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apoptoses · 4 months

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A secret santa fic written for @kf-tea! Happy holidays, I hope you enjoy it ♥

“Daniel.”

“Hm?”

Daniel fishes in his coat pocket, feeling for a pack of cigarettes he swears he bought when they left the city. The heat is on inside the trans-am but it’s not enough to keep his toes from going numb in his boots, not even after being in the car for-

Two hours? Three? Daniel has lost count. He’s not even sure where they are now, they’ve been down so many suburban back roads; crawling through neighborhoods where all the houses look the same. Split level homes tossed up in the 60’s, half brick, half new fangled plastic ‘siding’. All of them strung with lights to some degree. Armand has had him driving in circles since the sun went down. What he’s looking for, Daniel doesn’t know. Doesn’t know if he cares, really. After seeing the fourth house strangled by candy colored lights they all start to look alike.

They could be home where it’s warm, listening to Bing Crosby on the record player. Could be baking cookies Armand can’t eat, could be horsing around in the snow one last time before this move to Miami Armand keeps muttering about. Could be doing something, anything they haven’t done together before, because fuck, how many more Decembers does Daniel have left and-

Daniel’s heart creeps up into his throat. Anxiety gets a choke hold on him, mingles with exhaustion and makes his fingers fidget on the wheel. He taps out an irritated tune.

If Armand notices he doesn’t give any sign. There’s no telltale tingle at the back of Daniel’s mind that he gets whenever he fishes through his thoughts. He’s too absorbed by the lights.

Or maybe he doesn’t care. The thought floats up in Daniel’s brain and causes his heart to dip down into his guts..

“Where the fuck did I put my smokes,” he mutters.

Beside him Armand stares out the windshield; auburn curls awash in red, then green, then yellow. The colors flood the hollows beneath his eyes, the dimple above his cupid’s bow. It makes him look innocent. Eerie. He blinks, slow and mechanical, and produces a pack of Camels from the pocket within his jacket without even looking down.

“You left them on the counter at the gas station,” Armand explains. “How do they work?”

Daniel mumbles a thanks and knocks a cigarette from the pack. He glances up at the lights, colors chasing each other round and round the roof, and shrugs.

“I dunno, I never really paid attention in science class when we got to the part about circuits and electric. Anyways, you’re older than the light bulb itself, you should be the one telling me,” Daniel says.

“I’m immortal, Daniel, not omnipotent.”

[AO3]

#it's angst with a happy ending i swear!!#(happy ending in more ways than one oh ho ho)#anyways this is late SORRY december was insane and then i was traveling!!!#i miss u guys here on tumblr i'll be around more i swear #armand/daniel #vampire chronicles #vc fic #apoptoses fic #devil's minion

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layla-carstairs · 1 year

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(this got way too long i'm sorry lol) don't even get me started on the timeline there's so much that doesn't make sense!! i've tried to map it out because i am insane but i am definitely putting more thought into this than cc herself. like, in the days past 1900 chapter cordelia mentions that she's 13, when it's literally impossible for her to be 13 that year ????

and lowkey i am just very excited to see someone else mention the mess that it is the timeline because i've been thinking about when alastair and thomas must have gone on their travel year (and also during that travel year when thomas must have gone to paris because they wouldn't just give him a holiday immediately right, like it must have been december 1902 they met, yes i am overthinking this) for years lol

my best guess is that charles arranged to marry ariadne in early 1901 but it wasn't officially announced?? it was just an arrangement/promise and then he went to paris and met alastair later that year (though i think they'd already met yikes) and they dated sometime in 1901 (where alastair would have been 16-17 /yikes/), for any of this to work i think we just have to accept that shadowhunters can go on their year abroad before they turn 18, or maybe alastair wanted to get out of the house :( and then maybe charles told alastair of the engagement a little bit into their relationship?? don't even get me started on thomas' travel year, we know it lasted 9 months, was from 1902 to 1903 and he had come back fairly recently in august (and tbh i'm gonna stretch that definition of recent and just say the thieves are all being dramatic when they're still toasting him coming back at the beginning of chog). but he also took two weeks holiday in 1902 and saw alastair (who i have to assume was secretly visiting charles since if he was still on his travel year, he could have just said that instead of being cryptic and hilarious lol) anyways in conclusion the timeline is a mess

