#that man is a god damn fruit cup | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

myrunawaysweets · 3 days

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I loved your recent post abt human Alastor x reader in the 1920s. Of course this is only a suggestion, what if you continued on with this? Maybe like having them move in with each other, start a family? Perhaps have a tragic ending that resulted both to go to Hell, or maybe reader be a fallen angel! Just all suggestions! Have a great day/night/evening<3

I dont know how long this was in here, I was scrolling through settings to mess around and found this, so I hope you didn't wait too long!

But this is one of my specialties and I'm honestly really flattered that you made a request!

The next day, the cops found a bloodied body in the alley beside the club. The corpse was too disfigured to recognize, knees bashed in backwards, jaw hanging loosely, ribs tearing out of the chest and a smile etched into the poor bloodied face as it hung on the wall.

Surely this was the work of the smiling killer in New Orleans, who else could it be?

No one had ever laid eyes on the killer and lived to tell the tale... except you.

You had been held by the psychopath in a loving embrace, wrapped up in a blanket on his couch.

For some reason, when you looked into this man's eyes, his gorgeous brown eyes as he softly smiled at you... you felt no fear, no urge to run or hide.

Yes you knew he had killed people, that he was no better than a monster... yet you couldn't help but think what made him this way. Everyone knows not to trust a bad apple, but not everyone suspects the tree that bears bad fruit... so you couldn't blame him, after all, why would you blame the apple for the trees wrongdoing.

Instead, you held onto him and stuck close.

Now you peacefully kneaded dough as your loving boyfriend drank his bitter coffee in your bakery as a customer walked in. Marjorie, a nice old lady who came by every second day for a box of beignettes.

"(Y/n)! Have you heard the news?"

You looked up from your dough, flour had stuck to your apron as you wiped your hands "What news, ma'am?"

"Theres been another murder!" As the words left her lips you could see alastor tense up as you studied him.

The poor lady was shaking as she opened her purse "it was a young fellow around your age! He had such a long life ahead of him too..."

You could see alastors hands shakily lift his cup to his lips.

"What a terrible thing! Here, have these on the house, as a thank you for your patronage" you smiled, handing her the box and pushing her change back towards her gently.

The lady smiled with a thank you before turning to leave.

"Say hello to Mr Broussard for me will you?" You waved at her as she closed the door.

As soon as the door closed you slammed the oven shut with the bread inside.

"ALASTOR HARTFELT!"

The coffee spewed from his lips as he stood up to face you "honey listen-"

"Don't you 'honey' me! You promised you'd stop this!" You placed your apron on the counter as you circled around to meet him at the cashier "You said you were out to go hunting!" You poked his chest as you cornered him.

"(Y/n) it wasn't a lie! I was hunting! For the scum of the earth!" Alastor held his hands up in defense from your accusations, trying to reason with you and get back onto your good side.

"You know damn well what I think of your little hunting!" You grabbed your purse and started for the door before he blocked your path.

"(Y/n), dearest, where are you going?" His smile could not hide the panic in his eyes.

"Away from you, I'll be at mimzys until you can decide which one you'd prefer to give up "you pushed him aside and opened the door "me? Or your little 'huntin'?" You slammed the door as you walked to mimzys club.

Just because you didn't care that he did the murders before, didn't mean you were okay with him continuing them. Part of you thought you could eventually get him to see the good in the world again and leave behind this cold blooded killing, he loved you enough to do that at least right? Then maybe when you two grow old and wrinkly, God could open the golden gates for both of you... if your foolish boyfriend could ever stop hurting innocent people...

You sat on the stool with mimzy, drinking a glass of wine.

"I just don't get it! How can he keep choosing to go 'hunting' almost every night, mimz?! Doesn't he see the danger?" You sighed.

The short blonde looked at you "what can I say dollface? Boys will be boys! They've gotta have some sort of hobby, an most of the time, it's a gruesome one! Why can't they just take up knittin or even painting? Always hunting or boxing I say" mimzy took a swig "and every night? That's harsh! Doesn't he see how pretty you are?"

The two of you giggled.

Nights like these were always nice, just you and mimzy sitting in the empty bar, drinking and talking the night away.

"At this point mimzy, I think its better for me to just stay alone though, it doesn't seem like he's changing anytime soon and I don't know how long I can take this" you looked down at the glass, running your finger along the brim...

"Its okay girly" mimzy rested her hand on your shoulder "I'm sure he'll come around eventually, either way, I'm here for ya"

She really was one of your best friends.

Your conversation was interrupted when you heard a slight creak in the floorboards behind you two, making you turn around.

"This place is really getting old, I'm gonna need to find a way to get a new place" mimzy sighed.

The night went by fast as you two talked, and before you know it, you were right back in front of your bakery, sign lights were off as you opened the door, silently clicking the lock before making your way to the upstairs where your humble abode resided.

Alastor most likely went to blow off some steam, he tended to do that after your arguments/fallout.

You had left in such a hurry that you forgot to take out the bread from the oven, but luckily, alastor had seen you bake many times and finished the loaf before placing it on the cooling rack.

By the time you finished downstairs, it was midnight as you started walking upstairs, exhausted from the days work and alastor fiasco.

When you opened your door, you were met with a nervous Alastor standing straight and tense in front of you.

"I have something to say-" you both said in unison.

Alastor seemed to tremble as the words left your lips, still unable to make eye contact.

"I know it's not very gentlemanly of me, but may I go first?" His words almost came out as a mumble as his smile was strained.

You nodded, indicating he may continue.

"Thank you" Alastor took a shaky breath before looking you in the eyes "darling, I know I haven't made it easy for you with my... hunting... but I promise-"

Anger boiling in your blood, you interrupted him "do you know how many times you've told me that lie, Alastor?" Your nose scrunched up in anger as you tried to hold back tears "how many more times am I going to keep hearing this?"

Alastors wide eyes showed the fear he had of losing you, making your heart ache even more than it already was.

"I promise... my dear, this is the truth" Alastor took a gentle step forward, eyes trained on the ground.

placing your hands in his "I've put a lot of thought into it... and although I don't like the idea of being unable to kill those filthy vermin... I realized i can't live in a world without you in my arms"

Alastor ran his fingers gently over your knuckles, a gentle smile placed on his lips, almost dropping to a frown.

"I can change... and I know you want me to, I'll put in the effort to become the man you want, the man you need..." Alastor lifted your hand to his lips, closing his eyes as he placed a soft kiss.

The anger you felt died down, but still hesitant, you asked "how can I be sure you mean it?"

Finally looking back into your eyes again, he knelt down on one knee, still holding your hands "I, Alastor Hartfelt, would like to ask you, (y/n) (l/n), for your hand in marriage, I swear on my mother's grave that I will never take your words lightly, love you with undying devotion, and never kill again" he then rested his forehead onto your knuckles gently before he desperately whispered "please"

This proposal was not exactly practical, considering your argument not even 6 hours ago. There was no ring, no classy dinner, it wasn't how anyone would imagine a marriage proposal, yet here you were, heart beating rapidly as you felt tears fill your eyes.

Your words felt stuck in your throat as you looked into your lovers eyes "do you mean it?"

For what felt like the first time, Alastors smile dropped as his face held a serious expression "with all my heart, ma' cherie"

Your knees buckled as you fell into his arms, tears streaming down your face as you held your lover tightly, whispering out a shaky "Yes" into his chest.

Months went by, the wedding went off without a hitch.

Mimzy was your maid of honor. No one else was really there for your wedding, considering your family had cut ties with you years ago, and all Alastors' relatives were either deceased or overseas.

Nonetheless it was a happy and joyful union.

Alastor had kept true to his word and never killed another human, kissing your shiny ring every night like a reminding prayer.

Your bakery gained popularity since you were now Mrs Hartfelt. But popularity has its downsides... it wasn't long until women started talking about you, jealous of your position as Alastors wife.

The words themself didn't hurt you much, but the constant harassment and inability to leave the house without being called a harlot, that was slowly getting to you.

Alastor had assured you many nights before bed that things would get better, and if need be, he would give up his career as a radio host. The poor man would do anything for your happiness, anything to assure that you'd stay his forever...Even kill if you'd permit him to.

But there was only so much Alastor could do... it wasn't until one evening when you failed to show up to your shared home that he began to lose it.

Alastor was on edge, thinking of all the possibilities, you could've been held back at the bakery by a man who held ill intentions, you could be checking in with mimzy or got taken by a jealous fan. So many thoughts raced through his head as he slowly made his way to the door to look for you, eventually deciding against it, sitting back down as he patiently waited for your return...

Except you didn't.

It wasn't until a whole sleepless night had passed when he decided to go search for you. But of course, he came home empty handed. Were you unhappy in this marriage? Did you elope with a man he didn't know about? Did you realize you didn't love him and run away?

The second option was to call the police, something he's never done before.

The police launched an investigation, it was only until a month later, you were found in an alleyway, someone had called the cops about a crazy woman attacking a man, the situation escalated to the man killing her in self-defense.

They found traces of drugs in your blood, filing you as a drug abuser.

your body was frail and malnourished, pale like it had been weeks since you last seen the sun.

Alastor was called to the scene to see if this lady was indeed his wife.

When he arrived, he felt like the world was about to open up and swallow him whole.

As his eyes fell onto your pale lifeless body, something snapped inside of him.

You were never one to use drugs, never one to attack someone for no reason... something was wrong.

He knelt down and held your hand with tears in his eyes. Although he had seen many dead bodies in his life, this was the one body he never wanted to see like this.

He hated how your body was treated the same as the trash that walked the earth, like a lowly peasant when instead, the world should weep for the loss of you.

'This is all wrong' he thought, as he cradled your body in his lap as your blood stained his white shirt, but he couldn't care less as the last ray of light left his dark world.

It was long after your funeral, he hasn't been able to sleep since then. Every night he'd wait until daybreak for your arrival, like this was all some twisted joke.

It wasn't until one day he realized you needed revenge.

Yes, he promised to never kill anyone, but that was when you were alive, when you were beside him, when he was able to fall asleep with you by his side every night, Before you were selfishly taken from him.

He hasn't slept in days, maybe weeks? He couldn't remember... all he knew was that the man needed to pay for what he did to you...

It took a while but he eventually found the lying heathen.

There he was, sitting at mimzys bar, the same bar he met you, sitting on the same stool that YOU would sit on... it made Alastor sick watching this man live like he didn't take you away from him.

Alastor walked in, and sat beside the wretched man.

"You seem familiar" Al questioned, sipping on his whiskey.

The smug bastard grinned before turning to him "I'm the hero that took down that crazy bitch not long ago"

It took all of Alastors' willpower to seem calm and oblivious.

"My, you must be quite the hero then, let me buy you a drink and you can tell me ALL about it" Alastor motioned for a drink to be served, and the unknowing bastard fell right into Alastors wicked game.

It didn't take long to say the least. This prick was an easy target, and now here he was, being buried in a forest in the middle of nowhere.

You surely would not be happy with your dear husband actions... but who could stop him now?

For months, the spilling killer of New orleans went on a rampage, almost no one was safe, not even dear old Marjorie...

Eventually, alastor had killed all the men and women involved in your kidnapping and drugging... and here he was, burying the last one...

What would he do now? You weren't there for him to return to... all his plans revolved around your future with him

I guess all he could do now

Was Die

As if on cue, a bullet pierced Alastors skull straight through his forehead... as everything went black...

Hello! I've been working on this for a while now, at least a week, and I think I'm just going to make another part for this, keep an eye open for it cause it will hold the afterlife of these two lovers!

#hazbin hotel #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor the radio demon #human alastor x reader #human alastor

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blumeblooms · 5 months

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- > speak up ! || five - flower in forgiveness

toge inumaki x reader

—————————————————————————————————————

‘Okay, everything will be fine. This is good right?’ You think as you look at your masterpiece. You bought cough drops like Yuuji suggested, but since he apparently likes flowers so much, you put the ‘petals’ made of cough drops, and leaves made of tissues. You thought it was pretty thoughtful, and maybe it was too much, but it was already finished anyways. All you had to do now was give it to him.

Right… giving it to him. God, you were so nervous, i mean come on, pull yourself together! He’s just a teenage boy, are you really getting this worked up over a teenage boy? Yes. Yes you were

With a deep breath you place it carefully in your bag before heading to training grounds, the cool air hitting your face as a slight reality check, but it was nice.

