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evendeadlmthehero · 5 years

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The Five Year Promise: Gone South (2/10)

Summary: Y/N Stark, 20 year old superhero, makes a promise with a 16 year old Peter Parker after being cheated on, that if she hasn’t found love in the next 5 years, they’d finally go on a date. Then the snap happens. Y/N is gone and Peter isn’t.

Warnings: swearing, angst

Authors note: thank you everyone who gave me positive feedback. The response has been amazing and I’m so grateful! PS- we are now two chapters away (I think) for the snap, so prepare for more angst

Also, if there is any spelling mistakes, please let me know. I finished writing this at 1am :((

Twitter//BuckysLemons (I only have 1 follower lol)

The Five Year Promise Masterlist

Part 3

Based on after Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

“Big day tomorrow,” your Dad said as he walked into the lab he had set up for you. Peter was trailing behind him, smiling at you as a greeting as you smiled back. “Are you sure you’re up for it because I could go instead-“

“Dad I am up for it,” you cut him off, trying to ugrade your suit. You wanted to incorporate your father’s nanotechnology with your quantum knowledge to create a suit that infused the energy. That way you didn’t need bands around your wrist and can shoot energy blasts from your suit instead.

It was like sowing your suit with quantum energy.

“Just making sure,” your father spoke, as he ate from a bag of chips. He looked at Peter, who was staring at you like you were the biggest star in the universe, and smirked to himself.

Of course your father, unbeknownst to you, had always wanted you and Peter to be a couple. Peter was every father’s dream for their daughter; a sweet and pure little boy that can never do no harm.

He had even spoke to you about him once.

“So,” Tony spoke, as he saw you smiling at Peter’s retreating figure after declining Tony’s offer of wearing the iron suit and becoming an avenger. “What do you think of Peter?”

You looked at him confusedly, as you knew Peter for almost two years and your father never even asked that question until today. “He’s great, why?”

“Well I was thinking Pete’s a great kid, very smart,” Tony begun, listing Peter’s qualities. “Very great kid. Massive upgrade from that Loshorn kid.”

“It’s Osborn, dad,” you rolled your eyes at him, before your eyes looked at Peter walking away from the building with Happy following him. “And besides, Peter is 4 years younger. I’m pretty sure that’s Paedophilia.”

“Not if it’s just dating,” You dad pointed out, walking over to you and rubbing your shoulders. “He’s a great kid. Really mature for his age, I mean the kid turned down the chance to be an Avenger! If you don’t give him a chance, you’ll regret it. Plus, I’m pretty sure that kid has an undying love for you. He basically stares at you like your some goddess. You get that effect from me by the way.”

You rolled your eyes at your dad before your mind went to Peter again. You sighed, shaking your head.

If only he was older.

“I’m going to step out. You and Peter can talk about the mission and how apparently, I’m not needed,” your Dad spoke, giving you a little wink. You shook your head at your dad, continuing to play with your suit.

Peter’s eyes glazed with panick as he realised that meant alone time with you. “I-I it’s okay Mr Stark, you don’t have to leave.”

“No, no, no my daughter clearly doesn’t want me,” Tony spoke, grabbing his chest like he was in pain as he slowly walked towards the door.

“Says the one that wanted me aborted 20 years ago!” You called out, a smirk on your face as you worked on your suit. You picked up the half-eaten Apple on your right and took a bite.

“Are you serious right now?” Tony groaned, rubbing his eyes with the hand that wasn’t holding the bag of chips. “Because now I found out that you’re actually decent company. That’s all that matters. My dad wished he aborted me AFTER your grandmother gave birth.”

“Yeah because unlike you, I’m way cooler- ah!” You screamed, as your suit let a spark, scaring the hell out of you. The spark hit your apple and then the most weirdest thing happened.

You stared at your apple in bewilderment and so did Tony and Peter.

“I- I-“ you spoke out. Your apple was now full, not half eaten like it was before. You looked up to Tony and Peter, shaking your head. “I think- I think that suit regenerated the apple. Like- like healed it or-“

You stopped yourself, having no idea what happened.

Not knowing that soon, what you discovered, would change the world in a couple of years.

You sat on one of the seats at the back quinjet as it flew on autopilot. Usually before missions, you take a deep breath and close your eyes. You think about your Dad, Harry, Natasha and Pepper.

But this time, your mind drifted off to the boy who currently occupied the bathroom and was suiting up for the mission that Fury had gave you guys; Peter Parker.

Just two months ago, Peter was involved in an incident. Your father, and especially you, had told him to leave out of it, it was a job for the FBI. Peter of course didn’t listen to either one of you and still fought the guy who had been selling advance weapons to the community.

“Peter! Peter!” You yelled, as you ran into the building that you witness just collapse. Rubble was everywhere and the interior of the building was no more. You saw a man fly away, but you didn’t chase after him. Your mind was on Peter. “Peter where are you!”

You knew Peter would do something like this. So the moment your father had yelled at Peter with you on his side, you made sure that your little spy fly followed him around (obviously not when it was private stuff like the bathroom) just to make sure he was alright and wouldn’t do something reckless.

So when your little tech detected Peter running away from his Homecoming night in a suit, you of course followed him.

You hear a little groan and ran to the source. Your hands flew to your mouth as you saw Peter on the floor, stacks of buildings on his back.

“Oh no, Peter,” you mumbled, your eyes welling up. You ran to his side, trying to push the building and rubble away from his body, but you weren’t strong enough. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

“Y/N,” Peter groaned out, tears filling his eyes. “You have to leave me and catch him. He’s after the quinjet-“

“No! I’m not leaving you to slowly die! Got it Parker?” You told him. You sighed, looking around before your eyes fell back on him. “Okay, you have super strength right? Just push it up. Right there.”

You pointed at a specific spot. “If you can move that spot, everything else will move with it and you’ll be free.”

Peter tried but couldn’t. It was too heavy. Tears kept flowing down his face, fearing death. “Please Y/N, just go. There’s no use.”

“No,” you shook your head at him, going to the floor and grabbing his chin so he’d look at you, but his eyes just wouldn’t reach yours.

“Look at me,” you spoke softly. He put a let out a little sob, shaking his head. “Look at me Peter!”

He finally looked at you, and you smiled at him. A smile that told him everything will be alright, even if he was in a shitty position.

“If the world brings you down. If you are contantly pushed and pummeled to the floor. If you ever want to give up Peter. Just look me in the eyes and know I’m always there.”

Peter’s face was filled determination as he looked you in the eyes. Y/N Stark, the girl he fell in love with. Y/N Stark the only girl he would ever learn to love.

So then he pushed.

“Yes!” You encouraged him, laughing in joy as the building on top of Peter continued to move up. But Peter’s face didn’t change. He kept staring into your eyes.

“Look me in the eyes and know I’m always there,” he thought as he continued looking at you.

The door of the bathroom opened, signalling that Peter was done getting changed. You shook the thought of what could’ve happened out of your head and put on a smile.

“You ready Spidey?” You asked at him, giving him a little wink. You walked away before you could see his shocked and red face. “We have to jump out of the plane in T minus one minute.”

You go near the door of the quinjet, opening it. The wind blows your hair as you look at the miles and miles of grass.

“Go in. Save some refugees from terrorists. Get out,” you reminded Peter, rubbing your wrist from the absent feeling of the quantum bands. “Easy right?”

“Yeah,” Peter spoke, moving towards you to look down. His fear of heights were getting the better of him as he felt like backing out. “Easy.”

You sensed his nervousness and from the look he gave at the distant between the quinjet and the ground, you knew why.

You smiled at him, grabbing his hand. This made Peter feel at ease, giving you a small smile too. “Hey, remember what I said. If you ever feel like giving up, just look at me and know I’m there.”

Peter squeezed your hand, looking at you with adoration. The intensity of his eyes made you look away.

“I know.”

‘Y/N you’re 20, he’s 16,’ you mentally yelled at yourself. ‘He’s you’re little brother and your his older sister you idiot.’

“Y/N?” Peter asked as he saw a distant look in your eyes. “Are you okay?”

You quickly let go of his hand, and bit your lip as you looked at the ground. “Couldn’t be better.”

Peter nodded, already missing the feeling of your hand around his. As cliche as it sounded, it really did cure his fear of heights for that brief moment.

But now that the warmth of your hand was missing, his fear came back and bile threatened to come out.

“Are you ready?” you asked, as you neared the edge of the quinjet. Peter looked into your eyes, and nodded.

‘Know that I’m always there’

“Im ready.”

This wasn’t how this mission was meant to be. There wasn’t meant to be altered soldiers on this mission. There wasn’t meant to be mutants on the scene.

But here you were, fighting a mutant as strong as Captain America himself.

“Peter are you okay?” You asked through the comms, worried about Peter even though you just finished putting a mutant into a coma.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Peter breathed heavily, sounding like he had a fair share of mutants. “We- we need to get the refugees out.”

“No! Not you!” You yelled through the comms, as you marched towards the village. “I have the tech. You go back to the quinjet and prepare for the refugees!”

“Are you serious right now Y/N?” You heard Peter yell at you. He was swinging passed terrorist, shooting webs at them before they could shoot him. “There is no way in hell I’m leaving you with-“

All the sudden Peter went quiet. It was a short secound, when all the hairs on his body stood up. His skin was tingling and he felt his throat clog up.

He felt sick. Sick to his stomach. He felt his lips quiver and his hands begun to tremble as he spoke on the comms.

“Y/N, duck.”

You didn’t understand why he told you to duck. He wasn’t even near you, let alone see you. You don’t know why he would utter those random words.

But then you realised; his spider senses.

You looked to your right and saw a man smiling sadistically at you as he had a gun pointing at you. It all occurred in slow motion, in a span of three secounds.

And in that three secounds, Peter was rapidly moving towards you the moment a hair on his arm stood up. He had to make it to you, he had to. He kept swinging, fighting terrorists at the same time.

He was moving as fast as he could, his mind only on getting you to safety.

But it was too late. You were shot. Right in the heart. And Peter was forced to listen to the shot in the comms.

“No, no, no, no,” Peter mumbled, tears welling up in his eyes as he finally made it to your location. He saw someone with his gun smoking and quickly electrocuted him with his web.

He then looked at you and that’s when he lost it.

Your chest was bleeding and life was slowly leaving your body. You looked at him, blood dripping down your mouth. “P-Peter?”

“Hey Y/N,” he spoke, running towards your side as he picked you up bridal style. He lips started quivering as he wiped the blood off your mouth with his suit. “Hey Y/N, Hey. Keep your eyes open for me, please.”

You looked at him, a smile on your face. “Pete. I-It’s okay.”

Peter shook his head, tears streaming down his face profusely as he struggled to keep his body from not shaking. “No, no, no you can’t say that remember, you said that if you ever want to give up-“

“Peter-“

“To just look into your eyes and know,” he sniffed as a sob raked his body. “Know that your always there. Well, I’m always there. And you can’t give up on me. You can’t.”

“Peter,” you whispered, grabbing his cheek, making him look at you. “Take care of my Dad. D-don’t let him- don’t- you can’t- you can’t let him- let him slowly kill himse- you can’t-“

You stopped talking, as your soul left your body. Your hand fell from Peter’s face as both your mouth and eyes were wide open. Blood stopped leaking from your mouth and chest, and your face was pale.

“Y/N?” Peter spoke, his voice trembling as his hand shakily moved a piece of hair from your face. “Y/N! Y/N no please! Please, please, please. Don’t- don’t go. Let’s- let’s go home. I wanna go home.”

Peter held you tight for three hours.

He had told Karen to get Tony’s little robots to guide refugees into the Quinjet and get them to safety. When he thought it was time to leave you, he couldn’t. Peter could never leave you.

Tony even called Peter but Peter denied it. Of course, this had Tony anxious, but then Rhoudey tried to reassure him that maybe everything was okay and that they can’t call during a mission.

Peter was in hysteria. He didn’t even get the chance to tell you he loved you. Didn’t even get the chance to take you out on a date.

He thought he was going to regret this for the rest of his life.

But then, the hairs on his arms stood up once again. His breath hitched and his heart starting beating erratically.

Because he heard your heart beat.

And now his heart beat had synchronised with yours.

You had opened your eyes, looking at him all dazed.

Then Peter had realised you had stopped bleading for a while now.

And it was all because of your new suit

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letshaikyuu · 4 years

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𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: “When the FBI busted down my door, the last thing I was expecting to see was a hot, young agent. But then, our two worlds collided and I couldn’t let him leave my side.”

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: A FBI!Kuroo Tetsurou x Writer!Akaashi Keiji short fic

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: mentions of blood, crime scenes and any other material needed for mystery novels

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: This story is just me being inspired from a prompt that I have seen on Tumblr and decided that this pairing suited it the best.

𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈𝐈 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐕

It is not surprising that at whatever Akaashi strived to do, he was always the best. When he was seven, he picked up drawing and happened to win a competition just a few months later. When he was fourteen, history was a subject he found intriguing and competed in for the rest of his school days. Pictures are plastered on his family's wall where he is holding up 'First place' trophies. So when he decided to pursue a Literature and Creative Writing degree, his family was more than welcome to support him with his dreams. He published a best-seller during his second year and his teacher assigned him as one of the assistants, offering him a spot as a professor when he finishes his Master's.

Akaashi was not interested in teaching. Even during university, he felt the stuffy air of the classroom and bustling voices of the other students to be very irritating and too much of a hassle for him. His parents paid extra to accommodate him in a single-bed dorm so he would have the most peace any university student would want. That dorm was the same place Akaashi wrote his second novel: 'The Lost Case of Neverland', a mystery novel he found very peculiar and interesting to write. That was when he decided to focus his talent on writing solely mystery novels.

There was no doubt that he was a very mysterious person himself. Even now, at 27 years of age and standing in an empty living room with boxes around him, Akaashi was still an enigma to many. He moved, rather out of the blue, to this little town called 'Brightwood'. Population 600, Brightwood was the perfect place for Akaashi to settle down and pursue further writing escapades. Finding a house that was affordable and isolated from the rest of the houses on the only street in town, he bid farewell to his parents and a handful of friends before moving.

Someone who had the needed amount of money to happily live in a big city has now moved to a run-down, closed-off town that hardly has anything going for it? It wasn't even located on the map. His parents were nervously awaiting for him to call and let them know that he had finally arrived at his new home, but what shocked them immensely was a text message from Keiji that was sent right before he entered the town:

'There is no signal in this town. You won't be able to reach me while I'm here.'

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

A few days have passed since the boxes have been neatly placed in the corner and minimal furniture found it's way into the house. The state of the house was not something to be proud of. House n.66 was the cheapest house in town. Once owned by an old couple that passed away from old age in said house, the state was awful. Floorboards that were creaking, the roof that was leaking and there was always a spider a day crawling its way out into the open. But, this was exactly what Akaashi was looking for.

'A mystery novel isn't a mystery novel until the writer puts himself in the character's shoes,' Akaashi would say to people who asked him how was he so good at writing mystery novels. All of his novels had this eerie feeling. It was not fit for a nightly read because they were terrifying, but they also never let you leave their content because of how engrossing they were. He couldn't count the number of times someone would ask him if he was possessed by a demon or if there's a ghost haunting his home. Akaashi would always say maybe.

His good looks were pleasuring for the eyes as well. A lot of women came up to Akaashi during book signing events and asked for an autograph on the weirdest of places. He was never able to hide his annoyance, but they always seemed to decipher that as something sexual and not the complete opposite. It usually took Akaashi getting dozens of numbers and sexual compliments to snap and ask that the book signing ends early. Even though his temper was unappealing to some, no one decided to leave his works because they were that amazing.

