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#I WAS SUPPOSED TO EDIT THE MATCHMAKER MAKING OUT CHAPTER
loganlermanstanaccount · 10 months
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Show me where it hurts (part 1)
Miguel O'Hara x spiderwoman!reader
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(AO3 Mirror), Part 2, Main Masterlist
summary: Miguel's acting weird, and you make it your mission to find out exactly what's going on.
warnings: no warnings for this chap, pg-13, swearing and canon level violence. smut next chapter xoxo
a/n: this is a combination of 2 asks and this post I saw on here a while ago: flirty/ snarky fem reader, Miguel during a ""rut"" (I don't know if it counts as a rut really, but its to do with his animal instincts/DNA) and Lyla playing matchmaker.  I had so much fun writing this, enjoy :D
(i wrote this pre seeing spiderverse 2, so i think characterisation is a little off, esp for Lyla, apologies! I'll fix it in my upcoming fics)
edit: I use the term "bichita" which I have been informed can be read not as I intended in Spanish. I'm not a native speaker so I want to apologise in advance. I'm doing more research for my future fics and leaving this up as a testament to my stupidity. Spanish speakers, feel free to correct me / clown my ass in the comments. My bad guys :(
wc: 3.6k
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You think Miguel is avoiding you. 
One of your closest friends, giving you the runaround for months, it seems. Calling the two of you close friends is a little extreme, sure. You've only known O'Hara for two years, and been in love with him for slightly less than that, thank you very much. And yes, he refuses to call you by anything but your last name. And the last time you saw him he wouldn't so much as look at you, but that was besides the point. 
"..the point," You tell Lyla, in between exasperated bites of cereal, "... is that aren't elite forces of spiderpeople supposed to, you know, have some spiderpeople kick ass once in a while? And where exactly is our fearless leader? I haven't seen O'Hara's scary ass in weeks, and I'm starting to miss it."
She gives you a look, one that says this isn't what I'm programmed for , but you pointedly ignore it. 
"His ass, by the way." You clarify. "I very specifically miss his ass. Remind me to get his routine. I know girls that would kill for…"
"How the fuck did you get in here?" A voice croaks. You turn behind you and see Miguel, not in his suit, but wrapped up in a blanket like he's just woken up. And he looks rough, like a train ran him over on the way here: puffy eyes, splotchy skin, tension kneaded into his brow. 
"Wow." Your spoon drops into the milk. "You look like shit.." 
He furrows his brow even deeper, if that was possible. " Mierda. You shouldn't be here." 
"This isn't quite the welcome party I was expecting, man. I'm the only one to actually turn up to one of your meetings, and this is what I get?" 
"I thought I told Lyla to cancel," He mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose. 
"Cancel? Since when do you miss a chance to talk about rules and protocol?" 
"I don't have time for this-" 
"-and I'm not leaving without a proper explanation. Is everything okay?" 
"It's actually way worse now you're here." He deadpans. 
"Haha ." You turn to Lyla. "You drop everything to travel halfway across the multiverse and this asshole won't even say thanks." 
"Thanks, but this asshole needs you to leave. Now." 
This is the most he's spoken to you in forever, and you hate that you like it. You just want his attention, however it comes. If that means dragging this out so maybe he acknowledges you, touches you, looks at you - then so be it. Squinting, you get closer to him. You scan his face for anything to latch onto. You put a hand on his shoulder, still searching. 
"You sure you're alright? You know you can tell me if-" 
"Si, si." He grits his teeth, looking away. "M'just fine. I'll explain…. later."
"...because I'm your right hand man?" You grin, poking at his brow. "Stop frowning so much Miguel, you're gonna ruin that pretty face of yours."
He flushes, nervous, and swats you away. "-what? N-No. You're not my right hand man and I like my face just the way it is. Now, leave. "
Making your way to the door, you tap your nose teasingly. "You know where to find me!" 
When the door closes with a click, you make your way down the corridor, and stop in your tracks when you hear it. It's muffled, but with the strain of your supersenses you can make out Miguel's voice just beyond the wall. 
"I just…. don't want her to see me like this… Lyla, it's not happening… I can't tell her…." Tell her what, exactly? 
Resolutely, you make up your mind. Miguel O'Hara's got a secret. And before you leave for home, you're gonna do everything in your God given power to wear him down and find out. 
~~~
Despite his insistence otherwise, you liked to think of yourself as O'Hara's right hand man - and most of the other spiderpeople thought so too. You were one of the very first he recruited, after crash landing onto your earth like a spiderman-shaped meteor; the two of you were inseparable. Miguel was stubborn and headstrong and thought he was right all the time. Infuriatingly, he was, but that didn't stop you from telling him to get his head out of his own ass when his ego grew too big. 
He was different around you, you think. Softer, sometimes. Harsher, other times. He told you what you needed to hear whether you wanted to or not; the result of mutual respect and agonising persistence. Slowly, you had chipped away his hard exterior; the one he built because he thought he needed to push people away. In that regard, you were similar, but this need manifested in you like a weed - an awful, awful compulsion to joke and laugh at your own expense, to keep others at an arm's length. You had spent your whole life picking and pruning away at yourself, looking for perfection. Even after all this, multiverse-hopping and fighting alongside people who were the closest things you had to friends , it wasn't enough. There was still something missing. 
Ironically, Miguel had told you something similar the one of the last times you had spoken. You had fucked up a mission, well and truly. In the aftermath, all you can remember is coming back to base, limping on Jessica's arm. 
"She's hurt!" She cries out. Lyla materialises and leads you both to the med bay, inspecting any visible wounds. There's a deep laceration, sticky with blood, at the base of your stomach. You shift onto the bed and hiss with pain. 
Miguel is quick to follow, face twisted with confusion, pain, sadness. Even in your haze, you feel the tension radiating off of him as he drags over a cart of supplies. 
"What happened?" He strains. 
"I don't even… it happened so fast. We got ambushed, and all of a sudden I'm on the ground. I wasn't thinking straight and… " She sobs. "...she jumped in front of me. God, she saved my life-" 
"-wasn't your fault, Jess." You croak, trying to sit up. "And I'm fine. Just need to walk it off…"
"Sit, bichita," His nickname makes you frown, despite yourself, and you settle back down. "Lyla, what's the damage?"
Your vision goes spotty, and Lyla's voice barely registers. All you can feel is searing pain in your side, but Miguel is warm, oh so warm. You clutch his arms, and force him to look you in the eye. 
"M'ready, Miguel." He nods weakly, but you don't think he understands. "I mean it . I can lead, j-just need another chance and I won't let you down… Jess, tell him that I can-" 
"It's okay. I believe you. You just need to relax for me, hmm?" He clutches at your hand, tight, and it's like you're the only two people in the world. "You did good. I promise."
Faintly, you nod. You feel a pinch at your arm, and Jessica's there, with an empty vial of something in her hands. The pain washes over you, and you fight to keep your eyes open. In those last few moments of light, you swear you feel a shaky kiss pressed to your temple. 
"Sleep, mi bichito amoroso. Sleep."
When you come to, you're still in the medbay, moonlight streaming through. Well, artificial moonlight. Time worked a little differently here, something Miguel explained to you a while ago - God knows what about dilation and quantum interference. It makes you smile now, remembering his frustration as he tried to explain to no avail. You were the only spiderman this side of the multiverse without a degree in quantum tech, you had said with a lopsided smile. 
You move to sit, and pain shoots up your side. Groaning, you push through it, determined to get out of this bed and find the others. As if on cue, Miguel walks in, almost leaping towards you. 
"You should… mierda ! You should be resting in bed."
You pout as you stumble into his chest. He hooks an arm around you and leads you back. You clamber in, sighing. "M'fine, O'Hara."
"Your guts were halfway out of your body less than 24 hours ago. So stay put, or you might give me another heart attack."
You scoff, incredulous. "You were worried?" 
He shrugs. " 'Course I was."
"Why? You know I'm practically indestructible." You give him a shit eating grin, and poke the frown appearing at his brow. He doesn't bat you away like he usually does. 
"Famous last words, bichita." He sighs. You can't speak a lick of Spanish, but you know he only calls you that word when you've frustrated him to his limit. So you take it as a win, for now. 
He drops into the chair next to you. "How are you feeling?" 
"Just peachy, dollface." You wink, and he doesn't so much as groan. 
"I'm being serious. You went through something pretty traumatic…"
"You want me to tell you it hurts, so, so bad, daddy? " You pout and flutter your eyelashes mockingly. Miguel shifts in his seat, unable to make eye contact. 
"That's not what I meant."
"What did you mean, O'Hara? I feel fine. And in a couple of days, I'll feel even better, and I'll be up and about. I can finish what we started and-" 
"-no, absolutely not." He frowns. "A couple of days? I'm sending you home-" 
"You can't do that! On whose fucking authority?"
"On the authority of you almost fucking died ! Keeping you safe is our priority right now-" 
"God, is this my punishment? This is a low blow, O'Hara. You know how hard I've worked for this: months of surveillance and intel a-and I did everything by the book, just like you told me to." You croak. "I fucked up . I know that, and I feel terrible. Give me a chance to make things right; that's all I'm asking. I can do it, I know it. "
He looks at you for a moment, something heavy in his expression. His face contorted, he strips you down to the bone with just his gaze. His voice is so quiet, you almost miss it. 
"....you're still trying to prove yourself, aren't you?"
Honestly, it catches you off guard. You don't even know what the fuck that means, let alone why he said it.
"I don't… I d-don't…?" 
"They all love you. Respect you. More than me I think, sometimes." He chuckles at that. "You're good at what you do. The best . What else are you trying to prove? What else do you need ?" 
Your throat goes dry. You couldn't speak if you wanted to. 
"I'm not punishing you. You made a mistake, but you don't need to be crucified for it. I just want to keep you safe. I can't… we can't lose you."
"Miguel-"
"-this isn't a discussion. And I'm not trying to argue, although I know how much you like to argue." He inches closer, cupping your face gently. You try to move away, blinking back tears. But his hands are steady and he strokes your jaw with so much tenderness you think you hear your heart break. He's pretty, so pretty. You don't deserve him, you think. "There'll be time to fight, bichita. Rest. That's your mission right now."
"C-can't sleep." You breathe. "It hurts." 
Miguel pauses, head tilted like he's thinking. He taps your shoulder. "Scoot over."
You do as he says, and he slips into the bed with you. It's a tight fit, but he manages, placing you on his chest with an arm gently around your shoulders. You bury your face in his hoodie, sniffling and hoping he doesn't notice you choking back sobs. Absentmindedly, he settles into a rhythm, gentle breathing and playing with your hair, soothing you softly. He pretends he can't hear the tears. 
"M'gonna stay here until you're asleep. For as long as you need."
You nod, unable to speak for fear of breaking down. 
~~~
The days after felt like a blur. You woke up to Miguel gone, and an ache in your heart. Jess visits as much as she can, and Ben calls you a couple times, to see if you're okay. Peter B brings Mayday, and she clambers all over your bed, bringing some life into the room. Miguel doesn't visit per se - you hear whispers of him, Lyla visiting in his stead for comprehensive status updates. Once, you wake up in the night to see him on the adjacent chair, head lolling in deep sleep. He looks peaceful, calm - one of the first times you haven't seen his brow furrowed with worry. Of course, he's gone by the morning. 
The very last time you saw him, he opened the portal home. It was weird, after everything, but if Miguel felt the same you wouldn't know. Talking at a thousand miles a minute, he alternates between assuring you they'll be fine without you and situation reports from spider people all across the multiverse. Things you'd missed whilst bedbound, asking for advice before you left. He trusted your judgement and the thought warmed your heart, almost making you forget that he completely brushed past the previous nights before. 
You still remember the last thing he had said to you, which would've been weeks ago, now. 
"...and if you need anything, and I mean anything, you call me directly. Not Jess, not Ben, and certainly not Peter B. Call me, and I'll answer, I promise. You need help, you need advice, you just need someone to talk to, then-"
"-I call you. I get it, O'Hara. Will do." He opens the portal, watching as you walk towards it. He can't take his eyes off of you, even though you can't see him. At the last moment you turn, and run towards him. You almost knock him over with a hug. Burying his head in the crook of your shoulder, he hugs you back, ever careful of your injury. Separating, your smile almost knocks him over again. Weakly, he smiles back as you head through the portal, back home. 
You're left with that feeling, of his arms around your body - warm, so warm - as you putter about by the switchboard. After careful deliberation (you were really, really bored ) you'd taken to manage the Multi Modal Multiversal Switchboard - as aptly named by Miguel. Everyone else called it the Big Red Phone of course, but he had insisted on calling it by its proper name . Every. Time. 
The thought makes you chuckle as you call up Peter B. His icon flashes on the screen in front of you. With a click, he picks up the call, his face materialising holographically in front you. A little hand reaches up and tugs at his ear. 
"Ow… ouch … Dad's on the phone, honey."
"Aww! How's my favourite Parker doing?" 
"Not bad, actually! MJ just made us probably the best burger this side of New York-"
"-sorry, Peter? Me and May are trying to have a conversation." You hear her giggle in the background. Her gap toothed grin pops into frame and she babbles excitedly. "...yeah, exactly May. That's literally what I said."
"Okay, okay, that's enough." He puts the toddler down and watches her scurry away. "You're feeling better, I see."
"Yeah, back in action. Thought I'd check in."
"All good here." He squints, trying to take in your surroundings. "You're at HQ?" 
You hum.
"Could've sworn Lyla cancelled…"
"Yeah, didn't get the memo. But I think something's wrong with O'Hara."
He gives you a weird look. "Uhhh, what makes you think that?" 
"He won't even look at me. Was it something I said? Something I did?" Your eyes narrow. "...what do you know, Peter?"
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" He scoffs, a little too quickly, clutching his chest like you've offended him. He's stared down some of the scariest villains around, but the look you give him is truly chilling. "Just… uhhh. You didn't hear this from me." 
"Naturally…"
"We tracked 'em down, the guys that ambushed you and Jessica."
"The Sinister Six? From Earth-215?"
"Yeah, but by the time we got there, it was just Kraven and some of his goons. Miguel got there first, and…." He gulps. "He was pissed. Trashed the whole place looking for the rest of 'em. Beat Kraven half to death and we had to pull him off."
"Shit."
"Yeah, it was pretty rough. Never seen him like that before. And just generally? He'd been weirdly quiet, a little grumpy, more aggressive on missions. I don't know what's gotten into him."
"Hmmm. Thanks, Pete."
"No problem, sweetheart. And if the big guy asks… "
"...this didn't come from you, I know." Weakly, you smile. "Say hi to my favourite Parkers, for me." 
" 'Course I will. We should celebrate, if you're back officially. Mine and MJ's is always open."
"Good to know. I'll see you around."
He waves goodbye, and the hologram clicks off. Sighing, you try to piece together what you've just heard. 
Miguel: acting weird. Well, you knew that already. Aggressive was new. And Lyla? She had canceled, but not for you, for some reason. An honest mistake, perhaps. But Lyla doesn't make mistakes… 
You stew for a couple of hours, puttering about the switchboard, twiddling your thumbs. Something's wrong, and for some reason you're afraid to see him. To have him look straight through you, again, when you ask to do the same. Show me where it hurts. Tell me how to make it better.  
On the way there, you chew your lip in anticipation. In the corridor, you're outside the door to his place, hand hovering above the door. To knock, to call. In the harsh fluorescent light, you hesitate. 
"Lyla?" Nervously, you sink down onto the floor. It's hard to explain, but you don't expect her to actually come; to materialise in front of you. 
"How can I assist you?" She says with a ding. 
"Uhh… hi. Just wanted to talk." You pause, clicking your tongue. "Can you be honest with me?" 
"I can only be honest with you. It is not in my programming to lie, unless specified by my owner."
"Sure. Cool. It's about him, actually. Is Miguel okay?" 
She tilts her head, as if processing your request. "Okay is a subjective term. Is Mr O'Hara alive? Yes. Is Mr O'Hara physically well? Yes. By those terms, he is okay ."
Too vague for your own liking. "I guess I meant more… his emotional state. To the best of your knowledge… in your opinion , Lyla: is Miguel okay?" 
"...I believe Mr O'Hara is experiencing some emotional turmoil."
You frown. "Oh. Do you know why?" 
"Mr O'Hara has instructed me not to disclose that information with you."
"Fair enough. But you don't have to tell me… I could just ask questions?" 
She nods. "There is nothing in my programming that prevents me from answering some questions within certain parameters." 
"Did I do something? Not just today but… last time I was here. Did I say something to hurt or upset him? Is that why he's acting weird?"
"No." She says blankly. "And yes. I suppose it is… complicated." She gestures around that word. 
"I'm a little confused, Lyla."
She sits next to you, on the cool tile. Not that she could feel it, but it feels more intimate - like two friends talking. The extent of Lyla's consciousness, you weren't sure of. Was she alive? To you, she might as well be. Could she think, feel, emote? Maybe, maybe not. You weren't smart enough to understand the nuances of her programming. But you were human enough to see it in her - something glittering beyond the surface. 
It could be projection, but you swear her voice is softer. "He has a name for you. When he speaks about you, and to you. I have it logged in my memory database. Do you know what that is?" You shake your head. 
Lyla opens up her palm and projects videos and images - little Miguel's popping up in her palm, tinny and gruff voices ringing through the hallway. They say your name, shout your name, whisper it. Some say other things in Spanish. Curse words had always been your assumption, and he had given you no reason to think otherwise. Now, having it played back to you, you hear a tenderness in his voice you would've missed. Words and phrases that come up again and again…
"Bichita." She repeats. "Bichito del amor. Mi bichito amoroso. "
You shake your head, still confounded. "...I don't speak Spanish, Lyla." 
"Little bug. Sweetheart. Lovebug. My little lovebug." She clears her throat. "I believe they are terms of endearment."
Steadfast, she directs you towards her palm. Another small Miguel appears, and you think it's him from this morning. 
"I thought I told you not to let anyone in, Lyla?" 
"I did not let her in. She let herself in using the code you previously gave her, Mr O'Hara."
"Yeah, for emergencies. Fuck. Mi bichita, too smart for her own good."
"...If you are in distress, I believe she would understand, Mr O'Hara."
"I just think it's too much. I don't want her to see me like this." 
"According to Alchemax files, previous subjects showing this kind of aggression benefitted from-"
"Lyla, it's not happening, no chance. I can't tell her."
The figure blinks out of her palm. "Mr O'Hara has forbid me from telling you about certain things."
"...but not from showing me." Your eyes meet hers. You give her a watery smile. "Thank you." 
With a hint of a smile, she nods and is gone from the corridor. You are left alone, with nothing but your thoughts of little lovebugs rattling around in your brain.
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tcwmatchmakingau · 7 months
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Date Night Pt. 3
Summary: Yen Ori'ken finally found her calling as a matchmaker. The work was involved and fulfilling. After helping Rex find his own perfect match, the Captain calls in a favor for one of his brothers. Yen knows she is up to the task, but this trooper proves to be her most difficult client yet.
A/N: Alright, y'all. This chapter has been rewritten so many times I can't even. Two seconds before submitting it earlier, I realized I didn't have the depth I wanted and did a lot of heavy edits and what was supposed to be the final chapter got split into two. So, now Pt 3 is more an intro to Yen and Dogma.
Pairing: Dogma x OC (Yen Ori'ken, RTL Matchmaker Extrodinaire)
Warning: SFW. Mentions of Umbara, general exploration of guilt and anxiety but nothing specific/no details.
W/C: 4,860
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Tapping the papers gently on her desk to help them fall into place in their folder, Yen smiled, satisfied that another day of good work was done, her tasks all checked neatly off her daily to-do list one by one, falling into line like synchronized swimmers. She even managed to knock a few things off her weekly to-do list, and the week had only just started.
Yes, things in her little world were neat and tidy, kept that way through meticulous organization and perseverance.
And a large part of that was thanks to Right to Love.
Matchmaking had been the family business — at least as her grandmother told it. But that was decades ago, and it wasn’t much of a stable career back on her home planet. So when she graduated from Coruscant University with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Sociology of Humanoid Species, she directed her attention toward making her mark on the business world instead.
One corporate desk job and three stints with start ups so immature the CEOs should have been wearing diapers led Yen to her wits end. One would think the realm of business would be orderly but somehow the entire enterprise operated on chaos, caffeine and petty spite.
No wonder so many companies relied on the war for profits.
It disgusted her down to her core how many seemingly well-to-do firms were war profiteers, no matter the regulatory handwaving by the Senate to grant capitalist exceptions that protected them from that title. And did these companies at least benefit the citizens of the Republic? No, of course not. Not unless you were wealthy and wanted a new speeder.
Yen had been about to quit her fourth job in as many years, more willing to face poverty in the capital than work for those self-important assholes again when her grandmother reached out. Apparently, the matchmaking community was still small enough, and the endeavor of Right to Love so large, that word had reached her Mid-Rim planet.
“Just think about it, love. You were a wonderful apprentice here, and it could be a way to continue our work. I know you have your fancy office job, but do consider this? At least for me?”
At that point, there really wasn’t much for Yen to consider other than how to best update her resume. Once she got the job, the rest of her post-grad life fell into place — she had a decent apartment, a job she enjoyed, and even made friends in the office.
Most importantly, in the six months since, she was proud to have matched ten happy couples.
It wasn’t a numbers game; more a critical analysis. A breakdown of information cleaned from clean profiles and messy interviews to put together a picture of a whole person — not just the wants they admit to, but the flaws and quirks they don’t — in order to pair them with a compatible match.
And Yen was quite good at it.
At least, that’s what her spotless record attested to. Despite not having the same amount of experience as some of her colleagues, Yen had been able to find each one a match they were happy with and currently dating.
One client was so impressed, he’d asked for some … additional help in getting another clone trooper comfortable with the process. Yen typically didn’t get so personally involved — it was hard to stay clear headed and objective if clients became friends. However, Captain Rex’s normally even tone had a hint of something … unsettled in it when he called earlier.
Clearly, her assistance was needed, and if it meant the captain would continue recruiting for her and spreading the word among his brothers of her expertise, then tonight’s small exception would be worth it.
With one last look confirming everything was in its place, Yen locked up and made her way across the city to an intimate little café. Her choice of location, one she knew would be welcoming to the men, but off the beaten path and quiet enough to allow a private conversation.
The journey wasn’t long, but she was late. Captain Rex was sitting at a table outside, facing her, dressed down in “civilian” attire. Yen was glad to see the deep bags under his eyes seemed a little brighter. In fact, his whole person seemed more relaxed, relieved. She tried to silence the small part of her that felt a little proud that her matchmaking may have contributed to this change from the first time they met.
Opposite Rex sat another trooper, his back to Yen. That must be the reluctant brother.