“Morning Kugisaki” You greet with a smile, offering a wave as she grins at you.

“Y/n! Morningggg, let’s go shopping after practice. You don’t have a choice by the way” Nobara smiles cheekily, and it’s almost threatening as you feel a chill go down your back.

“Sure i’ll go, thanks for giving me a choice though.” You say sarcastically with a smile as you roll your eyes. Eyes glancing over to the boy you’ve been avoiding like the plague. He effortlessly slid on his knees to dodge Yuutas attack, kicking his ankle swiftly and knocking him down. Damn, he moved effortlessly, yet was efficient in his fighting. This was your first time really getting a good look at him, he was pretty, you won’t lie.

“Careful, you’re staring like a dog waiting for its treat.” Megumi says as he walks up beside you. Making you yelp as you glare at him, why did this man bully you.

“What like how you stare at Yuuji?? I’ve known you for like 4 days and i already know you’re a giant fruit cup dude. No straight man has 500+ wins on word hunt.” You retort back, trying not to laugh at your own joke. But seriously, who does that??

“……..” “With this sacred treasure i summ-“

“CHILL CHILL CHILL I WAS KIDDING PLEASE”

“DUDE ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE US ALL OUT?? GO TO THERAPY INSTEAD.” Nobara screams as she smacks Megumi. You nervously laugh as your life just flashed before your eyes. Were all sorcerers crazy?? Well, they were. Did that mean you were crazy too? Whatever, you could unpack that later.

“Sooo, did you get the cough drops? You should give it to him before he goes back inside and you get too scared to do it” Nobara says as she smacks your back, rather hard as it feels more hurtful than encouragement as you wince. You hate that she’s right, you’ve been putting it off but you only live once right? You could do this.

“Ugh… Fine. But you’re paying for lunch later.’ You say with a deep sigh as you grab your bag and hesitantly make your way over towards Yuuta and Inumaki, ignoring Nobara’s ‘What the hell?!” In the background.

Your heart starts to beat faster as you get closer. Why were you so nervous?? It was literally fine. One and done. One and done.

You watch as Yuuta notices you while taking a sip of his water and catching his breath, tapping Toge on the shoulder as he looks over confused. His eyes widen as he sees you coming over, looking at Yuuta and then back to you as you hesitantly wave him over. He walks over just as hesitant, wondering what you want.

“Uhm.. I’d like to apologize for yelling at you. I didn’t mean to cause a scene there was just a lot going on that day- which is no excuse but uhm. I heard that you use cough drops a lot so i made this- I hope you like it.” You say trying not to have your voice waver, pulling the ‘flowers’ from your bag as you hold it out in offering. There, you did it, now he’ll take it, or won’t, and then you’ll have a truce.

You watch his reaction carefully as his eyes widen at the gift in your hand. You can’t help but feel a little anxious as he stands there staring at it for a minute.

He holds up a finger in a ‘wait’ motion as he runs over to his bag before pulling out flowers in a pot and coming back quickly, slighting panting.

‘Do you know sign language?’ He signs slightly messily while holding the pot in his arms. Thankfully, you did.

“I do, you can use it” You reply with a slight smile, gesturing for him to continue. He nods before signing again.

‘I bought these yesterday at the same flower shop. I hope you like them. Sorry for accidentally stealing, i didn’t know. Gojo sucks.’ He says as you feel your eyes soften. He brought them too? They were really gorgeous. Honestly, you didn’t even know the shop had those in stock

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that! Thank you. It’s okay, i’ve only known Gojo for about a week now and i can confirm he does suck.” You say slightly playful with a laugh, grateful this was going well. You hear Inumaki softly laugh too.

He goes to hand you the flowers just as you hand him his. The flower pot accidentally falls to the ground, shattering as your eyes widen, he looks mortified as you can see his ears and face heat up.

‘Oh my god. Sorry sorry sorry-‘ He signs frantically as you both go to pick it up, hitting heads in the process. You letting out an “Ow!” as you hear a soft grunt. You can hear Yuujis mortified scream in the back as you wonder why the universe was constantly against you.

“S-sorry! I should’ve been more careful, um. It’s okay! Thank you anyways!” You say as you can feel your own face heating up, which is probably no where near as bad as Inumakis right now. He looks like he’s practically seen a ghost. Which you would probably find amusing if you weren’t equally mortified right now.

You hand him the cough drop flowers as you wave with a frantic smile before scurrying off towards Nobara. Her laughing as Megumi deadpans with a face palm. You making horrified faces at them as you drag them away.

Toge stands there before slowly turning to Yuuta, his face drained of color as Yuuta bursts out laughing, coming over to pat him on the back as he stares at the broken flower pot.

————————————————————————

‘Huh? What is this?’ You think to yourself as you pick up the flowers off the floor in front of your dorm. They were so pretty! You read the small note attached to it, reading: ‘Sorry again… I picked these from the school garden i take care of instead, these are my favorites. Hopefully they’re yours too. Atleast we have matching red marks on our head now :) - Inumaki’

You snort when you finish reading it. The awkwardness from earlier events fading away as you smile and place the flowers on your nightstand, walking in your dorm.

‘Dumbass’ You think to yourself with a smile as you go on twitter.

————————————————————————

previous || masterlist || next

- > they’ll never catch a break

- > megumi trying to summon things every single inconvenience.

- > thank you for all the love 😋💓💓

• summary - in where you meet a nice lady in a flower shop you volunteer at, just to find out you can defeat curses when you thought you were just hallucinating. you transfer to jujutsu high, and you see a guy with his face covered who tried to steal flowers the other day! you confront him and he stays silent, so you tell him to speak up, only for him to say… onigiri ingredients? whether you just quit or go on with this new lifestyle- well, that’s for fate to decide.

- > taglist - @jayathelostdragon , @lees-chaotic-brain , @camilo-uwu , @knmakzmee , @kasumitenbaz , @aespaforlifersyall , @gyuville

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konigsblog · 2 months

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If König pissed me off I would bite into banana ice cream (my second favourite ice cream flavour is banana and strawberry) then I would eat a banana in front of him for extra damage. I will even deep throat the fruit for an extra slap in his face

But if he seriously pissed me off I am getting mint chocolate ice cream, bananas, true oranges, and anything peanut I can find be it Reese's cups or peanut butter or just straight peanuts and making a God awful Frankenstein abomination to feast upon in front of the man

I am a petty bitch and I am not above putting brussel sprouts in it as I can eat an ungodly amount of them and still enjoy it. Sensory issues be damned, I do not care if the texture of all the things put together want to make me kill myself my pettiness is enough determination to make me eat every bite just to see the disgust on his face

Also tangerines and clementines do not smell as strong or as bad as oranges and are different enough that you can have an allergy to true oranges but not them. And I love cucumbers but I also hate a lot of bubblegum products unless it is the slush puppy bubblegum slushies but König would get along with my cousin who adores anything bubblegum flavoured

not be judgemental, but... banana ice cream ??? 😨😨

könig would be jealous watching you put a spoonful of peanut butter into your ice-cream, alongside reese's pieces and peanuts. you're torturing him, he can't watch !!! he will grumble, watching from afar, bitter at the smell of the peanut butter from the kitchen.

he'll be disgusted at the brussel sprouts, and the distinctive smell of the bananas though... he's not sure whether to feel jealous, or disgusted, watching you eat it, a concoction of random foods that definitely shouldn't be paired together... 😣

and, i honestly didn't know there was a difference between mandarins, clementines, tangerines and oranges, i thought it was a size difference, because i can't taste the difference !! 😭

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bleedingichorhearts · 2 months

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𝕬𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖘 IV

𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗: The Custodes just watching the cat get more attention than him.

𝕿𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖉: @kit-williams , @egrets-not-regrets.

𝕬𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖘 V

TW // Stalking.

Sitting outside in Marie’s backyard. I tested my shoulder out, taking it out of the cast, and moved my arms slowly around in circles. My nose scrunching up in the sting of soreness. Heating up my shoulder every time I moved my arm upwards. I even had to wait a few seconds to continue and fully complete the rotation.

If only that damned ceiling didn’t crumble beneath my feet, I wouldn’t have fallen on that rusty, steel pole. I wouldn’t be having this problem either.

That Journalist can have a bad day too for making me throw him around while wounded, but he also took an ungodly amount of pictures of me from when I crossed a road to end up in Marie’s backyard. No doubt, going to try and publish that somewhere for some big money for whatever “my story” is worth.

“It looks like you’re doing better.” The wobbly voice of Marie observed, an orange cat meowing at her feet.

Turing my head to look at her. She had a cup of tea in her hand, occasionally taking sips out of it. The smell of dried fruit wafting from the cup. Another tea that I recognized as hibiscus tea.

I bowed my head to her in a ‘good morning,’ relaxing my shoulder for a moment. Picking up my own drink with my other arm from the small, circular glass table off to my side that was full of tiny, potted plants.

“If you like, I would need some help repotting some plants.” Marie offered a daily task, taking another sip from her tea cup. The cat jumping up onto my lap.

I nodded again, sipping my own drink, taking that task because it would mean free cookies. Most of the time anyway. If she didn’t make cookies, or any desert she baked, I was repaying her kindness with anything she needed to get done for the day. Which wasn’t much, honestly.

The daily things she mostly does is tend to her hoard of cats, and her jungle rooms of plants. Both feeding them, and giving them water. Then she goes and puts a tea kettle on the stove so she could have her morning tea.

Her afternoons consisted of a lunch break, and a well deserved nap with the cats in the sunroom with some more tea afterwards, and her nights are tame as she usually just watches an old black, and white film, or reads her old books.

It’s been what? Only three days, and I already know what her daily routine is.

“Hello there, Miss. Garner!” An older man yelled out a greeting. Looking over he had to be in his 60s? 70s? Brown, frizzled hair turning gray with a big, nicely trimmed beard. He was on the more heavyset side of a man with an oval body shape, his body leaning over the white fence Marie had put up to keep the neighbors, and critters out of her “garden palace.” She had named her garden.

“Mr. Benton, good morning.” Marie greeted back, not sounding very thrilled by his appearance.

Looking between the two. They clearly had their differences. Marie was the gardener that loved her fresh fruits, and vegetables, floral smell, and a lover of cats. While Mr. Benton was the mechanic type, lover of tinkering, fixing things, smelling like grease, and oil, and the owner of a wiener dog.

“Daw, don’t be like that Miss. Garner! I was only trying to be nice.” He replied, taking off his blue cap that showed a bald spot on his head. “Say, is your little lady willing to help me for a moment?”

I could-

“Absolutely not! Not with all that filth!” Marie exclaimed, surprising me on how fast she moved to put her tea cup down on the glass table, her hands now on her hips.

“Now, hold on there. It ain’t all filth.” Mr. Benton responded, putting his cap back on his head. Shaking a finger at Marie.

“You got old, rusting cars in your backyard, you make these god awful noises at night when you're in your garage, tools laying about everywhere, don’t make me list any more mister!” Marie listed off, pointing her finger at the man who just looked dazed?

I sipped on my drink, petting the orange cat in my lap as I watched the two argue with each other. Marie spitting details to complain about while Mr. Benton spoke of anything that would get her riled up, purposely.

“Oh! Bugger off will yeah?!” Marie yelled, waving off the old man, turning back to her much needed tea.

“Oh, you love it Miss. Garner!” Mr. Benton laughed, belly shaking with him.

“Just- shoo! Go away!” Marie waved him off again. A tint of pink on her cheeks as she took another sip of her tea to cover it up.

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you be.” He sighed, finger coming up to his face to get rid of a tear, then waved. “Till next time lady’s!”

Giving him my own little wave, cat mowing in disapproval of the act of waving. I quickly nudged my foot at Marie.

“What?” She asked, still using the tea cup to cover her blush. I gave her an ‘really’ look, eyebrow raising up at her.

“Don’t give me that look!” She groaned, turning her head away. New cherry red blush coating her cheeks.

I see what’s going on here; don’t think I don’t.

“Stop giving me that look!” Marie exclaimed again, desperately trying to hide away from my gaze.

I shook my head at her, scratching the cat behind its ear as I bumped her ankle softly with my shoe again.

“Are you planning to go somewhere?” She suddenly asked, switching the topic. Avoiding the previous topic, for now.

I nodded, my eye trailing over the tree line at the back of the yard. The same heavy, tingling coming back; feeling stronger with each second I stared.