When the campaign for Akaashi's upcoming novel 'If I Were A Killer' started, people could hardly contain the excitement at the thought of another phenomenal novel in their hands. Rather unwillingly, Akaashi gave a short interview regarding the upcoming release and stated that if everything goes as planned, the novel should be published in a few months. He also added that he will be completely unavailable to the public eye for the time being so that he can finish his novel in peace. That interview was the last time Akaashi was seen in the public eye.

Now, with a cup of black tea in his hand and the fireplace quietly crackling in the background, Akaashi was ready to work on the final chapters of the novel. It was a novel that challenged him greatly as an author because it differed from his other work quite greatly. His editor was not too keen on this novel, it was too heavy to read and felt as if the storyline would be too difficult to understand:

'Akaashi-san, I don't think such a novel would be greatly appreciated in the public. It seems like it will be very hard to read-'

'I've already made my decision and the plot has already been developed. I do not plan on changing anything Furudate-san.'

'But Akaashi, isn't it extremely difficult to write someone who's a serial killer?'

He only smirked at the words of his editor and continued drinking his already cold tea. 'You don't know Furudate-san,' Akaashi glanced at his editor, something mysterious glinting in his eyes,' just how much that topic interests me.'

His editor didn't want to admit how the obvious coffee stain on his suit appeared. 'My hands were just shaking,' he said to the dry-cleaners, but the evil-like gaze he got from Akaashi was something he would never forget.

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

It was proven to be a very easy task for Akaashi. Before moving to Brightwood, he spent hours researching everything there was to know about serial killers and their ways of work. From what triggered them to how they dispose of bodies. Akaashi had everything written down in his documents. One of the main reasons he moved to Brightwood is that his novel was set right in this little town. You could say that he was invested in this novel, paying attention to every single detail and writing it with such ease. So, when he found out about such a small town, he figured it was the perfect setting for his novel. What doesn't interest people more than a serial killer wreaking havoc in a small town like Brightwood, where everyone seems to 'know' their neighbors that well?

'When shit happens, everyone is everyone's enemy. Nobody is safe from the obvious hate and mistrust. Who was once drinking coffee in your backyard is now suspected of murder? Who was once dropping newspapers on the street is now sentenced to life in prison? Can you trust the people living with you? How can we be so sure of what's going on in another person's mind? Life wouldn't be this interesting if we knew everything, would it?'

The night was very calm, the perfect fit for Akaashi to add something new to his ever-growing novel. The complete silence would be nerve-wracking for most, but it suited Akaashi perfectly. He enjoyed not hearing the bustling noise he couldn't get rid of in his dorm or continuous shuttering of cameras during promotion periods. He was alone with his thoughts. Perfect for writing mystery novels with serial killers. Once he finished writing the predicted part for today, Akaashi closed his laptop and went to drop off his dirty dishes in the sink. He was crossing the hallway with his empty mug in hand when he heard a commotion on the street. 'There must be some kind of party going on out there,' Akaashi shook his head at the thought, thinking back to the day he first moved to this town. The neighbors were quick to welcome him and offer any kind of needed help. They were also preparing a welcoming party for the newcomer, but once Akaashi found out about it, he immediately shut it down and said he wasn't the type for parties.

'Maybe that's why nobody has visited me these past few days.'

While he was thinking back to his neighbors, the commotion outside was becoming clearer and louder. It started to feel like they were right outside his door, banging up a storm. To Akaashi, the constant noise reminded him of pencil tapping on the desks in his university classes, just much more boosted. He could feel his brain pulsating in his head, any kind of loud noise irritates him greatly and his annoyance starts to show. Trying to calm himself down as much as possible, he took a deep breath and continued his way to the kitchen. Not even a step further, his front door was suddenly on his floor. The entrance was completely bare. It should be showing the clear night sky, but all Akaashi saw were dozens of people dressed in black, equipped with heavy machinery. Unceremoniously, the empty mug was shuttered on the ground and Akaashi was down on his knees with unknown people surrounding him.

'FBI! DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW AND HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!'

The last thing Akaashi saw before his head and body were forcefully pinned to the ground was the shattered mug on the floor and a mop of messy black hair. He looked too hot in Akaashi's eyes and it wasn't fair that he got to wear that smug smirk on his face while Akaashi was here mopping the floor with his body. Akaashi isn't a puppet. He was always the puppeteer.

══════════════════

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @mysticrainpain @kawaiibaka96 @kashika @brokutoforever @shangyinn-ig @miyulovestowrite @heccingdead @kellyyween @death-waves-to-me @bareeganbaree @caxsthetic

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ao3feed-sterek · 4 years

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Stiles's Mouth Writes Checks His Body Can't Cash

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Wj8NRF

by FeelingFredly

Working for the FBI put him in a lot of weird positions, but this one was turning out to be one of the weirdest. It was fine, though. Stiles just had to keep his mouth shut, his head down, and learn the ropes--ha! ropes!--of being a Dom. Too bad Derek Hale seemed to bring out the brat in him, instead.

Words: 2911, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, Alpha Derek Hale, Dom Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Not Known (Teen Wolf), Stiles Stilinski Knows About Werewolves, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Brat Stiles Stilinski, Light BDSM

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Wj8NRF

#ao3feed #fanfic #sterek

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kyloswarstars · 4 years

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Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • part 1 – “the start of the end?” Divergent • Mini-Series AU

How do you say sorry when you have fucked up basically everything? Eric isn’t sure. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to ever earn your forgiveness. On the other hand: why should you forgive him? He had made the mistake of his life.

A story about Professor Eric Coulter, Harold the chimpanzee, midnight coffees and fries in the auditorium. You and Eric, Ms. Giraffe and Mr. FBI, trying to conquer life together until Eric did what he thought would be the best for you.

Pairing • Eric x Reader

Warnings • language

Words • 1.8k

Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • masterlist

/////

Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard

Your words burned into his retina. Eric still saw them when he closed his eyes. The phone screen was way too bright for his dark bedroom.

He didn’t know what to respond. He was a bastard. And all the other words you had described him with. His thumb hovered above the ‚S‘ to start off with a ‚sorry‘. When he saw the three dots, that implied you were typing, he stopped and didn’t say sorry.

Fucking stay away from me

He had fucked up. Eric shut his eyes but still saw your words. In the past there had been a lot of fighting and a lot of curse words because that was just how your relationship had worked – even though a relationship therapist may would have said that it wasn’t the healthiest way to interact with each other.

This was different though. This was the pain speaking he had caused. The burning brightness in his eyes got too much. He teared up although he tried so hard not too. Eric almost threw the phone across the room so he didn’t have to see your bright words anymore but then saw the three dots again.

And this time I mean forEVER

////////// 2 years ago //////////

„And here is the house where Mrs. Smith killed Mr. Smith because he had mowed the lawn the wrong direction.“

It’s been only the second night in the new city and Eric already went to a frat party. He shouldn’t be in this car. In his position he shouldn’t become friends with students. He should befriend professors. He should spend his free time at fancy dinner parties, in a suit – or at least a jacket – and a tie. An appletini in one hand and a cigar or some shit in the other. He didn’t really know how those dinner parties really were. Eric had never accepted a single invitation.

It was hard for him to keep a straight face while teaching college students that were only a few years younger than him. His career had started early due to his father who had ‚supported him all the time and just wanted the best for his son‘. Sometimes Eric was still angry that his father had pushed him into this path so early. But he had learned to accept it. After all, teaching was something he enjoyed. He never thought he would, but he did. And he really liked to be that approachable, cool dude of a professor his students weren’t afraid to talk to.

He had been so good with declining invitations – he shouldn’t have taken the one to this frat party of his new students. It had led him to sitting in the car of a pizza boy, who’s name was Rafael. He had delivered about twenty pizzas earlier. It turned out Rafael had been the cousin of Carlo, one of Eric’s students, who had the really great idea to drive to that 24 hours opened pet store and cuddle with rabbits. On the way there they gave Eric a sightseeing tour with the weirdest facts about Chicago.

They were driving slowly through a quiet residential neighborhood that didn’t belong to the campus. The car was slow enough that, when a figure appeared right in front of it, it came to an instant stop.

An extremely upset face was illuminated by the headlights. Suddenly you banged your fist on the hood. And a second time with both of your hands formed to fists.

„Get out there!“ Your voice was clear and sharp. The yelling in this quiet street would probably get the attention of some already sleeping parents.

„Oh damn.“ Rafael in the driver seat wiped his forehead.

„Rafael I said get out!“ You seemed to know exactly who had nearly run you over.

Rafael unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, slowly got out but didn’t go to you. He waited right behind his door. „Get in the car and let us talk later. Not here.“

„Do you think I care about who’s going to hear us?“ You seemed a bit insane. But maybe you were just furious because you nearly got killed. Maybe the beer had fogged Eric’s head. Under normal circumstances he would’ve never gotten between a woman as furious as you and a guy as intimidated as him. At least not before someone threw punches. But in his slightly drunk state he thought it was a good idea to get out of the car as well and be a mediator.

Before he was even able to say something, your fierce glance switched to him. „What are you looking at me?“

Eric’s hands got up like you pointed a gun at him. „I’m not looking at all.“

„Of course you are!“ You blinked at the headlights and studied him like a hunter it’s prey. Yes, he was looking at you. Your livid facial features amazed Eric’s cloudy mind. „Who are you even?“ You didn’t care about his answer though and walked over to Rafael.

„I’ve been searching for you for about an hour. Your shift ended at 9 and you said you’d be there to help me!“

Rafael’s head hung low. Getting scolded by a furious woman like you was probably not a nice thing to experience. „I forgot. Sorry.“

„Yeah, clearly you forgot.“ You opened the door behind Rafael’s and ordered the guys on the backseats to make room – they instantly obeyed. Eric felt like they all knew you too well to disobey your order. „Can you drive now? I have to get back our chimpanzee.“

Eric didn’t stay longer than ten minutes in that car. After Rafael almost run you – his twin sister – over, you had given four more orders.

1: „Rafael, turn on the heating, I’m freezing from walking over an hour through the cold to search your ass“ 2: „Ew Carlo, take your hands off of me. I’m your cousin“ 3: „Since you’re all here, you’re going to help me get Harold back from those fanatics who think they can care better for him“

Eric guessed that ‚Harold‘ must be the chimpanzee you had talked about getting back.

4: „And please throw this weirdo, who keeps staring at me, out of the car“

He should be glad he got thrown out before he got pulled into something that ended in breaking the law. Since this was only his second night in Chicago he didn’t have a clue where he was. It was hard to find a taxi so he ordered an Uber which was there to get him in under five minutes.

Back in his apartment, which was still incredibly chaotic because unpacking wasn’t one of his strengths, he just tried to forget one of the weirdest evenings of his life by falling asleep on his mattress.

/////

When his alarm woke him up the next morning, he was still not used to his mattress laying on the floor. Eric didn’t know where his bed frame was and didn’t feel the urge to search for it. Not yet. Unpacking was a process. It could take weeks. And rushing himself was a thing he consequently protested because it had a negative impact on his wellbeing. In simple words: He was lazy.

And because of that, the coffee machine was right beside the mattress. Still half laying, he pressed the button to get a fresh coffee. Thirty seconds later he grabbed the cup and sat up, resting his back on the cold wall behind him.

Today was his second day teaching at the new college. He wasn’t ready. Not after ending the first day with this crazy car ride.

And as if the universe had known his thoughts, he froze in his movements when he entered the auditorium and studied the college students. You were sitting there. In the auditorium. In his auditorium. You were… his student.

////////// current day //////////

The phone screen made a cracking sound when it came in contact with the floor.

Fuck. He couldn’t leave your texts unanswered.

Eric got out of the bed, hurried to get dressed, ran to get his keys and then left the apartment. Maybe he woke up the whole street with the rapid start of his bike and rushing down the street, but he couldn’t care less.

He always hated that you were living so far out of the city. You were still living with your family – for obvious reasons and he couldn’t blame you. Tonight though, he really wished you would’ve agreed to move in with him. But you had turned that down like so many other ideas he had offered to build a future together.

There were no lights in the windows of your house. He couldn’t just creep around the house and hope for an opened window. Eric pulled out his phone with the cracked screen and opened the conversation. It was horrible to see your words screaming at him like that.

„I told you to leave me alone. Once and for all.“ Honestly, he didn’t think you would even answer the call, but you did, whispering like you weren’t mad at all. That was a bad sign. „Was this your bike’s engine being cut off?“

How should he start talking? What should he say? Which one of the thousand sorry’s should he offer first? How should he start to explain why he did what he did?

„Eric, what are you doing in our front yard?“

He could see the shape of a person in the window of your father’s room. You were staring at him. Your fast breathing echoed in his ear. There was no way you would forgive him. The realization that your relationship was unrepairable broken nearly drove him insane. How should he breath and eat and sleep and just be when you weren’t part of his life anymore?

„Scolding myself for telling them it was you who had kidnapped Harold after they finally stopped searching for him.“

Falling for you had been the easiest thing Eric had ever done. Before he knew you he thought body functions, that happened automatically, were the easiest things to do because you didn’t have a choice – you just breathed. It was the same with you, though. He just fell for you. And that, he did every single day for two years now. He didn’t know if he could ever stop.

You didn’t answer but he could still hear you breathing into the phone. He could still see you standing there at the window. Had you been watching over your father again while he was sleeping? Had you been reading him Pippi Longstocking again like he had done it when you were little – even though he probably didn’t hear you? Why did you not just hang up? Why did you wait?

„Why?“ Your stifled question broke his heart. He tried not to picture your face right now – this situation was already unbearable.

„Because I love you.“

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ao3-sterek · 4 years

Text

Stiles's Mouth Writes Checks His Body Can't Cash

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Wj8NRF

by FeelingFredly

Words: 2911, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Wj8NRF

#ao3feed #sterek fics #sterek #fics

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jadekitty777 · 6 years

Text

I Found My Heart in San Francisco

Another fun fact: Every day this week will have A. Three stories in Qrow’s perspective, B. Three in Tai’s and C. One they share, which was Day 2 of course. I really had the weirdest guidelines when I did this, but I honestly think it provided some of the best personal results.

Day 4 – Love Language/New Hobbies (thinking about it, they kind of both fit but the former was the more intentional choice) @taiqrowweek

Summary: It’s 1967. The Summer of Love has come and passed. Yet, Qrow discovers that even though the season has transitioned into the next, love is persistent. Maybe that was why they called it Falling. [Coffee Shop AU… with a twist!]

Rating: K+

Word Count: 13K – yeah this one’s a monster

Warnings: Take the timeline into consideration – definitely some discrimination in this one

Ao3 Link: I Found My Heart in San Francisco

Dedication: This one’s all for marvolo2526. I couldn’t think up another AU idea to complete the circuit and she had yelled ‘coffee shop!’ and then I went wild from there.

Notes: Title is a play off of the 1953 Tony Bennett single "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".

Okay. Oh wow. It’s time to give you all my absolute favorite of the week… and probably overall. This baby took two months of love and care and a BUTT-TON of research to compose. On that note, any historical inaccuracies, if anyone finds any, were either deliberate, accidental, or enough research was unable to be located. I’m very, very proud of this story though, my whole heart went into it, and I really just hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

San Francisco

September 18th, 1967

If anyone asked Qrow, he’d tell them patience was only for those who couldn’t figure out how to do things quickly.

Ca-chink!

Like using a cash register. Any twelve-year-old who had a dream of driving up to Harbinger Cliffs to maybe get lucky knew how to use one. He was certainly one of many who had lost countless weekends of his school years selling malts to snot-nosed kids or learning how to balance a tray full of burgers and fries while on rollerblades just to earn some nickels. It all paid off by junior year, when he finally got to roll up to school in his shiny Chevy Bel Air and got treated like a god by his peers. Opening himself up to the social map got him to also meet his high school sweetheart; and while he never took Winter Schnee up to the cliffs, he did get to take her to prom. They latest up until graduation day, where she went off to Atlas while he accepted a scholarship to Beacon. During the first year, he’d wrote letters; but a few months in, she stopped responding and he moved on.