i thought cordelia's birthday must be really late in the year but i did not realise this means it would be impossible for her to have her parabatai ceremony lol, okay i can't work out that one unless everyone's straight up lying or don't know their own birthdays

anyways i clearly think about this way too much, sorry for rambling in your inbox, you did not ask for this lmao i have just had many thoughts about timelines from like two years ago that all bubbled up to the surface when i saw your post

okay I am finally answering this, I am so so sorry about the wait </3

honestly when it comes to timelines, I think cc just kinda says things vaguely enough that it makes sense as long as you don't think about it too hard lmao. Also I did not know Cordelia said she was 13 in 1900... In order for that to be possible she'd have to be born in either 1886 or 1887. I wonder if cc just forgot she had said Cordelia was born in 1885? that seems like the only viable option here 😭

Paris 1902 is so bad because a lot of the things that contradict it are in the same book 💀 like with other stuff at the very least you can give cc the benefit of the doubt that she forgot between writing short stories and whatnot. but the same book!! insanity!!

I don't think there's any way to twist it in order for it to make sense? like something has to be wrong. best I've got is Thomas turned 18 in Jan, went on travel year for roughly 8 months meaning he gets back to London right before the start of ChoG in August. He met Alastair in Paris in like, March or April 1903 when he was finishing up his travel year and Alastair was being cryptic just because. Charles and Alastair met in Sept. 1902 when Alastair went on his travel year to Paris; Charles and Ari are already engaged by this point (technically) and every other conflicting detail gets throw out the nearest window lmao. for me at least, shadowhunters going on their travel year before turning 18 defeats the purpose, which is to go on patrol and fight demons in a different country. and if they were able to at 17, I think there's several characters who would be currently on their travel year, like James and Matthew, and who obviously aren't.

The parabatai ceremony thing is annoying because cc actual reconned it :) in the codex it says you have be in childhood to become parabatai, and this is supported by Jem in clockwork prince. however, in tfsa, Simon is still able to become parabatai with Clary despite already turning 18, so now shadowhunters are considered children up until 19 but this only applies to the parabatai ceremony because in every other aspect of life they become adults at 18. this makes sense (not). personally i am of the option that Cordelia turning 18 and being unable to become parabatai with Lucie would have been more interesting, and added some stakes that chot desperately needed. plus it would be funny if they still became parabatai in the end because Will and Jem pulled some strings (the benefits of nepotism 😌)

the timeline of tlh is one of my great enemies at this point and I've held my tongue about it for far too long, so don't feel bad about rambling! (even if it takes me 3 months to reply 🫣)

#cordelia and thomas having the most inconsistent ages in canon is so funny to me #bc the only explanation i can come up with is that cc forgot 1885 was a year people could be born in lmao #i spent the entire wait for chot assuming cordelia and lucie were never becoming parabatai bc cordelia turned 18 #you can imagine how i felt when she simply did not turn 18....#I have so many thoughts about this and I love putting wayyyy to much thought into things #so thank you for the ask! I feel really bad about the delay in answering it :(#perpetualbrainrot #bella talks #chain of thorns #chain of iron #chain of gold #the last hours #cordelia carstairs #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #charles fairchild #lucie herondale

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halseybellaclementine · 10 months

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i linked my account since halsey does tumblr as well! so i’m back :) i love my job it’s really great money so doing well there. i bought myself a car in december - a honda which i really love ! my son is almost 17 now and he has a job as a cook and i couldn’t be more proud of him!! we have a new dog (Finn- he’s actually my sons dog) we got 2 years ago when Sparky passed away. that was a sad time. also Bella, my most beautiful baby girl- my best friend in the entire universe, passed in September. it’s been so hard without her here. but she gives me strength every day. having her was a complete blessing because she got me through the most difficult times of my life!

