Oopsie Baby (Chapter One)

Summary: This is Part One of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams.

Rating: Teen Audiences and Up Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead Warnings: Cheating (not between any main characters), Car Accident, Minor Character Death, Pat Halstead being a Jerk A/N: I'll post the link to the ao3 page at the bottom. I wasn't sure if people would want every chapter posted here, but I can do that if it's easier and there's interest. Please enjoy my mostly fluffy with a bit of angst story. :D Chapter One:

Chris hadn’t planned on spending the summer before his sophomore year helping his mom get ready for a new baby, but here he was building a crib while she hemmed and hawed over five shades of yellow that all looked the same.

Not that he was pointing that out. Not for a second time anyway. 

Nope, he was keeping his head down and getting this crib put together. Not thinking about everything his friends were getting up to without him. Not thinking about the fact that he was going to be fifteen years older than the little rugrat. Not thinking about how much of this prep work his dad was missing out on because he’s on the road so much.

Definitely not thinking about that because that would start him thinking about how often his dad had been away this year and how if his mom was six months along right now then the timing really didn’t make sense considering his dad’s travel schedule…

And now he was thinking about how his dad was probably definitely not the father. 

He could tell his dad was working on the same math. There’d been all kinds of whispered fights down in the kitchen every time he was home over the past few months. More than a few ending with his dad stomping out the door to the bar and then sleeping it of off on the couch.

Part of him understood. His dad was away a LOT. His mom had to be lonely. But cheating...

And now there was a baby who was going to be born into a mess that was none of their fault.

So yeah. Chris wasn’t thinking about any of that.

He finished tightening the last screw and set the crib right side up on the floor. His mom turned around, samples in hand and beamed at him. “Thanks, sweetie,” she said.

Chris smiled back and peered over at the samples. “You know,” he said. “I think that one would look real nice.”

“Yeah?” His mom squinted at it and held it up to the wall before glancing back at him. “You think so?” Her face looked so hopeful and Chris had a sudden urge to punch both his father and whoever this mystery baby daddy was. At least one of them should be here, helping his mom, supporting her. But they weren’t. All she had right now was him.

So, he smiled again and said, “Yeah, Ma, I really do.”

Things came to a head two months later when the whispered fights became an all-out yelling match and instead of heading out to the bar, an already half-drunk Gary Herrmann headed down the street and punched Pat Halstead in the face.

Chris managed to drag him back home before things escalated, but not before most of the street was hanging off of their front porches and starting to do the math he’d previously be stuck on.

He dumped his father on the couch and grabbed the bag of frozen peas from his silently weeping mother. Dumping the peas in his dad’s lap, he sank down into the arm chair and buried his face in his hands.

Christ on a cracker.

At least that was one question answered.

Chris glanced up at the kitchen where the gentle clink of the kettle being placed on the stove sounded from. He wanted to storm in there and ask his mom what the heck she’d been thinking. Of all the guys on the street? Pat Halstead? Hopefully this baby retained mostly her genes otherwise they were about to have a raging a-hole on their hands.

His dad groaned from his spot on the couch.

“Hey.” Chris reached over to shake his knee and get his attention. “Pops, you with me?”

A grunt was the only response.

“Hey, listen,” he leaned in close, whispering urgently, wanting to get his message across before his mom came in with the tea no one would drink. “I hope this got it out of your system because you need to get it together,” he said. “Mom needs you. The baby needs you. If you’re going to keep this up, then just stay away because you’re making it worse.”

“Wh’ you t’ tell me,” his dad started and Chris cut him off with a squeeze of the knee.

“I’m the one who’s been the man of the house while you’re off working or drinking,” he snapped. “I’m the one who’s been getting everything ready for this kid.”

“Not my kid,” his dad muttered.

“Screw that. Decide. Right now.” Chris crouched beside his dad, shaking his shoulder until he got a small measure of eye contact. “Either yes, this is your kid. Yes and you cut this crap and you stay and you help mom and you keep this family together and you love that baby. Or no. It’s not your kid. And you leave. And you don’t come back.”

His hands trembled as he held on to his dad’s shoulders and his stomach felt like it was gonna make a break for it, but he held on and wouldn’t let his dad look away.

He was this kid’s big brother and apparently the only member of this family who had it together even a little bit. So he was going to be there for them and do whatever it took.

Even if that meant kicking his dad to the curb. He wasn’t about to let that little baby grow up in a house where it felt anything but loved. It hadn’t hit him how strongly he felt about it until that very moment, but if he really thought about it, he knew it had been building for awhile.

Chris waited his dad out until the man slumped down into the couch. “Yes,” he mumbled. “Yes, what?” Chris asked. This was too important not to make sure.

“Yes, it’s my kid,” he said, voice a little strong, a little clearer this time.

“Okay.” “Okay.”

They nodded at each other and for the first time in months, Chris felt like he could breathe a bit easier. He would have figured out how to make it work. Life with just him and his mom and the baby. If it came down to it. But this was better.