In more ways than one.

“And that’s it!” Summer explained as she showed how to close the sale on the register, shutting the cashdrawer. “Think you got it?”

“Mmm? Yeah, I’m good.” Qrow replied, when in truth he had put more attention into trying to balance one of the red stirrers on his fingertips than listening to her.

His new manager swiped it off his finger and bopped him on the nose with it. “Qrow!”

“Whaaat?” He lent back against the counter. “Come on Sums, I’ve worked register before.”

Her expression only turned further sour, which was not very charming. “I pulled a lot of strings to convince my parents to let you work here, so if there’s even a penny out of place, I’m shoving this up your nose.”

Qrow eyed the stirrer warily, raising his hands in surrender. “Aye, aye, captain.”

Café Rosé was a charming little establishment on the corner of 3rd and Main, conveniently within walking distance of the academy and a college kid’s dream spot for exam cramming or after-party pick-me-ups. Though it had only opened a few years ago, it had done well for itself, having hit the scene just as coffee was becoming a larger fad among young adults. The quaint shop had a hole in the wall style feeling, with a bar running along the white counter and less than a half dozen tables and chairs set up across the limited floor space. The floor was chessboard checkered like a typical diner and the walls were black. The atmosphere would almost be depressing, if not for the additional design choice: red rose bouquets, hand painted at equally spaced intervals along the walls, making the room pop in an almost dazzling way without being too gaudy.

Honestly, he was ninety-eight percent sure the only reason he got hired was the fact he matched the shop’s chic color scheme to a T (though, he was certainly aesthetically pleasing all on his own, if he did say so himself). It definitely wasn’t because Summer’s parents liked him – they’re suspicious stares said all he needed to know of what they thought of him. Still, he couldn’t beat a job close to his dorm room that was also willing to work around his intensive school schedule; a fact only further daunted by the major-intensive coursework that came with starting his junior year. So, certainly he could put up with a bit of distaste for a few extra dollars in his pocket.

Plus, working with his best friend was an added bonus.

The bell above the door chimed, a small group of sophomores walking in, chattering amicably. Summer side-eyed him with a cheeky grin. “Alright Mr. Expert, time to put your skills to work.”

He winked in return. “I’ll try not to show you up, flowerbud.”

The next hour proceeded fairly commonly; he took orders, Summer made them, he delivered them. Simple. They had some snacks and fare to sell – the homemade pastries were a little stale, so he didn’t recommend those – but overall, the big selling point was the coffee. It was good brew and made with one of these new-fangled drip machines that had come out only a few years back. Most households couldn’t afford it and still made their coffee by boiling water on the stove, so merely the appeal alone of being able to buy coffee made the fancy, expensive way left people feeling like they were sophisticated and high-class.

Frankly, the little machine was just fascinating to operate, and more than once Qrow found himself just watching the russet liquid teardrop into the glass pot. It was during one of those mesmerized moments that he didn’t realize someone was standing behind him until he heard a thump-thump-thump of someone’s hand smacking the counter. He started and whirled around, a retort already curling on his tongue –

And immediately fizzling away as he was starstruck by the deepest blue eyes he’d ever seen.

The fellow was probably the same age as him, but the way he waved and smiled almost boyishly shy at him made him appear a bit younger and had Qrow’s heart skipping like it was playing for the Hopscotch National championship.

Mother of Mary, he was in love.

“Uh, sorry. How can I help you?” He said, stepping back up to the register on wobbly legs. The stranger hesitated, as if uncertain, and it gave Qrow the chance to give him a real look over.

His appearance was very Beatles-esque but the shade arrangement blended into a sort of downhome country allure: mop-top cut blond hair, orange silk necktie, lamb’s wool yellow sweater, russet flare slacks. What stood out the most though was the single piercing in his right ear, the stud in the shape of a sunflower. He must have been staring at it too long, because the blond suddenly pointed at it, raising an eyebrow in an unasked question. Qrow reached up, covering his own stud, a sideways cross that matched his necklace, nodding quietly.

The response was… bizarre. Those pretty blue eyes widened as he shook his head rapidly, before he pointed a bit more insistently at his own ear.

“Uhh… what?” Qrow asked.

The stranger slumped a bit, before gritting his teeth a little and hissing, “Sssu…” He paused, frowning, then held up a finger in the universal gesture of ‘wait a moment’ before digging around in his pocket.

The hell was this, some weird game of charades? He wasn’t that out of the scene was he? Whatever it was, it was kind of a buzzkill. “Buddy, maybe you just want to order?”

He didn’t even bother to acknowledge that with a response, still going about pulling out a small notepad, scratching something onto it hurriedly before holding it out his way.

Where’s Summer?

Qrow felt a spike of annoyance rise. Was this guy confused or just an idiot? Either way, he aimed the other with as sharp a stare as he could muster, snapping, “I’ll tell you right now, she ain’t interested. So if you’d like to order, I suggest doing so. Otherwise, leave.”

That earned him another frown, before the blond started to write again. What the ever-living hell was this?! And why was everyone at the shop giving him looks, like he was the one doing weird shit? “Hey, you need your ears cleaned? Either order or get out!”

That was when he heard the snap of the back door closing as Summer walked back in.

“Tai!” She yelped, before crossing the room in an instant, hip-checking Qrow out of the way with a hasty, “Sorry, I got this!” She reached out, tapping the freak’s arm. It caused him to stop writing and look up, before he grinned brightly. Summer smiled in return and then started to move her hands in odd patterns as she spoke, “Sorry, he’s new. The usual, right?”

The blond set down his pen and paper, silently gesturing back in equally unintelligible movements. Qrow watched the odd events wondering if he’d stepped into the Twilight Zone or something because though he wasn’t speaking, Summer seemed to understand whatever it was he was saying – was the conversation transmitting right into her brain?

Qrow watched the man warily as he handed over some money and walked away from the counter, unsure what to make of the sheepish smile and wave he offered him as he passed. He looked back at Summer, ducking over to grab her shoulder and murmur, “Do I need to call the FBI?”

“What?” She snorted down a laugh.

“I think your brain’s been probed.” He shot the man a suspicious glance. Was that why he was so attractive? To put unsuspecting guys like him off his guard?

“Really Qrow?” Summer was unamused. “I think I’m going to have to ban you from late night TV.”

He frowned, a touch indignant. It could happen! “Well, what was that then?”

“It was sign language, dummy.” She rolled her eyes. “Taiyang’s deaf.”

He blinked.

Oh.

So, he just yelled at a deaf guy.

Face turning peppermint red, he placed a hand on the counter, using it as leverage to slowly sink behind it so no one could see him anymore. “I think I’m just going to take my break here. Preferably forever.”

He was given a few sympathetic pats on the head and, ten minutes later, a peace offering in the form of a cup of coffee with enough cream and sugar to turn it light as caramel. So, he sucked it up and took his walk of shame all the way to the end of the counter, carefully placing the mug down in the other’s line of sight, but not too close to the textbook he was reading.

Taiyang glanced up and that boyish smile was back. He placed a hand against his chin and waved outwards, like he was blowing a kiss to him.

Somehow, Qrow turned even redder this time, ducking his head and hurrying away as his heart thundered in a confused cacophony.

October 3rd, 1967

“Alright bro, you’ve been wallowing for days now. Lay it on me already.”

Qrow sighed, pulling the pillow up from his face and glancing towards his twin. Rather than answer, his lips pursed in disgust at the sight of her. “What are those grungy things?”

Raven pulled down the overly large purple shades, red eyes peering over the rim tops at him. “You don’t like them? I thought they were pretty boss.” She readjusted the glasses, looking back at herself in the mirror. Each time she turned her head to see herself from another angle, the multitude of beads she had strung in her hair rattled nosily, the flower bandanna around her head doing nothing to contain the wild black locks.

“Remind me to tell Vernal to keep you off the grass for a while.” Qrow mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“She was talking about getting inked, you know.” She pat her arm. “Right here. A raven.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, but his mind was on Taiyang and the little black heart he had on his own arm. Qrow had only seen it yesterday; it had been a warm day so he’d been in a polo rather than his arrangement of sweaters. “You get liver poisoning that way.” He replied distractedly.

“You really are being a drag.” Raven sat on her own bed, graciously sparing him from having to look at the gaudy shades by tossing them on the mattress. “What’s happening?”

He tossed the inkling around in his head, pondering over whether he really wanted to tell his sister about his woes. But, who else did he have besides Summer? “You know the job I took a few weeks back? We have a regular there who can’t hear.”

“Like, at all?” When he nodded, she lent forward, resting her hands under her chin. “Wild. So what do you do?”

“Summer talks to him with these weird hand flaps.”

“It’s called sign language, birdbrain.”

“I know! That’s not the point!”

She arched a brow. “So, what is the point?”

“I…” He looked away, unable to face her as he admitted, “He irritates me. I don’t get why we should cater to him just ‘cause he was unlucky.”

There was a creak of bedspring as Raven shifted positions, then said, “You sound like mom.”

“I know!” Qrow shouted, shooting up from the bed and running his hands through his hair. “It’s been three years Rae! Why can’t I get her damn screechy voice out of my head?!”

Raven lounged back on the heels of her hands, her red eyes following him while he paced the floor and mumbled out angry curses. She was patient as she waited for him to finish, but once he’d slumped back to his own bed, hanging his head in defeat, her voice was oddly soothing to his frayed nerves, “Ma had plenty to say about everyone. It’s hard conditioning to break. You and I know that better than anyone.”

He scoffed. “As if you ever had a problem.”

She shrugged, not answering that. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known Raven was kissing chicks behind the bleachers by the time she was thirteen. And when their parents finally found out and pointed to the door, she’d marched out of the house with her head held high as if it’d been her idea to leave the whole time.

But him? He didn’t even try crossing the bridge until his first college party, where a few shots blitzed him enough to realize that Tin Man Jimmy’s eyes were rather fetching and it was a terrible shame to make them close when he kissed him. They hadn’t lasted, but it had been enough to make him want to find the underground world hidden from society’s eye. So, after getting a few tips from Raven (and a lot of necessary encouragement over how he wasn’t a demon birthed from Hell’s fiery womb), he started to dress just a bit flashier, speak a little more in jargon and frequent more bars on the south side of town. Three years away from home left him more comfortable within himself than he’d ever thought possible, as if he truly was a bird that was finally given the right to fly for the first time. He thought he’d really broken free of the cage his parents had ignorantly built around him.

And then he had to meet Taiyang and, with each passing day leaving his attraction further soured with distaste, Qrow realized that no, he really wasn’t past everything and maybe he never would be.

“You’re brooding.” Raven quirked, always pleased in her awful taste of humor. “Look, you really want to stick it to mom? Make friends with him.” She rolled her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “And if you can’t do that, then just ignore him.”

“I, I guess.” He conceded, sighing towards the ceiling. “This is all so janked. Even worse, I feel like I’m betraying my people somehow.”

“What does that mean?”

He placed a hand over his piercing, recalling the expression on Tai’s face when he’d done the same thing during their first meeting. An expression he now understood had been panic as the man feared he’d just accidentally made a total stranger out himself in public. “He’s batting for my team, not yours.”

“Ooooo.” Her expression lit up with sudden understanding. A smirk began creeping its way onto her face. “So what’s he look like?”

Qrow gave her one glance before adamantly shaking his head. “Oh no. I know that gleam.”

She fluttered her eyelids; though, the day she could pull of innocent would be the same day God’s rapture happened. “Whatever do you mean, dear brother?”

“You’ve got that look that says you’re about to psychoanalyze me!”

“I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Just because you’re majoring in psychology doesn’t suddenly make you an expert.”

“No. I suppose not.” She finally agreed. And as he stretched back out along his bed, he thought she was just going to let it go, until: “…So, blue eyes, huh?”

Qrow buried his face into his pillow and screamed.

October 11th, 1967

The rag made a wet plop as Qrow tossed it onto the tabletop, wiping away circular coffee cup marks and pastry crumbs. It was a slow day at the café, only three customers in the shop and only a handful of others having come in since the start of his shift. He looked towards the only one sitting at the bar. Taiyang was signing in quick, rapid movements, and though Qrow couldn’t make heads or tails of it, Summer had no trouble keeping up as she started to laugh at whatever he was telling her.

Feeling his jaw tighten, he ducked his head and slunk off to another table, scrubbing a little harder at the stains. It had only been a few days, and he found attempting to ignore Tai was only resulting in him being even more hyperaware of his presence.

The only other patrons were two classmates he faintly recognized from his American Studies course. They were talking in hushed tones and, normally, he’d tune it out; but searching for a much-needed distraction, Qrow lent down to wipe one of the chair seats off as he strained his ear.

“I don’t know about this Cardin.” He heard one of them grunt gruffly. The guy’s hair was cut in a way that it made him look like a ridiculous cockatiel.

The other hissed back, “Don’t be a flake.”

“I’m not!”

“Good.” Then, even lower, “It’s not like he’ll hear us coming anyways.”

What?!

Qrow narrowly missed smacking his head on the bottom of the table as he straightened up. Walking around their table to the next, he continued to try and listen in, but they’d moved to talking about the Yankees game. He side-eyed their backs, wondering if he’d maybe just misheard. Eventually, he gave up hovering, knowing there was only so much he could pretend to clean and returned to the counter to organize the mugs.

The minutes passed and he kept sneaking glances to the duo, but when they didn’t so much as give Tai a glance when he stood to leave, Qrow relaxed, even returned the wave the blond sent him as he passed by. The bell rang as the door opened and shut.

Seconds ticked by and nothing happened.

He sighed, turning away and tossing his rag in the basin. Of course he was overreacting.

Scraaap!

Qrow paused, looking back and watching with increasing trepidation as the two students got to their feet, pulling on their jackets. The snap of the door closing was unusually loud, leaving a disturbing silence behind.

“Ah! Alone at last.” Summer cheered, handing him Tai’s mug.

He swallowed down the sickness in his throat. “Yeah.”

His friend continued to chatter but he found it hard to listen as he stared down at the cup, his mind circling as much as the coffee rings he was staring at.

“God has a plan for everyone.” He could almost feel the bite of his mother’s fingernails digging into his shoulder as she whispered in his ear, “If someone’s born unnatural, He’s already forsaken them. Whatever comes next, it’s only what they deserve.”

His hand tightened around the mug, then he slammed it on the counter, the loud noise drowning out her voice.

No!

“Uh, Qrow?”

“I’m taking my break!” He called, jumping over the counter in one fluid motion as he sprinted out the door. He took off around the building and through the alleyway most of the students cut through to get to the outfields.

The night was brisk, autumn’s chill having settled in deep this year and leaving the trees already wilting, their spindly limbs like decrepit fingers reaching out for him as he passed by. His heart beat a hard rhythm in his chest as he spotted the duo quickly closing in. Qrow sprinted forward as fast as legs could carry him, his mouth opening in a useless cry Tai could never hear.

Except, by some miracle he did, stopping and turning just in time to accept Cardin’s punch to his face.

Even from this distance, Qrow winced at the sound of the impact, and had it been him accepting the blow, he would have been on the ground immediately. But Tai was more solidly built, only stumbling back, and still had the awareness to jerk away from the follow up strike. What happened next was probably the most unreal thing Qrow had ever witnessed when, just as quick, the blond’s hands reached out, clasping around his attacker’s wrist and elbow, smoothly kicking out his legs so he could flip him. Cardin gave an aborted yelp, all the breath probably whooshing out of his lungs from how hard he hit the ground.

His mohawked buddy tried to grapple Tai from behind, but the blond’s elbow snapped back, landing a rough hit into his chest to knock him back. That was when Qrow finally managed to clean the distance, throwing all his weight in as he shoulder-tackled into guy just as he was stumbling back, actually managing to toss him into the grass next to his friend.