“Do you need anything?” She questioned, finally putting the cup down from her lips. Most likely have drank all of the tea, and calmed down her burning cheeks.

I shook my head ‘no.’ Spotting a flash of gold before it stilled. A blue visor glowing from a darkened area of the tree line. A slight gold shining off of the armored being.

I knew it. The Custodes had followed me here, and this means they must know, that I know. Though, didn’t it have a red visor before? Not blue? Less gold too?

Oh, I was definitely planning on going somewhere now. I wasn’t going to be in the presence of an Custodes. Much less of an Astartes.

#warhammer 40k #space marine #space marine husbandry sentience #fanfic #x reader #fanfiction #adeptus custodes

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shutterbug-12 · 1 year

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TAG GAME: EIGHT SHOWS TO GET TO KNOW ME

Tagged by @santabarbara-skies, aaayyyy! I hardly get tagged so yaaaaaay!

Also this is kind of hard, but I’ll try (and like Em, I’m adding explanations, sort-of-kind-of, but not fancy formatting because I’m lazy).

The West Wing. Still my all-time favorite. Is it idealistic? Sure. Is it preachy sometimes? Yeah. But does it make my bleeding liberal heart glow and hopeful? You bet. Do I want to hug a pillow whenever someone says, “A guy falls in a hole...” or “What’s next?” or “Babies come with hats.” or “He loves teams, I love him so much” or almost-anything-CJ-or-Sam-says? Almost always. So, yeah, it’ll always top my list.

Psych. Burton Guster, my beloved. I started this show for two reasons: Dule Hill was in it and I just finished the West Wing and needed to keep that connection going; and it a Sherlock Holmes adaptation-sort-of, and I am basically on board for almost anything that is loosely modeled on Holmes. But I stayed for, oh, god, all of it. The two idiots at the center of it all, for Shawn and Juliet, for Lassie, for the bond between Lassie and Juliet, for everything. It is just an absolute delight, come on, son, jerk chicken, Pluto, suck it, meeeeeee, incarcerated in a blueberry, TT Showbiz, MC ClapYoHandz, I would rather fill-in-the-blank, pineapples, Banana as in Bananarama, you know that’s right.

Friends. Another one that’s definitely dated and contains plenty of sexist, fatphobic, homophobic, and other problematic content. But I have a huge soft spot for this show and would still be one of my desert island shows, if not my #1 desert island show, because it makes me laugh every. single. time. It’s not my favorite show, but it’s the one that makes me feel the most, I don’t know...home? Like I’m going back to this place that isn’t perfect, but somewhere I grew up and so it means a lot to me. And a lot of it really is still funny and adorable and heartwarming, you know?

Ripper Street. Another one that has Sherlock Holmes vibes, but also includes my favorite handsome man, Matthew Macfadyen. Plus, period drama goodness, with an excellent cast overall, great acting, good writing, and a great ending that’s bittersweet but fitting and satisfying. The character arcs are just fabulous. There are lots of hats and vests. And dry dark humor. And moments that will break your heart to pieces. But others that will give you life. Probably one of the most underrated shows on this whole list, if not the most underrated. Plus the fandom is (still) lovely. Seriously one of the nicest, best fandoms I’ve ever been a part of.

House MD. The one that started it all for me, and by “it all” I mean my leap into internet fandom communities. So it’s quite special to me. I was one of the only House/Stacy fans on the planet, I think, but that’s how it goes. And more importantly: the friends I made because of this show! The fics I wrote! (Eden in particular, still one of my favorites I’ve ever written for any fandom.) The fics I read! Plus the show itself is my cup of tea, being yet another Sherlock Holmes-esque (Holmes--Homes--House) story on this list. Hugh Laurie just kills it every damn time (although, much like Macfadyen, I just...can’t get used to and actually really hate his American voice/accent, just no, please stop, please just speak in your normal voice, please). The only downside is that it doesn’t have a ton of rewatch value for me, but maybe one day I’ll get back to it again.

Black Sails. Another awesome period drama that was/is criminally underrated and under-watched. This. Show. Y’all. If you haven’t seen it, just see it. It’s got everything. The characters, so deliciously flawed but sympathetic and layered! Jack my favorite sassy ratboi captain. Flint, everyone’s favorite murder husband. Tits! Fruit! Oh, the production value is gorgeous, the ladies are badass, and it’s just a romp. Watch it.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Heeeey, another period piece, dramedy this time, though. And one of the more female-centric shows on my list. It’s hilarious, plain and simple. Jewish culture is everywhere in it, which I adore and appreciate. Tony Shalhoub as Abe Weissman and Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson are nothing short of brilliant in it. I love Lenny, but only because I love historical shows that weave in real people (I’m not a Lenny/Midge fan, sorry; I was rooting for Benjamin, even though I didn’t think it would pan out). I can’t wait to see how the series ends. I’ve loved every minute of it.

The Mindy Project. My guilty pleasure show, and I shouldn’t feel that guilty about it. A show about a successful doctor who struggles to find love and herself in the big city? Yes, please. It’s sweet. It’s absolutely hilarious. Mindy Kaling is so relatable sometimes it hurts (in a good way). I wish I had her entire wardrobe, it’s amazing. Even the supporting cast is adorable and endearing and you just want to hug all of them and tell them they’re doing great, sweeties. It’s a super-sweet pick-me-up show, just a joy.

And I tag...whoever. Here are a couple: @houseocats @olivelune @scienceoftheidiot @deelaundry @hondagirll

#the mindy project #ripper street #tmmm #the west wing #psych #house md #tv shows #my shows

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ginsakatoki · 1 year

Note

how about 4E from the event? you can choose any character that seems fitting :)

[Rules] [Masterlist]

This is a bit angsty so, if you don't like the genre, do not read! Also, this contains spoilers so if you haven't seen episode 483 yet, read at your own risk. Starts under the cut!

Portgas D. Ace, a name that was both famous and infamous in the Grand Line, New World and all the Seven Seas, a pirate that ate one of the rarest type of Devil Fruits, a Logia, and had the power of manipulate fire. A dangerous, dangerous man, but to you? He was only Ace, your Ace.

You knew it was hard to be the partner of the 2nd division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, that he had responsibilities and expectations to uphold, that one of those days his rashness and impulsiveness would have him killed. You even knew back when he was the captain of the Spade Pirates and you were both newbies. You knew, and God be damned if you didn’t remind him every single time to be careful, to make sure he would come back. It was hard not to worry when he was out there being reckless while you had to stay on the ship, following Marco’s orders, knowing very well that he held you back from going on crazy adventures with your lover on Ace’s request. He wanted to protect you from everything, from everyone, even himself. Sometimes, especially himself. This had been the cause of many arguments between the two of you, but in the end he always won because you really couldn’t say no to his cute, freckled face.

One day the two of you got into yet another fight, neither of you seemed to want to back down this time. Angry shouts lingered on the deck of the Moby Dick, but surprisingly no one was around except you two: the folks on the ship had learned the hard way not to be around you while you were fighting because, even though Ace would never hurt you, his flames tended to get out of control and blaze suddenly whenever he got restless, anxious and even worse when he was mad. You were currently trying to persuade him not to chase Blackbeard, but he wouldn’t listen a single word you said. He had responsibilities, it was his duty as captain, that’s what he kept saying. In the end you broke up crying in front of him asking, begging him to stay. He walked up to you and cupped your face with one of his hands, dried your tears and kept caressing your face until you calmed down, his warm touch soothing you in no time.

“Wish we could stay like this forever, but I have to go, love. I have to”

“Alright. But hurry up and come back, Spades. I don’t want to miss you.” You snuggled into the palm of his hand, holding him on your face for a few seconds before letting him go. With no hesitation he started walking, turned around just once to flash you a smile and one last goodbye and disappeared into the ocean. You knew back then that he wouldn’t come back, but you still hoped because as much as a Queen of Spades is expected to be with a King, she only truly wants her Ace.

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humaforever · 10 months

Note

I want to sit on their lap and feed them grapes.

(also Huma, obviously. Harry is talking about Uma)

Obviously their crew is involved, because I love them

______________________________

One lunch. That's all they wanted. One normal lunch.

But alas, Harry would not allow that, so the crew of the Lost Revenge would just have to suffer.

"Look at her Gil" Harry sighed dreamily

Gil glanced up in the direction that Harry was so intently staring at and found that Uma was talking to that Audrey girl. She seemed to be telling a story as she absently indulged on a fruit cup.

"I see her" Gil said, not paying much attention as his main focus was on his food

"Do you? Do you really? Because you don't seem to be admiring her beauty the way you should" Harry said

"I'll leave that to you Harry. Besides, she doesn't look any different than she did when she was sitting with us two minutes ago." Gil said

"It doesn't matter" Harry gripped Gil's arm "She got a new outfit, did ya see that?"

"Yes Harry, I've been with her all day" Gil said

"Do you see how pretty she looks in it!?" Harry said

"Yes Harry" Gil said flatly

Harry sighed as he dramatically laid half of his body on the table "Gods I just want to sit on her lap and feed her those grapes she's eating"

"YOU WANT TO WHAT!?" Jonas suddenly exclaimed, he had been avoiding the conversation before but he could no longer do that

Harry raised his brow at the other boy "You heard me"

"You are sick, you know that?" Jonas said pointing a fork at Harry

"I'll tell you when I find a fuck to give" Harry said

"It's just crazy to me that you would say that when you know there's children around" Bonny shook her head

"Children?" Harry questioned, as far as he was concerned there were no young children in sight

"Desiree, Harry. You know she's just a baby" Bonny said

"Fuck you!" Desiree exclaimed "I'm older than you!"

"Babies aren't allowed to say fuck" Gonzo told Desiree

"Forget the child, he said that right in front of my salad" Jonas said

Gil rolled his eyes "Here we go again with the salad"

"I'm starting to think that Jonas is more romantically involved with this salad than Harry is with Uma" Bonny said

"Not possible " Harry said "No one has ever been more romantically involved with anything or anyone than I am with Uma"

"Gag me with a knife" Gonzo muttered

"My salad is still present!" Jonas cried

"Fuck you and your salad Jonas" Harry said "I'll straddle Uma and feed her your god damn salad"

Jonas gasped

Desiree hit her head against Bonny's shoulder "I think I'm gonna puke"

"Didn't you ever learn about, I don't know, decency, privacy?" Bonny asked Harry

"No, and neither did you so I don't want to hear about it" Harry said

"Everyone around us can hear you Harry" Gil said

"Good, they need to know that I'm Uma's" Harry said

"Trust me, they know" Gonzo said

"I think that message was clear when she pinned you against the wall during the first day of class" Desiree said

Harry smiled widely "That was fun"

"Well, as long as you're having fun" Bonny said dryly

"As long as Uma's having fun" Harry clarified

Jonas chuckled "Man you are down so bad"

"Sounds like a compliment" Harry said "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go feed my girl a grape" he said as he got up and left the table

"At least that's over" Gil said as he watched Harry saddle up next to Uma

There was a moment of silence

"...I wanna feed Uma a grape" Desiree spoke

"Oh God, he's influenced the children!" Bonny cried

Jonas took Desiree's face in his hands "I know your feble young mind doesn't understand yet but this is not the path you want to take! Des we can't deal with another one!"

"Shut up. And get your hands off of me!" Desiree said slapping Jonas' hands

Gil and Gonzo shared an exasperated glance.

Who were they kidding, this crew would never catch a break from themselves.

#thank you for the prompt #huma #lost revenge crew #fanfiction

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myown-worstenemy-2003 · 1 year

Text

Good Directions (Steve Harrington)

A/N: Hey y'all! Here is another Steve Harrington fic that my brain came up with! I had this in my head for a while and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but here it is! Anyway! I hope you enjoy it! PS: Pretty please don't copy my work! I worked hard on this and I will cry! Thank you! :) <3 PPS: I have no idea why I'm on a country music kick either, it's not what I usually listen to. So we're just not gonna talk about it :)

Summary: Based on the song "Good Directions" by Billy Currington

Word Count: 721

It was a hot summer day in Southern Illinois. The sun was blazing but someone had to keep the small community stocked up on their local fruits. So there you were sitting under an umbrella in the shade trying to keep cool. You had been entertaining yourself by watching as the cars drove by, but right now you found yourself snacking on Cheeto Puffs and reading a book that just came out, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

You started a new chapter when a car pulled up. You didn’t recognize the car, even when you read the license plate that read ‘H4R1T0N’.

