#oh what i would do to stand near linh

[linh-cindy]

The Celebration (Hunger Games x Tlc Part 2)

Cinder gets on her chariot and makes a fiery expression. Kai encourages the Girl on Fire to win.

"You look great," said Cinna, scanning his work.

Cinder sighed. "I don't look pretty."

"I'm sure you do."

Her dress flowed all the way down to her ankles. It was a shiny black color. It glistened when it hit the light. Flames erupted from it.

Cinna tilted his head. "Now for your hair."

It took only a few minutes for Cinna to braid it. He twisted a strand of her hair, leaving her with yes, a plain hairdo but elegant at the same time. They had changed her cyborg hand and leg into a darker metal to match her outfit.

"Now go. I'm betting on you, Girl on Fire," said Cinna, nodding.

"Thank you." She bowed.

"Oh, dear, you look wonderful!" Effie greeted her excitedly. "Wait till Kai sees this..."

A beep rang out and Effie said, "Oh, you need to head to your chariot now. Remember, chin up, head high. Smile."

The Peacekeepers led her outside where her chariot was waiting. A small boy standing there wearing a similar outfit was Chang Sunto, from District 3.

He was twelve years old, which made Cinder's heart stop.

He inched away from her as she took her place beside him on the chariot. Of course, his mother told him to stay away from her, the cyborg freak.

The horses started galloping and Cinder had to hold on to stop herself from toppling backwards.

Caesar Flickerman's voice echoed through the air.

"We have District Two!" he announced. "Wow, Claudius, their outfits just get better and better!"

Claudius Templesmith laughed. "You're right, Caesar."

"Wait..." said Caesar. "What is that in the back?"

The cameras zoomed in on Cinder and Sunto with their flaming outfits.

Cinder took a deep breath and raised her cyborg hand in a fist. Chin up. Head high. She smiled her best smile.

"Do you see that, Claudius? Linh Cinder, our beautiful volunteer from District 3! Do you see that, ladies and gentlemen? She is not ashamed she is cyborg! Her aura is literally screaming, 'I am proud I come from District 3! We will not be overlooked!'"

The crowd roared with joy and tossed roses in Cinder's direction.

She kept her smile.

The chariots halted.

President Levana held her hands up, silencing the crowd. Her beauty was almost unbearable, with her auburn hair and full red lips, but her face was veiled.

"Welcome all to the Tribute Parade of the 74th Hunger Games. I would like to thank the tributes for their sacrifice. We wish you. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor." She curtsied.

The crowd cheered. Capitol people. Cinder rolled her eyes.

The chariots turned around and headed back to the apartment. The people cheered for her once more.

Cinder stumbled out even if the horses didn't halt to a stop yet.

"That. Was. Amazing," Cinna said proudly.

"We are all the people are going to be talking about!" Effie grinned.

"So brave," said Kai.

"Are you sure you should be near an open fire?" Cinder teased.

Kai laughed. "Nice hair."

Cinder bowed. "Thank you. Actually, you should thank Cinna. He fixed my hair for me."

"Good job, Cinna. You really brought out Cinder's beauty," Kai snorted.

Cinder bit her lip, embarrassed. Kai was probably distracted. Nobody had ever called her... that.

Cinna and Effie looked at each other knowingly.

Cinder crossed her arms.

"Come on. Let's go back," said Kai, probably realizing the situation too.

. . .

Kai entered Cinder's room, unable to sleep.

"Hey. Girl on Fire."

Cinder turned toward him, wide awake. She was sitting by the window, watching the still buildings. After all, she had never seen such a view like this.

“Hi,” said Cinder.

“Are you nervous?” Kai sat in front of her.

“You could say that. I’m just wondering what Peony would do when I’m gone.”

“When?”

Cinder sighed. “I have no chance of winning. I’m not a Career. I didn’t train in the school you had.”

"You hunt, right? For your sister?" Kai asked.

"Yes...?"

"Then you can win."

"I doubt it," muttered Cinder, upsetting Kai. "How'd you win, anyway?"

"I don't know. Clean kills? Hiding?" Kai shrugged.

Cinder said nothing.

"Hey. I believe in you. Please don't give up."

"All right. If you insist." Cinder stood up and left Kai thinking about his words.

I believe in you.

#the lunar chronicles #tlc #the rampion crew #linh cinder #kaider #tlc cinder #emperor kai #prince kai #the hunger games #thg

[gingerale2017]

Eat

So I took a while for updating this but I finally uploaded it yesterday. Anyways, here it is! (If you have Wattpad, please vote and comment on my story)

A full bowl of cat food looked back at Kai as he picked it up and sighed. She still didn't eat. It's been almost a week, and she still hasn't eaten. The veterinarians said that she might have an eating disorder since there was nothing else wrong with her. That didn't help. Cinder said that the vets were wrong and that she was dying.

Of course, Cinder said this smugly as she pet the gray-haired dog in her lap. Kai looked at Fiona, who was wandering around as a cat does and so skinny you could see her ribs. She drank but didn't eat. The dog started sniffing at Fiona's food, and Kai shooed him away.

Cinder walked in then, her brow furrowed as she read something on her port. She sipped a cup of coffee and set it on the little table in the pet room. She kneeled to rub Drew's fur and scratched him behind the ears, saying, "you're such a good boy" and "I missed you," the same way one would coo a baby.

Then, "Hey Kai." That's it. Not that he was jealous of a dog or anything.

"She still hasn't eaten," he grumbled and picked up the bowl again.

"Aw, maybe she realized that canned food is disgusting and reserved to eat out in the wild. Like catching birds and stuff, " she went to go sit on the big brown sofa, and Kai followed.

"No, Fiona's not a savage."

"She bit me once. Like a savage cat. Stars, I hate her."

"Drew scratched me once, but you don't see me calling him a savage dog! Besides, what are you're deal with cats anyways?"

"Nothing, it's just that cat," she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"She's a wonderful cat," Kai paused before continuing, "maybe we shouldn't have gotten pets in the first place."

"We didn't have a choice," Cinder looked darkly at the window as if recollecting. He started to remember too. They were visiting Thorne and Cress at the Rampion, and while Cress went to go pick up food, Thorne managed to steal them for a hot second.

He called it: Captain Thorne's Marriage Counseling, even though Kai and Cinder didn't need it at all. Then he said that they should get pets, and immediately Kai said hamster. Thorne nodded, and the next time they met, he had a dog and a cat.

Kai immediately got in well with the cat and named it Fiona. She was a proud and stubborn cat with a sarcastic aura. She kind of reminded him of Cinder.

Cinder chose the dog and named it Drew. And that dog was so annoying. It always wanted attention and only enjoyed Cinder. It gets depressed whenever she was gone, and it got on Kai's nerves every single time. It was also stupid in a cute way; it would bump into a wall, but it was still adorable.

Also, to make matters worse, Cinder gave the dog attention. She had trained him to be depressed whenever she wasn't around and is now super attached to her. Whenever Kai tried to be romantic with Cinder, he was there. Whenever Kai wanted to get Cinder alone, he was there. Whenever Kai wanted to tell her something important, Drew was there. The dog was everywhere.

But, again, Kai wasn't jealous of the dog. Drew's just a dog. He couldn't steal Cinder from Kai's hands and run away to someplace exotic and get married. Right?

"Here, Drew, you wanna play fetch? I know you do," She said, waving a rope around. The dog yelped, and she threw the rope across the room and onto the couches. Drew jumped onto the leather couch and grabbed the toy violently. Then he jumped off and climbed in Cinder's lap, leaving the sofa tilted and the rug flipped.

Kai grumbled and went to fix the rug and couch. Also, the dog was messy.

"Still, this is a problem. We have to find out why Fiona is not eating."

"I'm sure she's going to be fine, " Fiona came out of her hiding place and prowled the couch Cinder was sitting in. She sneezed and brought her warmth to cover her mouth. Drew winced and placed his head in her lap.

"But-"

"You're going to the vet tomorrow, and maybe they might figure out what's wrong with her, " she sneezed again, and Kai began to worry.