His mom came in with the tea and Chris left them alone to talk.

And it was better, after that. No more fights. His dad was home more and one day, proudly showed up with a gleaming wooden rocking chair for the nursery. And he talked to Chris’s mom’s belly. Telling the baby all about his day and what kind of things they’d get up to once they were all together.

It was weird. There was no doubt about that. But still better.

Finally, on October 31st at 8:36 pm, Rebecca Marie Herrmann was born.

Chris couldn’t stop staring at her – while she slept, while she waved her little fists, while he held her in his arms. She was so tiny and perfect. Definitely mostly his mom’s genes. Barely a drop of Halstead in her. Thank god.

Every once in awhile while he was staring at his tiny, perfect little baby sister, he wondered about them. Her other family. The Halsteads had two little boys. She had two other brothers just down the street. Was it fair that none of them would ever know about the other?

But that’s wasn't his choice. No matter what conflicting thoughts cropped up for him, his parents had made their choice. Rebecca – or Bex as he was calling her, much to his mom’s displeasure – Bex was a Herrmann, all the way.

His parents were actually solid these days. More so than before Bex was born. It was like having her be real finally and in their home made all of the difference. His dad doted on her like he’d built her from scratch. Which…was nice. Chris hadn’t been sure his dad could go the distance on this, but seeing him actually keep his act together? He felt like things might be okay.

About freaking time.

Now he could focus on getting through school and convincing Cindy to go on a date with him.

Which he did. Four months later.

Not sure how he managed it, especially when he realized once he got home that he’d had baby spit on the right shoulder of his shirt the entire time he’d been talking to her. Nice of his buddies to not bother pointing that out to him. And Cindy. She was clearly taking pity on him by agreeing to the date. Girl like that? Funny, smart, beautiful – way out of his league.

But she said yes and Herrmanns didn’t believe in takebacks so he was going to show up at her place this Saturday and sit on her porch until she came out and went to the movies with him as promised.

One date became two and then three and before long, he had a girlfriend. A ridiculously awesome girlfriend.

“We’re keeping her, aren’t we, Bex?” he cooed at his baby sister as he bounced her in the air. She laughed and slapped at his face. “Okay, okay, I won’t get ahead of myself. You’re right.” He tucked Bex into his arm and tickled her belly. “But we’re definitely keeping her.”

Cindy, amazing girl that she was, hadn’t even blinked at his years younger baby sister. Never asked a single awkward question. Just took it in stride and made fast friends with Bex. His parents had managed to turn a few of their dates into babysitting jobs. But he and Cindy never argued. A few hours alone in the house while Bex snoozed in her play pen?

Yeah, sure thing, parents. (Cindy always pumped the breaks before things went too far, but still. It was a pretty sweet deal.)

And on it went. Bex got bigger and he made sure “Cwis” was her favourite person.

He and Cindy graduated high school and she went on to college for interior design and he started out aiming for a business degree. His dad had made enough noise about following in his footsteps that he thought he should give it a try.

He hated it. After bitching to Cindy about it for the billionth time, she told him to quit. “Quit?” he echoed. “But I already paid and Dad—”

“Will eventually understand that you should be doing something you love just as much as he loves his job,” Cindy said. “Chris, sweetie. You’re miserable.”

Bex crawled into his lap and patted at his cheeks. “Don’ be sad.”

“See?” Cindy laughed. “You’re outvoted.”

Chris smiled down at Bex who was now pinching his chin. “I guess I could get at least some of my money back for next semester,” he said. “But then what?”

Cindy leveled a look at him. “You’re telling me you don’t already have another idea lined up in that brain of yours, Christopher?” She reached for his free hand. “I know you,” she said. “It’s not just not liking the courses that’s bothering you. There’s something else pulling at you, right?”

This gal. Always somehow able to see directly into his heart. He looked down at Bex and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Good thing we kept her, eh, Bex? She’s a smartie.” Bex giggled and pulled Cindy closer to their little cuddle fest.

He flopped his head back against the couch and blew out a sigh. “There is something I’ve been thinking about for awhile,” he admitted. Cindy patiently waited him out. “It’s, uh, the Academy,” he said. “I want to be a firefighter.”

Cindy paled a little at that. He’d kept it to himself because he was afraid of how she’d react. Forget his dad. Cindy was the person whose opinion he cared about. This might be the thing that scared her off. Make her realize she could do better than some dumb kid who wanted to run into burning buildings for a living.

But like always, his girl managed to surprise him.

“Well,” she said, gripping his hand tight. “Then I guess you’re going to be a firefighter.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “I guess I am.” “Yay!” Bex cheered, bopping him in the cheek with her fist.

The next day, he went to school and withdrew before heading directly over to the Academy. The following months of training were grueling, but he loved every minute of it. Once he finished, he was bounced around a few houses as a floater before finding a permanent home at firehouse 51.

Cindy’s program finished up in two years and he was feeling solid in his place at 51 so he proposed. Lots of people said they were too young, but Cindy didn’t. She was sure and so was he. So was Bex – not that they were taking votes, but it was nice to see how well Cindy fit in with his favourite Herrmann.