When the person got out of the car, you knew that you didn’t know them, because you didn’t know anyone this pretty.

The man got out of the car and came around to your fruit stand. You stand up and greet him with a smile, “Hi there! Whatcha lookin’ to get today?”

He smiled back at you.

Holy shit that is gorgeous.

“Uh, I’m not really here for anything I was wondering if you could give me some directions? I got turned around and I’m looking for the Interstate.”

“Oh! Well, it’s a good thing that you found me because I am the woman for the job!” you answered almost kind of disappointed.

You point in a direction, “So if you go way up yonder, go past the caution light,” he nodded along listening intently.

“Okay so you pass the caution light, there’s a little country store with an old Coke sign,” he looked like he was writing down everything you said in his mind.

“You gotta stop and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea,” you said, it threw him off because he looked confused.

“Gotta get a drink and maybe a snack for the road! But after Miss Bell’s, a left will take you to the interstate…” you stopped for a second, thinking if you really were brave enough to say this, fuck it, “but a right will bring you right back here to me.”

You said with a smile on your face. He smiled, “Thank you very much, Miss…”

“(Y/N),” you told him, “Just (Y/N). It was my pleasure to be of service.”

Well, I hope you get more business (Y/N),” he told you with a smile on his face.

“Thank you. I hope you don’t get lost again,” you told him as he was getting into his car. He laughed and got in. He honked as he left and you waved.

You sat back down in your lawn chair. Thinking about his beautiful brown eyes, perfectly tousled brown hair, and his pink lips…

“God damn it, (Y/N)! Didn’t even get his name! What the hell!” you yelled into the open fields and highway.

You sat back down, still mad. It could have been love.

You looked over at your red Ford that has been around since before you were born. You knew that it couldn’t run him down. He probably didn’t like me anyway.

So you picked up your Cheeto Puffs and went to self-wallowing.

After a half-an-hour of sitting in there and helping one customer, your 3rd-grade teacher Mrs. Crane, you saw another car coming your way. It looked familiar but not in a way that you saw it all the time.

Holy shit.

The heat has to be playing tricks on you now because that looks like the car of that hunk!

As he came to a stop and got out, you stood up, “Well hey there stranger! Didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”

He smiled and walked up to you holding two large styrofoam cups and he handed you one.

“What’s this?” you asked.

“Well, I took your advice and I went way up yonder past the caution light. I don’t know why, but something felt right when I stopped and asked Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea,” he told you with a grin on his face.

“So your Mama,” he paused to give you a knowing smile, “gave me a big glass and another for you and sent me right back here to you.”

“Well thank God for good directions, and the fruit stand.

“How did you find your way back here?”

“...I asked your mom for directions.”

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things x reader #steve harrington fanfic #Spotify

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peyton-warren · 1 year

Text

Blinded by The Fog Part 5

Characters: Captain Syverson and Reader. Mention of Jake Jensen and Jolene Pairings: Jake Jensen x Reader Word count: 1952 Type: angst and fluff Warning: 18+. Minors DNI. Panic attack, guilt, self-depreciation, self-doubt, loss of spouse and found family, swearing. Therapy/ emotional baggage type language.

Summary: Reader throws herself into a panic attack, and Sy can't do a damn thing to stop it as she pushes him as far away as she can.

Author's Note: I admit this is partly self-indulgent as I fight with my own demons of self-doubt and self-worth. Its been a hard couple of years months lately. Thank you to @adulting-sucks for her continued support, pushing me to completely rework this chapter when the initial draft didn't feel right at all.

Ask Box: Open

Series Masterlist Masterlist

Chapter 4

As quickly as you had fallen into sleep's embrace, it was slow to let you go the next day. Your brain was clear, and you felt well rested, something you hadn’t felt in what seemed like a really long time. Rubbing your cheek against the pillow, your brain recognized that it didn’t smell right. Not bad, just not right. Blinking sleep from your eyes, you slowly take in your surroundings. You stretch as you look at the dimly lit room. This was definitely not the room you fell asleep in, and looking around the room you surmised this was Sy’s bedroom, though it could be a guest bedroom as minimal as the decor was. But you doubted the giant king size bed was wasted on his guests.

That brought to mind the man of the house, and you wondered where he was. You knew you had the bed to yourself last night, there didn’t seem to be any other body shapes on the comforter beside you. Getting up, you made quick use of the en suite bathroom, helping yourself to a couple Advil and a bit of mouthwash before you went to find your host.

Following your nose to the kitchen, you found a pot of coffee waiting for you with a note leaned against an empty mug next to the Mr Coffee. “Went for a run. I’ll be back soon” in no nonsense block letters. You softly smiled at the note, setting it to the side as you filled the mug, doctoring it to your liking. Sipping your coffee, you debated what to do next. You didn’t know how long his runs were, and even if you did you had no way of knowing when he left. You were at his mercy right now, not that you minded much, you had nowhere to be. But he was the only way back to your car.

With a soft sigh, you leaned against the counter to wait until you have more caffeine in your system before you do anything really. You stared out across the house. This really was a great house, a home. Even before you saw the pictures of the house when he bought it that hung on a wall, you knew how much of himself Sy put in this house.

Once you consumed half your cup, you moved to look in the fridge to see if there was anything you could salvage for breakfast, your belly starting to rumble. That was another feeling you had not had in a while- the want to eat more than forcing yourself to eat. Looking through the minimal offerings in the fridge and cupboard, you opted to munch on a piece of fruit you find in a bowl on the counter. Once Sy was back you two could figure out what you are gonna do about food, maybe he already had a plan.

Suddenly you realized you hadn’t checked your phone in hours, glancing at the clock on the stove, well over 12 hours. Oh god, Jolene! Panic swirled back through you. You had promised to be there for her no matter what and here you dropped the ball. Yeah she wasn't even 6 months pregnant yet, but shit anything could happen. Tossing the apple to the table, next to your cup, you dashed for the front of the house, grabbing for your bag. You shuffled through it, searching for the phone though you knew it wasn’t in there from the second you put your hand inside. It wasn't there.

“Shit!”

Panic grew in your belly as you tried to think back to last night, what happened and where your phone could possibly be. You checked the living room, though you are certain you didn’t have it with you there. You pulled up every couch cushion, shook out every blanket, tossed every throw pillow and found nothing. Putting it all back in correct places, your panic does little to abate. You go to the bedroom, thinking maybe Sy put it near you, but it wasn't on the nightstand nor under the blanket you had slept in.

“Fuck!”

Sitting on the side of the bed, you tried to take a few deep breaths, to get your head thinking straight. You could see if you could find Sy’s phone, if he didn’t take it with him on the run. Disappointment filled your gut as you registered even if you did find his phone and unlocked it, it wasn't going to do you a bit of good, you didn’t have Jolene’s number memorized and you really doubted Sy would have the woman’s number. He would have Madre’s number who would have Jolene’s number but you didn’t know if you wanted to throw extra worry on top of Madre.

“Motherfucker!”

Alright you needed to get your shit together. Where else could your phone be? A few steady deep breaths later you had an epiphany, Sy’s truck! It had to be there. Had to. You flew out the front door, vaguely hearing the door shut behind you as you padded down the wet sidewalk in your bare feet, heading for the truck. The light drizzle barely registered on your face as you grabbed for the driver's handle, swearing as the door didn't budge and the handle flips out of your wet fingers.

“For Fuck’s Sake!”

Attempting again you get the very same outcome, resulting in tears escaping from your eyes. You lean your forehead on the door, striving to gather yourself, endeavoring to push the tears back down, aiming to sidestep the tornado of emotions that are trying to escape from you all at once. Jolene needed to find a new person to rely on. You clearly were incapable of taking your job seriously. One night of whatever the fuck last night was with Sy, and you completely drop the ball.

And then there was that voice in the back of your head that pops up. Yeah, about last night. What was that? Snuggled on the couch, drinking beer and eating pizza with a good looking man. If I didn't know better, I would think you were back to dating instead of mourning your dead husband. You remember him don’t you? I think his name was Jake.

“Fuck off!”

Turning back to the house, you can not say you are very surprised to find the door locked. What was left of your shit being held together suddenly erupted from deep inside of you. Pressing the crown of your head to the door multiple times, you felt the torrent of tears fall down your cheeks. Everything swirled in your brain, your inability to help Jolene, your loss from the loss of Jake, the loss of the team, your guilt for spending time with another man so close to your husband’s death. You wanted to run, you wanted to hide, you wanted to just stop all this from clogging your brain and breaking your heart.

You have no way of knowing how long you sat beside the door on the cold wet porch before Sy jogged up the stairs. “What’s wrong?” he asked, kneeling in front of you, a hand on your knee. With a violent swipe, you pushed his hand away, revealing your face to him. “What happened, baby?” he tried again, falling to his own knees beside you.

“Don’t call me that,” you growled, using the sleeve of the short sleeve shirt you had slept in to wipe at the snot and tears that accumulated on your face.

Sitting back, Sy looked at you, trying to assess what had happened. “Let’s get you inside,” he said, grabbing for your arm which you ripped from his grip.

“Lemme go.”

Putting his hands up, he stood and reached for the door, finding it locked. Silently he slipped from the porch only to return a few moments later with a spare key, opening the door. He turned to tell you but found you getting to your feet, and pushing past him into the house. Grabbing your bag and clothes from a hook, you headed for the bathroom. “I need you to take me to my car,” you said, your voice rough and haggard.

You heard nothing in response, but didn’t stop to see if he had heard you before slamming the door behind you. Unable to look at yourself in the mirror, you dressed in record time, ignoring the way your clothes stuck to your wet skin and how cold you were. You needed to go, you needed to get out of here. With precision of decades of practice you shoved your feelings back into the bottle you kept them in, turning yourself back into the stone pillar of a woman you tried to always put forth towards the world.

Leaving the borrowed clothes hung from the curtain rod to dry, you headed out. You found Sy silently waiting for you in the front hall, his features concerned but silent. “Let’s go.” You did not even pause to put your shoes on your feet.

“Alright,” he said, his tone matching the cold front of yours, following you out the door. You stepped out to notice he had started the truck, warming it up for you. Your heart broke just a little more, threatening to uncork your bottle again, as that horrible voice in the back of your brain told you he was too good for you, reminding you that you were still mourning your husband. That same voice told you the next second you were reading too much into all of this, he would have done the same for Madre or Jolene.

When you opened the door to the truck, you found your phone sitting square in the middle of the passenger seat. Pushing it to the side, you climbed in and buckled up as Sy did the same. Continuing to ignore him, you looked at your phone to see you had no voice mails or text messages from anyone let alone Jolene. The cork wiggled a little as you suddenly felt so foolish, so childish. You chastised yourself for being so over dramatic, letting out a heavy sigh, leaning an elbow on the door, cradling your head in your hand. “Fuck,” you sighed softly, not even recognizing you said it outloud.

“Gonna tell me what's got you so wound up?” Sy tried again, his voice somewhere between annoyed and concerned, which grated against your already tetchy nerves.

“Nope,” you replied, letting the P pop loudly in the cab. “Just need to go home.”

“A’ight.”

The rest of the ride to your car was eerily silent, the minutes stretching into unbearable hours in your brain, the feeling you needed to hide not abating even a miniscule amount. Swishing your hand through your bag, you had your keys in hand a mile from work, swapping them for your shoes. You had your seatbelt unbuckled before the truck even pulled into your work parking lot, and your door was open before he had it in park.

“Sugar, wait-” you felt his hand skim over your arm as you slipped out of the cab, slamming the door closed behind you. The instinct to rabbit was the only thing roaring in your brain as you fumbled with your key fob, somehow undoing the lock and sliding into the car. After hitting the lock button, you tossed your crap on the passenger seat while shoving the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and you were speeding out of the lot before Sy could even comprehend what was going on. You didn’t even glance in the mirror to see the stunned man standing there with his hands on his hips.

Part 6

General Tag List: @littleone65

HC Tag LIst: @m07belzen, Used-to-be-bourbonwithice @hawklin

BBTF Tag List: Mis-lil-red , @mysweetlittledesire

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just-two-blokes · 1 year

Text

Comfortember day 2 - "Stressed" A Thomas Barrow Oneshot

'Mrs Hughes, please remember to cover the tables outside with white tablecloths before you put the fruit baskets on them. Miss Baxter, have you found the hats for Lady Mary and Lady Edith? They should have arrived by post today.'