"Are you alright?" he asked tenderly.

"Yeah, I might go to the med wing to find out why I can't shake this cold."

"Are you allergic? To cats?"

"No- there was a cat in my old apartment, and nothing ever happened. I'm sure I'm fine, " Cinder smiled her heavenly smile and got up, "we'll I have to look over a few documents, and I'll see you later, okay?"

He nodded. She pecked his cheek and walked away. Drew sighed and flopped on the floor, and stared at the doorway Cinder walked out of.

"Oh, get over it. You'll see her later, " Drew ignored him. He sighed and decided to take Fiona to the vet a day early. She needed to eat as soon as possible.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩ (Cinder's POV)

Stupid cat. Stupid, crazy, irritating, always-in-the-way cat.

It wasn't Cinders fault that Fiona attacked her. It was self-defense! She didn't mean to shoot Kai's pet!

Cinder remembered trying to bond with Fiona when it downright attacked her. She brought her metal hand out, and the next thing she knew was seeing the black cat on the ground with a tranquilizer dart in the stomach.

She ran to the veterinarian as quickly as possible and gave it to vets there. They took care of her, and due to the medicine they gave Fiona, the cat might not eat for about a week. Cinder told them if her husband came by with Fiona, please say to him that nothing is wrong. Then she left.

With the stupid cat, she tranquilized in her arms.

Stars, Cinder hated Fiona. She would always pounce around the palace like she was the empress instead. And when she was around Kai, she would demand attention from him and stand proud as she deserved it.

But Drew, on the other hand, was the animal embodiment of Kai. He was dorky, cute, attention-seeking, and so easy to forgive.

But Kai loathed Drew, and Cinder couldn't understand why. They were like twins!

A sudden headache overtook Cinder, and she put a hand on the wall. The pain grew until she had to stop and grit her teeth. The headache disappeared as can't as it came, and she suddenly felt nauseous.

Gulping, she made her way to the elevator and asked the android operating it to head to the medical floor. She got inside and placed her cool metal hand on her forehead.

Once the doors opened, Cinder stumbled, and some people in white lab coats looked at her skeptically.

She made her way into the labyrinth known as the medical wing. The scent of multiple cleaning agents welcomed her.

When she finally made it to her doctor's office, she knocked and received a soft smile.

"Ambassador Linh-Blackburn, I wasn't expecting you, but still a pleasure, " the doctor said. She was shorter than Cinder and had a pageboy haircut. Her hair was onyx black and had striking red lips and bright green eyes.

"Good afternoon Doctor Zhao. I am sorry for not scheduling an appointment earlier; I think I have a virus of sorts. Do you have any extra time today for a check-up?"

"Of course, Ambassador Linh."

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ (Kai's POV)

Cinder Please come to my room ASAP.

It was surprisingly hard carrying a cat and reading your port. Kai just came back from the vet and got unexpected results.

First, it was a new vet that checked on Fiona. Second, the vet accidentally revealed that Cinder had visited them this week with Fiona before she stopped eating. Third, the vet stopped talking suddenly and said that Fiona should be perfectly fine any time now.

Kai got a little suspicious.

Now Cinder just asked him to come to his room as soon as possible. He had a difficult decision to make. Either drop off Fiona in the 'pet room' that was actually a deserted closet they found near his office, or go to her room and take the cat with him.

The room was closer to him, and he was worried about Cinder, so Kai chose option two.

Once he got there, he rapped on the door and heard his fiancee welcoming him in.

"Hey, love, what's wrong?" he asked softly. He closed the door behind him and Cinder bundled up in the bed. Her voice was unusually raspy which Kai to be even more concerned.

"I have been diagnosed with a virus that's been going around the castle and I have a confession to make, " she bit her lip and fiddled with the beige blanket, "I truly am sorry in advance for what I'm about to say-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're sick?! Why haven't you told me earlier?" she gave him a look for cutting her off but then saw Fiona and looked away as if ashamed. He dropped the cat and made his way towards the bed.

"Get back, I don't want you to get sick too, " Cinder thrust her hands up as Kai laid down next to her and moved the thin blanket higher up. She sighed in defeat, "I just found out today. Remember when I told you I was going to get myself checked out?" he nodded, "apparently there's some sort of virus and a lot of people went home because of it, and now I have it. Symptoms are nausea, headaches, vomiting, fever etcetera."

"Sounds fun, " she rolled her eyes. Kai brought her head to his chest and began to stroke it, "we'll get through it together."

Cinder snorted, "that was incredibly cheesy."

"I'm serious. I'd rather suffer with you than just watching you suffer alone." He kissed her hair, "what about the confession you were going to tell me."

She tensed, then pulled away from Kai. Waited for two, three heartbeats before continuing, "It's about Fiona, " she fiddled with the blanket again.

"What about her?" she gave him a 'are you serious?' look.

"Her diet? Remember she hasn't been eating all week?"

"The vet said that she'll get better any day now."

"No, I have to tell you why and how she stopped eating, " Cinder sighed.

When he didn't respond, she continued: "I was petting Fiona one day and then she downright attacked me and scratched my metal hand. I freaked out because I wasn't expecting that and I accidentally... shot her, " she moaned and brought the blanket to her head, "ugh these headaches, sorry. And I am very sorry for shooting your cat."

Her voice came to a whisper as if she was losing confidence with every line. Kai didn't know what to do at first, but then when she moaned in pain, his first instinct was to hold her and comfort her. But instead, he sat still as stone and could barely feel Cinders body against his.

"I know that you have every right to be mad and yell at me, but in my defense, she attacked me and it was simply, uh, self-defense, " she rambled, "b-but still, I should've controlled myself before shooting her, and I really am sorry Kai, and-" he covered her mouth with his hands and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. The same ones that happened to be synthetic, but still wonderfully stunning. Like her. Cinder may have some flaws (not her metal parts, obviously, those are perfect) but she still manages to make life wonderful. And she was stunning herself too.

"K-kai?" she asked after tenderly taking his hand in hers in her lap. He looked down at the hand that was holding his and brought the hard metal surface to his lips. He could feel her tense but ignored it.

"I forgive you, " he said with a smirk. Her wonderfully stunning eyes swelled with relief, "she 'attacked' you? And it was 'self-defense?"

"It was!"

They laughed in unison and their heads touched. They at there for a while, just enjoying each other's company.

She shifted and placed her head in his chest once again. "Hey Kai?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being an understanding boyfriend."

"Fiancée, " Kai corrected.

"Fiancée, " she coughed and shivered right after.

"I love you Cinder."

"I love you too Kai."

I'm so sorry for taking so long on this story, but I'm making a part 2 sometime later. Please forgive me, I need some extra inspiration on this.

*hint for part 2* remember the symptoms for the virus and Cinder randomly sneezing when Fiona was around.

Have a great day! -Angie

[everysongineverykey]

alright! no putting this off any longer! @fanartofthelostcities , i was your secret santa! sorry this is so late, i had a hectic day, but it’s here now! it’s a rather short stina study concerning acceptance and feeling inadequate. i sincerely hope you like it! it’ll be under the cut.

Acceptance

Stina should’ve been happy.

Really, she had no reason not to be. The war was over. The Neverseen were long gone. Everyone was back together again. All over the Lost Cities there were weddings, parties, huge celebrations of the kind that lit up the night sky, like the one Stina was at right now.

But somehow, somehow, she wasn’t happy. And it killed her.

She was standing in a corner of the Ruewen’s big, beautiful house, trying to make herself as small and as uninvasive as possible, watching everyone mingle and laugh and celebrate their victory. And it was a victory. Of course she was happy the Neverseen were gone.

But… how much happier was she now than when she’d started? How had she changed at all? How many more friends did she have?

The answer was none. And there was the problem.

She watched as Sophie and her friends talked animatedly a few feet away, reminiscing about all the battles they’d fought, the ones they’d won and lost, and she thought about how few of them she’d been there for.

“Stina?” asked a voice, breaking her out of her reverie.