He realized later that Bex was mostly excited about being a flower girl which she’d heard about from some kid in her kindergarten class. The kid ran down the aisle, chucking her petals at everyone. Poor Mouch got some in his mouth.

They got a tiny little apartment with a pull-out couch so Bex could sleepover. It took up most of the living room, but it was worth it. She loved getting to hang out at their “cool ‘partment.”

A year went by and Chris didn’t think life could get much better. Spring was in the air and he and Cindy were circling around maybe possibly talking about having a kid of their own. Wrangling a wild six year old was giving them plenty of experience.

They were spending the night back at his parents place so his folks could go out for their anniversary. The big 2-5. Bex had school the next day so it was easier for them to hang out there and put her to sleep in her own bed. After dinner, he had her out in the yard playing some kind of convoluted tag game she’d made up. And seemed to be still making up? The rules kept changing. Usually in her favour.

Shouts down the street caught his attention. The two Halstead boys were out in their driving shooting hoops and talking trash at each other.

Christ. The Halsteads. He’d nearly forgotten about them. Nearly forgotten about Bex’s other family. He felt a little hand grab at his leg and looked down to see his baby sis leaning against him as she stared down the street at the two boys. Chris wondered if she’d ever talked to them. Felt any kind of connection to them.

“That’s Will and Jay,” she said. “Mama says not to talk to them.” Oh. That answered that. Kind of. Bex said it very matter of fact, but her eyes never left them. He doubted his mom was going to be able to enforce that rule for very long. Not without any explanation.

“Hey, you two,” Cindy called from the front porch. “Time to come in. Bex, you need a bath before bed.”

“Come on, you,” Chris said, hauling Bex up over his shoulder as she squealed. “We gotta scrub you up. Mom and Dad wouldn’t even recognize you right now, you little dirt monster.”

After a bubble-filled bath (“Seriously, Chris?” Cindy side-eyed him and he shrugged. Sue him for being a push-over for his baby sis.) and not one, but three bedtime stories, they finally got Bex to bed and collapsed on the living room couch. They watched some random home makeover shows and waited for his parents to return.

And waited.

And waited.

Until 1 am when the flashing lights of a police car showed up and a pair of police officers came to the door to change all three of their lives forever. Click here for Chapter Two.

Click here for Chapter Three.

And here's the link to read it on ao3 if you want:

*pats my OCs gently on the head* these bad bitches can fit so many headcanons in them

Here is a WIP of my most recent MHA OC. (Edit: I forgot to post this and actually finished it in full color. I’ll attach the pictures of each phase at the end)

Meet Tsumugi, Habiki. INTERPOL agent and Pro Hero Stelth Siren.

Quirk: Subliminal; the ability to mesmerize others with their voice. They have a second set of vocal cords that can be used to reach pitches that can no be heard by humans. This double set is what allows them to brainwash people. Works best when Habiki is singing but can be used during normal conversation or even with only the secondary set for silent control. Intent is crucial to it’s use. And can be used to lift a persons natural restrictions. For example, humans have a jaw strength capable of biting off a persons fingers with little to no problem. Like biting into a carrot. Habiki can use subliminal to convince the human mind to lift that restriction. This is used to help give other hero’s a short boost with their quirk use. It is only used short term because it can be dangerous for the health of the target. It can also be used to make restrictions on a persons quirk use. Or even turn off that part of the brain that activits the quirk in the first place. The effects of Subliminal are permanent unless they have a built in trigger phrase or sound and must be undone by Habiki themself. It does, however, put a strain on Habiki that can lead to insomnia, depression, and other negative health troubles. Since Habiki is not actively using their quirk but is using it passively. Habiki tries not to have more than 5 people under Subliminal at any given time and will usually stay at 3 max for safety reasons. Their max control is actually much higher but can lead to brain bleeding when sustained for longer than a few minutes. 

The younger half-sibling of Endeavor, Habiki was born as a way for their mother to control Enji. Neither Habiki or Enji use their mother’s family name, while they both use their individual Fathers names. Their mother would threaten his younger sibling any time her perfect heir stepped out of line. Enji and Habiki are 11 years apart in age. When Habiki’s quirk developed at 4 1/2 years old Enji petitioned for emancipation and the year after was cleared to take over guardianship of Habiki. After Enji graduated and got his own place, he hired a nanny to take care of Habiki while he worked. He also set Habiki up with an apartment closer to their school and their nanny’s home so they didn’t have to worry so much about commuting. Habiki adored their older brother and aspired to be a Hero just like him. The siblings relationship is close at this time, and somewhat akin to a parent and child. Enji works hard to take care of his sibling while Habiki works hard to keep up their grades and make it into their brothers alma mater. They train together so Habiki can pass into the hero corse even without an offensive quirk. These are facts of Habikis backstory for all AUs they are involved in.

This version of Habiki is from my What If AU called Escaped AU. There are two more AUs involving Habiki, Free AU and Damned AU. Once I have designs for those version of them. I’ll post them.