Rubbing the ache from his arm, Qrow ignored the look of surprise Tai was sending him as he growled out to sprawled forms, “If you don’t want to get thrashed again, I suggest you split!”

Cardin scowled as he got to his knees, eyes darting between them as if he was looking for another cheap shot. He must have thought better of whatever ill plans he was concocting though, because he said, “Time to cut out Russ, this scene’s getting diseased.”

A flare of anger burned through Qrow. “What was that?!”

It only earned him a taunting, “Later fags!” As the two took off.

His hands shook as he curled them into fists, mind playing the thought of chasing after them and giving them both a quality shiner to wear for the rest of the week. Yet, movement at his left had him looking back at Tai in time to see the blond cringing some as he touched his face.

“Ah, jeez.” Qrow mumbled when the other’s hand came away scarlet red with blood.

Returning to the shop with Tai’s nose gushing like a fountain yielded about the response he expected as Summer took one look at them, then yelled in horror, “What happened?!”

Leading the blond to the nearest bar stool, Qrow replied, “The two that left here tried to get the jump on him. Can you get a rag, Sums?”

The dainty woman was quick to do so, ringing it out in the sink before handing it over to the blond. As he pressed it to his face, she gestured and said, “Are you alright?”

With his hands busy, all Tai could do was nod.

“He’s fine.” Qrow reassured, leaning his hip against the counter. “Took it like a champ and gave twice back. It was kind of impressive actually.” Really, there had been something fantastic about the finesse in which Tai had moved; it had been as if he was channeling Bruce Lee spirit into his own.

Being the girl she was, Summer only continued to frown, flapping her hands some more. “Stay as long as you need.”

Tai just nodded again, and as she walked away to finish stocking the coffee canisters, he glanced sideways towards him in a confused manner.

“Eh.” Qrow just shrugged in return. He turned away, about to round the bar, when a warm hand closed around his arm. He looked down at it, then the man it belonged to. “Yeah?” He asked, remembering two seconds later he couldn’t hear him. Just like when they first met, Taiyang asked him to wait, before he dug out his notepad and pen, flipping it to a clean page. Qrow rested against the counter again, looking down when the notepad was pushed towards him.

Thank you for coming after me. It read. The handwriting was so neat, it could have been book print and Qrow imagined he probably went to one of those schools that slapped students’ wrists until each line and dot was perfect.

He wondered if they were even harder on Tai about it.

The pen was placed down next to it, invitation clear, and after a short hesitance, Qrow picked it up, writing back: You don’t need to thank me. You did fine on your own. How’d you know they were there?

Tai shook his head when he read it, taking the pen again, returning with, I saw their shadows.

Okay, that’s pretty boss. He replied.

Thank you?

The question mark, combined with the baffled look, made Qrow wonder if he even knew what the term meant so he quickly amended with: Sorry. It means really cool.

Tai read it, rolling his eyes. His reply was quick, but rather than push it back he held the notepad up, one raised eyebrow enhancing the clearly miffed tone: I know. I’m deaf, not out of touch.

He laughed, the response catching him off-guard.

Tai set it back down and added underneath that, Noticing stuff like that is normal for me. Nothing to get freaked out over.

Just like the blond had, Qrow replied with an equal amount of cheekiness: Alright Mr. Sassypants. I still -think it’s boss.

It gifted him a smile and a compliment: You’re lucky you’re a dish, Qrow.

He felt heat on his face. Perfect for every meal of the day. He flirted back.

Tai laughed behind his hand. It was mostly soundless, little tiny huffs of air, but it made his eyes shimmer merrily.

Qrow was glad he had the counter for support as he felt his knees go weak all over again, positive the smile stretching along his face was goofy as could be, but not minding at all.

October 12th, 1967

As he took the ever-familiar trek from his history class to the shop, Qrow found himself whistling the chorus to “All You Need is Love”, a bop to his step and a sway to his hips. He pretended the brittle grass crunching underfoot was a suitable replacement for the backing percussion, heels hitting a little harder when he passed over the same spot where those punks had gotten their tails handed to them just last night, and made his way through the trees and alley next. He weaved his way around the bad luck cracks in the sidewalk, humming the last tones of the song as he pulled open the door, the half-formed plan on how to convince Summer to let him slack off a bit today so he could chat Tai up again falling away when he realized she wasn’t at the counter.

“Hey there, Mrs. Rose.” He said as politely as possible. “Sums running late?”

The woman, hair graying and tummy plumped with age shook her head. “‘Fraid she won’t be making it in for a bit. Poor child came down with a frightful fever. She looks just dreadful. So I’ve decided to work her shift until she feels well.”

“Oh.” He said, trying to mask his disappointment. “Give her my regards next time you see her.”

“Certainly will. Now, be a dear and handle the dishes.” As he passed by her, she caught his arm, grip almost too tight as she whispered harshly in his ear, “And get that thing out of your ear. People talk you know.”

“Yes ma’am.” Qrow replied. As he placed the stud in his pocket, he found himself extremely glad she hadn’t been there yesterday. She certainly would have spared no sympathy for Tai and his mangled nose.

He wasn’t surprised when he spent his next hour working like a dog, despite the moderate business. But even if Mrs. Rose had made him scrub the tiles with a toothbrush, nothing could tear his eyes away from the door. Therefore, he didn’t miss the exact moment Tai walked through. He practically dropped the trayful of mugs he was bussing in his hurry to set them down and hop on the register.

From the smile he wore, it seemed Tai was just as blissed to see him. And though his face was swollen and bruised, he was still the prettiest sight Qrow had gotten all day.

He slid the note he’d written on a scrap of receipt over. Summer’s sick and her mom’s a prowler. The usual?

The blond nodded, pulling out his pen. Good luck.

As he took the change, he stuffed the note next to his earring, hoping that having the wish in his pocket would act like a charm, because he was going to need all he could get.

No matter how much he wanted to, Qrow didn’t dare try to talk more with Tai. He did spare him a few glances here and there, and if they caught eyes, they’d share smiles; but even that yielded short supply as the blond spent most of his time bent over his notebook, scribbling away. He would have been more upset that those blue eyes weren’t following his every moment like a lovesick chick gazing upon her Casanova, had he had enough time to consider it.

Instead, he was too busy following the siren’s noxious songs of “Qrow can you do” and “Qrow can you get this” and “Qrow this just isn’t clean enough”. So, by the time he thought to look back, Tai’s stool was empty, nothing left but his mug. Trying not to let disappointment drag him down, he went to fetch it. His hand paused inches from picking up the mug when he realized a folded slip of paper was pinned underneath it.

Heart jamming a rhythm that would make even The Rolling Stones jealous, Qrow scanned the store, just to make sure no one’s attention was on him, before he picked up the note. A question was written on it:

What’s a crow’s favorite drink?

He arched an eyebrow, before unfolding the page. The answer was written in large lettering, arched like a rainbow over a surprisingly well-drawn ink picture of a cartoon crow with its wings folded around a mug.

CAWfee!

Qrow snorted, shoulders shaking with effort to contain his laughter, a flush of warmth spreading throughout him like a warm summer rain.

“Qrow! Don’t dawdle over there! I need you to scrub these pastry pans!” Mrs. Rose called shrilly.

Even that couldn’t ruin his euphoric mood. “Coming!” He placed the drawing next to his receipt and earring, feeling luckier than the richest man in Vegas.

October 13th, 1967

Day two went much the same, but with a heavier crowd often found as the week drew on as exhausted students tried to sludge through the day and make it to the weekend. Once the first hour had passed, Qrow’s feet and patience were already tired and he’d managed to mix up two orders. Summer’s mom was in a state over it, and she made sure he knew it as she yelled down at him enough that he felt like he was back in primary school and getting scolded for pushing Glynda off the witch’s hat on the playground all over again.

As he waited for the coffee to brew once again, vengefully contemplating the ramifications of his soul if he decided to set Mr. Rose’s hair on fire, he heard a telltale rap-a-tap-tap along the countertop that told him his favorite customer had arrived. And, sure enough, as he turned to face the register, there Tai was, smiling back at him in that way he couldn’t imagine he’d ever grow tired of.

Qrow did his best to return it, but Tai didn’t need hearing to tell him that his heart was misplaced from it. Already prepared, the blond scribbled on his little notepad, sliding it his way.

You alright?

He took the proffered pen. I’ll survive.

It felt a shame to see the smile get overtaken by a frown and he felt almost as cheated as if the weatherman promised a sunny day only for him to walk into the rain. Tai rolled the pen between his fingers, before writing quickly: Hang in there Pige.

Wait.

What?

Qrow’s eyebrows knotted. Of course he knew the reference. Any 50s kid did. But how did-? No. More importantly-

No way. You’re Lady. I’m the Tramp, through and through.

I’m interested in that yarn if you dare to spin it. Tai was laughing quietly again.

Feeling his face heat, he quickly changed topics. How do you even know that movie?

I really like dogs. So, every week I’d beg my parents to take me to the cinema to see it, even though I couldn’t hear it. My mom eventually wrote out the dialogue for me so I could follow along. Now it was the other’s turn to look embarrassed.

Feeling a bit amiss for words, Qrow only wrote back, Good mom. Secretly glad that bitterness couldn’t be telegraphed so easily.

The best. Speaking of, Mrs. Rose is giving you the stink eye.

Ah, shit.

He gratefully accepted the dime the blond slipped him, reluctantly getting back to work.

That night, a new drawing was placed beside his coffee drinking crow. This one was only pencil and more hastily sketched due to being busier than its predecessor. The first thing that drew his eye was the slightly more masculine Lady, snooty nose up in the air and sunflower perched atop one floppy ear. There was a leash in ‘her’ teeth and a speech bubble above her head that said, ‘You belong in the dog house.’

Attached to its other end was Tramp, the pendant on his collar a sideways cross. His ears were raised hopefully as he inquired back, ‘Yours?’

Qrow lay in bed that night, unable to rest as he thought over the silent question for a long, long time.

October 14th, 1967

By day three, Summer was back and Qrow practically fell to her feet in his relief, hugging onto her knees and begging her to never leave him again. She promptly told him to stop overacting like he was living in a Broadway musical and, as an apology, gave him one of her Secret Ingredient Cookies that were known for their heavenly taste. It certainly made up for him still doing most of the work while his still recovering friend puttered about at the speed of molasses. Nor did she raise protest as he endlessly groused over his meager sufferings. It was only when he got to the single highlight of the past two days, did she speak up.

“Of course I knew he could draw.” Summer interjected what was meant to be a rhetorical question. “Who did you think painted the roses here?”

“Hold up. Didn’t your parents open this place up a few years back?”

“Yep.” She said, adding a little pop to the ‘p’.

He looked at her, mildly betrayed. “How long have you known Tai?”

She hummed. “Since 10th grade. I went to a special sign language event with my cousin Neo. To support her, you know?” He was certain from the way she rolled her eyes that he looked about as utterly clueless as he felt. “She’s mute, Qrow. Anyways, that’s where I met Tai. We stayed in touch ever since.”

He was starting to wonder what else he didn’t know about Summer. “So why haven’t I met him before?”

“Tai tends to get nervous meeting new people. And you’ve never exactly been Mr. Approachable, especially not back in high school.”

A weak, “Hey!” was about the extent of his argument. He couldn’t deny he used to be one of the biggest gas lighters in the whole school, always looking for a new victim to scoff at. It was a world wonder how Summer put up with him back then.

“But, you know,” She continued as she stacked a few of the clean mugs up on the rack, tone deceptively casual, “He sure has been hanging around here a lot more often ever since you started working here.”

Rap-a-tap-tap, went the counter. Summer smiled knowingly before she flitted over to the register. Qrow watched the two talk, meeting Tai’s eyes over her head every now and again, and found the question he’d been agonizing over all night was suddenly startlingly simple to answer.

As he went to make the order he’d long ago memorized, he turned to his friend and said, “Sums, I need a favor.”

Ten minutes later, the cup was placed down on the counter, and as always, Tai smiled at him, waving his hand in front of his chin like a kiss. ‘Thank you’ he said.

For the first time ever, instead of the simple nod that had been the entirety of their communication for weeks now, Qrow mimicked the movement. ‘You’re welcome.’

Tai’s eyes widened.

Hands shaking with both nerves and inexperience, he carefully followed up with, ‘Would you like to go out sometime?’

For a fraction of a minute, while the blond sat there, not replying, Qrow worried he’d gotten it wrong.

And then, just as slow and deliberate, Tai rose his hand, curling it into a fist and shaking it in clear answer.

‘Yes.’

And like the bird he was named after, Qrow soared.

November 28th, 1967

So that’s why you wear your crosses like that!

Yeah. With a mother like mine, you’d forsake all religion too. What about you? Why a flower?

Don’t laugh. I garden. Sunflowers are my favorite.

Wait. So you can draw, plant flowers and you’re a martial artist blackbelt? Is there anything you can’t do?

Well, I can’t sing.

Qrow laughed, reaching over the bar to give the other’s shoulder a playful shove. Tai grinned back, completely unabashed, but as he pulled his notebook back towards him to write something else, he seemed to hesitate. His expression gentled with contemplation before finally writing what was on his mind.

When Qrow read it, he felt his breath stick like glue in his throat.

I know you want to ask. It’s okay.

He looked from Tai’s inviting gaze down to the pen, the offer clearly on the table to finally break the light conversation they’d been having the past six weeks and truly get serious. Inhaling deeply, he gathered his courage as he took it and replied: You got me. So, were you always deaf?

Tai’s smile never faltered, even as he answered: No. But I don’t remember a time when I could hear either.

What happened?

When I was a baby, I got really sick. My blood-related father refused to let mom take me to the hospital, even when I wouldn’t wake up. That’s why she left him. The doctors brought down my fever but my hearing was gone after that.

Qrow’s scanned over the words again and again, unsure what to say, but knowing ‘I’m sorry’ wouldn’t be well received. That’s awful. He settled on instead.

Tai shrugged. Can’t miss what you never knew you had.

Qrow had a feeling he didn’t only mean his hearing. He could certainly relate.

He tried to think of something, anything to say – but, despite a distinct lack of a usable voice, Tai was easily better at breaking silences. Alright, your turn. Tell me something unique about yourself.

Unique, huh? He tapped the end of the pen on the counter as he thought over whether he wanted to give away his biggest trump card or if he wanted to hold it until he could introduce them before dropping the bomb. But, when nothing else good came to mind he finally wrote:

I’m a twin.

It was still worth it. Tai’s eyes practically bugged out of his head, looking between the page and him and when he wrote back, it was messy and excited, underlined multiple times for emphasis.

FAR OUT! I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

He laughed again, twirling his wrist in a gesture he’d only recently learned meant ‘go on’. He was picking Sign in bits and pieces from the other. He still couldn’t hold a conversation or even complete the last third of the alphabet, but it certainly didn’t deter him. It helped his teacher’s hands were warm and gentle, often lingering intentionally on his own (it was also half the reason he was having so much trouble remembering most of them).

The notepad was finally pushed back, and though he expected all of them, it was probably Tai’s genuine enthusiasm that left Qrow feeling endeared rather than annoyed as he read, trying to contain his grin.

Are you younger or older? Identical? Have you two been switching on me this whole time without telling me? Can you read each other’s minds? Most importantly: Who’s the evil twin?

I’m younger. Not identical, but Raven’s definitely the evil twin. She can read my mind, sometimes, but she can do that with everyone. I’m pretty sure she’s actually an alien.

Tai scribbled back, You think everyone’s an alien. Really though, what’s it like having a sibling?

Qrow twirled the pen between his fingers like a baton as he gave the question some honest consideration before writing, Like having a best friend and worst enemy rolled into one. Rae gets on my nerves constantly and she can be unbearable to live with, but she’ll always be the first person I tell all my secrets to.