lately i’ve been traveling to Nashville, Atlanta, and recently to Fort Lauderdale for concerts (halsey twice) and to visit my family in Tennessee. last year i saw halsey and i was in the pit at the stage and let me tell you it was insane and so amazing!! unfortunately i caught covid after that! but it wasn’t as bad as others have experienced thankfully and i didn’t pass it to my family cause i’m a germaphobe lol. before that concert i had surgery on my right wrist because i ruptured all of my ligaments & dislocated my midcarpal joint. sadly it was from abusive relationships that i was in, and it wore down my ligaments and what-not down so far, that when i got my job with amazon, it was just a disaster and sadly had to leave that place cause i can’t use my wrist the same way anymore. constant pain so it sucks but it’s okay. i learned to deal with it. i went to occupational therapy which was nice cause i had muscle atrophy so that was wild.

i’m also very thankful i ditched all of the toxic people & things that i had in my life. i lost a lot of good people due to that whom i miss dearly and think about all of the time. i hope they’re okay but hey i know it was my fault because i let others dictate me and my life. i was too scared to stand up for myself & i paid the consequences.

in 2020 i was hospitalized once again but they diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder & it really just made everything make sense. i had to go through numerous therapy classes like s*xual assault, EMDR, DBT, grief therapy, etc. it took a long time to get on the right track but i’m finally here. it’s crazy looking back on my old posts because i honestly never thought i’d be here- i never thought that i could get to a happy place. of course life isn’t perfect, as nothing is, but i’ve learned how to cope and manage. i feel like a completely different and new person now.

anyways june 23 i flew to fort lauderdale to see halsey with a live string ensemble! it was a really awesome show! i was on the floor section in row 7 and i just so glad to have been able to see her again. the hard rock hotel and casino down there was so huge in my opinion! it was soooo amazing! the weather was extremely hot and i vowed to accept the hot weather up where i live (which wasn’t as hot as down there) but when i came back we have been under a heat wave from texas and the temperatures have been scorching hot! way worse than south florida haha! can’t wait to see halsey again!!

soon i’ll be picking up my son from work & then heading to bed! by the way i love my new bed i bought last year! so comfy 😆

wow i still can’t believe how far i’ve come. my daddy and Bella would be so proud!! anyways i should get off here. there’s so much good that has happened i’m sure i’ll post more soon.

sorry for the long post and thank you to those who took the time to read :)

#Spotify

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leiasfanaccount648 · 3 years

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Scene Out of Hallmark

Keiji Akaashi x Fem!Reader

Summary: Travelling during the holidays is extremely difficult between people working and getting home in time to be with family friends. It’s another story however when you end up getting snowed in at an airport with an insanely gorgeous man.

Warnings/Contains: Fluff, slow burn(?), reader has an iPhone and airpods (sorry to samsung/android users lol).

Word Count: 2635

“Attention passengers, we are terribly sorry to announce, but all flights this evening have been delayed until further notice due to weather. For more information about your personal flight and when it will likely be rebooked, please see the attendants at your gate. Thank you.”

“Are you kidding?”

Keiji sighed as he looked at his phone, checking the time; 19:28. His flight was scheduled for 20:45, but now he was stuck at the airport for god knew how long. It was December 22nd, no doubt one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season much less of the year. He was trying to fly back home to Tokyo to see his friends and family for the holidays, but now he was worried that his plans might be foiled depending on how long the weather decided to last.

He looked around the gate for his flight, seeing some people staying in their seats while others left the area, most likely to get food or check on their flight for when a possible reschedule would be. Knowing that he couldn’t leave the airport since he had luggage on the plane, Keiji leaned back in his seat to try and relax. Yes, he was upset that he wouldn’t get to be home as soon as he liked, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.

About an hour later, Keiji sighed as his phone notified him that it was low on battery. He reached into his bag to pull out his phone charger, but felt his heart drop when he didn’t feel the wire where he usually kept it. He tried to think back to where he might have put it, only to realize that he packed it in his suitcase along with the gifts he had bought for his family and friends.