For now, Escaped AU Habiki was kidnapped when they were 16 by hired goons sent by their bitter mother and sold off to Dr Kyudai Garaki (Ujiko) for experimentation. Enji would be told his sibling was missing and presumed dead, which would go on to have a terrible effect on his psyche. During this time, Habiki was experimented on by the dr in the first of many attempts to transfer All for One into a new host and to see if the new host could adapt to multiple quirks. This was before the Nomu experiments. Also in this time, Habiki became close to one of the Drs inters and he took a liking to them right back. This young man would eventually father Habikis one and only child that would be taken from them immediately by one of the nurses. The young father would be killed and Habiki would be placed in a new lab. Habiki would eventually escape with the help of a few other subjects who would go on to be members of Habikis team, the Freakshow Unit though one subject was unable to escape with the rest. After being a real vigilante with their little rag tag group, Habiki was eventually caught and given the option to join Interpol and work to take down the ones who ruined their life. Habiki would then have been undercover as a vigilante for the passed 10 years working the All for One case. They spent significant time in other countries for this job, mostly in the US. Habiki would check in on their brother and his family from time to time without any of them knows they are alive. When Toya supposedly died, Habiki actually used that moment to get their nephew out of the house. Instead of going down the path he originally would have in canon, they trained and raised him while helping him learn to manage his quirk and getting him the psychiatric help he needed after his time at home.

This would all lead into the Escaped AU. I plan on doing a snippet/Drabble series that would involve all three AU ideas. The whole idea is a What If scenario on how things would be different with the addition of one more character.

Now for the closer to finished version!

I was unsure what color I do for their hair, and was debating between purple and red. Then I thought. What if thy were dying it red while they were undercover? So this final headshot is the result!

I’m rather proud of it? It was one of the first times I’ve used alcohol markers. It’s a cheap set so it’s not very good and I don’t actually know how to use them. I only used them for the dark gray. The reds, purples, and skin are done with Faber-Castell India ink markers. I did use a Prismacolor ink blender on the hair to make it look like more of a fading dye job?

Anyway, that’s Escaped Habiki. There is a lot I left out for one reason or another. Like the identity of their child (not much of a mystery really) and how Toya becomes Dabi in this AU. And who I ship them with.

I’ll eventually make a manga style character page for them. Just to get their age, height, and some other things out of the way. I’m looking forward to that.

Joining WIP Project

I mean, I have so many WIPs, and for most of them it’s completely impossible to imagine that I’d finish within a month; these are long-range, multi-chapter WIPs. But I do have a few that could conceivably be done within a month:

Superkitty: Based on the OC I came up with when I was 4 years old and played around with until I was 12 or so. This is a children’s book, aimed at 6 - 10 years olds, about a superhero princess kitten. No, I didn’t focus group that, it’s what I came up with when I was a kid. :-) Natalie Kitty learns on her 10th birthday that her mother is the Queen-in-Exile of Kittyland, the homeland of Cats, which was overrun by the Dogs from Dogyard right around the time she and her twin sister were born, and that she is the Crown Princess. Natalie isn’t sure why she deserves to be Crown Princess when her sister is smarter and prettier, but her sister Lara doesn’t want to be a Queen someday; she wants to be a scientist. Because Natalie’s best friend is a Dog, named Arthur, she is upset with her father’s anger at Dogs, and does some research to learn that Dogyard was once a peaceful democracy but was conquered internally by a dictator called the Alpha Dog, who then led Dogyard to conquer Kittyland. Arthur’s parents are also refugees, dissidents against the Alpha Dog. So Natalie swears to fight the Alpha Dog someday and free Dogyard and Kittyland, but how can she do anything when she’s just a kitten? Then her sister reveals she’s built a machine that can give Cats superpowers, but warns Natalie that it’s really not done, not thoroughly tested, and dangerous to use. Of course, Natalie uses it anyway, and becomes Superkitty, a super-powered Cat who trains to someday fight the Alpha Dog by fighting crime in her home city, now. With the help of her mad scientist sister Lara, her voice-of-reason friend Arthur, and her little brother TJ, Natalie will protect the city, while keeping it a secret from her parents that she’s using the powers she promised them she wouldn’t use.

Judgement Day: Churchill’s Black Dog: The last time I participated in a WIP writing event, I wrote about half of this. “Churchill’s Black Dog” takes place in my Star Trek AU “Judgement Day”, where Q’s side lost the civil war in Voyager and the winners locked humanity into their solar system. This story deals with Jean-Luc Picard, suddenly transported back to LaBarre with thousands of other humans, who has to take control and try to create order and governance in a world suddenly burdened by three trillion human beings, while dealing with his anguish over what seems to be Q’s betrayal... until he learns the truth, which is that it’s Q’s enemies doing this, and Q is most likely dead. Heavily implied P/Q that’s never consummated or acknowledged at a point where both of them are alive, so this is a romantic tragedy while also being a political triumph (more or less), since Picard succeeds in helping to build a world order in intolerable conditions, while a task force he helped to gather together work to find a way to break the barrier the Q put around the solar system and free humanity again.