Sounds profound.

He wondered if it would be too weird to ask if he could save this page for himself, even as he replied, You should come to my dorm sometime. I could introduce you.

It was rare he ever saw Tai blush. He was suddenly very committed to making it happen more often. The blond started to write before shaking his head, quickly slashing it out and saying instead, I’d like that.

Yet, no matter how well the words were blacked out, Qrow truly was at least quarter-part hellion, because he had been reading as it was being written and filed the idea away for future use.

To what, your tongue?

December 2nd, 1967

“How. About. This?” Qrow said as he moved his hands slowly, then lifted them up to his eyes, circling them like spectacles.

Tai was unamused, making a sharp motion. ‘No way.’

He laughed, waving him down. ‘Joking.’

‘Try again.’

“Aright.” Qrow acquisitioned, “This?” This time, he brought his fists together like a heart, before moving them apart, spreading out his fingers as he did so, mimicking a firework.

Still wary of another joke, Tai tilted his head some and asked, ‘Why?’

Qrow reached for the notepad that was never far, writing down, Because you’re like a burst of energy.

He knew he had struck gold, because Tai immediately brightened, signing enthusiastically, ‘Love it!’

Rather pleased, he settled back against his headboard, scanning over the page which was full of broken sentences and single words. They’d been at it for a good hour but deciding on their name signs had been wicked cool. It felt like a secret handshake almost. Thankfully, Tai was also determined to be a bit more creative than simply making a bird that any teenybopper with a flashlight could imitate. Instead, he had curved the index and middle fingers of his right hand sideways, while placing the index of his left at the base of them.

Like a scythe. Qrow reread, brushing his thumb over the text. Because you’re dangerously beautiful.

A hand patting along the bedsheets drew his eyes back to the blond, who either signed ‘What now?’ or ‘What next?’, Qrow wasn’t entirely positive. He lifted the notepad for Tai to read, Can I ask you to try something? When he got the affirmative, he added after it, Can you say my name with your voice?

The response was immediate, Tai making the same motion over and over, ‘No. Nononononon-’ Face turning red, he stopped and hid behind his hands.

“Whoa, whoa.” He sat up, running his hand over the tops of the golden locks until he could see those blue eyes again to sign, ‘Please?’

Tai sighed soundlessly. ‘You’ll laugh.’

‘Probably.’ He chuckled when the other shoved him, repeating, ‘Please?’

The other snuffed like a discontented bull. ‘I’ll try’ Tai straightened up, placing his hand against his throat. He hummed and hawed to get a feel for the sound for a minute, his expression shifting comically as he got used to it, before his lips parted, a confused hiss escaping, “Ccccccoo?”

Qrow tried his best, he really did, but even with his teeth leaving grooves into his bottom lip, nothing could really contain the sudden fit that overcame him.

Tai flushed, looking indignant as he signed harsh repeats. ‘Jerk. Jerk, jerk, jerk!’

“I’m sorry!” He said, signing it adamantly but the blond looked away from him, obviously peeved. Qrow waited until he wasn’t going to laugh in his face again, reaching out to cup his hand under Tai’s chin, gently pulling his gaze back his way. Not quailing under the glare, he said, ‘Thank you.’

His lips pursed some, almost a pout, and his shoulders relaxed. But, he didn’t let him completely off the hook as he snatched up the notepad, pointing at, Can I ask you to try something?

Well, that was probably fair. Qrow nodded, “Yeah, sure.”

The book made a soft thump as it was tossed back to the sheets. Tai began to move his hands in a slow manner whenever he was worried Qrow wouldn’t understand. He pointed to himself.

“Me.” Qrow sounded out. Two movements, one blending into the next as Tai closed his hand and pointed at him, “And you.”

Boyishly shy as if it were their first meeting all over again, Tai hesitated, before tapping his index and middle finger against his own lips.

Oh.

Suddenly, the fact that they had been alone in his dorm room for over an hour and hadn’t been making out the whole time seemed like a great misuse of a Saturday afternoon.

‘Yes,’ Qrow replied unsteadily, whole body feeling electrified as if he’d truly become a bird that had just landed on a live wire. Tai was eyeing his shaking hand uncertainly, so he repeated the acceptance more vigorously, nodding with it.

The blond chuckled with that breathy, huffing laugh of his, own smile trembly with nerves. The bedsprings creaked as he shifted closer, fingers drawing a warm pattern from Qrow’s forehead down to his chin but just scant inches away, he hesitated. It was hard to tell if it was inexperience or jitters making him freeze, but Qrow reached up, hand covering the one on his chin, fingers slipping into Tai’s as he tilted his head and closed the rest of the distance between them.

The first kiss was chaste, their lips slightly winter-chapped but warm, lasting only a few seconds before they were pulling back. Squeezing his hand, Tai pulled his away only to sign ‘again?’. His expression was delightfully starstruck. Qrow grinned, clutching Tai’s sweater and leading him back in.

By the fourth kiss, Tai stopped checking.

By the sixth, a swipe of Qrow’s tongue along his lips had Tai jerking back, eyes wide in surprise, only to eagerly dive in for a seventh.

By the time his sister walked in, he had lost count, too preoccupied by trying to make the blond moan again to keep track.

“Well, aren’t you two disgusting?” Raven said, shutting the door behind her.

He lurched out of Tai’s lap, glaring crossly at her. A moment later, the blond realized she was there too and yelped. The noise was so unexpected it made both of the twins jump.

“Whoa, hey,” Qrow placed a hand on his arm to get his attention. “It’s okay. It’s okay. This is Raven.” He said, carefully fingerspelling her name. He’d practiced it enough, preparing for when he’d introduce them – though, he certainly hadn’t meant for it to be like this.

The panic slowly melted away to understanding, quickly followed by absolute mortification. Still, Tai made the effort to offer her a greeting wave.

The way Raven eyed him, smirking with gleeful smugness, only seemed to increase his intimidation. “Ah, so he does have blue eyes.”

Making a mental note to explain things later, Qrow gave Tai a pitying pat, before turning back to his sister. “Thought you said you were gonna be out.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not sticking around.” Her nose wrinkled, not hard to guess what nasty scenarios she was envisioning. “I just need the keys to the Chevy, then I’m gonna split.” He snatched up the keyring on his nightstand and tossed them her way. She caught them easily, waving as she headed back for the exit, “Have fun!”

He almost just left it at that. Almost.

Instead he called after her, “Where are you going?”

“Draft card burning.”

“Another one?”

Her hand hovered above the doorknob, before slowly pulling away as she turned to him, demeanor predatory in the way she stared him down. “Got a problem with that?”

Raven’s scare tactics had never worked on him before. They certainly weren’t going to now. “Yeah I got a problem with it!” Qrow snapped back, air quoting ‘problem’ for emphasis as he got to his feet, facing her down. “You shouldn’t be going to them. People are getting killed.” When her only response was to roll her eyes, his anger flared. “Raven, I’m serious!”

Her voice rose with his. “And I’m not?! For every one of us shot, ten more of our brothers are being gunned down across the sea!”

“That’s not your problem to solve!”

“No, it’s all of ours, you’re just too oblivious to see it. If you won’t stand with me, then fine!” She stepped forward, snarling in his face, “But you damn well better not stand in my way.”

Even before he responded, he knew what he’d say would be childish; Raven was the only one who made him feel like he had to resort to the tactics of a twelve-year-old. “Oh, I’m oblivious?! You really think anyone’s gonna listen to some stupid girl that thinks handing out a bunch of flowers can stop a war?”

They were about as effective too, because she hardly faltered. “You’ll thank this ‘stupid girl’ when it saves your ass from being next.” A scoff. “Just like always.”

Somehow, that stung. “Don’t act so full of yourself.”

“You know I’m right.” Raven turned away, clearly done with him. “These protests can’t stop until the day our troops are sent home.” She yanked open the door, tossing back at him, “We’re fighting a useless war. And the sooner the rest of the world sees that, the better.”

Then she was gone, nothing left but the snap of the latch catching to echo her departure.

Qrow stood there, fists shaking where they curled tightly at his sides, blood running hot in his veins. So caught up in his turbulent emotions, he almost forgot he wasn’t alone until a warm hand caught his wrist. Looking over, he was met with Tai’s earnest concern. It took some effort, but he managed to relax his hands, enough to sign a quick, ‘Sorry.’

The apology was quickly dismissed, the blond guiding him back to his bed. Both of them sat on the edge. ‘The war?’ The blond guessed, fingerspelling the second word for him.

‘Yeah,’ He replied halfheartedly.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

As answer, Qrow mutely slipped his hand into Tai’s, tangling their fingers into a tight grip.

March 30th, 1968

The trunk was popped open, a duffle bag being set down inside. Qrow peeked at it around Tai’s arm, inching his hand towards it.

Smack!

He recoiled quickly, shaking out the imaginary pain.

‘Naughty.’ Tai signed.

He winked back. ‘You know it.’

The trunk was shut before he could make any more attempts, the blond swinging the keyring on his finger as he made his way to the driver’s side of the Chevy. Qrow hopped in on the other side, watching quietly as the other adjusted the mirror and got the car started. Before he put it in reverse though, Tai caught his eye. ‘Nervous?’ He asked.

‘Somewhat.’ Qrow admitted; because really, how would someone go about teaching a deaf guy how to drive anyhow?

His smile was reassuring. ‘Trust me.’

So, he did. Mostly. And if he clutched onto the car door for the first ten minutes of the drive, it was only because the Chevy was getting ricketier with age and certainly did not have anything to do with the violent imagery of death-by-car rolling through his head like a B-grade horror show.

It wasn’t until they hit the highway that Qrow allowed himself to truly relax. Boredom set in soon after and with little else to do, he pulled out his sociology textbook to take the notes he would need for his dissertation on how Darwinist societies were dystopias in disguise. Maybe, when he finished it, he’d mail it off to his mother just to tick her off. Though, he was sure her response would be less about the words on the page and more about the name on the return address.

His lips quirked in a slight smile, knowing if he told Raven she’d cheer him on. Maybe even provide the stamp.

Well, that is, if she would talk to him.

Qrow sighed, trying to focus on the words on the page and not the daunting tension that had leaked into his everyday life. Since the turn of the year, with nothing but the heat of the Battle of Khe Sanh on every channel and the growing violence against MLK’s protestors in every paper, it felt like the entire world was ready spin off its axis. Each daily report only seemed to further his sister’s resolve to act even crazier than the most insane person in an asylum, because now she was considering dropping out of school altogether to go onto some ‘peace-spreading road trip’ across the country. She refused to listen to reason, no matter how much he hollered at her about how she was throwing her future down the drain.

It had been a week since that fight and they hadn’t said a word to one another since. It seemed they’d both concluded that the first one who did was admitting they were wrong; and both of them were surely too stubborn to do that. He wasn’t expecting any apologies; Raven never said sorry to anyone. But the stifling silence between them was dismaying.

It felt like he was losing his best friend, and he didn’t know what to do.

A gentle nudge on his shoulder drew his attention, and he looked up, realizing they were stopped at a light. Tai gestured his way. ‘You alright?’

Qrow smiled. At least he had him. ‘Yes.’ He replied. ‘Just thinking.’

The blond wasn’t fooled for a moment, but let it go with a simple nod and turned his attention back on the road.

The rest of the drive went by without event, though Qrow had some distinct concerns when they turned off the main pathway and started weaving their way up into the network of mountains that bordered the eastern side of Santa Cruz. Once the paving ran out, Tai parked on a level patch of land, signing enthusiastically, ‘We’re here!’ before he jumped out of the car.

They were? When suggesting going on a getaway for the weekend, the man had been rather scarce about the details, wanting to surprise him. Now, as Qrow peered out the windshield at the thick groves of trees all around them, he realized that either they were going camping or Tai had been secretly planning his murder this whole time.

Snorting at his own imagination, he climbed out, heading to the back of the car where Tai was shouldering the bag with ease. ‘Ready for a walk? It’s not too far.’

‘Lead the way.’ He said. Yet, when the blond turned and started to hike into the forest, Qrow found he couldn’t help himself when faced with the other’s shapely backside, reaching out and delivering a teasing smack along the other’s ass.

Tai jumped, emitting a little yelp that had Qrow cracking up. He whirled back around, a mischievous gleam in his blue eyes the only warning before he was sweeping him right off his feet. Surprised, Qrow shrieked before dissolving into laughter, winding his arms across Tai’s shoulders. The blond was grinning brilliantly, leaning forward to capture his lips in a searing kiss that had him humming with pleasant appreciation.

When he was set back on his feet, they headed up the trail together this time, fingers intertwined between them.

Despite it being mid-afternoon, the forest floor was fairly dark, the early hints of spring causing dense overgrowth of the maple and redwood trees and blocking out most of the sunlight to where it could only dapple along the brush they waded through. He could hear the faintest rushing noise of a nearby stream that had likely only just broken through the remaining winter frost. The birds were awake as well, the faint warbles of loon birds and the trills of song sparrows being particularly loud. Just as they were passing over a patch of wildflowers, Tai nudged him excitedly as he pointed out an adolescent deer just before it leaped out of sight. They kept their eyes out for other creatures after that, but other than a few scurrying squirrels, didn’t see anything too outstanding.

It didn’t matter as shortly thereafter, Qrow knew they’d reached their destination when Tai waved him on and sprinted up a sloping ridge. He was a little slower, not entirely trusting himself to not trip, but as he came up over the crest, he was suddenly breathless, uttering nothing more than a soft, “Whoa.”

It was like walking out of realty and into a fantasyland. They were at the edge of a cliff on the mountainside, the land below them nothing but hills full of trees and thickening mist that clung to the valley like a gentle blanket. As he stepped as close as he dared, he looked down, seeing the jagged edges of rock and the sheer drop descending into the fog. Instead of inciting fear, it was freeing, as if he was standing on top of the entire world from here.

‘Beautiful, right?’ Tai signed.

‘Yeah.’ He replied.

‘Wait until sunset.’ He grinned, before walking away, leaving Qrow to take in the sight. A clapping eventually prompted him to turn away though, only to see Tai spreading his arms to showcase the yellow-patterned quilt he’d placed along the ground with its simple lunch of sandwiches, set right in the middle and waiting for them. This was almost like a fantasy too; having a picnic in the mountains. Even as he sat with the other and took his first bite, everything felt so unreal.

‘How did you find this place?’ He asked.

Tai seemed to think over how to answer, before pulling out the notebook and pen they always kept on hand when the signs got too complicated. Before my Volks tanked, I used to drive out as far as I could go. This is one of my favorite places.

There was a line break, and then he continued on a new paragraph. The summer before college started, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. So, I packed up a bunch of my stuff and just started driving. Found a bunch of small towns. Hit up LA, Vegas, the canyons. I think I even crossed the border at one point.

Though he was certain he already knew, Qrow asked, ‘Alone?’

He nodded. ‘I just felt so lost. I thought if I just kept going, eventually I’d find my way.’

‘Did you find what you were looking for?’

‘No.’ Tai signed back, expression gentling, ‘I found it when I came back.’

For the second time today, Qrow felt breathless. Awash with sudden boldness, he said, ‘Next time, let’s go together.’

Smile widening, he replied, ‘I’d like that.’

The next few hours were spent exploring the surrounding forest. They hopped across flat stones sticking up above the rushing stream and dared one another to climb up one of the low-hanging oak trees. They kept looking for other animals, which was mostly a bust except for a half dozen different birds. Though, Qrow did happen upon one spectacular find hiding in the roots of a tree that he managed to scoop up into his hands. When he revealed the tarantula to Taiyang, he almost couldn’t stop laughing at the girly scream the other emitted as he jerked back and fell into the brush.