With aching feet and sweaty hair, Thomas Barrow makes his way through the other servants into the kitchen, only to drop onto one of the chairs with remaining strength. His legs burn as if he has completed a five-kilometre run.

'No wonder,' he thinks to himself. He's already been up since half past five in the morning, preparing for this damned Crawley family garden party.

In his mind, he goes through his tally sheet for this afternoon. Lady Mary has not skimped on her birthday and has invited more people than Thomas has ever met in his entire life.

'So… Anna and Phyllis are upstairs to help Lady Mary and Lady Edith dress. Andy and Albert are setting up the rest of the chairs in the garden. Mrs Patmore is preparing the appetisers…

The appetisers!'

As if stung by a tarantula, Thomas jumps up from his seat. Andy should have taken the appetisers outside long ago! But it seems he is still busy setting up the garden chairs.

Thomas rubs his tired eyes in resignation. This job will eventually cost him his sanity.

Ignoring the slowly developing headache, he stumbles into the kitchen, hastily looking around for the trays with the appetisers. But the only thing that catches his eye is Mrs Patmore, who looks at him with a worried look.

'Mr Barrow… Is everything all right?'

'The appetisers! Where are they?' Thomas' voice sounds urgent, almost desperate, as his gaze searches every available corner of the room. Mrs Patmore puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

'Slow down, Mr Barrow. Daisy has just taken the hors d'oeuvres outside. You were standing next to her when she passed by. Didn't you notice?'

She doesn't get any further, because Thomas lets out a loud sigh and literally collapses on the floor next to the sink, ignoring the cook's uneasy gaze. His hands shake uncontrollably and his legs feel like they are made of lead. Oh God, what has he gotten himself into here?

When Lord Grantham put him in charge of the garden party, Thomas thought it would be a reward for all the hard work he had done over the last few months in an effort to replace his predecessor as best he could. Now he gets the feeling that this is more like a tough test to see if he is really up to the job.

As his eyes keep losing focus and he notices his perception blurring around him, he suddenly feels a pair of gentle hands lifting him off the hard stone floor and sliding him carefully onto a chair in the kitchen.

A slim porcelain cup slides into his field of vision along with something that looks suspiciously like his favourite biscuit.

Confused, he lifts his throbbing head and can't stop his jaw from dropping in an astonished gesture as he recognises Mrs Patmore, who pats his shoulder in a motherly gesture.

'You just rest for a while, Mr Barrow. You look as if you are about to fall into the birthday cake and that would probably not be the best present for Lady Mary. Besides, everything's all set and you don't want to look like a wreck when Mr Ellis arrives, do you?'

His cynical retort literally sticks in Thomas' throat when Richard's name is mentioned. It is true that he has invited the valet to come to the party. Lady Mary has asked him for a 'private' parley and informed him that servants may also invite their relatives, as the celebration is more of a summer party than a birthday party.

Of course, Thomas didn't need to be told twice and grabbed pen and ink in the first free minute to tell Richard the news. But the only person who knows about it is Phyllis.

And Phyllis would never…

Mrs Patmore just gives him a smug smile. From the looks of it, his puzzled expression speaks volumes.

'Mr Barrow… You should know by now that the walls here have ears. Besides… forgive me… even a blind man with a cane notices what's wrong with you as soon as someone just looks at you.'

With these words she turns to the kitchen door.

'And by the way. Tell Mr Ellis to please inform me what his favourite dish is. I always put my guests' wishes first and I expect we'll be seeing more of him here in the near future.'

With one last affectionate smile to the butler, she disappears through the kitchen door, leaving a baffled Thomas Barrow behind.

His staff never cease to surprise him….

#Downton Abbey #Thomas Barrow #Richard Ellis #thomas barrow x richard ellis #comfortember2022

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runawaycarouselhorse · 7 months

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[Fruits Basket: Prelude mini-review, spoilers, CW for attempted suicide, organized crime, parental neglect, age gap, and whatever else I can't remember right now.]

I finally saw the Fruits Basket: Prelude movie! The first half hour is, effectively, mostly a recap, but I liked getting perspective from Kyo's perspective and most reassuringly, him finally understanding the "I won't forgive you..." was about the "a man's promise" to protect Tohru. ;___;

I did not expect young Kyouko's life to be like this. This was a shock... her family life was also such garbage, yikes...

(Call the police on what, a girl sleeping in the streets?!)

GOD, I hate parents who are obsessed with their image and what will people say, your child is suffering, why is this what you care about? (Ironically, she really seemed to care more about Kyouko than her husband did--her husband's like fine, whatever at this random guy proposing in front of him and she's just like pleading, but cannot change things.)

I ship a lot of age gap ships, but usually only ones in historical or fantasy settings, where it's normal, if it's in a modern, realistic setting like this one... it feels a little too close to reality and man, I was fine with Kureno and Arisa because the difference was small and Kureno had basically the life experience of a middle schooler before Akito divorced him from reality to stay by her side reassuring her, but Katsuya and Kyouko... D:;;;;

Katsuya was pushy, Katsuya's weird reaching over the table from behind (I would've either frozen in fear or kicked behind me like a mule, unsure which--damn, that was creepy), making big ol' life decisions on his own, I found his behaviour predatory and his personality... very strange!

I never expected this. Katsuya's whole personality was a surprise. The extremely polite speech coupled with his very, very unorthodox and does-whatever-he-wants-on-a-whim personality was so incredibly bizarre. He DOES make an interesting character, fascinating, not entirely likeable, but the relationship feels such a weird fit for Fruits Basket (...... then again, exhibit C: Akito and Shigure.)

They did make a lovely family together, though, and the scene where Kyouko's in tears and horrified about being pregnant because she doesn't think she has the capacity to raise another human being, because her life was so messed-up was so sad and poignant.

I don't hate Katsuya, but the ship had such a weird start, I do like that he saved her, but the ship's just not my cup of tea, but it's an important part of the story and Kyouko's story too, and Katsuya's character actually was fascinating and unique.

His comforting her with the fact that she realizes it's another human being, she'll be alright. Remember what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Raise them while remembering that. Basically, treat them as you'd want to be treated as a human being, and if you lose control, apologize, and embrace them again. That was powerful.

Kyouko realizing how she must've hurt her mother with her words was also a good moment (... even if Kyouko's parents are objectively bad people, her mother still cared... a bit...)

It reminds me of the moment where Kyo heard his father blaming him and had that realization that this was probably exactly what he used to do to his wife and suddenly, understood it was his father who drove her to suicide with all his blaming of her.

Tohru was such a cute baby. Such a cute, quiet child. ;_; Very relatable and endearing and ah... even when she was effectively left to starve, she didn't complain, she just kept waiting for her mother to notice her. I understand why she felt, back then, that she hated her father and he would take her away.

I already hated Katsuya's family so much for the rumours about Tohru, but hearing the stuff they said about Kyouko when Katsuya died too… wow, you gossip-mongers won't rest even during a funeral. Push a woman to suicide with your constant rumours and blame.

That scene where Kyouko's saved from her suicide attempt by hearing another random child cry "mommy!" was so, so, so poignant and powerful and beautiful.

Kyouko and Tohru's love for each other remains absolutely precious and Tohru imitating Katsuya's speech... it's interesting we don't really hear Tohru speak at all before that, likely because this is from Kyouko's perspective and she can't remember the last time she spoke to her, because she's been swallowed up in the grief over losing Katsuya.... but Tohru's sad little attempt to keep her in her life by imitating her father stole her heart.

Little scenes I also enjoyed: Kyouko yelling at the ocean reminded me of Kyo challenging the ocean, PFFT.

There were some really great comedic moments, I LOVED Kyouko freaking out over Tohru's little nosebleed, that was such a realistic scene, the parent panicking and the child just being totally fine and smiling, even while bloody, reminds me of my own kid sibling... very funny.

Also loved the wedding dress scene, hilarious. No ceremony for you.

#my friend and I finished all of the Furuba reboot today #I am once more in tears #gif #mini review #major spoilers #long post #spoilers #Fruits Basket: Prelude #Fruits Basket

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teribst · 9 months

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Camping

A STORY BY

MIKE

It was 10 past 4 am when the lights from the truck turned up my drive. I’m KC and live in Cub River Canyon outside of Preston Idaho. I was cool, not cold but a jacket was welcome as I walked out of the door. The old 48 Ford Truck rolled to a stop.

Without a word Kim got out pulling her fully loaded backpack out of her truck with her as she walked to mine. Still saying nothing she put the backpack in the back of my truck then climbed up into the passenger seat, sat down and closed the door.

I flipped off the lights in my cabin and got in the truck driver side door and still without a word drove us down the dirt drive to the highway. We drove south then east going up and over the mountain until we dropped down into the Bair Lake Valley. It was just a little past sunup when I pulled us into the parking lot next to a ranger station.

I left a note with where we were going and how long we would be out stuck in the door. Kim already had her fully loaded backpack on and was walking away as I loaded up mine and started after the shapely 35yr old woman walking a few 100 yards ahead of me.

I’m 20 and between cycling and hiking in the mountains keep in fair shape, but I had to hustle to catch Kim who still had not said a word. Once I was 20 or so feet behind her I settled into her pace and tried as I might to not look quickly became mesmerized by the movement of her shapely ass and long legs.

As we walked we snacked, me on jerky, her on dried fruit. It was a 10 mile hike to our first overnight on our 5 day trip. If all went as planned we would reach the Twin Lakes primitive campgrounds by mid day the next day. The loosely curled red haired woman was still not saying anything. It was about noon when we stopped by a stream to refill our cantens and have a ready-made sandwich.

With our backpacks on the ground I sat leaning back on mine watching as she pulled off her button down long sleeved shirt and folded it. Now in a white spaghetti strapped crop top my eyes roamed over her full barless B Cup breasts. Her nipples had quickly grown hard as stone in the cool mountain breeze and she saw me looking. “God you're an ass.”

“Ah she speaks. And it’s damn hard to not look. Sorry.” She smiled faintly, “And speaking of asses, where is yours?”

The look I got would melt rock “It would seem that even though we have been planning this trip for 4 months there was just too much work for him to get away right now.” She looked at me with a voice like ice went on, “He didn’t bother telling me this until about 9 o'clock last night. So fuck it I left him home.”

“Well that explains a lot.” I looked around and said, “We need to get moving.”

We made the campgrounds just before sunset. I finished setting up the lightweight two man tent just as she walked back into camp with some firewood. “Want to share tonight and wait till we get up the mountain to set you up as well?”

“That will work.” Kim set out a small fire, still not talking much.

I had brought a half pound of bacon and some eggs in a plastic bottle. I stuck my small frying pan on the folding fire grate and tossed in the bacon. “I think he is cheating. I have for a long time, but this kind of seals the deal for me.” I said nothing as I tossed some bread on the great just out of the fire “I think it’s his PA Jean.” I looked at her watching her breasts move on her chest as she stuck out her right leg and began unlacing her hiking boot. “I mean she is your age for christ sakes, and I have to say a very good looking woman.” She looked at me, catching me ogling her boobs as I turned the bacon and asked. “Why is it you never moved on her?”

I put the bacon on a paper plate “Not my type?” Having dumped most of the bacon grease into the fire I poured the scrambled eggs into the pan. “Way too much maintenance in that woman for me to be even remotely interested.” The eggs cooked quickly and I put some toasted bread on a plate with them and the bacon and handed it to Kim. “I don’t know, I guess the signs are there, but he is a dumb ass to be fucking around on ya.” I started eating the eggs out of the pan “Just seems like such a waist to toss away all those years.”

She grew quiet as we sat in the fire light. We were both tired from the day's long hike “If you want to go in and get in your sleeping bag, I’ll bank the fire. Just give me a call when I can come in.”

A few minutes later the small battery powered lamp went off. “OK.”

We both knew the work of the next morning hike would be well worth it and we were packed up a little before daylight. As soon as we felt we could see to move up the trail without hurting ourselves we were moving. It was a perfect day and from our elevation when the trail moved to the side of the mountain you could see for hundreds of miles.