Bellflower: A retelling of Rapunzel in which the witch isn’t evil and has good reasons for taking the child -- the magical flowers that the child’s mother ate granted the child inhumanly powerful strength, and only a powerful mage could survive caring for a baby who can rip a person’s limbs off with a tug.

Marc Snowfrolic and the Quest for Biscuits: Part of this was posted here on Tumblr previously. Marc Snowfrolic is a citizen of Rema, a town of reverse werewolves, where the people are wolves most of the time and human under the full moon. Right now he is a wolf, but he wants a biscuit, and no one in town has opposable thumbs to bake one. So he goes to the mayor for help, and then things start getting ridiculous.

The Lair of Cat and Dragon: Also partly posted here on tumblr. Betsy is kidnapped by a dragon who is hoarding cats and has previously kidnapped cows to feed the cats milk; Betsy is supposed to be a milkmaid. Terrified cows trapped in a cave without light, grass or good water do not produce milk. Betsy has her work cut out for her getting the dragon to cooperate in getting the things the cats, cows and herself will need to survive.

The Little Red Hen: A retelling of the folk tale from the perspective that if everyone works together doing different jobs for the community’s survival, it’s kind of shitty for one person to decide that their job is the most important and if no one helps them with it they should keep what they make for themselves. Written as a kind of refutation of libertarian ideology.

Superkitty is at 9700 words and is expected to get to 15K at least if not 20K to have a completed first draft. (It’s intended for professional publication and the guidelines are that such books should be around 15K, so if it gets much larger than that I’ll have to cut a lot on the second draft.)

Churchill’s Black Dog is at 13K words and probably needs to at least double, if not triple, to finish.

Bellflower is at 3K, probably needs to double and half, so 7.5K and that means 4.5K more.

Marc Snowfrolic: 1.6K and probably needs to be at least 5K.

The Lair of Cat and Dragon: 5K. Might need to double.

The Little Red Hen: 2.2K, probably needs to double.

To get them all done would be around 47K, which works out to be 31 days at 1500 a day... so it’s possible, though unlikely.

Worker Bee - Andrea Rhodea/Reno - SFW-Ish

Title: Worker Bee Author: Donnie Fandom: Final Fantasy VII Remake Setting: The Honeybee Inn Pairing: Andrea Rhodea/Reno Characters: Andrea Rhodea, Reno, Honeygirl OC: Chastity, Honeygirl OC: Lacey, Honeyboy OC: Darnell, Honeyboy OC: Haddick Genre: Romance/Humor Rating: T Chapters: 1/1 Word Count: 1423 Type of Work: One-Shot, Part of the Honey Bucket series Status: Complete Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, MLM, AU - Canon Divergent, AU - Honeybee!Reno, Burlesque Dancing, Canon Mentions of Noncon, Reno Wears The Honeygirl Outfit Because Andrea’s Cool, Crossdressing, Crossdresser, Some Suggestive Touching Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Summary: All Work Reno and no Fun Reno made Reno less money. AN: Hey guys, it’s me again! Just thought I ought to say, if you want vague updates and to talk to me more, I have Twitter and Tumblr, too! Twitter is Sunshinecackle, and Tumblr is Writteninsunshine! I also have a writing Discord that is currently pretty dead. xD I can PM it to people who want it on FFN, for everyone else, it’s here: discord.gg/FyaWw25 So, here we are again, with the start of the Honeybee!Reno fics! There will be quite a few of these, and I’m already in love with this AU. Reno works more as a Honeygirl, because he’s allowed to wear the outfit and Andrea is cool with breaking gender roles. Also, who wouldn’t want to put his tits in that outfit? Oof. I can’t help it. Buuut, I hope you guys like this! It’s mildly NSFW but not really more than suggestive.

Final Fantasy VII Fic Masterlist

Worker Bee ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hands up by his shoulders, fingers curled in, Reno bobbed along with the gaggle of other girls, giggling alongside them to keep up. The quartet buzzed about, getting ready for the show and pausing to give gracious smiles and feather-light touches to return patrons. Reno diverted for just a second to run his surprisingly soft fingers under a man’s chin, drawing his eyes from the floor to see the sparkle in Reno’s own blue eyes.

