It had been a crazy decision to many but you were sure of it and it paid off. You got the grade you needed and were accepted at the university in Barcelona.

“Ok, tell me!”

“You are going to Barcelona this weekend. I want you to be able to know the city better and to see the area where you’ll be living”.

“Mum! Oh my God!”

Getting up, you ran to hug your mum.

“And…I might have gotten a ticket for the football match too”.

“Stop! You’re the best! Thank you!”

“You’ve worked hard and deserve it. Once you start the uni year, there won’t be time for much fun”.

There was no time to waste. It was Wednesday and your flight was on Friday, so you needed to pack everything and start planning. You had been to Barcelona before but never for too long, so this was a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with the beautiful city.

The weather was supposed to be good, so you packed a lot of cute summery outfits. The sun didn’t bless you with its presence as often in your home city of Santander, so it was also something else you could enjoy during the weekend.

You barely got any sleep the night before your trip and after checking you had your boarding pass and your ID about seventy times, you made your way to the small airport.

The flight was quick and soon you found yourself on your way to the hotel you would stay at the next couple of days. You pretty much threw the suitcase on the floor and went out again to see the city.

And that was how you spent the Friday and Saturday in Barcelona, trying to see as much as you could and visiting the student residence where you were going to live once you moved there.

Sunday was going to be your last full day there but it was also the most exciting. Finally, you were going to visit the Camp Nou. Actually, you visited it as a kid but couldn’t remember being there. But now it was time to fully enjoy the experience.

The atmosphere was incredible. You usually went to watch matches when Racing de Santander played at home but your main team was Barça. And, funnily enough, a former Racing player was now playing for Barça. You had met him a few times but doubted he would remember you. Players met so many people every day.

“First time?”

“Pardon?”, you asked, turning to look at the man on the seat next to yours.

“You look like it’s your first time here. And like a kid in a toy store”.

“Yes”, you laughed. “I’ve been wanting to watch a match here my entire life”.

“Well, let’s hope it’s a good one”.

While it wasn’t the match of the century, it was quite entertaining. Barça went 2-0 up early and got to play a bit more relaxed after a couple of not-so-great results.

The second half meant a few players you didn’t get to see up close before were now playing near the area where you were sitting. One of those players was the famous Gavi. You couldn’t lie and pretend you weren’t one of those girls who thought he was really cute. But the one you liked the most, Pedri, was injured. So it was a bummer you didn’t get to see him play. Oh well, Gavi was a good substitute.

“Gavi! Look at all the space those defenders are leaving near the box. Use it!”

You didn’t even realise you were yelling. You never did. And it’s not as if the rest of the fans were quiet but Gavi was very close to your seat and heard your words.

“Ok, coach!”, he said, looking at you and smiling at your surprised face.

“I…”.

“You’re blushing”, laughed the man that had introduced himself as José. You had been chatting a bit during the match.

“I feel so silly. I never realise they can hear me. I’m too used to screaming at the tv”.

That only made him laugh more.

A couple of minutes later, the ball fell on Gavi’s feet again and the defenders left the same space you had warned him about before. And he took the chance to run to the box and give a pass to Lewandowski that gave Barça their third goal.

Everyone got up to cheer and when you finally sat down, you saw Gavi walking towards you, a big smile on his face.

“Thanks for the heads up!”

“Eh…you’re welcome?”

José’s laugh could probably be heard back at your parent’s house. God, you were so embarrassed.

The match ended with a 3-0 win for Barça and you couldn’t be happier with that result. It was the perfect ending to your weekend. But…there was more that was going to happen before you went back home.

“Someone wants to talk to you”, said José.

“Who?”

You looked at where he was pointing and saw Gavi walking towards you while taking his shirt off. He gestured for you to get closer so he could give you the shirt and you walked almost not believing what was happening.

“For me?”

“Yes. We wouldn’t have scored that third goal without your advice. I’ll tell Xavi that if he needs some help, I know the right person”.

You giggled, blushing. “I’m free for the next match if he needs me”.

“I would love to see you on the bench. You wouldn’t be as far from me then”.

Not knowing what to say, you extended your arm to get the shirt. And once you had it, Gavi left to join his teammates.

“He was flirting with you”, said Jóse, making you blush even more.

You put the shirt on your face, trying to hide. But it was too late. The cameras had seen it all.

Gavi expected you to post something about getting his shirt on Instagram, so he kept checking the photos he was tagged in on social media…but nothing. You were nowhere to be found.

He was used to hearing things yelled at him at the matches. Often insults and usually it was men who did it. So when he heard your voice, it caught his attention a bit more. And what you said actually made sense. He had noticed what you pointed out and was thinking about telling his teammates to try and take advantage of that defensive weakness from the other team. But it was hearing you say it that made him do it before he even told the others. He wanted to impress you.

What he didn’t want was for the entire country to know about the interaction but he should have known better. All eyes were on him at matches and, of course, the cameras had picked up everything that happened.

“El día después”, a football programme that had been created before he was even born was very famous for their section “Lo que el ojo no ve” (What the eye doesn’t see). They usually caught funny moments of the matches and put them together in a video. People loved that. And this time, they found the best clips for it at the Barça match. They filmed all of your interactions with him and subtitled them.

Gavi was rewatching the video in the training ground with some of his teammates, and they all teased him when the guy who was next to you told you that Gavi had been flirting with you and you blushed and hid your face. He hadn’t seen that when it happened and it made him smile knowing you seemed to like him too. But still, no post on social media.

“She’s gorgeous”, said Pedri.

“I know”.

Gavi couldn’t stop smirking and daydreaming about you showing up at the next match.

“What are you all doing?”, asked the other Pablo, Torre, when he got to the dressing room.

“Watching a video of Gavi’s girlfriend”, said Ferrán.

“You have one? I didn’t know”.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Pablo. Don’t listen to them. But come watch the video”.

Gavi played the video again and when the camera showed you, Torre asked him to pause.

“I know her”.

“You do?”, Gavi couldn’t believe that. He might be able to find you after all.

“She’s from Santander, like me. I saw her at all the Racing matches”.

“Do you know her name?”

“No, but….”, he took his phone out and went on Instagram, “I took a lot of photos with her and she tagged me on Instagram when she posted them, so we should be able to find her”.

“I love you, Pablito”, said Gavi, kissing his teammate’s head.

“Save the kisses for her, bro”.

It took longer than they expected but there it was, a post you made on Torre’s final match for Racing. Gavi took a screenshot of it so he could send you a message later. But if you were from Santander…well, that complicated things a bit but it didn’t make anything impossible.

He spent some time looking at your posts and then had to go to training. There was time to keep stalking later. But when he finally got home and went to check your profile, it was private. That was odd.

The last thing you expected after your trip to Barcelona was for a video of you to go viral. When you were sent the youtube clip, you couldn’t believe it. And the comments…they made you want to never check your social media again.

But then you noticed a lot of notifications on your Instagram. How on earth had Gavi’s fans found your profile? It was too much. So you privated your profile and removed all the new followers you got. You were just a normal girl and didn’t want to be involved in any drama.

Your mum found out what had happened and invited you to go out with her to stop overthinking. You turned the wifi and data off and forgot about all of it.

But then you got home and the wifi connected to your phone and one of the notifications caught your eye immediately. Why was Gavi sending you DM’s on Instagram?

[Pablogavi]: Hi! Sorry about all the drama that the video has caused. You ok?

How did he find your Instagram? But it was really nice to see he actually cared.

[You]: Hi! I’m alright, don’t worry. Thanks for asking.

[Pablogavi]: Let me know if you need me to say something on social media or whatever.

[You]: I will, thanks.

[You]: How did you find my Instagram?

[Pablogavi]: Torre recognised you on the video and helped me find you.

[Pablogavi]: Does it sound stalkerish? 😶

[You]: A bit 😂

[You]: But I’m glad you contacted me.

How had your life become so surreal so quickly? All because of a silly comment you couldn’t help but scream.

[Pablogavi]: Feel free to be the one who contacts me if you ever come back to Barcelona.

[You]: I’m moving there soon. For uni.

[Pablogavi]: Best news you could give me 😀

“Who are you talking to?”

Your mum’s voice startled you and made you almost drop the phone. “Nobody”.

“Right. Why were you blushing and smiling then?”

“Just watching some funny videos”.

You didn’t normally keep secrets from your parents but what were they going to think if, after what they saw on that video, you told them Gavi was flirting with you on Instagram?

So you didn’t tell them but kept on speaking with him. And you kept thinking about going to Barcelona before you had to move there…so you could see him. You had seen some comments online about how you had made your account private right before he started to follow you and that worried you. As exciting as talking to a cute football player was, you didn’t want people harassing you because of it. And now it seemed like so many people had already decided you were his girlfriend.

“Will it be ok for me to go to Barcelona this weekend?”, you asked in the middle of dinner three weeks after your previous trip.

“What for?”, asked your dad. “Do you need to do any uni stuff there? I thought you could do it all online”.

“Yes, it’s not uni related. I just wanted to go again and…meet some friends and stuff”.

“You have friends in Barcelona? Since when?”

Your mum was suspicious and for a reason. The way your face got all red while you were lying to them didn’t help.

“Honey, we might not use social media but we aren’t dumb. And when people talk about your daughter, you listen. Is it Gavi that’s invited you to go see him?”

“Yes, but it’s not what you think”, you rushed to say.

“We weren’t born yesterday. Of course it is what we think it is. But…you aren’t a kid anymore. We can’t forbid you from going and you’ll move there soon anyway. But please be careful”.

“I always am”.

“We know”, said your mum, holding your hand. “You are smart and we trust you. Do we trust a football player’s intentions?”

“We don’t”, answered your dad.

“Keep trusting me, then”.

“Someone’s happy…and in a hurry”, said Pedri, sitting down next to an already dressed Gavi. “I’ve never seen you get ready so fast”.

“I’ve got plans”, smiled his friend.

“I can guess which type of plans”.

“My Santander girl is coming to Barcelona again”.

“I still think she’s too pretty for you”.

“Don’t be jealous, Pepi. She’s an only child but we might find a pretty cousin for you or something”.

“Is she staying with you?”

“No, she’s staying at a hotel but we have a couple of dates planned. And she might change her mind about where she stays after that”.

“Or she might run back to Santander after talking to you for more than 10 minutes”.

Gavi laughed and left the training centre to go find you. The taxi was waiting for him already.

Once at the train station, he tried not to be recognized but it was always a lost battle. It was while taking some photos with a kid that he saw you.

“Sorry guys, I have to go”.

You were looking around and smiled when you finally saw him.

“Hi”, you said, hugging him. “So good to finally see you in person”.

“Yeah, same. Should I take you to the hotel so you can leave your suitcase? Then we can go grab some food”.

“Sounds good”.

You did just that and soon found yourself walking around Barcelona, on your way to a restaurant that was great, according to Gavi. Well, at least you were learning about where to eat for when you moved there.

The food was great. The rest of the date…it wasn’t his fault. Or yours. But there was no spark. The excitement you had felt while you texted was gone. And he was feeling the same way. Well, that was disappointing.

Gavi had planned on trying to ask you to go to his place after dinner but what was the point? He wouldn’t be surprised if you actually ran away home like Pedri had said.

And when you got to the hotel, you buried your head in the pillow, feeling so stupid about how wrong it all went.

“Someone isn’t looking so happy today”.

“Stop”, said Gavi, putting his hands on his face.

“What happened?”

“The date was a disaster, Pedri. A disaster!”

“What did you do?”

“Why does it have to be me?”

“You’re more likely to mess up”, he shrugged.

“It’s just…there was no connection. And it’s not as if she isn’t an interesting person”.

"Or gorgeous”.

“Yeah, that too. But we just felt so uncomfortable in each other’s company. It was so weird”.

“Are you seeing her today? Maybe things change”.

“Well, I have to see her. She is here because of me, I can’t just leave her alone. But…could you maybe come with us?”

“I don’t want to third wheel”.

“It wouldn’t be that. Just, I don’t know, maybe having someone else there helps”.

Pedri didn’t want to tell his friend but the only reason why he accepted was a very selfish one. He wanted to meet you. Every time Gavi mentioned you or showed the boys a photo of you, he cursed his back luck. Maybe if he hadn’t been injured, it would have been him who talked to you at the match.

You were waiting for your “date” to arrive, checking your phone nervously. Maybe the second date would be better than the first. There was some hope.

But then you saw he wasn’t alone and that confirmed he had a terrible time with you too. You tried to see who it was he was with and then realised it was Pedri. The player you actually had a crush on.

“Hi. Do you mind if Pedri comes with us today?”

“No, not all. Hi!”

You tried not to be too obvious but could tell Gavi was looking at you funny. And when Pedri smiled at you, you just knew you were blushing.

“Nice to finally meet you”.

“Nice to meet you too”.

Soon, it was Gavi that felt like he was third wheeling but he didn’t really mind. It wasn’t as if his friend was trying to steal a girl he had a chance with from him. It was clear you two were not meant for each other, but maybe Pedri could be a bit luckier.

“Sometimes I feel like I just signed for Barça because of the beach. I wouldn’t be able to live in Madrid or somewhere without a beach”.

“Same”, you laughed. “I can’t wait to visit all the beaches here. It’s going to make me feel less homesick”.

“Pedri can show you his favourite one”, said Gavi, making you both look at him. Had you forgotten he was there? Kinda.

“That’d be nice”, you said.

“The one near his house is really pretty. Why don’t you go today? The weather is great”.

Pedri looked at his friend, a bit confused. But when he saw the way he raised his eyebrows, he got it.

You quickly finished your dinner and made your way to Pedri’s house, where he parked his car so you could then walk to the beach.

“Sorry about today”.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Well, Gavi sent you to babysit me and you probably had other plans. It’s just…I guess he could tell it wasn’t working between us or whatever. You didn’t have to look after me. It’s fine”.

“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do”.

You looked down, biting your lip. And feeling all the butterflies you expected to feel with Gavi but that never showed up.

The silence that accompanied you while you walked on the beach wasn’t a bad one. It was nice.

“I like to sit there and just look around. It sounds a bit boring, I know”.

“We could do that”, you said quickly, not finding the idea boring at all.

“Come, I’ll let you sit on the comfiest stone”.

That made you laugh.

“It’s a shame you and Gavi didn’t work. He was very excited about seeing you”.

“Yeah. I guess it happens”.

“You could still be friends when you move here, though. He’s a good guy, he’ll be happy to help you with whatever you need”.

“Can I ask for your help too?”

“Of course”.

Sitting there with him was making you feel a bit more bold. Having a crush on someone you didn’t know personally could lead to disappointment when you got to spend some time with that person. But with Pedri…it was the complete opposite.

“You know. I had a crush on a Barça player but it wasn’t Gavi”.

Pedri looked at you after that comment, frowning.

“Torre?”

“What? No, why would you…”.

“Well, he’s the one who recognized you. And he mentioned you asked him for photos a lot. I just guessed”.

“Do you want to guess again?”

“Can I get a little hint? Blonde or brunette? Spaniard or from another country?”

“I’ll give you the best hint. No way you don’t guess right after that”.

He turned to look at you when you didn’t continue talking and you leaned to kiss him. You could tell he was surprised at first, but he responded to the kiss quickly.

“Can you guess now?”

“I might need another one of those hints…”.

You laughed, moving to kiss him again. Yeah, he didn’t disappoint.

"Does this count as stealing my friend's girl?"

"I don't think so".

"Good".

Your final day in Barcelona was spent with Pedri and it was perfect. You kept making promises to each other but you weren’t stupid. The summer holidays were coming and you wouldn’t be with him. So you decided to not try and date until you moved to Barcelona in August. Mostly to save yourself the heartbreak if you opened Instagram one day to see him with another girl while on holiday.

Your parents didn’t buy that nothing had happened with Gavi when they saw the way you looked when you got back home. And after some pestering, you told them what really happened.

The holidays were pretty uneventful for you. And by the time they were almost over, you just spent your days packing your things and getting ready for the big move.

[Pedri ❤️]: will you be in Santander next week?

What an odd message. You had been texting non-stop but you didn’t expect that question now.

[You]: yes, why?

[Pedri ❤️]: I’m coming to see you 😉

He what?

[You]: you don’t have to. We’ll see each other in Barcelona soon.

[Pedri ❤️]: I want to see you. Is that ok?

[You]: of course. I just didn’t expect you to come to see me here.

[Pedri ❤️]: I’ve been dying to see you since the day you left.

And you had been dying to see him since that very same day too. So you planned his little trip, still not believing this was happening.

“Hey!”, you waved at him at the airport, feeling overwhelmed by his presence.

“Don’t go all shy on me now, mi amor”, he said, hugging you and not caring about the looks you were getting from people. “Missed me?”

“Maybe a little”.

“Liar”.

More people started to look at you, recognising Pedri. So you took him to your car to drive him to his hotel.

"My parents want to meet you", you blurted out, afraid of scaring him.

"Ok".

"You're ok with it? I mean, we aren't even dating officially but…you know, they just want to take the opportunity of having you here to talk".

"Yes, it makes sense. And you keep saying we are not dating but that's not how I see it".

You looked at him quickly before looking at the road again. "How do you see it?"

"To me, we started dating the day we met. We are just waiting until we live in the same city to see each other often and I guess do more couple stuff".

"So should I introduce you to my parents as my boyfriend?"

"It'll probably be nicer for them to hear that than calling me the guy you hooked up with once because you actually didn't like my friend".

The laugh that came out of you scared you and you gripped the steering wheel tighter while trying not to laugh more.

But on that first day, you didn't see your parents. You spent the whole day with your boyfriend and if that was an indication of how life was going to be in Barcelona, you couldn't move there fast enough.

Pedri charmed your parents too when he met them and you could tell they were a bit less worried about letting their daughter hang out with a football player.

"I'll see you in…10 days", you told Pedri when you took him to the airport. He started preseason the next day.

"10 loooong days. I might not survive".

"You'll be fine", you hugged him tightly, not ready to let go. "I'm the one who will struggle".

"We facetime every day, ok? I need to see your pretty face".

You nodded, kissing him before walking to the security area with him.

"See you soon".

Your dad was helping you take the last box from the car to your room when you heard screaming in the hallway. Was this going to be a daily occurrence?

"It's Pedri! And Gavi!"

"Oh no…".

You got out of the room and saw your boyfriend walking towards your room. He had promised to help with the moving but ended up having to stay longer for training. But there he was, and Gavi was there too, making every girl in the building go insane.

"What are you doing here?"

Your dad told them to get inside the room and closed the door, so people wouldn't see you.

"No kiss?", he asked and then looked at your dad. "Sorry?"

But your dad just shook his head and Pedri gave you a quick kiss and hugged you.

"Did you bring Gavi here to see if I had changed my mind about who I liked?"

"So funny".

"I was brought here for my muscles", said Gavi, flexing said muscles.

"You are here because I have to drive you around and I didn't want to waste more time going all the way to your house".

"I can help anyway".

When everything was in place, you decided to leave. Your dad wanted to take you to dinner before leaving. And now both Pedri and Gavi were invited to that dinner.

On the way out, you tried to keep your distance from your boyfriend, not wanting to create rumours on your first day there. But the problem was that it was Gavi who walked by your side and that didn't create a rumour. It only made the one that already existed bigger.

Some of the girls took photos of you two walking together and laughing and posted them on Instagram.

"Ok then. You can't visit me if this is what's going to happen".

"You ok?"

You nodded, not feeling sure about being ok. You were dating one person while everyone seemed to think you were dating his best friend. It was…weird.

And it wasn't the last time something like that happened. You started to go to every Barça match at home, wearing your Barça shirt but not showing the back. So, of course, everyone assumed you were wearing Gavi's.

It got to the point where you didn't want to post about the matches. Your account was private but someone was clearly posting your photos with other accounts and you didn't know who it could be. So no posting was the solution. Every time you posted with Pedri, it was stories for your close friends. And those were never leaked, thankfully.

"What happened?", you asked one of the girls that lived with you when you got there and saw all the people on your floor.

"A pipe burst and we have no water. And the water messed something up and half of us have no electricity".

"Huh…we can't stay here, then".

"Where are we supposed to go?", she asked. "Not all of us can go to our rich boyfriend's mansion like you will".

"Whatever", you rolled your eyes and went to your room to pick up some clothes and your books.

"Say hi to Gavi from me!"

You were still shaking your head when you closed your door.

"Hi! You're on speaker. I'm driving to the stadium".

"Sorry. I've got no water or electricity at my place. Can I stay with you until it's back?"

"Of course", said Pedri, not doubting his answer for a second, which made you smile. "And for the record, it wasn't me who did whatever it's that happened just so you stay with me".

"Don't believe him".

"Hi, Pablito! And don't worry, I don't believe him. I'll see you after the match, ok?"

"Looking forward to it".