Maruca stood there near her, a concerned look on her face as her violet eyes seemed to search Stina’s for answers. Stina blinked, and realized with embarrassment that she’d been crying. She looked at Maruca, suddenly envying her ability to put up walls so easily.

Stina had always tried to put walls of a more metaphorical kind up between her and anyone who tried to be her friend, but she knew her own heart. Deep down, she wanted to be loved.

Maruca was nudging her arm now. “Hey,” she said quietly. “What’s wrong? Just tell me. I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I wanna help-”

“That’s the problem,” Stina managed, her voice cracking a little. She swallowed a sob and forced herself to look at her. “I- we really haven’t been friends for that long. I haven’t been friends with- with anyone for very long and I- Ugh.” She put her head in her hands, finding herself unable to meet Maruca’s eyes. The tears were getting harder to fight. She needed to leave-

“Hey, Stina, what’s wrong?”

Great. Now Sophie was rushing to her side, with Fitz, Biana, and the rest following, all so concerned.

“I-”

Stina’s brain was slowly being overwhelmed. The lump in her throat kept rising. Oh, God, she thought, I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry.

Linh put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Stina,” she said quietly, “Just tell us what’s wrong. We can talk about it- I know we’re not super close, but-”

There it was. She wasn’t close with anyone. She never was. Stina was alone. And she’d been so crude to these sweet people for no reason. She didn’t deserve friends. She shook her head violently, tears making their way down her cheeks, and turned and ran out the door, her face buried in her shawl.

The clock had long struck twelve by then, and the night sky was speckled with stars, but Stina’s vision was too blurry for her to see them, so she just fished her Pathfinder out of her jacket and turned the setting to Sterling Gables.

As she held up the shiny stick, though, she stiffened, suddenly thinking of the day Sophie had leaped harriedly to her house, pregnant alicorn behind her, and begged her and her mom to help Silveny as she went into early labor.

Stina remembered the panic in Sophie’s voice, the hesitant looks they had shared, and the way Sophie and Fitz had rejoiced when the babies were reported to be healthy, Fitz scooping Sophie up into his arms and spinning her around so gleefully, like she was always meant to revolve around him, and how Stina hadn’t been a part of it.

She’d saved those babies. She’d helped reset the Timeline To Extinction. And she’d gotten a Regency for it. But that didn’t mean she and Sophie had gotten any closer. No. They never had.

Was Stina ever going to be important to anyone?

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she tried to make herself feel nothing instead of the crushing pain that was quickly consuming her.

It wasn’t until Wylie’s soft, deep voice breached her senses that she realized she’d slunk down against the Panakes, huddled in a heap against the strong trunk.

“Stina,” he said gently, “You just left. Don’t scare us like that. What is it?”

She opened her eyes, then immediately closed them again, finding herself unable to look him in the eye. She shook her head quickly and hid her head in her lap. A selection of voices all filled with concern piped up, surrounding her, filling her brain.

She eventually managed a soft, meek “I don’t belong here.”

Silence.

Then, Sophie.

“Stina, what do you mean you don’t belong here? I invited you. I want you here.”

Stina shook her head again. It had become a knee-jerk reaction to anyone telling her they appreciated her.

“I- No. No. I just-”

She looked up again at everyone’s worried faces and forced herself to explain, “We- We’re not- close. Not like all of you are with each other. I’m just- I’m not important enough.”

She didn’t have any trouble saying that. It was what she had always believed. She smiled sadly, took a deep breath and continued.

“I’m not really a part of your group. I- I’d love to be- I really like all of you- but… I always feel like people only ever include me because they feel sorry for me. I don’t want to make you feel like you have to spend time with me.”

She said nothing, then grabbed her Pathfinder. “I’ll leave now.” What else was there to say?

“Stina, no,” said Biana suddenly, taking her hand. “That’s never been the case. You know that, right? We spend time with you because we like you, and we think you’re a really good person.”

Stina looked at her earnest face and tried to make herself believe those words. She shook her head again, instinctively, a little slower this time.

Sophie stepped closer to her. “Yeah, Stina, why would you think that?”

“Yeah, c’mon,”, “Don’t say that,”, “That’s not true,” they all started, surrounding her.

“You helped reset the Timeline to Extinction!” Fitz jumped in. “You’ve never been worthless! I mean, sure, we got off on the wrong foot, but…” He looked around. “No one here hates you. No one here’s pitying you.”

“We want you here, Stina,” Linh insisted, wrapping an arm around Stina’s shoulder. “Never forget that. We love you, and you’re our friend.”

Stina short-circuited. I’m their friend, she thought, hardly believing it. She looked from face to caring face, and couldn’t feel any pity or annoyance from Linh’s arm or Biana’s hand.

Interesting. She was an Empath, and yet this whole time she’d been blind to her own friends’ feelings. Perhaps because…

“...I’ve- never really had… a real friend,” she finished out loud, speaking softly so as not to jinx it.

Sophie smiled. “Well, now you have…”

She looked around and did a rapid headcount.

“...Nine,” she finished. “And we’re not the only people who care about you, Stina. You’d better believe that.”

Then, something happened that made Stina break down in tears again.

Sophie grabbed her and hugged her tight, as if she’d never let her go, and just as Stina wrapped her arms around Sophie in return, Keefe joined in the hug, then Fitz, then Linh- even short, fiery Marella who Stina had been so cruel to in their early school years- and before she knew it, she was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth, surrounded completely by love that she could feel coming off of them in waves.

Her friends.

She began to sob again, directly into Sophie’s shoulder. Stina had never been this warm, not even on the sunniest days back home.

The stars shone so brightly that night, Stina forgot about the darkness.

#kotlc fanfiction #keeper of the lost cities

[cadence-talle]

Hang A Shining Star

Pairing: Keefe Sencen/Fitz Vacker

Wordcount: 2,667

Summary: Keefe nods, nudging Fitz’s shoulder. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. We’re going to raise the roof!”

Fitz snorts, taking a sip of his eggnog. From the living room, a stream of chatter weaves between the lyrics of Christmas Island. The whole house is warm and smells of nutmeg. 

“Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

Other notes: Here we go! The Keefitz Christmas party fic! I hope you guys enjoy it. 

Taglist: @everyonehasthoughts, @clearlykeefitz, @loverofallthingssmart, @a-lonely-tatertot, @enbies-and-felonies, @molly-sencen, @lemontarto, @appalyneinstitute1, @ruewen-and-rising, @silver-snow, @linhamon-roll, @hyperlollypop, @never-ever-too-many-fandoms, @keeper-of-the-lost-queers, @impostertamsong, @vibing-in-the-void, @yeetersofthelostcities, @mistythegirlfluxmess, @diamond-dreamerr

Read it on ao3 or under the cut!

If you had to give each season a word to describe it, winter would be quiet.

Summer is light, heat waves sinking across the country and sunshine spreading its rays. Spring is growth, flowers opening and leaves unfolding. Autumn is rest, leaves dropping to the ground and blowing away on the wind. 

And winter is quiet. It’s something in the air- something about nature pausing, holding its breath, something about the way the snow muffles any semblance of sound. Winter is a time for introspection, a time to catch your breath. It’s peace. 

Right now, though, the house is anything but quiet and peaceful. 

Even from two floors up, Fitz can still hear the finishing chords of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, Biana humming along. He’s supposed to be retrieving the decorations from the attic, but he doesn’t want to leave the relative safety of his Justin Bieber-less space. 

“Fitz?” Livvy pokes her head into the room, garishly-patterned Christmas sweater seeming to glow in the dim light. “Everything okay up here?”

“Yeah,” Fitz grimaces as Santa Claus Is Coming To Town starts up. “Just trying to save my ears.” 

Livvy laughs, sitting down on a box labeled China Tea Set- DO NOT TOUCH. “Yeah, I get that. I love Dell to death, but her music taste is terrible.”

Fitz nods. “And it’s Christmas songs. How do you mess up Christmas songs?”