“Hello, sorry I’m late,” Yen said, as she came around the table to greet Rex first.
Ever the gentleman, the captain rose as Yen reached out her hand. ““Not reason to be sorry, we were early. It’s good to see you again, Yen.”
“Good to see you, too, Rex,” she said sincerely, squeezing the captain’s calloused hand before turning to the other trooper. Unlike Rex, he wore his casual fatigues. More striking than his choice to wear a uniform during off-hours was the intricate V-shaped tattoo that bisected his face. “And you must be the man Rex insisted I meet. I’m Yen Ori’ken.”
The trooper’s handshake was stiff and firm, and his eyes never once left hers. “Dogma, ma’am. And apologies. I told the Captain that this was unnecessary, but he pulled rank.”
Yen raised an eyebrow and leveled a look at Rex as she sat next to him. “Did he now?”
Rex raised his hands in surrender. “I just wanted the two of you to meet and have a conversation.”
“You can’t order someone to go see a matchmaker.”
“I didn’t. I gave Dogma the choice of desk duty for a month or one evening with good company and good conversation since he refuses to schedule his interview.”
“Oh, so your paperwork is done?” Yen asked, turning back to Dogma, who gave a small nod.
“Yes, ma’am. The Captain submitted it fifteen rotations ago through the holonet portal.”
Closing her eyes for just a moment, Yen held in a soul-deep sigh. She really should be used to the mental gymnastics clones employed to get their way. Even the commanding officers were guilty of it.
Sometimes they’re even worse, she thought, remembering Daria’s struggles with Commander Neyo. Taking a deep breath, Yen put her professional smile back on, softening it just a bit for the man across from her who sat straight and still as a board.
“Well, the good thing about being a civilian is that your captain can’t pull rank on me. This won’t work, it can’t work, if you don’t want it to. And I’m not looking to risk my record or reputation because one man is too afraid to tell his commanding officer to stay in line. So, Dogma, I leave the choice up to you.”
He looked at her like she was speaking Huttese. “Ma’am?”
“Yen, please,” she smiled softly. “Look, forget Rex for a second. Forget everything, in fact. Just take a moment to think about what you really want. Do you want to meet someone and have a partner in your life? Or do you want to continue as you are?”
The silence that settled wasn’t tense, but it weighed on the trio. Dogma looked down to the tabletop as if it held the answers he was looking for. He looked almost lost at her most simple question.
 After a few more beats, he finally looked up. His body was still rigid, but now there was a softness in his eyes as he met hers again.
“I think I’d like to try. For a partner, that is. My brothers … they all look so happy when we’re on planet now.” Dogma paused, like he was trying to find the right words but then the softness drained from his eyes again. “But I’m not leaving the 501st.”
It took all her strength to keep a satisfied smile off her face, but Yen could see from the corner of her eye that Rex didn’t exercise the same control.
“No one is asking you to,” she said. “Plenty of troopers are still enlisted. And obviously your legion still spends a bit of time off planet and that hasn’t been a problem for their partners. That’s where I come in. I’ll take what I know of you and find someone complimentary in our system.”
At that, Yen reached into her purse to pull out a small datapad and stylus.
“Naturally, that means I’ll need you to be completely honest with me. Lying to me means lying to a potential partner, and that does not end well. Further, while my record speaks for itself, I am not actually a miracle worker. You may go on dates that don’t end in a relationship. You may even have bad dates. Please don’t think of these as failures. They are opportunities for me to refine my parameters and try again. Understand?”
Dogma nodded, but his face had lost some color at the mention of failed dates. It was a risk to mention, especially with a nervous client. But one thing Yen had come to realize about clone troopers is their uniform preference to have all the data and face new situations as prepared as possible.
Still, it was disconcerting that Dogma’s mouth kept opening and closing like a fish trying to breathe on dry land.
“Are you okay, Dogma?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It had left his mouth before she even finished her question.
“Strike one,” Yen said, brandishing her stylus in admonishment. “I said I expect complete honesty. Don’t lie to me again, trooper.”
Dogma’s eyes narrowed at her, nose crinkling slightly. “I didn’t lie, ma’am.”
“Dogma.” Rex’s tone was nothing like Yen had heard before. Must be his captain voice. It worked instantly and had his subordinate leaning back into his seat.
“Fine,” he spat. “I am intimidated by the idea of a date. My experience is limited and I have no training.”
Yen nodded. “Many of your brothers were — and are — in the same boat. And us natborns aren’t really trained in this, either.” She offered another small smile, relieved to see Dogma’s durasteel spine start to soften. She waited for him to relax a little further into his seat before continuing. “We’re all just winging it and trying our best. Some are just better at hiding their nerves.”
Dogma looked unwilling to accept the revelation, but when Yen met his eyes hoping to convey her sincerity, he stared back like he was holding onto a lifeline.
Opening up to civilian life, accepting change and chaos into their worlds that, while dangerous, had been so orderly, was a challenge for many troopers. Nothing unusual or unfamiliar for her to navigate. And yet, Yen couldn’t help but feel that something deeper was at play.
Well, the only way to solve that mystery is to dive right in.
Sitting back with her datapad at the ready, Yen let herself slip fully into work mode. “Are you alright with a few questions to start?”
Despite the rocky start, Dogma was impressively forthwith and thorough in his interview answers, sparing not even the less flattering truths about his personality and habits. Unlike other troopers, he didn’t withhold any information, even about his arrest for killing the traitorous Jedi Pong Krell.
That bit of information certainly caught Yen’s attention, though she fought to keep her surprise off her face. Everything about Dogma screamed regimented order. The thought that the man in front of her could have not only defied orders but turned against a commanding officer was almost unthinkable.
All that to keep his brothers safe.
The curl of Dogma’s fists into the tablecloth was the only physical clue he gave as to how much the incident still impacted him, prompting Yen to mark patience as a necessity in his potential matches.
As the trio ordered and their food arrived, Yen’s questioning became less formal, allowing Rex to hop in with commentary and anecdotes of his trooper, as well as a few stories that brought a tint to Dogma’s copper cheeks and she couldn’t hold back a teasing smile as the trooper turned the tables on his captain, playfully exposing how awkward Rex had apparently been leading up to his first date.
As the night progressed, Yen found she was enjoying herself more than she had in a while, the banter between them flowing naturally.
She had a good feeling about this client. And as she went home that night, she felt in her gut she would find a match worthy of such an exemplary soldier.
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She was lucky she so often neglected physical exercise. Because just a little more strength in her grip and Yen really believed she could break her datapad.
Six dates. Dogma had been on six dates in two weeks and not a single one had passed muster to earn a second date.
If it was a lack of chemistry or incompatibility, she could understand. But the man was a damn vault. Every time Yen attempted a post-event interview to get to the bottom of where her analysis went wrong, he stonewalled her.
It just didn’t work out.
No, I’d prefer not to give it another try.
I’d rather start over than continue with this match.
Between his past and his general hesitancy signing up for her services, she knew she had to tread carefully with him, though she could recognize that the first date she set up was optimistic. That match being particularly outgoing and outspoken. The hope had been that a bright, extroverted energy would compliment Dogma’s introverted and quiet nature.
And maybe she corrected too far with the second, a much more softspoken match, one who would let Dogma take the lead and set his own pace.
But the last four? All perfectly lovely women, who happened to be comfortable being paired with a man who was still enlisted and had personalities that seemed compatible with Dogma’s.
So no, short of them all talking about their exes or their expectations of marriage on a first date — which she didn’t think had happened but couldn’t confirm — Yen could not understand what had gone so horribly wrong.
And from the interviews conducted with the matches, she knew Dogma wasn’t the problem. Apparently, he was a delightful date, well-mannered and respectful. A few had mentioned that he seemed nervous and stiff, maybe not the most forthcoming with conversation, but that was pretty standard for some troopers. All five were in fact quite upset to find their date hadn’t gone as well as they thought and that another wasn’t in their future.
The most frustrating thing was, Yen believed it. From all her own interactions with the man, Dogma had proved to be a grounded, driven man who was reserved but kind. Definitely an academic mind, almost like an old soul, which she supposed was ironic considering he was a clone.
So while the trooper may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there was an enigmatic yet comforting aura to him that certainly had its own appeal.  
With nowhere to put the blame for the failures and no insight into what the heck was wrong, Yen was officially stuck. At this point, honestly, she didn’t even care if Dogma found a partner. Forget a relationship. She’d feel accomplished if he asked for someone’s comm frequency at this point.
Even worse was the backlog this fiasco was causing. Checking her to-do list was something that previously gave Yen a sense of focus and direction. Now, a sneer curled her nose and lips as she looked at the unchecked boxes that mocked her as her anxiety sparked.
“Oh, the scary face.” Daria leaned against the entrance to her office, raising her offering of iced caf. “So you do need an afternoon pick me up.”
“I never said I didn’t, just that I was too busy to leave.”
“Uh-huh.” Taking the seat across from her, Daria slid the drink to Yen. “Who’s pissing you off this time?”
Yen leveled a flat look at her friend.
“The 501st trooper? Again?”
Sucking down the biggest gulp of overly sweetened caffeine she could, Yen nodded. “Yup.”
“And he’s still being pigheaded about it?”
“Yes! It doesn’t make any sense! I’ve reviewed his application and interview answers at least four dozen times by this point! I know I’m setting him up with solid candidates and he refuses to give me one objective reason why he won’t consider any of them.”
She slid down in her seat that now felt too big to fill. “Maybe I’m just losing my touch …”
“No, no no no.” Daria pointed one finger right into Yen’s face, leaning across her desk to scold her properly. “We are not doing that ‘woe is me’ osik.”
“Osik?” Yen asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Bantha fodder.”
“Yeah, I know. I didn’t know you speak Mando’a.”
“Well, I do. Or I’m learning,” Daria explained, and if Yen didn’t know her friend so well, she may not have noticed the flustered way Daria’s fingers began fidgeting with the neatly lined styluses on the desk. “Regardless, we’re focusing on you. And what you need, my dear, is to go undercover.”
“Undercover?” she asked, her tone flat as a credit chip.
“Ok, not undercover. But you know what I mean. You need to see what’s happening firsthand.”
“Dar, please. Do not make me verbalize my refusal to go on a date with a client.”
With a roll of her eyes and a huff, Daria returned Yen’s attitude pound for pound. “Yen, please. Give me more credit than that. I’m not saying date him. I’m saying spend a little time with him so you can fill in the blanks. Think of it like field research.”
Yen leaned back in her chair, succumbing to her old habit of swiveling it aimlessly as she sipped her iced caf again. “Field research, huh?”
In the end, it really didn’t take long for her to consider Daria’s advice more seriously. As the workday drew to an end with still fewer tasks being resolved, Yen couldn’t take the uncertainty anymore. She caved, and rather quickly, too, for her tastes.
It took everything in her to break her personal code and send the message to Dogma asking him to meet up. She could hear her grandmother’s voice, chastising her the entire time, bemoaning that good matchmakers do not get to know their clients on a personal level.
It was that unspoken and unrealized disappointment that ensured Yen clarified no less than three times that this outing was a solution — unconventional though it may be — that could help her better match him and most certainly not a toe beyond professional boundaries.
Fortunately, Dogma didn’t leave her agonizing in limbo long. His reply came promptly, agreeing to her terms and leaving the planning to her.
Perfect. I just need to get to the bottom of this conundrum, and I can get things back to normal.
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Dogma fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve for the fourth time in as many minutes, though the perfectly pressed seams were already sitting properly on his wrist.
He should have said no.
She was going to ask. Again. About why his dates keep ending in rejection. Why he hadn’t connected with any of the matches she set up for him.
She’s going to find out he lied.
Dogma had no kriffing idea what he wanted from a partner. He’d asked every brother he trusted when he found out Captain Rex was going to drag him to finally meet with the matchmaker they all kept praising. And those karking idiots couldn’t come up with a single answer.
It must be his curse, or the cosmic repercussions for his actions to be reassigned to the chaotic quagmire that is the 501st.
That’s what the Force was, right?
In the end, Kix was the only one to give him any sort of suitable advice. If you don’t feel a connection to your date, that’s ok. Just move on and try again.
The dates Yen set him up on were all lovely but … he just didn’t connect with them. He couldn’t.
Pouring salt in the wound was the way Yen would look at him with so much sincere kindness in her eyes after each disappointing evening. Looking at her like that, he couldn’t say the truth he knew deep down: he’s defective. He’s not meant for a partner. He’s barely meant for the battlefield now, but at least there he has his brothers to help him.
He wondered how long until she gave up on him, until she learned the truth.
The small seed of optimism that coaxed him into trusting the system around him still urged him to keep up hope. But that little voice had shrunk and grown quieter since Umbara. It didn’t matter that his brothers all agreed his actions were justified, or that he was considered a hero now. The betrayal was still there.
But not just Krell’s. His own haunted him just as much. Sometimes more.
Despite all the extenuating facts, Dogma still broke the ultimate rule, the foundation of a soldier’s code of honor: Trust in and listen to your commanding officer.
Even Captain Rex hadn’t been able to pull the trigger. But he had. And in his heart, he knew he didn’t shoot to protect anyone. The only thing he felt in that moment was rage … and pain. And he took that out on a prisoner of war.
Now, the guilt was what he operated on. He knew that it was preventing him from connecting with anyone. But how could he tell that to Rex, his brother who somehow still believed he deserved anything beyond the chance to make amends?
How could he tell that to Yen, to this civilian woman who owed him nothing but was clearly working her hardest to do right by him?
He couldn’t. So he didn’t. He went through the motions, and tonight he knew his lies would catch up with him. He hated the dread he felt, almost wishing it could be over now.
“I should have guessed you’d beat me here.”
Dogma hid his startled jump by turning at the sound of Yen’s voice, impressed she managed to get so close unnoticed. He must have been too far into his own thoughts.
She clearly came straight from work. Her dark hair pulled back and into a neat twist, leaving only her straight cut bangs out, cutting a military straight line across her forehead. Her outfit was simple but professional, all dark colors and gold accents perfectly tailored to her form, her bag tucked neatly under her arm. Everything about her was neat and orderly, as it was each time he saw her.
There was a small, pretty smile on her lips as she looked up at him expectantly.
It took him a beat too long to realize he never answered her.
“Just like to be punctual, ma’am.”
“Yen, please. And so do I, which is why I got here five minutes early. So now I’m wondering how early you got here.”
Her tone was light, playful, and yet Dogma still felt like he was facing a test no one had ever instructed him for.
“Sorry, ma- Yen, I mean,” he said, his arms automatically falling into an “at rest” position behind his back as she took the lead and began walking across the plaza, her eyes never leaving his. “I haven’t been waiting long,” he lied.
“No need to apologize. It’s kind of fun not being the one to wait for once,” she said, her smile widening. “So, as I said in my message, I’m a bit stuck in picking your next match and since our post-date interviews haven’t yielded any new information, I wanted to meet up and touch base.
“Of course, ma’am.” He gave a short nod and fought to hide his confusion as Yen’s smile fell from genuine to stale.
“I know you’re doing it out of respect, but I’d much prefer you call me by my name,” she said, her tone firm but not angry as far as he could tell. “I’m not your commanding officer. In fact, for tonight, it would be best if you think of me as a peer.”
“A peer?”
“Yes. I didn’t fully explain in my message, but this isn’t just to meet up. I wanted to see first-hand what a date with you is like. This way, I can have better insight when picking your next match. That can’t work if you keep treating me as a superior.”
A date?
It wasn’t real. It was just for professional purposes.
And yet Dogma couldn’t understand the rush that rose through him like a wave at the prospect of a date with Yen. Even a fake one. Out of all the civies he’d met — through Right to Love and in general — she was by far the easiest to talk to. The kindest, too. He kept all the soft smiles and the gentle encouragement she gave when he told her his story locked in his memory.
He always felt supported by his brothers. But the way she guided him that night was something he hadn’t experienced before or since.
“Is that okay?” she asked, looking as if she believed he would actually say no.
He had to remind himself that technically, it wouldn’t be out of bounds for him to refuse. And he ignored the incessant thought that said he should, that this couldn’t be regulation behavior. But she was offering, looking at him expectantly for an answer but unassuming beyond that.
Like a bolt, Dogma realized that’s what made him feel so secure around her. Yen expected nothing from him but himself. And she was the first person to do so.
He realized he liked that very much.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
“Wonderful! I hope you like light shows. There’s one tonight in the plaza, set to a Pantoran opera. It isn’t too long, so I figured it would be perfect. Ready?”
Yen didn’t wait for an answer. She took his hand without another word and began pulling him through the crowd to the opposite end of the plaza.
That same wave of gentle support washed through him, just like when he spoke to her after each date, and he reveled in it. Nothing had ever soothed him like this. Even before Umbara, Dogma struggled with his anxious nature, retreating into the order and boundaries of the regulations to guide him. Nothing could go wrong if he was acting as he was supposed to.
Or so he thought. Umbara showed him how limited the regulations were, how confining. And worse, how fallible the structures of power could be to corruption. Without those pillars, his anxiety had grown worse.
His brothers helped where they could. Kix, Maker bless him, had researched medication and breathing techniques to help him in acute situations. Captain Rex was always patient with him. And while Jesse still kept a bit of distance, Fives’ exuberant friendship did wonders alleviating remnant guilt, even if he wanted to punch the ARC trooper more often than not.
But this? The feeling of Yen’s skin on his, the natural warmth that oozed out of her cut to his core, silencing the thoughts that came unbidden to plague his mind. She was a quiet power — neat, organized, controlled. And yet so damn soft as she forged ahead without worry. At least, none that he could see.
He wasn’t sure if she expected people to follow her or just became accustomed to it. Probably the latter. He couldn’t see her demanding anything. And yet, it was so natural to fall into step just behind her. More so than the captain, or even the marshal commander. He knew on that first night that he could trust her.
She would never lead him somewhere unsafe.
As the crowd grew thicker, Dogma lengthened his stride until he pulled up to Yen’s side. With only the barest of thoughts, his hand dropped hers to rest gently on her lower waist, pulling and pushing with as little pressure as possible to help ease her movement through the mass of people, his own body angled to take the brunt when bodies would collide with theirs.
Recognizing what he was doing, Yen pulled herself closer to him, throwing an appreciative smile at him before turning back to watch where she was going.
He never really had someone he could trust his battered heart to before, so being able to help her back, steer her through this crowd with her approval had notes of pride and satisfaction harmonizing with the now ingrained sense of calm.
There was something else, too. Something more foreign, but …
Oh.
Kix said to wait for a connection. Fives said he would just know. Dogma felt so stupid. Of course he wouldn’t just know.
But then again, maybe he did. Maybe deep down, he knew from that first meeting that Yen was someone special. And none of the matches she found could compare.
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eastwindmlk · 3 months
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Year of WIPs
Even though I only returned to writing fanfiction last year I've already racked up a bunch of WIPs and because I don't want to fill that folder too much, we are focussing on these first. Which means no new fest commitments until there is an end in sight. What will I be working on: 
Echoes (1 multi and 3 oneshots)  
Current word count: 31,127 words 
Status: Editing, possibly looking for Alpha/Beta reader
Pairing: Lily/James
Setting: Modern muggle band AU!
Main tropes: Forced proximity, idiots in love, fluff
Summary: As a favour to a friend, Lily took a job as tour manager for a growing local band: Mischief Managed. What she did not expect is that three years later she would still be travelling around with the merry band of troublemakers. While she had no problem dealing with the usual shenanigans, there was one member that seemed bound to making her life more difficult than it needed to be. James Potter, guitarist. With his stupidly charming smile, magnetic personality and endless parade of hook-ups that should leave her unbothered, but don’t is the bane of her existence. So why can’t she stay away from him?
To Strike a Match
Current word count: 1814 words 
Status: Writing
Pairing: Lily/James 
Setting: Matchmaker, muggle AU
Main tropes: Matchmaker, Blind dates, Rich Boyfriend
Summary: James Potter loves his life. He had great friends, a lot of freedom and more money than he can ever spend. The one thing he does not have is a significant other to share all of this with. After a string of short-term relationships, his mother convinces him to see a matchmaker in the hopes that she has more success fixing his love life. 
Flying Lessons
Current word count: 24,270 words 
Status: Writing and editing. Probably need a second pair of eyes here too. 
Pairing: Hermione/Draco
Setting: Post-War
Main tropes: Second chance romance, unexpected reunion, mature romance.
Summary: Every summer, Draco Malfoy volunteers his time to teach a quidditch for beginners class at a small club. Something which had started as a distraction from the death of his wife and now something he looked forward to. People did not seem to know or care who he was in the past until, one year, Rose Weasley gets enrolled in his class. Now he has to deal with a precocious 9-year-old, his former rival and her ex-husband. 
Astral Alignments
Current word count: 16,324 words 
Status: Completed
Pairing: Hermione/Draco
Setting: Post-War
Main tropes: Text-fic, unlikely friendship, mutual pining
Summary: One night after going out, Hermione Granger runs into Draco Malfoy at a fast-food restaurant scrounging for muggle money. She helps him out and they exchange numbers. What neither of them expect is for them to bond over nightmares and adjusting to life after the war. 
This fic is supposed to be the prequel to a multi-chapter. 
The Cat’s Cradle
Current word count: 5,277 words 
Status: Writing, on hiatus, maybe needs an alpha reader
Pairing: Hermione/Draco
Setting: 8th year 
Main tropes: Major Character Death, Mystery, Hurt no comfort
Summary: Draco Malfoy is found dead in his bed one morning, and no one knows what happened. But everything points to Hermione Granger having something to do with it.
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fizzigigsimmer · 2 months
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i wanna hear about all your fics!! so bachelor au, blinding baby like city lights, news paper au and love aint fair at all!!
Ahh bless you nonny. Some of these are still just outlines but a few have chapters posted.
Starting with OUTLINES
The Bachelor Au: This is still one of my favorite ideas lol, born of my love of the insanity that is the bachelor franchise and the poorly concealed producer plants who are clearly just there for the drama. You can't tell me Billy wouldn't make a perfect Chad. The gist is Steve is the first Bisexual bachelor contestant. An icon, An American sweetheart looking for love. Robin and The Party are crew members and all the stranger things teens are contestants (Nancy, Chrissy, Eddie, Jason, Argyle, Heather) vying for his hand and represent various types of typical bachelor contestants. The funny ones, the good guys, the people there for clout, the people who somehow think they can get away with going on a dating show while still involved in a situationship back home, and the people who decide to do a reality show instead of go to therapy for their bag of issues. Billy is an instagram model hired by producers to be the seasons 'villian' and be hated by the audience. It's just supposed to be a free vacation where he gets to make some extra cash to be his most extra before he's finally sent home. But oops, they fall in love. Leaving them to figure out how they build a life together after the show when there are NDA's involved and they are the most hated ship in America.