"Good luck boys!"

After the match, you waited for the boys near Pedri's car. They didn't take long to get there and you hugged both of them to congratulate them for the win. But your boyfriend got a longer hug.

"Sit behind him", said Pedri when you walked to sit behind the driver's seat, his seat.

"Why?"

"So I can see you while I drive".

"Oh my God", Gavi was rolling his eyes and Pedri glared at him.

But you did as he said and he started to drive. You could also see him better like this so you weren't going to complain.

When you were getting out of the stadium, you saw all the fans waiting. You put your hood on and tried to hide from all of them but they were surrounding the car.

Looking up from your phone for two seconds, you saw all the people trying to get a good look at you.

"It's her", you heard them say, "the girl Gavi is dating".

"See? I told you they were together".

You saw Pedri's jaw clenching and Gavi told him to drive so they wouldn't make you uncomfortable. He turned to see if you were ok and dozens of phones were out to film the interaction.

"Oh my God, he's so sweet looking after her", was the last thing you heard before Pedri drove past all the fans.

"Sorry about that", said Gavi.

"It's ok".

But you knew it wasn't ok. Because your boyfriend didn't say a word the whole drive to Gavi's and barely acknowledged him when he said goodbye.

You quickly moved to the passenger's seat and tried to get his attention but he wasn't in the mood.

"Are you ok?", you asked him when you got home.

"No, I'm really tired. Tired of everyone thinking my girlfriend is dating my friend".

"Who cares what they think? It's just because of that video. But you know the truth. We know the truth".

"What truth?", he said, raiding his voice. You had never heard him speak like that.

"What do you mean?"

"The truth about how you two spent weeks flirting and then you came here to be with him?"

"Are you for real?", you couldn't believe him. "You know how that ended. Why are you bringing that up now? I'm here with you, am l not?"

"Maybe you should just go with him. Everyone seems to think that".

"I don't think that".

But no matter what you said, he wouldn't look at you. It was breaking your heart. So you left…and there was only one place you could go to.

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multifandominfj · 6 months

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A New Beginning: A Supergirl 6x20 Re-Write

Chapter One: Back to Reality

There was definitely a new air about National City that night, and there was definitely a new air about Kara Danvers as well. Sitting in her chair in the main meeting area of the CatCo bullpen, wearing a red and cream tartan suit with her hair perfectly blown out; almost as if she flew there in a rush so she wouldn’t be late.

Thanks to a very important person at her sister’s wedding, who can only be described as the living embodiment of regality with a soft marshmallow center, and a droning force in short but fun-sized packed persona over the phone, she decided that this interview was not only the right time to tell the City she called home for years who she was, but all to breathe. To become herself. Her WHOLE self.

“Are you sure you want to do this Kiera?” The incomparable Cat Grant almost floated in to do this interview, she was that mystical and ethereal. “Once you do this, your life will be changed, and the horrid, ridiculous guest appearances start.”

“I’m sure. This is exactly what I need to do.” Kara takes a relaxing deep breath to calm her nerves.

“And none of your family knows you’re doing this?” Cat’s eyebrow makes an ever present curious arch.

“Nope…Though this would be a good surprise.” A slightly nervous, but at peace chuckle was the clear indicator that she was ready.

“Well then…” Cat gave her famous, let’s get down to business smirk. “Let’s make history.”

*The Lena Luthor Foundation--Head Office*

Catching up on some paperwork, Lena had lost track of time.

“Knock knock.” A rap on the door frame from Andrea had greeted her. “Figured you could use the company and pick me up.”

“Andrea.” A smile brighter than Rao itself was the indicator that she needed a break. “You’re a lifesaver. And thank you. I lost track of time, I actually forgot to eat.”

“Well, when Kara is off changing the world in her new Girl Boss position, someone needs to be there as back up.” Andrea began to unpack a bag of Big Belly Burger, and turn on the tv in Lena’s office. “So, where is Kara exactly? Didn’t you tell me she would be here too?”

“She was, but she had something come up with Cat about changing the layout of their next issue. And something that big, I wouldn’t keep her from that. I told her she could simply make up to me at home.” Hiding her smirk when she said that was not even going to happen.

“I bet.” A chuckle was bound to happen. “I’m happy for you, Lena. Ever since our last catch up after Alex and Kelly’s wedding, it seems like you and Kara are closer than ever.” Andrea was genuinely happy for her friend.

But what she didn’t know was that there was indeed a moment between her and Kara at the wedding. However, just as she was about to say those three words, Nia had called them to wave goodbye to the blushing brides.

“We are. It feels very cathartic that we can just be ourselves with each other. And after all of that time I spent being angry at her for simply…” She definitely couldn’t reveal Kara’s secret. “Keeping a family secret to herself, I had time to think about all of that.” Lena shrugged as she ate.

*The Suburbs of National City*

Family Movie Night was in full swing at the Danvers-Olsen household. Tonight’s plans: Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn, A giant order of potstickers no one had to fight over because Kara wasn’t there to inhale them like a Hoover vacuum, and a big pitcher of lemonade with “special additions” for the adults.

“Alex, hurry up! The movie is starting.” Kelly hollered from the living room

“I’m coming.” She warmly chuckled, followed by a delightful peck on the lips and greeted Kelly upon her return. “Movie nights require extra blankets.” Alex lays one over Kelly and Esme, who was practically shoveling the popcorn by the handful.

“And I feel honored to have finally made a movie night. It’s been a while since I’ve visited. The Tower has kept me rather busy. With you ladies enjoying your time off, and Kara being a big shot with Cat, Brainy, Nia and M’Gann are helping as much as they can.” J’onn grinned warmly as he leaned back in his armchair.

“And tell M’Gann we said thank you for her gift. That Martian salt lamp, I’ll admit, was a little…odd. But the living room was the perfect place for it.” Alex quickly retorts.

“Sssssh.” Esme takes a break from chewing. “You guys are going to miss the best part.” She jokingly glares at them with her crystalline amber-brown eyes.

“It’s the beginning.” Kelly could help but laugh at her daughter’s reaction.

“Exactly. Everything you need to know is in the beginning and I don't want to miss a thing.” She goes right back to devouring her popcorn, eyes practically glued to the TV.

All three adults exchange a glance that read “I swear she’s smarter than all of us.”

“She gets that from you.” Kelly smirked, mouthing to Alex, before turning to the screen herself.

While watching, Alex just took in her surroundings for a moment. For all her life, she had dreamed of having a family of her own. Of having a partner that would love her regardless, good times and bad. Pinching herself to check if it was real was no longer necessary. Her dream had finally come true. With a content exhale, she wrapped her arm around Kelly, pulling her close to snuggle under their blanket.

*CatCo Bullpen*

“Thirty seconds to air, Miss Grant.” A camera assistant reminds them as the equipment setup is finished.

“Are you ready to make history?” Cat smirked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Kara took a deep breath, closing her eyes just for a moment. In that moment, all of that conflicting weight about having to choose between Supergirl, and Kara Danvers…was gone. Yes, she still had the trauma she never really dealt with, but finding a therapist would be tomorrow’s plan. Right now, she wanted to show those little girls out there who look up to her, that you can have as many sides to you as you want.

With a definitive and proud nod to the camera person, the red light turns on.

“Hello National City. You know her as Kara Danvers, CatCo’s Ace reporter and NEW Editor In Chief. But tonight, it is my great honor to introduce to you…Supergirl.”

As she was saying those words, trying to remain as professional as possible, she could feel her sense of pride grow. Cat had known Kara since the start. Yes, she was mean and hostile. But it was only because she wanted Kara to see her full potential, and as soon as she figured out that Kara and Supergirl were one in the same, she pushed Kara harder. She knew the doubts were still there. Hence the blunt, but caring pep talk she had given her over the phone. Cat always knew how great Kara’s value was. Being able to not only break the story about Supergirl, but to be able to interview her protege in the end…She hadn’t had too many “proud mom” moments in her life, but seeing the person Kara had become over the years right in front of her; The growth she could see from Kara’s smile alone, it was certainly just that.

And even though Cat knew her identity for years, hearing her mentor say it, seeing her mentor smile while saying it, it took all of her willpower to not tear up. In that presence space, Kara and Supergirl were whole.

*The Lena Luthor Foundation--Head Office*

Andrea had nearly had her milkshake come out of her nose watching the TV. “Wait, you’re telling me…” Her Sage/Mint Green eyes wider than usual, she had to set down her dinner. “All of those times. The time Supergirl saved me when Nxly nearly threw me up against my back office wall, that weird white tiger incident…”

Lena simply sat there, stifling a chuckle while nodding. “Yeah. It’s a lot. But it was for Kara to tell you herself, and not me.”

Rubbing her face as if that would help the news process faster, Andrea leaned back in her office chair getting pained realization across her face. “Kara was missing for those weeks. Her hesitancy to write about the Phantoms. Her being scrambled…oh my god.”

“Andrea, it's okay.” Lena reaches for her friend’s hand to assure her.

“It’s not Lena.” Shaking her head, refusing to act like she was nice to Kara. “I was nothing but rude to Kara. I shot down every idea, criticized her work when it was perfectly fine. I couldn’t even pick up on the fact that the Phantom situation probably caused her even more trauma after I forced her to write about it.”

“That’s an understatement.” Lena whispers under her breath.

“Even sending William to flat out snoop on her and the Super Friends was a dumb move. It…” Andrea was flashing back to that video.

“Don’t even go there. It wasn’t your fault. As nice a guy as he was, he could’ve prevented his own death. Sending that video to guilt trip you was a shite move on his part.” That was one thing that made Lena angry about that situation: there was an easy solution, but someone with a small brain decided to have the last word.

“I know.” Giving a somewhat sad smile, Andrea was grateful for Lena’s assurance and advice. “And Hopefully opening a school in his honor, as well as an award, is the first step to getting future Kara Danvers’, Nia Nal’s and William Dey’s pursuing the truth.” Looking at the clock. “Well, I should go. Tell Kara I said hi.” She gives Lena a much needed hug, and turns on her heel.

“I will Andrea. Drive safe.” As soon as she left, she practically lunged for her phone.

“Two things: That suit, The Cher Clueless vibes REALLY suit you ;). And when you get home…we need to talk.”

With an effervescent smirk, her own heart growing warmer by the second, Lena sat back in her office chair, and watched the rest of the interview with Kara and Cat. She had always been proud of Kara; who wouldn’t of their own best friends accomplishments? But with every word Kara spoke, Lena could visibly see how much her words to Kara at Alex’s wedding helped.

“My girlfriend is HOT.” She chuckled to herself.

*The Suburbs of National City*

A silence had fallen in the Danvers-Olsen household. While J’onn, Kelly and Alex were a mixture of shock and pride, Alex especially. There was her baby sister, at peace with who she is on TV, being interviewed by the person who had seen her grow just as much. Her eyes were glassy with tears, causing her vision to slightly blur. Despite the stinging in her corneas, a smile as big as the milky way galaxy was plastered right across her face.

“Aunt Kara!” Esme on the other hand, practically flew off the couch to sit closer to the TV so she could watch her aunt in all her glory.

The look she had on her face was priceless, magnified by one hundred.

“Well, if that isn’t the cutest thing on this planet.” Kelly grinned, watching Esme. “I don’t think I’ve seen Esme with this much wonder before.”

“Wouldn’t you if your Aunt was a superhero?” J’onn beamed, listening to the interview questions. “Even being interviewed, she has a gift with words.”

“I’m not surprised. If there was one subject she was good at in high school, it was creative writing.” Alex quickly dabbed her eyes so she could have a clearer view while watching. “I always thought Kara would do something like this, but just print. I had no idea that she was going to let Cat interview her.”

“It’s pretty full circle if you think about it. That one issue of CatCo you showed me, Cat was the one to break the story. I think it’s poetic that Cat is the one to finally get Kara to open up about being Supergirl.” Wise as ever, Kelly too had a twinkle of happiness watching.

“But that would mean…” Alex’s cogs were turning. “Oh…wow. That means Cat has always known too.”

“Aunt Kara really needed a different disguise.” Esme laughed at her own joke.

“Yeah…glasses were definitely not the best idea.” Alex responded with a resounding agreement.

“Can we go see Aunt Kara tomorrow to tell her we saw the interview?” Esme turns to all three of them, puppy dog eyes turned all the way up to 11.

“She mastered that quickly.” J’onn smirked at her reaction, watching Alex and Kelly slowly but surely cave.

“If she’s not too busy with work?” Alex turned to Kelly for the assist.

“I think your Aunt Kara would love that surprise.” Kelly booped her precious little button nose.

“Yay!” Esme cheered. “I’m going to go draw a picture of her to give it to her tomorrow before bed.” She takes off running to her room.

“I will take that as my cue that movie night is over.” J’onn surges from his chair to give the girls each a hug.

“Thanks again for coming, J’onn. Esme wouldn’t let up about inviting you to movie night.” Kelly jokes, returning his sentiment.

“She really does have everyone wrapped around her finger.” He fondly jokes right back.

“I wouldn't have it any other way.” Alex gives him a bear hug with a pleased feeling of content. Both she and Kelly waved goodbye, then began to pick up the aftermath of snacks.

“So, how are you feeling?” Kelly could always tell when something was on Alex’s mind.

“Like someone just shook the emotional magic eight ball that was inside me, and asked “Is Alex going to cry?” Answer: Without question.” Alex’s sense of humor always somehow made her feel less emotional in order to get herself to stop crying. “Though, I’m shocked Kara didn’t text, or reveal anything about this.”

“Maybe that was the point of the surprise. All of those pep talks you’ve given her over the years, plus Lena, and whatever blunt and slight scary pep talk Cat gave her…was the push she needed to do this.” Kelly came up behind Alex to wrap her arms around her waist, resting her chin on her shoulder. “It’s nice to see your sister be her authentic self.”

“You’re right.” Grinning, Alex spun to meet Kelly’s luminous brown eyes. “And between you and I, I think Lena did most of the pushing to get her to this point. Now if she’d only just remove those blinders of hers.”

“You’re bad.” Kelly teased before leaning in to meet Alex’s lips the rest of the way.

“Cue the song Bad to the Bone.” Alex, quite pleased with herself, closes the gap. “Come on, let’s go see how our little Bob Ross is doing on her masterpiece.”

Hand in hand, they stood watching Esme. Swelling with a sense of home and completeness, that couldn’t help but turn to mush watching their daughter reach for color after color as she drew Kara on TV. To them, this was their definition of perfect.

*CatCo Bullpen*

“Thank you, Miss Grant. This is exactly what I needed.” With a loud exhale, Kara felt freer than she had ever felt in her entire life.

“I should be the one thanking you, Kiera.” Cat admits. “These next words I’m about to stay within this bullpen…” She then turns to give the iciest glare to the camera operators. And just like that, as if by magic they disappeared. “I may be snarky, callus and rude…” Immediately, her finger goes up to ward off any sarcastic comments that would come out of Kara’s mouth. “But I really do care. Those Groucho Marx glasses of yours, you didn’t need them. That disguise worked about as well as the superhero’s first suit in a pilot episode on the CW. I already knew you were special. Whether it be your writing, or how you interact with people. As far as I'm concerned, you were Supergirl in the office. Even then, I knew you were giving people a sense of Hope. Being able to do this here, with you…Not only has it been the highlight of my entire career, it is the moment I am most proud of.”

“I don’t --I…” Kara quickly pinched her tear ducts to stop herself from crying before giving a reserved, but very big hug. “Thank you.” She shakes her feelings away, taking a step back.

“You’re welcome.” Cat didn’t let many people hug her; Kara was one of those lucky few. “Now you better run along to your girlfriend, because I’m sure she wants to see you after this momentous occasion.”

“How did you?!” Kara’s face instantly goes Hubba Bubba pink.

“Oh please, it's about as obvious as the beginning of every Christmas and Valentine’s Day movie on the Hallmark Channel. Go.” Cat shooed her as she packed up her stuff.

A booming woosh was all that was heard as Kara left. She knew she had to figure out what the second half of Lena's text meant. Did she forget something? Was she in trouble for eating the last piece of cheesecake? Getting an I’m Sorry as a just in case was her best bet.

Here it is. My very first chapter of my Supergirl fanfic. I’m super nervous about sharing, but please let me know what you think in the comments, and any KIND constructive criticism you have as well.

#katie mcgrath #lena luthor #kara danvers #melissa benoist #kara x lena #supercorp endgame #supergirl cw #supercorp #supergirl #fanfic #fanfiction #future writer #author in the making #queer writers

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asherloki · 8 months

Note

heyy, i saw that ur requests were open, but that was like 2 weeks ago so idk if its still valid, but if they are; i was thinking abt this quote i saw on pinterest:

“you cant love someone unless you love yourself first. bullshit. i have never loved myself, but you, oh god, i loved you so much i forgot what hating myself feels like”

with sherlock who is COMPLETELY smitten with reader and views them as his safe space from insufferable people and unsolvable cases

if u consider this or even write this thank you in advance <3 (thank u anyways tho bc ur work is so good like?? bruh gimme some writing skills IM BEGGING)

anways, bye <3

"My sunshine"

Bbc Sherlock

A/n:- ohho it was lovely ! Even though I'm sorry for the writing quality, I've been busy and lacking creativity, hope you still like it.

"do you like it?" asked the detective while handing me a box packed nicely. He had a real busy day running around the city with Scotland yard officers, especially with lestrade, accompanied by John.

"what is it?" I enquired taking the box from him. I still remember the day we first met. The night was cold and I met his lovely landlady Mrs Hudson. She was friendly enough to invite me over tea at her place and my curiosity led me to meet her famous tenant. Mr Sherlock Holmes. The urge to share the flat with this junkie detective got on me for some reason. Everything about his flat fascinated where anyone would say his flat is unbearable. His cold lifeless flat, as he describes so, was somehow comforting to him. Then with his approval and with my family's permission as well, I moved in to Baker Street as his flatmate. 221b was closer to my office so it was an advantage in convincing my family to let me shift to Baker Street. Since then I've seen two sides of Sherlock. One, the side everyone knows, the analytical cold detective. And two, the side which is revealed to very few people, luckily for me being one of them. Living so close to him taught me he has a soft side. The one that's like a goofy child. The one who sits infront me while I paint just staring at the painting to be done with fascination in his eyes. The one that takes a brush from my set that I'm not using at that moment and starts to draw patterns on a crumbled paper, one of those which contained a case which was still unsolved and bugged him.

"open it, I just hope you like it." replied he, With, what I believe to be a bit nervousness in his voice, yet also a bit of excitement. So I giggled at his childishness and opened the box. To my delight it was a chocolate muffin. A big one, loaded with chocolate chips.

"oh gosh my favourite muffin!" I could barely hold my excitement to me. Turning to him I saw a wide smile spreading accross his lips what was alot like a relief.

"yes, it's yours, I hope it tastes good too" said the man who was perhaps more than ten years older than me, not perhaps, he was alot older than me. But it never felt so, he was still a goofy kid somehow.

"ofcourse it'll be, where's yours?" he must've bought for himself as well I presumed. And a lovely evening with tea and our muffins was on my mind, oh not to forget, the exciting stories he is yet to tell.

"m-mine?" he stuttered, as if him having bought a muffin for himself was out of question.

"yes yours, don't tell me you bought a tasty big muffin for me and not for yourself, how could you resist?" seriously, how could he resist the urge to get his hands on such a precious thing.

"I.." he trailed off, as if he was confused, "didn't think about getting one for me actually".

These are the kind of replies that makes me wanna wrap him in my arms. This man never thought anything good for himself, never got anything good for himself. But I couldn't just have it on my own. The box contained the store name and address, which is far away, perhaps somewhere near his case led him to. So going there and buying another was out of question, but this muffin was big enough, and sharing is always an option.

"you know what?" I spoke, regaining some enthusiasm, "how about some tea?"

"that sounds wonderful" that's it, that's the reply I wanted to hear before going to the kitchen. I took out our cups and Mrs Hudson was always there to bring us a kettle filled with tea.

Sherlock took his chair and sat while I sat on one beside his. I placed our cups while he poured the tea.

"we forgot the biscuits, I'll get them give me minute." he was getting up from his chair when I interrupted.

"no need" looking at him I saw his baffled expressions again. Honestly Sherlock, enough baffling for one day. "sit down, I have something better".

He sat yet he was utterly confused, Even more not less when he saw me taking out the muffin and cutting it into half. Smart detective knew the other half belongs to him, or I want so.

"here, have something better than regular biscuits" saying so with a smile I passed the plate with his part of the muffin closer to him.

"but... that.." he stuttered again, "that was for you" after a pause he finally formed the sentence.

"yes, which means I can do anything I want with it."

He kept on looking at me and with a soft nod took a piece in his spoon. Then slowly he took the piece in. I could see his expression changing again while he munched that piece of muffin, into something that indicated if he were someone else he could've shaded a drop of tear or two.