As dusk grew near, they headed back to their spot. They sat near the edge, bundled up together in the quilt to keep away the brisk chill that still came with nightfall. They watched as the sun fell below the horizon, the mist having turned into a dense, rolling fog that seemed soft enough to jump on and hued with the colors reflected in the sky. And as an arm came around his waist, holding him close, Qrow found that he’d never felt so content in his life.

‘Thank you,’ He told Tai later, when night had truly fallen and they were instead laying along the quilt to stargaze.

‘For?’ Qrow had to squint some to read the question, nothing but a battery powered lamp behind them and the moon above left for light.

‘I needed this.’ He turned onto his side to face him more fully as he added, ‘I’m glad you’re here.’

As answer, Tai cupped his face in his hand and brought him into a tender kiss, thumb caressing his cheek. After a few moments, he pulled back, but Qrow didn’t let him go far, dragging him into another. Just like that fateful Saturday in his dorm room, and the many, more amazing sessions afterwards, they quickly became drunk on each other. Strong arms hefted him up off the ground, Tai allowing his body to rest atop his own.

Qrow nibbled at a strong jawline, dipping down to suck along his neck and hearing how the other’s breathing grew heavy. He also grew daring, because his hands wandered an unhurried path down his back to the curve of his ass, squeezing. Arousal jolted through him, Qrow burying his head into the other’s collar just to gather himself a moment. When he felt a bit more in control, he lifted his head to look at Tai.

And god, was he beautiful. His lips were swollen and thoroughly kissed, his face lightly flushed and blue eyes dark with passion as he stared up at him. And when they came together again, when Tai moaned softly into his mouth as their tongues tangled, when one hand twisted into his hair while the other still squeezed his ass, Qrow knew with absolutely certainty that he was moments away from ripping off all their clothes and claiming Tai as his own.

So, it took all his willpower to tap his hand along Tai’s arm twice, their personal signal to hold on. The other’s look of confusion was hard to face even as he obediently drew back.

‘Are you alright?’ Tai asked.

‘Yes.’ He sat up, his knees straddling the other’s waist to give them a little space. Qrow’s hands were as nervous as he was, starting and stopping his signs as he tried to find the right way to ask what he needed to. ‘I just – What do you – How… how far do you want to go?’

Again, the answer was given in action, Tai reaching out to capture his hands before slowly, deliberately guiding them down to rest on the buckle of his belt.

Qrow swallowed hard, heart picking up speed. When his hands were freed, he rose one of them. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Yes.’ Tai replied and the way he smiled at him, so tender, so fond, was almost too much. ‘I trust you, Qrow.’

An emotion tided through him, so strong and immense, it threatened to overspill from his heart and Qrow couldn’t wait another moment to say it. As his hands moved through the signs, he couldn’t help but speak it aloud as well, even if he’d be the only one to hear it: “Tai, I love you.”

At first, Tai was too overcome to respond, hands hovering in silence between them. Then he was sitting up, and it was only the way he suddenly caught him around his waist that kept Qrow from being pitched right out of his lap. Instead, he was pulled so close it felt like their bodies would meld together and swept up in a kiss so intense he swore he saw fireworks behind his eyes. It ignited his own soul so that even when they pulled back, the intensity was still there, their gazes smoldering as they looked upon one another.

‘Me too.’ Tai reciprocated fervidly. ‘Now, show me.’

And so Qrow did, capturing Tai’s lips once more as he laid him back along the quilt and made love to him under the stars.

April 4th, 1968

Qrow would have done anything to have stayed in that fantasyland where society was so far removed it couldn’t touch them and he and Tai could dance along the top of the world forever.

But, they couldn’t.

Eventually, they packed everything up and drove home to the San Fran, going back about their daily lives as they always did.

And, six days later, Martin Luther King was assassinated.

The world fell off its axis and spun out of control.

April 6th, 1968

It happened just a half hour before closing.

Qrow, Summer and Tai were the only ones in the shop. After the news had hit, business had stalled, too many people either too afraid to leave their homes or too infuriated that they were rioting in the streets. It was both a blessing and a curse for what came next.

He remembered how it happened so clearly: He was just undoing the notch to the coffee machine to clean the filter for the night, when the thunderous noise of the storefront window shattering filled the air.

Summer screamed, dropping to the floor.

Qrow cursed, bruising his hip against the counter as he lurched back against it, whirling around to see that a third of café rosé was already ablaze. He fell to his knees when another window was broken out, the flames intensifying as a second Molotov cocktail exploded along the floor. He reached out, partially covering Summer’s body with his own, feeling her trembling in fear as she covered her head.

A second scream made his heart drop. “TAI!” He yelled uselessly, only to see the blond vault himself up over the counter before ducking behind it. His eyes were wide with fear, but otherwise appeared to be okay.

But they had to get out of there.

The heat from the fire was already searing, and his voice choked on it as he hauled Summer up off the ground and shoved her towards the exit first. “Come on, the back door!” He pointed as expressively as he could for Tai, who thankfully got the idea and chased after them.

They rushed out of the door, b-lining for the campus rather than the street where the strikes had come from and, when they were far enough away to be both safe from them and the fire, Qrow pushed Summer into Tai’s arms, signing, “Watch her! I’ll get help!” Though pale-faced and wide-eyed, Tai nodded, holding onto the terrified woman tightly. Qrow ran as fast as he could for the nearest telephone, almost pulling out the cord in his panic as he called for the fire department.

No matter how fast he was, there was no saving the shop.

The three of them sat in the grass just inside the police barrier, watching the firefighters fight a losing battle as the flames overtook the roof of the building. The sight had attracted the attention of the whole campus, the entirety of the student body standing in the field to get a look at the tragedy. The officers were doing their best to ward the bolder ones from inching too close.

“What am I going to tell my parents?” Summer sobbed as she twisted the folds of her skirt in her hands. “They poured everything into this place!”

From one side, Tai was just trying his best to comfort her as he rubbed her back.

“Hey now, it, it’ll be okay.” Qrow, on her other, tried as well.

“How?!” She burst out.

He didn’t know. He turned away from her, helplessness weighing him as she continued to cry.

He just didn’t know.

Wanting nothing more than to block out the horrendousness around him, he shut his eyes.

“Qrow!”

Only for them to snap open in surprise, head jerking around to pinpoint the location of that yell.

“Hey lady, you can’t-”

“Get out of my way!”

He spotted Raven just as she was jabbing her elbow into an officer’s ribs, breaking past his guard to rush across the grass. “Qrow!!”

He was on his feet and rushing to meet her instantly, almost being bowled over by the force in which she collided with him.

“You idiot! I thought, I thought!” Her fist slammed into his chest, fighting back tears, “Idiot!!”

“I know, I know. I’m okay though.” Qrow held her tightly, whispering soothingly into her hair. “I’m okay.”

She laughed, the notes strained. “Good. Because you’re not allowed to die until I say so.”

And as he laughed and cried with her, found that for all that was wrong in the world, one missing piece fell back into place and made it just a little more right again.

Palo Alto

October 14th, 1981

The first thing that greeted Qrow as he opened the front door to his home was Zwei, the three-year old Corgi yapping hello. “Hey stubby.” He lent down to give him a few affectionate pats, following him through the entryway and into the family room where he could hear the TV running.

Tai was looking much like a yellow roly-poly from the way he was bundled up on the couch in his old quilt. He was watching the screen with rapt attention but when he caught movement in the corner of his eye, he glanced over, brightening immediately. ‘Welcome home!’

‘How are you feeling?’ Qrow asked as he approached, running his fingers through sweat-soaked blond locks. Fever was still going strong then.

‘Furious!’ He signed back harshly. ‘Did you see what Greg just did?!’

He glanced at the TV, realizing a rerun of The Brady Bunch was playing. At the bottom of the screen, the closed captioning was giving the play-by-play of what the characters were saying. The dialogue encoder had been a bit of a strain on their Christmas budget last year (especially when they both still insisted on spoiling their niece and honorary niece rotten), but nothing was worth more than having Tai so overjoyed he was in tears as he swept Qrow up in his arms.

Of course, that also meant that the blond had taken a near permanent residence on the couch as he tried to make up for 35 years of television.

‘You really need to get off the sitcoms.’ He signed to him. ‘Watch sci-fi instead.’

‘Never!’ Tai huffed loudly, only to start coughing, curling up a bit more into his nest.

‘Medicine?’ Qrow asked him once the fit had passed.

‘Please.’

With a nod, he headed into the kitchen. As he poured the cough syrup into the little plastic cap, a jangle of tags told him a shadow had trailed after him. Sure enough, when he looked down, Zwei had his front paws perched on the cabinet door, looking up at him hopefully. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want this buddy.” He joked as he filled a glass with water next. He took pity on the dog all the same, opening the fridge and throwing him a slice of cheese before heading back into the other room.

Though it wasn’t anything even remotely as good as coffee, Tai thanked him all the same, a full-body shudder wracking him as he downed the revolting medicine and chased it with the water. Qrow sat down beside him, leaning back into the cushions. He draped his arm along the back of the couch so the blond could more easily nestle against his side, the two of them watching the rest of the episode together. It wasn’t a very good one, and Qrow found himself zoning out, carding his fingers through Tai’s hair absently as his mind wandered.

“Qrow?”

The croaky, too-soft whisper pulled him out of his trance, and he blinked at the television, realizing the end credits were rolling. He tilted his head to the one who had spoken, not entirely surprised to see his ever-observant partner had already caught onto his sour mood. ‘Sorry.’

‘What’s wrong?’

He shifted back, just enough to free his other arm. ‘Ciel came into class crying today.’

‘Henry?’ Tai guessed, straightening up as well.

He breathed out an irate sigh. ‘Yep. Broke up with her this morning.’

They had both seen it coming from the very first day the couple had joined their ASL class. A vehicular accident had left the petite Hindi woman partially deaf and her doctor had suggested learning sign to help adjust. Tai and he had done their best to give the two some special attention, knowing the transition was hard, but Henry’s participation in the lessons was lackluster at best and Qrow had to keep running interference when the entitled brat kept trying to push Ciel into Cochlear Implants, having to remind them both again and again that it was a high cost, body-blemishing and, most importantly, experimental surgery.

It especially wasn’t worth undergoing it all for a sleaze that wasn’t worth hearing in the first place.

‘What gets me most is his reasoning. Told her it was taking too long to learn.’ Qrow carried on, rolling his eyes. ‘What did he expect? To learn it overnight?! Jackass!’

Amusement gleamed in Tai’s eyes. ‘Not everyone has your patience Qrow.’

‘I’M NOT EVEN PATIENT!’ He replied explosively. Tai reached out, capturing and bringing down his hands, rubbing soothing motions along his knuckles. Every now and again, his finger would catch along the silver ring on Qrow’s right hand; it was one he’d worn for over a decade now, ever since it was given to him by the very same man sitting beside him. It was only a promise ring, but to him, it was as interchangeable as a wedding ring.

His partner’s thoughts must have been somewhere similar, pausing to drop a kiss along the metal band before letting him go to say, ‘You were for me. I’ve never had anyone in my life work so hard to talk to me like you have. That’s always meant the world to me.’

Tai had told him this at least a dozen times before, and Qrow responded in the same, flustered way he always did: ‘Yeah well, how else was I supposed to tell you I love you?’

Instead of teasing him more as he usually did, the blond paused, giving the question some honest thought. ‘Maybe… like this?’

And then, for the second time that day, Tai spoke.

“Love you, Qrow.”

Qrow felt his jaw unhinge, staring back at him in absolute shock as his brain subsequently short-circuited. What?! It had taken Tai years just to be able to say his name as well as he could. When-? How??

With a smile still as full of youth as the day they met, his partner signed, ‘Happy anniversary.’

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath, hardly able to breathe as love sang throughout every inch of him.

And then he found himself tackling Tai down onto the couch, suddenly quite determined to kiss all that love right into him.

The blond managed to fend him off long enough to say, ‘Wait! I’m still sick!’

‘Don’t care. It’s worth it.’ Qrow allowed himself a moment to enjoy the fond way the other looked upon him, before bringing their lips together once more.

Tai would always be worth it.

And if anyone asked Qrow, he’d still tell them patience was for those who couldn’t figure out how to do things quickly.

He’d also tell them it wasn’t patience that one needed when loving someone.

Because patience was a fickle, thin thing too easily broken.

No.

What was needed wasn’t patience; it was perseverance.

The drive to never give in or give up, no matter the strife or uncertainties faced, whether it be several years of vigilant study just to effectively communicate with his deaf partner without need of a pen and paper on hand.

Or, just dealing with a terrible case of the flu come morning.

#qrow branwen #taiyang xiao long #Taiqrow #taiqrowweek #qrow #taiyang #raven branwen #Summer Rose #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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pluckyredhead · 6 years

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I don't know about you but I would sell my soul just to see Foggy and Elektra interaCT in the show not in a shippy way but in that'd be a fascinating dynamic way

YES PLEASE. They are my two favorites, I would LOVE to see them play off of each other!

...Also, you didn’t ask for this, but now I’m going to talk about their interactions in the comics, because I feel like it. :D

So obviously they originally met in college, because that’s where they both first met Matt. In fact, Foggy was there when Elektra and Matt first encountered one another:

But Matt kept those parts of his life pretty compartmentalized, and it’s implied that Foggy and Elektra had very little contact with each other. Then of course Elektra’s father died, she dropped out of college, became a ninja, etc etc.

Years later, she and Foggy meet again when she’s working for Fisk, who orders her to kill Foggy. When Foggy recognizes her, though, she can’t bring herself to do it:

She lets Foggy go and is promptly fatally wounded by Bullseye and dies in Matt’s arms. Foggy’s the one who IDs her body at the morgue, which must have been one of the weirdest nights of his life. “Yeah, my best friend’s college girlfriend who I hadn’t seen in years showed up in a bathing suit and threatened to kill me but then let me go but then turned up dead on his front steps.”

Many years later, Matt is arrested for Daredeviling. When Foggy comes to visit him in jail, he’s stabbed by an inmate and whisked off by the FBI into witness protection. Matt believes that Foggy is dead and breaks out of jail on a quest for revenge. Foggy, meanwhile, is desperate to get out of his witness protection safe house and track Matt down so he can keep him from going totally over the edge.

However, as soon as Foggy sneaks out of the safe house, he’s captured by mobsters who want to use him as leverage against Daredevil. He’s then rescued by the Hand, which is being led by Elektra. One of the Hand soldiers is like “Yeah our mistress asked us to look out for you but you’ll be a lot safer with the FBI so, like...probably go back there and wait for Daredevil?” and Foggy’s like “Yeah sounds good.” So it’s not exactly an interaction between Foggy and Elektra, but it’s sort of one, through an intermediary? Whatever, I love it.

Finally, a couple years after that, it’s revealed that Elektra’s been held as a prisoner for ages, first by the Skrulls, and then by SHIELD. She breaks out of the SHIELD facility, badly injured, and goes to Nelson & Murdock.

HIS LITTLE READING GLASSES. WHAT A GRANDPA.

Elektra’s expression of “Why are you still here?” is everything.

I just love that his whole reaction to her is, like, when your cat gets on the counter and they’re not supposed to. “Shoo! Get down from there! Bad assassin!”

(Elektra then passes out and wakes up to find herself in Night Nurse’s clinic. Aw, Foggy took care of her.)

Unfortunately, that’s about it for 616 interactions! I should note that they were actually friends in college in the Ultimate universe:

Yes, Foggy apparently dressed like that in college.

Unfortunately, that is the extent of their interactions! THERE SHOULD BE MORE. PLEASE GREENLIGHT THE FOGGY AND ELEKTRA SHOW, PRODUCERS. I WILL GIVE YOU FIVE AMERICAN DOLLARS.

