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rhysismydaddy · 3 years

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An Artful Revenge pt. 3 (Feysand)

Part of the Damnation Series.

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2

~Feyre~

I spend three days figuring out what to do with the phone number.

On Day 1, I decided I’d text, not call. It was the cowardly thing to do, but the thought of him answering the phone and putting me on the spot made me want to run and hide.

Day 2 had been plain ole procrastination. I’d gone to the museum on the hope he’d be there, but like he’d said, that really was a horrible way of communicating.

Day 3, I decided, was the day of reckoning. I’d text him today.

Shit, did billionaires even text?

Maybe I should send a properly-formatted memo instead.

And what should I even write? Hey seemed too casual. Hi, maybe? How’s your day going? Wanna make out?

Gods, I’m bad at this.

After another two hours of staring at a blank screen, I send: Dinner tonight?

Then, because I realize I’m a fucking idiot: It’s Feyre, btw.

I throw my phone across the room in embarrassment, and put my head in my hands like that’ll unsend the message, then jump the couch like a hurdle when I hear a ding.

And promptly frown when I read: If you’re going to ask me out, you have to call me like an adult.

I can practically hear his the smile in his voice, and I grit my teeth in annoyance.

But I call him anyway.

“Look who grew up,” he says in lieu of hello, voice gravelly and amused.

“Oh, shut up. Do you want to buy me dinner or not?”

He laughs at that, the sound making my lips twitch. “I would love to buy you dinner. But only because I can’t bear the thought of you eating Ramen for the third time this week.”

Narrowing my eyes and glancing around like a fugitive, I try to figure out how the hell he knows I’ve been surviving on reheated, soggy noodles for the past week.

I don’t have the chance to ask before he declares, “I’ll pick you up at six. Oh, and check your doorstep.”

The line clicks dead ominously, and I glance suspiciously at my front door.

Tiptoeing over, I peek outside, eyes going wide when I see a package leaning against the brick side of the building.

How long has that been here? I got the mail yesterday, so it had to come today, but... how did he know I’d call today? Is he Batman or something?

I grab the package, roll my eyes at the big red bow on top, and put it on the counter. Then I pick it back up and shake it like that’ll tell me what he’s up to.

But the curiosity starts to kill me, and I rip into the pretty packaging like a feral animal, unable to wait another second. A shiny black box is inside, and I flip the top open, eyebrows flying up when I look inside.

The dress is blood red and looks fitted and beautiful. But that isn’t what surprises me. It the thin, lacy underwear with a note attached. A note that reads, in Rhysand’s slashy, distinct handwriting, These are optional.

The feminist in me flares, and I decide right then and there to make him eat those words.

When six o’clock comes around, I’m prepped and ready for battle.

My hair is done, my makeup pristine, and the dress is hugging every curve and propping my boobs up to sit nicely on my chest. I don’t typically give myself compliments, but I look damn good. And more than that, I feel good.

I also don’t typically wear bold makeup, but I’ve thrown that rule out the window.

My lips match the dress, a dark, ruby red that makes my skin look pale in comparison. I’m complete shit at eyeliner, but I put enough mascara on to frame my eyes and make the blue pop against the red of my lips and dress.

I look like a mix between a pinup girl and a vampire, basically.

Knowing how punctual he is, as soon as the clock on my phone reads 7:00, I swing the door open and smile broadly.

Rhysand pauses, fist halfway to where the door was, and uses a long moment to take me in. His eyes linger on my lips, the exposed cleavage, the sweep of my hips. His mouth drops open slightly, but before he can speak, I step out and lock the door behind me.

“The problem with your chauvinistic little plan to tell me what to wear, Rhysand,” I tell him, slipping the lace he’d gifted me into his pants pocket and accidently feeling him up, “Is that now you know I’m not wearing any underwear.”

“It was a flawed plan, I admit.” He swallows, eyes narrowing on my hips like he can sense if I’m telling the truth. “But the important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reasons for existing.”