"hey" I said pating his shoulder and keeping my palm on it, "what happened?"

He raised his face so his eyes were staring into mine, but there was barely any intensity in his eyes at that moment. there was, what I presume is sadness. He finally inhaled a deep breath before speaking up,

"I have..." he paused, he was collecting words I was sure of it, "I've never considered myself as someone who deserves anything good."

His word, about himself, it's devastating he thinks so little about himself.

"what are you talking about?" baffled, I was puzzled way too much to figure out what was going inside him, imagine a man like him is unable to see anything good in him. "Sherlock, please, you literally save hundreds of lives".

"I have also shot one"

"to save john, your best friend".

He looked around as if trying to find more proof against him.

"Sherlock?" I called him softly, as he turned his face to me I got up from my chair and to his utter surprise, embraced him, rather his head, leaning it on my chest. His body turned stiff, apparently he didn't expect a hug.

"you're the best and the most wisest man people have ever seen, and the kindest and the most innocent person I've ever had the opportunity to know".

His stiffness lessened with these words and finally he let himself fall into my arms, fall into my embrace, unknowingly I also leaned on him. My cheek touching his curls. His rather soft curls.

"you're saying this?" he asked with such joy and surprise in his voice.

"yes ofcourse, why not". I waited for a reply, it took him time but finally he said,

"because you've always been the sunshine for me. Since the day you've entered in my life, since I've got to know you. my work was all I knew but for some reason I longed to come home at night to you. I always saw you as someone whom I don't deserve, who's too good for me, too young for me. So I just enjoyed every second we are together, fir one day you may choose someone to love and move out. I tried to do every little thing that could bring you happiness. I was so lost, with you I found my way. But I won't demand anything from you, because I believe someone young, handsome a better person should be with you".

I couldn't believe, but I had to, it was all real, his words, his feelings, him.

"you never said you think of me so highly" I whispered.

"that's why I was broken everytime I saw you with a guy, but I was way more broken when I saw you shedding tears for them leaving you, how could someone like you be someone's second choice when to me you're not just the first or only choice but my whole being knows you're the right choice, a bit too right I was afraid to ever consider myself as your lover, I didn't dare to think of anyone else since I laid my eyes on you, I never chose anyone, no matter how smart, attractive or lovely they were, because now I see, I was supposed to choose you, I got so utterly devoted to you that I don't remember myself anymore. I only know you."

"Sherlock " I whispered his name while slowly letting his head go, I sat in my chair and wondered how beautiful his feelings are that neither his nor my eyes could hold a drop of tear from falling down. "now it's my turn then, I've barely been ever treated this well as you've confessed yourself, I've barely been completely understood. do you think, this immature, little less intelligent, day dreamer flatmate of yours is worthy of you?"

I knew it'd be enough to overwhelm him if he really thought so highly of me and it did. He didn't stop his tears this time, he immediately embraced me and we both cried silently while embracing eachother until his warm voice was heard saying, "then I guess we are actually worthy of eachother ".

I giggled, yes we are. absolutely yes.

"yes, I'll keep you happy ".

"and I'll treat you well."

Tag list :- @astudyinlaura @selcouthangel @a-victorian-girl @callsign-sunshine

If anyone wants to be in my taglist then let me know!

#bbc sherlock #sherlock x reader #sherlock x y/n #sherlock holmes x reader

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thefrontofmymind · 10 months

Text

Might As Well 5; Is This Town Worth Living In?

matty healy x videographer!reader

WC: 5252

masterlist

You treated it like a job. An unpaid, harrowing job. Every gig you would act as roadie for the band; driving to the gig in Matty’s van–wordlessly–setting up all their equipment, cheering as loud as you could for every song, and then packing it all up and going home again. It broke your heart, this professional partnership with Matty. It wasn’t working, even with minimal words between you, so much was being said.

I love you.

I miss you.

Me too.

I know but it’d never work.

I don’t care.

You’d begun working on some new ideas for music videos with him. You needed something to talk about apart from yourselves. It was an alright distraction, it’d fill the time of the long drives to pubs in the city, one weekend you even made your way to Sheffield for a gig once. Months went by, and it felt like your life was passing you by, but the only real thing was those drives. Even with your skin itching and your heart breaking, Matty’s presence brought you comfort.

It was beginning to get warmer, the sun was staying up later and you didn’t mind the windows down as Matty drove. The rest of the guys had to take off early, all citing different excuses, though you knew they all thought it a bother to have to pack up all the equipment. George once told you he was just waiting for when they were famous and they could have a whole team sort it out for them.

You were trying to fit all of the equipment in the back of the van, always a game of tetris. You’d even taken off your signature high-tops, as much as you loved them, that weren’t exactly the most flexible of shoes. You had to talk to him, really talk to him. You couldn’t stand not talking to him for much longer.

“Hey,” you said to him as you were going back and forth with boxes and cables and cases, but it came out more like a question. Matty hummed in response, matching your cadence. “I…have news…”

“What? You’re pregnant or something?” He joked. You loved to see him laugh with you.

“No! God no!” You laughed. “Do you think you’ll ever get out of here?”

“Wilmslow?” He asked. You nodded. “I hope. One day. Why? You thinking about leaving?”

“I’ve got an offer for a film school in Brighton.”

“Oh my god!” He answered. “That’s amazing! You should go for it!”

“You think?”

“Of course! If you think this’ll be your ticket, you should go for it. And yeah, it’s far from home and all that, but there is nothing stopping you from visiting us all!”

“I guess…I’m going to Brighton!”

“It’d be nice, at the seaside…You could get a tan…”

“Yeah,” you answered. “It will be.”

It felt like a weight off your chest. Being alright with Matty. You’d found a spot somewhere between friends and nothing that was comfortable. You would engage in light chitchat, small talk, and anything regarding creative endeavours, but nothing else was on the table. If he wanted to know how Chris and the rest of your family was doing, he could ask them, and likewise.

You felt content. Happy, even. You were settled in what you called ‘your life for now’. You had friends, your health, and you were on the road to university in just a few months and you would live a life that you were proud of. You’d have no idea it would all come shattering down with a simple private message.

Justine McIntyre

hi! i have a question?

You were intrigued. You did a quick scan of this Justine’s profile. She just seemed like a normal girl your age from Cardiff. She probably knew Dylan or something, maybe a friend he went to school with or something.

hellooo wats goin on??

Immediately you a response. Almost faster than you think any person could type.

how do you know dylan?

You typed an answer.

hes my boyfriend. r u a mate of his?

Ping! An answer that shocked you to your core.

hes MY boyfriend!

omg that cheating cunt!

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t answer, your hands were shaking too much to make any sense. Your vision blurred and it felt like a vice was around your throat.

You closed your laptop and got under your bed sheets. And you just cried. You couldn’t fathom it, the first guy to ever like you and make an effort, and it was all an act. You let out silent sobs, tears flowing down your face and onto your pillow. You could’ve been just crying and staring at the ceiling for hours.

It was late by the time you’d gotten so dehydrated that the tears had no option but to stop. It was dark outside and the rest of the house sounded quiet; at least from what you could tell in your disconnected state.

You put on your shoes, grabbed your keys, and left your room. You needed fresh air, you needed to think.

You weren’t even thinking of being scared of walking alone in the dark. It was like your brain turned onto autopilot as you walked. You kept going over everything, every action, every sentence, every kiss and more, in your head. How much of it was real?

You knew after a while that if you stopped, your legs just wouldn’t start again, so you kept going. And going, and going.

A familiar house came into view. Surely Mr and Mrs Healy wouldn’t mind a case of light breaking and entering. You’d yet to meet them, but from what you heard they were lovely and understanding people. You quietly opened the gate into the back garden. And lo and behold, the light of the shed was on.

You knocked on the door, and after hearing a faint ‘what is it?’, you opened it. Though it was like something was stopping you from crossing the threshold, so you stood in the doorway. It took a couple seconds for Matty to react. He was lounging on the small sofa, guitar in hand and notebook and pen in front of him.

He looked up at you, he knew something was wrong the second he laid eyes on you. He quickly stood up and approached, when you just crumbled into him, sobbing all the way through. And he simply held you while you cried, a comforting hand firmly rubbing your back.

“Tell me what’s happened,” he said as you began to calm down.

“He has another girlfriend…in Wales…he’s cheating on me…” You answered between sniffles. Matty didn’t say anything, just enveloping you in an even tighter hug–if that was possible. “How could I be such an idiot?”

“You’re not an idiot. He is,” he answered. “You did nothing wrong…”

You began to actually feel at ease in Matty’s hold. You could breathe again.

“Do you wanna…” He pointed behind his back. “Come inside?”

You nodded and he finally let go of you. You walked inside and settled on the sofa. You tried to take a peek at the notebook, but Matty closed it and put it off to the side before you could see. All you noticed was a very short title scribbled at the top of the page.

“Not finished yet…” was all he said before going back to fiddling with the guitar, random little riffs he was coming up with. “Do you…want to talk about it?”

You sighed. “A girl messaged me on MySpace, asking how I knew him, so I told her that he was my boyfriend, and then she was like ‘what? He’s my boyfriend’, and I just…” You put your head in your hands, trying to stop the tears from brimming again. “Then I walked here.”

“You walked?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, darling…” He put the guitar down again–gently–and pulled you into him. It felt like a new home for you there against his chest. “I’m so sorry…”

Somewhere in the cosmos, the fates were looking in on you; as you were pressed against his chest, looking up at his sorrowful face, you had a choice ahead of you. You couldn’t take it. You wouldn’t take it.

You quickly moved from his grasp, mentally kicking yourself for even thinking about leaning in, and finally kissing him–after a year of friendship you were so close to throwing it all away. It would’ve been a dumb, rash decision that you would regret once you calmed down. You thought long about it in the past, you knew Matty’s feelings on the matter. But it just wasn’t right, you couldn’t kiss someone else while you were in a relationship–no matter the worsening condition of it.

You sat a good foot away from Matty and told him everything. Really just unloading on him–though he was happy to be on the receiving end. You couldn’t help but go on a long spiel, explaining how hurt you were, how the first time you trusted someone enough to let them in, they just had to hurt you anyway. You told him about your childhood, growing up with separate parents, that you promised yourself you wouldn’t let yourself get into a position like your mum, alone raising two kids after their dad ran out on them for greener pastures.

It was so cathartic, you’d never told anyone how you felt about it all–not even Chris, your one confidante who understood how you felt because he was feeling it too. After it all, you let out a big sigh, a weight was off your chest.

“Do you want some advice?” He asked.

“If you’re giving it out.”

“You can’t keep hurting,” he started. “You have to cut off this pain at the source.”

“Dylan?”

He nodded. “You need to tell him it’s over.”

“I know…”

You began to think, to plan. You decided it was best to do it in person. You wanted to look him in the eye and really talk to him. And you just couldn’t act before that, you had to treat your life like he hadn’t done what he did. You wouldn’t stoop to his level, you wouldn’t act on your urges, no matter how much it seemed like the universe was begging you to kiss the boy across from you.

You spend most of your time in hiding. Secluded to your room while you thought everything over. Dylan had still been texting you like normal, you answered in short, curt sentences but he didn’t seem to notice.

You broke the news to Chris, to which he gave you a hug and called him a prick. You begged him not to tell your mum and stepdad why you two broke up, you didn’t want either of them to kick off. On the first evening of your solitude your baby brother, Luke, gently knocked on your door and shuffled inside your hole of a room.

“I want you to know I would never cheat on a girl,” he said.

“Thanks, mate,” you answered, not moving from your spot under your covers. He was a sweet kid, and he always knew what to say to make you feel better–as best he could.

You got a message from Ross, saying he hoped you were okay–he was quickly becoming a comfort to you, someone who you could rely on–indicating that either Matty or Chris had spilled the beans.

You didn’t speak to Matty. You couldn’t speak to Matty. There was so much running through your head, you couldn’t think straight. After an entire year of friendship, you were convinced you were happy with just that, but simply watching him, looking at the photos you’d taken at small gatherings and gigs, it made your heart flutter–more than Dylan had ever done. You just didn’t know what to say. You probably typed up a thousand messages explaining how you were feeling, what you were going to do. But in all honesty, you just couldn’t put a name on the pain running through you. You wished you could take a several-day long nap and you could wake up and all your problems would be solved for you. All you knew you had to break up with Dylan, that was obvious.

Part of you was hoping it wasn’t real and she was just some weirdo who wanted some attention–even though this Justine was posting photo after photo with Dylan and his friends, and they all seemed very chummy with each other in the comments. You couldn’t help but read each and every one of them, each giving you another stab to your heart. You managed to get a train ticket down a couple weeks ahead. You just had to wait.

For now, you tried to keep yourself busy. Films, music, your own personal projects. It wasn’t working all that great, but you had no other option. You tried to immerse yourself in your favourite films, comfort movies you would save for rainy days or when you were sick.

You sunk further and further into your mattress on one particularly hard day, Dylan hadn’t answered any of your messages–something that you used to not bat an eye at, an often occurrence, but now you could only imagine what he was getting up to. You were under your covers, it was getting warmer outside but you didn’t mind the thin sheen of sweat over you if it meant you could be cosy. You were watching one of your favourite movies, Alice In Wonderland, you loved the colours, the needlessly nonsensical dialogue, and the all-over plot. It was the perfect movie to get lost in, you’d loved it since you were a kid.

There was a knock at the door. You figured it was someone in your household bringing you a cup of tea or just asking how you were going–normal procedure over that past couple days. You called out a small ‘come in’ and the door creaked open. The mop of hair you were desperately trying not to think of was standing at the precipice.

“Hey, Healy,” you said, trying not to notice the jump in your chest.

“How are you, kid?” He asked, quickly walking to sit on the edge of your bed.

“I’ve had better days.”

He chuckled, turning to see what was playing on your small TV that sat on top of your chest of drawers. “Wow! Alice In Wonderland! I haven’t seen this since I was…little.”

You patted the mattress next to you–almost on instinct–and he got the idea, kicking his Vans off and shuffling to lay next to you, a position you had become quite familiar with on your occasional movie nights together.

You were trying to watch the movie, but you couldn’t with all your focus on Matty’s breath. In and out, in, laugh, and out. His arm rested on top of your duvet, your leg underneath it, your skin felt like it was tingling, almost like frostbite.

Eventually, you weren’t even watching the movie, just his face as he laughed at all the antics on the screen. You could see just a little bit of stubble in patches across his right cheek, his front teeth were just a little crooked, his eyes were the kind of brown that was so deep, you wanted to take a dive into them. You noticed things you hadn’t seen before. He was becoming more and more of a person in your mind, he was real.

A shock of terror ran down your spine as he locked eyes with you, a smirk at catching you staring. You didn’t say anything, just quickly whipped your gaze back to the film. You heard a small, breathy chuckle from beside you, drilling a hole into your mind.

Deep breaths. No tears. You’ll be okay. You told yourself over and over on the train ride. You could feel your entire body shaking with anxiety, including your internal organs…somehow.

You heard your phone ping, a text. It was your mum.

hi sweetie! sorry i couldnt get out of work to drive you. were all here for you xox

You smiled at the message. You didn’t exactly tell your family why you felt the urge to go see your dad for a random weekend only mere weeks before you would be on summer break, but they could infer. Your stepdad had given the biggest, most comforting hug you’d ever gotten from him at the train station, and a reassuring, “we all love you.”

As the train hauled to a slow stop, your heartbeat got faster. Some of the passengers on your carriage began to get up and get ready to go on with their lives outside of this metal tube–in the slow kind of way that hopefully by the time they were ready, the doors will have opened. But not you. You brain was going at a million miles a minute, going over all the things that could go wrong, including but not limited to accidentally punching him in the face, finding out a close family member of his had just died, and of course, finding out that he wasn’t cheating on you and it was all just a big misunderstanding. Though now you just wanted it over, you’d convinced yourself it was the best option. You were getting ready to go off to uni, you needed some time to grow and so on.

The doors opened and you knew there was no escape, you just had to face it. You grabbed your bag from the rack above your seat.

You saw your dad standing not far beyond the entrance of the station. Without even thinking about it, you were bounding towards him, engulfing him in the biggest thing imaginable. You hadn’t told him much of what was happening, just that you really needed to come down to Llandough and quickly.

“Shall we head off then?” He asked, to which you nodded. “I thought we could get pizza for tea, we can pick it up on the way.”

You always loved visits with your dad. Now almost a year on from your first trip to see him, you’d fallen into a routine, and he always knew how to make each time you saw him special.

You spent the evening trying to distract yourself. Pizza and old movies with your dad. You quickly learnt that he was as much of a cinephile as you were. Boxes and boxes of DVDs and VHSs surrounded his office. Everything from the top action blockbusters, to obscure documentaries, he loved it all.

You settled into the sofa for the evening, pizza box on your lap and cheesy garlic bread on a plate on the coffee table in front of you. It was your dad’s turn to choose a film that night–you’d been taking turns picking, he went for a movie from when he was a kid, a murder-mystery, ‘Murder By Death’. You tried to savour the night as best you could, knowing there’d be suffering tomorrow.

With every step closer to the park, your breathing kept getting more and more shallow. In a dream world, you could turn right around and run back home. But you had to do this, it wouldn’t be fair to go on like how you were.

You thought for sure that Dylan already knew, this girl must have told him. And if you heading down on such short notice wasn’t a clue that there was some kind of urgency, you didn’t know what was.

You saw him sitting under a tree. Your tree. Though now you supposed you could be content with just calling it his.

Once he saw you approaching him, he stood and met you in the middle. He gave you a half-hug and a kiss on the top of your head. It caught you by surprise at just how awkward and forced it all felt. Was it always like this? You sat down on the grass next to him. He was smiling at you, you almost felt like the bad guy here.

After some chit chat, how you were both doing and whatnot, you thought it best to get down to business.

“I…got a message on MySpace,” you started.

He hummed and nodded intently.

“It was from this girl…Justine.”

He sighed. “I know…”

“So what she told me was true? About you?”

“Well what did she tell you?” What kind of game was he playing here?

“She told me that you’re a cheating rat, that’s what.”

He didn’t reply, and kept avoiding eye contact by playing with the blades of grass between his fingers.

“What the fuck is your deal?” You didn’t realise how much anger was suddenly bubbling up. “Why did you do it?”

“What? Like you’re not fucking Matt back home?”

You scoffed. “I would never do that to-to someone I trusted! Someone I loved!”

“Don’t act like you never even thought about it, love, I’m not blind.”

“What if I thought about it? I have-had you! You were it for me.”

“Listen…” He shuffled and grabbed your shoulders, finally looking you in the face. “It was never gonna work out with us, you knew that.”

Tears began to form in your eyes, you were speechless.

“How could it? We’re hours apart from each other…we see each other like once a fortnight…And we’re about to go off to uni anyway, don’t you want to experiment and all that?” He continued.

“Why did you start this in the first place then? If it was going nowhere?”

“Because it…was fun? It’s not like we were gonna marry each other.”

“So you cheat on me.”

“I guess…”

“I would say it was nice knowing you but…this is the worst another person has ever made me feel.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly.

You got up to leave. You really had nothing else to say to him, you thought.

“Just one more thing,” you started. “Did she break up with you too? For cheating on her?”

“She did.”

“Good,” was all you could say.

You walked as quickly as you could back home. It was the kind of walk where you felt like if your legs stopped moving, they wouldn’t start again, so you just kept going; inside the house, up the staircase, and to your “bedroom”, before collapsing onto the bed in a flurry of tears and sobs.

After a few moments, you managed to calm down. You thought it was probably just the shock of it all. The realisation that it was real. You were cheated on by your first boyfriend, and he broke your heart.

You couldn’t help but replay that last conversation, everything you said to each other. You were surprised at just how well you held it together, and at an admission you made–something you hadn’t even thought about much.

You’d never quite confessed it, even to yourself, but it was the truth. At times, you’d fantasised about Matty. You’d heard the stories, you knew what kind of guy he was, and it intrigued you.

Sure, anytime you’d made any kind of physical contact with him it sent a shiver up your spine, and yeah, you’d felt a pang of jealousy when he’d talk about any other girl. But you would never act on it, you’re in a relationship–were, you were in a relationship.

And last you knew, he liked you, and you knew that you liked him, and there was nothing in the way of stopping you from…acting on it.

Suddenly you couldn’t wait to get back to Wilmslow.

You got back on Monday morning–you were pretty much finished with all of your college projects so you knew it was fine to miss a day. Chris was gracious enough to drive all the way to the station to pick you up. You two made light smalltalk on the way home, fighting over the radio station and pointing out the paddock of horses on your way home–you felt normal and actually mentally alright for the first time over that weekend.

You spent the day in your room, surrounded by your creature comforts. Slowly you could feel your heart come back together, piece by piece.