Newspaper Club Au: This is a no upside down college fic featuring Billy/Nancy friendship, nerd!billy and jock!Steve. I haven't decided yet whether it's modern, 80s, or an ambiguous setting but the basic gist is the boys meet in college. Steve is there on a sports scholarship and chose California to follow Nancy, now his ex-girlfriend. Billy's an English major who works on the school paper with Nancy (one of his electives). He's pissed when she puts him on the sports column as it means he actually has to attend the games. He starts using the column to flirt with/aka harass swimmer Steve through increasingly ridiculous and suggestive commentary. The campus thinks it's a riot. Steve thinks Billy's an asshole and making him the butt of a joke just because he's a "dumb jock". Nancy plays matchmaker and also saves the integrity of her paper by finagling Billy into helping Steve write an essay for his English literature elective. Billy takes the opportunity to show him he was 1000 percent serious about wanting to know if his dick is even bigger out of the speedo.
Onto the POSTED fics
Blinding Baby Like City Lights: Is a dom/sub au where everyone is either a dominant, submissive, or switch. Basically some people need to dominate to stay balanced and others need to submit, or some mix of the two. And everyone responds differently to different things, creating many different 'types.' Naturally not all types are good for each other. Billy is a masochistic sub, has known it for a long time but wasn't safe to explore it growing up with an abusive sadist for a father. He's managed to claw his way out of his abusive home and become a successful business man who is often mistaken for a dom. He found family in Heather & Chrissy, but never a dominant he can trust enough to handle him and give him exactly what he needs. Steve's a recovering sadist. Too much privilege and neglectful parents lead him to some pretty unhealthy and toxic tendencies in his relationship with his first love Nancy. Losing his sub nearly broke him, but he broke good and has been rebuilding his life with his best friend Robin for the last few years. He just wants to take care of people by making good food, and find someone he can take care of always, without having to be afraid of his own desires. Steve might just be perfect for Billy, and Billy might just be what Steve needs to finally embrace who he is.
*** EDIT
When you have so many WIPs you confuse two of them.
Love Aint Fair At All: Werewolf au + a/b/o dynamics. This is a retelling of Snow White that takes place in an alternate version of Hawkins where magic exists. Some peoples magic makes them Wolf Shifters (people who are born with the ability to turn into wolves) and others use their magic to bend the external elements, these people are called Hags. Steve lives in the Cold Zone, a portion of the country that is suffering under a powerful Hags curse. Billy is a Wolf Shifter, exiled from their former pack in California, he and Neil make their way as huntsmen for hire. But everything goes to shit wen Neil brings the family to Hawkins to serve Steve's cousin Elsie, a powerful and mysterious Hag whose obsession with beauty and power threatens to cover the world in ice. The only thing holding her at bay is an old curse that limits her powers and a prophecy that promised one day an omega child would be born who was fairer than her. Good thing Steve is a perfectly normal bland beta boy - until he isn't.
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master-of-nyom · 3 years
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Confidence in Each Other Chapter 10 sneak peek
‘Maybe a stuffed animal?’ Tooru mused, walking into a toy shop and looking around aimlessly, ‘Suga-chan did mention he has a small collection once.’
A splash of purple on one of the shelves caught the setter’s attention. Stepping closer, he was faced with a fluffy lilac cat plushie and he was absolutely sold.
“Are you sure you’re getting a present for a teammate?” Makoto shook his head in disbelief, “Cause this looks like something you would give to a girlfriend instead.”
“Oh, shut up!” Tooru sniped, picking up the toy and marvelling at how soft it was. “It reminds me of Suga-chan.”
He was instantly leveled with his brother’s signature deadpan stare, “How?! It’s fucking purple Tooru, not silver, did you forget to wear your contacts?”
The setter shrugged, “He likes purple.”
“Of course you’d know that,” Makoto let out a long-suffering sigh, as his brother skipped happily to the counter to buy the plushie. ‘You’re already so whipped Tooru, how can you not realize that?’
Over the summer, his Tooru Blackmail Folder expanded unimaginably, with the majority of the newest additions being just the photos of the two. Now, don’t get him wrong - Makoto had no interest in playing matchmaker, fully believing that feelings are something one should figure out at their own pace. But fuck if he didn’t want to bonk his brother on the head sometimes and let him know just how much of an oblivious idiot he was.
‘Maybe I should give him a little nudge though?’ he mused, as they made their way back to the car. ‘It definitely won’t hurt.’
Tooru was stroking the little purple cat absentmindedly, anxiously looking forward to gifting it to his friend. ‘Will he like it? I sure hope so - I wanna make Suga-chan smile at least for a moment.’
“Say, Tooru,” his brother’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. He inclined his head in interest, indicating that he was listening, so the other continued, “You have actually considered dating, right?”
The setter scrunched his nose in surprise, spluttering, “What the- what is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just asking, jeez,” the older brother rolled his eyes, pulling to a stop at the crossroads. Rapping at the steering wheel in a nonsensical tune, he racked his brain for a way to word his inquiry without sounding awfully straightforward. Finally, he settled on the usual Oikawa-way of doing things - teasing, “I was just making sure your peanut brain had space for something other than volleyball.”
***
Nyom, at some point, probably: Makoto, nooo... Nyom's brain anyway: Makoto, yes!
Ha! Bet ya didn't expect me here now. I'll be honest with you - I was simultaniously so fucking delighted and apologetic seeing some of your reactions to the cliffhanger in the last chapter, that I wrote this newest one less than a week after Chapter 9 was published. Edition took longer Ig, cause work internships are a bitch, but I was adamant on releasing this one before I go on a trip next Monday, so me and my beta made sure to deliver.
And so, tune up for Chapter 10, Calm Before the Storm, coming out tomorrow at approximately 8p.m. CEST. Yes, the date is final. And with this chapter, we finally broke the magic number of 13k words. Woohoo~ See you guys tomorrow ;)
MasterOfNyom, over and out!
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mindblindbard · 3 years
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Thank you for the input! Ch-ch-changes incoming.
After much consideration, I’m reworking how the Sally and Nick matchmaking initiates (It's always going to be an option! I just wanted input on how I could make it better, since I wasn't totally happy with the scene myself, but being too close to the material can sometimes lead to issues pinpointing its flaws.) I think my anxiety got the better of me, and I inserted the decision way too early.
(More under the cut. Accidentally wrote an essay. Whoops.)
When it was very first revealed that Sally could end up with Nick, there was a lot of negative feedback in my tumblr inbox, to the point where I freaked myself out and tried to set the variable as soon as possible, so that if players wanted to avoid the romantic overtones between those two, it would be nipped in the bud early on. Sally’s inclusion as an RO was supposed to be a fun addition to the romantic lineup, not a source of anxiety!
“Everyone will be happy!” I justified. “Because no one will be forced to look at her dynamic with Nick if they want to romance Sally instead!”
Readers did complain about that scene, however, and rightfully so. Because when I wrote the hospital confession, I was more concerned about a coding variable for future scenes than I was with narrative quality and staying true to the characters.  
As people also pointed out, this led to the problem where you’re being asked to decide whether Sally and Nick should be together without ever seeing them interact. This in turn caused some pretty major misconceptions about Sally’s relationship with Nick and even her intentions as Button’s friend. Sally isn’t near as Machiavellian or selfish as Chapter 4 may have misrepresented her to be, I swear. She’s not perfect, but she’s not a bad friend. Apparently, she came across that way to a lot of people, though!
These misconceptions are 110% my fault for rushing the matchmaking choice rather than letting it play out naturally, and Chapter 4 is getting major edits as a result.
Starting with the next update, “Snickly” won’t trigger at the hospital—Sally won’t be meeting with Nick at all. Despite 3000 words being removed, average playthrough length remains approximately the same since everyone will now meet with the nurse, which will honestly make certain scenes easier to code in the future. So whoo-hoo for that! The bad news for Sallymancers is that you’ll be forced to read more of your crush and brother interacting before deciding whether to pursue her or set her up with Nick, so her route may turn out to be slightly angstier if you’re of the opinion that people only have one soul mate. (I’m not, personally. I strongly believe that Sally works equally well with either Wiseman—I wouldn’t have included her as an RO otherwise.)
Despite the extra work of rewriting probably delaying the next update, there is a brightside! I like the overheard confession as an option, and it becomes even juicier and more dramatic (and slightly more justifiable) if Button can listen in several chapters later *while a certain someone is along for the ride* .
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masterhandss · 3 years
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HameFura LN5 - A Lady for Nicol (theory)
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While we all love all the harem members for Katarina, but in the end she’s just one person and only one person can reign as the victor of her heart. 
One of my most favorite theories/observations that came from the bakarina reddit discord is the importance of the “Lady” from Light Novel Volume 5, who was the main character alongside Nicol is their chapter in that book. The lady isn’t given a name or a physical description in her chapter which could indicate that her role is merely that of a plot device in order to prevent Nicol from giving up on Katarina’s hand. Her constant support and encouragement of Nicol’s feelings is what encourages him to continue pursuing her despite already graduating in the academy by Volume 5, cementing Nicol’s place in the harem, and yet for some people this chapter implied something else; feeling like this lady will be a contender for Nicol’s end-game love interest once Katarina chooses. 
A few users on the discord pointed out how wonderful it would be for Nicol to end up with this Lady, given how strong and admirable her personality was build up to despite only appearing for a single chapter. She’s smart, honest, independent and can carry a conversation; which is a lot of traits that Nicol seems to like in a partner. 
It is possible that this Lady will never be named and become her own character (unless the Second Season of the anime adapts his chapter and introduces her to everyone as a filler scene), but it is still possible for her to return as a future candidate for Nicol’s partner as the series eliminates the competition for Katarina’s heart. 
Despite all this though, who could really say that we don’t know this character yet? 
I propose that as of Volume 9 (the most recent JP release of the novels), we already know who the Lady from Volume 5 is! 
It’s all just a matter of observation/elimination!
Spoilers for the light novels and a lil bit from the webnovel!
Edit (2/13/21): I added a lil more!
I believe that the identity of the Lady that Nicol met during his matchmaking meetings is none other than Fray Randall, the student council president of the Magic Academy in Volume 6. 
Quick note, J-Novels translated Fray’s name to “Fray Landoor”, but its supposed to be Fray Randall. I mean without even pulling out the kanji for Fray’s surname, you read it out loud ‘Landoor’ as “Ran-do-ru” in japanese, in the same way you’d read ‘Randall”. Regardless if you pull out a raw version of the novels or google translate both surnames, you get the same characters of “ランドール“, proving that Fray is from the Marquis of Randall. The connection is even more undeniable considering the fact that Fray is described as a girl with black hair and blue eyes in LN6, just like Suzanna. 
Part 1 - Fray and the Lady
First, lets establish what we know about the Lady:
She is from a high ranking family
She is a member of the Student Council in Katarina’s final year in the Academy (an underclassman that is close with Katarina)
She gives an allusive, strong and resilient impression
She is very intelligent, talented and has a high magical aptitude (evident in the fact that she is in the Student Council)
She is very curious and perceptive about other people
She admires Lana Smith (Suzanna Randall)
She is very supportive of Nicol’s feelings for Katarina
She has no intention of marrying and wants to work independently in the Magic Ministry
She is the 5th and last candidate for Nicol’s fiancee
Before going to Fray, I just want to establish something for those who do not know: Light Novel Volume 6 isn’t the first time we’ve seen Fray. She, as well as her best friend Ginger, are already well established characters even before the Volume 5 was published, because those two characters comes from an extra web novel chapter that was not adapted into the first arc (the first two books) of the novels. The extra chapter is called “About the Duke’s Daughter” which tells the tale of Ginger Tucker’s experience of meeting Katarina. The chapter itself doesn’t introduce anything new about Fray, other than the fact that the Randalls are a Marquis Family, but the chapter will come up again later. 
Now, lets establish what we know about Fray Randall:
She is from the Marquis of Randall, a high ranking family
She is the next president of the Student Council in Katarina’s final year in the Academy (an underclassman that is close with Katarina)
She is well-mannered, polite and charming
She is very intelligent, talented and has a high magical aptitude (evident in the fact that she is in the Student Council)
She is quite perceptive when it comes to the feelings of her tsundere friend Ginger
She is most likely related to Suzanna Randall (as they share the same last name; either sisters or cousins)
She is very supportive of Ginger’s feelings for Katarina
I probably don’t need to make a chart to emphasize the similarities of these two characters (but i’ll still compare anyways). I know not everything lines up, especially when it comes to their personality. We haven’t seen too much of Fray to write a perfectly accurate description of her, all we know is that she behaves like a perfect noblewoman in front of others but is also quite cheeky when it comes to teasing her friend Ginger about her admiration for their Katarina-senpai. 
That isn’t to say that there are no other similarities between them! Nicol has noted a few times how smart sounding and well-mannered the lady is, which while does apply to most ladies, it should still be considered. Both Fray and the Lady have perfect etiquette, but has a more energetic and outspoken personality. The Lady reminds me a lot of Suzanna Randall, and that comparison makes me feel like the Lady could be Fray, because of how likely it is that Suzanna’s little sister/cousin could be as brazen and independent as she is. 
Both Fray and the Lady are open minded people. the Lady does not care about the existing culture of high society and wants to act independently. Fray does not care about the culture of high society and accepts Ginger despite her normal appearance and low status. 
Both Fray and the Lady as very supportive of another’s characters feelings for Katarina, aka Ginger and Nicol respectively. Both characters insisted that their friends accept their feelings of love/admiration, and to act on them. Anyone who has seen either the web novel chapter knows that Fray and Ginger are very close to Katarina and the harem, which is important because the Lady specifically got all the tea about Nicol liking Katarina from Sophia. 
Both Fray and the Lady are from high ranking families. Specifically, Fray is a Marchioness, which is a rank higher than Nicol. 
Speaking of the Marquis of Randalls, the Lady has voiced her admiration about her idol:  a woman who works for the Magic Ministry but isn’t of a high ranking family. She is most likely talking about Lana Smith (aka Suzanna’s alter ego). The Lady mentions that her family highly opposes her desires to work in the Ministry and insists that she marries instead. 
Suzanna in Volume 3 and 4 implies the same things: despite her desires to study magic, she is forced by her parents to attend matchmaking events in order to find a fiancée (which ended up becoming Geoffrey) and it is not hard to surmise that her family is one of the reasons she hides her identity in the Ministry. If Fray is from the same family, then she will most likely be receiving the same treatment. 
We cannot say whether of not the Lady admiring Lana Smith is an indication that she knows who Lana is. There is the possibility that the Lady admires Lana but isn’t aware of her identity at all, but there’s also the possibility that the Lady does know who Lana is and gave Lana’s fake story as to not blow her cover. If the Lady really is Fray, then both sides of the theory can do wonders for her character. 
Both Fray and the Lady are smart and magically-talented, as you can tell by the fact that they are both in the Student Council. In fact, Fray is so smart and talented that she will eventually succeed Gerald as President in the Magic Academy! Doesn’t that remind anybody of a certain Randall who is also a prodigy?
Part 2 - Katarina’s Underclassmen in the Student Council
Speaking of the Student Council, one of my key arguments as to why I think Fray Randall is Nicol’s Lady from Volume 5 is because of the web novel chapter “About the Duke’s Daughter” featuring Ginger. In the light novels, Fray was introduced in Volume 6 while the Lady is introduced in Volume 5. Since the web novel chapter was never published, LN6 is the new introductions of Fray and Ginger.
In the anime and light novels, it is identified that in Sirius and Nicol’s batch, there were 7 members of the student council (Sirius, Nicol, Girl 1, Girl 2, Boy 1, Boy 2 and Boy 3), and in Katarina’s batch there is 6 student council members (Gerald, Keith, Alan, Mary, Sophia and Maria). With that we can assume that their is typically 6-7 new freshmens to join the student council every year (push it to 6-8 if you want but I’m going with 7)
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First draft of my fan designs for Ginger Tucker and Fray Randall btw :DD
I made Fray look too sweet in this doodle, she’s a sass-pants I swear!
Like I already said before, both Fray and the Lady are members of the student council, who are close to Katarina. Knowing only the light novels, one might assume that it is impossible to determine how many members Fray and Ginger’s batch of council freshmens are, but in reality its pretty easy. 
I’m not going to say that out of the freshmens, Katarina is only close to Fray and Ginger, since they are the only ones to show up in Volume 6, but I will agree that it is likely. If we go by the estimates of 6-8 council members per batch, we’ll go in the middle and say that Ginger’s batch has 7 student council members as Katarina is in her final year. 
In the web novel chapter “About the Duke’s Daughter”, there is a scene where Ginger is being bad mouthed by 3 of her female peers in the student council room. Here’s the scene from the web novel chapter (in Ginger’s POV):
There was something I didn't understand in class that day so after visiting the teacher, I went to the student council room and arrived later than usual. Then some of the same classmates, who were members of the student council seemed to be ahead, and I heard voices talking from inside. 
'What's with her attitude! I'm so angry at her, that Ginger Tucker." "Indeed! What can we even do about her?" "Being so prideful just because she's a little smart" 
 I unintentionally pulled my hand from the door handle. This is a scene I can't enter.
So it can't be helped. It was then that I thought I should wait a little before entering. 
"I don't think Ginger is like that at all" 
Perhaps she was there the entire time, as now a voice of a third-party spoke in between their angry voices. 
 "K-Katarina-sama? Were you here this entire time?" In a surprised voice, it turns out the those girls were not aware of Katarina's presence.
With this we can identify 5 out of 7 of the student council members, with the final two we can assume that they are either two guys or one guy and one girl (but its most likely the prior.
We would have <Ginger, Fray, Girl 1, Girl 2, Girl 3, Boy 1 and Boy 2>.
But that begs the question, who is the Lady? Is there only 1 male student in the freshmen batch of the student council, with the Lady filling that last spot, or is the Lady among the 5 girls we’ve established? Or are there 8 student council members instead? I don’t need to answer my own questions, you do the math :))
Of course there’s the possibility that the author is disregarding this webnovel chapter and creates a new freshmen batch from scratch, but while The Lady nor Fray has yet to be adapted into the manga and anime, i’ll take this as a win for me. 
Edit (2/13/21): A thought just occurred to me while reading the japanese wiki!
Ginger, in the webnovel chapter, has made it perfectly clear that she wants to join the Ministry to become independent. The “Lady”, in Volume 5, has made it perfectly clear that she wants to join the Ministry to be like her idol, Lana Smith (Suzanna Randall).
With that in mind, doesn’t that increase the chances of the “Lady” being Fray Randall?? because the two best friends want to eventually join the Ministry and join their senpais and idols??? it wouldn’t make sense if it was Ginger and another character from the student council third batch that we don’t know of!
Anyways, that's it for this hamefura theory. I might edit this if there's new information to come around. With the announcement of the Second Season, there’s a very high possibility that this chapter will be adapted as filler. It is possible that we will meet this lady, or maybe even Fray, whichever comes first. 
The Lady most likely is just the plot device though, but we do what we can with what we have lol. 
Regardless if this theory is correct or not, I think I made a pretty strong case! Thank you for reading!
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bluesylveon2 · 3 years
Text
My My, I Could Never Let You Go
Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn't know who her dad is! Sasha invites 3 men in hopes of finding out which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?
Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships
Disclaimer: This is a Levihan Mamma Mia au. This fanfic is inspired by Mamma Mia which is directed by Phyllida Loyd, written by Catherine Johnson, and uses music from the pop group ABBA. Attack on Titan is a manga/anime series written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondasha
A/N:  I created the 2/3 of the chapter to answer this question I had from the movie: "How did Sky know where to find Sophie?" I hope you all enjoy the "Lay All Your Love On Me scene" ;) I also have a Eremika scene after reading ch 139 Thank you for following me! I’m almost at 100 followers, which I never thought I would get when I made an account. This may not the best, but I am learning as I go! 😁
Edit: I recommend listening to the Mamma Mia movie version of Lay All Your Love On Me! It will help when you read the guy’s performance
Need to catch up? Catch up here!
Ch 7: Lay All Your Love On Me
If someone were to ask how Niccolo's day went: normal would be an understatement. 
The stage was all set. The only thing missing was the star of the show (aka his fiance, Sasha). Niccolo was happy with the way everything turned out. It took a lot of her friends and locals to agree on it and perfect it. Now he just needs to pick up Sasha from the hotel and show her the surprise before she leaves for her bachelorette party. 
If only she would pick up her phone first. Niccolo decided to check the hotel first since she frequents there the most. 
It's simple. It's quick. It's just one task! What could possibly go wrong?
---
At the hotel
"So I'm thinking, what if we locked Eren and Mikasa in a room together and let them out after they confess?" Historia was pacing around the kitchen while going over her matchmaking plans with Hitch. Her white sundress swayed around as she walked. Meanwhile, Hitch was leaning on the counter and was eating an apple. She wore a green romper. Her green eyes followed Historia’s pacing. 
It’s been over an hour since the girls spread out around the island acting as lookouts for Niccolo. Hitch and Historia decided to pair up and stay in the hotel just in case Niccolo comes back. Historia also took the liberty to get Sasha’s phone she left in her room, turn it off, and hide it in case Niccolo decides to spam her with phone calls. 
Hitch swallows the food in her mouth and shakes her head in disapproval. "Bad idea. Remember what happened with Armin the last time I tried to throw them in a locked room together. I doubt Mikasa would appreciate it if something happened to her precious Eren.” 
Historia hums in agreement and stops pacing. She begins to panic. Well, there goes her plan. Now she needs to come up with something else before tomorrow. Now, what is she supposed to do? Those two have liked each other for God knows how long except them! Honestly, it was kind of annoying watching whatever dance they were dancing. If only Ymir were here to help. She would actually push them into a closet and expect something to happen. 
Pushing them together. huh…
Hitch noticed the mischievous gleam in Historia’s eyes. It seems Ymir has been influencing her lately. 
“What are you thinking about, Historia?” she asks curiously.
Historia sways slightly from her spot. “What if we try to get them together at the reception. You know? We push them to dance.”
Hitch contemplates it and sets her apple down on the counter. That could work, maybe something earlier in the day could be a better option though. 
“What if we invite the guys to go with us to the beach tomorrow? We can even get two birds with one stone!”
Historia gasps. “That’s perfect!” She walks over to Hitch and raises her hand up for a high five. “I’m so excited! Mikasa and Hanami better thank us at their weddings!” she huffs with triumph.
Hitch laughs and high fives Historia. It seems like Ymir has definitely influenced Historia after all.
Historia rubs her hands together with excitement. This plan they come up with will be executed flawlessly. She (and everyone in their group) are tired of watching those four dancing around. 