I roll my eyes. “Quoting Einstein now to make yourself feel smart?”

He smiles at that. “Stop calling me on my shit, Feyre. Let’s go.”

I take his hand, happy with myself for winning this round, and let him pull me down the street. He stops in front of a dark, speedy looking car. “Beefcakes busy tonight?”

He gives me a strange look, then laughs loudly. “His name is Rolando.”

Still chuckling, he opens the door for me before walking around to his side. The car’s low to the ground and dark inside, and it makes a loud, rumbling sound when he turns it on.

He grins, almost like he can’t help it, and I laugh. “Boys and their toys.”

Rhysand pulls out of the spot smoothly, driving slowly because of the traffic. He reaches over and puts a hand on my thigh, just below the hem of the dress.

It’s warm and wonderful and casual enough to not mean anything, but I’ve made it my goal tonight to make him cry like a baby, so I swat it away. “Don’t even start.”

“Start what?”

I look over at him and smile sweetly. “Trying to seduce me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I link our fingers together and rest them on the center consol. “Where are we going?”

“New York.”

My mouth drops open. “Um, what? That’s like a twelve hour drive.”

“We’re not driving.”

I gesture around us with my free hand. “Yes, we are.”

“You are such a little smartass tonight. We are currently driving, but we aren’t driving to New York. And before you ask, the answer is yes.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “To what question?”

“If it’s my plane.”

I drop his hand and throw both of mine up in frustration. “Okay what gives? Did you stick a chip in my head or something?”

He smiles, pulling onto the interstate smoothly. Even though it’s not as crowded, he still drives slower than I’d expected when I saw the car. “Your face is very easy to read.”

“It is not,” I argue, my face instantly finding insult with that statement.

“Yes, it is. I’ll prove it to you. Tell me two truths and a lie, and I bet I can guess which one is the lie.”

“What’s the bet?”

He takes his eyes off the road to give me a very male look. I narrow my eyes, picking up on the innuendo in his gaze, and he laughs.

“And if I win?” I ask, taking in his profile while he drives and trying not to sigh at how handsome he is. Such a nice jawline.

“I’ll answer three of the questions you’re dying to ask.”

Oh, he knows me too well for this. His smile grows because he knows I’m a fish gladly swallowing the hook, but still asks, “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.”

I take a few minutes to think of facts about myself.

“I had a pet goat when I was little, my best friend’s a lesbian, and I think Mick Jagger is sexy.”

They’re the three most random things I could think of, things he’d have absolutely no way of knowing.

But the damn bastard still says immediately, “Your best friend isn’t a lesbian.”

My mouth drops open because technically, she’s bi, and I make a strangled sound of disbelief that makes him grin. “I told you. You’re a bad liar. Shame, I could tell you really wanted to ask those questions.”

“I hate you,” I tell him, beyond annoyed myself.

He pulls off the highway and turns, leading us out to a dusky private airfield I--shockingly--never knew was behind the airport. Rhysand slows to a stop and looks over at me, then leans slowly to press his lips to mine.

It’s warm and sweet and soft, but I feel it all the way to my toes.

He ruins the moment by murmuring, “I’ll take my reward later, by the way.”

I shove him over to his side of the car and climb out, then realize I don’t know where to go. We’re surrounded by expensive looking planes, one of which is obviously owned by the billionaire trying to get in my pants, but I don’t know which one.

I glance back over my shoulder at him, and he smirks and points at the one to our right.

“Are you seriously taking me to New York?”

I kind of thought he’d been joking, but he nods. “My favorite restaurant is there.”

“You're ridiculous.”

“More like hungry,” he argues, holding out a hand to gesture up the open steps leading in the plane.

I stay where I am, casting a curious glance up the stairs. It looks nice and shiny in there, but no matter how nice and shiny, it’s basically a steel death trap.

Even though I can feel his eyes on me and desperately want to hide this fact about myself, I can’t step up.

And because he’s an observant little asshole, he notices. “You’re afraid to fly.”