There was still one issue, glaring you from the corner of your vision. You tried not to focus on it. Him.

You needed…to get your head straight, you needed some time to not think with so much pressure. You called the first person who came to mind with the thought of ‘no pressure’.

“What?” He picked up within two rings.

“George! Are you busy?”

“Um…Not really.”

“Would you wanna…” How do you phrase this? “Go somewhere and get high?”

“Yeah,” he answered, very nonchalantly. “I’m supplying?”

“Please, I’ll pay you back.”

“I’ll be right over.” And he hung up.

Very soon, you could hear the sound of a clanky, old engine outside the front of your house. Then your phone rang.

“Hello?”

“I’m here,” he said. You could feel his apprehensiveness through the phone.

“I’ll come down in a second, we can go to the park or something?”

“Okay, yeah, sounds good.”

With a loud announcement to the rest of the house of your departure, you were out the door and into George’s car–a small Toyota that had an overwhelming smell of weed and was in desperate need of a vacuum.

After some quick directions on how to get to the small paved area in the park that you’d sat at, getting high with Matty. Matty.

George lit a joint he got from the glovebox, taking a couple puffs before handing it to you–now getting comfortable, sitting cross-legged in the passenger seat.

“So…” He started. “What’s up?”

“Well-” You exhaled. “I broke up with Dylan.”

“Good. He was a dick!” He laughed.

“He was a bit, wasn’t he?” You joined in on the laughter.

“We-uh-all got bad vibes from him.”

“Like what?” You couldn’t get over how cathartic it felt to speak to someone the way you were, a real friend who you could actually be honest with.

“Take it from a guy-” He gestured to himself. “He didn’t seem…invested. In you.”

“Yeah…” You had to agree, given the circumstance that led to the end of the relationship.

You spend so long just chatting back and forth, even when the weed ran out, the conversation didn’t. It felt good to find…an equal, a friend without any pretences; you barely felt any anxiety in talking to him, it all just came so naturally to you.

It was beginning to get late, you had to get home for dinner. So George drove you back home with a friendly farewell, and you went to sleep that night just a little easier with the relief of getting a lot that was weighing on you finally off of your chest.

You exchanged cordial texts with Matty over the next couple weeks, but you didn’t see him–the band hadn’t had a gig all that while so you weren’t quite forced to see him. He knew your position–now single–and it would only be a matter of time before you would be in the same room again. You were curious on how he would react, how he did react.

You wouldn’t have to wait much longer, Ross was having a little get together for his twentieth birthday, just the guys, you and some other close friends.

It felt good to get all dolled up and ready for a party again, living in seclusion had its drawbacks at times, you were yearning for some social interaction. Chris drove you both there, but not before a comment from him about how it was good to see you up and about.

Ross’ house was thumping with bass inside, you could see some familiar faces around the living room, as well as some of his family that you politely greeted and told your name with a firm handshake. It wasn’t long before you settled in the back garden in a circle of the “kids” your age, passing round fags and light chatter.

Somehow, at some point of the night, Matty ended up next to you. You said a polite “hi” to him, causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach. You’d never felt like this before, this anticipation.

As the evening ticked onwards, the drinks flowed more and more. Without thinking much on it, you found yourself leaning onto Matty’s shoulder. Eventually he put an arm around you to steady you, but you only used it as an opportunity to lean even further.

“You alright?” He asked in a whisper, not audible to anyone else in the group over the music and admittedly loud, drunken discussions in front of you.

“Yeah, tired,” you answered.

“D’you want me to take you home? Not had a drink in a while.” He pointed to the empty beer bottle on the floor next to him, it had been sitting there for a couple hours at least.

“Can we go back to your house?”

“You wanna do that?”

“Yeah. I know I do.”

In a flash, you’d said goodbye to the rest of the party, in his van, and back to his house. At some point in the short drive you’d gotten the giggles, and now Matty was desperately trying to shush you to keep you from waking the entire house up.

After stealthily–as stealthily as you could–making it up to his room, you took off your trusty boots and practically launched yourself onto his bed. It was soft and smelt like him, you were in heaven.

“Do you want some toast?” He whispered. You fervently nodded. “Okay, just be quiet and stay up here.”

You did as you were told. Sitting on his bed and just taking in the room, you’d never been in his bedroom, let alone his house, before. You smiled at his bookshelf, mostly full of books you’d never heard of before, and then a small stack of DVDs to one side of it, all recommendations you’d given him. You saw not one, but two guitars sitting proudly in one corner–an acoustic and a dark red electric. Soon enough, the door let out a miniscule squeak, notifying you of Matty’s re-entry.

“I made you two slices, one with butter and one with jam, I didn’t know what you wanted.”

“Thank you,” you answered, taking the plate and resting it in your lap.

Matty sat down next to you and just watched you eat, though you were a little too preoccupied in trying to figure out if the jam was strawberry or raspberry flavoured to notice.

“Could I…” He started, a cautious hand out in front of him. “Pinch a piece?”

You let out an enthusiastic hum and held out the plate to him, he opted for a butter-y piece. You were surprised at how relaxed you were, it all felt natural, just eating toast in silence.

You finished the plate and placed it onto his nightstand.

“Good?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you answered. “I feel more…sober now.”

He laughed. “Good.”

“I never actually properly told you…” He looked confused. “I broke up with him.”

“Yeah…”

“And I’m single now.”

“I figured.” He was acting so nonchalant.

“So if something were to happen with someone else, it would be okay.”

“Do you want something to happen?”

Maybe you weren’t as sober as you thought, because the next words out of your mouth would never happen without some kind of liquid courage.

“I wouldn’t have asked to come back to his place if I didn’t.”

With that, he launched towards you and then his lips were on yours.

#matty healy x reader #matty healy fic #matty healy imagine

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peanutpinet · 2 years

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Fear - Alpha Jungwoo x Omega Fem Reader

A/N: So!! I've officially hit 300 followers on Tumblr and an honour for this and my 69th post 😏 (no smut I swear), I decided to dedicate this fic to a good friend I made on Tumblr, @mymoodwriting!! Lin!! This one is for you :]

Warning: fluff, near harassment, torture, Jungwoo being aggressive :D

Summary: you were an omega that managed to escape to the city and make a living with your natural talents. Despite loving the freedom and independence, your omega side decides something else; especially when a soft alpha pops by

Don’t have too high of an ambition they said. You’re just an omega, don’t think highly of yourself. You’re just made to be an alpha’s mate in the end. That’s what everyone kept telling you. Even your own pack back in the small town you used to live in. Well, they were wrong. Just because you were an omega, it doesn’t mean you can’t have ambitions.

So here you are, working for an upper-class cafe in the centre of the city that is dedicated to the wealthiest, flashiest alphas and betas from all over the country. Sometimes you’d like to thank the universe for gifting you with such amazing baking skills because that was the main reason why you were you were accepted; even though you secretly know that it was also because of your omega scent which most of the alphas would smell. But you were lucky because so far, no alphas have actually made a move or anything towards you.

You were happy in the city. Granted, you didn’t stay in the best place nor did you have a lot of money to be able to spend a lot on yourself. However, you weren’t too picky about it. You were quite content that you could get a decent place and good enough pay to live in the city and still enjoy the little pleasures of life.

Today was no difference. You woke up at 6 am as per usual, took a shower, got dressed and headed to the cafe where you worked. Since you typically took the morning shift, there was little to no staff but you didn’t mind, you enjoyed the quiet time. You put on your earphones and started to prepare all the pastries for the day.

However, you failed to notice that there was a customer that had already come into the store and was wondering where the staff were. Typically, the cafe would open as early as 6.30 and there would be others that would tend to the early morning customers. But for some reason, today, it was you and the other pastry chefs.

“Um, excuse me, is there anyone here?” a male voice called out

But despite the soft tone, your omega self immediately noticed that it was an alpha and for some reason, your omega self caved in and pushed you to go out of the kitchen to greet the alpha that was waiting outside. This was one of the few downsides of being an omega, especially in the big city.

“H-hi, welcome. Sorry, for some reason, w-we, we’re short on staff this early in the morning. C-can I get you something?” you stuttered, mainly because your omega side was slightly cowering, that is until you met the alpha’s gaze that quickly soften when he saw you

“Oh, hi! I didn’t know. Sorry that I had to make you come out. But my usual coffee shop is closed today, for some weird reason. And I heard that this place makes some of the best coffee and pastries. I’ll just have a typical americano and some pastries. What would you recommend?” the alpha asked, eyeing all the different pastries

“R-right away. For the pastries, I’d recommend getting our famous tartes or eclairs. We just made some fresh batch in the back. I can bring them to you if, if you’d like” you offered, keying in the alpha’s order

“One tarte and eclair then! I’ll be right by the window then. Oh, and the name is Jungwoo. For the coffee, you know. Cause coffee shops would typically call the name though you probably don’t have to since I’m the only one here this early” the alpha, Jungwoo mentioned, handing you his black card to pay

“No worries. I’ll get your order very soon, Jungwoo. Just let me whip you some coffee” you replied, giving him a soft smile and handing him back his card before going to make some coffee

Even though you typically handle the pastries and baking goods, it doesn’t mean that you don’t know how to make coffee. I mean, you practically run on coffee every day. After whipping the alpha, Jungwoo’s coffee, you packed the two pastries he ordered then went over to his table, handing it to him.

“Here you go. A cup of americano, one tarte and one eclair for Jungwoo” you mentioned, handing him his order as he turned to see you, his eyes were so soft that if you weren’t an omega, you might’ve not known that he was an alpha

“Thank you. Sorry again for having you go out of your daily job to fetch me these” Jungwoo replied, taking a sip of the coffee you made and let out a content hum

“As expected a delicious coffee made by a gorgeous girl. Looks like I found my new favorite coffee shop” Jungwoo hummed as you felt the heat rising to your cheeks. If Jungwoo couldn’t tell that you were an omega, he surely must have now by how your omega side was jumping with excitement that an alpha was praising you

“Unfortunately. As much as I want to stick around, I have to leave for a meeting with my pack very soon. I hope to see you often, cupcake” Jungwoo exclaimed, getting up and winking at you before he leaves

Snapping out of your thoughts, you were about to clean the table where Jungwoo had sat but noticed a small piece of paper with Jungwoo’s name and what seems to be his phone number plus some money for tips. Very smooth, you thought to yourself. As much as you’d like to take the money as a tip, Jungwoo gave around 100 dollars which was too much and you just kept it until the next time he comes.

Ever since that meeting, Jungwoo has been showing up at the cafe not only in the mornings but even during lunch break. At first, he would just pop by and order with someone else and just sit by his favourite spot of the cafe which was near the window, sip on his coffee and secretly glance over at you that was working at the back but occasionally come out to hand Jungwoo his order.

But soon after, Jungwoo had been a bit more daring, requesting you to order. Which you didn’t mind and even your co-workers would also nudge you whenever Jungwoo came to the cafe. The two of you even got to talk a bit more every time Jungwoo would come and visit. Though, you truly wonder if he knows that you’re an unclaimed omega and is playing with you.

As much as your omega side loves to be around Jungwoo, feeling safe and all, you can’t help but feel that it was just a dream. An alpha not even jumping at the chance to claim an unclaimed omega? Or were your omega senses messing with you that you accidentally established him as an alpha? You sighed at the thought. Maybe when you have the week off thanks to your heat, it’ll bring you some answers. Thankfully, your boss and co-workers were nice enough to not cut your payment and even gave you some suppressants to keep you tamed.

Today, you were allowed to go home early since you were expecting your heat to come in 2 days so might as well get home early so you don’t draw so much attention. Unfortunately, your omega side was betraying on you because it keeps longing for Jungwoo. The thought alone made your body heat up and you didn’t notice that your scent was slowly seeping through the streets that some were eyeing you.

You need to get home. Now. You quickly took longer steps and in a faster paced, trying to get home as fast as you can before any betas or worse, any other alphas would come after you. It was also at this time that your omega side sort of mentally cursed at you for not telling Jungwoo anything which you decided to mentally curse back by implementing the thought that he was practically a flirt. Well, you’ve only seen him slightly flirt with some of your other co-workers and that sort of made your omega side burning with jealousy. But luckily, none of them actually got Jungwoo’s number like yours.

As you were in your own thoughts, you got a notification, a message from Jungwoo. Asking why did you leave the cafe early. You were about to reply him when someone snatched your phone and before you could react, you were dragged and pinned to the nearest wall, a hand covered your mouth to muffle your voice, a simple snarl and it immediately made your omega side cower in fear, wishing, praying that someone, perhaps Jungwoo, would come to save you.

You tried your best to fight back, you really did. But since you were just an omega, the lowest amongst this system that you hate, you had to oblige to those who are in more power than you are. You hated it. You hate the feeling of being weak, and helpless. Because if you weren’t a werewolf, you were sure that you would most likely fight back without any hesitation.

“Well, well, an omega going to heat in the city? Where’s your alpha? Or perhaps you don’t have one? Maybe we’ll take you with us and we’ll take care of you, huh?” one of the betas purred at your ear whereas the other one was caressing your cheek

Despite your omega side repressing itself, it doesn’t discreet the fact that you were clearly uncomfortable and would shift yourself to try and wiggle out but the two betas were eager to keep you in place. You feel disgusted that your omega side was betraying you and being submissive that these disgusting betas had their hands all over you that you were whimpering.

Luckily, before these betas could do anything, you felt that their hands were ripped off of you and for some reason, your omega side started to calm down and you instantly know why that side of you calm down because when you opened your eyes, you immediately saw that tall broad shoulder yet snatched waist. But this time, he wasn’t alone. He was with two other men, one taller and another one slightly shorter than Jungwoo himself.

Within seconds, Jungwoo and the two other men managed to put down the two betas and even stepped on top of the betas, growling at them when they were tempted to move even by the inch. Heck, one of them might’ve “accidentally” cracked a bone whilst the beta was moving. Jungwoo however was more concerned about your well-being and the fact that he and his two friends most likely can smell you.

“Are you alright? I already had a feeling when I went to the cafe and you weren’t there. Your co-workers also told me about your heat so I bought you some suppressants. Here, let’s get you home, alright?” Jungwoo softly mentioned, gently taking your shaken hands

“Ya!! Who do you think you are stepping us like this!” one of the betas growled as Jungwoo’s taller friend growled back, immediately shutting the beta up

“If you want to last a day here I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Get them out of here. I’ll deal with them once I’m done” Jungwoo growled, his eyes flashing a bright red colour, making the two betas cower in fear and his two friends took them away

“Now, let’s get you home, alright?” Jungwoo cooed at you, bringing you back to your place and immediately making you drink your suppressants

“T-thank you. I, umm. H-how did you know where I was?” you mumbled, getting all cozy in your bed while Jungwoo brought you some warm tea

“Your scent is very particular. I mean, you’re an omega after all. It wasn’t that hard to tell since the first time I came and you were the first to come out and greet me. Also, not sure if it’s because I remembered your scent but when I came to the cafe before, I can still smell your scent lingering that I followed it. Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to know about me being an alpha like this and I surely didn’t mean to engrave your scent into my mind like this. I honestly don’t know what happened, but it just did. C-can we still stay friends?” Jungwoo replied, trying to focus on his breathing to distract him from your scent since he was in your property

“Actually…I’m thankful. I’m thankful that it was you that came to the cafe. That is was you that remembered my scent because, I, I don’t know w-what would’ve happened if…” you uttered out but Jungwoo was quick to shut you up by kissing your temple

“I’m glad then because you have no idea how much I’ve been holding back” Jungwoo snickered, both your noses were rubbing against each other while you whimpered under his touch

“Jungwoo…” you whimpered but Jungwoo chuckled and tucked you in

“Next time, alright. We’ll save that for next time, I promise. You get lots of rest and take your suppressants daily. If you want, I can book you a hotel for heats but we’ll talk about that tomorrow. You’ve had a long day. Sleep” Jungwoo whispered, lulling you to sleep

Once Jungwoo was sure that you were finally asleep, he quietly sneaked out of your room and back to his own apartment where he shared with his own pack, a pack that was filled with alphas, the biggest, scariest and richest pack in the city, NCT.

Arriving at one of the spare rooms, Jungwoo was met with Johnny and Yuta, two of his pack mates that accompanied him to find you since they were eager to meet the omega who managed to capture one of the softest alpha in the pack.

“You still smell like her, you know” Yuta pointed out

“So? Those two wouldn’t dare do a thing” Jungwoo replied, taking a step closer to the two betas

“They might go a bit feral. They don’t really have the control over their animalistic side like we do” Johnny reminded, standing on the right side of Jungwoo whilst Yuta was on the left

“Like I say, they wouldn’t dare to do anything. Would you?” Jungwoo barked, his eyes flashed red as the two betas whimpered

“Good. Now” Jungwoo crouched down to the same height as the betas. “I want you to know that you can scream if you need to, you can even cry, but just know that the more you do the more I enjoy it.” Jungwoo smirked as his claws were dug into one of the betas thighs that blood seeped through and flow until it stained the floor, matching Jungwoo’s current eye colour

“Let this be a lesson. I may be known as the softer alpha of the pack. But. If you ever touch what is mine ever again. I’ll kill you myself. And, when I kill. No one will ever know where you went off to” Jungwoo threatened, licking the blood on his claws

A/N: thank you to all that follow me on Tumblr and those who read, like, reblog and even comment on my posts T^T it means so much and I truly feel quite welcomed in this community and fandom!! I know my writing still sucks and I hope to improve more in the future!! Take care and stay safe everyone :) xoxo Vinet

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just-a-dinosaur-i-guess · 3 months

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eternal winter au you say

img from here btw

YESSS i fucking LOVE that au

okay so

lemme just set the scene. fantasy au basically.

it has been winter for as long as anyone remembers. the sun hasn't been seen in centuries, only covered by clouds. sometimes the edges of it will peek out, but never for long. the nights are bitterly cold, and if you do not have a shelter, your blood will turn to ice and your flesh to frost. cities are few and far between, the only way to get to them being dangerous treks on paths only barely there, even with use. the snow does not falter. those who live in seaside villages know that not even the ocean was spared; the waves have long since stopped moving, ships now still, ice as far down as anyone's dared to look. perhaps there is a depth at which its crusade halts, but no one would know.

and in one of these cities, this one being a theocratic city, is nathaniel hawthorne, a priest who has warm lodgings and steady meals. his life is good, it is easy, and then it is not.

walking home one afternoon, he gets bit by a vampire. (they, too, cannot survive in the cold and so must do their hunting in the day. the sun is not there to scorch them, after all.) he's horrified; as anyone else would be, and attempting to go to the church for some kind of help only gets him kicked out.

night is soon arriving, he can feel the chill in his bones, but then the vampire comes crawling back. he learns his name (nikolai gogol), and that he is taking him to his shared home.

he does not have an argument as to where else nikolai could take him. as what little light there is disappears beyond the horizon, they arrive safely.

nikolai lives with a butcher named fyodor, his apprentice sigma; and now nathaniel. fyodor is a fairly devout man and is pissed, to say the least, about nikolai turning a priest. nathaniel and sigma awkwardly get to know each other while fyodor and nikolai argue in the back.

sigma is a rather special person; they have no city that they came from. instead, they came out of the unyielding winter, shivering, having no idea who or what may have made them.

there's others like them; those whose origin comes from nothing but snow and ice are rumored to have powers; magic in their blood, though sigma does not know what type is running through their veins. it has not surfaced yet despite how long fyodor has been waiting.