Keiji sighed, annoyed with himself and the fact that he’d most likely have to buy an overpriced one from the airport; he looked up from his bag after he set it back down by his feet, only to see a girl in the row of seats across from him who appeared to be around his age staring right back at him.

Two hours earlier

“Are you serious? I just checked my luggage, too!”

(Y/N) groaned as she stopped walking towards her gate. She pulled out her phone, opening up her contacts before clicking on one while walking off to the side to avoid being in someone’s way. She adjusted the airpods in her ears before pocketing her phone as she called the person pulled up on her phone. She leaned back against the wall and set her carry-on bag down, watching people walk to and from the gates in the long stretch of hallway as she waited for the person to answer. Sadly, she heard the automatic voicemail begin to play, making (Y/N) shake her head before leaving one.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry, but all the flights in the airport have been delayed due to the snow storm that’s coming in. I know that I need to meet with the publisher on the 24th, but I’m not sure I can make it if they don’t reschedule the flights in time.” She sighed, moving her hair out of her face. “I’ll let you know when I get told of when my flight will be. If they end up needing to reschedule the meeting, please inform me. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

(Y/N) paused as she briefly thought back to her last meeting with a publishing company where they had to reschedule her, but she wasn’t told of it by her friend that was helping her try and get her name out there by scheduling such appointments for her. Of course, she didn’t want to think about that possibly happening again.

“Anyway, I’m going to stay at the airport in the meantime; again, I’ll keep you updated. Bye.” (Y/N) took her phone out of her pocket, ending the voicemail and hoping that her friend would receive it soon and inform her of any changes.

“Alright,” she grabbed her carry-on bag, “now where’s gate B7?”

An hour later, (Y/N) made it to her gate after accidentally going to the wrong side of the airport. She sighed as she sat down, relieved to at least be at the right gate. She took note of how empty the area seemed, figuring that some people had decided to try and check into one of the hotels near the airport if they didn’t have any luggage to check or wanted to get some food and were waiting in one of the long lines she had passed while walking through the airport.

(Y/N) didn’t bother thinking about it longer than she had to, simply taking out her airpods so they could charge and pulling out a book from her carry-on bag to read. Her thoughts immediately changed from trying to figure out what was going to happen next in the book however when she heard someone sigh. Out of instinct, she glanced up at the sound to see a fairly attractive man sitting across from her, who was also, now, looking at her.

The two locked eyes for a moment before Keiji coughed to break the silence. “Sorry to bother you, but do you have an iPhone charger I could borrow by any chance?”

(Y/N) opened her mouth, hesitating for a moment before actually saying anything to him. “Yeah, o-of course.” She smiled sincerely, mentally screaming at herself to ‘get it together’ and just ‘be nice to the guy’ as she rummaged through her bag to grab her phone charger. She couldn’t deny that he was crazy attractive, and appeared to be booked for the same flight as hers, but he was just a guy, and a complete stranger at that. However, she was most likely never going to see this man again, so why not try and shoot her shot?

She handed him the charger, meeting his gaze once again. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Keiji smiled back at her, appreciative of the fact that she was nice enough to let him borrow it. He plugged the cell block into the outlet under his seat before plugging the other end into his phone, letting out a small sigh of relief as he saw his screen light up saying that it was currently at 17% and charging.

“So,” (Y/N) zipped up her bag, “were you flying to Tokyo, too?”

Keiji looked back at the girl, part of him shocked that she continued their conversation while the other part of him was a little relieved that he didn’t have to force any small talk between the two of them. He nodded at her question before answering.

“Yeah, I was. I had friends and family to see.” He smiled to himself at the thought of Tetsurou messing with him for ‘being late’ and/or making him and Kenma ‘deal with Koutarou’ for longer than planned, even though he knew that they all cared for each other dearly. He looked back up at her, holding his hands in his lap and playing with his fingers out of habit. “I can only assume you’re doing the same?”