“Not sure, but they’ve managed to do it.” Livvy springs to her feet and picks up a fake wreath the size of her torso. “We should probably get this stuff downstairs.”

 “Yeah.” Fitz picks up a box that just says X-mas shit and rests it on his hip. “All right. Into the beast’s mouth we go.”

“Maybe we can steal the aux cord and change the music to something good.”

Biana and Della do not, unfortunately, relinquish the music. They do change it to Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas album, though, so Fitz counts that as a win. 

Winter Wonderland is crooned through the speakers as they start to unpack the boxes, sparkling glass ornaments hung on the tree next to a horrifying glue-and-yarn monstrosity Fitz made in first grade. Biana pulls a tiny tissue-wrapped package out of a box and holds it up with a shout. 

“I found her! The mermaid!”

Livvy whoops as they all gather around to watch as Biana hangs the ornament on a pine branch. The mermaid is vaguely misshapen, facial features in the wrong places and tail twisted in on itself. It’s a Vacker family tradition- Fitz and Keefe bought it at a gas station at 3 am once when they were fifteen and they’ve never looked back. 

“Perfect,” Della says, stepping back to look at the tree. “All we have to do is put the lights on the house, then.”

Everyone groans. Having a huge house is nice for some things; parties, for example, or having sock-sliding races, but hanging lights is always a pain. It takes multiple people just to hang a single string- Keefe usually comes over to help. 

“Where is Keefe, anyway?” Livvy asks like she can read Fitz’s mind. (She actually might be able to. She’s talented like that.) Biana, from where she’s seated on the sofa untangling the lights, looks up. 

“Oh, he couldn’t come today. He and Marella have a date to-”

“A date?” Della interrupts, looking at Fitz. “Huh. I always thought… I mean, that is to say, I always assumed Keefe…”

Fitz flushes. “No, mom, not that kind of date. They’re just the only two people crazy enough to go sledding.”

“Tobogganing,” Biana corrects. “Marella found an old toboggan in her garage and decided to take it out. I think they’re going down a hill near here, actually.”

“Well, maybe they’ll drop in after they’re done,” Della says crisply. “Eggnog, anyone? I’ll put nutmeg in it.” 

Fitz stands up to go help just as the doorbell rings. He blinks, turning towards the front hall. “I’ll get it, I guess. Maybe Marella and Keefe are already done.”

He opens the door to see two snow-covered figures standing on the porch. Fitz can’t even see their faces, covered as they are by scarves and hoods. The shorter figure shakes off her coat and resolves into the form of Marella. 

“Hey, Fitz,” she says. “Can we come in?”

Fitz narrows his eyes at the two of them. “Yeah, sure, just leave all the snow on the porch. What happened to you?”

Keefe pulls the scarf off his face, dropping it in a heap at his feet. He grins at Fitz, cheeks rosy from the cold. 

“You know that Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin drives his sled into a tree and it breaks and he falls into the snow?”

“Vaguely. Please tell me you didn’t break your toboggan.”

Marella pats his shoulder as she enters the house, the wrists of her sweater wet from melting ice. “Sorry, can’t do that. It’s a pile of wood now.” She shrugs. “It was kinda a shitty sled anyway.”

Fitz rolls his eyes as they walk into the living room. Biana’s head snaps up and she pushes the Christmas lights onto the floor. 

“Marella! Hey!” 

Marella smiles, pulling her into a hug. “Hey, Bi. What’s up?”

Biana gestures toward the lights on the floor, which are only marginally less tangled. “Oh, you know. Just… fixing up the lights. Want to help?”

The two settle down on the couch, and Fitz and Keefe share a long look before slipping off to the kitchen. Keefe waves at Della. 

“Hi, hon,” she calls, serving out the eggnog. “How was tobogganing?”

Keefe lifts one shoulder and takes the offered cup. “Okay. Better at the beginning, that’s for sure. How’s your composition going?”

Della grins, one of those huge, bright ones that Livvy swears could light up the whole world. “Well! We’re going to see if the orchestra can perform it next weekend. Speaking of which- Fitz invited you to the party, right?”

Keefe nods, nudging Fitz’s shoulder. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. We’re going to raise the roof!”

Fitz snorts, taking a sip of his eggnog. From the living room, a stream of chatter weaves between the lyrics of Christmas Island. The whole house is warm and smells of nutmeg. 

“Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

-/-

Fitz stares at his reflection, hands anxiously tapping the table in front of him. Jingle Bell Rock is playing on the radio on his dresser, the upbeat music floating through the windows and into the darkening sky. Della and Livvy are out for the night, so he and Biana have the house to themselves for their party. 

It’s not a huge affair- it never is. Just them and their friends; Sophie and Dex, Tam and Linh, Marella and Maruca and Wylie. Keefe. 

Keefe, of course, presents a problem. 

Fitz isn’t stupid. He’s known what he’s feeling since it started four years ago. He’s known exactly what the clenching in his gut was, why his skin felt hot whenever Keefe brushed his hand. 

He’s not stupid, so he’s not going to do anything about his feelings. 

The music on the radio changes into something slower, sadder. Imogen Heap’s voice seems to echo in the room, as she repeats just for now, just for now. Fitz closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, trying to prepare himself. 

A soft ‘psh’ comes from the doorway. Biana moves into the room, switching off the radio and giving him a sharp look. 

“Really? Tonight’s a celebration, Fitz, not a pity party. You can be sad later.” 

“I’m not sad,” Fitz protests. “I’m just getting ready!” 

“Mmm.” Biana perches herself on the bed, green dress crinkling slightly. “You will be okay, though, right?” She asks, tone softer. Fitz nods.

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“Okay. But I’m here if you ever want to talk.” Biana stands up and ruffles his hair. “Now come on, I need your help with the cheese platter before everyone arrives.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rings. 

“Too late for that,” Fitz says dryly as Bi darts downstairs. He glances in the mirror one more time before moving towards the stairs. “Here we go.” 

Sophie, Dex and Marella burst in as soon as he opens the door, throwing their coats on the floor and attack-hugging him. Tam, Linh, Maruca and Wylie trail after them, calling “Merry Christmas!” as they kick off their shoes. Fitz tries to wave from underneath his hug pile. 

“Merry Christmas,” he manages. 

Finally, Keefe staggers in, covered in snow for the second time this week. Biana snorts. 

“Need some help there?”

Keefe mumbles a word that might be “No” as Biana brushes some of the snow off of his shoulder. 

“Come on, I think you might have an extra suit upstairs. Fitz, can you get everything cleaned up down here?”

“Sure,” he says, turning to the others and picking up discarded coats. “So did you all walk over here together?”

“Yup,” Maruca affirms, hanging her coat on a hanger. “Sorry about Keefe, by the way.”

“He fell into a snowdrift and had to change,” Marella explains. “I think he keeps an extra suit here?”

Sophie snorts. “He ‘fell’ into a snowdrift,” she says with exaggerated air quotes. “And by that, I mean Mare pushed him.”

“In my defense-” Marella holds up a finger- “his face was annoying me.” 

“Right,” Fitz says, holding back a laugh. “Well, as soon as Keefe gets changed, we can-” A creak on the stairs interrupts him, and Fitz spins around to see Keefe standing there in a clean suit. 

His suit. 

“Sorry,” Biana says with a smirk that implies she is anything but sorry. “It turns out Keefe doesn’t have an extra suit here after all. And this one is too big for you, right?.”

“Y-yeah.” Fitz attempts to remember how to speak. “Yeah, no, that’s fine. That’s- fine. Good. Great. Yeah, it’s fine.” 

He hears giggling behind him and turns towards the living room, resolutely not looking at anything else. “Anyway. Who wants food?”

-/-

“And that is why we don’t write personalized messages on bouquets anymore,” Maruca finishes, taking a delicate bite of a meatball. “Although there was also the guy who wanted me to write his ex a note that just said Hey Jane, fuck you and your fucking poodle. So, you know, it might have been more than one thing.”

Keefe snorts, leaning forward to grab another cookie. His shoulder brushes Fitz’s and Fitz stiffens before forcing himself to relax. He’s fine. This is fine. 