(it is worth noting that there is another person around like this, a redhead who used to be called arahabaki, but we'll get to them in a bit.)

nathaniel just prays the magic sigma holds could turn him back, to save him from this fate; but perhaps he should have prayed for luck getting used to it.

sigma is interested in helping nathaniel, and fyodor won't argue if it means that sigma gets to hopefully finally unlock his abilities.

as this goes on, elsewhere in the city, two lives once again intertwine. the famous bard, osamu dazai, walks into town, strumming his instrument as always. on the other side of town, chuuya nakahara enters, blade worn from use against elemental constructs that lurk outside of civilization. they meet again as they met at first, in a warm bar with too many people in it.

they used to be a traveling duo, chuuya accomplishing feats while dazai sung about them, but they split up for reasons unknown. dazai still holds onto the songs he wrote of them, but their tunes have all soured.

but he still remembers their softer moments together; chuuya coming to him one late night, telling him arahabaki was not a name they liked being theirs any longer. he told them he'd love them regardless. he said arahabaki was a stupid name anyway.

back to the priest's troubles; eventually, fyodor's friends come to visit. they call themselves the hunting dogs, and they hunt the same things as chuuya does. fukuchi is a good guest, his pack of soldiers the same, albeit a bit chaotic.

nathaniel notes how tachihara seems to get along so well with sigma before he goes and asks fukuchi and the others if they have any cure to the vampirism.

he does not get any results there, and his search to save himself continues.

and that is the plot of my eternal winter au. i hope you like it :)

also i have a pinterest board of it

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sounwise · 2 years

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It was one of those nights in New York when it seemed like the whole city was focused on just one person. Every time I flicked through the channels of the TV in my hotel room there he was. It was like a speeded-up version of Anthology, one minute he was playing “Hey Jude,” the next he was a mop top on the Ed Sullivan show, then he was on the roof of Apple, then meeting the Maharishi, then waving to the audience as he made his way from the stage at Candlestick Park. Images of Paul that were so well known to me and everyone else of my generation that they have become more than pictures of the Beatles. They are the wallpaper of our lives, they shaped the cultural landscape […] As I showed a full house of passes and accreditation to the third rank of vetters and checkers [at the Waldorf ahead of Paul’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction], wading through oceans of packed snappers standing six deep behind barriers, the first faces I saw in the foyer were those of two legends, Jimmy Page and Ahmet Ertegun. I made my way through to the green room, which tonight was just a glorified holding area for the world’s music elite. There was Neil Young, Bono, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Robbie Robertson, a movie star or two for good measure, and still they were arriving. In the corner stood Sir George Martin, elegant and virtually immobile in all the chivvying for places, the preening and the posturing. He too was being honoured tonight. He turned to me and quietly said in his distinctive and measured tones, “Just wait to see how this lot react the minute Paul arrives.” I didn’t know quite what he meant. (continued under the cut)

[—from Paul McCartney: Now & Then, Tony Barrow and Robin Bextor]

Five minutes later I saw it exactly. A huge whisper ran around the room. I hadn’t heard anything like it since I was at school and the classroom had been left unattended; when the teacher was on his way the classroom went from activity to silence. And so did the green room. The expectation was enormous, and then through the door waltzed, well, actually, more sort of glided, the object of all our attention. And the entire collection of noble rock stars just froze. The silence was palpable. Paul McCartney stood just to the side of the doorway, his daughter Stella at his side. He looked slighter than you would imagine, wearing a grey suit and T-shirt; he was talking to Stella, yet his raised-eyebrowed eye somehow scanned the room at the same time. It was uncanny how the whole room was there to pay deference to this man, just as the awaiting media were. The musicians in the room, big stars, genuinely famous across the planet and rightly full of their own achievement, seemed to unite in recognising that there was the head boy, the role model that defined pop star, that personified creativity, songwriting and fame. Paul seemed to barely acknowledge the effect he had on the gathering; he didn’t miss a beat. Just nodded vaguely in my direction and then went into a huddle with George Martin before the huddle became a scrum and the gathering just focused on him. […] McCartney further defied the Hall of Fame’s Oscar-night formality by calling his daughter to the podium. Stella wore a T-shirt that bore the legend “About fucking time.” As it was completely at odds with American Network TV sensibilities, they tastefully whited-out the offending word. But when Paul returned to the press room, back from the main hall where the awards had been handed out, he insisted on having Stella close by his side throughout. The press, eager to get a picture without the T-shirt, yelled at him to stand away or for her to move out of the way. To English ears they sounded incredibly rude. Charming, smiling, he simply said, “Goodbye fellas,” and was gone. I later saw him still in a huddle with George Martin, but pausing every sentence or two to check on Stella, obviously delighted to be out with his daughter. The public part of the evening saw him playing on stage with the band well after TV recording had finished; then while most of the gathering was still looking to get a final glimpse of the Beatle, Paul was gone, ever the master at leaving a party. The evening finished as it had begun for me, walking back through the now quiet streets of Manhattan. On the hotel TV there was still a Beatles fest going on. I supposed it was the same person in the pictures.

#something something snapshots of mega-fame #paul mccartney #george martin #paul mccartney: now & then #robin bextor #the beatles #1999 #paul and fame

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purplepxls · 15 days

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TS4 Lepacy Challenge (or how TS4 finally got me) pt.2

Gen 9: Vampires + Vintage Glamour stuff

This generation was really, really boring! I'm not into the supernatural theme, so... Forgotten Hollow is tiny, but it's kinda cool for certain sims (great for photos and storytelling). The sim was a real sweetheart, and just because of that, I didn't skip this generation. He was an apprentice to Count Vladislaus Straud, met a girl in Windenburg, found the cure for vampirism, and had a daughter with her. He had a butler and lived in a luxurious house.

Gen 10: Parenthood + Movie Hangout, Kids Room & Toddler stuffs

Babies, babies, and more babies. This girl had a HUGE family! And I tried to follow everything that was asked for in this generation. She married young and had only one love her entire life. She had as many children as she desired, adopted a child, and kept a super well-tended and beautiful garden. This expansion pack is really cute and adds a lot of depth to the relationship between parents and children. It was fun taking care of so many kids, but exhausting! She lived in Newcrest since there wasn't a city requirement.

Gen 11: Cats & Dogs + Laundry Day & My First Pet stuff

In this generation, I ended up getting more attached to the couple's youngest daughter. She was "different," you know how it is. She was all about animals, ran her own vet clinic and worked hard every day. She had a house full of cute kitties and adopted a little girl. Brindleton Bay is simply amazing! I spent a lot of time exploring the town. The pets expansion is also adorable, and I think it's my favorite of all the game's generations (I hardly ever played with pets in TS2 and TS3 because I found it too much work).

(Looks like someone finally got Reshade!) In this generation, I started feeling like taking pictures again, maybe to post them here someday. It's hard to get back :(

Gen 12: Jungle Adventure

I took so many screenshots in this generation, but they just disappeared. I don't know what I did wrong =(

She was a journalist and explorer. Explored a lot of Selvadorada and wrote books about her travels.

Selvadorada is beautiful, but BORING! It was a short generation because I couldn't handle it anymore. I really loved her, but I lost her to an exploration curse.

Gen 13: Seasons + Spooky & Backyard stuff

My long-awaited Seasons expansion! It was such a cute generation!

He reached the top of the gardening career, tended to his garden, and followed all the holiday traditions. He had a little daughter who was a scout. They lived a quiet life in Brindleton Bay.

He tried to make up for everything his mom missed out on because she was always traveling. But they had a good relationship until the end.

Gen 14: Get Famous (Part 1)

OMG, I never thought I'd have such a blast with this expansion! It turned out to be one of the longest ones 'cause I turned off aging in the game.

Del Sol Valley is beautiful but small. Again! I think that's one of the few downsides of TS4 cities. There's very little space for lots. I had so many ideas for this city...

The expansion is really fun, the acting career is well-developed, and it was quite challenging to become a celebrity! I loved all the games, parties, and schemes she had to pull off to truly be considered a star. But most of all, the hard work. I maxed out all the necessary skills. She was perfect! She was the boss! Rich, famous, choosing who she wanted to be with and how. After a while, her job was just being beautiful, hitting the gym, and dodging the paparazzi.

The only one not vibing with all this was her daughter, who went nuts.

#ts4 lepacy challenge #gen 9 - 14

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eliosimsworld · 9 months

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TOWNIE DUMP A

skills + bonus traits + career included, no cc, all outfits completed, free to download.

no pack restriction, so items might be missing.

those sims are strongly inspired by townies from the City Living Expansion, but I didn't use their base, traits or names.

DOWNLOAD

1. Inséparables

Diya Seth Zahir Seth

It is no secret to anyone that Zahir is a mama's boy. The man is in his thirties still living with his dear mother and he has no desire to leave. Poor Diya has to take care of him as if he was still a teenager. She's hoping that he'll finally man up and find a partner to marry.

2. Incompatibles

Arhaan Peri Jenn Peri

Jenn's personnality is all over the place, she loves to party all night as much as she likes to stay home all day to do nothing other than reading romance novels. Arhaan is... a nice guy. He's smart too. But that's all there is to him. (At least in Jenn's eyes) Altough she doesn't seem to appreciate him that much, believe it or not : they are married!... You know when teenagers make a pact with their bestfriend.. ''If we both aren't married in 20 years, then we have to marry each other''. Well...

3. Futures stars

Jeong-Hoon Kim Aimi Yun

Aimi and Jeong-Hoon have been bestfriends forever. They spent most of their childhood and teenage years pretending they were famous S-Pop (i know its k-pop, but its s-pop in the sims...) singers and now that they're adults, they want to make that dream come true.

4. L'expert

Julius Lippard

Julius has good taste and he has no shame in admitting that he thinks he is better than everyone else. Yet, despite his self-centeredness, the people of San Myschuno rave about his criticism. Everyone devours his blogs and dreams of getting a review from the famous Julius Lippard. Sure a bad review might hurt your career, but a good one will make you famous.

5. Populaire sur les réseaux

Rabia Habib

Rabia is a simfluencer, she mostly post her outfits of the day on Simtok and Simstagram. She loves fashion and would like to be a style influencer eventually.

DOWNLOAD

#ts4 vanilla #ts4nocc #ts4 cas #townie dump #ts4 townies #sims 4 #ts4

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sunburnacoustic · 11 months

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Matt Bellamy answers fan questions for the Australian Triple J magazine in 2007.

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

Mighty Pomgolian rockers Muse have some of muse’s most hardcore fans, so we let them call the shots. Frankly, we were afraid not to.

WORDS: Samantha Clode

“Salt Lake City tends to be one of those places where people go berserk,” says Matt Bellamy. “Maybe it’s all the salt plains surrounding them…” jmag finds the prodigious 29-year-old Muse frontman in the US, where he’s just finished up a stint with the tour physio. “I’ve got mild tennis elbow, I was playing squash and I think I stretched my arm or something,” he says. “But it’s nothing serious, I’m just sitting here with an ice pack on my elbow. Not too many Pete Townshend guitar swings tonight, I don’t think.”

With a second tour in 12 months heading our way in November, the trio from Devon are bringing their huge, prog rock stage spectacular down under following a stint on the 2007 Big Day Out. Rather than us throw a bunch of questions on Muse’s frontman, we asked you guys to tell us what you wanted to know…

Muse have some obsessive, dedicated fans. Where do you think the line is between being in the spotlight and having your privacy invaded? Bronwyn, 17, Bungendore, ACT

Everyone should be entitled to be at home, relaxing away from it all and not have people knocking on their door. I get a bit, yeah, and that's the place to draw the line. When we're out on the road we try to meet people and generally be friendly, but I'm glad that we're not super famous people where we're chased when we're going to the supermarket. I expect to be able to go there without having any hassles like that. I don't want to be caught buying toilet paper!

Have you seen Museslash? (Fan stories about the band, usually involving sex.) Becky, 15, Woodford, Vic

Museslash? No, I definitely want to check it out though, it sounds good, entertaining. I haven't heard of it until now, but I'll definitely be checking it out now, that sounds very interesting (laughs).

Who's your fave pianist of all time? Lachlan, 16, Ashfield, NSW

Firstly [Russian composer Sergei] Rachmaninoff. It's a close call between Franz Liszt [Hungarian romantic], Rachmaninoff and [Polish prodigy Frederic] Chopin. Some people argue that Liszt is up there, but Rachmaninoff has some kind of weird, dark edge to his music, which I don't think I've heard with any other kind of music before. So for that reason I give it to him - he's got a dark heard.

Do you think your friendship has helped you three guys deal with your success? Rachelle, 23, Brookvale, NSW

I wouldn't say success has been a problem, but I'd certainly say that issues come up with being away from home for eight months at a time. Especially Chris, who has kids and a family. But having a really close friendship helps us through tough times. I wouldn't define success as being a touch problem; I've enjoyed it very much. It's more the touring side.

So, any fisticuffs?

(Laughs) Yeah, well... I'm glad I don't try it because Chris would probably take my head off with one hit. We've had a few chairs thrown around and a lot of drum kits being smashed, I think me and Chris both attacked Dom and his drum kit a few times... but with friendly intentions!

If you're in Australia and you've only got $20, how are you going to spend it? Luke, 16, Devonport, Tas

You should be able to answer that question better than me, what do you recommend I do? Can you get, like, a bus journey to the outback for that much money? I'll pretend to be on the dole and get a rail ticket to the outback and go and live in the wild for a couple of years.

What was your first trip to Australia like? Marina, 25, Brunswick, Vic

It was brilliant. We loved all the sunshine, it blew us away. We're used to the grey, miserable depression of England, so being there was a breath of fresh air really. I remember getting freaked out by all these massive bats that were flying around our hotel. We were staying on the top floor in Sydney, and we were hanging out on the roof having a gathering with a couple of bottles of wine, and we noticed we were surrounded by massive bats. That's the first time I'd ever seen bats in my life - we all shat ourselves and ran away.

Is there any specific place you would want to be at the end of the world? Orri, 18. Reykjavik, Iceland

On a yacht, actually. It would be nice to be on the sea, away from all the chaos, just chilling out an relaxing. Depends... if the end of the world was a massive tsunami, then you definitely wouldn't want to be out on a boat, but if it was carnage and chaos and everyone was going mental, then I think it might be nice just to chill out on a boat. Go round the Maldives or Indonesia, cruise around, swim in the sea and pretend everything's find. You could probably live off fish for a while. Get one of those little water purification systems so you could just chill out and get away from it all...

You've said seeing an image of Hendrix setting his guitar on fire opened your mind to what music could be. What was it about that scene that turned you on? Anthony, 22, Bundamba, Qld

I suppose it was the chaos and the edge, the new idea that you can do whatever you want in your life and in your music. When I was that age, being in a rock band seemed like it was going to give me that opportunity, to be loose and pretty much do whatever I wanted, both on stage in music and in my life. I always loved music, but it wasn't until I saw that that I realised it could actually change your whole lifestyle.

I heard a rumour about the recording of 'Plug In Baby' [from 2001's Origin Of Symmetry]. involving mushrooms, nudity and a sauna. What's the story? Tim, 20, Riverview, NSW

(Laughs) Uh, yeah. It was in between recording takes. In England every now and again, certainly when it rains, loads of mushrooms grow. You take them to open your mind up to a broader dimension - you get to see the world from a different perspective. I'm sure you get them over there as well, but in England they grow in fields, you can find them anywhere. They often grow near cow shit, unfortunately. We found ourselves... not full naked, but definitely partially naked, in a bathtub rolling around. The mixture between that and doing the takes... I can't actually remember recording the songs to be honest, but I remember listening to it and saying, "Whoa, man, this is cool!" But a week later we listened to it and thought it was all a bit crap, so we had to spend a week fixing it up. But for writing and exploring new ideas, I'd recommend mushrooms. God put them there for us to use! It's nature's drug, you shouldn't make nature illegal.

Is it true Muse once supported the Spice Girls? What was that like? Lucy, 27, Blackburn, Vic

I've no idea where this came from! I think someone stuck it on the internet for a joke and everyone believed it; it's completely false. I've never played with them or met them. I wish I did - I would've loved to have supported them... ideally on the same bus as well.

How does it feel to be the biggest little man in music? Andrew, 21, Koolewong, NSW

(Laughs) It's quite good. With the guitar on stage you get to feel quite: "Hey man, I'm not too bad after all! I'm 5'7 but I can play some good riffs so it's all right. Everything's okay." (Can't stop laughing.)

Are you easy to work with? Jesse, 18, Gympie, Qld

(Ponders) Um... no, probably not, I'd say. I'm easy to work with people who know me, but with strangers I'm quite difficult. Just because there are ways I'm used to doing things: it's probably the disadvantage of being in a band for so long, you become very connected together and have certain ways of working. I've noticed that when you bring other people into the equation they can misinterpret the way you are as being very aggressive or very forward. But when you're working with your own bandmates you're used to dealing that way.

Do you crack the whip, then?

We all crack whips with each other, depending what it is. They all crack whips with me when I'm playing the piano too much! I generally crack the whip at them when they're playing cheap drum riffs. Between the three, somewhere we find a balance.

Is the Paul McCartney song 'Mr Bellamy' written about you? (It depicts a delusional 'Mr Bellamy' sitting on a roof and refusing to come down.) Marty, 26, Hawthorn, Vic

I don't think so! I'll check it out. I seriously doubt it's about me but... I'd be very surprised if it was, that would be a funny situation.

Is it true you're thinking of working with an orchestra next? Amelia, 22, North Perth, WA

If Dom and Chris let me! No, I definitely wanted to do the whole "we've blown it and become a total pop band" and I'm sure we'll do some more bits that are a bit more groovy and more dance. More up-tempo. There's definitely a few bits and pieces lying around that have been unfinished for so long that I just think we should lay them down. We certainly wouldn't do a whole album but definitely a couple of pieces that we might be able to release outside of an album might be interesting.

How did your father's band (the Tornadoes) influence you as a musician? Jervis, 18, Mornington, Vic

Dad introduced me to music when I was very young, and played me a lot of '50s and '60s records that I probably would never have heard of if it wasn't for him. I definitely got that more sci-fi... well, not sci-fi, but I guess what people like to call the more "spacey" sound from his band. The band he was in before the Tornadoes did this song called 'Telstar' - that song was the most well known. [The instrumental, named after a satellite, was the first British song to hit No.1 in the US.] For the '50s it did sound very futuristic, and very kind of spacey, so that element of the band definitely came from him.

Is it true you live in the house of former opera composer Vincenzo Bellini and you're trying to conjure up his ghost? Amanda, 23, Ferny Grove, Qld

I don't actually live there. The band were building a place where we could rehearse and live while we were rehearsing, and it's in the grounds of an Italian opera composer's house. I tried to get some of his vibes going because I listened to some of his music and I think it's brilliant stuff. It definitely feels like it's got some kind of musical ghost hanging around. If I was ever going to get a house and it was haunted, I'd want it to be haunted by a great composer, that's kind of ideal for me (laughs).

Do Muse fall into roles in the studio? Chris, 17, Glenelg, SA

Dom tends to take the role of the pedantic devil for the detail; he goes mental for absolutely every little detail. Chris is more the person who moderates the vibe and says, "Look, this isn't happening, take a break and wait for a day, wait for a few hours until it's going to happen." Dom would play the same song 20 times a day and get it wrong 20 times, whereas Chris would say, "Let's just take a break and come back." Dom would be all, "No, let's keep playing." I pretend to be behind the desk. I'm always drawn to being with the producer. I should be on the other side of the glass singing and playing, but I'm always behind the desk trying to control things - I always end up getting told to fuck off and get back in where I belong!

So are you into recording other artists?

Yeah, definitely. It's frustrating when we're making our own records, because I want to be involved in the production myself but I can't do it when I'm actually playing, you know? It's something I'd like to do when I'm older, too old to tour or something. So maybe in about 10 years when I'm slowing down a bit and I've got tennis elbow - tennis everything! - I'll start producing records instead.

What's one of your most memorable moments visiting Australia? Dom, 22, Preston, Vic

There's been loads. The Big Day Out is always loads of fun, I got to hang out with a lot of great bands there. This year was good: it's a bit of a blur, but I remember trashing someone's house. We had an amazing party in this really expensive flat in Melbourne. Some crazy guy decided he would let a few bands part there. By the end of it I remember seeing Mike [Skinner] from the Streets holding a couch in the air - he was surfing the couch while taking paint off the wall! I feel sorry for the guy whose house it was, but he certainly should have known what was going to happen when he invited us!

If there's a colour for sex, what would it be? Caitlyn, 15, Chirnside Park, Vic

(Pause) Well it's got to be red hasn't it, surely? Blue's a bit too boring.

It's pretty obvious from Black Holes And Revelations you're disillusioned by the current political climate. Does public apathy get you down? Or do you hold out hope for a revolution? Tegan, 17, Banara Point, NSW

I'd say I'm generally optimistic about people, but I'm pessimistic about society, and the way it's all been put together. But generally I'm very optimistic that people will pull through and come out shining at the other side. I think w're likely to see some heavy shit over the next 50 or 100 years, but if you look forward 100 years there's going to be a group of people having a laugh somewhere.

A couple of big bands have joined together lately - Audioslave, Velvet Revolver. If you had to start another band who would you have in it? Josh, 22, Waverton, NSW

Speaking of Audioslave, Tom Morello would certainly be the guitarist; Flea from Chili Peppers on the bass. Drums... who's brilliant? Maybe Jimmy Chamberlain, the guy who played for the Pumpkins. Singing would have to be Tom Waits, I'd say. I think that would be an interesting grouping.

Everyone is impressed by the XY synth pad on your guitar in 'Invincible' Do you do all the work on your guitars yourself? Dan, 19. Armidale, NSW

I've just always fancied something and gone, "I can't believe no one thought of that before." I had this effects unit I was using, the XY controller, and I thought, well, why don't I just stick it in the guitar? Luckily I've got a friend who makes guitars, so I said, "Can you stick this in the guitar for me?" and he worked on it for a while. It took us a couple of goes to get it right but it was quite decent. So it's just a case of imagining something and having a mate who can built it. So a lot is custom made, not personally by me but invented by me, if you like.