As I went about setting up both tents Kim again went through the wood dragging back firewood. The spot we picked to camp was on a small plato about 4 feet above the lake and right on the shore, it was beautiful. Our little hikers camp was all set up in an hour or so and I made each of us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a small bag of chips. We each had carried in enough MREs (meals ready to eat) to feed us for the 5 days we were going to be there plus I knew we would be eating a lot of lake trout.

I looked at her. She had that curly hair pulled up into a crunchy but it stuck out wildly, her eyes were as blue as the water in the lake, her nipples were hard as stone and I smiled “God your beautiful.”

She blushed.

Kim looked at the water “I know that shit had ice on it a month ago but I’m sticky hot.” She looked at me as she started walking to the lakeside. “Look it’s just me and you,” Her top went over her head “And we have both seen each other nude before.” Her shorts fell around her now barefeet. “So lets just relax and enjoy it.”

I could not have looked away if I tried, and I didn’t. I already knew that with her hair her nipples were a light pink and I was sure that her bush, if she had one, would be red as her hair, but I was not ready for the complete and total beauty of the now nude woman. I called out, “Well that was 10 years ago and then it was only because we had to take that cold shower in the water from the windmill feeding the watering trough behind Uncle Bills.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon just making our small camp more comfortable, not saying much until she pulled out an area map. We sat sipping instant coffee as we plotted out a hike for the next day. Kim grew quiet as she folded up the map, she looked at me and smiled “I guess you were right, something really did change in 10 years.”

Now I laughed “I told you they had.”

By the time we ate our dinner we were just sitting in the light of the fire she asked, “Why do I or have I never seen you with a girl?...Honey, are you gay?”

I burned myself on my coffee “No!” I laughed “I’m in no way gay. I have dated.” I looked across the fire at her “I sometimes tend to scare a girl away,” I kind of looked down at myself as I went on “and for the most part the ones that were interested only wanted one thing.”

“Oh poor you!” She laughed “Not one girl though?”

I looked at her. “Yes there is one. I’m not sure if she knows it. Too bad though she is married and I’m not a homewrecker.” I shook my head “So I have never pushed it.” I sat up some “If I make the commitment of telling the woman how I feel about her I would want the same from her.” I looked at her right in those beautiful eyes saying “And she is simply perfect.” I stood up “I’m going to turn in, it’s your turn to bank the fire.”

I don’t know how long I had been sleeping or if I was only dozing when the zipper on the tent door went up. There was movement in the dark and Kim's sleeping bag came down next to mine. “I keep hearin shit out there.” The zipper on my sleeping bag went down, the bag pulled open. Kim came next to me covering us with her open bag. She kissed the back of my neck spooning up to me.” We will talk in the morning.``

I was still dark out but morning came early for me. Kim was half on me as I lay on my back, her hair all in my face, and I was hard as stone. She must have felt my breathing change. “Do I need to move?” She asked softly.

I put my arm around her back pulling her tightly to me. “Not unless you want to.”

“I didn’t sleep much. I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t. What's keeping you awake?” I loved the feel of her soft skin as I let my hand move over her back.

Her hand was resting over my belly button and now it moved on my tummy “I was thinking about how you wanted a forever relationship with the mystery woman.” Her head moved as she looked into my face in the growing light “Tell me about her. I mean what makes you feel that, um, it is love.”

“Well she is kind and considerate of others. She is smart and funny and seems to enjoy doing the same things I do. She is open and honest, God Kim I don’t know. She is hands down the most beautiful woman I have ever known.”

She moved up on her elbow, her breasts rubbing on my chest “And you love her?”

“With all of my heart.”

She chuckled, “She is a lucky woman...and I gotta go pee.”

Over the next couple of days we walked, we talked and at night we held each other. It was our last night and she was warm in my arms “Why have you not tried to make love to me. I mean you know you could.”

I kissed her tenderly, “Yes but I also know I can’t.” I sat up “for a couple of reasons. I told you I’m not a home wrecker.” I shrugged in the lamp light “I don’t know if you and the asshat will work it out or not, but if its what you want then I don’t want to fuck that up for you.” I felt myself flush “And I’m leaving. I have been offered a photographer's position at an outfit called It’s A Gas. I have sold well traded really my place here to an older couple that for some dumb reason want to retire up here in this cold ass place.”

Kim burst into tears…”HOW!” she slapped me hard… “How the fuck could you!” She was up and out of the tent walking off to set by the banked but still smoldering fire. I could see in the dim light of the fire her shoulders moving as she sobbed. It was a while before she came back into the tent and when she did she made sure to not touch me.

ahead of me she was but when I got to the overnight stop she was not there. The trail down here was wide and with a good flashlight pretty manageable. She had walked on well into the night..I was worn right out with worry and had to stop. An hour later I was walking again when I found her sitting on a rock with her right boot off.

She looked at me “I think I fucking broke it stumbling over the tree rute.”

I had a 4 inch wide 6 foot long nylon strap in my bag. I used it to haul wood to the camps or tie stuff down in the wind. I didn’t say anything as I took the stuff out of my back pack, stuffing it in hers then hid it in some bushes. I’d come back for it later. I took out my knife and with some careful cutting and tying I rigged up a sort of bosun's chair. I turned to her “Alright I’m going to slip this up your legs. Lift your right foot first.”

She cried out “Aaafuck!” As I slipped the harness up between her legs pushing it tightly into her crotch. I turned, slipping the backpack shoulder straps on and hooking the buckle in the front. I pulled Kim tightly to my back making her moan in pain as I josseld her around getting her set right.

“Alright Kim, lean forward with me.” She did as I had ask so her weight was on my legs and I stood with the 110* the woman that was now sort of riding me piggy back. By this time the sky was changing colors as daylight started creeping in. We took off. To my guess we were still about 6 miles to the truck, so I went at an easy pace both so I didn’t tire out too quickly and so her badly swollen ankle didn’t hurt from something I was doing.

“I’m sorry I slapped you.”

“It’s ok.”

“You broke my heart. You ass how could you do that?”

Her hands went around my neck as she pretended to choke me and I smiled “I’m your way out of here so you better be nice.”

She chuckled fuck I don’t know what hurst worse my ankle or my heart. The aspirin has helped though...When your grandmother brought you to me I had no idea that as you grew and turned into a young man I would ever feel like this. I guess I have known since you were in highschool you were in love with me. But I was married and, fuck what a mess.”

I said nothing trying to keep my breath as we walked. “Texas? Why the fuck Texas?”

“Winters are warm.” By this time I could see the roof of the ranger station below us “Do you want me to set you down and go get the ranger?”

Her arms went tight around me “No! I don’t want you to leave me.”

It was 4 days later when my cell buzzed. It was a text from Kim “We were right, he moved out with his girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry for you hun.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Yesterday.”

“And you didn’t even think enough of me to say goodby…”

“Because my heart is broken. Because I love you too much to stay hurt every time I look into those beautiful blue eyes. I knew when we left the lake that if I couldn’t have you, I couldn’t be around you.”

There was no response for a few minutes and I thought it was over. “So are you telling me I’m the woman you were talking about at the lake. So you are for sure telling me you love me?”

“Yes.”

The old house on my new 40 acre place was not run down but it had been poorly kept. But I knew that going in. I had been there about a month, most of the repairs I could do were done and I’d highered a contractor to do what I couldn’t. The new job was perfect, the money was really, really good and except for my heart still being in Idaho all was well.

I was sitting in my favorite BBQ place at about 6pm on a Friday. I had just eaten and was about to make the hour drive home when my cell buzzed. I smiled. It was Kim.

“I’m sending you something and need your new address.”

“What, no hello or anything? FM1331 PO Box 620.”

There was no response. Nothing. “Well what else is new? I asked myself “She hasn’t answered any of your calls or texts.” I shook my head “Well you're the one that left her you dumb ass.”

I had done a photoshoot in Brian College Station and had gone home from there. It was a little past 3pm when I turned off 1331 and went across the cattle guard to make the 1⁄4 mile drive back to the house. The farmer on the place next to mine waved me over so I turned driving across the pasture to the fence line. I parked kicking open the truck door and we talked a bit about an old bull he had. He said it was pestering his cows, something fierce and wanted to know if he paid me $100 a month if he could pasture it on my place. I had told him sure when he pointed back to my house “Sure is a pretty new truck you got yourself.”

I frowned “I didn’t get a new truck. I guess I better go see who the house other than the painter is at my house.” I closed the door “Just bring the bull over whenever you're ready.” And I drove back over to the driveway.

I turned and parked next to the new F350 looking at the house as I got out, “Hay cowboy!” I turned to see Kim sitting in an old swing hung in an old Texas Oak Tree on the back side of the garage. Then she was coming towards me, not quite a run, almost knocking me over as she leaped up into my arms, her long shapely legs wrapping around my waist as my hands went to her ass to hold her weight. Her lips found mine and it was the deepest wettest kiss I’d ever kissed. When she pulled back she kept her legs around me looking into my eyes. “I love you MR.” She giggled like a little girl “I told you I had something to send you. I sent me to you!”

I turned her, holding her up with one hand while I dropped the truck's tailgate and sat her ass on it. “I didn’t think I didn’t know..Shit Kim!” I kissed her with all of the feeling in my body! “God woman I love you so much!” The only thing that saved her was that there were 6 painters working around the outside of the house and 2 more inside. I looked around as I took her hand. “Are you sure?”

“Oh yes my love. Very sure.”

It was a couple of hours before the workers left and in that time I showed her around the place. Once done looking at the house I put a couple of stakes out on the BBQ for us.

We talked about a 1000 things as we sat with each other when finally she looked at me shaking her head “God I’m going crazy! Why have you not taken me someplace and fucked the living shit out of me!”

I scooped her up in my arms “Because it’s going to be you fucking me.”

We undressed each other, touching and kissing everywhere. When she moved to the bed her eyes went to my now fully erect 10 inch wrist sized pole. “I have never had anything that big.”

I moved onto my back “That’s why you're doing all the work. Take it at your own pace. If we are slow and easy I think you will like it.”

And we were. I had some KY Jelly and we made sure Kim was really slippery. She moaned softly as the tip slipped in slowly opening her. “Oh shit it is like a fucking pole!” She was trembling in my hands as I rested them on her hips. Up down, up down slowly ever so slowly “OOH Aaaaaaaa!” She flooded us as she came, up and down deeper and deeper “OHHHssiihhungaaaa!” She came again, her head dropping down to her chest as she shook all over in climax “Oh god oh yes push up for me, oh babe” I did gently “Oh I’m, oh so, so full AAAa huh huh aaaaa!” She let her weight come down on me cumming hard as she took the rest of me deep in her belly. “Oh fuck, fuck ok, oh don’t OH Shit! Aung Aaaa!” She came again this time shuddering on me like a jackhammer.

“Kim!”

“Oh shit yes babe!” Breathing through her nose her lips found mine as I emptied myself, sending rope after white hot rope of my seed deeper into her belly than any one or thing had ever been before. “Oh fuck yes I feel it! Oh god babe, it's so hot in me, so wet!”

Kim just relaxed on me, her head on my chest as I slowly shrunk slipping out. Her lips found mine. Then she rose up smiling, “Well I hope you're happy.”

I frowned a little looking up at her as she went on “You have ruined me to anything smaller than that pole you call a dick so I guess you're stuck with me now.”

When my mom was killed in that car wreck all those years ago no one ever guessed my life would turn out like this. Now here we are 5 years later and I’m sitting on the front porch with my beautiful wife and the mother of my 3 kids watching them play in the yard. Kim kissed my neck then bit my ear. “I thank my lucky stars that when your mom and I were little and best friends we pinky swore if something happened to one or the other of us we would take care of the others young one.”

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taran-chan · 1 year

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where we could dream away all day (chapter 6)

Read on AO3

we’ve been far away from my fears

“There we go,” Gil put a large plate of watermelon and a barley tea jug down on the porch. Kingo whistled and grabbed a piece, didn’t even stop talking for a moment.

“Where were we again?” He asked.

“I asked you whether we could extract my power to make a protection charm and Thena said no, then she told you to explain so she could check if you remember the “fundamental knowledge”,” Gil replied, pouring a cup of tea and placed it on the table for Thena, didn’t forget to use a coaster so it wouldn’t wet the surface. She was re-writing their ghost stories into one of the special scrolls from the temple. It looked like she had returned to herself after what had happened there last night and got to work right away.