Rejoining the swarm, he let the bumblebee butt on the back of his outfit bounce, no doubt keeping the man’s attention until he disappeared around a corner. Heading backstage to prepare for the show, a strong hand tugged him to the side and he looked up just in time to catch his boss’ smiling face. It was careful, sweet and gentle, something that fluttered Reno’s heart in his chest. A gentle kiss was pressed to his plump lips and it melted him in his heels, both arms wrapping around Andrea’s neck to keep him from losing his balance. “You’re going to do fantastic tonight, Reno.” Andrea purred into his ear, kissing it softly, “I’m looking forward to the show.” An ear to ear grin blossomed over Reno’s lips and he nodded, leaning in for another kiss to keep himself tided over until he was off work. “You bet your ass the show’s gonna be good,” Reno replied finally, having spent too long pushing back into kisses, lingering and needing more attention, “It always is.” His hungry mouth parted to invite the other’s tongue to explore, and Andrea gave him a fleeting taste of what was to come later. “You make a difference,” Andrea responded softly, breath washing over Reno’s lips as he spoke. He pulled away, finally, gently patting the back of Reno’s thigh, “Off with you, the show is about to begin.” He winked, provocative smile in place as he nodded in the direction that the other needed to go. Reno had to force himself to double-time click-clack backstage, getting into position with the other girls. “Andrea give you a personal pick-me-up, Honey?” Chastity questioned, shaking her head to toss her brunette to blonde ombre hair over her shoulders. Reno took up his spot beside her, copying the motion if only to show off how much longer his hair was than hers. At the very least, she giggled it off, playfully smacking his arm. “Show-off.” “You know he did.” Reno replied with a grin, “And you already know that about me, Honey Pop.” He winked, shifting into position as the lights dimmed on the floor, and the spotlights shone on the curtains. “Good luck!” “You, too, Honey!” Chastity chirped happily, just in time for the music to start. As the show began, Reno executed his moves in time with everyone else, keeping up with a kind of dedicated caution he never showed in his other job. Being a Turk sometimes meant he had to get creative, and he was valuable enough that his occasional upsets didn’t cost him too much. A lecture or two, a few disparaging comments from Rufus, and he was back on his feet with his job still as secure as ever. Here, however, the wild Turk he was in his day job took a backseat to the charm he turned up to eleven every night. The Honeybee Inn wasn’t a place where you wanted to stick out, at least not so much, so violently, and he wanted nothing more than to keep impressing Andrea Rhodea. The better he did at his job, the more the man seemed to grow attached to him. Even off-hours, they spent as much time together as was feasible. It had started as simply offering Reno somewhere to crash one night when he was practically sleeping on his feet, but things could never stay so simple in either of their lives. One night of cuddling in Andrea’s incredibly soft bed had turned Reno onto the finer things in life, and an odd kinship had been born. Around a lot of people, Reno had to tamp down on himself, even if he could get overexcited and his filters eroded under his opinions. Around Andrea, though, he could be himself, he could wear what he wanted to, do what he wanted to. When repairs on his home had become too costly, Reno had even badgered the other man into giving him a night job. As far as he knew, the other Turks didn’t know about his double life, and he wasn’t interested in divulging such things. No, this counted as Fun Reno time, and Work Reno had a restraining order on anything Fun Reno thought was a good idea. Okay, except for the occasional prank to light up the office. But beneath the bright lights, with the music pumping around him and the stage bringing attention to the veritable herd of them, everything fell away. He could cut loose and have the time of his life showing off for total strangers, faces obscured by the fluorescent glare blinding him to the dim room full of half-lidded eyes. Everything felt as comfortable on this stage as it did when he was in bed with the man he would call his sometimes-lover. It was no wonder that Andrea was on his mind more when he was working for ShinRa. Crawling out of his bed and slinking back plateside was the kind of walk of shame he actually didn’t appreciate. Even still, his mind was focused on the end goal, even as the finale of the show began, and he twirled into the arms of his designated partner like he was made for it. Reno was good at physical things, keeping his hands and feet busy kept his mind busier than paperwork every could. With one leg in the air, one arm above his head and his partner dipping him, he finished out the song while panting hard through his nose to avoid looking like he’d expelled too much effort. Following the others off stage, once the curtains cut to a close, Reno grinned at Chastity, who made a beeline for him as they were ushered to the back hallway where the dressing rooms were. Her comically tiny steps only fuelled Reno’s good mood, and she excitedly gestured with her hands as she spoke. “That was so good! I swear, we’re getting better all the time! I sure wish we could do another big show tonight.” “Well, everything else falls into place, don’t it? You get to dance again tonight, don’t you?” Reno drawled, smirking slightly as they rounded the corner towards the private rooms. “Yeah! I’m excited, it’s me, Lacey, Darnell, and Haddick.” She replied, clapping her hands several times in rapid succession as she shimmied along beside him to his usual private room. “You’re on Appointment Duty tonight, right?” “Oh, yeah, and I got some pretty big customers.” Reno almost cackled, shaking his head as he put his hands on his hips, “The kind that might get my shoe shoved up their ass if they try anything funny.” “Isn’t that like, everyone, though, Honey?” Chastity laughed, bending forward a bit to put her hands on her knees as she giggled happily. Parting her lips to speak again, she paused when a hand slid around Reno’s waist and he was tugged back into someone. Looking up, brows drawn in, she grinned the second she noticed it was Andrea. She waved with a little squeak of surprise, before giving a playful wink and turned on her heels to disappear into the crowd. “You did so well.” Andrea purred against Reno’s exposed back, kissing along the freckled skin there as he tugged the smaller in close. With his costume keeping them separated due to the large bubble of fabric and plastic, Reno was half-tempted to turn around, but Andrea managed to slot himself against the Honeyboy’s rump and kissed his ear anyway. “I always love watching you dance. You’re exquisite.” “I always love knowing you’re watching.” Reno nearly purred, finally managing to turn in the other’s arms before squeezing all the air out from between them. Andrea brushed the other’s hair out of his face, leaning in and tilting Reno’s head with two fingers on his chin to swipe his tongue against the redhead’s lips. With a little shudder, Reno melted against him, enjoying the strong hands dropping to his waist as they tugged him in tighter. “You have some work to do still, don’t you?” Andrea whispered against his mouth, and Reno licked at the other’s bottom lip. “I do, but as soon as I’m done, I’m gonna buzz on over to see you.” Reno winked, having to separate from his boss as someone cleared their throat behind him. “See you soon, Boss Man.” The redhead smirked as he gave a mock salute, taking a couple swinging steps backward before turning and fluttering to his first client of the evening. “This way, Honey~ Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN: I’ve been really loose with my ships and stuff lately, and honestly, I’m really loving playing with all of these. It’s too much fun, and I hope you guys are enjoying my ADHD brain on shipping the Remake. Reno’s gonna get a lot of attention! There will be at least 16 fics in this series, if every person on the list gets a single fic. We’ll see, though, I’m loving this Honeybeeno AU!