How difficult is it to use a jetpack? Kieran, 20, Waurn Ponds, Vic

(Laughs) I wouldn't know, because I've never used a jetpack. I think I saw one once, didn't Michael Jackson use one to get on stage? I've got something that's a bit like that, but it's not actually a get engine. It's a 50cc engine with a propeller attached. You just take a sort of parachute to jump off a hill, and you use the engine to push you higher and higher, It's not really a jet, though - "jet" makes it sound a bit more exciting!

Will you be using this device on stage?

The problem is it's very weather dependent, so it could go terribly wrong. It's 50/50 that I could hit the stage - there's a chance I could accidentally go in to the crowd and the propeller would probably mince up about 100 people! So maybe I'll save save that for when we're playing a super massive outdoor venue. "Everyone stand back!"

Lastly, jmag wants to know what's the question you'd most like to be asked?

You're going to ask me that now, aren't you? I'm trying to imaging someone coming in to an interview and just saying, "Ah, fuck it - do you fancy a pint?" If you ever meet me, instead of doing the interview just say that and we'll go down the pub, have a drink and have a much more relaxed time.

Well, next time, that's what we'll do.

Sounds good to me.

———///——///———

Track Record : Muse Formed: Back in the early ’90s, three students at Teignmouth Community College in Devon, UK, were in separate bands before forming Muse in 1997. Original name? Rocket Baby Dolls Members: Matthew Bellamy (guitar/keys/vocals), Chris Wolstenholme (bass) and Dominic Howard (drums) Albums: Four to date: Showbiz (1999), Origin Of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003) and Black Holes And Revelations (2006) Random facts: Gold Coast act the Sick Puppies covered ‘Stockholm Syndrome’

Justin Timberlake described Muse as “the best band there was” at the 2006 MTV European Music Video Awards

2004’s Glastonbury’s set would be described by Bellamy as “the best gig of our lives”. Sadly Dominic’s father, Bill, suffered a heart attack immediately after, and died

Muse’s ‘Space Dementia’ is the soundtrack to the latest perfume ad by cosmetics giant Christian Dior

#unleashing this on the world at last. Happy birthday you silly guy.#I haven't transcribed the more uh. Saucy stuff via fans on the forums that's in the scans but I can if you’d like me to #Just thought this post was getting a bit long lol #muse band #matt bellamy #MATT!!#matt from muse #muse #muse interviews #Muse quotes #madlad lol #2007 #Triple J magazine #Mag scans #Black Holes era #long post

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echantedtoon · 5 months

Text

A Champion Time For The Heart Ch13 Onto Hammerlocke- I Mean Stow-On-Side

The two of you left. Heading off down the trail Hop directed you before rushing off to take on Bede and spend some time in the Wild Area as planned. You hoped Victor would be able to keep him out of trouble and from fighting with Bede. As much as you wanted to stick together and were honestly curious to see how that battle would play out, you couldn't just let Gloria skidaddle off by herself and she was dead set on heading to Hammerlocke whether you liked it or not...Well not Hammerlocke exactly. She wanted to go to the town of Stow-On-Side, to challenge with Fighting Type Gym, Hammerlocke just happened to be along the way. A pit stop of sorts if you will. And when down to it you were pretty curious now yourself about this place. From what Gloria was babbling about happily about it, Hammerlocke wasn't only just home to the famous Dragon Gym Leader and his gym, but one of the main power plants in Galar owned by the Chairman himself. Hey. Sonia mentioned something about the Chairman having to do something with the power supply of Galar.

"So how will we know when we get there?," you asked after you two had crossed Motostoke's bridge.

"Oh. It'll be easy. It's not as big of a place as people think and not a lot of people live there since it's mostly just a single stadium and power plant run by the Chairman so not a lot of people go in and out either. Raihan's usually on long trips this early in the year since he never battles anyone who hasn't obtained everyone else's badge. But usually barely anyone gets to battle him because Kabu wittles most out and it usually takes a long time to get that amount anyways. Sooo...We actually might NOT see him there if he's out n' about," she explained. Which also had you sighing in relief, from what she mentioned before you were a bit iffy about being flirted with by a video game character even if he was a real person in whatever reality you were in right now. "In fact...the Chairman's pretty strict when it comes to who gets in too. Only gym challengers who collected at least three badges are allowed in to visit even."

You rose a brow. "So, in order to battle Raihan you need all the badges from the other gym leaders, but in order to actually get into the city you have to get three badges? Seems a bit stricter than needed."

She shrugged. "It's supposed to motivate us to work harder I think. But we don't have to worry! I already got three badges so they should let us in. We'll know it when we see the place since it looks a lot like a castle!"

A castle? Well then that should be easy to spot at least. You had no idea how long it actually took to get there but you both soon fell into that familiar pattern of walking all day, pitching the tent, sleeping, then putting the tent away, and continue walking of course. You lost count after the third or fourth day of doing it as by now it had become a rather used to routine of yours. And of course eating your fill of whatever bland tasting foods you both had packed unless you were lucky enough to stumble upon another berry tree that your drizzilie eagerly climbed up and ate from. You were glad despite it's evolution that it's hunger hadn't increased too much, usually it would much rather sleep away in your pack as your walked or watched the world slowly go by. Tell you one thing, your back and shoulders sure weren't enjoying the new found experience of walking with even more extra weight added to yourself. Your body was easily more tired and sore by the end of each day and your sleeping was more deep, luckily Gloria now didn't seem to mind waiting and letting you sleep in now. Every new morning you found her outside the tent intently looking around the dirt roads you were following and guessed that she must've been waiting for her brother and best friend to catch up as they promised they would. You two hadn't seen or heard any sign of them in the days you've been traveling but neither of you were worried too much. You had a feeling you'd see them again if the game's story was being played out like it was, but you couldn't shake the feeling in the back of your head that something was going to happen sometime soon. You just wished you could remember what it was. Along the way the two of you passed one or two small towns on your way there and had momentarily stopped to restock your food replies but didn't find any sign of the two boys or motels to stay at. So you two kept on walking and camping as you got closer and closer to Hammerlocke according to that rotom inside Glory's phone. And then you two FINALLY saw it on the horizon, right after you managed to walk past a couple of trees that blocked your view of it.

Gloria pointed excitedly. "LOOK!! THERE IT IS!!" You glanced where she was pointed and even you had to blink, from far away it DID kinda look like a castle with what you could make out from some high walls and a few towers from your spot far away. She quickly grabbed your hand and gave a tug as encouragement to keep going. "C'mon we're almost there! I wanna see if the boys are there."

You wasted no time in complying in her request, after all you wanted to get there too and rest your aching feet thanks to mister water balloon lounging on your back. You were ready to just rest up for a while, but you persisted in increasing your pace for Gloria's sake as she seemed to gain a new and excited spring in her step at the promise of meeting back up with her crew. Well you couldn't really blame her for wanting to see them again. You yourself were curious about what happened between now and when you all left Motostoke some days ago. It took maybe one or two hours of you two walking to finally reach the 'town', and you had to say....it looked more like a giant building as far as you were concerned. The whole thing was MASSIVE and made from black and dark grey stones, the entrance literally being carved to look like some kind of dragon you had to pass through to get into the inner city. Gotta say. You were a fan of the design. It breathed the kind of Place a Dragon Type Gym Leader would live and work. As you two got closer (and noticed just how big it all was) you noticed that some man wearing the same white uniform and sunglasses as any other Gym Leader employees was standing in the shade of the steps leading up to Motostoke. His gaze laser focused on the two of you as you approuched. Shouldering up his body and holding out a hand towards the both of you as Gloria made it first to the first two steps of the Hammerlocke entrance way.

"Excuse me," he asked, "Are either of you two Gym Challengers? Only challengers with three or more badges may enter Hammerlocke for the duration of the Gym Challenge."

"I am!," Gloria confirmed before slinging that big old brown backpack of hers off her shoulders and you both watched as she opened and rummaged around in it. Presumably to get her badges for the man.

"Ah, a gym challenger. Allow me to check your gym badges please, young lady." he held his hand out to her expectantly and after a moment Gloria held out her badge circle to him containing the three badges she won and placed onto it so far. The man took them from her and you two waited patiently as he hummed and brought it up to his face to carefully examine. "Let's see here. The grass badge, the water badge, and the fire badge." After a moment longer he nodded and handed the circle back to her. "It's confirmed that you've defeated three gym leaders including the leader of Motostoke no doubt. You may enter. I wish you the best of luck in your future battles, Miss."

"Thanks!" She quickly took it from him and stuffed the thing back into her pack as the man looked back up.

"Oh, it's you!," he said, "The boss told me you were coming in today but I wasn't expecting you so early this morning."

"Naturally." Gloria froze at the voice and you turned around at the familiar male sounding voice. And your eyes widened as Bede just casually strolled up to the steps as well, "I'm never late to any meeting with the Chairman or the like. He doesn't like to be kept waiting-" He paused. Lavender eyes going wide as soon as he saw you but then went into a scowl as soon as Gloria turned around to scowl at him. "Oh, it's you...."

"Yeah?," she asked daring him to answer, pushing the lid on her pack closed and slinging it back over her shoulders. "Surprised ya ain't all frazzled like lint from Hop's battle with ya."

He scoffed. "Oh yes. I almost forgotten about him. You see...I doubt Hop will be coming. It's only natural."

She paused and even you rose a brow as Bede reached into one of the giant pockets of his. "....What are you talking about?"

"Ha! After such a humiliating defeat, there's no way he could look the Champion in the eyes. Here just look at the gym badges I've already won." He held up his own badge circle with coincidentally the same badges as Gloria up to the man who nodded at him. "I'm sure he'll withdraw from the challenge."

"Thank you, Challenger Bede. I can confirm you have the required badges."

"Anyway," He put the badge circle back into his giant pocket, "I have a meeting with the Chairman so I must excuse myself-" Bede leaned back as Gloria suddenly leaned forward at him with a glare.

"WHAT. Did. You. DO?," she demanded.

He blinked at her before scowling himself and (seemingly able to grow a more resistance to her anger from last time) brushed himself off. "I didn't do anything to him. I just simply beat Hop after all that confidence he spewed back at Motostoke."

"Oh no, no, no, no. You did something else didn't ya? What did ya say to him?"

"The truth. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why I-"

Gloria was suddenly pulled back by you with a confused yelp and even Bede paused when you gave him a glare. The type that a mother would a scold a child with that every kid could relate to seeing one time or another. "Bede." He paused wide eyed at you. "Go on to the Chairman. You don't want to be late." Gloria looked up at you even more confused at your calm tone but Bede made no time to waste as he snapped his head from you and quickly sped walked the stairs as they both of you watched. After he disappeared from your view completely, you let Gloria go with a look. "Hey. Are you alright?"

After a moment she nodded. "Yeah. But what did ya do that for? I had him right there itchin' for a battle."

"Remember what Victor said. You can't just pick a fight with him especially if the Chairman's here. I already had to apologize to him, so let's keep things civil. Ok?"

She huffed. "He's the bloody one who started it."

"I know. But let's let it go for now. Besides, if Bede could catch up to us this fast from Motostoke that means the others could too right?" You saw her perk up immediately at the propsition and you smiled, nodding towards the entrance way. "Come on. Let's go have a look around and see what's going on?"

She quickly agreed and together you two entered the darkened tunnel beyond the stairs. At the other end of the short tunnel was light and as the two of you exited, you gaped up in aw at the side before you. Before you was the biggest stone structure you had ever seen!! Surrounded by two other stone structures that looked oddly like wings in a way. It certainly screamed castle by it's magnificence. Everywhere you looked was a few houses and buildings all made from the same black-dark grey stones with some painted a bright shimmering gold in some places that reflected the sunlight to make it gleam. The place had it's OWN TOWN INSIDE OF ITS OWN WALLS and A FREAKING DRAW BRIDGE!!

".....I thought you said this place was just a stadium and power plant," you said after a moment to take it all in.

"I....guess they must've expanded from when Lee told me about this place." She looked around. "Where should we look first?"

"The Pokemon Center," you said without hesitation, "It's been a while since you had your pokemon looked at right? Plus it's a nice place to start that has seats and ac."

Luckily she agreed and it wasn't too long to find either since the center was literally right next to the entrance. The boys weren't there but you got to rest your legs for at least twenty peaceful minutes of relief, and Gloria was able to get her pokemon checked over. And Drizzilie as well since after what happened in Motostoke, you wanted to make sure that your pokemon was doing fine considering it's change, but the Nurse Joy assured you that he was totally fine and that it was indeed just normal Drizzilie nature to act like this. Thank goodness. You two (more like three after your Drizzilie noticed and repeated patted your shoulder until you gave in-) also got drinks from the man who was selling berry juice and such behind his counter at the center, tasted sour but it was nice at least. After that Gloria suggested you both walk around the town a little bit to see if you could spot the two of them. You didn't have any better ideas so you figured why not. It couldn't hurt to look around. Starting as soon as you two left the center, you both headed towards the right side of the town. There was around what you could tell was maybe about a good twenty or thirty houses that looked like the regular kind of space someone would live in so it didn't take long for you two to comb the streets of them with no signs of the two in sight. There was also the train station and when you went up a different path on the right side of Hammerlocke it lead to a dead end with a single school building and a giant statue of a pokeball.

You sighed aching feeling starting to return in your feet. "Man. They aren't here either are! ...Makes sense since I don't think they'd go to this school."

"No," Gloria agreed but perked up seeing the giant bronze statue of the pokeball and walking up to it, "Buuuut I heard a legend about the Hammerlocke Statue. They say if you touch it you'll be able to catch pokemon better. Can't hurt ta give it a wack."

You chuckled. "Go for it. You wouldn't have anything to lose after all." You watched as she smiled and with a giant grin slapped her hand down on the statue as it gave a soft thud sound where her hand made contact- "AH!?" You suddenly lurched forward from the force of your Drizzilie as it gave out the loudest sound of terror you ever heard coming out of it even when it was a sobble and scramble to hide itself into your pack completely. You nearly fell onto your face stumbling but by some miracle didn't fall down...before snapping your head around to your shivering back pack. "HEY! Drizzilie what's the big deal?!"

...Gloria blinked. "What just happened?"

You shook your head. "The heck if I know. He acted like he saw a ghost or something-"

"H-Hello there," a weak voice called out. Gloria yelped and whirled around behind her at the sudden voice and you also looked. ...Brows suddenly widening in surprise as a little girl who couldn't have looked older than six, seven, or eight years old tops shyly came out from behind the statue with something in her hand. But it wasn't that that surprised you. She wore an old fashioned little girl's dress you'd expected a little girl back in the 1950's to wear and short black hair, but what really had you staring was her skin which looked ghastly pale against her bright dress and dark hair. With bags under her very tired looking eyes, as if she was sick with a fever. "You look like someone I might trust." Her voice although small typical for a girl her age, sounded lightly raspy, and weak. Matching her sick appearance.

The two of you exchanged a look for a moment before Gloria knelt down to get eye level with the tired looking girl. "Hey there wee las." She said with a soft voice. "Are ye lost? What do you need help with?" Silently, she held up the thing in her hand which you finally noticed was a letter. A very OLD looking letter as the paper looked yellowed and the wax seal on it looked about as brittle as sand. She looked at it for a moment before slowly taking it from her. "What's this?"

"You see, there's I fancy and I....I...I've written him a love letter."

"....Aw! Did ye now?" She smiled. "That's so bloody sweet of you."

The girl nodded. "Do you think you might deliver it for me?"

Gloria immediately nodded. "Of course I will!"

"Really? Oh thank you thank you!," the little girl smiled brightly despite her tired appearance, "I'm so glad I found someone like you to help me!"

"By the way," you asked looking around. You didn't see any grown ups around. Where were her parents?, "What's your name?"

"My name is Paula. Here you go! This is the letter I want you to deliver!" She pushed Gloria's hand holding the letter towards her and you thought you saw Gloria pause for a moment blinking..Before she slowly stood up and held out the letter to you to look at. "Deliver it to Frank, won't you? Frank lives in Bellonlea. That's who you want."

You both gave each other a look as Gloria spoke. "Bellonlea? That's a long way from here."

You nodded. "Hey Paula. Where's your pare-" You froze. Absolutely froze. And when Gloria looked too she blinked...Before looking around. ..And you whipped around yourself. Paula. Who had just been standing in front of you less than five seconds ago. WAS. GONE. There weren't any signs of her leaving and no footsteps you heard. Gloria event stopped to walk around the statue but came out the other side alone...and the both of you stared at one another. ".....Where did she go?"

Gloria shrugged. "I dunno man." Her foot tapped the spot where Paula was just standing. "She was literally standing right here a minute ago. Her touch was so cold. Did ya see her leave?"

"No. Did you?" She shook her head no again. Leaving the both of you standing there with nothing but the letter in Gloria's hand as proof of her even existing.....Until you pointed back the way you came. "Come on. Let's go check the other side of town for the guys." You said hoping to get away from the awkward tention.

You two quickly left the area with Gloria slipping the letter into her pack as you did, and off to the left side of the town you went. Passing the center as you did. There was at least another twenty-thirty houses, an antique store, a small gym, a barber shop, a cafe, and a clothes store like back in Postwick. But still no signs of the guys. And then there was something called 'The Vault' that was being guarded by some men but you two didn't pay it much mind in the end as you searched. But still no signs of Hop or Victor anywhere.

"UGH!! This is useless!," Gloria gripped her hat in frustration. "We've been wondering around lookin' for 'em ALL DAY! And still ain't no signs of 'em bloody anywhere!"

You nodded looking around. Your Drizzilie had resumed it's regular position after a while of hiding thank goodness it seemed to be ok. "Maybe they haven't gotten here yet? Hop did say he wanted to stay a few days in Motostoke and catch some pokemon. We shouldn't give up yet."

"Yeah I guess. But they should've been here if the mareep head is. I wonder if I should call 'em-"

"Pst! Hey you!" Both of you paused...Another voice?? This time male and sounded around Gloria's age- Gloria whipped around quickly in expectation but the teen you were both met with wasn't Victor or Hop. Or even Bede. It was a red headed boy in a red hoodie, black sweats, and blue shoes. "You heard the rumor?" He asked the both of you.

....You both looked at each other bewildered for a moment before you shrugged. "...No?" Gloria slowly looked back to the boy. "I haven't. What rumor?"

"What? You haven't heard!?," the boy asked surprised, "There's a rumor if you give the one you like an applin, you'll be together forever!"

".....OH!! That old wives tale!"

"....Applin?", you asked.

"It's a pokemon. The story goes that the first Queen of Galar's favorite pokemon was an applin and so her fiance gave 'er one as a gift on their weddin' day. Since then it's been tradition ta give one to a person yer romantically interested in when ya confess your feelings. Hop told me that story once," Gloria explained and the boy nodded.

"Actually the truth is, there's someone I like," the boy confessed looking down and scuffing his shoe on the ground, "She's gonna move over seas pretty soon...I've been searching for an applin so I can get my feelings across the right way. But I can't find one."

"Huh. Fancy that. You're the second one today who's told us they wanted to confess their feelings ta someone," Gloria chuckled, "But whatcha stop me for?"

"Well i-it's not just you two,'' he confirmed holding up a hand, "I've asked anyone here if they have an applin they'd trade me with. If you've got an applin, would you please give it to me?"

....You shook your head. "Sorry. But I've only ever had one pokemon and you're looking at him." Your drizzilie yawned in response.

"Actually," the both of you looked to Gloria smiling, "I do have one. While we was checkin' out that daycare back in Turrfield I adopted one from one of the random abandoned rotomi boxes. I think it's still in my personal inventory."

The boy's eyes widened. "Whoa! You mean you'll really give me an applin?!"

Gloria nodded. "Sure I will if it helps out your lady love!" She giggled before jamming her thumb behind her. "But wait 'ere for a sec. I gotta go get it from the center."

The boy nodded urgently. "Yes! I-I will! Thank you! B-B-But hurry! S-She's leaving tomorrow and I-I asked her to meet me later today!"

Gloria nodded turning quickly. "Don't worry! Stay right here I'll be back as fast as I can!" And she took off...You blinked and quickly made to jog to catch up with her.

"Hey! Whoa! You're handing him your pokemon just like that?"

She nodded as you caught up with her. "Yeah! I can tell he was bein' honest with me. 'Sides he's nice. Nicer than that mareep head anyways."

You nodded. Couldn't really blame her opinion on Bed-..........De.......BEDE!! "He's the troubled one!" You suddenly shouted and stopped. You must've caught Gloria off guard because she stopped just a few yards ahead of you as you stared at nothing suddenly....THAT'S IT!! THAT'S THE PERSON WHO YOU HAD THE BAD FEELING ABOUT!! BEDE WAS THE RIVAL WHO'D GET THAT LIFE CHANGING CHARACTER DEVELOPEMENT MOMENT!! .....But what!? ....GAH!! You couldn't remember what happens to him in game!! Your hand smacked your face in a face palm and you groaned. "UUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!! GREAT!! Just my luck too!"