“Here’s the thing,” Kingo says, “Your power, when it still remains in your body, also known as the host, it’s much stronger than when it’s extracted into an item. Therefore, if you were planning on extracting it into a charm like Thena’s, forget it, before you can create a strong enough charm from your power, your energy and vitality will run out first. In other words, you’ll die. Go to the other side. Pass away. Take a dirt nap.”

“Got it,” Gil exhaled sharply, leaning against the door.

The shower stopped the second Kingo ran through their gate with his backpack covering his head. The garden was brightened up by sunlight pouring through raindrops on the leaves. The wind brought birds’ chirping and windchimes’ clinking to them, making the ever-blooming bougainvilleas and other wildflowers all the more lively. The view was appropriate for a weekend hanging out between friends, rather than a meeting to discuss breaking in an elementary school at midnight.

“Do you always do your closure requests at night?” Gil asked. Thena's eyes flicked to him for a second then went back to the scroll.

“Not really,” she said, “Only when necessary.”

“Like when she needs to break and enter some public places, or to find the Beings that are nocturnal. In this case, it’s both,” Kingo continued, grabbing the second piece of watermelon with one hand, the other took from his backpack a big, rusty key and gave it to Gil.

“By the way, I got you the key for the back gate's lock.”

“How did you get it?” Gil asked.

“I pulled some strings,” the editor shrugged, and added when he saw the other man’s expression, “Nothing illegal.”

“Don’t speak while you’re eating, Kingo,” Thena frowned, “Disgusting.”

“You’d better hurry, I’m about to eat them all,” he fired back, “This watermelon is so good. And while we’re talking about hurrying, people are wondering when you will release a new book. Not just your fans, the publisher just asked me like…this morning. They said this is your longest hiatus.”

“So? Are they going to fire me?” She said, not even looking up from her work or pausing her pen.

“Every time,” Kingo groaned, “It’s hard enough urging a writer for her manuscript, what am I supposed to do when she owns the damn publisher?”

“You own a publisher?”

“Your eyes are about to pop out,” Thena commented, her lips twitching as if she wanted to smile, “My mother found the publisher, I just inherit it from her.”

“That’s how rich people talk,” Kingo put his hands up. She rolled her eyes tiredly as if it wasn’t the first time she heard that from him.

Gil earned a surprised smile from her when he placed a smaller plate, with some watermelon cut into tidy square pieces, onto the coffee table, along with a fork.

“Just in case Kingo inhales them all before you finish,” he winks.

“That’s wise,” Kingo jumped in, swallowing his third or fourth piece. Thena picked up the fork, piercing a piece and bringing it to her mouth. Her soft, plump lips slightly opened, catching the sweet and cold fruit. Gil held his breath when she moved her hair to one shoulder, revealing her porcelain neck. That, and her profile which looked like it was sculpted by the gods, were the only parts of her skin that the sun was able to touch. And by the lord, maybe it was aware of that and was trying its best to praise her beauty whenever it could. The weather is quite warm so her robe was hanging on the back of her couch, but she was still wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt. And didn’t think he ever saw her wearing an outfit that exposes too much of her arms.

A strange spot appeared on her cheek, turned out it was only her fountain pen reflecting the sun when she tilted it a bit to think. Its body was glossy black, the tip was sharp and thin, probably made of gold, and apparently it didn’t need any ink to write. He had never seen it before. Thena always used common blue ballpoint pens for her draft and red pens to edit manuscripts from other authors. His train of thought was interrupted because Kingo poked at him and handed him his phone. Gil looked down at the screen and saw the editor had typed into his note app three words: You are staring.

Gil felt the heat spread from his neck to his ears. He rubbed his nose and moved his eyes to the garden, flustered. Kingo typed into his phone and handed it out again, making Gil’s ears burn even hotter.

I’m rooting for you, pal.

He snatched the phone to type his answer.

Why do we have to talk this way?

She has very good ears. She can hear everything. You wouldn’t want her to know you were staring at her, right?

“I was just wondering about her fountain pen,” he mumbled.

“This one?” Thena asked, twirling the pen between her long fingers. Kingo threw him a look that said “I told you so”.

“Uh...Yeah,” Gil stammered, “It's just that I’ve never seen it before. Nice pen though. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone use a fountain pen.”

“I only use it to write completed stories into the scrolls,” Thena said, confirming his theory.

“It’s from Ajak. For every generation, they get a new one,” Kingo snapped his fingers at the pen, “It has magic inside so it’s very durable, can’t be broken. And when are you going to stop my pop quiz?”

“Take it easy man, it helps. I learn quite a lot from you guys this morning,” Gil said, “I barely know anything.”

“Don’t worry, this request isn’t that dangerous,” Kingo patted his shoulder, “And you have that rare purified power, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Here, let me teach you more about Bookworms.”

When they finished the watermelon, Gil went back into the kitchen to peel some oranges. Kingo took off his shoes and sat cross-legged comfortably on the porch. The wood sculptor returned just as Thena put a period at the end of the last sentence. She dropped her pen, skillfully rolled up the scroll, then flopped over as if writing drained every bit of her energy. She peeked one eye open when she heard something crinkling by her ear. Gil was kneeling next to her head, touching a big caramel candy to her cheek. He smiled apologetically.

“Can I ask you something about our plan? If you’re too tired, it can wait.”

“Is this bribing?” She took the candy, her forefinger tapping on his.

“I think some sugar might help, and some light as well,” he jerked his head toward the porch.

Thena nodded, slowly sat up. Gil almost gave her his hand to hold on, but eventually he touched her shoulder for a short moment.

Thena settled across from Kingo and his drawings and notes about Bookworm, he even got blueprints of the school and its library. Gil sat down next to her. She drew her knees up and put her chin on them, exhaling deeply in the sun of a late summer morning. She and her garden of light, gorgeous as a painting. Gil chuckled to himself when he heard the candy crinkle in her palm.

“What’s your question?” She purred, her voice light as the sound of a bird's wings, and oh-so-sweet. Gil cleared his throat and began.

“Kingo said Bookworm looks like a snake, but a lot thinner and faster so it’s very hard to cut or stab it, so I’m confused about Ajak’s knife. How do we use the knife to catch it?”

“I mentioned a special mixture to catch Bookworms, remember?” She asked, tearing the candy wrap and popping the brown sweet into her mouth. He nodded, trying to drag himself out of the alluring scent like a spring meadow as her shoulder brushed his.

“Ajak said it wouldn’t be enough to hold this one down so I’m planning to combine both. We’ll spread the glue on some books that haven’t got eaten in the school library to bait it. When it reaches the books, our glue will slow it down, then we’ll be able to find its weak spot and attack. And you’ll spot its movements easier if it got all the pages stuck to its sides. If we get lucky and don’t encounter any Uncleans, it won’t take longer than an hour.”

“I understand, I’ll try my best to assist you.”

“And I’ll have a new one-shot from Minerva for the magazine’s next issue,” Kingo clapped like an overjoyed seal, “Bravo Thena and her partner, bravo Ajak, bravo the magic knife and Bookworm glue!”

Thena ignored when Gil flicked watermelon seeds at him.

★

“Last chance to get out,” Thena speaks up, her arms crossed and her back to the wall next to the school’s back gate. Scattered streetlights and moonlight were the only sources of light around the place. The buildings, stores and houses nearby were all closed up. Pitch-black windows from the three-story building stared down at them threateningly. Gil watched the steel gates, as rusty as the key on his hand, on top of them were steel spikes pointing upwards, but the wall Thena was leaning against was smooth and very easy for an adult to climb up, if they weren’t as big as he was. He looked over to her, who was still waiting for his answer.

“And I’ll say it again,” he patiently replied, but his patience was wearing off because she kept telling him that since before dinner, “Thena, I’m coming with you. I’ll be careful, I won’t stand in your way and I’ll help you finish the request if you need.”

Thena sighed resignedly, straightened herself, “Alright then, help me up. I’ll get in first and open the gate for you.”

Gil scanned the street to make sure there was no one around, before lacing his hands so she could step on and jump on the wall.

“Don’t ditch me, okay?” He said, passing her the key, and then she disappeared to the other side.

Her feet touched the ground with barely any sound. Just as Kingo had said, the old gate was reinforced by a huge lock. She put the key into the lock and paused. This is her chance to tell him to go back, or at least keep him out there and safe. But would it help though? That little voice inside her head spoke up again. He had followed her all the way here, would he obediently go home or wait outside until she was done? Was she sure that he wouldn’t try to find another way in? And he wouldn’t be so thrilled if she treated him that way, she didn’t want that.

Gil sighed in relief as the lock clicked open, a few seconds later one side of the gate squeaked and Thena’s head poked through.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Ready when you are.”

“Let’s go.”

They quietly walked across the empty parking lot and schoolyard to enter the building. Gil was glad that tonight was a cloudless night. The moonlight stretched their shadows on the ground, even pouring into the halls. Thena pull out two small flashlights from her bag and gave him one.

“Are you feeling nauseous or smelling anything weird?”

“I feel somewhat uncomfortable, but nothing serious,” she contemplated, “Places that are filled with memories, experiences or emotions would more than often attract supernatural Beings. Kingo also said besides the Bookworm, it looks like something else has been causing strange events here.”

“So, where do you want to start?”

“The library,” Thena said and led the way. They had spent most of the day studying the blueprints, trying to memorize the rooms that had been attacked by the Bug, and all those fire escapes for emergencies. Gilgamesh stepped in here ready for a fight; he had expected the darkness, but he hadn’t thought it would be this quiet. If it weren’t for the shuffling of their feet on the floor and his own heartbeats, he would think every sound is sucked up by something, maybe some other Bugs, like letters were swallowed in Kingo’s photos of those books. And that would be the worst, because he was already unable to see them.

They went upstairs and the library was right there, the first room of the hall. Thena pushed at the thick wooden doors and they wouldn’t budge.

“Stupid Kingo forgot to get us the library key,” she grumbled, rummaging around her bag and finding her Swiss army knife.

“If you don’t want to be involved in this crime, look away,” she deadpanned.

“Don’t make me laugh, or everything that’s sleeping in this school will wake up,” Gil warned.

She struggled with the lock for about a minute before it gave way. They entered and he looked at her questioningly. She shook her head, “I don’t see anything. Bugs aren’t sinister Beings so I can’t feel them. It’s probably hiding in here, probably not. First, let’s find some ‘fresh’ books as bait. When you found them, spread this mixture on the covers,” she handed him a plastic jar containing something that looked like blue glue, “We’ll stack the book in the empty space here, so when it’s trapped we can act quickly. And try not to make noise, it could be anywhere and might be pretty big by now.”

“Understood,” he said, “Let’s meet here after fifteen minutes?”

She nodded and they went in separate directions of the large library. Finding books that haven’t been eaten was harder than Gil initially thought. It seemed like the school had surrendered to what they must have thought was a prank and just left the ruined books there without replacing them. The condition of the books got worse and worse as he approached further inside, it seemed like this thing ate books from the inside out. He made a round and moved back to the shelves at the outer ring, trying to push away the ruined books to check on the ones that lodged deeper at the higher layer, and by doing that he did find a small pile before their 15 minutes was up. He hurriedly returned to the space at the entrance. There was another small pile of books there, no doubt they were Thena’s findings, but she was nowhere to be seen. Her bag was abandoned a few steps next to them.

“Thena?” He called out, be careful to keep his voice down still. No one answered.

★

Five minutes earlier

Thena stood in front of a shelf, stacking another untouched book about pirates on her own small pile of books, already smeared with her special glue. She hoped those books and whatever Gil could find would be enough to lure the Bug to them. She put the jar back into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and picked up the books. When she reached the empty space, her flashlight shone just in time for her to see Gil’s silhouette move past the doors and walked down the hallway. Why did he suddenly leave the library? Did he find something? She put the books and her bag onto the floor, running out with her flashlight and Ajak’s knife.

The hall was completely deserted, the moonlight no longer shone through. It was concealed by the clouds. She had the urge to call out to him but she might stir something else, something that must not know his name. She cursed herself for having left her phone at home. Maybe he was just searching in one of the classrooms. She started moving forward, a fear grew inside her that he might be in danger and hadn’t had any chances to shout for help.