“Um, well, not afraid-”

“You’ve never flown before.”

I nod, blushing from embarrassment. I mean, it’s obvious he flies all the time if he has his own plane, and I’m small town enough to have never even been in one.

“Don’t be embarrassed. My first time flying was three years ago, Feyre.”

My face must look doubtful, because he nods. “I’m serious. I never saw the point until a business rivalry made me feel inadequate. I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable. We can go somewhere else.”

He’s sweet to offer, but... I want to go. I’ve never been to New York, and when am I going to get an offer like this again?

“I’m... uh... are you sure about this thing?” I reach out and grab the handle of the stairs, shaking it to see if it’ll fall off or something.

“Yes.”

There’s no argument, no doubt in his voice. And I know it’s irrational, but-

Strong arms wrap around my waist and heft me up, and I yelp as Rhysand flings me over his shoulder and my head comes very close to his ass. “What are you doing?”

“Kidnapping you. You obviously want to go, and I’d hate to miss the reservations.”

“Rhysand, wait, hold on a second.” He ignores me entirely and walks up the stairs and inside the plane, even stopping to shake hands with the pilot. I’m dropped in a plush chair, and before I can object, a seatbelt is around my waist.

“See?” He gestures around. “Like a living room.”

“In the sky!”

He shrugs like that’s an irrelevant detail, looking back over his shoulder and gesturing again to the pilot. I peek around him to see the door seal closed, then the gentle-looking man disappears in the control room.

“He’s the one flying this thing?” I mean, he looked competent enough, but...

I start freaking out.

Rhysand slips his jacket off, throwing it over the back of a seat before sliding into it, gentle grace and luxury lining his every movement. His eyes roam over me slowly, and I can tell he’s about to try and distract me before he even says, “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I pant back, gripping the arms of the seat with white knuckles.

Plan A having failed, he swiftly moves onto B. “Are you really not wearing underwear?”

B, I have to admit, does a decent job of momentarily distracting me from my inevitable death. “I thought you said I’m easy to read.”

He smirks. “Tell me anyway. I won the bet, remember?”

“I remember you never specified the terms, so-”

I cut myself off as the plane starts rolling, and if I had half a mind to care, I’d worry my painted nails are about to bust through the soft leather of his chair.

I feel like fucking throwing up or stabbing him or running far away or crying.

Rhysand, on the other hand, looks completely relaxed, sprawled casually in the seat across from me.

The plane makes a slow turn, then pauses. Apprehension sweeps over me, and I groan and look at the ceiling.

“Allow me to rectify that horrible mistake. My prize is... a kiss.”

Despite the nausea, I raise a brow and looks at him suspiciously. “You want to kiss me? That’s it?”

“Mmhm. Right now. Close your eyes.”

“But the plane-”

He shrugs and waves a hand. “Just close your eyes, love.”

I shut up and close my eyes, slightly pursing my lips and waiting patiently. I hear a shuffle, feel the warmth of his body come close to mine. My breath draws shallow in anticipation, goosebumps appearing on my arms.

There’s another pause, and I’m about to open my eyes to see where he went, but then the plane attempts to break the sound barrier and takes off, and I’m thrown back against the seat.

At the same time, I feel a kiss on the inside of my knee.

My eyes fly open to find Rhysand kneeling in front of me, hands bracketing my thighs. I open my mouth to say something, but he growls, “Close. Your. Eyes.”

The frank demand in his voice gives me no option, and as soon as I do, he kisses my thigh again in reward.

“Now spread your legs.”

The plane goes faster and faster. “Rhysand...”

He sighs, a long-suffering sound that makes me giggle as I once again do what he wants. I mean, really, why was I even hesitating?

It’s obvious what he’s doing, and even though it’s not safe in the slightest, I’m well on board with the idea.

His hands move to my knees, then glide up, pushing the tight hem of the dress up. He’s pressing open-mouth kisses to my thighs as he goes, and then his hands slide up another inch, and my lack of undergarments are revealed.