(Y/N) let out a laugh, shaking her head. “No, sadly,” she smiled, “I’m stuck with the cliche work on Christmas Eve.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s alright, it’s not that important. I just hope they reschedule if I can’t make it in time.” (Y/N) glanced down at her phone screen as she felt it vibrate, only to see a notification saying that the snow storm that was passing through the area would be lasting nearly all night. She frowned, hoping to see a message from either her friend or the publisher, but luck appeared to not be on her side.

Keiji nodded, understanding how she felt as he’d had his fair share of work related meetings in which he’d encounter issues with. His eyes widened slightly as he was brought back into the conversation as she spoke up again.

“Oh, sorry,” (Y/N) laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’m (Y/N) by the way.”

“Keiji,” he smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You as well.” (Y/N) reached her arms up and behind her, stretching them for a moment before bringing them back down to rest in her lap. “It looks like we’re going to be here for awhile.” She looked out the stretch of windows that showed the runways along with some of the planes by a couple gates both nearby and at other parts of the airport. It was dark out, but the lights and the snow falling heavily gave the outside enough light for everything to be seen easier.

Keiji looked out the window as well, taking a moment to enjoy the sight. He may not have been home, but falling snow was one of his favorite things ever since he was a kid. For a moment, he had even forgotten that his flight got delayed and may not get to fly home for another day or two.

“What’cha wanna do?”

Once again, (Y/N) pulled him out of his thoughts.

She was smiling, as though she was waiting for him to be confused or weirded out by her words and not take offense to it. Keiji simply stared at her, not sure how to answer her question.

“Pardon?”

(Y/N) closed her book and shrugged, glancing to the side and watching a couple people walk by their gate. “I mean, we have nothing else better to do than wait for our flight.”

“Then what do you suppose we do?”

“Um,” (Y/N) thought for a moment, her leg bouncing up and down. “It’s a bit cliche, but how about 20 questions?”

Keiji stared at her for a moment, almost making (Y/N) worried that she had weirded him out by being so outgoing towards a stranger. What she did know though was that he had been in much crazier if not weirder conversations with his friends from high school; so, why not humor her?

“Sure,” he smiled, crossing his legs and his arms as he leaned back in his seat. “Why don’t you start?”

(Y/N) felt her stomach flip at the look Keiji was giving her, making her smile shyly and glance to the side once again. She tried to ignore the slight heat in her cheeks as she came up with a question. “Alright, uh, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m an editor for Shonen Jump.”

“Really? That’s so cool.”

Keiji sighed and adjusted his glasses. “I guess. I’m hoping to work more in the literature side of things soon.” (Y/N) nodded, understanding; she probably would prefer to be editing in that genre as well. “Anyway, um,” he looked down at the floor trying to come up with a question. “What kind of work are you travelling for?”

“Actually, I’m trying to get my first book published, so I was going to meet with the company.”

“Which one?”

“Wandering Works Publishing.”

Keiji smiled, as if he knew the company personally. “That one is pretty reputable. How did you get a meeting with them?”

(Y/N) held back a sigh, instead letting out a long breath while she spoke. “My friend has been trying to help me get the book published, so she’s the one who’s scheduled everything.” She glanced back out the window, watching the snowfall before looking back at Keiji. “Anyway, why did you choose to go into the same field?” She chuckled to herself.

Keiji shrugged, dropping his hands to rest in his lap; out of habit, he began to play with his fingers. “I always liked literature and analyzing complicated texts in high school; so I thought why not try and help in the process of making more of them.”

(Y/N) smiled at his reasoning. “What high school did you go to?” “I believe it’s my turn to ask a question, darling.” Keiji chuckled softly, his smile nearing a smirk as he looked up at (Y/N).

The two continued to ask questions back and forth, eventually forgetting about the game that (Y/N) originally suggested. Keiji learned how the book she was trying to get published was the first of a three part series she had been writing since high school and had been in the process of publishing for almost a year now. Meanwhile (Y/N) learned how Keiji used to play volleyball in high school on one of the best teams in the country, and that one of the friends he was visiting was now a professional player.