“So, how about some music?” Marella says, plugging her phone into the speaker. The opening notes of Let It Go trail through the air and Dex boos. 

“No Frozen!” Linh calls. Fitz blinks. 

“Wait, I thought you loved Frozen.”

“Not anymore,” Linh says, settling back into the sofa cushions. Marella sighs and skips to the next song, cutting Elsa off in the middle of her line. Pentatonix’s Joy To The World starts up and she flops onto the floor.”

“You’re all homophobic.”

Biana laughs, sliding off the couch to sit next to her. She hands the smaller girl a mug of hot chocolate. “Here. Drown your sorrows in this.”

 “Is it alcoholic?” Marella squints at it and takes a sip. She makes a face. “No.”

Patting her on the back, Biana turns to the rest of them. “Want to watch a movie? I think we have It’s A Wonderful Life-”

“No way,” Wylie cuts her off. Keefe nods.

“It’s Charlie Brown or nothing.”

Biana rolls her eyes and grabs the tv remote, clicking her way to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Next to him, Fitz feels Keefe stretch his legs out before curling up on the corner of the couch. He leans his head on Fitz’s shoulder, and Fitz takes a deep breath. 

Yeah. This is fine. 

Onscreen, Lucy tells Charlie Brown to direct the Christmas play. Keefe smiles and snuggles closer to Fitz, wrapping one arm around him. Fitz glances down at him, but the other man is completely engrossed by the movie. Maybe he’s just cold. 

He must be really cold, then, because by the movie’s end, they’re practically pressed together. When the lights come back on, Fitz expects Keefe to move away, but he doesn’t. They stay snuggled on the couch all throughout Tam and Marella arguing the merits of The Polar Express and Linh’s terrible rendition of That’s Christmas To Me. (Fitz loves her, but the woman can’t sing to save her life.) Keefe only moves when someone mentions Silent Night, turning to Fitz with an excited look. Fitz stares back. 

“No,” he says. Keefe pouts. 

“Please?” 

Fitz sighs, standing up. “Fine. Let me get my cello.” 

Playing music, even the worst, most religious Christmas songs, always calms him down. He and Keefe used to do this a lot, play together when they were sad or worried or stressed. Dragging his bow along the strings as piano notes lift into the air is familiar, easy. 

They get through Silent Night, Carol Of The Bells, and Hallelujah before Keefe just slams his hands on the keyboard and shatters any semblance of peace they’d had. Fitz can’t bring himself to care, though, not when Keefe is laughing.

Livvy always says that Della’s laughs are the most beautiful thing in the world. Looking at Keefe, Fitz understands that. 

Biana plugs her phone into the speaker and Bing Crosby starts to sing about how it looks like Christmas. Laughing, everyone stands up and starts to dance. None of them are very good, and they’re all slightly drunk, but it’s nice.

And they must be playing some sort of Bing Crosby album, because White Christmas comes on next. Almost immediately, everyone pairs up, swaying back and forth. Fitz looks at Keefe, blinking slightly. 

Keefe smiles and puts his hands on Fitz’s hips. They move around the room slowly, taking tiny steps in time to the music and finally dancing right out onto the front porch. 

The sun has set by now, and the frost on the lawn seems to glitter in the soft moonlight. Snow is still falling, and it seems almost magical when the next song to come on is the Nutcracker Ballet’s Waltz of the Snowflakes. 

“I used to love this song,” Fitz says quietly, sitting on the top of the porch steps. “We went to see the ballet in the city when I was a little kid, and I thought it was the most amazing thing ever.” 

“Huh.” Keefe sits down next to him, staring out at the silent greenery. “I never saw it,” he offers. Fitz snorts. 

“I know. Your dad wasn’t really big on theater.” 

“Yeah.” Keefe gives him a small smile. Fitz turns to look at him, biting his lip. 

“Are you- happier? Now?”

Keefe takes his hand, running his thumb over Fitz’s knuckles. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been,” he says. “With all our friends, and your mom and Liv, and…” he glances up for a moment. “With you.”

“What-.” Fitz looks up, too, to see a spinning green bundle of plants hanging above them. Mistletoe. “Oh.” 

He looks back down, straight into Keefe’s eyes. The other man is smiling, and Fitz thinks that’s where he gets the courage from. 

Carefully, he leans forward and presses their lips together. 

It’s short and sweet, and when they pull back they’re both blushing. Keefe scratches the back of his neck. “So, uh,” he starts. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Fitz blurts. Keefe blinks. “Sorry, I just- I needed to-”

“Uh. Me too,” Keefe says, snorting a little. Fitz stares at him, a smile spreading across his face. 

“Well. Good.” 

“Yeah,” Keefe laughs, leaning in again. “Good.”

Winter is quiet. But even now, with music and laughter spilling out of his house and his best friend (boyfriend?) smiling on the stairs next to him, Fitz is at peace. 

Winter is quiet, but sometimes it’s nice to make some noise. 

#lynn rambles #my writing #keefe sencen #fitz vacker #keefitz #biana vacker #kotlc #kotlc fanfiction

[impostertamsong]

Learning to Be Happy Again

A/N: I know. It’s been ages. But here I am. This one’s just kinda friend time because that’s 100% necessary. 

Chapter Eleven: We’re All A Bunch of Disaster Gays

I knock on the door of Rimshire, a little nervous. What if Fitz actually isn’t okay? I shouldn’t have come. Elwin was right, he needs space this was a bad idea. I turn around right as the door opens.

“Where are you going, Keefe?” Dex asks. I turn around.

“Oh, uh, nowhere! Just looking at the scenery,” I lie.

“Uh huh.” Dex rolls his eyes. “Well, come in, plenty of time to look at the scenery through windows.”

We walk into the living room, and I see that everyone is sat in a circle. Sophie is sitting on Biana’s lap, whispering. Marella, Linh, and Tam are all talking quietly. Fitz is alone, and definitely doesn’t look alright. His arms are crossed, and he’s looking at the ground. Dex runs over and slides next to him, wrapping an arm around him. Fitz lightens up at the comfort.

“Keefe! How are you?” Sophie asks, patting the space next to Biana. “And is it true you’re not at the Shores of Solace”?”

I smile. “I’m doing well. And, yeah, I’m not there anymore.”

Biana looks over. “And you’re safe where you are? I know you didn’t tell Fitz where you are, so I won’t ask, but you’re at least happy?”

“Mm, yeah, it’s great. Really nice, actually. Like having a real family,” I respond, smiling.

“You have us.” Biana reaches around Sophie and puts her hand over mine. The burst of smooth golden joy that comes from this touch makes me smile even more. 

“So. Are you and Sophie….” I look at their intertwined hands.

Sophie nods, smiling softly. “Yup, since about three weeks into your coma.”

“Good on you both,” I answer. How many of us are, well, queer? “How are the others? Since my nap, anyway.”

Sophie sighs. “Well, we all got pretty stressed out during your, ‘nap’,” she puts airs quotes around the last word. “But all in all, I’d say we’re doing pretty well. And besides Biana and I, Marella and Linh have also started dating. We’re all a bunch of disaster gays, basically.” She leans in. “And I have my suspicions that Dex likes Fitz, but he denies it.”

I hum. “Yeah, I kinda get that feeling too. I hope that works out, but I’m pretty sure Fitz doesn’t reciprocate those feelings.”

Biana turns her gaze on me abruptly. “Did he tell you?”

Before I can say anything, Dex announces, “So, what’s up with you all? In the mood for anything in particular?” 

Instead of saying anything, I nod once, also trying to convey that I don’t feel the same.

Since no one speaks, Dex stands up. “Seriously, anyone? A game? Food? Something?”

He waits a few seconds and then sits back down when still no one responds.

“Hey what are you all whispering about?” Marella whispers, seeming to have scooted over next to me during Dex’s grand announcements.

“Just dolling out the tea,” Sopihe says. She looks very proud of the sentence; seeming to think it was very cool. Biana kisses her cheek.