“Now I think Hanami does not need much pushing from us. She just needs to stop what she’s doing for once and look at her surroundings.”
Hitch nods in agreement. “I agree. That girl is going to find something new to do once the wedding is over. She needs time to herself too.”
“Exactly! Now, this is what I’ve been thinking about. When-” Historia was interrupted by the door opening. Niccolo walks into the kitchen with a huge grin on his face.
“Historia? Hitch? Have you seen Sasha? I’ve been looking for her, and she’s not picking up her phone.”
Both girls shook their heads simultaneously. They did their best to look natural and convince Niccolo they haven’t seen her recently. 
“No. Sasha was heading to Finikas with Annie and Mina,” Historia says. She wasn’t technically lying. Annie and Mina did go to Finikas, just without Sasha. 
“Your best bet is to head there,” Hitch adds while shrugging her shoulders and feigning innocence.
Niccolo sighs. He can understand why Sasha would not be at the hotel since it’s already the afternoon. Knowing her, she could still be devouring a feast as he speaks. 
“Thank you for letting me know. I have to find her right away.” He waves at the girls goodbye and heads back into town towards the restaurant. Hopefully, she is still with Annie and Mina. 
Historia and Hitch watch as Niccolo runs off. Hitch could already tell what Historia was thinking and pulled out her phone. “I’m on it,” she says and texts the group chat that Niccolo was on the move. 
Historia sighs with relief after Hitch hit send. “Let’s go over our plans now. We’re running out of time.” 
---
Somewhere in town
Being friends with one of the island’s popular residents has its perks. The locals know who you are, and you can get great deals or free food. Sometimes, the fame even spreads to the resident’s friend group. 
So when the owners of Finikas set up a huge surprise lunch for the daughter of the island’s sweetheart, they were expecting Sasha to be there. The only problem was that she was busy at the moment. The owners found Sasha’s friends heading back from the pier expecting Sasha to be within the group. They were sad after they noticed Sasha’s absence in the group, so Mina (bless her heart) decided to step up; so the food does not go to waste. She even asked Annie to accompany her because she is the closest to her, leading up to now.
Annie and Mina were walking through the streets of Kalokairi to head back to the hotel. Their stomachs were so full that anyone could see their bellies sticking out through their blouses. They even had to loosen their shorts a bit to accommodate the amount of food they ate. The girls decided to walk back to the hotel to burn off the food and take a nap before the bachelorette party.
“Next time, let’s get Sasha to eat the food for us to make up for today,” Mina complains as she rubs her full stomach. The owners were so grateful for Annie and Mina that they decided to make them another feast for the two when they get married. They appreciated the thought, but who knows after today. There were many meat items out. It was definitely made for Sasha.
Annie only nods and rubs her stomach. This was the most food she’s eaten in her life, and she could feel the sleep entering her body.
Mina glances at Annie as she walks. “Thank you for eating that last slice of baklava. Any more for me and I would’ve blown up!” she takes her hands off her stomach and pushes it away from her body to mimic an explosion. 
Annie weakly waves her off. “It’s ok. I don’t mind eating it.”
“Thank goodness for your sweet tooth.” Mina jokes and Annie actually laughs at it. They continue walking in silence. Annie looks over at Mina to find her looking deep in thought.
“Something on your mind?” 
“Do you know what the guys are doing? They have been really busy since we left to meet up with Historia and Mikasa.”
Annie shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows? All I know is that it’s a surprise for Sasha and only Hanami knows what’s going on.” Even Armin never told her specifically what was going on or why only Hanami is aware. He did mention to her how it was going to be memorable and most likely make her laugh. 
Mina looks at her with shock. She was unaware of the surprise at all. “Does anyone else know about it?”
Both girls laugh. Annie and Mina are close, and Mina considers herself lucky for befriending Annie when they met. She remembers how Annie intimidated her at first impressions.
Speaking of their friends. What was the status of the other girls and Niccolo?
“Hey, Annie.” 
Annie hums in response. “Is there any news on the girls about Niccolo’s whereabouts?” The girls had split up after Sasha went with her dads. As far as Annie and Mina know, they have no idea where Niccolo was. They had muted their phones earlier to focus on the multiple plates of food in front of them.
Annie takes her phone out of her shorts pocket, and Mina does the same. They turn it on and swipe their screens to open the group chat. Suddenly, both girls froze, and their faces contoured in shock as they read the message.
Hitch: Niccolo is heading your way! I repeat, Niccolo is heading your way!!!
Oh no.
“Annie! Mina! I need your help!”
Their eyes widen with shock. What were the odds that Niccolo would suddenly show up now?
Niccolo runs up to the girls and stops to catch his breath. Annie and Mina could tell that he ran there based on the sheen of sweat on his face. 
“Have you seen Sasha? Hitch and Historia told me she was here with you.”
Mina (fake) gasps. “You just missed her. She’s heading to Limnonari beach with Hanami.” She looks away and shakes her head to show fake disappointment.
Niccolo sighs and rubs his temples. A crease started to form between his eyebrows. This is the second time today! She eats a huge feast and then goes swimming after? On the other side of the island too! As if any of that makes sense. 
“Thank you. Let me know if you see her around.”
Annie smiles and waves him off. “Will do.” 
Niccolo smiles back and runs off in the direction of the beach. Both girls let out a breath of relief and start walking back to the hotel again.
“I’m ready for a nap,” Annie complains after everything that occurred today.
Mina nods her head in agreement. You and me both, Annie.
---
A different part of town
Meanwhile, Mikasa and Eren were getting dinner together, sharing stories, and catching up after not seeing each other for almost a year now. Both of them have been busy since they graduated high school. Mikasa with her modeling career and Eren was studying for med school. Mikasa wore a light pink sundress, flip flops, and had sunglasses resting on top of her head. The male, Eren, wore more casual clothing compared to Mikasa. He had on a tank top, cargo shorts, and sandals on his feet. 
Mikasa and Hanami paired up together after Annie and Mina left the group. The two were strolling through town when they ran into Eren who was about to get dinner. Hanami, not wanting to third wheel and to give the two some privacy, excused herself by claiming something about how Connie needed her to help with some stuff and ran off to find him (but not before giving her a thumbs up before leaving). Thus leading up to now. Mikasa and Eren were spending some alone time together. 
Mikasa stared at Eren’s features. His face had matured and looked more defined. His hair was much longer now, and he even tied it up in a man bun. Mikasa noticed the many glances from the girls passing by their table. They were looking at him. (Can she blame them, though? He really is handsome in her eyes.) Yet, despite the stares, his eyes remained on her. All of his attention was on her. 
Mikasa listened as Eren told his story. He talked about how his parents were doing well over in Japan and even promised to bring back some stuff for Mikasa. She misses them dearly and even sees them as her own parents.
Eren’s parents have done so much for her ever since Mikasa has arrived on the island. More than her real family really. The last she heard from her great aunt, Kiyomi Azumabito, was a few months ago when she congratulated Mikasa on her latest modelling gig. She even offered to make Mikasa a dress for Sasha’s wedding to which Mikasa refused but thanked her for the offer anyway. 
Mikasa misses Grisha and Carla Jaeger dearly and even sees them as her own parents. She hopes to see them again when they get back from their trip. The Jaeger family were always there to support her and make her comfortable when she had no one. 
Who knows? Maybe there was a chance for her to become Mikasa Jaeger one day. 
“Is there something on my face?” Eren asks with genuine concern. 
“No! You look good! No, wait. I mean the food looks good. Sorry, it's just been so long since we've last seen each other.” Mikasa exclaims, hoping Eren did not take her staring in a different context.
“I agree.” Eren nods his head. “You look like a goddess now and could probably make Aphrodite jealous. Are you sure you’re not running for the next Miss Universe?” he replies nonchalantly.
Mikasa blushes. Who is this Eren and what happened to Eren she knew before? He was never this bold! 
Eren laughs at her response. He thinks it is really cute, but he won't voice that yet.
“Now that you mention it...I’ve considered it. I think Historia has a better shot of being Miss Universe though.” 
Eren shakes his head. Historia is a good candidate, yes, but Mikasa could steal the spotlight too. “Mikasa. I’m sure the judges would be blown away by you if you try. Even Historia would support you if you win or lose. Actually, everyone on the island will support you. You're the personification of inspiration for others.”
He leans forward and gives her a goofy grin. “I’ll be there as your number one supporter no matter what you choose. I know you are for me, and that’s how I’m going through college now.” 
Mikasa looks away from Eren's eyes. She was still blushing from earlier. He can’t do something like that without expecting her to blush. She needs to change topics quick. 
“Oh, thank goodness I ran into you, Mikasa! Have you seen Sasha? I checked the hotel and Finikas, and she was not there.” 
Mikasa was unsure if she should be happy or not. On one hand, she doesn’t have to worry about Eren praising her. On the other hand, Niccolo is here. 
(Mikasa would have known earlier had she not silenced her phone from the constant messages in the group chat)
Mikasa knew she had to come up with something fast. All Niccolo knows is that Sasha ate a huge feast and is heading to the beach. Like that was the best excuse the girls can come up with.
“She passed by me earlier on my way here, but now she’s gone. You see..” She briefly glances over at Eren who was watching her expectantly. He was curious about what Mikasa would do since he did not see Sasha when he ran into Mikasa. She looks into Niccolo’s eyes with a serious expression. 
“She ripped a huge fart earlier and ran off to the bathroom with Hanami. That’s what happens when you eat a huge feast for lunch, you know. She would’ve told you earlier, their phones died. They were so excited by me and Historia’s arrival to think about charging it.” she says while trying to shrug it off. In reality, Mikasa was internally panicking. She prayed that Niccolo didn't run into Connie on his way here. Would Niccolo really believe that his fiance had to go to the bathroom after eating so much? Mikasa has seen Sasha eat so much back in high school, and she was fine! 
Mikasa was also cringing on the inside. She had to pull a tactic only one of Sasha’s potential fathers (who Mikasa also prays is not related to) would do. The man told Hange poop jokes for crying out loud!
Unknowingly to Mikasa, Eren had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his smirk. He was trying his best not to laugh out loud and ruin whatever Mikasa was trying to get at. He wanted to see how all of this would play out. 
Niccolo just stares at Mikasa. He does have to agree that Sasha was really excited about for her friend’s arrival. In his opinion, Mikasa is the one who would tell you the truth. He tries to make sense of everything in his head.
“Wait. So you’re telling me that Sasha went to Finikas with Annie and Mina, met up with Hanami to go to the beach, both of their phones died, they ran into you on the way there, and are now in the bathroom?”
“Yes, Niccolo,” Mikasa points off in the direction to a random bathroom she can think of that’s at least far away from here. 
Niccolo looks over in the direction to where Mikasa was pointing to and debates if he should interrogate her any further. While Mikasa is the one who would tell you the answer straight up, she is also very intimidating. To be honest, Niccolo would rather not get hit with any MMA moves from someone who is also a model. He’s going to have to trust her although the story he got was kind of ridiculous. 
Eren, watching the whole thing, now leans forward with interest and continues hiding his smile behind his hand. He tried his best to not laugh or show any indication he was just as long as Niccolo or Mikasa didn’t look at him closely. 
Niccolo sighs. He made up his mind already. “Alright. I will head over and check up on Sasha. I'll make sure she’s ok.”
“Thank you, Niccolo.” 
Niccolo nods in response and heads over to wherever Sasha was. 
Once Niccolo was out of sight, Eren burst into laughter. It shocked Mikasa and anyone nearby. (including those girls who were checking him out). He leaned back in his chair and almost fell over had he not grabbed the table on time to steady himself. 
“Oh, Mikasa,” Eren laughs as he wipes away a tear. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s a good thing I didn’t say anything. You really know how to make my day.”
Mikasa does not reply and turns red for the third time that day.
---
Meanwhile, Niccolo does not get too far when he receives a text from Marlowe. 
Marlowe: Sasha is near Kastani Beach
What is going on? Niccolo thought after he read the text. He starts heading towards the beach. Looks like he has to take a detour. 
---
Present
Sasha glances over behind Niccolo's shoulder. There was a lifejacket laying on the sand. 
She pulls her head away from Niccolo but keeps one arm around his body. She uses her free arm to point at the lifejacket behind him.
"What's the life jacket for?" 
Niccolo briefly glances at it and laughs. His eyes were filled with mirth before looking down to meet Sasha's brown eyes. 
"It's for my stag do remember?" Sasha wanted to slap herself. How could Sasha forget! She's been so busy with her big surprise that it briefly slipped her mind. Then again, who knows what Hanami and Jean have in store for the both of them. 
Niccolo lets go of Sasha. He turns away from her and walks only a few feet away towards some rocks. “You know, they say a stag do is my last night of freedom.” He stops and turns to her with a smirk on his face.
Sasha rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Oh really?” she challenges with a smirk on her face.
Niccolo turns around fully to face Sasha again and begins walking back to her. “Some people see it that way.” he holds his arms up in front of him for reassurance. 
“But for me…” He puts his left hand on Sasha’s shoulders and picks up one of her hands with his right. “It is the last night before the greatest adventure of my life. You.” he finishes with a kiss on her knuckles with the hand he was holding.
Sasha pulls away with a blush and laughs. She considers herself lucky to get the chance to marry such a wonderful and charming man tomorrow. Sasha had made up her mind already after thinking about her girl talk earlier that day. She is going to tell Niccolo about her fathers.
“Hey…” she begins and catches Niccolo’s attention. “You know how I said I wanted to find my father-”
“Sasha, we’ve been over this a million times.” He says while placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. “You don't need a father, you have a family.” 
“And you’ll never leave me right?” Sasha asks with her hands on her hips. She was praying Niccolo won't leave after the big reveal, which she might have to push back to tomorrow. 
“Are you kidding me? You have turned my world upside down.”
Sasha smirks. Now, this is something she wants to hear for herself. “How so?” 
Niccolo laughs and pulls Sasha closer to his body. She wraps her arms around his waist in response. He might as well feed Sasha’s ego based on the look on her face. 
“Well...there was that moment we first met. When I heard you praise my food, it hit me like I was a sitting duck. I knew at that moment that I was already falling for you.”
Sasha laughs giddily at Niccolo’s words. She starts to sway a bit and looks into Niccolo’s green eyes. 
“Can I tell you something, Niccolo?” 
He nods in response while keeping eye contact with Sasha. “Sometimes I feel a bit of fear when I don’t have you near. What did you do to me?”
Niccolo leans down slightly and rubs his nose gently against Sasha’s. He rests his forehead against Sasha’s and takes a deep breath.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Sasha looks at him curiously. 
“I am actually Eros and I shot an arrow through your heart, so that’s why you fell for me.” 
“Shut up!” Sasha laughs and pulls away from Niccolo. She lightly punches his arm.
Niccolo laughs along with Sasha while silently thanking her for not punching him hard. He has no idea where her strength even came from. Maybe she got it from Hange?
He reaches forward and pulls Sasha, who is still laughing. back to him.
“Remember that time when you met my parents in Italy, and we went fishing?”
How could she forget? It was the first time she ever went fishing with a trident. 
“How can I?” Sasha replies. She pulls one arm away and starts flexing it to show off her muscles to Niccolo. “I caught the biggest marlin out there!”
Niccolo laughs and gently grabs Sasha’s hand to stop her from showing off. He moves his hand to grab her hand and the other to cup her cheek. 
“I know,” he says gently. “You even gave me a victory kiss after. You should have seen the other guy's faces. They were either impressed or jealous because I managed to have a talented girlfriend like you. I was starting to get jealous of all the attention you got.”
He looks at her with love and begins leaning in. Sasha, as much as she would love to kiss him right then and there, gently pushes him away. Normally, she would kiss Niccolo when he praises her, but she wasn’t giving in just yet. 
“I know. I would too.” She says cockily and leans very close to Niccolo. Her lips were only a centimeter away from his but not enough to actually kiss him. She wanted him to keep feeding her ego for a few more minutes.
“What else do you think about me?”
---
“Do you see anything yet?” Jean asks Connie. Connie held up binoculars with a strap wrapped around his neck to watch the couple on the beach (totally not in a creepy way).
“No, They’re just talking,” Connie replies, not taking his eyes off the binoculars.
Jean groans. They have been in the water since Sasha made it to shore to meet up with Niccolo. You see, the guys had come together to get Sasha a wedding gift. They wanted to get her something unique. Something big because it was either go big or go home for them. 
All of the guys, except for Marco and Niccolo - for obvious reasons, had rowed together on a small boat close to where Sasha and Niccolo were. They were far enough to not be seen (and hopefully heard). They got out of the boat, jumped in the water, and hid so the only visible part was chest up. 
Their plan was to wait for Niccolo to give the signal before running up to the couple. Who knows how long that would take? The couple was busying frolicking on the beach that a few guys (mostly Connie) were beginning to doubt if Niccolo knew to give the signal.
Connie continues watching the couple. Jean stood on his left followed by Armin and Eren. Marlow stood on Connie's right side. 
Connie watches the couple get really close doing anything but kissing. There was one moment where Niccolo started to lean in, but Sasha pushed him away. Actually, it happened twice. During the second time, it was Sasha leaning it for a kiss...and then she pulled away again. 
“Jean, I swear. If we have to watch those do anything but first base, I’m going to strangle you right here! I don’t care if we are in the water.”
Jean rolls his eyes. Honestly, he has no idea when Niccolo is going to lean down and finally kiss Sasha already. 
“Niccolo is not going to do that!” He says with exasperation. At least Jean hopes so. Niccolo doesn’t go anywhere past kissing Sasha. Especially out in public and in front of her guy friends who see Sasha as a sister. “We’re all here to beat him up even if he tries.”
“I hope so,” Connie says and continues watching.
“I don’t think Niccolo is a guy to do that in a public area,” Marlowe adds. 
Jean nods in agreement. Niccolo respects Sasha enough to beat up anyone who talks trash or hurts her.
Eren, on the other hand, was confused. He looks over at Armin who was busy watching the couple as well. “Hey, Armin. Why would Sasha and Niccolo play baseball on the beach? The sand is not a good field to play on anyway.” 
Armin looks away from the beach and sighs. He places a hand on Eren’s shoulder and looks over at him with a hint of concern on his face. “I’ll tell you about it later, Eren.”
Eren smiles and looks back at the couple. Armin takes his hand off Eren’s shoulder and turns back to keep an eye on the couple. For a guy like Eren who looks like he’s a player and has multiple girls throwing themselves at him, he’s an oblivious guy when it comes to relationships. Especially when it comes to a raven-haired female Armin has been secretly rooting Eren to date since high school. 
They all watch as Niccolo and Sasha flirt on the beach. Niccolo was on his knees in the sand, and Sasha was slowly crawling towards him. She leans close to him, and he holds her waist to keep her steady. His hands move up towards Sasha’s shoulders, and he lays her down on the sand. He leans in close to her face and kisses her.
Connie, seeing the signal, tosses his binoculars aside, so it hits his chest. 
“Move out, soldiers!” he orders but not loud enough for the couple to hear them.
“This isn’t a war,” Marlowe says, but it goes past Connie’s ears. Connie lets out a war cry and starts running towards the shore. The guys could only watch and follow him as they went into “battle.” 
---
Sasha is normally good at hearing something far away. There have been a few instances where it wasn't the case. For example, when she injures her head or gets sick. Other than that, her hearing is really good except for now.
She was laying on the sand with Niccolo on top of her after she was satisfied with the amount of praise she got today. She finally gave in and stopped the back and forth between the two. Niccolo leans forward to kiss her. 
Sasha felt butterflies in her stomach. She was about to get married, her father is here, and she’s here spending some time with her fiancé. It was a perfect day for her, and she didn’t want it to end. Now, imagine her shock when she hears a war cry coming from the sea, and someone steals Niccolo away from her body. She watches three of her guy friends (Marlowe, Jean, and Connie) pull her fiancé towards the nearby pier. Eren and Armin pick her off the sand and sit her down on a nearby rock.
“Here you go, princess. Enjoy the show.” Eren says with a cheeky grin. He and Armin run off to meet the others once Sasha has settled down and is comfortable on her “throne.” Sasha looks up at the pier. Everyone, except Connie and Marco (who was the only guy missing from the group), stood patiently on the pier. A young boy (she thinks his name is Falco, a boy who recently moved to the island) runs in holding a Bluetooth speaker and a microphone in each hand. He hands the items to Connie before running off to the side. Connie turns the devices on and checks the mic. He places the speaker on the sand near the edge of the pier and speaks into the mic once he is satisfied with the sound.
“Ladies and-”
“Sasha is the only one here!” Armin yells from the back.
“Right! Thank you, Armin!” Connie calls back. 
Sasha quickly glances around the beach. Technically she is not alone since Falco would be present too, but it seems that the boy was missing. It was like he flew in and out undetected. Connie clears his throat before speaking again.
“Ladies. I hope you are having a wonderful day today because it is about to get better!” He walks towards Sasha and opens his left arm back towards the guys.
“As you know, Sasha. You have the best guy friends any girl can ask for. We’re here for you through thick and thin. We are the best support anyone can ask for, and we make you happy. Any girl is lucky to have a group of guys like us ” he brags.
The guys sweat dropped. They wouldn’t be surprised if Connie’s head suddenly grew large with the amount of bragging he was doing.  
“We cannot thank you enough, so…” his tone becomes sincere and walks back towards the pier and the speaker, “the guys have come up with the best wedding gift any girl can ask for. We know this is one of your favorite songs too. And so. Without further ado…”
The guys start posing from their spots. They looked ridiculous in Sasha’s eyes. 
“This is for you, Sasha Zoe! We present to you: Lay All Your Love On Me!” 
Connie hands Niccolo the mic so he can turn on his phone before pocketing it. The music starts playing through the speaker. 
Niccolo begins singing the first few verses of the song to Sasha. Meanwhile, the guys were not only singing but acting as background dancers instead. They would add their voices to add some harmony for some lines. 
Sasha was touched when Niccolo sang to her. She knows he has a good singing voice, but this was the first time he ever serenaded her. The guys in the background singers/dancers were just the icing on the cake. She couldn’t help but smile like a lovesick fool. She wonders if her mom was ever serenaded like this before. 
Niccolo walks up to Sasha while singing the song. He holds one of her hands tenderly and looks deep into her light brown eyes. He sings his heart out to her, and Sasha begins to tear up. How in the world did she find such a great guy like Niccolo? He truly is irreplaceable, and she loves him for that. 
As Niccolo finishes singing the third verse to Sasha, she could hear the sound of a jet ski heading in her direction. Niccolo, after hearing the jet skis as well, lets go of her hand and throws the mic over to Connie who catches it. It would help Sasha hear the guys singing the pre-chorus. 