#daredevil #elektra #Anonymous

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mollyencrypted · 6 years

Text

A while back I had an idea for an AOS lower-decks fic featuring T'Pring and Gaila as science officers serving on the Enterprise in the unofficial parasciences department (basically the starship equivalent of the FBI’s basement), and the main plot would have focused on the two of them (assisted by Janice Rand, a floating tribble, and the pseudo-katra of Kirk Prime) trying to extrapolate enough of the original timeline to predict the future, and trying to figure out the extent of their responsibilities now that they have this knowledge and therefore the ability to consciously affect the timeline. It made sense in context.

That project stalled, but the theory I created for that fic is still my personal headcanon as to how the Trek multiverse works, so I’m using it in the Kelvin Expansion.

It hinges on the idea (borrowed from the graphic novel of XI) that the reason the Kelvin Timeline is so similar to its baseline even when it logically shouldn’t be is that the universe is trying to repair itself.

As a result of this, there are many similarities between the altered timeline and its baseline (especially when those events involve factions who would have been almost completely unaffected by the loss of the Kelvin, like the Cardassian Union and the Dominion).

However, the butterfly effect is a thing and I love the Screw Destiny trope, so divergence does happen. (It's a little like the philosophy behind Loki: Agent of Asgard, actually.)

An interesting side effect of the above two factors is that it’s possible to diverge far enough from your baseline self that there’s no way the universe can yank you back onto your original path, effectively making you immune to fate.

In the Kelvin Expansion, Philippa Georgiou, Hugh Culber (assuming canon keeps him dead), Ellen Landry, Tasha Yar, K'Ehleyr, Tora Ziyal and probably also Jadzia Dax are all technically Immune to Fate due to having not died when they were supposed to and refusing to die afterwards. You don’t get more divergent than that.

Unfortunately, in order to make the most of one’s cosmic get-out-of-jail-free card, one must be aware that one has it - and as far as I know, none of them are (although when one lives next door to incorporeal aliens existing outside of linear time I suppose one of the latter two may very well get ahold of this information.) And it’s all very well and good being Immune to Fate, but in most cases changing fate requires finding a way to make someone else Immune, and honestly that’s kind of hard.

But if they had the knowledge?

Philippa is a strong believer in the Prime Directive; she would avoid taking any drastic action of her own volition unless there was no other choice. She wouldn’t make waves or try and drive the universe off the rails. Hugh would probably be similar.

Landry would probably treat Fate as something else to pick fights with, and she’d probably try and use her exemption as a weapon of some sort, but in day-to-day life she just does not care.

Tasha is Screw Destiny incarnate. Another iteration of her did try to sacrifice herself to restore time to normal, but if you think about it she was effectively doing so to change the shitty death she would have gotten, and she’s not the type to avoid doing the right thing just to prove a point. In her everyday life, however, she would wear that immunity as a badge of honour. Proof that she has triumphed over death itself.

K'Ehleyr also doesn’t really care. She’s defied everyone else’s expectations, after all. Sidestepping death is just taking that to its logical conclusion.

Ziyal…would actually be comforted in a way to know that her survival and avoidance of her father hasn’t actually made things worse. Of course, she’d also be kind of horrified and also wondering if she should start attempting some sort of damage control. (Oh God, now I kind of want Ziyal to find out she’s immune in the 'verse itself; I mean, it wouldn’t do much for my desire to see her do things that don’t involve Dukat in some way but it would be way more proactive than most of her canon plot lines were so it kind of balances out.)

Jadzia would probably just carry on as normal. This isn’t the weirdest thing Dax has ever dealt with. Although the scientist in her would probably be pretty excited, so it’s more like Jadzia is thrilled to bits because Cool Science Thing and Dax is kinda just ‘meh’ and so Jadzia Dax is sort of in-between.

#star trek adsc #star trek ang #star trek ads9 #star trek dsc #star trek tng #star trek ds9 #kelvin expansion #star trek kelvin timeline #mine

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munsooon · 7 years

Text

Gremlins and Trolls

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 1,968

You had gotten a call from Bobby, telling you there had been a small commotion some where in Wisconsin that seemed something up your alley, “It doesn’t seem to be anything major, but I thought you’d want to know about it,” He’d told you. You weren’t too far from Wisconsin, so you agreed to go check it out.

After talking to the Sheriff at the police station, and questioning a few of the locals, you came to the conclusion that you weren’t the only one looking on this.

When you went to ask some questions, it was brought up to your attention that two other agents from the FBI had also asked them some weird questions. When you asked for a description of the two, you had been told that one of them was ridiculously tall, with luscious long locks. The other one was shorter, with short hair and beautiful green eyes.

You knew who they were, you prayed to whatever deity that it wasn’t them, and it would just be a glitch in the matrix.

But as you pulled into the only reasonably priced motel in the area, you groaned. Save for a rusted yellow pickup truck, the only other vehicle parked was an impala. Before you had the chance to curse out the creator of the universe, you saw the two figures step out of the lobby, and you instantly inclined your seat backwards, making a swoosh sound as you hid from the two. It had been a while since your last encounter with the Winchesters, and you weren’t ready to go down the road of sadness and hormones anytime soon.

You heard their footsteps pass by your vehicle, but then they stopped. “Hm,” one of them said. “Does that look familiar to you?” You knew it was Dean talking, you could tell by the way his voice annoyed and simultaneously made you melt . “It looks like any regular Jeep. We’ve probably passed by hundreds of them on our way here. Can we go now?” Sam said.

please listen to him and leave

“No.. I’m sure I’ve seen this one before,” He said and you could practically hear the smirk plastered on his ugly face. “How could I forget such a girl car,” He said, raising his voice. Before you attacked you heard a small ‘oh god’ come from Sam. You straightened your seat and looked at Dean.

“Listen here fucker,” You said, glaring daggers at him. “You want to talk about girl cars. Take a look at the cry-bitch-baby car parked over there!” You said pointing at the Impala. Dean didn’t even follow where you finger was pointing, his smirk only grew. You wanted to punch him in his stupid pretty face.

“Oh come on sweetheart, give the poor old pickup truck a break! I’m sure it's been through enough as it is,” He said and your hands tightened around your steering wheel. Maybe you could just.. run him over...

Before you could reach to start your Jeep, Sam cleared his throat and looked at you awkwardly. “Oh, hi Sam!” You said cheerfully.

He raised his arm slowly, and smiled lightly, “Hi,”.

You smiled at him briefly, before turning to Dean, the same glare you had from earlier coming right back.

“I’m surprised you’re still alive. How many lives to gremlins have?” You sneered and he gasped in fake hurt. “I do not look like a gremlin!” He said and you turned to Sam. “Whatever. Sam, just don’t feed that thing after midnight. “

Dean didn’t say anything after that, he just glared at you.

“Uh, (Y/N) why don’t you come to our room and maybe we can compare notes?” Sam said, breaking your little standoff with Dean. “Sure thing, just let me go check myself in,” You said, stepping out of your car. “We’re in room 23!” Sam said before they both left to their room, and you went towards the lobby.

After comparing your findings, you and Sam had come to the conclusion that what you were hunting was a werewolf. You agreed to help the brothers look more into it the next day, before excusing yourself. After a mere hour of hanging around Dean, you needed a drink. It pained you to be in his presence. You just wanted to pounce on him and kiss him. Despite your cold facade towards him, you couldn't help but feel attracted to the older Winchester. You let your eyes linger on his form for a bit before calling it a night.

“Goodnight Sam,” You said, rubbing his hair as you made your way to the door.

“How about a goodnight kiss sweetheart?” Dean called out, making it seem like he was making his way towards you.

Tempting.

“Fuck off,” You said before leaving the room. You had seen a bar down the road you wanted to check it out, and decided it would be more convenient to walk there instead of drive gas prices are wild this season .

Dean was peaking out the window as soon as you had left. He’d told Sam it was solely to get a peak of that ass, but Sam knew his brother well enough to know he wanted to make sure you had made it to your room safely. “You know,” Sam said, taking his boots off, “If you want to impress her, you could start by not insulting her mode of transportation,” He said with a smirk. Dean rolled his eyes, looking out the window again. He saw you walk out to the street. Maybe you were at the bar?

“I don't want to impress her. She’s ugly. Like a troll.” He said, but he knew he was lying. Sam scoffed, mumbling something about “You’ll be the gremlin to her troll” before going to the restroom to shower.

you’d been gone for almost an hour, and Dean was getting worried. What if you had too much to drink? You were in no condition to walk back to the motel. Dean had seen you drunk before, and as endearing as it was, you were also ridiculously clumsy. What if someone tried to take advantage of you? Thoughts were swirling through Dean’s mind, making him anxious with every breath.

“Sam?” He called out. “Yeah?” He heard his brother call out. “I’m going to the bar. I want to make sure she’s okay, be back soon!” He said, before stepping out and going to the bar.

When Dean found you, were more than just ‘tipsy’, as you had claimed to be. “We need to get you back to the motel, we’re gonna be busy tomorrow,” Dean said, grabbing your arm as gently as possible to help you up.

“I don’t want to go. Let's stay and have som’ drinks yeah?” You slurred, patting the seat next to you with a smile. This was the nicest you had been to Dean, and some bonding time with you didn’t sound so bad, so why the hell not?

“Fine, just one drink, but after that we’re going back, deal?” He said, but his words fell on deaf ears, because you were already ordering a round of shots.

One drink turned to two drinks, then to three, then four. You were trashed. You were beyond trashed. Dean had somehow managed to trick you into thinking he’d had as much shots as you, so he wasn’t as trashed, but he wasn’t far from it.

You both were exchanging stories of the weirdest hunts you had been on, and you both were having the laugh of your lives. As you were telling a story of a wannabe werewolf-vampire hybrid, Dean couldn’t help but admire you. You had let loose, a smile permanently plastered on your face. You looked beautiful.

In your drunken state you noticed Dean wasn’t laughing at your story. Was it not funny? You stopped mid sentence, looking at him intently. “Do I have something on my face?” You asked. Dean blinked his thoughts away, but there was still a grin on his face. You couldn’t help but smile back. “Why are you looking at me like that?” You asked and he just shrugged.

“You’re just… really pretty,” He said, and you blushed. You let out a giggle, leaning your head on your propped elbow. Dean smiled at that. He’d tried flirting with you before, but you only sneered at him, or gave him a snarky remark. But now? You were giggling.

“You’re very pretty too,” You said with another giggle. He knew you’d regret saying that in the morning, that's if you even remembered. Dean’s smile faltered as he began to remember this moment would last forever. You would wake up tomorrow and go back to being cold towards him.

You noticed his smile leave, and you reached out to hold his hand. “What's wrong?” You asked, and he looked into your eyes.

“We should get going, it’s getting late.” He said, before you could protest, and helped you up from your seat.

As you walked back to the motel, you had to hold onto Dean’s arm so you wouldn’t fall on your ass. You held onto him tightly, enjoying the physique of his toned bicep.

He was quiet the whole way, which was weird because Dean never seemed to shut up. You stopped walking, which made him stop.

“What are you doing?” He asked, making sure there weren’t any cars coming. “Whats going on? We were having a good time and out of nowhere you just go all quiet. Why?” You said trying to sound as sober and serious as possible, but all Dean could think of was getting you out of the street so you didn’t get killed. “Not right now, we need to get out of the street,” He said, but you weren't having it.

“Dean, are you even listening to me?” You said, a little frustrated.

“Yes I am, but right now i'm trying to make sure we don’t die,” He said frantically as he saw a truck come your way. You saw the truck too, and decided it was better to let Dean drag you off the road.

When you had made it to the side of the road, you stood still, not walking until Dean listened.

“Dean.” You called, but he had his back to you. “Whats going on?” You asked and he sighed. you stepped closer to him, and clung to his arm, resting you chin on his shoulder. He didn’t want to talk about it, his feelings for you, there was no point in it, you both weren’t in the right mindset to have a conversation as heavy as this one, but you were stubborn, and he knew you wouldn't move an inch unless he said what was on his mind.

“I like you, ok, I have for a while, but i can never express it the way i want to and it just comes off aggressive and i dont mind playful banter but it never goes anywhere else and sometimes i cant help but think you legit hate me, And right now, back at the bar, we were having such a good time and i couldnt help but wonder if we’ll ever have a moment like that,” he let out, looking straight ahead, not being able to look you in the eyes.

Now that, you did not expect. Dean didnt either, he didnt like being open but standing there, at the side of the road with you clinging onto him, the scent of you and the stillness of the night, it felt right.

You didnt know what to say, really you didnt know if you should say anything, you were still a little drunk and Dean was so cute you didnt want to ruin the moment.

So you opted to kiss him instead.

Grabbing the side of his face you made his face you, and stared deep into those beautiful eye of his, that held nothing but sincerity, and you planted a fat one on him.

I was in some type of mood when I wrote this, clearly. Hope y’all liked it! Requests are open, and feedback is welcomed!!

thank <3

#dean winchester imagines #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester x reader #spn imagine #spn imagines #supernatural imagines #supernatural imagine

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ererifanatic · 7 years

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What are your favorite riren/ereri fanfictions?

Ah, well I have a lot actually, so I’m sorry if this gets to be too long of an answer for such a simple question. Also, umm pardon for the amount of smut I’m about to list, but the ones that have * labeled next to the title are my ultimate favorite fanfics. Ones with the ~ are unfinished works or are still ongoing.

*Tree House by Momma_Ran

Eren and Levi have various methods of relaxing. Some include sex. Some include doing domestic stuff together.

*Always Taking Care Of Me by twisting_vine_x

Levi should have never taught Eren how to fuck.

come to daddy by TheSpazzBot

Levi's never felt so absolutely wrecked.

*Ropes For Pancakes by shotgunsinlace

A night out after a rough work week finds Levi at an exclusive nightclub, where he picks up an attractive young man with a repertoire of debauched kinks. Luckily for him, Levi too has a taste for the more obscure and taboo kinds of fetishes.

House Sitting by Johzanne

Only the worst could come from skinny dipping at a stranger's house.

*Mile High Club by TheSpazzBot

Levi had suggested it weeks ago as a joke, but 30,000 feet in the air is really not the place to be getting cold feet.

You Got me in Chains by erenbaeger

Just 2 boys discovering what they like in the bedroom.

*Turn the Lock by orphan_account

Levi could understand wanting to leave class, it was boring as hell. So usually when Eren offers a way out, she's 100% up for it. But a bathroom? Really?

Eren better make it worth her time.

~ *I Miss You by ASDFGHJFR55

Levi Ackerman has no idea why every time it rains, he feels really, really miserable. He didn't expect his new neighbor who has just moved in next to his apartment to show him the reason, either.

Like literally.

*What A Catch by cosipotente

He is giving Levi an intimate sort of power over him that has nothing to do with incest and everything to do with putting his entire well-being in Levi's hands. Leave it to Eren to do it in the weirdest fucking way possible.

*Yellow Wall by Trick_Fantasy

After becoming enamoured with webcam model Levi Ackerman, Eren becomes a Camboy on the same website - undressing and performing for audiences on the internet. Eren builds up his fan-base, steadily getting more popular until Levi notices him, and scouts him for a joint Camshow.

*Red Heat by sciencefictioness

Eren is one of the few Alphas who go into rut without the presence of an Omega in heat nearby, and after suppressing it for nearly two years, the drugs are no longer working. As a last resort he heads to an Omega refuge, hoping to find a suitable, but temporary, mate. When he finds one lost in a fatal 'red heat', he'll do whatever it takes to ease his suffering. “When Levi's fist sounded out against the wood, the Alpha did not open it right away. Leaned into it, pressing his forehead against the smooth surface. Felt the pull of the Omega on the other side, just as he had that first day in the shelter. A whole new kind of gravity that tugged him not down to the earth but straight towards Levi. The laws of the universe shifting to bring them closer together, and Eren could not resist their inevitability.”