Marella looks excited. “Anything big?”

Biana shakes her head. “Nothing that you don’t already know. I hope you don’t mind, but we told Keefe about you and Linh.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine.” Marella pinches my cheek. “No more girls for you now.”

“You snooze you lose, I guess.”

Sophie glares at Marella, but I don’t mind the joke.

Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Dex gets up to open it.

“Hey, losers,” Stina saunters into the room with such an aura of power, that we all stop talking. “What’s up? Got any big secrets you’re hiding from the outsiders?” She sits down near Fitz. 

“Hello, Stina,” Marella greets, some air of coldness in her voice. They’ve always been at heads for head socialite ever since Biana joined our crew. Though, since she sort of joined us, their competition has become more light-hearted. This is just banter, unless something happened while I was asleep. It doens’t feel that way, however.

Stina ignores this remark and moves on. “Biana, how’re you doing?”

Biana smiles. “I’m good. Sophie and I went on a date yesterday and it was really nice.” 

Sophie, as if on cue, blushes a brilliant shade of red. Pink goop is radiating off of both of them so much that I have to scoot away.

Stina hums. “I’m glad! What about you, Dex? Have you figured out the triplets situation yet?”

Dex chuckles. “Almost. I might need your help for the last part though. There’s one flaw that I think you might be able to solve.”

I scoot back over to Sophie and Biana. “The triplet thing?”

Biana smiles. “Well, the triplets have been especially rambunctious lately. And since you were, you know, in a coma, Dex needed a prank partner. So he asked Stina, since they had that prank war a while back. He’s been setting off a series of pranks to keep them in check. This one is supposed to be especially grand I guess. My favorite was when he made their hair have the texture of a swamp.”

Sophie giggles. “That was so funny. Juline wasn’t very happy though. My favorite was the one where we were playing tag, but specific points on the field would make you light leap right to Dex. He briefed us on the spots before hand, but seeing the triplets constantly get out when Dex was ‘it’--” she dissolves into a fit of laughter. 

I smirk, and then focus my attention back to Stina. Just in time too. 

“So, Tam, haven’t seen you very recently. How was the Neverseen?” 

I can almost feel the distress coming off of him, even at this distance so I jump in. “Well, it’s the Neverseen, so it can’t have been a party. You shouldn’t ask stuff like that, it wasn’t his choice. He’s probably traumatized.”

Tam gets up and storms off.

Stina raises an eyebrow. “No, I think you were the one who overstepped, Keefe.”

I inwardly curse myself and stand up to go after him. 

Linh looks over at me. “I, I don’t know if going after him is the best idea. He probably just wants to be alone.”

“No, I need to fix this. He, I.” I sigh. 

“Keefe, please,” Linh pleads. “I think it’s a really bad idea. I’ll go.”

“No! That would be an even worse idea! If he,” but I stop myself before I ruin anything more than I already have.

“If he what?” 

“Nothing! It doesn’t matter.” Before she can ask anything else that might further damage whatever closeness I had with Tam, I run after him.

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[a-lonely-tatertot]

Linhella drabble

This is my first writing piece on here so here ya go! This is my first contrabution to Pride Month and will probably have more before the month’s out!

Shit, shit, shit, I thought. I could feel my insides burning, I could barely concentrate on what I was doing. Running, that was it, feet pounding, heart trying to break out of my chest, everything on fire. Nonononono, I couldn’t lose control, I couldn’t hurt anyone. Weaving in between trees, one thought, keep running. I could feel it pouring out of me, the fire getting brighter- hotter. If it wasn’t scorching hot, I would be crying. Sobbing probably, because I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I really didn’t, but I couldn’t protect them either. Barely registering it, I collapsed, hoping I was far enough away.

“Linh! Over here!” I heard a distant voice yell. Linh. No, not her, please no, I begged. I forced my eyes to open, my voice was too dry to speak. If I couldn’t stop her with words, hopefully, she would see that I couldn’t stop it. God if I hurt her- I stopped myself, squeezing my eyes shut. Don’t think. Don’t don’t don’t don’t- SPLASH! Szzzz. The sound of a dying fire. A flash of silver and black and blue. No! I wanted to scream, tell her to run. I didn’t want her to get hurt! But then her face came into my view and she looked so determined. My heart stopped for a second. Fucking emotions, I thought. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her hair was flying around her like a halo (I really didn’t need any more confirmation that she was a literal angel), she was fighting the fire with water. I knew at that point I wasn’t going to get her to go, the sheer look of determination in her face could’ve told me that, but the way she fought the fire around her, daring it to come near only to snuff it out showed it. 

“Marella!” she yelled, weaving water through the flames drowning the fire. “Marella!” 

“Linh!” the voice- Maruca called from behind me, “She’s over here!” 

Great, more people to watch me have an epic mental breakdown and burn an entire fucking forest, exactly what I need, I thought bitterly. That was all I could do, sit there helplessly while my friends put out my fire because I couldn’t stop it. Fucking wonderful. Oh, and my crush looks hot as hell, just add it to the three-page long list of problems in my life. Linh’s eyes scanned what was remaining of the fires and finally landed on me. Her eyes widened and she started running towards me. Oh hey, my heart skipped like three beats this time. A wave of weariness washed over me. My eyelids started to get heavier. The edges of my vision blurred and the last thing I saw before the world went dark was Linh’s smile and teary eyes.

I woke up in the Healing Center at Foxfire. I sat up so fast my vision blurred for a moment but it didn’t matter. “Where’s Linh?” I half-shouted glancing around the room.

“Good morning to you too,” Elwin said from the door to his office. I raised my eyebrow and gave him my best I’m-tired-and-done look. He sighed. “She left for the bathroom a minute ago after I finally convinced her to go. She’s been here the entire time you were out,” he explained. My heart did this weird summersault-backflip-handstand routine at the thought of her staying. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed I went to get up- and crumbled to the ground as soon as I put my weight on my legs. 

“What the-” I muttered sitting on the floor.

“Standing might not be the best-” Elwin started when the door burst open and Linh ran to my side immediately fussing over me.

“You idiot,” she said hugging me, “I thought you were gonna get hurt or worse and you looked so tired when I brought you back here and why did you try to stand-”

“Linh,” I whispered wrapping my arms around her. “I’m okay. I can’t be hurt by fire.” She always seemed to forget that, quite honestly it was adorable. Finally, she pulled away and helped me up. I glanced over her shoulder to see Elwin give me a small smile before disappearing back into his office. Wow, thanks for leaving me alone with the extremely cute girl that won’t stop fussing over me very helpful, I mentally cursed him.

After a lot of “I’m okay”s and fighting to not blush I got Linh to calm down and sit next to me. She was silent for a while, staring at a tile on the floor studying every part of it. At first, it was nice, the silence, but then it felt heavy, daunting like it was a void of all the things we didn’t want to talk about. Trust me, that would be a big void. I found myself staring at her, not for the first time, definitely not for the last. I was trying to decide if I liked the silver tips of her hair or the sheer beauty of her eyes more when I realized she was looking back at me. For the ten hundredth time, I fought down the heat that desperately wanted to rise to my cheeks and glanced away fixing my eyes on the tile like it held the secrets of the universe. “Marella,” Linh said softly, god why did my name have to sound so good on her lips? I thought desperately, before trying to stop myself from thinking about her lips. “Marella,” she said again, she was grabbing my face gently making me look at her. If she was anyone else I would’ve told her not to touch my hair. And yet I was sitting there, at a loss for words, staring at her bright imploring eyes. 

“Yes?” I said weakly. I noticed how close we were. Her knee was brushing mine, our faces only a few inches apart, her hands in my hair. I was a bisexual mess.

“Can-” she paused, looking suddenly nervous. She took her hands off my face and hair and I was sad at the loss of warmth. Linh quickly glanced away from my face and back before talking again. “Can I tell you something?”

I was suddenly nervous too, well more nervous. I didn’t let myself think about what she could be worried about, that was a hope that I couldn’t bear to have. Her hands were moving in her lap and I reached out to hold them still. “You can tell me anything,” I said quietly, hoping that there was some shred of confidence in my voice. Linh smiled briefly, it was small but dazzling.