“Fuck, Feyre,” he says, like my going commando was my idea, not his.

I’m about to point that out when he leans forward and put his mouth on me. At the same time the plane lifts off the ground.

I’m torn between panic and ecstasy. The combination makes me light headed, and a rush of adrenaline hits my system, making me gasp.

I try to sit up straighter in the seat, but he’s holding my hips in a death grip and pulls them the other way. I slide down, thighs falling further open. He slips his shoulders under them, completely in control of the situation, and all I can do is grip his hair and enjoy the ride.

His mouth is insistent and confident against me and makes me finally stop thinking about dying in a fiery plane crash.

He slides a hand up my thigh, somehow able to hold me still with just one, then presses a finger inside me. I groan and pull on his hair, squirming underneath his grip, but it’s useless.

Rhysand holds tight, his strong hands preventing me from moving, as he devours me completely. I make a helpless sound, but he doesn’t take mercy.

I think, instead of the crash, I’ll die from this instead.

I think I’ll just burn and burn and burn from the fire he’s ignited in my blood.

His name slips past my lips, and he pauses, then becomes even more demanding. I’m being adored, worshipped, eaten like a ice cream sundae.

Another finger slips inside me as his mouth sucks softly, and I come with a cry, practically strangling him with my thighs.

He keeps moving, kissing me softly, until my thighs go limp and I fall back into the seat with a huff.

He leans back on his heels, hands braced on my thighs, and runs his tongue across his lower lip in a way that makes me almost come again. Realization of what he just did courses through me, and I blush, well aware that my lady bits are still on display.

“Flying isn’t so bad after all.”

Rhysand laughs, pressing one last kiss to my knee before gently pulling my dress back into place. Then he sits back in his seat, crosses his legs, and looks me over slowly.

“Well, that was definitely a faulty plan, because now I don’t even want to go to dinner.”

“No?”

“No.”

The heat in his gaze sends a thrill through me, because suddenly, I don’t even care about New York. I want him to land this plane and take me home and give me a repeat of what just happened.

But now it’s abundantly clear that if I went home with him, I wouldn’t walk out with my sanity. So, once again a coward, I deflect. “Well, too bad. I’m hungry.”

He says something I can’t quite hear, the way he looks at me tells me not to ask.

“How long is the flight?”

He checks his watch. “About another half hour.” My mind wanders to very... creative ways we could fill that time, and I blush again. “I’m curious to know what you’re thinking about over there.”

His smile says he knows, so I look him over like he often does me and say softly, “I’m thinking about returning the favor.”

His eyes flare, his mind easily following mine, but he maintains his composure. “A half hour isn’t nearly enough time if we start going down that road.”

It takes me more than a second to figure out how to breathe again. “How much time would we need?”

“Days.”

Oh, holy hell.

I’m about to tell him to keep us in the air that long, but he winks and looks away, then presses a button on a remote I hadn’t noticed he was holding. A classy looking woman in a red skirt and matching blouse comes out of the cockpit, wheeling an ice bucket and holding two glasses.

“Good evening,” she says quietly, looking at me kindly but avoiding eye contact with Rhysand entirely as she pours us both champagne. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Then she’s gone.

I’m about to sip from my glass, but he reaches out and switches his with mine.

Immediately, I steal my original glass back. “I’m not getting poisoned because you pissed her off.”

“What makes you think I pissed her off?”

“She couldn’t even look at you.”

His lips twitch. “I know you’ll find this strange, but some people find me intimidating.”

I scoff, a very ladylike sound, and take a gulp of the champagne. Noticing he still hasn’t drank any of his, I take his glass and sip from it with a raised brow. “Are you going to let me die alone?”

He rolls his eyes and calls me a smartass but drinks from his glass anyway.

“Why are you always so sure someone’s trying to kill you, anyway?”

There’s a long pause, and he seems to be debating if he’s actually going to tell me before he responds, “I have a lot of enemies, Feyre.”

He sounds so unusually serious, like he’s just told me something important.