Time seemed to pass so quickly that neither of them seemed to notice how quiet the rest of the airport had become. (Y/N) had even moved to sit next to him so that they could talk to one another better.

While Keiji read over the first chapter of her book on her laptop, (Y/N) looked back out the window to see how the planes and runways were holding up due to the snow storm. Her eyes widened at the site. “Wow, it’s really coming down,” Keiji glanced over at (Y/N) before looking out the window as well, also shocked at how much snow that had fallen in the past couple of hours. “Hopefully it stops so we can get on our flight sooner.” He looked back at (Y/N)’s laptop, looking in the corner to read the time, 23:13. “They haven’t given us any update on it in the last two hours, either.”

(Y/N) leaned back in her seat. “I doubt it’ll be anytime soon with the amount that’s already on the ground.” She yawned, frowning and starting to get more worried since she was most likely not going to make her meeting.

After a moment of silence, Keiji spoke up to break the silence, as though he could sense her worry and uneasiness. “The first chapter is good by the way. I hope you get it published soon so I can get a first edition copy.” He smiled and handed back her laptop.

(Y/N) smiled, unable to stop the blush on her cheeks as she heard his compliment. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” She closed her laptop and began putting it back in her bag. “Maybe I can give you the honor of owning a signed copy.”

“I would like that.” Keiji smiled at her, taking in her appearance while she wasn’t looking at him. He couldn’t deny that she was beautiful, and a great conversationalist, but he wasn’t sure if making a move out of nowhere would be the best idea given the fact that he couldn’t really evade her if things went south.

(Y/N) looked back at him after closing her bag, staring right back at the man beside her. Neither said anything for a few moments before clearing her throat and looking away, although it was evident that she was smiling to herself, or Keiji might even say she was flustered. So, he decided, why not go for it?

“Listen, um,” he glanced down at his hands as he began playing with his fingers again before looking back up at (Y/N). “Since we’re likely going to be here awhile, would you maybe like to get a coffee or something?”

(Y/N) met his gaze once again, obviously taking in his words before smiling wide; she nodded. “I would like that.”

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becuzpurple · 5 years

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NUMB, chapter 1 - Clean Slate

Well, chapter 1 is finally done - enjoy!

(link to previous chapter - intro)

CHAPTER 1 - Clean Slate

December

I ended the call, sitting alone at the small, corner table in disbelief. After a minute I realized my feet were happy-dancing and I was grinning like a loon in public.

I glanced around the tiny cafe as I took another sip of my hot salted caramel mocha. Thankfully, no one was paying me any attention.

Well, I wanted to change things up, right? Start fresh...clean slate? This would certainly do that in a major way.

I got the job!

...

I had six weeks to get my life in order, not that there was very much to do in that respect, before leaving. I’d already found someone to take over my lease. I still had a month before I needed to give notice at the restaurant. I didn’t own a car, and had no outstanding loans or any other recurring payments, so there were no loose strings to tie up there, either. My sister agreed to take my cat and let me use her address as my own for any official documentation (banking, etc). And then...my new home would be on the road for at least the next year, assuming everything worked out.

It seemed almost too good to be true - work I love, good pay, lots of travel, and I’d get to practically disappear. That last thought made me pause and wonder if what I was actually doing was running away from something, albeit legitimately. But, no? I’d be working within my chosen career, and there was really no one or thing left to run away from. I wasn’t keeping any secrets from family or friends - they knew about the new job. I told myself that what I was doing was starting over with a clean slate. That sounded much better than running away from mistakes and bad memories.