*Never A Rose by PlayingChello

Levi owns the Petal Wings flower shop and enjoys it as well as he can. At least until the new tattoo shop next door starts blasting music and irritating his work flow. He decides to take it upon himself to tell the shitty owner to turn it down. But there are just a few things standing in his way....

~ *Street Brat by Monsoon

Having been on the streets with his sister from a young age, Eren is used to skirting around the law to get by. He'd long since discarded any childhood dreams of joining the Survey Corps; his focus now was to help provide for and protect Mikasa, her son, and the secret that could very well get them killed. He was doing just fine after joining a street gang, until of course fate decided to literally fling him straight into the line of sight of the one man with a reputation for hunting down criminals like himself; Captain Levi of the Survey Corps.

Give the Dog a Bone(r) by TheSpazzBot

Levi was just looking for man's best friend when he adopted the dog. What he got instead was man's best wingman.

(or the AU where Levi's dog tries to hump Eren every time it sees him)

*Deal With It by Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house

Eren and Levi are mates. They bicker rather than coo and murmur, and Levi is always complaining because Eren is his Alpha and that is incredibly unjust. Eren is a brat and he knows it, and Levi is a diva and he shows it. Omega or no Omega, this raven-haired drama queen won't let anybody push him around or give him orders....except for the stupidly handsome, often grinning, generally dopey brat that just so happens to be his mate. His Alpha. His everything.Fuck.

*Undercover Love by SimplyTsundere

FBI Agent Eren Jaeger goes undercover into The Legion, a notorious group running drugs through the city of New Orleans, to avenge the death of his best friend and partner. How will his life change when he realizes that sometimes things aren't always as black and white as they seem?

*Magic Eren by warschach

Eren is a stripper at Erwin's club and when Levi is hurting for cash he is offered a job. So dancing happens and so does smut.

*Not The Monster You Wished For by JustAWrist

Eren never thought he needed group therapy. Eren never wanted group therapy. Even getting him into physical therapy was tough. But now, one car accident and two worried friends later, Eren finds himself thrust into the world of group therapy for people like him. People with PTSD, the wounded veterans. Little did he know that this group would be made up of the people who haunt him in his nightmares. Including, but not limited to, the man who he blames for the loss of his lower leg. The man who led him into battle. Corporal Levi.

~ *To Kill With No Regrets by SinfulAvenue

"You're shaking Detective....do I really make you that nervous?"

A serial killer is tearing through Stohess slicing away the napes of their victims necks but something about these crimes seems familiar. Young trainee Detective Eren Jaeger is tasked with visiting a high security prison to interrogate notorious serial killer Levi Ackerman to see if he has any insight into who would want to replicate his killings. However Levi won't give him the information he wants so easily. Is it his imagination or is this cold killer flirting with him? After finding out about the person Levi used to before he gave into his dark side Eren is torn between hatred and empathy for the killer. Will an unlikely friendship blossom between Detective and killer? will Levi help Eren catch the Stohess Slasher.

Suspecting Nothing by prettyboydotexe

Eren comes across Levi, who is having car troubles, and decides to take him back to his garage for a free diagnosis, porn references, and suspicious sisters.

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alexanderwrites · 7 years

Text

Thoughts Roundup - Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 14

“We Are Like the Dreamer”

David Lynch famously said that he can’t stand people talking after they see a movie. That the movie is the talking. Despite the fact that talking about movies is pretty much my passion, I get what he means. Up until recently, i’d be scouring the internet for hours after each new episode, reading about every talking point, every theory and attempting to unpick every moment. I would do this immediately after watching each episode which, really, makes no sense. Yes, I still like to read reviews and give the forums a quick peruse, but I find that to get the most out of the show, I have to sit with the episode for a while, and see how I feel about it after a good night’s sleep, hence why I write these reviews a day after I see each episode. There is such a thing as too much and too soon, and reading pieces immediately after watching an episode is sort of like seeing the opening act after you see the main show. There is so much to take in and enjoy with each given episode that afterwards I just need to process it in my own way without getting external input.

Talking and writing about the show does have merit and is great fun, I just am starting to realise that I need to separate the show from the writing about the show. I mean, how can it not mess with your expectations, for better or for worse? “We WILL see X character next episode”, “The next episode will be the ONE where everything changes”, “This character from this episode will be the key to the whole mystery”, and so on. How would I feel about The Return if i’d never read a word on it? Part of me wishes I had, but then again good, thoughtful writing about The Return is so complimentary to my enjoyment of the show, and has made me appreciate so much more about it. I suppose my point is: writing, whether good or bad, has affected the way I watch and view the show, and so for the reviews henceforward, I will try and keep my points as individual and unaffected by other writing as possible. Ideally, i’d like what I say about the show to express how I feel, rather than attempt to sway the readers (all 2 of you) a certain way. So, after a good night’s sleep, little to no reading on the episode and a big, fuck-off coffee, let’s talk about...

. The FBI. The episode kicks off and wastes no time in getting straight into things. It’s with openings like these - abrupt and un-establishing - that remind you that this is from one long, 18-hour Script. The endings often remind me of this fact too. Absent are cliff-hangers and buttons, and absent are ‘previously on’s at the beginning of each episode. Instead, here’s Gordon, calling Lucy. It’s strange to think that they haven’t interacted in The Return yet, and even stranger to remember that Gordon hasn’t even been back in town. It’s strange, because they’re two of the funniest characters in the show, and Gordon is one of the most Twin Peaks-y characters, despite not even being from the town. They feel linked, even if it’s by one event 25 years ago, and they are still linked today - they just don’t quite know how, yet. Gordon’s call to Lucy is laugh out loud funny; I have a simple comedy brain, and will always laugh at things that are too loud. Hearing Gordon’s tinny yell pummel its way out the end of her receiver really tickled me, as did his unexplained, confused pause when Lucy told him of her trip to Bora Bora. Not a beach boy, Gordon? So, for a scene that wastes no time, it certainly wastes time, but beautifully so. Their interaction is a miniature reunion that finally links Gordon back to Twin Peaks, which has always felt like his spiritual home.

The Return has had a really interesting way of dispensing information, wherein waiting for a character to discover something that we already know is as gripping as us discovering information in the first place. And so, Gordon finally finds out about Laura Palmer’s missing pages, and how it indicates “Two Coopers”. You have to admire Robert Forster’s straight-face matter-of-factness in handling these topics. He knows it sounds strange, but to him, these are just strange truths that it is his duty to notify his colleagues and superiors of. I guess, as a Bookhouse Boy, Frank Truman has seen enough odd things in those woods to not be particularly fazed by them anymore.

. Tammy, God Bless you for saying “What’s the significance of the Blue Rose?” when asked by Albert which one question she should ask him about the first ever Blue Rose case. That is what we all want to know, and the last few episodes have given us more clarification of that than I ever expected. She could be seen as an audience surrogate, the newbie to whom everything is explained. But she is also smart, more proactive than the typical rookie, and she gives us the most perfect explanation of what a Blue Rose is: something which does not occur in nature. It’s exciting getting to hear glimpses into the history of the Blue Rose, but a bigger bombshell is dropped in this scene, one so inextricably connected to Dougie and Vegas that it’ll most likely have our FBI crew strolling down the strip by the next episode: Diane is Janey-E’s half sister. But, is she really? Whomever she is texting (which it seems is Doppelcoop), she tells them where the FBI are and that she’s getting them to Vegas. If this were her task, to get the FBI to Vegas, would it not be beneficial to her to speed up the process by claiming that she’s Janey-E’s sister? Who knows. Diane plays her cards very close to her chest, emotionally and informationally, and any time we get too close, we get a big fat Fuck You from her. For now, i’ll take her word for it, because I love the idea that Laura Dern and Naomi Watts are sisters.

. Monica Belluci has the secrets to the universe, or at least in Gordon’s head. “Who is the dreamer?”. It’s a damn good question, and I think what it means is “whose chess board are they all pawns on?”. Is it Doppelcoop, or is it forces larger than him? Is it “Mother”, or something we saw born in the atomic explosion? The show has always felt like a dream, and while I don’t believe it’ll all turn out to be a literal dream, the feeling is there, and it makes us wonder what version of reality we are seeing. It’s a thoughtful philosophical quandary, and one that clearly disturbs poor old Gordon, the sensitive soul. And next we have our Bowie cameo which is not really a cameo like the clickbait headlines tell us, but a scene from Fire Walk With Me, which, at this point, you almost have to have seen to fully appreciate The Return. It’s interesting that both Gordon and Albert hadn’t remembered exactly what Jeffries had said, and his “Who do you think that is there?” question regarding Cooper is certainly creepy in retrospect. Did Jeffries slip in and out of time, and see who Cooper would become? It feels like he is, if not a key to unlocking the mystery, at least a very important figure in the overall story. I don’t think there is a clear mystery that will ever be solved at this stage, and I think in a sense, it would be disappointing if there was one overall answer to everything. It would be too easy. Instead, lets just take each scene and surprise we get, try and contextualise them as best we can, and figure out what they say rather than what they literally mean. It’s too vague and too abstract for everything to be neatly explained, and really, wouldn’t that ruin some of the fun?

. The boy scouts Bookhouse Boys are heading to Jackrabbit’s palace, and there is something intrinsically melancholy about their journey, because it makes Bobby fondly recall his father. The woods they walk through aren’t the scary, foreboding woods we see in Twin Peaks at night, they’re glowing with sunlight and the home of happier times in Bobby’s childhood. That is, until they find a vortex to the Black and White World and the woman from the Purple World who helped Cooper escape back in Part 3, naked and unable to speak, and with skin still over her eyes. The scene of them exploring gave me serious Lost flashbacks, and like Lost, what comes next is confusing as all hell, yet fairly answerable.........I think. Andy, of all people, disappears to the Black and White Room, which looks absolutely stunning again. The set design throughout The Return has been terrific but perhaps a bit more modern and less stylised than some of Lynch’s other projects, but the Black and White room is a hit of that old school, Eraserhead style set design. The Giant names himself as the “Fireman”, which ties again to fire and electricity being a source of evil, and the Fireman as a pretty decent bloke, really. A window above Andy transforms into a cinema screen which gives him the weirdest “Previously on” the world has ever seen. From the Atomic Blast and the releasing of Bob into our world, to Laura Palmer being taken by the Angels, it is a stirring and haunting mirror into the darkness that summarises succinctly the nature of good and bad in the show’s universe. And now Andy - yes, Andy - has the secret to it all. It’s a hypnotic scene, and i’m increasingly blown away by how well The Return is blending the more abstract, with the linear narrative, to the point where the two cannot exist without each other. Like a blend of a wanderlust through the netherworld, and a real-world sense of purpose and duty, Andy takes the woman to the police station to protect her. He knows more now, and understands that she is in danger. From who? Mother, it seems, is still hot on her tail. His job has never been more important, and keeping her safe was as important as arresting the policeman earlier, a funny scene, the buildup to which seems to have played out almost entirely offscreen. I like it though - it reminds you there’s an entire world going on that you don’t necessarily get to see. The woman chirps and squeaks in her cell, desperately trying to articulate some sort of message. We cannot decipher her message, no matter how hard she tries to speak. So close, yet so far away.

. James has his first non-singing dialogue of the season, and though he doesn’t give too many glimpses into his life, we know that it’s his birthday, and that he’s a security guard at the Great Northern. And that above all, he seems happy. It’s hard to tell from what we see of him, but he smiles so much more easily than he used to, and his brooding seems absent. We’re not really thinking about ol’ forehead, because we’re thinking about his Security Guard buddy, a ‘cockney’ (that accent is maybe the scariest thing in the return yet) who has lots of lines to tell you that he is, in fact, English (Pubs? Check! Football? Check! Antiquated cockney rhyming slang? Check!). It’s weird and a bit goofy, but damn is it a story that hooks you. I love the idea that there are portals to the Other Places all over the world (the book hints that there are many), including in an alley in the East End of London. Does that mean Ian Beale is to discover one next? It’s such an incongruous image but kind of brilliant, and now we have someone sent specifically to Twin Peaks by The Fireman and given one very powerful hand. Arms and hands, man. The references to arms and hands being signs of power, possession, weakness and evil are so numerous, but they seem to be perhaps an entry point for non-human spirits? Then, James goes to check out a creepy noise (never a good idea you dumdum) in the basement of the Great Northern, where that odd ringing noise seems to emit from. It feels like he could die down there; it feels like he is dead down there. It feels like hell, and there’s more excellent set and sound design to thank for that. There is something very bad under every building in Twin Peaks...

. In an episode that has so many talking points to choose from, I think the one that most people will be talking about is Sarah Palmer’s. Her scene is so filled with dread, malice, then satisfyingly gruesome terror that I needed to pause the episode afterwards. It’s an horrific yet celebratory moment: the disgusting harasser gets exactly what we’ve been waiting for the whole series, and gives a sense of power and authority right back in the hands of a tortured woman. Yet, it is pretty clear cut evidence that Sarah is either not a person, or is a person who is, for want of a better word, darksided. Was she the girl who got a bug in the mouth after all? Is she home to spirits as Leland was? It’s hard to tell, but i’m all for the spirits if they cause her to bite a gross dude’s throats out. When Laura took her face...off at the beginning of the Return, there was nothing but light. When her mother did the same, a darkness peered out, as did a cheshire cat grin that takes a pretty high place on the Nightmare Imagery Shitlist of The Return.

. And we come to an end, with more ambiguous discussions at the Roadhouse. Billy gets a mention, and it is likely that he was the blood soaked creep from the jail cell scene earlier in the episode. “I can’t remember whether my uncle was there”, says one of the characters as she describes when she last saw Billy. She seems worried by this. It’s such a small and seemingly unimportant question, but it feels like the detail that makes her story not of this world. Having characters in more than one place at a time and having characters disappear and reappear has made us look out for any variation on this theme, and the Uncle’s both being there and not being there stands out. The talk of family members reminds me of the screaming car woman with the sick teenager from episodes back, who also listed members of her family, seemingly at random. What is going on in the families of this town? It feels so fucking nightmarish, and while I once didn’t enjoy these moments for their lack of direct connection to the narrative, I now appreciate them as miniature dramas, always unfolding under a shade of darkness, and expanding the universe of the show that you don’t really see. Tonight’s scene ties their drama to Audrey’s through the mention of Tina. How it’ll come together is to be seen, but the word I think most apt to describe it is Purgatory. It feels like these characters are stuck in a strange, haunted, endlessly unfolding narrative. Of abusive family members, of violence, lies and deceit, of nightmarish uncertainty and endless repetition. What would be really interesting would be to piece all these moments together to see what themes and motifs stand out, because like so much else, it feels like there is something pounding at us from beneath its surface.

That’s how I’d describe this episode. There is something underneath this episode, like the face beneath Sarah’s, or the language beneath the Blind Woman’s chirps, or the ringing sound underneath the Great Northern, that we get glimpses at but ultimately cannot decipher. They are brought out by fear, anger, necessity and desperation, and try as we all might, we may not discover what they all mean. Maybe it’s that we listen to the blind woman’s noises, that we venture into the basement, that we look into Sarah Palmer’s eyes, that is important. Perhaps the act of Andy listening to the fireman and watching those scenes unfold is what the purpose is. What matters most is not that the mystery is answered, but that we behold the mystery, and celebrate it. Isn’t that what all of life really is? One big, weird ass mystery that we’re endlessly trying to answer? We can watch the magician’s hands as closely as we like, but his hat will end up empty, and we’ll be left asking questions and wishing we’d just enjoyed the trick. Maybe we’re all in someone else’s dream, or maybe we are the dreamer - what matters most is that the question exists, and that we accept it. What more can you do than that? “What the fuck is going on in Twin Peaks”? We might never know, and that’s okay.

#twin peaks spoilers #twin peaks the return #david lynch #tv review

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