He leaves to continue on with the rest of the plan. Meanwhile, Sasha watches her friends singing and dancing to the final refrain of the song. The guys stood side by side and were singing and dancing at the same time. This time the dancing was freestyle instead of choreography. 
Sasha laughs as her friends dance to the song. She could at least tell that they were trying for her. Jean and Eren made it seem like the dance was a competition between the two. They were trying to outdo each other by doing “dance moves” such as flexing and handstands. Armin was slightly red while dancing, but Sasha could tell he was trying his best. Marlowe was also trying his best but looked a bit stiff with his moves. On the other hand, Connie was also doing ridiculous dance moves (not as bad as Eren and Jean) and danced so dramatically that Sasha was unsure if he was trying to be the star of the show. He even hooked his arms around Armin and Marlowe and started front kicking. Poor Armin and Marlowe tried their best. Jean and Eren continued competing. Overall, they all looked ridiculous, but Sasha found it endearing. A whole performance just for her! Imagine what they would do when the other girls in the group get married!
As the others sang the final notes, Eren suddenly does a cartwheel (Sasha still does not know why Eren would consider adding it to his “dance.”) and causes chaos to erupt. He accidentally bumps into Jean and knocks him over. Jean falls and bumps into Armin, who is still linking arms with Connie, creating a domino effect causing the two (plus Marlowe) to fall in the water. Jean watches with horror as they fall. Eren, proclaiming himself as the winner of their dance-off, pushes Jean into the water before jumping in himself. 
Meanwhile, Marco enters the scene leading Niccolo’s stag party on jet skis with enough space for the other guys. Even Falco was there with his brother, Colt. Both of them had the biggest smiles on their faces. It seems like the rest of the guys (minus Falco because he is still young) are here to pick up everyone else for the bachelor party. They were hooting and hollering from their jet skis. 
Armin and Marlowe swam towards the nearest jet skis and hopped on. Jean and Eren were busy trying to drown each other in the sea about who won their competition until Marco had to step in and stop them. Connie, who didn’t join just yet, turns to Sasha (who is still laughing at everything) and brings his hands up around his mouth to amplify his voice. 
“Thank you for watching! We’re only available on Fridays! He laughs and swims away to the nearest et ski so he can join the rest of the guys. The stag party left into the sunset once everyone was settled.
Sasha continues to laugh until she hears some footsteps running in her direction. She turns just in time to see her friends running towards her, now changed into party clothes. Suddenly, Mikasa and Annie were on either side of her and carried Sasha off of her rock. Annie lets Sasha go once she is on the ground, and Mikasa moves to pick Sasha up in bridal style. The group begins running back inland.
Sasha turns to Hanami. She was the closest one near Mikasa. Hanami, noticing Sasha’s stare, turns to her and smirks.
“C’mon princess,” she says while using the same nickname Eren used on her earlier. “You have a bachelorette party to attend to.”
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©: This is where I insert all rights reserved stuff. This story belongs to me. Do not modify or republish
What did you think? Btw the Eren I have in this the S1-S3 and junior high. He doesn't have a reason to be depressed, hence this OOC version I have. (Actually, I apologize if anyone is OOC)
Any get where I got the marlin fishing in Italy from haha? (The fish is actually a Mediterranean Spearfish, which is a type of marlin common in Italy.)
Kastani beach is the actual beach some scenes in Mamma Mia was filmed at. Additionally, Finikas is a real restaurant in Skopelos.
Most of this chapter takes place from 2 pm - 6 pm. 6 is when Sasha and her dads leave and run into Niccolo around that hour. She goes to her bachelorette party after 8.
The guys actually practiced their performance twice. One time alone and the second with Hanami as stand-in Sasha. Jean and Eren cooperated during them, and Niccolo only sang in front of her.
So how's everyone after ch 139? It was a bittersweet ending for me. I'm both happy and sad.
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hopeshoodie · 3 years
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I feel so bad letting this sit for so long, but better late than never I suppose! Thank you to literally everyone who tagged me in this. Literally every time I see these posts it makes me grin like an absolute dope at my phone. This is one of the best fandoms I’ve ever been in. I know I joke that I’m just sitting in my corner making garbage, so thank yall for making the room my corner is in so lovely.
So here’s a shoutout to the people who made my 2020 better. If I’m following you (from my main @hyperspacial because despite being on tumblr for nearly a decade I still hardly know how to run a sideblog) I 100% like you. I’m sorry if I forget to tag people :( Also this is about to be a long ass post- don’t feel obligated to reply or like or whatever just because you’re tagged :P
@garyandhisnan. I just…. I adore you. Highkey would walk to the ends of the earth if you asked. Your writing, your posts, everything is top notch (and you’re an awesome person to boot which like… shouldn’t be allowed). Thank you for letting me rant about American late-stage capitalism and all the other nonsense I flood your inbox with. If yall aren’t following them, go do it now.
@deuchess  
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@ariendiel Why you would want to collaborate with me, ME, of all people? Still astounds me. I pinkie promise we’re gonna do it though, and it’s gonna be so good. I’m so excited. But seriously, your fics are some of the only ones that I can keep coming back to. Your writing is *chefs kiss* and your edits/moodboards are literally so pretty. I love your blog and I cherish you, you slut cheat.
@kiki-the-creator same brain saME BRAIN SAME BRAIN how do we have the exact same brain!? Your fics literally are the best thing this fandom has produced- I come up with these half baked concepts, you make them actually good, then I play dollhouse with them over and over again in my head forever :3 That Erikah fic? Literally every Marisol fic you write?? I love them. Also you’re highkey so funny and ugh. Te adoro.
@bubblelaureno you’re literally too good for me. For real. I’m sorry I’m so shitty about keeping up to date with fics and edits, you deserve way more than my shitty memory and my 2 second long attention span. Your blog is literally a beacon of positivity and it’s absurd how much I admire your drive and your analytical way of thinking. This fandom is so lucky to have you.
@codename-mango controversial yet brave opinion- your blog is the best LITG blog on tumblr. Your headcanons, your jokes, your route overviews? All immaculate. Even your reblogs are the best of what everyone else is posting. You’re the only reason I have notes, and I appreciate you sm.
@oneflewoverthecuckoos my comment to mango is controversial only because if not her, then your LITG sideblog for sure. For a ‘Lucas’ blog, the diversity of content and LIs you talk about is refreshing. I fucking love seeing people talk about non-LI characters.
@inthenewblood thank you for letting me bitch about the reddit oml it’s needed. Also having someone to be salty with? A new but not unwelcome experience lmfao
@noahssidechick you are literally so sweet oml I treasure our chats and the pictures of your dogs. You bring such a chill and earnest vibe to the fandom and ugh, I’m so glad to have you.
@fuseboxmusebox I feel like you’re so consistent in the fandom, like you were here when I first joined and you’ll be here after I inevitably lose interest and leave. Your reblogs are top notch, the takes are even topper notch, and it wouldn’t be a ‘litg blogs that made me happy’ list without you.
@crvsh-culture I will never not sing your praises. I love your blog, I love you perspective, I love your vibe. I consider you a friend even though we’ve talked like… once.
@radiantdae your artbreeder edits were the first thing in the fandom that left me genuinely astounded. Like holy shit they were so good. Kassam??? That was a REAL MAN. Obviously the stuff you post now is really good too and your blog is excellent. But tbh when I think of the LITG fandom, the first think I think of is your artbreeder pictures. Also your ‘filipino words that make me think of the islanders’. I still think of that often. 
@therealityofthematteris seeing you in my notes makes me smile every time. That’s basically all, just needed to say it lmao. Also if anyone has almost convinced me to start playing TWC, it’s you and Seliné.
@bellarxse my dash would be dry af without you. Same with TWC- I’m so tempted to play because of your posts (I have it downloaded on my phone but like…. I haven’t finished a single route in Arcana and starting a new thing is overwhelming). But also your prompts are one of the few things that makes me want to write lmfao.
@lahelakoh I feel like I’ve said it before but your posts SEND me oml. The tiktok references, the chaotic energy. Both the taste and the flavour is immaculate.
@kiwi-tai we haven’t talked that much but oml I love your content so much 15/10
@confused-inalltheways-human you’re literally so cool and I think about that Harry fic all the time. Am I ever gonna get around to writing it? Probably not. But it was such a good idea. Also thank you for lighting up my notification.
@oceanatydes you come here, you post literally spectacular content, and then you peace out like bruh I wish I had your mind. I adore your edits, but my favorites are your posts/headcanons.
@voile-de-lune your aesthetic is everything I aspire to be and your headcanons/edits are such a refreshing take on characters that we’ve all gotten so stale with. I still live for that Rahim moodboard you made. Also your headcanons are so fantastic.
@lasswithumor this fandom desperately needs more Carl stans, thank you for doing the lords work. Also I highkey stalk your blog on a regular basis jsjsjsjsjsjs every chat we’ve had has been lovely and ugh, you’re just lovely
@bobbysapron your vibes are literally so immaculate. I know it’s been awhile since we chatted but I highkey adore your content and ugh. You’re such a cool person.
@beebips I feel like you’ve vanished off my dash, but you made up for it with that 3rd chapter of The Other Side of Seventh Ave made up for it.
@nerdferatum I don’t think I’ve ever breathed a word in your direction but oml you’re so sweet and supportive and every time your posts cross my dash I *pleading emoji*
@mrsgaryrennell I’m still agog that we’re mutuals because like… You are so talented. It took me waaaayyy too long to get into Blue and Hazel but now that I have… It’s highkey better than the actual season skskskskss
@kingkassam Like the above, you are waaaayyy too cool to be following me sksksksk. I’ve still got a few edits you had ideas for in the pipeline, and highkey the Kassam icons you requested are my favorite edits I’ve ever made. I live for someone else playing Matchmaker.
@hermitclaw  hello?????? You’re so funny what the FUCK are you doing following me. Ik you don’t post that much anymore, but every LITG you grace us with is a knockout. It feels unreal when you reblog my stuff. Basically the same to @mchamster. Like you’re both so funny and have been in the fandom for so long that it fully feels like royalty whenever yall interact with me.
@ravenadottir I am fully unworthy to even mention your name but oml. Your guides are the only thing that help me retain information about the season, and your recent outfit edits? Oh my god they’re so good. Hope’s especially, with the brightly colored swimsuit, left me absolutely speechless. You’re just above everything in the fandom and I admire that so much. Plus you really don’t have to flex that hard in your fics, and yet-
@smaiihands saving the best for last because you are one of the single most talented people in this fandom. Your art is the strongest life support for the fandom and like I know we haven’t talked in awhile but you’re also such a dope person. So.
And a big shoutout to all the people I follow who I don’t talk to but have nothing but good vibes. I appreciate yall way more than I can articulate: @richhdesire @needsomesorrel @ficticiouspastry @cranesandshipyards @litg-ish @princesslove19060 @fictitiouspastery​  @icedcoffee-please @demons-dogs-and-puns @sparklydinosaurr @mountainmanxoxo  @diamondsdiary @bucket-bill@another-lottie-simp @bobbys-darling @cyn-onlyyou @mikcove @officialpapa-johns @Amaxn @dxncingthroughlife @myfictionalobsessions  @screw-u-vaanu @kittidot @chichiguitarist123 @myfictionalobsessions @Azibear @amelia-w @lilithlibrxa @litghoe @priyas-tiddies @daisybarks @ajs-wife
At this point this post is just a directory of the LITG fandom lmfao but genuinely. Thank every single one of you. 2020 was hard as shit, but I’ve been hyperfixated on LITG for like a year and I treasure your content sm.
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teannamon · 4 years
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Why Do You Think This Would Work? Ch1 [ Taichihaya ]
They should have known that fake dating never goes according to plan. 
In which Mashima Taichi doesn't want to be bothered by his mother's prospects anymore and Ayase Chihaya hates her sister's attempts of finding her a boyfriend.
--------------
Today was an especially stressful day for Mashima Taichi. He was supposed to clock in early from the hospital but as soon as his shift was about to end one of his patients went into cardiac arrest.
‘Ah I can never get used to emergencies like that’ he thought as he laid on his couch.
Just as he was getting comfortable, his cellphone rang which surprised him. He sat back up and picked up the phone from the coffee table next to him.
“Hello?”
“Ah Taichi, didn’t you read my texts?”
He sighed as he heard his mother, Mashima Reiko, on the other end. As tempted as he is to end the call right then and there, he wouldn’t dare get an angry visit from her instead.
“No, I had to attend to an emergency at the hospital a while ago” he explained “I just got home, what is it?”
“Well there’s a charity gala Mr. Ichido is hosting tomorrow night, maybe you could attend with your father and, you know, mingle with the people there at least”
“Why should I? I don’t have any interest in dad’s company, why aren’t you asking Rika?” he inquired, even though he has an idea of what Reiko is hinting at.
“She’s coming, that’s already a given” there was a small pause before she continued “Mr. Ichido’s daughter is coming to the gala, the one who just came back from the states, maybe you can tour her around Tokyo before she goes back after a week”
‘I knew it’ he said to himself. Ever since he graduated from Todai and immediately got a job as a doctor at the University’s same hospital, Reiko thought she wouldn’t need to worry about her son anymore.
To what she thought that her son would settle down with a woman as successful as he is, she slowly grew worried each day her son doesn’t call her to tell her about a doctor or businesswoman he’s going to marry someday. So for a year now, she’s been trying to connect him with the women in the families they’re connected with so it can ease her anxiety at least.
But Mashima Taichi has been a stubborn bastard ever since he was born.
“Not interested,” he answered coldly and Reiko just had enough of him rejecting every prospect she’s practically thrown at him.
"And why not? Again! might I add"
'This is getting really old' he rubbed his temples trying to calm himself down thinking of another half-assed excuse of not being ready. She was not yet finished talking though.
"And here I thought I can leave you alone to your devices after you've made it as a successful doctor, I can't believe you're making me worry over something you're supposed to have done a long time ago. Up until now I feel as if you’re waiting for me to push you into things that are good for you"
Now Taichi had enough, it's one thing for her to be critical of him being the best but for her to basically call him a dependent idiot is another thing.
"Well haven't you considered that maybe I am dating someone already without your approval?!"
She was taken aback and a million thoughts ran through her head, 'When? How? Who is it? Has she met her before?' But before she could get a word in he ended the call.
"If that's all, good night mom"
After that exchange he went back to lying down on his couch when his phone rang again.
"What?!"
"Ah!" The voice on the other end was startled by his loud reply.
Chihaya nearly dropped her phone when Taichi answered it a little too loudly for her delicate ears.
“Is everything ok, Taichi? What happened?”
“Oh Chihaya, sorry about that” he sighed as he relaxed at her voice on the other end, expecting it to be from his mother.
“It’s fine but could you let me in? I’ve been knocking for the last few minutes and you weren’t answering. I even brought you Daddy Bear Ramen and Snowmaru Ice cream on the way here” she whined as she banged her fist on his apartment door one last time.
Taichi opened the door as he pocketed his phone, “Geez you really are still a kid sometimes, you know that?”
Ignoring his comment, Chihaya walked inside the apartment like she owns the place. Ever since she’s gotten the job as a teacher at Mizusawa High last year, right after getting the Queen title, she’s been in and out of his place because, (a) it's the closest place she can stay at after late nights training at the society and (b) Taichi can drive her to school the next day.
He locked the door behind him as he went to the kitchen where Chihaya most definitely headed to.
Sure enough she’s already filled the instant ramen with hot water and is putting the ice cream in his mini fridge.
“So what crazy limited edition food did you manage to grab this time?” he asked while opening his share of the ramen, looking at the silly Daddy Bear artwork plastered on it.
“If you must know, I found these two at the very back of the shelf at the nearby konbini” she gestured to the two cups of ramen on the table “Can you believe how lucky I was!”
At that instant, Taichi checked the label on the cup to make sure it wasn’t expired. “Thank god you actually checked the labels this time before buying”
“Hey! That was one time ok” she retorted.
“Yeah sure it is” he teased as he took in a mouthful of noodles.
“Keep talking like that and I won’t let you near my Snowmaru Vanilla Ice Cream!” she pointed with her chopsticks.
“Which you stored in MY freezer?”
Chihaya groaned and grumpily ate her ramen.
The rest of their dinner went by as usual, Chihaya telling him how the karuta club they started has been doing so far under her care, her school day activities, and how her training at the Shiranami Society went that night.
Taichi almost forgot about his altercation with his mother that early evening until Chihaya brought up a topic that he’s not particularly fond of but listens to anyway.
“I can’t believe she tricked me into another blind date! I was excited to see her new commercial at the mall when she actually invited me into a double date” she said, a little bit frustrated and exhausted.
Ever since she became Queen last year, she’s been the center of attention of some men in the karuta community and even those outside of it. Her sister, Chitose, then saw an opportunity to play matchmaker with her sister so she can see her have a relationship outside of karuta.
And Mashima Taichi was both scared and relieved. Scared to see Chihaya having a relationship with another person and relieved to see her mature enough to finally fully understand what romantic gestures and relationships are.
It is no secret that Taichi always bore feelings for Chihaya, everyone at Shiranami knows, all their friends from their karuta club knows, Wataya Arata knows, his sister knows, except Chihaya.
“At this point, I might just fake date with the next person she throws at me to get it over with” she half-joked while taking another scoop of her ice cream. “Then everybody is happy, right?”
He inwardly panicked, even a fake relationship is risky, especially for someone like her. They might take advantage of her and they don’t know her like he does. It's not like they can keep up with her antics and airheadedness.
Without even thinking he blurted out, “Just pretend you’re dating me then”
Chihaya stopped midway with her scoop of ice cream, and looked like she’s processing what Taichi just said.
She was silent for a while and he realized what he just said, and just as he was about to brush it off as a joke she slammed her hands on the table a little too hard it shook and spilled the melted contents of her small bowl.
“Taichi! You are a genius!”
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NEXT CHAPTER
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First Chihayafuru fic, hehe... uploaded to both AO3 and FFNet, based on a random fake dating prompt I saw and I was instantly thinking “Taichihaya” so yeah here ya goo
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cheshiremadd · 4 years
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Superfluous
Chapter 1
AO3
Idea from a discord conversation that I’m fairly positive was started by @alexseanchai
Adrien and Marinette think they're in a polyamorous relationship. They're wrong.
-
Hi, Adrien, I was wondering if
Do you think you could
Hey, purely hypothetical….How receptive would you be to going on a date with me?
I’ve tried to tell you this so many times and I know you deserve to be told in person but I’m just not sure I ca
Marinoodle: Can we have lunch today? I have something I need to talk to you about.
Marinoodle: Alone. Don’t tell Alya and Nino?
Marinoodle: Sorry. I just. I’ll explain at the cafe.
She texted Adrien in the early morning. It was the easiest way, and still put her on the hook. If she started this with those damn eyes of his looking at her, and the eyes of everyone else, no way would she get the words out. It’d be troisiéme all over again.
She reminded herself that Chat believed in her, and she can’t let him down. She can’t go to their next patrol and tell him that she chickened out. It’s entirely unlike when Alya would...encourage her. Alya pushed, and sometimes didn’t think of things like consequences, and generally didn’t have to deal with things like anxiety. For her, the best way to do things was just to do them. Like that old American Nike meme. Chat fed her a quiet strength. Cooled her buzzing nerves. Said that she was capable, but that it was okay if she wasn’t ready. And Ladybug hated to disappoint him.
Her phone buzzed.
Agreste My Case: Of course!
Agreste My Case: Is everything okay?
Marinoodle: Cool. Cool. Everything’s cool. Grand really.
“Marinette!” Her Maman called from below. “If you don’t hurry, you won’t have time for breakfast.”
She was still wearing pajamas. Shit!
Marinette shot out of bed, thanking her lucky stars and Past Marinette for leaving out clothes for today. It was...well, it was Chat’s favorite outfit of hers. Past Marinette thought she could do with the confidence boost. And the reminder. When she’d shown it to Tikki, the tiny kwami had heartily approved.
It was a prom dress she found on clearance at the local thrift. The original was strapless, floor-length, and had rainbow stripes. She’d removed all the layers of the skirt but the outside and the lining, shortened it to hit just above her knee, and added a fitted denim jacket. The overall effect was airy and fun, and great for a day in the sun, and Chat had said that the sky in her eyes reflected in her outfit. Marinette had blushed, but laughed, and said, “Okay, okay, that pun deserves a cookie.”
That memory carried her through her morning routine. Teeth brushed, hair brushed, hair down? Chat liked it down. Hair in messy bun? Adrien said he thought it was cute. Hm. She shook her head; she didn’t have time for this. She’d leave it up and could take it down later if she needed something to fiddle with. Grab breakfast (two croissants in a white paper sack). Out the door. Cross the street. Stare at the school building.
She can’t do this. Why did she think she could? Alya’s going to know something’s up. Alya always knew. They’re all going to know. The whole class is going to take one look at her and know and be ready to laugh at her bumbling attempts to confess to the man she loves and Lila would be there and she’d smirk and say, Oh Marinette. You know I’m dating Adrien; he confessed to me weeks ago--
“-ette. Marinette? Are you okay?” A hand across her shoulder blades jolted her out of her spiral and two full feet away. Adrien raised his hands in defense, and Marinette could feel the embarrassment across her face. Her eyes hid behind her hands. A small whine left her mouth. She stewed in her mortification for a moment.
Then Adrien chuckled. And she peeked through her fingers. The early morning sunlight glittered in his hair. His eyes as green as the thick turf at the park. His teeth pushed into his lower lip, a failed attempt to hide his grin.
“It is far too early for this.” She closed her eyes again.
“You say that every morning, Marinette.” Kwamis, she loved the way he said her name. Slowly, intentionally, as if each syllable were important. Mar~i~nette.
“Yeah? Well, I mean it this time.” She grumbled.
They stood in silence. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but Marinette could feel her nerves rising again. She was making this weird. She really thought she was over this.
“Marinette,” Adrien called to her, softly. “Is everything okay? Your texts sounded kind of...Is it Lila again?”
Her eyes snapped open and hands flew to her purse for her phone. Tikki dove deeper to avoid being spotted. “No, no!” She opened the text message app and grimaced. Her response sat unsent.
“Got caught up and didn’t send your reply?” His relief showed in his grin. That he picked up on what happened so quickly was both embarrassing and pleasing. Her face was going pink again. Time for a distraction.
She shoved the bakery bag at him. “C-croissant?”
He blinked at the abrupt change of subject, but went along with it. Thankfully. His delight was clear when he opened the bag.
“Croissants are my favorite,” he sighed.
“You say that about all of our pastries, Adrien,” she parroted.
“Yeah, well, I mean it this time.” He mocked her in kind as he dug one out. He looked at it, and then looked at her, and she could see the question brewing.