-------

February

I’d been hired as one of two head chefs for Ed Sheeran’s world stadium tour - to actually tour with him (!). I couldn’t have known beforehand, but he and his team are apparently well-known within the industry for being very close-knit with and taking very good care of their people - even those in catering, it would seem. I still can’t believe I landed this position. And to think it never would have happened if Brandon hadn’t left - I’d still be in an unhealthy relationship, still cooking at the same restaurant with no opportunity for advancement, still living an unfulfilling life. I don’t really believe in fate, or that ‘things happen for a reason’. I think life is more a series of random happenings, influenced by any number of factors. But I will say that in this case, losing Brandon seemed to have helped me land my dream job.

I’d so far met Ed briefly, a handful of times, and he was lovely. He’s down to earth, humble...very likable. He remembered my name after meeting me only once, which surprised me, since I know he meets a stupid number of people every day. He calls me ‘Samantha’. I usually go by just ‘Sam’, but for some reason I’ve never corrected him.

I inherited an abundantly stocked mobile kitchen, complete with state-of-the-art appliances and gadgets. When I inquired about procuring one or two additional pieces, not an eye was batted. Turns out I’m allocated a generous monthly budget just for things like that.

There are two catering teams, and a very nice man named Jonas Brandt is the head of the other one. He’s from Germany, in his late 40’s, with a wife and two young boys back home. He worked Ed’s arena tour last year, and is a wonderful friend and mentor to me. He was quite happy with my hire, and confident in my abilities, so that’s a great boost of confidence for me, too.

This job demands a lot, and much of it doesn’t even involve food, directly. There’s a lot of planning involved. I found I have to be about 5 steps ahead to make sure everything is ready when we get to each new location. My team and I rotate with Jonas and his team - one feeds the advance crew as they set up everything days before the show while the other stays with the rest of the crew who don’t need to be there until the day before or day of the show.

In addition to the huge amount of background work and planning, I oversee the actual food preparation and service, as well. There is a very strong social aspect to sharing meals - it brings people together, literally, and I want in on that. These were generally very nice, fun, happy folks, and I love being a part this wacky, traveling family of friends.

-------

March, Dunedin, New Zealand

I screwed up. Well, someone on my team did, but that means it falls on me. My planned menu for that night sort of fell apart. We were to serve Kiwi burgers as the main entree that evening, and Hokey Pokey ice cream for dessert - both local favorites. Someone dropped the ball, and one of the main elements of Kiwi burgers, beetroot, wasn’t ordered, nor was the specialty ice cream. To make matters worse, I didn’t personally receive word of this oversight until food prep was already underway. I made a few frantic phone calls, but it was too late to pull together an order as large as what was needed. I still had plenty of food for everyone, including gourmet burgers - just not Kiwi burgers...no local flair. It was something I had started to pride myself in - the daily tie-ins or nods to the cuisine of wherever we happened to be. I was...not happy.

At the very last minute I was able to score an enormous amount of Jaffas, the sugar-coated, orange-flavored chocolate balls that are a favorite among New Zealanders. Between those and the supply of plain, old vanilla ice cream and mini apple pies we already had in the freezer, there were plenty of sweets for after dinner. But that hardly made up for what I considered a failed main course.

I had no idea if anyone besides my staff and myself even realized that the meal wasn’t quite what it was supposed to be. I must have been in the mood to punish myself, though, because I hovered near the food stations while everyone collected their meals, hoping to gauge their reactions.

No one appeared to even notice, and if they did, no one said anything. They seemed perfectly oblivious to the beetless state of the burgers, and didn’t even realize they were missing out on specialty ice cream. Leave it to me to build things up in my head like that. I felt a little stupid about it, but I can’t help holding myself up to high standards - I’m a perfectionist.

Eventually, I started to make my way back to the kitchen, to take a moment and finally breathe, but before I made it back there I heard someone calling my name.

“Samantha!”

I looked back to see Ed waving me over to the dessert station. He’d apparently just filled several red Solo cupfuls of Jaffa balls which were lined up on the table in front of him. I was a little surprised to see him - he practically never eats with us. He’s usually either out with friends or busy working with industry colleagues when he’s not on stage - the man's schedule is insane. So it was just my luck that the one time he was actually there to eat was when I had my big food fail.