"....Yeah he's the troubled one." You slowly peeked your f/c eyes between your fingers to look at the confused brunette. "But whatcha goin' on 'bout now??"

....You shook your head. "Nothing." And looked up with a steeled face. "But Gloria. I NEED you to do something for me. And I need you to promise me to do it no matter what!"

Gloria must've been taken a back a bit because her face went concerned before she slowly nodded. "....Ok? What's it ya want me to do?"

She blinked as you very seriously grabbed her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and spoke in a serious tone. "Gloria...I NEED you to apologize to Bede the next time you see him."

Gloria froze for a moment. Drawing a complete blank as if her brain was processing what you said with a reboot. "..............WHAT!? Are you crazy!? ME!? Apologize to the wooloo for brains for what he did!?"

"No! Not apologize for what he did to YOU. But apologize for what you did to him." She rose a brow and you sighed. "Gloria. I need you to apologize to Bede for yelling at him. And for calling him names like Mareep Head. That doesn't excuse his behavior and it doesn't make what he did ok, but I think he's about to go through something and I think it'll be better if there wasn't so much tension between you two. And after you apologize you shouldn't call him 'mareep head' or 'wooloo for brains' any more." You couldn't exactly tell her your reason why but you REALLY had a feeling whatever was about to happen was going to be big for him. And it'd be so much better the less tension there was between the rivals. And...with Bede being endorsed by the Chairman and all it'd be better for both her and Hop if most of the tension stopped. "You don't HAVE to forgive or forget what he did, and you DONT have to put up with him. But.....I can't explain why. So please as a friend just do me this favor."

Gloria stared at you for the longest time......before she sighed. Smiled. And nodded happily. "Ok."

....

.......

..........What-

"WHAT?!" You blinked. Hands dropping to your sides as she chuckled at your smackgobbed face. "A-Again?? Just like that!? You'll apologize to him??"

She nodded with a determined smile. "Hey. Victor and you already said I shouldn't fight with the mar-...Bede anymore! If apologizin' is what it's gonna take then I can suck it up and do it. After all ya apologized for me, so I can apologize for you just this once."

.......You breathed a long sigh of relief, weight lifting from your shoulders. "Thank you! I owe you one."

She shook her head. "Nah. Let's call it even. Kay? C'mon. Let's get that mate an applin before his lady love shoves off for a different region all together."

You nodded and with new found relief off you went towards the center. It didn't take too long for the two of you to reach it and immediately enter. Once inside Gloria made her way over to the Rotomi machine thingy than reminded you of an ATM and as soon as she pressed a button, the robotic pokemon on top danced to life as she worked it. Feeling slightly exhausted, you looked up feeling a tap on your shoulder and when you looked your Drizzilie pointed towards the man selling juice again. Before looking at you in question. With a sigh you nodded and went towards the man who was of course happy to sell you another cup of juice for your pokemon. RIP the rest of your money. You only had a few coins left from the change back as you stuffed them back into your pocket with a sigh and the man handed your eager pokemon a cup of reddish juice. It quickly jugged down the entire thing within a few seconds before giving a pleased chirp sound. You chuckled and rolled your eyes. Well at least someone was happy-...You paused..Blinking and turning around as a blur of pink and white fluffy hair walked past the center's window...No. It couldn't be! It would've been too much of a coincidence if it was...But still. You quickly moved towards the door as Gloria curiously looked up from the machine after your retreating form as you stepped out of the center, and looked around. ..No sign of him-

"Mr. Chairman!" You blinked at the familiar voice...before peeking around the corner and low and behold there the white haired boy was! Walking towards...you frowned. Oleana and the chairman who was...wearing the same weird outfit you saw him wear in Hulbury. Seriously, what was with the polka dot shorts?? Bede walked right up to the two who looked at him. "I've been both collecting wishing stars and gym badges as fast as I can. "

"Good work, Bede." Oleana complimented crossing her arms. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten that it was the Chairman who endorsed you." You instantly frowned. What was the deal with this woman!?

"If I gather enough wishing stars that'll help solve the problem that's been bothering you, right Mr. Chairman?" Your brows rose. So that's why Bede was collecting lots of wishing stars!? The Chairman was using them for something!! ...But why would the Chairman of an entire region need wishing stars that just Dynamax pokemon??

"Oh it's not just about me," the chairman clarified, "It's for the future of the whole Galar Region. And we'll need more than just wishing stars. We need a powerful pokemon trainer, too. Someone like the Champion."

"With all due respect, Sir, I was able to show Hop, one of the champion endorsed trainers, just how outclassed he was." You frowned more. Ok. You could see how Gloria and Hop could get mad at him. "I'm sure I'll be able to defeat the Champion. No. I WILL defeat the Champion."

"That's the spirit! It takes healthy competition to really keep the Gym Challenge Energized!" .......He called THAT healthy competition!?!?

Unknown to you, Gloria had come out of the center and spotted you after looking around a bit, poke ball in hand which must've been the applin for the boy she promised. She walked over to you before blinking and looking towards where you were looking at, and pausing a moment seeing the same trio you must have.

"Challenger Bede, there is something I wish to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?," Oleana asked.

Bede nodded to her and she silently beckoned him to follow her as she turned and began walking off with him and the chairman- You jumped as a blur rushed past you and it took you a moment to realize that it was Gloria. And the brunette was barreling right towards the white haired boy as he walked after Oleana and the Chairman. ....!? OH NO!!! You opened your mouth to shout at her to wait and stop if she was going to fight but even if you did she wouldn't have heard you, and it was too late!

"WWWAAAAAAIIITT!!! BEDE!!," She shouted at the top of her lungs gaining the attention of both Bede, and Oleana and of course the Chairman as all three stopped to turn around and see who could've been the one who had called his name. "I HAVE TO TELL YA SOMETHIN' IMPORTANT!!"

Bede looked stunned to say the least blinking purple eyes wide as he took in the sight of Gloria racing right up to him, as the two adults behind him looked slightly surprised. Before he scowled at her. "YOU AGAIN!? I don't have time to deal with you! If it's a battle you want it'll have to wait after my business with Ms. Oleana and the Chairma-"

As he turned to go away, Gloria had straight up grabbed his hand which had the dynamax band on his wrist causing him to turn back around to face the heavily breathing brunette who gasped for breath stunned. .....Oh no!! Blinking out of your stupor you began jogging your way towards them hoping to stop any misreading on the situation before it got out of hand. In the mean time Bede had paused blankly, stunned....Looking between his hand and Gloria for a moment before frowning and tugging his hand only to find her tightly glued to it.

"I-....I h-have a c-c-confession ta make to ya!," she wheezed out between breaths staring at him pokeball in hand.

"Well whatever it is it can wait until I'm finished!," he stated firmly tugging on his hand. "Would you please mind letting go of my hand?"

She shook her head. "No! I've been meaning to do this the moment I realized I should've done it after our first encounter in the mines!" She said apologetically and it made you slow down as you got closer...OH!! She was going to apologize! But Bede looked at her confused. "Bede...I.." Her lips pursed for a moment as her face almost gave a cringe. Before slamming her eyes shut. Grit her teeth. And blurted it out. "I-I'm sorry! I called ya names n' yelled at ya!"

That made everyone quiet as they stared. You in relief. Bede stunned confusion. Oleana.....Oleana. And the chairman suddenly looking interested seeming to realize who it was talking to Bede.

".....I-...*ahem* Well..." Bede tried to straighten himself obviously not sure how to handle the closed eyed girl gripping his hand apologizing.

"I know, I know! But somethin' recently came up that made me realize I had ta do this n' if ya did beat some one fair and square then there ain't nothin' I could do about it...but believe me t-this is a lot harder for me to do ..c-c-confessing 'n all." You smiled. Good, good. This was going well.

....That was until she peeked an eye open to Bede's expression as he stared...Eyes darting around for any way to escape this. "I- Uh..." He cleared is throat righting himself into that usually serious faced person. "Well then. It's seems you truly and finally came to your senses enough to realize I..." His eyes landed on the poke ball still clutched in her hand...and suddenly that calm face went suspicious. He glanced between her and the pokeball. Before using his free hand to point at it. "And WHAT is that your holding??"

She blinked holding it up with a shrug. "Nothin' really. Just a wee applin."

A smack sound was heard as you AND your Drizzilie utterly face palmed HARD with the reality hit before you. Bede went once again into that wide eyed shocked mode Jaw dropped. Behind him Oleana's face went slightly wide eyed in surprise, the Chairman looked totally taken by surprise too before hummed and grabbing his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Bede looked between her face and the pokeball so many times wide eyed and sputtering strange noises that sounded like words he was trying to form as she rose a brow confused. "....A-Are...." He looked at her suddenly in the eyes. "A-ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?" His eyes narrowed. "Like...Y-You're not joking with me or m-m-making fun of me right now are you!? I-I'll have y-y-you know I don't appreciate being toyed with, Girl!!"

She scowled. "OF COURSE IM BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!! Y'know how hard it was for me to make myself run up to ya and say all that! And for your intel, Fancy Pants, It IS an applin! I wouldn't lie 'bout the pokemon I have! I was gonna give it away after the lil confessin' I forced myself ta do." You wanted to die from second hand embarrassment from her obliviousness to the situation she unknowingly put herself in.

Bede went wide eyed before his face turned about as pink as the coat he was wearing. He glanced a couple more times between her and the pokeball. ...Before in one swift movement he yanked his hand out of her grip and turned away head down and hands shoved into his pockets. "I....I-I....*AHEM*...I-I appreciate what you have decided to tell me...B-But I'll need time to think about if I accept such outlandish words from you or not...It...It might be best if we go our separate ways for a while to let me think on t-that."

Gloria blinked at him still oblivious...before nodding proudly of herself and satisfied with the answer she got from the obviously flustered boy. "I'm glad we agree on that. I don't think I need ta say anymore to get my point across."

"A-A-AGREED!!" He looked desperately to the older woman. "M-Ms. Oleana you wanted to see me??"

Oleana looked to the Chairman who chuckled after a moment and nodded before Oleana turned around and Bede quickly followed after him as you dared continued to walk up to her.

Gloria smiled as she turned to you. "Well I think that went better than expected!"

You shook your head with a groan. "Actually I think it could've gone better."

Gloria rose a brow and was about to ask what you meant when the two of you were cut off by a chuckle of the chairman....Oh shoot! You forgot he was here. The man waved a hand casually. "Not too worry. Bede will be fine. But either way I hope you were listening, Gloria." She looked more confused at him. "As you know, wishing stars are those mysterious stones that are even attached to your Dynamax bands. There's more to wishing stars than just making your pokemon into giants though. They hold far more energy than that."

".....There is what?"

He chuckled. "If you're curious, then you should head to the stadium. In fact, we should head inside right away. I'll even give you a lesson on how the Galar Region gets it's energy." He nodded to you. "And of course your friend is more than welcome to join us like last time. I'm interested in getting your opinion." Ah nuts he DID remember you.

"Mm....Sure I guess."

"Excellent." He smiled turning. "You ladies follow me and Ill give you the tour." The two of you looked at each other before Gloria shrugged and began following him as you sighed. How did you get yourself into these things?? But you also followed him. Mr. Rose lead you all across the draw bridge that lead into the main castle which had a giant red and black stripped rug and was lit by actual torches. As you both took in the darkness and barely light around you, you followed the Chairman as he walked. You followed him until you all turned a corner and were surprised to find the entrance to the stadium!! Well it was closed off with a few people and security around, and to no one's surprise found Oleana plain faced waiting for the lot of you. "As you know, Hammerlocke's stadium doubles as an energy plant." The chairman continued walking up to Oleana and holding up a hand. Immediately she handed him a tablet that was in her hands. "Now have a look at my tablet. I've got all the information you need on it." He held it out to Gloria. She took it, looking confused at it for a moment, before tapping the screen and what you would best call a diagram and a friendly looking picture of Mr. Rose himself popped up. "See? An easy to understand description of the energy plant! First, energy is absorbed from Hammerlocke Stadium's tower. Then it's changed into electricity in the underground power plant and delivered to people throughout the region!" He went on to explain. "Our lives and society require various types of energy sources, such as electricity, natural gas, and water. My associate groups aim to improve everyone's lives by harnessing the power stored in wishing stars!"

Both of you looked up obviously surprised by what he said before Gloria glanced back to the tablet raising a brow before holding it back out to him. "But I thought only Professor Magnolia's Dynamax bands could harness the energy, wouldn't ye need 'er help??"

He took the tablet back before handing it to Oleana. "That's what Oleana and my team is for. I'm hoping Sonia would join us after her travels and research is finished."

"....Why are you telling us this?," you asked, "It sounds petty important. Wouldn't you want to keep that info to yourself?" It was also suspicious just telling you two but then again Bede did say more than once he was gathering wishing stars for the Chairman so maybe this was just you being too paranoid...But still that uneasy feeling you got when you were around these two were back.

The chairman paused as if sensing your feelings before smiling. "Experiments with Wishing Stars is nothing new. Professor Magnolia has done it for years and look what she created! Other scientists are currently studying their properties other than just us, and I believe Sonia is looking into the history of the origin of their power. So it's not really private knowledge." ....You...guessed that made sense. "Besides. If Bede's going to become the next Champion perhaps having any strong trainers by his side might be beneficial to our cause." And that bad feeling doubled! Oleana leaned over to whisper something to him and he hummed. "...Oh. It's time for me to get to work. I should get a move on before Oleana decides to give me another earful." He chuckled. "Gloria, I suggest you head over to the vault next. Just head toward Route Six from the stadium and you should find the vault without any issues. If you ladies would excuse us. It was nice to see you both again." With that they turned and you both watched as they walked towards a guarded elevator and went right in.

When the doors closed behind them Gloria turned a brow to you. "Well that was weird ain't it?"

"Good riddance I say." You turned to her after a moment and pointed to her pokeball. "Hey. Weren't you supposed to give that to the guy?"

She hummed looking to her pokeball then jumped. "OH GOSH I FORGOT!!" She twisted on her heel and made a break for it. "C'mon Y/n! We got no time ta lose!"

You sighed but complied by turning and jogging off after her. It was going to be a long day you could tell. But still you two made a promise and you were going to keep it. And that's exactly what Gloria did. You were more tired than her jogging around and carrying more weight, so it would make sense by the time you caught up with her you were wheezing for breath and had a back as sore as it could get, doubling over and hands on your knees a few yards away from Gloria who offered the wide eyed teen the poke ball with a smile breathing heavily herself.

"S-Sorry it took so long, mate!" She handed it into his awaiting hands. "O-One applin as promised!"

"YES!!" He held the ball into the air. "WOW! I did it! I finally got an applin! Thank you! Thank you so much! Since you went through the trouble of giving me an applin I've got to tell her how I feel!"

Gloria nodded. "When is she coming anyways?"

The boy went to speak, but suddenly stopped wide eyed. Fumbling with the ball for a second and looking past Gloria who turned her head behind her as another teen girl with darker brown hair in a ponytail and a yellow shirt approached with a smile. "O-Oh! Geez!! T-T-That's her now!!".....Gloria whistled turning on her heel and walked aways from the boy to you as she came over. Smooth. Too bad she wasn't that smooth when apologizing.

Nervous the boy rubbed his head as the girl walked right up to him. "Sorry I'm late" she apologized. "What was it that you needed to talk about so suddenly?"

He sputtered. "I....Er....H-How's your packing going?" You facepalmed for the third time that day.

"Pretty much everything's been packed. Since I'm moving away tomorrow."

"Yeah," he agreed with a sad look in his eyes before taking a deep breath, "H-Hey! Check out this pokemon here!" He stated holding the pokemon out to her.

Blinking she looked at the pokeball then to him before slowly accepting and holding his ball curiously. "..What is it?"

"It's uh!.." He looked down and rubbed his next. "A-A-An applin." She blinked up surprise suddenly gracing her features. "F-For you."

"Oh. An applin?" He nodded and she looked back to the ball for a moment silence falling over them. It continued on for so long you and Gloria exchanged a slightly worried glance feeling awkward watching the seen. Luckily the girl smiled before looking back to her blue eyed friend. "Amazing. Did you catch it?"

The blinked surprised by her reaction before he looked embarrassed and shook his head no. "W-Well...N-No. Someone gave it to me. B-B-But NOT romantically gave it too me!" He clarified holding up his hands. "I-I traded for it! I-I..." He slumped arms to his sides. "I'm sorry. I really wanted to give you an applin that I caught on my own. But well...Ah just forget it. I can't give you this applin." WHAT!?

"You're right. I can't take it," she agreed handing it back to him. Double WHAT!?

"Yeah.."

"Even if we're separated and far away from each other, I'll still be waiting for an applin you caught yourself." She giggled at his sudden dumbfounded expression.

"W-Wait. Do you mean-?" He was quickly shut up when she out of no where kissed his cheek, and Gloria chuckled as his expression went as pink as Bede's coat.

"Ah! Um...I'll uh-....I'll see you later!," she said just as flustered and pink faced before she quickly turned on her heel and lightly squealing with joy ran off. Leaving the boy wide eyed and jaw dropped and you two as witnesses.

Gloria snorted and you gave a tap to her shoulder to get her to stop. The boy after a moment picked his jaw up off the ground and turned to you. "Say. W-What do you think that was about just now? D-D-Do you think it meant that-?"

"That she likes you back?," Gloria asked before nodding. "Sure does pal. Good on you!"

He chuckled nervously. "T-Thank you? Wait! Does that mean what I think i-i-it means!?" She nodded again at his wide eyed face. "Really, really!? I can't believe it!" He threw his hands up. "WOO HOO!! ...Ah...Sorry. I just never thought that we both felt the same way."

"Oh don't worry. I'm used to seeing that by now," you clarified.

"Right. Well, I'd better give this pokemon back to you." He handed Gloria back her pokeball and before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out something. "Here. Take this, too. Think of it as a reward for helping me take that first step." It looked to you two like some kind of coupons but you weren't sure. "I'm going to catch an applin myself! And then someday, I'm going to go giver her that applin. ...YEAH! I b-better get searching for an applin!" He turned with an extra bright smile on that face of his. "Thanks again, Mate! See ya!"

"Good luck!," Gloria called after him waving.

"Well...Today's been an exciting one," you stated stretching you back hissing as you did. "Looking around the castle town, seeing the chairman and his weird secretary, ...I guess technically apologizing to Bede, getting a letter from a mysterious girl, and helping someone confess their love. I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Does this place have an inn or a hotel we can stay at?"

"I didn't see one when we looked around."

"Camping doesn't sound too bad," a voice said with a chuckle.

"Yeah that does sound-"....You looked behind you and nearly had a heart attack when you came face to face with Leon himself! Jumping back and clutching your chest where your heart was as he gave a few laughs! "CHEESE AND RICE DONT DO THAT!!" You shouted your drizzile chirped annoyed at him.

He chuckled a little more as you pouted at him and he shrugged. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself! I saw you just standing there and thought I should come up and say hi since it's been a while." Before you could say anything in response to that he was distracted by a happy squeal and turned to Gloria.

"LEON!!," she shouted jumping up to hug onto him.

With a laugh and smile he twirled around once cape flowing with her before planting her back down on her feet...And you couldn't help but shake your head with a smile. "Hey! Look at you, Gloria! You've groan exactly half an inch since I last saw you!" He fondly ruffled the giggling gal's hair. "Seems you're doing well collecting gym badges. I saw your recording of battling Kabu and I gotta say I'm so proud of you guys for making it this far!"

She beamed smiling wider than you had ever seen her before. "You are!? Aw. It was nothin'! Hop won his before I even did. He's the real one you should be proud of."

He nodded with a hum and you watched as he rubbed his neck like Hop. Family habit you supposed. "I am proud of him too! And Victor! But Hop..." He suddenly looked down. "Gloria did something happen with him?" She blinked surprised. "He was acting really odd when I ran into him. He took one look at me and immediately was like "I'm so sorry, Lee!" It might be the first time I've heard him apologize for anything, and I have no idea what it was for. Maybe he's feeling down because he's had some losses in battle?"

"OH I KNEW IT!!" Both of you blinked to Gloria who scowled and huffed. "He lost to that challenger Bede! He was making fun of us and you and bein' a real pain in the tush!"

Leon stared at her for a moment before humming and catching her attention. "Well that would explain it. But he's got to learn sometime."

She blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well...When you lose, you feel down in the dumps. But then there's no where left to go but back up! You've got to think on why it was you lost, though," he explained to her as she blinked.

"But...he lost before to Nessa and he didn't act like that when he did."