She pointed her flashlight at the windows of the first classroom; nothing but desks and chairs and everything else that a normal classroom always has. So did the second one. But then a lot of things happened at the same time. She heard laughter, a children’s giggle but more sinister, echoing in the quiet hall. Her flashlight flickered and died out when the classroom door at the end of the hall creaked open. Her nose was hit by that familiar odor and she squeezed the knife, her only weapon. She took two steps ahead, her panic gasp was muffled by a hand covering her mouth from the back, another hand wrapped around hers to stop her from drawing the knife and stabbing him.

“It’s me, it’s me. I’m sorry,” Gil said, holding her closer to his chest. His warmth wafted over her and his power chased away her nausea.

“Why did you leave the library?” She whispered after turning around to face him.

“I was looking for you, I thought you found something. You disappeared from the library and when I looked out here I saw you walking down the hall. I thought something was off so I ran to you. What did you see?”

“You,” she replied calmly, “I was tricked. The thing in that room over there wanted to lure me out, so it created an illusion that looks like you. Come on, I have another job for you. We need to get rid of that Unclean if we want to deal with the Bookworm in peace.”

As soon as she finished, the lightbulbs above them flashed off and on. She was staring down at the end of the hall. Through the corner of his eyes, he could only see a floating shadow, darker than the air surrounding it.

“It isn’t as strong as the ones we encountered at the temple, that’s why it has all these tricks,” she continued. The little girl in the blood-soaked dress a few meters away from them kept appearing and disappearing like a common visual effect of horror movies.

“Uncleans can be born in an elementary school environment?” Gil asked in disbelief.

“Usually not, but perhaps the problems that the Bookworm has been creating increased the negative energy. Thoughts such as “It’s pretty boring when only the books are ruined”, “I wish something else stranger would happen”, “Something scarier would be nice” were born in the mind of some students.”

“That’s why the Unclean was born and it can create strange events to scare people, or to lure you,” he concluded. Thena silently agreed, her eyes never leaving “the girl”. Its head crooked aside like it was broken, its body shook, about to transform. It probably realized the tricks didn’t work on her anymore.

“If we don’t do anything, the events will get more and more serious until someone actually dies.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I’ll be your eyes. When it attacks, I’ll tell you where to hit, okay?” She watched as the Unclean’s head grew from its disguise like a snake shedding its skin.

“Alright, stay back.”

She moved behind him, a few spaces away from him so he could move freely but not too far from his protection. The Unclean noticed right away and snarled at Gil, who was standing between it and a delicious prey. This one was just as big as a grown human being, they both had seen scarier things.

“It’s right in front of us and is about to attack. When I signal, give a straight punch,” she instructed, “Then try to keep up with me.”

“Gotcha,” Gil said, getting into his fighting posture, feeling all his nerves tense, all his senses on alert.

“Now!”

Gil swung his arm as hard as he could, pushing the power from within him like it was his second nature. But as soon as the punch was thrown, he knew he’d missed, or at least it dodged most of the impact. The windows rattled as if something just hit the wall below them.

“On your left!” Thena shouted. With excellent reflexes, he struck immediately. This time he didn’t miss, he felt his power hit it directly, spreading and dissolving into the air. He didn’t dare to turn and look at Thena though, for fear he might be wrong. It was not until she touched his shoulder and told him that it was gone that he relaxed and dropped his arms.

“We did it,” he grinned.

“Not bad for a beginner,” she smirked.

“Give me five,” he raised his hand again, waiting. Her fingers twitched but she hadn't had a chance to do anything when came a loud noise from the library; a noise that sounded like a large creature was thrashing around, throwing books from shelves.

“Damn it!” Thena said, then ran toward the noise, with Gil close behind.

The library was in a whole different stage compared to when they left it. Books were scattered on the floor, a shelf was on the verge of collapsing in a corner of the room, and the pile of books that they prepared was tossed around as if something was rummaging through it. Gil couldn’t see the Bug, he could only imagine based on a drawing of a Bookworm that Kingo had shown him that morning. A very long creature, only thicker than a sewing thread, its body was inky black and created from the letters it consumed, attached together into a string, with a head similar to a venomous snake and two sharp fangs. An ordinary Bookworm wasn’t longer than a human arm, but with the way the pages were torn mercilessly like that, this one obviously as big as a boa.

“It’s stuck in the glue!” Thena drew her knife, the silver blade gleaming under his flashlight, “Let’s restraint it, I’ll tell you where to grab on.”

They jumped at the books. Thena reached out and grabbed behind its head like it was an actual snake. With her instructions, he also managed to catch it by its body. He gritted his teeth, enduring the whips of its tail, pinning it down. But by then, the mixture reached its limits and wasn’t able to hold a Bug that size and fell off just as she was about to stab its head. The Bookworm knocked the knife out of her hand with a strong thrash and sent it flying across the room. If she hadn't dodged in time, she would have lost her hand to its fangs.

“Get out of the way, it’s coming at you!” She only had a few seconds to warn Gil before it turned on him, who was still holding it, but that was enough for him to roll to the side, avoiding its jaw. It hissed at him and Thena threw a book at it, getting its attention. She turned and ran in between the shelves, with a 2-meters-length Bug close on her heels.

“Thena!”

“Get the knife!” She yelled back while pushing more books off the shelves to slow it down. the gears in her head running at full speed trying to figure out another way. Ajak always gave her enough information and tools to conduct a request. She must have missed something. What was it? The knife, the mixture, Gilgamesh…

“Gil! Get the manuscript from my bag!” She dodged as the Bug crashed into the shelf right above her head, missed her by a hair and poured a bunch of comic books to the floor. Meanwhile, Gil had retrieved the knife and pulled out some papers from Thena’s bag nearby. He recognized they were the manuscript of their ghost stories. He followed the noise to find her. Thena had almost circled the library, she appeared in front of him in the science section, her hair looked wild as a lion’s mane. Their eyes met and she didn’t notice the creature had slammed itself into a shelf, but Gil did. He rushed toward her just as the entire shelf collapsed and Thena put her hands over her head. He shoved himself between it and her. Books fell everywhere, burying the Bug, except where she was crouching because his back and arms had blocked them all.

“Go!” He urged. Thena scrambled to get up, taking the knife and the manuscript from him. She took off again, this time chasing after the Bookworm, which had dug itself out of the mess. He waited until she disappeared from his view to wriggle his way out of there, creating a small domino effect as the shelf toppled over and dragged two other shelves with it.

Thena was able to block the Bug’s escape. She offered her bait.

“Hungry, aren’t you?” She threw the papers onto the ground and stepped back, letting it devour the stories written there. It turned out Ajak had another purpose when she told them, especially Gil, to come and tell those stories. His power not only could be passed from his body to the items he made, but also to the story he told and written down by her. Even though it wasn’t as strong when dispersed, that much was enough to deal with a Bug. When it touched the letters from his story, its whole body shivered hard then started to tie itself up into big knots. Soon, it was immobilized and all Thena had to do was step up and stab it. Gil approached and she held up what was once a massive Bookworm. He could see it now; a very large, black ball of thread.

“You alright?” She asked.

“I’m good.”

“Ajak will pay sweetly for this,” she mused.

“What does it do?” He asked, “And how did you know to use the manuscript?”

She just shrugged.

“You really are a genius, you know?”

“Just experienced,” she said finally, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, “Anyways, we can go home now. Hurry, I still have to make a rough draft for this.”

“We just leave everything like this? We trashed the whole library.”

“I know, that’s why we have to go before the security comes. The noises we’ve been making must have woken the entire neighbourhood,” Thena put her things into her bag and made a beeline to the door, didn’t even check if Gilgamesh was following. They sneaked out through the fire escape. Gil got out first, Thena stayed to lock the gate from the inside before once again climbing over the wall. She jumped down next to him at the same time two police cars passed, only a street away from them, heading to the school’s front gate. They just have to turn their backs, choosing a shortcut in the opposite direction to go home.

★

The clouds had cleared, the moon had risen, stretching their shadows into two long shapes for the second time that night. They passed a closed-up Chinese restaurant, a couple of red lanterns hung on the entrance, still flickering and swaying gently in the wind, and Gil couldn't help but wonder if there were any ghosts following them. He was rubbing at his sore shoulder while he walked, he thought a book had landed on him the wrong way when he held back that shelf. And he kept stealing glances at Thena. Her hair almost white under the silver moonlight and her deep eyes made her seem unreal, ghostly but intoxicating. She looked up all of a sudden, catching his gaze, quickly and unhesitantly as catching a firefly into a jar. But then she sighed, her shoulders dropped as if the adrenaline had gone completely.

“What happened back then was a mistake,” she said, “I shouldn’t be tricked so easily. It’s because I’ve never had a partner, I’ve never had to worry about anyone else’s safety except my own.”

“I understand. You mean you don’t want my company in the next requests?”

He felt a boulder lift off his chest when she shook her head.

“If it weren’t for you, I might still be struggling with the Bug,” she admitted, “I just want to say that we need to be more cautious from now on.”

“Look, you don’t have to worry for me. I’m not dumb, you know? I won’t do anything without asking you first, you’re the expert here,” he nudged her a bit, “Let’s just stick together in the next ones, if possible.”

“Very well,” she smirked.

“Why do you do these closure requests though? I mean, I know it’s a part of the tradition, but are there any reasons for that?”

“Because the effects brought from those stories are stronger,” she said before she could consider it. There she goes again! This is the second time she casually said things that shouldn't be said to him. If she kept letting her guard down like this, he’d probably know about it at the end of the month.

“What do you mean “effects”?”

“It’s nothing, Gilgamesh. It’s nothing you need to know,” she looked away, using a tone that clearly wanted to end the conversation. He noticed the way she anxiously pulled her sleeves down lower, covering her entire arms and wrists. She increased her pace to walk ahead of him.

“Come along. Your back must be hurt from carrying that shelf. I’ll give you some pain relief patches.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

★

“Take off your shirt.”

“What?!”

“Take off your shirt,” Thena repeated patiently, holding up a few patches, “Or do you want to do it by yourself?”

“With these muscles, I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” he laughed, “Thanks.”

She kneeled behind him as he sat down by the front door and took his shirt off. She touched his shoulders and back and he told her where to put the patches. If she saw his ears were bright red, she didn’t say anything. Her cold fingers drifted across his back, from one shoulder blade to another. Gil wiggled at the spot, not sure if he wanted to scoot away or closer to her.

“Stay still,” she complained, her voice seeming to be even lower in the middle of the night. He stopped moving altogether, trying to find something to distract himself.

“Where did you learn your fighting skills?” She asked, “And your reflexes are very good too.”

“I was a gangster once.”

“Seriously?”

“No,” he snorted, “I was a boxer until I’m 30. It was a long time ago so now I’m a little rusty.”

“Rusty isn’t so bad,” she patted the patch she just put on him, smoothing it nicely, “You will get bruises tomorrow. Remind me to change the patches for you.”

He put his shirt on and turned to face her. They were close to the point that her knees and his shins touched. Thena tucked some of her hair behind her ear and went on, “Also, we have to think of a way for me to repay you for tonight.”

“You just did,” He pointed at his shoulder.

“That’s not enough. You heard Ajak, if the price isn’t fair, there will be consequences for the both of us.”

“What’s your idea?”

“I could waive this month's rent, of course you don't need to cook.”

“Or you could write me a story?” He paused to gauge her reactions, but she only stared at him confusingly, “Like when you do the homework for your writing class. From now on, whenever I help you with something, after that I’ll give you three random subjects and you’ll write me a story, as long or short as you want. Is that okay?”

“Why?”

“I just want to read more of your story,” he smiles, “Besides, I think it’d be easy for you because it’s already your specialty.”

“This is the first time I got a request like that. First, give me your hand, I need to weigh the price to see if it’s enough.”

He didn’t hesitate when he put his hand on hers. She closed her eyes as if to feel something and he got a moment to sit there and watch her. Her hair fluttered, perhaps because of her mystic ability. Eventually, she opened her eyes, gracefully moved their folded hands into a handshake.

“I didn’t expect this, but it’s a fair price.”

“So we have a deal?”

“Deal.”

He squeezed her hand slightly and she squeezed back.

“Want some tea?”

“I could use some tea,” she stood and pulled him along, “I still have a draft to write before bed.”

“Coming right up,” he headed to the kitchen, “Meanwhile, I’ll think of three subjects for the first story.”

“Great, more work,” She muttered and he laughed.

#thenamesh #thenamesh fanfic #thena x gilgamesh #gilgamesh x thena #thena #gilgamesh #eternals

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