“I-” she closed her eyes for a beat, “I like you.” And suddenly everything was loud, very loud. I didn’t register that I stopped breathing, I didn’t notice that Linh had taken her hands out of my grasp. I just sat there, frozen. A million different apologize tumbled out of her mouth, she was shaking her head. Why was she shaking her head? Why was she apologizing? Without thinking (my brain had short-circuited as soon as she said those words), without hesitating, I grabbed her face, it was wet, I think she was crying and kissed her. Linh gasped as my lips crashed on to hers, but she kissed me back and the world seemed to be so bright. Her lips was soft and I tried not to think about how chapped mine were. Linh’s hands found their way into my hair again and I really really didn’t want to stop. But yet human necessities, like air and the need to breathe, sometimes get in the way of what you want. I slowly broke the kiss and not opening my eyes, I leaned my forehead against hers. We sat there, trying to slow our breaths for a minute. 

“So…” Linh whispered breaking the silence. She was looking at me with this look in her eyes. I couldn’t tell what it was, fondness? Surprise? Happiness? Maybe a mix. At once everything that had happened came crashing down on me. I kissed her, and I didn’t ask. 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to- I didn’t even ask- I couldn’t think so I just-” I was cut off my Linh’s soft lips on mine. I melted into it. She pulled back after a second with a huge grin.

“Marella will you be my girlfriend?” she asked.

“I’m sorry was the kissing not enough for a yes?” I said laughing. 

After a few last-minute checkups, I was clear to go. Linh grabbed my hand (she really liked holding my hand) and practically dragged me out the door. I took one last glance at Elwin who gave me a small thumbs-up before letting my girlfriend drag me off to where ever she wanted. 

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1473 words, like I said I’m going to be posting more stuff like this and if you want to you can send me a kotlc ship and a prompt! Also I have this hc that Elwin has started shipping the kids that end up in his office. (I’m only doing kotlc stuff right now to make it easier!)

#marellinh #linhella #marella redek #lihn song #kotlc #kotlc pride month #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc elwin #tater writes

[rosenwrites]

A Peachy Predicament

Character(s): Linh

Suggested Music: A King of Apathy

               “Alright, I hope this place as a Nintendo 64.” Linh said to herself as she parked her car. Christmas was drawing closer and the twins have been good as always. Well, aside from the occasional scuffles. But even then, it was always to defend someone else, so Linh forgave them. It was snowing outside. She stepped out of the car and stood face to face with the Toys R Us store. She waddled over to the entrance, taking care not to slip on the icy concrete.

Just as Linh was about to walk through the front door, she heard someone groaning from around the corner. She stopped, hesitant of what to do next. She shook her head and made her way around the corner of the store.

“I hope this doesn’t end with me getting robbed.” Linh thought to herself. She turned the corner and braced herself when she found the source of the groaning. A woman with short blonde hair was down on the ground, clutching her ankle in pain with her black luggage bag beside her.

“Oh my goodness! Are you okay?” Linh asked in a panic.

“No, I twisted my ankle—owowow!” The lady replied in pain. “Damn it, we still needed to get ready for the show, too? How are we going to do this now?”

“Wait, there’s going to be a show?” Linh inquired as she helped the lady back onto her feet and lent her shoulder to her. She also made sure to get the luggage, as well.

“Yes, as a special promotion for the launch of the Nintendo 64 as well as Super Mario 64. I was supposed to play the role of Princess Peach.”

“Princess Peach? I thought her name was Princess Toadstool.”

“That’s what the script said. You’d have to ask the guy in charge of this. Just help me over to the employee entrance. I guess I have to break the news to them.” The two women wobbled their way to the store’s employee entrance. “Oh, by the way, my name is Cynthia.”

“I’m Linh. So how was this show supposed to go?”

“Well, we can’t exactly spoil the ending of Super Mario 64, so we were going to do a re-enactment of the ending of Super Mario World.”

“Oh hey, I remember that!”

“Really? Then I think we can overcome his dilemma.” Cynthia smiled as the two of them went through the employee entrance. They made their way through the brightly lit hall and to the spacious employee lounge. The director and other actors were waiting for them.

“Cynthia! We were worried about you! What happened to your leg?” A man wearing a hat with a rolled-up script in his hands approached Cynthia and Linh. There was a clear look of concern on his face.

“Mr. Spagnuolo, I’m sorry but I twisted my ankle on my way here. I can’t do the show like this.”

The director, other actors, and staff all gasped.

“Alright, first take a seat.” Mr. Spagnuolo said. “We’ll take a look at it before deciding what to do next.”

Linh helped Cynthia over to one of the black leather chairs in the lounge and sat her down. She slipped off Cynthia’s shoe and sock and rolled up her pant leg to get a better look. As expected, her ankle was in bad shape. It was swollen and red. There was no way Cynthia could do the show without injuring herself. One actor wearing a red shirt and blue overalls, presumably playing the role of Mario, handed Cynthia a bag of ice to place on her ankle. She thanked him for his thoughtfulness as she pressed the bag of ice up against her ankle.

“So what are we going to do now?” The Mario actor asked. “The show starts in twenty minutes and I doubt Cynthia’s ankle will heal up in that time.”

“Mr. Spagnuolo, Rob, I have an idea.” Cynthia said. “Linh here could take my place. I mean, she’s the same height and size as me, plus she’s played the Mario games before. She even spotted the discrepancy of the princess’s name.”

“Wait, what? We didn’t discuss this!” Linh protested. “I don’t even have the right hair for the princess. And why is her name Princess Peach now, anyway?”

“Oh, that’s an easy explanation.” Mr. Spagnuolo answered. “Princess Peach was always her name in Japan, and Nintendo’s American branch finally decided to fix that mistake. By the way, I’m Nick Spagnuolo. It’s nice to meet you, Linh.”

“And don’t worry about the hair. We have a wig ready.” Cynthia added. “Please Linh, we have nobody else to turn to!”

“I didn’t ask for this! I just wanted to buy a Nintendo 64 for my niece and nephew. Now I’m getting roped into a promotional performance on such short notice!”

“Of course we’re prepared to compensate you for your troubles.” Nick said. “We’ll even reserve a Nintendo 64 just for you to purchase. We’ll even let you have it for half off!”

Linh huffed. “You should’ve said that in the first place! Now I look like a damn fool for making a scene!”

Everyone in the staff lounge laughed and cheered. Cynthia motioned for a hug and Linh obliged.

“Thanks, Linh! You just saved the show!”

“Well, I haven’t saved anything yet. I still need to do the show!”

“Speaking of which, you need to get dressed right now. Also, here’s the script.” Nick shoved the rolled-up script into Linh’s hands as the staff ushered her out of the lounge to get changed. Nick, Cynthia, and Rob were the only ones left in the lounge.

“I sure hope she can pull it off.” Nick remarked.

“I know she can! She told me she’s played the Mario games and even remembers how Super Mario World ended.”

“If that’s true, then I think this’ll go smoothly then.” Rob said as he nodded to himself. “Where’s Charlie, anyway?”

“He got restless and started wandering around.” Nick answered. “I hope he doesn’t scare someone by accident. He’s still in costume!”

Just as Nick finished saying that, Linh could be heard down the hall letting out a short and loud yelp.

“Too late. I think Linh just ran into Charlie.” Cynthia did her best not to giggle at the mental image, but she stopped altogether when Linh showed up at the doorway. With her blonde wig, pink dress, and a touch of makeup, she looked like a real princess. Standing behind her was Charlie, fully in costume as the yellow-scaled, spike shelled, king of the Koopas.

“I see you’ve met Charlie.” Nick said as he covered his mouth, stifling his giggling.

“H-hey! Anyone would be scared if they stepped out of the bathroom and came face to face with Bowser himself!” Linh rebuked as her face turned red.

Charlie gave a gruff chuckle. “If I can scare you that easily, then the kids watching the show should be no problem. But I have to say, for a second there, I thought you were Cynthia.”