"Ah. I see. Well sometimes the reaction can depend on the person who you lose too. You said he made fun of you and me?" She nodded as he gave a thoughtful face. "I see. Well then if that happened he might be taking it a bit more personally. But we all have to handle people who don't like us on our journeys. The important thing is to know that their words don't mean anything." He smiled. "Everyone's amazing in their own way, and someone else's hateful words shouldn't affect how you grow. So don't worry about him. You know that little brother of mine. I think he might yet become a surprisingly great trainer!"

Wise words. Wise words that seemed to get to Gloria as she nodded, "Yeah...Yeah you're right!" She smiled. "Hop's too smart to let that get him down anyways! He'll make it to the top guaranteed!"

"That's the spirit! Blast! And look at the time!" He scanned the sun real quick before groaning. "Nearly forgot my meeting with the Chairman! That Oleana lets me hear it when I'm late! Now only if I can remember which way to go-"

"They're at his power plant." Leon turned to you in question and you pointed back up the way you came. "Go that way to the pokemon center, you can't miss the thing it's the only thing here that's bright pink. Then turn left and he's inside his power plant last time we saw 'em."

He blinked before smiling brightly at you. "Hey thanks, Y/n. It was really good seeing you again. And seeing how that sobble of yours grew. A-And-.." You blinked as he smiled and reached a hand up to rub his hand almost embarrassed or flustered. "T-Thanks for making sure these guys are ok too. They mean a lot to me more than people know, so I appreciate it." Both yours and Gloria's eyes widened at that before he cleared his throat and patted Gloria's shoulder who smiled at him in return. "And it was so good seeing you too. You're doing a great job so far! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Anyways, I'd say that you should go and say hello to Raihan while you're here, Gloria!"

You paused and Gloria's eyes widened in wonder. "HE'S HERE!?"

He laughed again and nodded behind him. "Yeah! In fact he was my ride back here. He's the greatest rival I've got and the final hurdle you'll have to face in the Gym Challenge. Besides me of course. He should be still at the vault if you hurry. It's down that way." He pointed directly behind him. "On the way to Route Six...At least I think that's where it is. I'm not too good with directions."

"OMG!! IT'S THE CHAMPION!!"

Leon suddenly looked behind him as a small group had already gathered. "Uh oh! I-I'll see you later girls!" With a final pat to Gloria's head he RAN!! And the crowd gave chase. "S-Say Hi to Hop and Victor for me when you see them again!"

In a moment you quickly grabbed Gloria and yanked her out of the way of the stampeding twelve people's way as the crowd gave chase after the running champion and you both watched as they passed you. "GEEZ!! Does that happen to him all the time?"

Gloria nodded grabbing your arm. "Way more times than I can remember. But come on!" With a smile she tugged you forward in the direction Leon pointed. "I've never met Raihan before! And even the Chairman said I should visit the vault!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Whoa there! I thought we agreed to find somewhere to rest for the night."

"But Y/n!!," she whined tugging you again sad frown on her face, "I'm curiously about what this vault is now! So we gotta check it out! And plus! This might be my only chance of meeting Raihan casually without havin' the stress of a battle on my shoulders! If he's as amazin' as Lee says then I gotta at least say Hi!"

Your frowned back. "Yeah. I'm kinda iffy about the whole flirting with me part! I've never been hit on before."

She looked surprised for a moment. "Really? But you're so pretty! That's hard ta believe."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think that but that's not the point. The point is I don't feel like getting hit on by a guy who takes selfies and by the looks of it is obnoxious!," You insisted. Plus he was in your dream too and you'd rather avoid anymore interaction with anyone from your dream outside Leon who was genuinely nice. You were getting flirty bad boy vibes by what you've heard and seen and that was not your ideal type of guy in mind.

"PLEEEEEAAAASSSSEE!?," she begged you tugging on your arm. "Please please please! I promise It'll be the only favor I ask ya! Please won't ya do it just this one time!!"

You groaned throwing your head back. Knowing her she wouldn't budge til she got what she was after. "....Fine! But at the first sign of trouble we're outta there!"

Immediately her face lit up and she squealed happily like any teen you knew from back home meeting a boy band they loved. "YES!! Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret it I promise!!"

"We'll have to see about that," You mumbled but let her tug you along with a newfound skip in her happy step as you went. You were right. This was definitely gonna be a LONG day!

You let her drag your already annoyed and sore self towards the way Leon had pointed out to you past the barber shop you two had passed by earlier and onto another draw bridge as you came across it. Brow raised as you passed by a second pokemon center, did this place really need two of them?? And past a few people as you went. At one point you duo passed a group of about four woman who were excitedly chattering at a blushing girl in the center who held a piece of paper in her hands red faced embarrassed as a person could guess....You had a scary sinking feeling you knew where they had just come from. And an even more scarier feeling when you found out you weren't wrong. Because all of a sudden Gloria stopped, making you bump into her, gasped wide eyed like she had just seen a ghost, grabbed your arm tighter, and pointed with the other hand in front of you both! Blinking you looked up...and suddenly wanted to curl up into a whole and never come back out. There he was. The third person from your dream. the undeniable orange bandanna dragom gym leader of Hammerlocke himself, Raihan. He looked...Bored. Leaning up against two double doors, which you had guessed was the vault, and lazily scrolling through his phone....But perked up when he felt eyes on him and glanced over in your direction. As soon as he made eye contact with you he smiled. AH HECK NO!! You turned to leave but there was a problem as Gloria still had a good grip on your arm so you yelped in panic when she went forward with a happy smile on her face, and Raihan leaned himself off the wall as you approached. OH FRICK OH FRICK OH SWEEET BABY SOBBLES!!

"Oh. Hey there, Ladies!," he greeted a fanged smile sent your guys' way when Gloria dragged your wincing form right up to him. "Nice day for a walk. If it isn't the trainer endorsed by the champion. Let's see...What's your name again?" He hummed for a moment eye brow perked up in thought at the excited girl standing before him before snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "Ah right! Gloria! And if Leon himself recognized your potential then I guess you'll grow into quite the trainer."

You rose a brow. ...Well that polite compliment wasn't what you expected at first. But Gloria gasped finally letting go of your arm. "You know who I am!?"

He laughed this time. But not in a mean way, more of an amused way. "Are you kidding? All Leon ever talks about is you and your brother and Hop! And how amazing you kids are. All the same though, anyone wanting to challenge the mighty Raihan has to prove they're up to it by earning seven gym badges first."

...She blinked. "Oh uh..." Embarrassed she kicked her foot against the ground. "A-Actually I-I'm not here to challenge ya. I just wanted to m-meet ya in person and c-check out the vault of course!!"

"Ah so you're here to see our treasures are you?" Gloria nodded to him. "Gaining a better understanding of pokemon by studying history certainly isn't a bad idea." Your brows raised even more in surprise. "I like your spirit, Kid!" He nodded towards the doors laying a hand on them. "Follow me why don't you?" With a single push from his hands they opened and he went inside, well Gloria excitedly went in right after him and by default you too. Hey. He hadn't said a single flirty word. Maybe this would be tolerable. " The room he walked into was...Honestly very plain looking. There was two giant shelves covered in trophies, a few seats leaned against one corner, a staircase leading elsewhere, A woman manning a counter, and some kind of symbol plastered on the wall. Blinking back up when Gloria gasped. "I'll even spare you one of my league cards. Signed of course as for any fan." Now you realized why she gasped. He had just handed her one of his league cards and was smiling brightly at him which made him chuckle before lazily pointing up the staircase. "Now on you go. If it's the vault you want it's up those stairs there."

Gloria blinked for a moment looking towards the stairs then back to Raihan and smiled. "H-Hey Thanks!" Before turning and slowly walking her way towards the stairs, card in hand.

You sighed in relief. Thank goodness he kept it casual. You didn't know how you'd react if-

"And I didn't know Lee had such cute friends.~" Your eyes must've looked like those funny googly eyed stickers you'd buy from the store by how wide they looked when you snapped to him. And this guy just stared calmly with a polite smile...And. WINKED!! At you!

You stood there for a moment before your Drizzilie gave a loud warning chirp in his direction to which Raihan blinked at. Gave you enough time in his moment of confusion to BOLT your way to the stairs weight and aching pain be darned and scrambled after Gloria a weird feeling coming over you. "Remind me to give you a big dinner later as a thanks!" Your pokemon thrummed in approval and you made your way and into the..outside?? What the? You slowed down your pace as you got higher and higher. And dared to look down which was a HUGE mistake because you instantly felt a twisting feeling in your gut realizing how HIGH you were off the ground and without safety bars from just one flight of stairs alone. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you dared to continue up the stone steps towards a door at the top.

"Whatever happened to the sword and shield that drove off the disaster?"

You rose a brow as you walked forward more towards the familiar sounding female voice all the way towards the open door...No there's no way SHE would be here too! But alas when you walked right in. Your eyes widened. The room was MASSIVE!! High brick walls, giant windows, and four giant tapestries lined the front walls. One depicting two men under a light, the next the two men by what looked like a storm(??), the third them, the storm, and a sword and shield in the sky, and the last one of the two men as kings. Not sure what story it told but it looked heroic as in a fairytale. As your eyes trailed down to two women in the room one was obviously Gloria who was chatting with Sonia and the other. Was obviously...Sonia. You blinked wide eyed at the lady but was relieved to see her as you stepped in with a smile.

"Hey, Sonia!," You called out.

said red head looked at you and smiled as you walked over to her. "Hey! Y/n, I thought you couldn't be too far behind if Gloria was here." She paused seeing the little hitch hiker leaning on your shoulder that was your Drizzilie, as she pointed at him. "Hey. Is that who I think it is?"

You smiled and nodded. "Yep. Apparently he was closer to evolving that you guys thought. He ended up doing that when Gloria borrowed him for a battle. Still hungry as a snorlax tho." Drizzilie shot you a pouty look and you three girls ended up chuckling at his reaction. "Anyways what are you doing here? I thought you came here right after that dinner in Hulbury."

She waved a hand. "Well, yeah that was the plan at first, but I ended up staying with Nessa a bit to catch up and have some time with my friends." She sighed. "It's been so long since I saw them all. It was good catching up with her and everyone else again revisiting our favorite spots. I lost track of time and ended up catching a ride with Lee and Raihan back here to see the vault." She turned back to the tapestries and you glanced up as she looked. "I-....Think I'm getting closer to solving the mystery behind the dynamaz origin but...the same thing happened to everyone else that researched this far into the story before giving up. Still too much mystery and not enough answers to fill in the blanks I'm afraid."

You nodded glancing up at the old things. "Yeah I get you. I'm trying to solve a mystery of my own too in a way." A mystery of how to get back home and helping Gloria finish the game's story plot was the one but you weren't about to admit that!

She looked at you. "Oh yeah? What kind of mystery?"

"The mystery of how long it takes before that guy down stairs decides to put the moves on me. Maybe he's like an an- uh pokemon and you have to play dead." She rose a brow. "Y'know that one saying. You have to play dead or else they'll pounce on anything that moves."

"PFFFT!!" Sonia Snorted. Snorted!! Before her hands flew up to cover her mouth as laughter shook her form and Gloria looked up from her phone confused. "I-I-I...Oh gosh! Ahaha! I-I g-guess you met Raihan??" She asked between small giggles.

"Met him!? I thought the guy was gonna try to make me a side dish for his next curry by how he looks at you! Does he flirt with everyone?"

Sonia giggled a bit more before shaking her head. "No! That's just how h-he is. He really is a sweet and caring guy once you get to meet the real him honest."

"Told ya," Gloria confirmed.

"Well I don't think I wanna be the 'princess' who gets kidnapped by the 'dragon' thank you. Hopefully he'll be too busy taking selfies when we go back to go Y/n hunting." That got Sonia chuckling again.

"I hear you, I was that way when I first met him too. I hope you find what you're looking for." She turned back to the tapestries. "I'm going to stay here and try to study these a little more."

You were not that lucky. Because as soon as you two descended the stairs and got back down to the ground floor, Raihan was still there ever present seeming to wait for you. Doesn't a famous Gym leader have OTHER things to do-....Oh right. Gloria said he usually had a lot of time on his hands this early into the challenge. You wanted to face palm yourself hard for forgetting so easily like that. Raihan however just smiled at you two and looked to Gloria.

"Well that was quicker than I thought it'd be?," he chuckled," Was the famous Hammerlocke vault to your satisfaction Lil miss?"

Gloria instantly nodded. "Yes! The tapestries are beautiful!"

He nodded in agreement. "And really old too. The tapestries in the vault depict the heroes of the Galar Region's past. I suppose if we've got any modern hero I'd have to be our Champion Leon." He hummed looking Gloria over a moment and you rose a brow at him. "...Hey. You want some advice from a Gym leader who's fought Leon for the Champion title lots of times?" Of course she nodded excitedly. "Then listen up, Gloria. Your goal is to defeat that superstar Leon. So go to Route Six and train yourself up along the way to Stow-on-Side. Bea's the fighting type gym leader, so the best way to beat her is to think like a fighting type trainer would. Train hard and I know you'll be able to do it!"

With a fist pump the brunette nodded. "Right! I won't let ya down Sir!"

He chuckled. "Now I see why Lee likes you so much. Ah. That reminds me." He turned to the door and pointed. "There was this lil man that looked a lot like you looking for you outside there. Maybe you know him?"

In an instant the girl snapped to the door, gasped, and ran off. "VICTOR!!" The doors slamming open as she flew through them with the speed and strength of a wild bull.

He laughed. "Ah. That kid has some spunk. I look forward to battling her soon." He then turned to you as you paused. "Anyways. I don't think I got your name Miss??"

"Y/n." you stated flatly, "And thank you for the compliments-"

"Ah thank nothing of it." He flashed a fanged grin at you, "I know how it can be sometime meeting me n' all that but it really is no big deal-"

"Oh you're right about that." He paused stopping, blinking wide eyed at your deadpanned face mouth agape in a smile as he processed what you had bluntly but politely stated. "You do seem REALLY nice and I really appreciate all the nice things you said to me and Gloria, but I'll have to stop you right there with the flirting, Mr. Raihan. No offense to you of course, and I don't mean anything by it." You turned giving the frozen gym leader one last look before you left. "You just aren't my type. I'm sure you'll find a nice person soon tho with your looks and charms. Have a nice day."

And you left, leaving the wide eyed Dragon Type Gym Leader standing there jaw dropped and the secretary at the desk who also looked shell shocked at what she had just witnessed. ....Raihan's rotom gave a loud pokemon sound of alarm when Raihan dropped his phone with a thud onto the floor. Meanwhile you had just gotten outside the vault and with a sigh looked around. Relieved THAT was over and done with. As you scanned you heard someone call your name and when you looked, saw none other than Victor waving an arm towards you. Smiling you happily made your way over to the equally smiling brunette boy.

"Hey! There you are! We've been running all over the place trying to find the two of you! And judging by the sun..We've been doing it all day too. Where were you guys??"

He sighed shaking his head. "It's...complicated, Y/n. We got here a little while ago, but we aren't staying. We're taking the night train tonight to Stow-on-Side."

You blinked. "Wow. Again? I'm gonna be up all day and night then-"

"No." He cut you off and made you pause, "Not all of us." He clarfied frowning and looking down. "Just me and Hop. He...has some things he wants to sort out."

"Sort out? What do you-" You looked around more. "Where is he?"

He pointed behind him down the ways towards Route Six. "Down that way. Gloria took off after him but I wanted to make sure she didn't forget you or anything."

You nodded patting his shoulder before beginning to walk off in the direction he pointed out with a feeling you knew exactly what this was about. Victor followed behind as you picked up your pace looking around for those two crazy kids-

"Then there's no point in us stickin' around!," A loud male voice cried out somewhere ahead....Both you two exchanged looks for a moment before picking up your pace and rushing forward, going around the corner and finding out exactly where the loud yell was coming from. You found Gloria and Hop alright. With their wooloo and raboot out and two of those weird Team Yell guys standing there by some snake looking pokemon. The man was the one who was yelling tho. "Let's get out of here! We'll make these bothersome kids holler some other day!" Was that a threat!? In an instant you began walking towards them again as the two make up caked clowns turned and ran off.

"Gloria..." Hop began turning and giving his friend a sad smile. "You and raboot were brilliant together!"

Gloria smiled holding up her pokeball to return said raboot. "Thanks! Wooloo n' ye have really gotten stronger since the last time I saw ya! Guess ya can say 'Woo hoo' to match your wooloo!" She giggled at her own terrible pun but....when Hop remained silent her giggles slowly faded as she looked at him...and she blinked. Uh oh. This couldn't have been a good sign. "Hop?" She questioned reaching a hand half way to him....He shook his head no looking down. "H-Hey. What's wrong?"

He remained silent for a moment. ".........Gloria." He began. "See..Bede really wiped the floor with me last time we battled." Oh boy you KNEW it would have something to do with that. "And don't get me wrong. I can take a loss. Battling means you've got to lose sometimes. ....But he said that I was dragging Lee's good name through the mud being so rubbish like I was..." WHAT!?

"WHAT!?," Gloria yelled out shocked. "HOP! That's not true! You've won every at every gym we've been too so far! Twice even before me. How does that make you any weaker than I am?"

"I know that!" He clenched his hands into fists at his side not looking up. "And I know what you said is true but ...I can't just let myself let my guard down and not improve. And I just can't get those words out of my head! If I'm weak, then people'll think Lee's weak too! But I don't want that! I can't let Lee get dragged down! He's the unbeatable Champion! I'm gonna have to take some time figuring this out.....I-I...Im sorry- AH!?" He blinked frozen as Gloria suddenly enveloped him in a hug...before his face broke up in bright pink from it...and he slowly hugged his friend back.

"Hop...You're NOT weak," she mumbled against where she hugged him, "You're smarter and stronger than ya think. And I don't want you givin' up."

"Heh. Who said I was giving up?," he asked with a chuckle, "If I just gave up now that would just prove Bede's point. And I came too far now to stop. I made a promise to you I'd battle you in the finals and I aim to keep that promise! This isn't me quitting, Glory. Just taking some time away to improve on some of my skills. That's all." She blinked as he pushed her away and gave her that bright smile of his. "If I'm going to beat you, then I need to prove that I'm a worthy rival. Alright?" ...She nodded eventually with a smile.

"Besides." Both of them snapped towards the two of you as you approached. "If you ever really want to talk with us, you can call me or Hop on your Rotom phone at any time." Victor rose a brow as he crossed his arms and eyed where Hop was gently holding his sister's arms. "...Did I miss something?"

Hop blinked before instantly letting go beat red with a cough. "HEY! When did you-...*AHEM*" He rubbed his neck. "I-I was just saying see you around, Gloria!"

Victor hummed like he really believed him. "Rrrriiiiiggght. Anyways, Hop. It's getting close to sun down. If we wanna catch the night train out of Hammerlocke we should go now and wait at the station."

"UH!! R-Right!" He cleared his throat and turned to Gloria. "I-...I-I'll see you later, Glory. You can b-bet on that." Before quickly walking away past the both of you. "H-Hi Y/n. Nice seeing you again!"

Victor sighed and turned to follow. "Yeah. It was good seeing the two of you again. Don't forget. You have our Numbers, Gloria." He pointed back at her as he walked away. "Stay out of trouble! You hear?! And be prepared!"

"I know how to stay out of trouble ya loon!," she yelled back at him.

"Could've fooled me!"

Gloria stuck her tongue out at his retreating form and you chuckled. "What a loon. He's more chatty than a herd of hungry wooloo."

You shrugged. "I guess so..." You frowned a bit. "But on a serious note, are you ok?"

After a moment staring at where the two boys disappeared she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'm ok. There ain't really nothin' I can do about this any who."

You suddenly had a guilty feeling come over you. "Hey...A-About what I had you do earlier with apologizing to Bede. I'm really sorry about that-"

She held up a hand to you and shook her head. "No." Her face a determined frown. "Nah you n' Victor were right. And so was Lee. I shouldn't make any trouble for myself by just pickin' fights. And Lee was right about there bein' people like Bede anyways. But I ain't gonna let his words get ta me. And I know Hop."...She smiled. "I cant explain it as anything but a friend's intuition, but I know he'll be alright. He's too smart to let Bede keep 'em down for long. And Victor's with him. So I know he'll help him too."

You nodded smiling. Of course you knew Hop would be ok as well. "That's right. But hey. Victor told me they were heading to Stow-on-Side. We were heading there anyways, and there's some day light left. Why don't we drop by Hammerlocke Cafe for a quick dinner and start heading out before night fall?"

With a determined smile Gloria Nodded and pointed up. "Perfect idea! Let's eat! Then it's onto Stow-on-Side!!"

#pokemon leon x reader #reader x leon #leon x reader #pokemon leon #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #a champion time for the heart

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