“I’m actually not all that hun-mmpff!” Marinette glared and growled through a mouthful of croissant. Adrien just smiled cheerfully and pulled out the second.
“We should really get to class, you know.”
-
They got to class. And the class after that. And the class after that. Marinette couldn’t say what the lessons had been. She remembered his gold-spun hair beside her. The fidgety edits she made to a design that just wouldn’t come together. Three other designs she flipped to when sudden, but ultimately brief, inspiration hit. His thigh pressing against hers. She always wondered if he did that on purpose. She supposed she was about to find out.
Suddenly, the lunch bell was upon them.
“Lunch at the bakery? Just wait ‘til you hear what the tweebs did last night! They’re on lockdown for the foreseeable future.” Alya looked at her expectantly until she went cross eyed. She pulled her glasses off and squinted at them.
“O-oh, uh-” No, no, no! Of all days for Alya to not attempt the matchmaking! On second thought, she was glad for the lack of expectations.
“I’d love to join,” Lila cut in, flicking her hair over her shoulder, “but Mom got reservations for that new five-star by the embassy.”
How nice of Lila to take herself out of the way so neatly.
“Nice! You’ll have to tell us all about how fancy it is.” Alya squinted at her while she cleaned the lenses with her shirt. Ugh. Marinette refrained from rolling her eyes, barely.
Lila’s smug smile dropped when Adrien popped up behind Marinette. “Actually, Alya, Marinette and I are going to find somewhere to study for that maths test that’s tomorrow.”
She could kiss him for that.
Alya squinted at her glasses again before putting them back on. “Oh! Nino and I’ll go with you, then.”
Lila looked like she wanted to jump in, too, Marinette could tell, but she couldn’t when she supposedly had a lunch date already.
“No offense, Al, but we want to actually study. Not that nauseating couple thing that you and Nino do when you’re only pretending to study.” He grinned and winked.
Marinette decided to help him out with some gagging noises, smile hidden behind a polite hand.
Alya huffed good-naturedly and flapped her hand at them. “Fine, fine, you two go be boring and study. But I’ll remember that comment when you get a girl, Agreste, because I know Mr. Heart Eyes is going to be ten times worse.”
Alya went off to find Nino and Lila went off to do...whatever Lila did. Marinette gave Adrien a half-smile as he shuffled her out of school, still mostly trapped in her own thoughts.
That squiggly feeling was back in the pit of her stomach. Like a tiny venomous snake writhing around, and she was just waiting for it to bite. Thanks, Alya! Why did she think she could do this? Adrien’s one of her best friends! Surely if he wanted more, he would have said so by now. He’s never shown interest in anyone outside of Kagami (briefly) and Ladybug and offhandedly mentioning that Luka’s cute (though no one else knew about that, he’d sworn her to secrecy).
Again, he broke through her cloud of doubts.
“That was awfully accommodating of Lila to remove herself from our plans like that.”
She looked up at him and found a strained smile. Argh! Get it together, Marinette! You know he’s picking up on your weirdness and thinking it’s his fault!
Ugh. Her inner voice sounded like Tikki. Right, as usual.
“I had that exact thought! It’s got to be the single nicest thing she’s ever done for me.” His nervousness faded into a real laugh, and then they were back to normal. She hardly noticed the walk to the cafe while they giggled and teased. He held the door open and she blushed pink as she ducked inside. The line to order wasn’t too long, but Marinette was nervous again by the time they reached the front. She managed to give her order, but stuttered her protest when Adrien swooped in to pay for her.
They were about to sit down when Marinette’s hands reached for her backpack and didn’t find it. She had her purse (and thus, Tikki), thank Kwamis, but everything else...
“I left my backpack at school!” Her hands went to her head and her whole face scrunched up. Adrien shuffled the strap of his bag when she looked up at him. “I have to go back to school and get it! Oh, but by the time I do and come back here, there’ll barely be time to eat, and, and, then we won’t be able to talk and I’ll have to sit on this for days because you don’t always get free time and it just be my luck to not see you for a week after this, and you can’t just say this kind of thing over text, well you can but that doesn’t mean you should, and -are you okay? You’re shuffling your bag around an awful lot; are your shoulders hurti…”
Marinette cut off and stared at the pink backpack strap that wrapped around Adrien’s shoulder. She huffed. “You could have said something. Instead of letting me panic.”
“It was cute.” He gave her a fond smile. “You’re cute.”
Her legs gave out. Good thing she was already in the process of sitting down; she landed in her chair instead of the floor. He didn’t seem to notice, and kept going. “I meant to tell you earlier: I like your dress! Is-is it one of yours?”
Her already pink cheeks were turning red, she just knew it. She’d be as red as her suit, soon. This boy was trying to kill her. “T-thanks! It’s a thrift buy; I, um just changed it up a bit.”
“Oh! An upcycle!” He set their backpacks down and took his seat much more gracefully than she had. But, then, he’s a model.
“Ah, well, technically an upcycle is where you take one thing and turn it into something totally different. What I did is considered an alteration.”
He chuckled. She was so lucky, to be someone he could laugh freely with. “I see. Regardless ...you make it beautiful.”
She stared into his eyes, caught by them. Bright and clear and honest. The way affection crinkled the corners of them. She knew those would be his wrinkles, when he gets them. Laugh lines and love crinkles, like her parents.
It was the perfect moment to speak, she knew. If only she could bring herself to do it. Why couldn’t she? He’d complimented her confidence outfit, carried her bag here, paid for her lunch, said she was cute. And it...he said she made it beautiful. But the way he said it. The way he said it, he sounded like he meant she was beautiful. She just needed to open her mouth, and say-
“I’m in love with you.”
Her eyes widened, and her face exploded in color. She could see his doing the same. Her usual reflex reaction rose up, take it back, take it back, she could still fix this rebutted with no, this was the whole point of lunch, to confess, see if he was interested to be countered by he hasn’t said anything yet, oh, what have I done.
“I-I didn’t- I mean I did- love is such a-”
He cut off her panicked babble. “You’re in love with me?”
His tone said he didn’t quite believe it, but the look on his face added that he dared to hope anyway. He was looking down at her (even sitting, their height difference was..much) and he had this softness to his eyes that she didn’t see him use with anyone else. It reminded her of Chat sitting with her, gently telling her that her feelings weren’t going to destroy hers and Adrien’s friendship, building her courage.
She couldn’t do anything other than give him the truth.
“Have been for awhile.” The effect her words had was immediate. All that hope and, dare she say it, longing turned into something much brighter, something beautiful and gentle.
“Me too.”
When Marinette looked back at this moment, far into the future, she’d recognize it for what it was: undeniable proof that she was going to marry this man someday. All she could think while in the moment, however, was she clearly spent way too much time with Chat Noir and she’s going to kill that cat bastard.
“You’re in love with yourself, too?”
The words came out of her mouth, and she was mortified. She’d done it. She’d confessed to her years old crush. He actually accepted her feelings. They did the sappy staring in the eyes thing. And then she ruined the moment. Chat’d done this to her so many times; she couldn’t believe she was picking up the worst aspects of his humor.
A muffled chuckle redirected her attention back to Adrien. Hand over his mouth, he tried to contain himself, but it was a battle already lost. A petulant pout from her, and that was all it took for him to give himself over to the laughter. He stopped trying to hide his smile. His eyes scrunched closed. He slowly leaned towards the chair next to him, curling in on himself, using the table as a crutch, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
His joy rang through her. It warmed her toes and eased her stomach, stopped her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
He was catching his breath when the server brought their food and took their number. Marinette set the plates on her side with a small “thank you”.
“I’m going to kill my boyfriend,” she grumbled. “That was all his fault.”
Adrien, back in a sitting position, tilted his head in curiosity. “You have a boyfriend?”
“Oh! Ah..I do. Um. Gosh, I’m doing this all wrong.” Marinette stared resolutely at her food. “It’s, um. It’s new. I haven’t even told Alya yet. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone for a while. Except you.”
She peeked at him through her fringe. Adrien didn’t seem upset. For all the world, it looked like he was patiently hearing her out. But it wasn’t always easy to read through his Model Face. She twisted her fingers together.
“We.. He.. Well, he’s in love with two people. And, and I’m in love with two people. So we decided to try polyamory.” And that was the rest of it. Everything that had her knots all day. She hoped he would understand.
A flutter of movement, his hands moved into her peripheral vision. “Can I have your hands before you start digging your nails in?”
She swallowed, and carefully looked no further than her hands as they moved to meet his. He started rubbing slow circles on contact.
“Let me make sure that I have this right. Are you asking me out?”
“Yes.”
“You have a boyfriend? And he’s okay with you dating another person?”
She glanced at his expression and was caught by it. It was warm, and encouraging. “Yes.”
His hands squeezed hers. “Ah, in the interest of full disclosure...I have a partner, too.”
“O-oh?”
“I met her online and, well, you can imagine what would happen if the public heard that Adrien Agreste had an online girlfriend.”
Marinette cringed sympathetically. “That’d be a nightmare. You have a lot of crazy fangirls.” She paused for a moment and then ventured, “I can’t imagine Gabriel would approve, either.”
“Ha. No. Which means it has to stay secret for awhile.” Adrien shook his head, as if it would get rid of the sour thoughts. “But! We, well, exactly like you two. We’re both in love with two people and I couldn’t make myself choose. I wanted both of you.”
She stared at him, pink painted across her cheeks and lips parted slightly. “Me?”
“You.” His smile was back. “I’ve been working to get the courage to ask you out. Tried half a dozen times or so.
“What I’m trying to say, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is that I’d love to go on a date with you.”
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Title: Arranged {4}
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Yahya Abdul Mateen II x OFC Nyorie Kane
Warning: Mild Cursing. Plot
Words: 2.7k
Summary: Yahya is thirty-three, and his friends and family all seem to believe that it is long overdue for him to have a wife. He’s been set up more times than he can count and with his busy schedule and rising Hollywood star, it is becoming even more difficult to meet people, well people who aren’t looking for a come up. In the beginning, he said he didn’t want anything serious; his motto was “I’m was here for a good time not a long time.” Then it became he didn’t want anything that would distract him from where he wanted to go and what he wanted to accomplish. Now that his fame is rising and he’s approaching a sweet spot in his career he decides what the hell the time might be right.
In comes “A Match”, an exclusive matchmaking company run by his best friend Ramel’s wife Tamika. He gives Tamika and Ramel free rein and all his trust to find him, someone, he’d mesh well with. Instead of going through her clientele Tamika has just the right woman in mind, her best friend, Nyorie. Things are done a little unorthodox at “A Match” though. This unconventional route is credited for a near-perfect success rate.
Note: I’ve only tagged those who have expressed to be on a forever tag list. 
***None of the images are my own***
**Loosely Proofread/Edited**
**Interactive**
Need To Catch Up?| Chapter one | Chapter Two | Chapter Three
✧*.。:。✧*.:。✧*✧*.。:。✧*.:。✧*✧*.。:。✧*.:。✧*
-Chapter Four-
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Three days later he was staring at a stack of papers that was the contract agreement. Included in the agreement was also the usual fee for services. Tameka was making bank especially if this was the standard fee for every client. Among the papers was an extensive explanation of what she did, what she didn’t do, how she did what she did and what was expected. There was a code of conduct as well as termination policies. Inside the welcome packet there he found all the information about the different stages and the steps in each stage. This was very detailed and when he assessed it all, it wasn’t a completely illogical way to approach dating.
 Yes, it was absolutely nuts to agree to marry someone without seeing them, but the saying love is blind was coined for a reason. No, it probably was never meant to be taken so literal, but the truth was the same. Love was blind, love should be found and established with the purest cornerstones. His only hang-up was if this was something that was logical for him and who he was now. He wasn’t some local baker, or a teacher or even a city planner anymore. He was an actor. Now most places he went, he was recognized, approached and watched.
 Yeah he could go incognito eighty percent of the time and he was glad for it but he’d come to accept the luxuries of life before were not his luxuries now. He’d traded privacy for paparazzi, and traded clipboards for scripts. He still hadn’t gotten over the differences in his life from a year ago to today.
 The more he flipped through the papers and read them over carefully he thought more and more about what the road would look like moving forward with this. He thought about the kind of connection he would want with a woman and the likelihood of finding it like this. He went up and down and around it for what felt like hours. He talked himself into it ten times and out of it ten times. He’d even written a pros and cons list and had thrown it out and done it again too many times. By the time he’d come up with a decision he was fed up with thinking about it. He knew it was the fear of the unknown at this point. The only thing that was in his head at this point was doing the damn thing. So that’s what he told himself as he tapped out a text to Tameka.
 MSG: Let’s do it Meeka. Let’s do the damn thing!
 He shook his head and tried to shake off how ridiculous he felt. He knew he was ready for it, but he just had to get out of his head with it and allow whatever was meant for him to freely come.
 MSG Tameka: All right then. Fill out the paperwork, bring it back, fax it, courier whatever you choose. Once that’s processed we’ll start your screenings. Be mindful we’re going to be digging deep into your personality. Truthful answers are the only answers acceptable, especially if you want success.
MSG: Got it. Thank you Meeka.
MSG Tameka: You’re like my brother Ya. Anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.
 He’d known Tameka for over ten years. They were similar. In the beginning stages of Ramel’s relationship, he took it upon himself to get to know her to be sure she was right for his best friend. It didn’t take him long to be convinced she would be a good fit for Ramel. Since then they’d gotten closer and she really had turned into someone he considered a sister.
 He sat there in his living room filling out the first page of information.
 “Name; Yahya Abdul Mateen II. Nicknames; Ya, Hya. Date of Birth; July 15, 1986. Gender; grade A man baby. Family; mother and one brother, four sisters. Ethnicity and Race; Black and Proud. Height; six-three. Religion; Muslim. Gender you are seeking; female. Marital Status; Single. Income.” 
It was there he first paused as he tried to think of a response. Was he supposed to put his current net worth, what he had in the bank, what he was averaging per movie? He was probably thinking about too deeply, but he didn’t know what to put, so he put something basic and carried on.
 “Comfortable.” As he got to the second page it got a little more personal. There was a question asking about his family history then another inquiring about his blood type. After that, it went into physical illnesses or mental illnesses. When he saw the big leap from there to asking about communicable diseases he blinked because it wasn’t even page six and already things were getting real.
 He spent the next forty minutes or so answering the second, third and fourth pages that asked everything from STDs to medications currently taking. It was pretty detailed which he understood. These were important questions to know before matching someone. He zoomed through the questions about the reason for his decision for matching, and what his expectations were. He’d set the bar pretty low. He wasn’t sure what to expect so he decided to expect nothing spectacular. You can’t be disappointed if you never really set your hopes up, right?
By page six the real hard-hitting questions began. “What are you looking for in an ideal match?” He thought it would be a difficult question, thought he would have no idea what to write but that wasn’t the case. He found himself writing away. 
“A woman who is down to earth, funny, honest and smart. A woman who knows what she wants from life and isn’t afraid to go out and get it. a woman who is caring, understanding, passionate, supportive, ambitious. Someone who is silly and has a silly sense of humor and doesn’t take themselves seriously. Confidence is major for me, someone who loves music as much as I do, has a great attitude, positive, classy but definitely kinda hood.”
 He reread it and nodded his approval and continued.
 “What’s your type?” A wide smile spread across his face because he knew his type. He’d imagined her several times over the months. “Curvy and thick in all the right places, meat on the bones, beautiful lips, expressive eyes, nice smile, shorter than me, fashionable, black and proud in everything that means.”
 Thinking about his ideal woman and had him thinking what if Tameka actually pulled it off and found someone that was just right. What if in a few weeks his ass found a wife and not just another ex. That tripped him up and had him stepping away from the paperwork for a few minutes to collect himself and his thoughts with a glass of Henny. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ready, or he was reluctant for change, it was the reality of a possibility.
 When he returned to the papers he earnestly answered the remainder of the questions that ranged from a full six pages about him and his dreams, wants, desires and another six pages about his ideal mate and what he would want her dreams, wants and desires to be. When he was finally finished it was almost three in the morning and he was exhausted. He’d felt like he’d done a mental marathon. There were questions in this packet he hadn’t thought about in years and at all. he took that as a good sign. The more in-depth the questions the better the outcome, right?
  ~~~~~~~~~
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A day later he was sitting in an office with a couple Tameka introduced as Dr. Rachel Abramson and Dr. Martin Abramson. They were in charge of mental and emotional screening and preparedness. His first impression was that he would sit in a comfy chair and discuss his thoughts and feelings about beginning the process. For the first hour that is exactly what happened. They had him begin and assured him now was the time to get all his questions out. So, since they wanted him to ask questions he did.
 “Are the two of you really that good to have so many success stories? There has to be one story of complete failure.”
 The two of them looked at each other and then back to him before they busted out laughing. After a few moments, they finished and Martin spoke first.
 “Tameka said you’d be a little apprehensive about the process.”
 “She sure wasn’t lying,” Rachel added.
 “Ha-ha-ha, very funny. You can’t blame me, can you? This is pretty peculiar.”
 “Okay here’s the thing. On a scale of normal and insane, this is insane when you think of it from a societal norm perspective. We’ve all been taught and conditioned that we have to do things one way in order to find the love and happiness we want and deserve. So we go our entire lives on this hamster wheel trying it over and over and over no matter how many times we fail. No matter how many times we don’t find that love or happiness we want but heartache or loneliness. At what point do you change your perspective? At what point do you start to wonder what are societal norms doing for me? Here we’re changing up the norms. There is no reason why a different approach cannot work,” Rachel finished.
 “We’re doing a different approach for the same goal. The only difference is our approach actually works and it continues to work. We’re that good at what we do because of the process and the screenings, these chats. We now know you want to be a believer, but you have to be shown the way. That will go into your profile and into the decision for those we cross with you for a match,” Martin explained.
 Taking a few moments for their words to register he nodded then shrugged. “All right. I’m here. Let’s do it.”
 That was when they began to dig deeper pulling him to talk about his entire life story, relieve every decision he’d ever made, every experience. He thought about things he hadn’t thought about in years. They had a way of bringing deeper meaning to his experiences, his struggles. They gave him worst-case scenarios and stressful situations, questioned his decisions in relationships and life. They dissected everything and the whole time they wrote note after note and exchanged look after look. After another two hours, he realized just how deep this process got. He felt like he’d just gone through the most extensive counseling session he’d ever had.
 “How do you feel?” Tameka studied him with a slight “yikes” face.
 “Damn that was intense.”
 “Yeah, Rachel and Martin really get in there and tear you apart and put you under a microscope then put you back together. Usually, everyone who sees them says they feel refreshed leaving.”
 “Refreshed? Meeka I feel like I just got a soul cavity search.” She laughed and shook her head.
 “Boy, you so stupid. Seriously, it’s all right. It’s like this for everyone,” she assured.
 “Are all screenings like this?”
 “I wouldn’t say that. This one usually puts everyone through a wringer, you’re facing a lot of things, it makes you doubt yourself; it’s supposed to. It’s part of the process. The worst is behind you. You have three more screenings and then we’ll move on to the fun stuff.”
 “What exactly is the fun stuff?”
 Tameka smiled widely and zipped her lips. He didn’t have a good feeling about whatever it was she was talking about.
 Sure enough, four days later he’d felt like he’d actually gone through the wringer. He’d completed the following screenings that focused on his potential mate love languages and expectations, and sexual expectations and intelligence. It was definitely an intricate process. From what he could tell those he’d dealt with really knew what they were doing.
 After a quick trip to New York for work and a trip with his brother and sister to Vegas for some downtime, gambling and silliness he felt refreshed. 
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Today he dribbled the ball around the court with Ramel and crew he tried to keep his mind off of things. Tameka said they would go through his responses and screenings and put together a complete assessment that they would then use to go through their database of potential women he would mesh well with. He knew the processes couldn’t be rushed but he was getting a little anxious after three days and no notification on the status.
 He was a little off his game and Rashawn was taking advantage of that. He stole the ball and dropped a perfect fadeaway bucket. He stood there shaking his head.
 “What the hell has got your mind so outta the game you let Rashawn of all people steal your ball?”
 They laughed at him together and he had to admit he deserved it. He walked to the sideline and dropped onto one of the bleachers. His boys sat around him taking sips of their water.
 “Is this about this matchmaking?”
 Rashawn and Tyrell both sounded off. “Hold up, matchmaking? Are you getting set up?”
 Dropping his head back he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t want them all to know in case it didn’t work out and he was in fact unmatchable.
 “Yeah, I was trying something different, thought why not.”
 “Okay. We didn’t even know you wanted someone. Why you ain’t say something?”
 He shrugged and rolled his head around. “No reason.”
 “So that’s why your jump shot is shit and your ball handling is even worse,” Tyrell chided. He laughed at the insult to injury, he was already feeling like crap.
 “Man kick me while I’m down. Great.”
 “Leave him alone. Tameka’s process is tough. In the early days when she was giving me the run down, she blew my mind with how detailed everything is,” Ramel defended.
 “Right. Damn, I had no idea. After four days I felt like she’d unlocked a whole nother level to my personality I didn’t even know I had.” They all laughed but he wasn’t joking. He was woke before but now he was third eye woke.
 “So you’re waiting for results now?”
 “I’m waiting for them to finish analyzing my assessments. I think they’re screening me with potentials. I don’t even know.”
 “You ready to meet someone? I mean you could have yourself a girl in a month’s time,” Rashawn voiced.
 “He could have himself more than a girl in three months’ time,” Ramel corrected.
 “Yeah, I’m ready. The interesting thing is throughout the whole process of them analyzing me and asking me every question ever invented it had me really seeing how empty my life has been and how stuck I was. It opened my eyes to show me what I had to offer and that I was ready to offer it.”
 They all nodded fulling understanding what he meant. He was glad he wasn’t friends with men who ran from commitments and dogged out their women. He was glad he was surrounded by levelheaded mature men who sometimes acted like complete idiots behind their wives’ backs.
 “Well, I hope Tameka can work some miracle because it will have to be one hell of a woman who keeps your attention cause God knows you got that ADD,” Tyrell piped up.
 Again, they all laughed together, at his expense.
 A few more days passed with him working even more. He went on more and more auditions and his name was being kicked around quite a lot. According to his agent and manager, his name was brought up a lot for different projects. The ones that had him super excited was the fourth installment to The Matrix and a Candyman remake. He grew up on Candyman and damn near tripped down the steps when he’d read the email about it.
 The days passed quickly, and he traveled between NY, Miami and LA all for auditions, meetings, interviews, and photoshoots. he was busy but in the back of his mind, he wondered where he was in the process with A Match. The longer he went without hearing something, the more he worried that he was unmatchable.
 As he was pulling into LAX from his recent trip to London Tameka’s message caught him off guard.