I returned his smile with a slightly awkward grin and wave, and backtracked to the dessert station.

“Do you need help with those?” Because helping Ed Sheeran carry hundreds of tiny chocolate balls would be a totally normal thing, right?

What is my life?

He gave me a quick look before returning his attention to the eight or so cups full of candies in front of him, biting his lower lip as he pondered.

“Nah, I think...yeah!” He grunted triumphantly as he quickly arranged the cups into two groups of four, and picked them all up with fingers extended into each cup. He looked like a happy lobster proudly waving his claws at me, but he was a little too exuberant about it and Jaffa balls were soon bouncing out of the cups onto the floor.

“Ohhh...”

He looked so abashed I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Um. That’s not...that wasn’t supposed to happen...”

“Aw, and you were so happy, too,” I giggled. We both got down on our hands and knees to collect the wayward Jaffas.

He grinned right back at me lifting an eyebrow mischievously. “I’m really sorry I dropped my balls on the floor. Thanks for helping me pick up my balls.”

“I...wow. You’re welcome, I guess? Any time.”

I could feel my face flushing, and I know he saw it, too, because he gave me a look of amused pity.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“No, no, it’s fine. Here, give those over.” I held out my hands. I’ll toss them in the kitchen trash.”

As he did so, a girl with long, curly brown hair passed nearby, curiously looking over at us on the floor. She gave me a friendly grin, and then demanded of Ed, “What are you up to? Are you bothering this nice lady?”

“No! Samantha just...took my dirty balls...”

She looked at him blankly for a moment, then turned to me. I held out my handful of Jaffa balls for her to see, only slightly mortified.

Shaking her head, she answered, “Right. Carry on, then,” and continued on her way.

We both grinned after her for a second or two, and then got up and headed to the kitchen.

“That was Lauren, by the way. Have you met?”

“No, not yet, but I definitely like her.”

I dumped the dirty Jaffas into a bin and turned back to Ed.

“So, um, I really needed a laugh right about now, so thanks,” I murmured.

“Yeah? Everything okay?” We were standing fairly close - right about where personal space becomes defined, and all of his focus was on me. He has a very sincere face, and really pretty eyes...

I mentally shook myself. Anyway... “Yeah, I was just...stressed about a job thing.” I tried to shrug it off but he was having none of it.

“What, this job? Here?”

“No, it’s nothing, really. It's fine.”

He looked so earnestly concerned, almost as if he was personally affronted that my job, which existed because of him, could cause me any stress. So, I found myself telling him all about the Kiwi Burger Problem.

“Beetroot?”

“Yeah, it’s...a thing here, I guess. You were all supposed to get an authentic New Zealand meal tonight.”

“Huh. Well, if it makes any difference, I don’t think anyone here is the wiser. The burgers were fab. I mean, I would have tried it, for sure...but beetroot on burgers does sound kind of weird.”

I huffed out a quiet laugh, nodding. “Yeah. ‘When in Rome’, right? Well,” I shrugged, “At least you got the Jaffa balls...”

At the mention of the Jaffas he looked back towards the dessert station, where he’d left the rest of his candies. “Oh - gotta go get m’balls!”

I stayed where I was, leaning against the door frame, grinning after him as he made his way back to the dessert station for his...balls. I knew right then, as he repeated his lobster claw-grab of the cups of candy, that I was going to immensely enjoy knowing him.

“Been a pleasure, Samantha, see ya soon.” This time he didn’t wave his already-occupied hands, but nodded at me instead, as he left.

“Likewise. Enjoy your balls, Ed,” I called after him.

Only after he was gone did I realize I forgot to even mention the Hokey Pokey ice cream.

---

(next chapter)

As always, I really appreciate any and all feedback. Likes, comments, reblogs, messages/questions/comments...it’s all good!

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-BP💜

#Numb #ed sheeran #ed sheeran fic #ed sheeran fanfic #ed sheeran fanfiction #chapter 1 - Clean Slate #celebrity fanfic #becausepurple #becuzpurple #balls

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