Thanks to the lovely @whostheblondegirlwriting for taking the time to answer these! Get to know more about lovely E, go give her a follow and then show her some love!

These questions are from this list. You should check it out, there’s 50 questions all together and they’d be great to ask your favorite fic writer!

*Disclaimer from E, herself: If you’re looking for some sage-like writery advice...keep lookin’. You won’t find it here. This whole fic writing endeavor is an adventure in “[shrugs] We’ll see what happens”. Behold! An odyssey of half-assed, one line inspo. Marvel at the absolute appalling lack of plotting and vision. Tremble at the underwhelming realization that “Huh. I could do better than that”. In short, at least you don’t pay money for this, right?

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan-fiction?

I have no idea, honestly. I signed up for AO3 to actually share it though in September 2015 when I was 36. So we’ll go with that.

2) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I think I have done more reader inserts than OC, counting all the tumblr oneshots. But you can actually create something substantial with an OC. An OC makes you work. I prefer them.

3) What is your favorite genre to write for?

I don’t know if I’ve done enough variety to have a fav, honestly.

4) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I wouldn’t. They’re all mine and I’m proud of each of them, no matter how popular (or maybe I should say, unpopular) they are/were.

5) When is your preferred time to write?

Whenever I have the time! I’m not picky, because time is very hard to come by with my job anymore and the fact that my husband doesn’t know I write. Morning, noon, or night for me. It can be hard to sneak it in and still get everything else done.

6) Where do you take your inspiration from?

I don’t have a good answer for this and I’m laughing to myself thinking I should have one. Lol An idea comes up and I write it. That’s it. Shameful, I know.

7) In your Back to One series, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

Oh, damn. Uhhh...I think I liked Sebastian fumbling through his confession to Lily in Montauk. But I also probably had the most fun with the “champagne incident” because it was for my tumblr-lifemate,  @ceebeetumbles.

8) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Nope. It is what it is. You can’t please everyone and I don’t try. As long as I like it, it’s good enough. It’s not like anyone’s paying me for this, anyway. Lol

9) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

Hmm. Right now, I’d have to say Jack Rollins, because he preoccupies so much of my writing lately. Besides his own fic, he’s also featuring in an AU for Echo that’s in draft. Considering he had two lines in Winter Soldier, I’m very proud of the interest and love my Jack gets.

10) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

Chris Evans, for right now. Only because he has been less than inspirational for some time due to his relative inactivity and, uh, [ahem] some personal choices he made. But I’m optimistic he’ll come back.

11) How did you come up with the title for the Back to One series?

The main character, Lily, goes through some personal and professional ups and downs as an actress. The phrase “back to one” is a direction for actors to go back to their first mark, so I thought it was fitting, as Lily would hopefully get things right, find her best self again, and have a fresh start as she meets different situations and opportunities in her story.

12) How did you come up with the idea for the Back to One series?

I thought I’d write a Sebastian Stan fic and figured a good match for him (and someone to help drive the story) would be an actress. But then I considered an OC like Lily could have more angles to write and it became really an OC fic that features Sebastian Stan. Oops.

13) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

I haven’t ever abandoned a fic. I refuse to give up on A Touch Up and do write a line or two here and there, just nowhere near the volume I need to publish a full chapter like I used to. It ended up on the shelf because Chris Evans got so boring after Civil War premiered and the fic is literally built on what he was doing in his everyday life. I also have a personal distaste for Jenny Slate and I guess you could say his decision to date her made me doubt the version of him I’d created in ATU, which is a problem when your fic is paired so purposefully around the assumptions I/we all had made by that time about him.

14) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

I’m doing it. Echo was my pet project and, though it has my smallest following for a WIP, I had enough demand/interest for the story to be told from another character’s perspective that Jack Rollins and the STRIKE Series were born. There’ll be some unexpected things along the way in that series that I hope those fans/readers enjoy.

15) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

No. I’ve only ended a couple fics (Echo and Kindness). Everything else is still a WIP or open ended series that publishes oneshots every once in awhile. The rest of my work is basically oneshots.

16) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Don’t laugh at me when I say I admire anyone who puts their work out there, even if it’s just a paragraph long imagine only on tumblr. It takes a lot of nerve, no matter what level your work is at or how big the scope. I’ve seen some good, bad, and ugly fic floating around, but I see value in it all and love seeing experience/determination help the writer evolve.

We ain’t all Hemingways or Shakespeares. And that’s okay. Some of the best writers don’t have thousands of followers and get hundreds of notes (but deserve them). And some of the behemoths out there aren’t necessarily turning out mind blowing fic, either. It’s a crapshoot and fandom can be fickle (if not downright confusing af).

17) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Not at all. If it posts, I’m happy with it.

18) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

Either is fine. I probably write more in quiet, though, because my husband works 3rd shift, so I’m mindful not to disturb him.

19) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

No. Closest I could say to giving me my own feels was when I wrote The Death of Brock Rumlow (when it existed as part of the original Echo plot).

20) Which part of your Back to One series was the hardest to write?

I’m happy to say I don’t think there’s been a hard part to write for Back To One, or any of my fics. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!

21) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

Nope. No outlines or plans. I pretty much just sit down and write. If inspiration doesn’t hit, I’ll switch to a different WIP. If I have an idea for a line or scene I might make a note for later (maybe just a few words to point me in the right direction/remind me, or a line or two of dialogue), but once I get to it, I usually just write it out at once.

22) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan-fiction?

How little time I’d have down the road for it. Maybe I wouldn’t have run such long WIPs/fics at a time. It feels like it’s been 100 years since I had time to open requests and I had to abandon a weekly posting schedule for 3 WIPs earlier this year because I just don’t have the time to manage the volume I used to anymore.

23) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

OMG yes! Echo and its companion fic, Jack Rollins (and I’ll probably say the same for the au/the STRIKE series). At this point, I can confidently say the following for Echo didn’t carry over to Jack Rollins, but I knew both were niche fics in the beginning anyway. I’m grateful for the attention Echo got, but it was such a labor of love, I’d have liked to see it do better. I may only have several regular readers for Jack Rollins commenting or reblogging, but those few readers and myself are the ones I wrote it for, and that I’ll keep posting it for until it’s finished, regardless of how tiny the readership because I love it.  

24) In contrast to 23 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Not in an “oh, geez. Not that again” way. More like a “oh, stop. I can’t believe you guys like it that much” kind of humbled eye roll.

25) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Obviously the celebrities like Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, technically yeah. I have no doubt that some of my own ticks, experiences, etc have made it into a character or plot, or things from people I know or have come across. Things you don’t necessarily draw lines between on purpose but maybe catch on to later, sure.

26) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

Any of the comments or messages from people who say they cried, laughed out loud in public, got way too giddy, or held their breath because of something I wrote.  They make me so happy, just to see someone got so lost or involved in a moment means I did a good job. Having someone say they reread a fic (or are reading for the X time) is a hell of a compliment, too.

27) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

It was about A touch Up and how I had given the reader insert character, or implied, too much description (ex. noting that POC don’t blush as often as this girl did, when I wrote it as that feeling in the cheeks anyone can experience to convey her nervousness/embarrassment/etc at those points in the story so people maybe shared that sense as they read, not that she frequently ran around with a noticeable flush) and that, although I may not have said it outright, things like that apparently had made her so that she was obviously white. That ruined it for the commenter, despite there not actually being that much said about appearance in the story.

28) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

Rarely. @ceebeetumbles gets a snippet of a chapter thrown at her once in a very blue moon, if I want to be sure something isn’t too cliché or generally awful. Lol But there’s a chance she’s reading along with the fic, so I may not send the whole chapter. I don’t plot per se or collaborate with anyone though.

29) Do people know you write fan-fiction?

Just the lovely people who’ve visited me on Tumblr or AO3.

30) What’s you favorite minor character you’ve written?

It’s a toss up between Frank Grillo’s appearance in A Touch Up and Jack Rollins or Eric Mickelson in Echo. I’m also a little fond of Drew Madison in Back To One.

31) What spurs you on during the writing process?

That I told you I’d post an update to a WIP, promised a drabble, or set a deadline that a request would be done by. So, really just my self-imposed “schedule”.

32) What’s your favorite trope to write?

I don’t really have one.

33) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

Nnnope. Lol

34) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

It’s a toss up between angst and fluff. They both come pretty easily. Honestly, smut is exhausting to write and I do so little of it because I don’t want it to be repetitive. Fluff is always fun. But, man...the possibilities with angst are pretty limitless, so maybe I’d lean a little more that way.