 MSG Tameka: Great news. When can you come in?
 His nerves went into high gear as one thing repeated in his head.
 “So it begins.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***If you want to be tagged please SEND AN ASK SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF. Thank you for reading!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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sesskag · 4 years
Note
Can i ask for you top 10 best sesskag fics youve found i really wanna read more??
Admin Chie:
I recced some of my favourites earlier here!
But adding to those, I’d rec
Tease by Resmiranda
Deception. Desire. Great hair care. One Shot. Rated MA.
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It’s a Dog’s World by Kanna37
A place for any drabbles and one shots that might come to me here and there. Rated MA because I can’t stay away from being naughty forever, and I’ll probably corrupt this series, too. Some of these will be A/U, as well. 2nd Best Humor for Little Sesshoumaru’s First Kiss - chapter 34 - 4th Quarter 2011. Newest: Kiss My Ass. One Shot Collection. Rated MA.
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Trapped by sesshou_lover
My one-shot collection, all feauture our favorite duo. All are steamy and nothing will be under MA. 
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A completely Innocent Addiction by Just A Starving Writer
[SK][Complete][Edited] An obsessed miko, a bored demon lord, and the shared need to be entertained, all combined by a completely innocent addiction. Rated T
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Troved by forthright
AU. Everyone knows that a hanyou comes from the union of a human and a youkai. In this case, the union of a human and a youkai is brought about by a hanyou. Sesshoumaru x Kagome. Valentine’s Day Oneshot. Rated K+
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Admin Purity:
The only ones I can think of are
Tales From The House Of The Moon by Resmiranda
Kagome, now in college, discovers the tale of Sesshomaru and Rin. Grief can be a prison, but the bonds of love are not easily broken. What is the truth behind fairytales? [SessKag] [COMPLETE] . Rated M.
and
Chain of Love by Chie
Sesshoumaru’s mother decides that the Western lands need an heir and hires a Matchmaker to deal with the job. She soon realises that no arrow of Amor could make Sesshoumaru fall and thus resorts to more extreme means - or rather it would seem, to a chain. Complete. Rated MA.
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Admin Jaf:.
I looked through my favorite list and this is what I came up with:
The Once and Future Taiyoukai by RosieB 
The well was supposed to be stable. It was supposed to send her to Inuyasha. And it failed. Now, Kagome’s even farther into the past and she must depend on a young Sesshoumaru, who has no idea of what their shared future holds. But neither does Kagome. Complete. Rated M.
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Try As You Might by Morrowyn 
Kagome tricks Sesshomaru into jumping down the well with her, only she wasn’t expecting it to work! Now she’s stuck with him as the return trip goes wonky, throwing them back to his father’s time. Although, a Japan with no jewel shards certainly appeals to Kagome. Can she keep it that way? AU? Complete. Rated T.
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Mirrored by MBtheDREAMwiz 
Kagome has a problem. Her life has taken a strange turn of events when she wakes up in an alternate universe to find a puppy-eared Sesshomaru holding her. How will she get out of this predicament? Read to find out! Rated T.
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Pack by Raven-Pen 
Kagome has a recurring nightmare and one night she finds Rin alone and offers to spend the night with her. After several other encounters Sesh begins to see Kagome as ‘Pack’. What will Kagome think when she begins to realize what all of this entails? RxR! Rated M.
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The Light at the End by likeabluethread
In contemporary Tokyo, where demons are stigmatized and must hide their identities, two lonely souls find each other on a train. MA for explicit sex. NOW COMPLETE! Rated MA.
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❗❗And please feel free to check out our fan fiction archive and stay tuned for the new rec lists that we’re going to post after the fic rec fest event ends!  ❗❗
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waddiwitch · 4 years
Text
Chemistry Chapter Two
It’s Chapter Two of my Royai Teacher AU, Chemistry. 
This chapter took forever so I’m just going to post before I change my mind and start editing it again. 
For Tas and Emma (@havocsss), my lovely and supportive friends.
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Alternate Universe - Teachers
Fluff and Humor
Summary: When Riza Hawkeye begins subbing in the same high school as Roy Mustang, sparks fly despite an initial misunderstanding. Chapter 2 is their first date. How will it go?
You can read the previous chapter on ao3
Chapter Two
(Saturday, Riza’s apartment, 10 am)
Riza was excited. A date. She hadn’t been on a date in a few months. Her last date was a blind date organised by her best friend and roommate, Rebecca. To say it was a disaster was an understatement. 
She threw open her closet. She might as well pick out what to wear later. She had already decided on her new jeans but she didn’t know what else. She rifled through her clothes. She wanted it to be casual but not too casual.  
“Rebecca,” she called. “Please help!”
Her friend’s head peered around the door. ”Are you looking for your fairy godmother?”
Laughing, Riza gestured for her to come in. 
Rebecca smirked at the open closet. “Eager aren’t you?” She lifted an eyebrow. “I thought your date wasn’t until 2.”
“It’s not but I might as well lay out the outfit.” 
Rebecca’s lip twitched and she joined Riza by the closet. 
“What?” the blonde demanded.
“Riza, honey, you’re adorable. You’re not normally this nervous about a date. You really like this guy.” 
She tried to ignore the smirk on her friend’s face. “Which do you prefer?” She pulled out a royal blue top and a white blouse. “Thoughts?”
“If I help you, you’re going to tell me all about this Roy.” Rebecca wriggled her eyebrows as she said his name.
Riza felt the blood rush to her face. “Can you just tell me which one you prefer?”
“Neither,” Rebecca shook her head, “Riza you’re going on a date. You need something a little sexier. “
“We’re having coffee. It’s casual.” She put both tops against her chest. “I’m going to take the blue. Wouldn't be so obvious if I spilt coffee on myself.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Why did you even ask me?”
“That’s what I am asking myself.”
“Well, in any case, I agree with you. Blue is a good colour on you and it shows the right amount of boob. Are you wearing a skirt or trousers?”
“My new jeans.”
“Ok, we can dress that up a little. You’ve got to let me do something with your hair.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. We’re taking Hayate for a walk in the park after.”
Her friend scrunched and slapped her hand to her forehead. “Riza, honey, that’s like a high schooler date. You’re spending too much time with teenagers.”
Riza crossed her arms and sat on her bed. “Well, that’s kind of hard to avoid when it’s part of my job.”
The dark-haired woman stuck out her tongue. She sat down beside her. Bumping her shoulder, she asked, “Tell me about him.” 
Riza felt herself blush again. “He’s smart and thoughtful.”
“Handsome?”
“I think so.”
“Have you a picture? Please tell me you have a picture.”
Riza reached for her phone. Maes had taken a picture of her and Roy in deep conversation one morning. They had not even noticed him arrive until he coughed loudly. He sent it on to both of them, a shit-eating grin on his face. He wasn’t subtle about his matchmaking either. It was a good picture of Roy, but her back was to the camera. But he was animated and grinning.
“Here he is!”
Rebecca whistled. “Hot damn. And look at his expression, he’s got it bad for you, hon.”
Riza rolled her eyes. 
“What does he teach?
“Chemistry.”
Rebecca wiggled her eyebrows. “Interesting...”
The blonde pushed her lightly. “Is it not enough that I have to deal with teenagers all day. You’re as bad as they are. Actually, no, you’re worse.”
Rebecca giggled but managed to stay sitting on the bed, “What’s his full name?”
Riza shook her head. “No, Rebecca, you’re not searching him online.”
“C’mon,” Her friend stuck out her lower lip, ”I have to make sure she is good enough for my girl.”
“No way!” 
(Park Entrance, 1:50 pm)
Roy sucked in a breath. He looked down at his watch. He arrived early but in his excitement, he couldn’t wait around at home. Still waiting here and looking ridiculous if he was honest. They had agreed to meet at the entrance to the park as Riza was going to park in the adjoining car park and they could walk up to the coffee shop from there. His phone beeped and he fished it out of his pocket. He rolled his eyes as he opened Maes’ message which was a thumbs up followed by a “Don’t fuck it up, buddy.” 
“Roy!”
He looked up and saw Riza approach, an adorable Shiba Inu puppy on a leash. His date looked gorgeous too. Her hair was down around her shoulders and she was wearing a simple blue top that accentuated her cleavage perfectly with a black cardigan, a pair of black skinny jeans and flats. He couldn’t see her eyes behind the sunglasses. He willed himself not to make a fool of himself in the face of such beauty. Why did she always make him feel like he was a teenager again?
“Riza.” He smiled at her as she pushed the sunglasses up on her head. His eyes went down to her puppy. “And this is?”
“Black Hayate,” she said proudly.
He bent down to pet the dog. “Hey, boy.” He looked up at Riza. “He is a boy, isn’t he?”
She nodded as the boy in question started to lick Roy’s hands. 
“It’s my pleasure, Black Hayate, thank you for letting me tag along on your date.”
He was rewarded with an eye roll from the blonde as he straightened up.
“You like dogs, huh?”
“I love dogs.”
“But you don’t have any of your own.”
“Unfortunately, not allowed in my rental agreement.” He jerked his head in the direction of The Coffee Shack. “So coffee first, or walk first?”
“Coffee to go, we can sit in the park before we walk,” Riza said. “Don’t worry about Hayate. He’s well trained.” 
Her smile was infectious. He smiled back pretty sure he looked like a lovestruck fool. To his surprise, he found he didn't really mind. He didn't care about looking a little foolish if he got to spend time with this amazing woman. They walked side by side, close enough to brush arms. He relished the little electric tingles. His whole body was aware when Riza Hawkeye was in his proximity. The silence wasn't exactly uncomfortable but this was a date and they were supposed to be getting to know one another better. He searched for something to say when Hayate let out a whine almost like he was telling Roy to get on with it. 
"Shush, Hayate," she scolded, "we're going to the park soon." 
Roy licked his lips nervously. "So, um, how long have you had this little fella?" 
"He's a rescue. He was found on the streets and ended up in a pound. He was a little aggressive in the beginning but he's gotten a lot better."
"Lucky to have found you then."
"Not as lucky as me."
Roy’s lip twitched. “It is a nice day for a walk.” The sun was shining even though it was a little cool.
“Yeah, it is,” Riza agreed.
The cafe was up ahead. The tables and chairs outside were full of couples taking advantage of the nice day.
Roy smiled. “Why don’t you sit out here while I get our coffee.”
“Thanks, Roy.” She gave him a big smile and his heart skipped a beat. He hadn't fucked up the date yet. 
Riza found a table close to the door and her dog obediently lay down. 
Smiling over his shoulder, Roy went inside. He went up to the cash register and was surprised to see one of his former classmates behind the counter. While they used to be friendly, they had lost touch over the years.
“Hey, Heathcliff. I didn’t know you worked here.”
Heathcliff shrugged. “The missus and I bought out my aunt’s share in the place.”
“Congratulations.”
Heathcliff grinned. “Still teaching at the high school?”
Roy ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”
“So, what can I get you?”
“A flat white and an americano. Two muffins and two bottles of water.” Roy smirked at the lifted eyebrow and puffed out his chest. “To go. I have a date with a gorgeous woman.” 
Roy leaned against the counter as he waited for the order. He looked around and he noticed some of his students. The Elric brothers, Ling Yao, Lan Fan and Winry Rockbell were sitting at one of the tables near the back. He kept his gaze averted even with the loud whispers of “Hey, it’s Mustang” and “Did he say date?” and “Who would go on a date that bastard?”
He rolled his eyes. Great! He decided to ignore the muttering and giggling unless they addressed him directly. Did they think he was deaf? And he wasn't that old anyway.
“I think he’s very handsome,” he heard Winry say, “I know he’s old but for someone his age, he would be a good catch. Someone a lot older than me.”
He gulped. He might have to watch that one. The last thing he needed was a teenager with a crush. 
Roy was relieved when Heathcliff handed him a cup holder to hold both coffees along with a paper bag with the muffins and water. 
“Hi, Mister Mustang.” Winry waved at him as he headed for the door.
“Hi, Winry.” Smiling politely, he nodded to the rest of the teenagers. “Kids.”
“Sir, are you on a date?” Edward tilted his chair back slightly.
Roy barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “That’s none of your business, Ed.” He chuckled. “I will see you all on Monday. Make sure your homework is done.”
(The Coffee Shack, 2:10 pm)
Riza rubbed Hayate’s ears as she waited for Roy. Her stomach fluttered but she thought the date had started well. 
”So, what do you think, Hayate?” Her dog let out a soft bark. ”Yeah, I think he’s nice too. I’m glad you approve.”
”Sorry I took so long.” 
Riza turned her head at Roy’s voice. 
He shut the door behind him, a sheepish grin on his face. “Some of our students are very interested in my date.” 
She looked over his shoulder to where some of their students’ faces were pressed against the window. 
”Don’t look but they’re spying on us now.”
”For fuck sake. They should be doing something productive like finishing their homework. Sorry about that.”
She chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Were you telling them you were on a date?”
“No, but I think they heard me boasting to the cafe owner. He’s an old school pal.”
“Boasting?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I still can’t believe you agreed to go on a date with me.”
“I didn’t,” she reminded him. “I asked you out.” Her lip twitched.
“You really enjoy putting me in my place, don’t you? Maybe I won’t give you what else I got for you?”
She reached for the paper bag but he pulled it out of her reach with a cheeky grin. Relenting, he handed her the bag and she peered inside.
“Water and muffins. It’s almost like a picnic, huh?”
He shrugged. “Without the blanket. I guess we always have next time.”
“You’re awfully confident aren’t you?”
He glanced at her almost shyly and she arched an eyebrow.
“I guess,” he said slowly, “I’m pretty confident that you haven’t been scared away yet. Means you like me.”
“Let’s see how the rest of the date goes first, Romeo.”
Snorting, he offered her his hand and she took it. 
(Park Entrance, 2:25 pm)
The smile never left Riza’s face on the walk to the park. 
Roy let go of her hand to hold the gate open for her. ”Ladies first.”
”Thank you,” she said. 
It was a small park with a pond at its centre. A couple of rounds of the park were usually enough to tire Hayate out. What Riza loved most about it was the way the trees seemed to muffle the traffic. 
”Why don’t we sit first?” he suggested. ”We can have our coffee and muffins.”
”Sounds like a good idea.” She jerked her head towards a free bench to their right. ”How about that one?”
He nodded, smiling at her, as they walked over to the bench. He had a good smile. A smile that made her melt. A man like him must have had a lot of girlfriends. She doubted they brought him to a park. At least, those he had dated since he left school.
”Still here with me, Riza?” 
She shook her head. ”Uh no. I mean yes.”
He frowned. ”Did I do something wrong?”
 ”No, sorry, it’s just this is probably a boring idea for a date.” She laughed nervously. ”I uh hope you don’t mind.”
He dipped his head. ”Not at all. I just wanted to spend time with you.”
She smiled and took his hand. ”Me too. I think you’re pretty great.”
He squeezed her hand and suddenly she was aware of just how close he was. Her eyes drifted to his lips and she wondered how he would taste. He came closer and she leaned in to kiss him when there was a loud wolf whistle.
”Hey Mr Mustang and Miss Hawkeye, I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.”
They turned around to see a giggling bunch of teenagers. She heard Roy curse under his breath and she struggled to keep a neutral face.  Edward had his arms crossed, a wide smirk on his face. 
Ling was wearing an equally evil smirk. ”Carry on, don’t mind us.”
”Come on, guys, leave them alone,” a blushing Winry said. She turned to the couple. ”I’m so sorry about them.” She grabbed Ling and Ed by the arms and pulled at them.
Ed shrugged her off. ”Don’t push me.”
”I wouldn’t push you if you’d just move.”
Roy and Riza watched the squabbling teenagers walk away. Once they were out of sight, they couldn’t hold in the laughter any longer. 
She clutched at her chest. ”I’m sorry, I really should have picked somewhere better for our date.”
He shook his head. ”I can’t believe those little shits followed us.”
”What makes you think that? They probably just came to the park.”
”Unlikely, they were watching us leave the cafe.” Roy snorted. ”Anyway, now that they’re gone, let’s try to forget about them.” 
The moment was well and truly ruined but at least they got a good laugh out of it.
”I think we were having a good time.” Riza patted his arm. ”How about we finish those coffees and eat those delicious muffins you got?”
”Yeah but let’s find a bench where we’re less likely to be disturbed.”
(Pond at the Park. 3:30 pm)
The last hour had passed by too quickly for Roy. He and Riza had a lot in common and they rarely struggled for conversation. However, there was no repeat of their almost kiss. Roy was internally debating a way to give the brats detention for interrupting his date. Even so, the date was going well. After they finished their drinks and the muffins, they walked around the park a few times much to Hayate’s delight. 
Riza went to get them both ice cream, he was waiting with Hayate by the pond.  He bent down to pet the dog. 
”Your mom is something else, you know.” The dog licked his arm and Roy smiled. ”You’re such a good boy. She has you well trained.”
He straightened up seeing her return with their ice creams. Instead of taking the leash from him, she took his arm instead. 
”Thanks,” he said and unwrapped his ice cream. ”Will we do another lap?”
Riza bit into her own ice cream and nodded. ”Was Hayate well behaved?”
”Of course.” He opted not to tell her about the bird the dog scared away. She arched an eyebrow and he wondered if she could read his mind. ”What?”
 She chuckled. “Never mind. Actually, I’ve been meaning to say you might know my grandfather.”
Roy blinked. ”Oh?”
”I think you know him from university,” she supplied. “Grumman. He’s my maternal grandfather.”
His eyes widened and he grinned. “Oh! Old Grumman. It’s a small world. How did you figure that out?”
“Your name came up in passing and he remembered the name.”
“You were talking about me to your grandfather.” He threw his head back and laughed.
“Actually,” her cheeks coloured, “I was bitching about you after the first time we met.”
Roy laughed even harder and almost dropped his ice cream. “That's even better.”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “Don't be so mean.”
“Don't be embarrassed.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. ”I’m sorry, Roy, but I should probably leave after this lap. I am due to visit my grandfather.”
”That’s a pity. I had a really good time.”
”Well, we have a few minutes.” She tilted her head. ”I’ve told you something about my family. Now it’s your turn.”
”Okay,” he said. “My parents died in a car accident when I was six.”
“Oh, Roy, I’m sorry.” Her grip on his arm tightened. ”That’s awful.”
“It was a long time ago,” he said softly. ”I had a great childhood. My aunt raised me. She’s an amazing woman, tough as nails but with a heart of gold.”
”She sounds like an amazing woman.” 
”Don’t tell her I said that I wouldn’t want to ruin her reputation. What about your parents?”
Riza bit her lip. “My mom died when I was a teenager from a long term illness. My dad is still alive but we’re estranged. I don’t have any siblings, so my grandfather is the only member of my family I am close to.” 
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It is what it is.” She forced a smile. ”What about you? Have you any brothers or sisters?”
“Not by blood. Some of the girls who work for my aunt have been working for her for so long they’re like sisters to me. Vanessa and Madeline always treated me like their kid brother and teased me mercilessly.”
"I bet they found that very easy." 
He put his hand on his heart and sighed dramatically. ”Why does everyone pick on me?”
They stopped by the bin to dump their ice cream wrappers on their way to the exit.
”I guess I should go,” she said and took Hayate’s leash from him. ”I did enjoy today.”
”Me too.” Holding the gate open for her, he said, ”Let me walk you to your car.”
”Thanks, Roy.” There was a pink tinge to her cheeks. ”You should pick our date next time.”
”Sure,” he said, a little too eagerly. He might as well have punched the air in delight. She wanted another date. She wanted another date with him.
Her lip twitched. ”Ideally where we won’t be interrupted by students.” 
Lifting an eyebrow, he smiled. ”Dinner in an expensive restaurant? Is that what you’re looking for?”
”That’s one way I suppose, but surprise me.”
He nodded. ”Leave it with me. You should know though, Hughes and his fiancee, Gracia, will be throwing a party soon and I’d love it if you would come to that with me.”
”I’d love that too but I’ll need to know the date first.”
She smiled at him and his heart pounded in his chest. ”I’ll let you know when I know. I’m sure that Hughes will be talking our ears off about it.” 
”True.”
”Don’t get me wrong, I want to take you on another date first before I have to share your company.”
”Sounds good. I’ll expect that dinner or something.” She coughed. ”Uh - my car is over there.”
So, I guess this is it until Monday,” he said.
She smiled and he leaned in to kiss her cheek. ”Thank you for the pleasure of your company.”
When he didn’t move away immediately, she turned her head so that her lips were inches from his. Before he could make up his mind to close the distance, she pressed her lips to his. He wrapped his arms around her as she deepened the kiss. 
When they broke for breath, Riza smiled mischievously. ”That’s better.”
”Yeah,” he breathed. 
”See you, Monday.”
To be continued...
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jarienn972 · 4 years
Text
A Simple Spell - Chapter Nine
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A Captain Swan Supernatural Summer Tale
It is still technically Monday here as I’m finally finished editing the latest chapter for my @cssns​ story. I'm going to preface this chapter with a couple of warnings though. First, this chapter ran really long. Like over 5K words long (sorry). There's a lot of action that takes place in a short span of time so rather than make it too choppy, I just allowed the sections to flow. Second is a trigger warning for a mildly violent scene that closes the chapter. It's not graphic but if it isn't your thing, the events will be explained in the next chapter.
I also want to thank @lassluna​ for all of her beta assistance in keeping me on track and to @cocohook38​ for her amazing artwork!
So, now we're going to pick up right where we left off: Emma has just gotten an earful about her family history from Mr. Gold and took possession of the items her mother sold to the shady pawnbroker years earlier. She's anxious to see what's there, hoping she'll discover what drove her mother away.
Read from the beginning on Tumblr:  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight       AO3     FF.net
Her first cup of Granny's super-strength blend coffee was nearly drained before Emma remembered the primary reason she'd come here - food. An angry growl from her gut served as a staunch reminder so she immediately flagged Ruby over to the corner booth in the rear of the diner and ordered a plate of scrambled eggs and wheat toast with butter. Ruby delivered the order to the kitchen and returned to warm up Emma's coffee while she waited for her breakfast to be prepared. The bubbly waitress tried to make a little bit of small talk, but it was obvious that her deputy friend was quite distracted.
Emma had wasted little time perusing her mother's long-hidden belongings. The moment she'd slid into the isolated booth, she had set the two unexamined books to the side, deciding to delve into the mysterious cardboard box first. She anxiously peeled away the layers of clear packaging tape, wishing she'd brought a pocket knife with her because the butter knife on the table wasn't particularly helpful. Once the tape was finally off, she unfolded the flaps, eager to discover what lay within.