“I know, right?” Cynthia scanned Linh from top to bottom with her eyes. “It’s like looking at a mirror! I told you this would work!”

“So you know how this is going down, right?” Rob asked Linh.

“Yeah, we’re cutting right to the final fight at the top of Bowser’s castle. Charlie’s going to be riding around in the Koopa Clown Car with me inside as a hostage. He’ll ride around attacking you by throwing his minions and bowling balls at you. You throw those back at him and he’ll retreat into his car, giving me a chance to help you by throwing a super mushroom. Do this for three times and then Charlie spins out of control and off stage, but not before I get freed and escape with you.”

“Yeah, that’s…that’s exactly how it’ll go.” Rob looked impressed with Linh’s answer.

“See? She’s got this!” Cynthia added.

“Cynthia’s right, we’ll get through this!” Nick nodded in satisfaction. “Cynthia, since you can’t play the role of Peach anymore, I’ll have you act as the MC instead. Get the kids excited and guide the show along.”

“Okay, but I’m gonna need a chair. My ankle is still sprained.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll have that arranged for you. Alright people, break a leg!”

Everyone in the lounge gave a hearty cheer before making their exit. Charlie shuffled his way out with Rob right behind. The remaining staff helped Cynthia as she limped her way along. Linh followed behind Cynthia with Nick behind her. Everyone stopped in front of the door separating the employee area and the store floor. Sitting near the exit was the Koopa Clown Car, only it was on wheels now. Cynthia took a deep breath.

“Alright, let’s do this!” She gave the door a push and made her way onto the shopping floor, still being helped by the staff. There was a stage set up with several rows of seats lined up. Kids were clamouring around the video games section to check out the newest releases for the holiday season. Cynthia and the staff made their way to the stage, borrowing one of the folding chairs from the audience section. The staff set up the chair on the edge of the stage and helped Cynthia sit down. They handed her a microphone, turned on and ready to use. Cynthia tapped the mic and started the show.

“Attention boys and girls!” Cynthia’s voice boomed across the P.A. system. “Please make your way to Nintendo’s special presentation stage. The show is about to begin!”

Right on cue, the children swarmed to the stage, filling up the seats in no time.

“To celebrate the release of the Nintendo 64, we have some very special guests for you today! Our first guest is someone I’m sure you’ll all recognize…”

Rob sprinted towards the stage and leapt high into the air before landing right in the middle. He spun and around, faced the audience of kids, and shot his fist into the air.

“It’s-a me, Mario!” Rob had the audience cheering with that single phrase.

“Mario’s travelled far and wide to rescue Princess Peach, and his journey has finally brought him to the top of Bowser’s castle, where the King of the Koopas awaits him.” Cynthia narrated. “It’s time for Mario to face off against Bowser and rescue Princess Peach!”

Suggested music: The Evil King Bowser

Charlie rode the Koopa Clown Car onto the stage with a bellowing laugh. The kids were frightened by his presence and some even screamed. Linh was also in the car, but she was crouched down and hidden from view.

“Watch out, Mario!” Cynthia shouted “He’s going to run you over! Jump out of the way!” Charlie steered the car at a controllable speed straight at Rob, cackling the whole way. Just as Cynthia predicted, Rob sidestepped the incoming danger. He flashed a V sign at the audience and they started cheering for him.

“Now he’s throwing his minions your way! It’s time to fight back, Mario!” On Cynthia’s cue, Linh began handing off plush versions of Bowser’s minions to Charlie. He threw the first one a great distance at Rob with only one arm, and did it again twice more. Rob jumped out of harm’s way and avoided the first two attacks. He intercepted the third and hurled it back at Charlie. The plush bonked him in the head and he roared in pain.

“Wow, you’re really selling this.” Linh whispered.

“Oh my, is that Princess Peach being held captive by Bowser?” Cynthia asked the audience. “It looks like she’s trying to help Mario!”

“That’s my cue!” Linh popped up from hiding with a super mushroom in her arms. “Help me, Mario!” She cried as she threw the mushroom at Rob. Charlie pulled her back down into hiding as Rob caught the mushroom. The power-up sound effect played and Rob flexed and gestured as if his power was amplified, getting the crowd to cheer more.

“Keep fighting, Mario!” Cynthia shouted. The audience echoed her words. Charlie turned the car around and aimed at Rob again. Rob rolled out of the way and grabbed another plush. He took aim, but had to dodge out of the way again to avoid being run over. He took aim a second time and fired. Rob landed a direct hit on Charlie, and once again he roared in pain.

“Damn, you do a good roar!” Linh commented.

“Princess Peach! Mario needs your help again!” Cynthia announced.

“Here we go again!” Linh emerged from the car with a Nerf throwing missile in her hand. A big piece of cloth was tied to the tail of the missile. “Mario! Take this!” She threw it at Rob and ducked back down again. “The princess never threw cape feathers, though.” She muttered to herself. Rob grabbed the missile and untied the cape from it and around his neck in a flash. The children cheered as the red plumber donned his familiar cape. Rob acted like his movements became much faster and smoother, just like the cape acted in the game. He leapt over to the last enemy plush lying about, picked it up, wound up his arm for a devastating pitch. Charlie revved the car and charged ahead, fast enough to look threatening but slow enough to remain safe.

“Okay, on my signal, you unlock the back and jump out. Rob’ll catch you…hopefully.” Charlie whispered to Linh. She gawked at Charlie, unsure of how to respond to the last part of his instructions. But there was no time. Rob sidestepped the car and whipped the plush at Charlie full force, landing behind the car. It nailed him in the head and howled like he was dying. That was the signal for Linh to jump out the back. She unlocked the back and leapt out to Rob, his arms wide to catch her. Charlie steered the car off the stage ramp and towards the staff area while still belting out his death roars. Rob caught Linh, cradled her in his arms like a real princess.

Suggested Music: Ending Theme

“Mario did it! He saved the princess!” The children cheered as Cynthia made her announcement. Linh waved to the crowd before Rob helped her back down to her feet. They both stood there and kept waving. “Mario’s adventure is over for today. But you can join him on a new adventure in Super Mario 64!” Cynthia pointed to the video games section of the store. While the show was going, the staff installed several Nintendo 64 demonstration setups where the kids could try the game out for free. Many of them rushed over to get their hands on the demo. Some lingered behind with their parents, wanting to meet the actors up close and shake their hands. Linh and Rob obliged. Charlie did as well, after returning from the staff area. The kids took turns shaking the actors’ hands and even took photos with them, courtesy of the store staff. Afterwards, everyone had their turn trying out the new Mario game, the hours flying by in a flash.

Suggested Music: Quiet Talk

In the staff lounge, all the actors put up their feet and relaxed. They had all changed out of their costumes and back into their regular clothes. Rob cleaned up from looking like a plumber and changed into a tailored suit. Charlie, unsurprisingly, turned out to be a large and imposing-looking man, which was immediately subverted by the ugly Christmas sweater he was wearing. Cynthia and Linh chatted together, noting how well Linh was able to go with the flow. Nick waltzed in with a smile beaming on his face.

“The show was a success! The children had a great time and the reviews from the parents were fantastic! Good work, everyone!” The staff and actors all applauded at the news. “For the store staff, you’ll all be receiving a small bonus on your next paycheque. For the actors, you’ve already been paid. And for our last-minute replacement, as promised, the staff reserved a Nintendo 64 for you and you’ll get it for half price.” Everyone clapped as Linh bowed sheepishly.

“I hope we can meet again someday.” Cynthia said to Linh. “You were a real pleasure to work with.”

“Thanks, I feel the same way.” Linh answered. “I had a lot of fun to…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered to the clock. “Ah, shit! I can’t believe it’s this late!”

Meanwhile, at the dog training centre…

“Aunt Linh sure is late…” Phuong said as she stared out the entrance doors.

“Something important must have come up.” Trieu replied from his chair as Johann napped in his lap.

#linh tran #rosen writes