Leaning over the box to get a better view of the contents, she could now see that they were mostly unsurprising. There was a porcelain figurine that didn't appear particularly valuable, two large crystals that appeared to be either quartz or amethyst (if she had to guess) and some jewelry. She'd not gotten very far in her study of crystals and the role they played in witchcraft but she knew they'd likely been highly prized at one time due to their quality.
She lifted both crystals from the box, realizing that they accounted for most of the box's weight and that they were mesmerizingly beautiful. The faceted sides were sharp and the clarity was nearly flawless. She doubted Gold had given her mother anything near their value but now they were hers and Emma intended to treasure them and their power.
For now though, she placed them atop the books so she could examine the various pieces of jewelry which consisted of a beaded bracelet, two rings and a cameo pendant with a gold chain. She picked up the two rings first seeing that one was a very heavy gold man's ring topped with a large, bezel-set garnet and the second was a squared off silver ring with inlaid onyx. She couldn't begin to speculate on the stories behind the two rings or how they'd ended up in this box, but there was no doubt that they were expensive.
Dropping the rings back inside the cardboard box, she brought out the bracelet and pendant next. The bracelet was strung with alternating round onyx and gold tone beads and was held together with a golden clasp. It was pretty, but Emma didn't sense that it was anything special. She last turned her attention to the pendant which featured a cameo carved from mother of pearl that still possessed some of its original luster even after all of these years. As she held it in her hand, she found that there was a seam running all around the oval pendant, discovering that it was a locket.
Her thumbnail found the tiny latch on the right hand side and as she flicked it, a tiny gasp escaped from her mouth when the halves fell open. One side of the locket housed a miniature photograph of their family - a photo that had probably been taken not long after Emma's birth as she was just a tiny infant cradled in her mother's arms. A tear started to well in her eye as she stared at the images of her father's smiling face and the goofy grin on the young, tow-headed David. Unless they'd been faking it well, this was a picture-perfect image of a happy family.
So what had gone wrong?
Remembering that she was in public, Emma placed all of the items back inside the box and closed up the flaps before she became an emotional mess. She took a moment to glance over the books before her food arrived, finding that one was a history of witchcraft in New England - probably a good read for later but nothing that was drawing that personal attachment like the objects in the box had. The second one was far more interesting though - leather-bound and sealed with a clasp that was locked. Was this a journal or diary of some kind?
Temptation loomed to open the leather-bound volume right away, but Emma wisely decided against it just as Ruby plopped a plate in front of her. "Breakfast is served," the giddy waitress announced with a gesture towards the diner's entrance, "but isn't that your friend over there?"
Emma glanced up from her stash of goodies that were spread all over the table, feeling her cheeks flushing as she noticed the man about to enter the restaurant. "Oh, yeah, it is," she responded as she hurriedly stacked the box and books to make more room on the table top. "I was hoping he'd join me for breakfast after we ran into each other outside Gold's shop."
"Well then, I'll bring another mug and a full pot of coffee for the two of you," Ruby offered with a sly wink. "I'm sure the two of you would like a bit of privacy…"
"It's just breakfast, Rubes," Emma reminded her friend, shaking her head as Walsh stepped through the doorway. He craned his neck, scanning the room to see where Emma was seated as she waved to him and shooed Ruby back to the kitchen.
"I'm glad you were able to make it," Emma greeted him as he sat down on the padded vinyl bench opposite her. "Were you able to find out any new information about your shipment?"
"Not much yet. I have to go back in about an hour, after Mr. Gold reaches out to some of his connections. Things are looking promising though."
"But that means you'll be leaving town soon," she commented with a frown furrowing her lips.
"Not for a few days yet," he insisted, "and even then, I have no need to hurry back to Boston. My client will be out of town all next week…"
"Well, then - that helps…," she smiled, ready to say something else just as Ruby materialized at their booth to drop off a stoneware mug and a stainless steel coffee pot.
"What can I get for you, hon?" Ruby asked Walsh to interrupt Emma's train of thought.
"I'm honestly not all that hungry. How about just some toast this morning?" he replied.
"No problem. White, wheat or rye?" the waitress asked for clarification, noticing that Emma was glaring at her to hurry up.
"I'll take rye, please - with lots of butter."
"You got it. 'Back in a jif…," Ruby said with a huge smile. Emma shoved a corner of her toast into her mouth as Ruby sauntered away since it was easier (and far less painful) than biting her tongue. Maybe having Walsh meet her here for breakfast wasn't the best idea after all.
"Ugh, I completely forgot what I was going to say before she came over to take your order," Emma sighed.
"It's alright. I'm sure it will come back to you before we're done with breakfast."
"I guess… It will probably depend on how many more interruptions we get." Emma gave a sideways glance in the general direction of her waitress friend. "Ruby can be a little overwhelming at times. She thinks she's the town's unofficial matchmaker."
"Is she?" Walsh chuckled. "Is that what she thinks we are? A match?"
"Probably… We used to be, right? Is that what we're supposed to be?"
"I suppose it's a possibility…," he replied, pausing before adding "if that's something you want? Is that something you want?"
"I'm honestly not sure what I want, Walsh…," she began, her voice trailing off as she felt her cell phone vibrating from inside her jacket pocket. "Hang on a second… Let me see who this is…" Withdrawing her phone, she was somewhat surprised to see Graham's name emblazoned across the screen. "Graham? Wonder what he's calling me for? He knows it's my day off…" She chose to ignore the call and let it ring into her voicemail but mere seconds later, the display lit up once again with another call from her fellow deputy. "I'm so sorry… If he's being this persistent, it must be important. I've got to take this…"
"It's fine, Emma. I understand. Duty calls."
"I'll be right back," she promised, sliding across the vinyl seat as she answered the call. "Graham? What's up? You know I'm off today…," she said in greeting while ducking into the hallway leading to the restrooms for a little bit of privacy.
"I'm sorry, Em. I know it's your day off and that you're nursing a hangover but there's a guy here at the station who's looking for you and insists on talking only to you."
"Really? Who is it?"
"He said his name is William Smee, but that's all he'll tell me. He's really agitated and wants to speak to you."
"Mr. Smee?" What could he want with her? "I wonder what's going on… I'm just over at Granny's. I'll be over in a few minutes."
"You actually know this guy?" Graham asked incredulously.
"He's one of the crew members from the ship I was sent to the other day to investigate that drunk and disorderly…" Graham didn't need to know more at this moment.
"Oh, okay then. He's really worked up but I'll try to keep him calm, if I can." Emma disconnected the call before she heard all of Graham's statement, walking briskly back to the table to gather her belongings. "Walsh - I am so sorry. There's something going on over at the station and Graham needs my help. I'm gonna owe you a rain check."
"What's going on? Nothing serious, I hope…"
"I don't really know but I'll call you later when it's all sorted out." She picked up the stacked books and cardboard box as she fished a few dollar bills out of her jeans pocket. "This should cover breakfast, not that I got to eat most of it…" She took one last gulp of coffee and retrieved her remaining slice of toast. At least it was portable.
"Okay, call me when you're free," he instructed. "We need to address the direction our conversation was headed…"
"That we do. I don't know how long this will take though so good luck with Gold. Hope he gets you some answers."
"I know he will," Walsh assured her as she scurried towards the door, adding a comment to himself once she was out of earshot. "He knows what's good for business…"
**********
Emma was still chewing the last bit of her toast when she arrived at the Sheriff's station, wishing that she would have had Ruby put the rest of her coffee in a to go cup as she swallowed the dry bread. Oh, well, she thought as she pushed open the door to find the Jolly Roger's first mate pacing in front of Graham's desk while ringing his knit cap between his hands.
"Deputy Swan!" Smee's face lit up as he saw her step through the doorway. "I wasn't sure where I could turn and then I thought of you…"
"What's going on, Mr. Smee?" she asked as she allowed the door to swing closed behind her while she approached the anxious sailor.
"It's the Captain, Ma'am… He's gone missing…"
"Missing?" Emma was honestly stunned by his announcement. "Are you sure? Maybe he just went off to explore the town or something?"
"No, no… He's definitely missing. I heard him return last night, a few hours after he'd left saying he was going to meet you, but he didn't join the crew this morning to oversee the AM duties like he normally does. Cap'n's an early riser, Ma'am. He's always there to oversee the crew, so I went to check his quarters to see if he was feeling unwell, but he wasn't there. His bunk hadn't even been slept in and as I returned topside, I also found his cell phone lying on the deck not far from the hatch. Cap'n wouldn't have just left without it…"
"You saw this missing Captain last night?" Graham asked her in hopes of clarifying both the timeline and the potential nature of the relationship. Meeting someone late at night hinted that there was certainly more to this than a casual acquaintance from the earlier investigation. "Wait - is that who you got drunk with last night?"
"Yes, I was with Captain Jones last night," she stated, glaring at Graham and letting him know with her icy stare that she didn't like what he was implying. "We took a walk down to the park after I had an argument with Regina, had a couple of drinks and then he walked me back here before returning to his ship."
"Okay then… So Mr. Smee, you're certain that your Captain did return to the ship last night?" Graham continued his line of questioning, unfazed by Emma's ire. He didn't really care if his queries made his co-worker squirm a bit. If there really was a missing person here in Storybrooke, their job was to gather enough information to find that person.
"Oh, yes," Smee replied. "He returned sometime after midnight. I heard the clunking of his boots on the deck. After years of serving together on a small ship, you learn to recognize certain sounds…"
"You know the sound of every crew member's boots?" Graham asked the first mate curiously.
"Well, no, not everyone, but the Cap'n has a very particular gait. And his boots have a metal tap on the toe that he tends to drag sometimes…"
"Alright then, I suppose we can establish that Captain Jones returned to the ship, but you didn't hear him leave? Did you hear anyone else up on deck?"
"No, Sir. Not either. I only heard the Captain. I just assumed that he went down the hatch to his quarters and went to sleep, at least until I found his bunk empty this morning."
"So, if no one else was up on that deck and no one saw or heard Jones leave the ship, where the hell did he go?" Emma wondered. "Something isn't adding up…"
"I agree," Graham added. "Mr. Smee, aside from the incident earlier this week caused by your fellow sailor, did anyone on the ship, and specifically, your Captain, have any run-ins with anyone here in town?"
"No one that I know of," Smee responded. "We've only been in this port a few days so I can't imagine that the Cap'n would have run afoul of anyone in that short time."
"Well, thankfully, Storybrooke has a magical advantage so there may be a way for us to locate him quickly," Emma told him as she placed her armload of her mother's things onto her desk to free up her hands. She fished her cell phone from her pocket as she asked Smee an additional question. "Mr. Smee, do you think you could get us a personal item belonging to Captain Jones so that we could try a locator spell?"
"Oh, yes. Of course. What do you need?" Smee asked.
"A piece of clothing or maybe an object that he touches regularly," she suggested.
"I can think of a few things. I'll go see if I can find them."
"Graham, do you think you could give Mr. Smee a ride down to the harbor?" she queried. "We can get this done a lot faster…"
"And why can't you?" Graham countered.
"Because I need to make arrangements to get everything started so we can attempt this spell… Unless you'd like to call Regina Mills on a Saturday morning?" Emma replied, offering her phone to the other deputy.
"Come right this way, Mr. Smee," Graham stated, grabbing his keys from the desktop as he leapt to his feet.
**********
Emma couldn't be certain if Regina was pandering to her after last night's debacle or if she was agreeing to help out of genuine concern. Either way, the mayor instructed Emma to meet her at the vault in half an hour with an item belonging to Captain Jones so they could attempt a locator spell. Emma thanked her and placed a quick call to Graham before heading to Storybrooke cemetery, requesting that Graham bring whatever Mr. Smee found to the graveyard.
Her interrupted breakfast was forgotten as she dashed out of the station's rear door, taking the shortcut through the alley to get to the cemetery which was three blocks away. Graham was already awaiting her in the parking area, casually leaning against the front fender of the Sheriff cruiser. He was clutching a leather pouch that she speculated contained the object Smee collected but Emma could tell from his body language that he wasn't particularly comfortable with this rendezvous location. Graveyards clearly weren't his thing.
With no time for Graham's hang-ups, she retrieved the pouch from him, barely acknowledging his grumblings that he was calling David. She dashed across the cemetery grounds to the mausoleum and then descended the narrow staircase into the vault below. She had expected to find only Regina awaiting her so she was somewhat surprised to see Zelena's face when she rounded the corner at the bottom of the steps. The redheaded Mills sister was stirring something Emma couldn't make out on the prep table but Emma had to venture further into the vault to locate Regina. The younger sister was in the main chamber, drawing two intersecting, double-ended arrows over the inlaid pentacle on the marble floor using an aerosol can of bright white spray chalk. The arrows were clearly intended to be directional but Emma saw nothing else to indicate how they would help locate Killian.
"Emma, do you have something that belongs to the missing man?" Zelena asked, turning away from her concoction. We have everything else just about ready."
"Yeah, right here," Emma replied, raising the leather pouch.
"Great. Let's see what we have to work with…," Zelena wondered as Emma dug into the bag and retrieved two vastly different items - Killian's prosthetic hand and a four-inch diameter nautical compass with a shiny brass casing.
"Is that a hand?" Regina scowled, her nose crinkling in disgust.
"A prosthetic one," Emma explained, rolling her eyes at Regina's disrespectful reaction. "It belongs to Captain Jones. He's an amputee. There's also a compass here."
"We'll try the compass," Regina stated, extending her right palm so that Emma could pass the object to her. "It's less creepy."
"Says the woman who keeps a stash of magical books and potions in a vault beneath her dead parents' tomb…," Emma said snidely but Regina ignored her remark. The mayor carried the compass to the center of the intersecting arrows and placed it directly at their confluence.
"Let's see if this will work…," Regina began, her wand appearing in her grasp as she flicked her wrist. She hovered the tip of her wand above the compass as she recited the spell from memory. "Spirits awaken and endow, bring alive this object now. Guide us where these arrows crossed. Help us find the one who's lost." Regina tapped the surface of the compass twice with the wand and then took a few steps backward as she waited for the magic to begin.
"Did it work?" Emma asked Zelena in a whisper, but the redhead simply lifted her index finger to her lips and shushed the deputy. Emma wasn't about to be hushed though and continued with another question. "How long does it typically take for something to happen - or to not happen?" Since she'd began studying magic, she'd gotten used to the fact that reactions weren't always instant, but she'd thought that a locator spell would give them a speedier response. Right now, it didn't appear that anything was happening - at least not until the compass began to spin wildly atop the chalk markings. "Oh…"
"Everyone, stay back," Regina warned. "There's no telling where it will go."
The compass continued to spin in the center of the crossed arrows for a few more seconds before skittering across the marble, coming to rest near one of the pentacle points. Doubting that she was going to find Killian next to a huge pentacle, Emma was still skeptical about what information this display was providing them.
"You're going to have to help me out here," Emma began, pointing to the compass on the floor. "What is this supposed to be telling us?"
"The center of the crossed arrows represents this location, our starting point. Like the arrows on that compass, these indicate cardinal directions - north, south, east and west. The missing person can be found where that plot indicates," Regina stated.
"All I see is the point of a pentacle on a marble floor," Emma stated the obvious. "What does it correspond to?"
"I can help with that," Zelena spoke up. "Here, let me show you." Zelena brandished her own wand and with a wave. "Appereat tabula!" With a swish of her wand, a huge, transparent map of Storybrooke was emblazoned across the chamber floor and as Regina had stated, the cemetery lined up perfectly with the crossed arrows on the floor. Seeing the map presented an entirely new set of challenges though as the location indicated by the spot Killian's compass had stopped was part of Storybrooke town limits that Emma wasn't at all familiar with.
"That's where he is?" Emma asked, trying to find any clues on the map. "That's quite a ways from Main Street. What's out there?"
"Mostly just dense forest," Regina replied. "There aren't many people who live out that way, but if I remember correctly, one of Robin's poker buddies has a cabin out in the woods not far from there. Maybe he could give us some more insight into who or what might be out there in those woods?"
"Seems like it would be a good place to hide someone you don't want found," Emma commented. "I need to get out there and start searching…"
"By yourself?" Regina scoffed. "Even using magic to help guide you, you're still going to need a search party and a couple of good tracker dogs. The spell might have narrowed down the search area, but that's still more than a square mile…"
"Then we need to get started… We don't know where exactly he is or what condition he might be in… We don't even know if he's alive…" Emma's anxious ramblings began to raise Regina's curiosity. Why was it that this was seeming less and less like just any missing person case?
"The spell wouldn't have given us a location if he were dead or if he were outside of Storybrooke's borders," Regina assured her as she was getting an indication that Captain Jones meant more to Emma than she was letting on. "You do seem awfully worried about this visiting captain…"
"I'm not allowed to be concerned about a missing person?" Emma countered defensively.
"Not like this. This isn't just any missing person. What's your connection to this guy?" Regina demanded.
"I like him, okay?" Emma snapped back. "We've gone out a couple of times and he's a really nice guy who doesn't deserve whatever might be happening to him!"
"Then let's do this right," Regina stated. "We'll find him. Right now, let me go upstairs and call Robin and in the meantime, I suggest you call David so that he can start pulling a team together."
"Fine," Emma grumbled, feeling even more frustrated than before. "I just wish these locator spells would be a little more specific, like maybe give us some GPS coordinates or something? You'd think magic could be a little more in sync with modern technology…"
"Magic can help with a lot of things, but it isn't science," Regina reminded her student. "And while it may have a few drawbacks, I'm certainly not ready to give it up. Are you?"
"I know it isn't scientific and no, I have no plans to stop studying magic, but it just seems to me that if you can cast a spell to find true love, or to locate a missing person, things should be a lot more specific…," Emma lamented, her choice of words perking Zelena's ear.
"I don't know about using magic to find love," Zelena commented. "Despite years of practicing, I don't know that I'd trust it. We were brought up being told that magic has a price so I've always shied away from using it for anything that personal."
"I had a conversation with Mr. Gold earlier today and he told me the same thing," Emma told her. "He gave me the story of the town's history - and the price our great-grandparents paid for this town to have magic."
"I was wondering how much you knew about Storybrooke's sordid past…," Regina spoke up. "So, you know about the warlock and his challenges?"
"Yes," Emma replied, "and I know that my mother was the warlock's last opponent. Mr. Gold said something about her being tricked into making a choice, but either he didn't know or he just didn't elaborate on what that choice was."
"From the stories I remember my mother telling us, her sister, your mother, had to choose the man she loved. She had two men in her life at the time - your father and another guy who'd swept her off her feet. She had to choose between them and I guess she picked wrong because the warlock stole her powers," Zelena explained, but her tale wasn't sitting easy on Emma's stomach. The deputy fell silent as all of the implications swirled through her overloaded brain. "Emma, are you alright? You look as though you're going to be ill…"
"Maybe…," Emma squeaked out in a barely audible whisper. "Did my mother cast a spell to help her find her true love?" The question was really rhetorical. She already knew the answer in her heart and as the pieces fell into place, she realized the increased importance of locating Killian Jones.
"Honestly, I don't really remember," Zelena replied, "but it wouldn't surprise me based on what my mother told us. Why do you want to know?"
Emma dodged Zelena follow-up question for a moment as she had more of her own that kept rolling off of her tongue. "What was the real reason my mother left Storybrooke? I know it wasn't just because she lost her powers, so what was it?"
"Our mother said it was because of you," Regina stated very matter-of-factly, the accusation sounding harsher than she intended as she watched the color drain from Emma's face. "I didn't mean it like that…"
Emma had already made the connection in her mind, she had just needed one of her cousins to confirm it. "Because I had magic…" She was suddenly nauseous at the realization and her own actions were already haunting her. "She left because she didn't want me to be the warlock's next victim, but I think it may already be too late…"
**********
During his misspent youth, Killian Jones had languished in many a dark prison cell, but none as abysmal as this solitary hell hole was feeling. Despite his own dire circumstances, he feared more for Emma. Had the person who had abducted him and tossed him into this solitary pit also taken her? If so, where was she being held? Was she in another lonely cell like this one or perhaps somewhere even worse?
His surest way of tracking time had been the growth of his own facial hair. His stubble hadn't yet filled in to a beard so he could estimate that his imprisonment hadn't been more than a day. His stomach protested with hunger and his throat was parched from thirst but that gave him enough information to be able to theorize that he'd been here between twelve and twenty-four hours, not that he could be entirely certain.
He had chosen to alternate sitting and standing, pacing about the tiny chamber in the darkness to keep his muscles from weakening should there be some opportunity for escape. He didn't want to sleep yet, but boredom was tiring him physically and mentally. What did his captor intend to do with him? Hell, he didn't even know who his captor was. Who had he offended?
Killian had just stood back up, pressing his back into the wall to straighten his spine when an eerie sensation descended upon him. The atmosphere in the room changed as he discovered that the breath he was hearing wasn't his own.
He wasn't alone in the room any longer, yet he'd heard no one enter.
"Who's there?" Killian demanded.
"I wondered how long it would take you to realize you weren't alone," a voice chuckled. "Very astute, Captain."
"What the bloody hell is this? Who are you?"
"I just had to change up the game a bit," the voice deepened to a sinister hiss. "Emma was getting too close to choosing you and I just can't let that happen…"
"What do you mean choosing me? What did you do to Emma?" Killian wanted to temper his anxiety but he was allowing fear to get the best of him.
"She's fine. She's a tad confused as to where you've gone, but she's unharmed."
"And she had better stay that way!" The threat was probably empty, but Killian couldn't stop the excited utterance
"As if you're in a position to argue," the voice reminded him. "But anyway, I assure you, I have no intention to hurt her. All I want are her powers and you were getting in my way."
"So that's why you abducted me?"
"It seemed to be a logical choice at the time, but a friend of mine provided me with a much more effective option…"
Killian didn't like the sound of any of this. "More effective option for what?"
"You know, this hook of yours is an interesting implement," the voice taunted, ignoring Killian's query. "You use it as a substitute for a missing limb and yet it's as sharp as any weapon I've handled…"
He didn't sense the figure drawing closer to him, yet Killian could feel the pressure of the cold, sharp steel against the tender skin at his throat, grazing just enough to draw a faint trickle of blood. Bloody hell - what sort of game was this? He wasn't going to get an actual answer to that unspoken question but the intent was made clear with a searing pain that suddenly radiated from his left shoulder. His hand instinctively went to the site of the wound, desperate to remove whatever was impaling his flesh and feeling the familiar shape of his own hook.
He fought to keep his eyes open. He'd been stabbed before and didn't believe he was bleeding that profusely. Unless his attacker had struck an artery, which would likely be bleeding far worse, he shouldn't be this lightheaded. He shouldn't be losing consciousness yet his knees buckled beneath his weight and he slid back to the floor.
"Have a nice slumber, Captain," was the last thing Killian remembered hearing as he collapsed and succumbed to blackness.
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