“I don’t,” I tell him with a sigh, suddenly irritated with my normal life. “I think I’ve grown a bit boring, actually. No one hates me, and I never even have to worry about being poisoned.”

Rhysand chuckles and gives me a strange look. “You’re not boring. And never worrying about being murdered isn’t a terrible thing.”

“I’m boring. I can’t even lie properly.”

“That,” he laughs, “I can’t argue with.”

“New game: I say something, and you guess if it’s a lie. No betting this time.”

He sighs but nods and gives me a get on with it gesture.

Keeping my face completely neutral and making sure my fingers aren’t twitching or any other obvious give away, I say, “I have two sisters.”

“True.”

I narrow my eyes, but take a deep breath and keep my cool. “I tried to learn Italian last summer.”

“Also true, but I’m willing to bet it went poorly.”

A laugh escapes me at that. “It was horrible. I’m complete shit at the accent.” I try to think of other facts about myself and come up short. Gods, I really am boring, aren’t I?

“I’ve never been in love.”

His eyes scan my face. “That’s a lie.”

“It is,” I confirm, looking at his chin and wondering why I even said that in the first place.

He ducks to catch my gaze. “Your ex?”

We’re getting into dangerous territory--even I know you don’t discuss your ex-boyfriend this early in the game--but he doesn’t seem upset or stressed or jealous. He looks... curious. So I shrug and nod.

“What happened?”

Taking another large gulp of champagne, I say, “He wanted to get married, I didn’t. I loved him, but... he was older and wanted something I just wasn’t ready to give him. And then he moved, and I got over it.”

Rhysand’s silent for a beat, a muscle in his jaw twitching, then nods like he understands. “Older, huh? You have a type.”

I laugh at the thought of the two of them being anything alike. “You couldn’t look more different from my ex. And you refused to actually tell me how old you are. ”

He sighs. “I’m seven years older than you.”

Quick math has never been my strong suit, but I figure it out eventually, my mouth dropping open when I do. “You’re twenty-eight?”

He nods in confirmation, and I proceed to lose my mind.

“Just twenty-eight? As in two eight, twenty-eight?”

Another nod, along with a very strange look.

I realize I’m acting just a little bizarre, so I shake my head to clear it and say, “You’re... very impressive, Rhysand.”

When I’m twenty-eight, I’ll probably be just another starving artist, looking for a museum to hire me as a curator and begging people to buy my paintings. I’ll be broke and will have developed an allergy to Ramen from how much I’ll be eating it.

I definitely won’t be a gazillionaire with a private art collection and enough real estate to own half the city of Chicago.

He shrugs uncomfortably, like my bewilderment isn’t deserved, and I can’t resist the temptation to tease him. “You also suck at taking compliments.”

“Yes,” he admits. “But so do you.”

“What? No, I don’t.”

He smiles and braces his elbows on his knees and immediately proceeds to prove me wrong. “You’re far more impressive than me. You’re gorgeous and talented and have a way of looking at the world that makes me feel like I haven’t lived a day of my life properly.”

I blush furiously and look at the ceiling of our death trap, wildly uncomfortable all of a sudden. “You’ve proved your point.”

Rhysand laughs, then glances at his watch. “We should be on the ground soon.”

Almost like he spoke it into being, the plane dips and a mechanical whirring sound meets my ears. Is that supposed to happen? “Oh, fucking hell, you’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“You did try to poison me.”

I give him a nasty look and mutter, “So fucking ridiculous, flying to another city for dinner. Next time, we’re going to Taco Bell.”

He rolls his eyes at my antics, unbuckling and moving to sit next to me. His hand slides into mine, warm and comforting, and I grab onto it like child child running from the boogeyman. His thumb runs over the back of my hand, and I sigh, leaning to put my head on his shoulder.

“Thanks for the dress,” I finally say, remembering my manners.

“It looks good on you. Like I said, I have excellent taste.”

I smile. “I’m waiting on dinner to confirm or deny that.”

Suddenly, there’s a large sound and a bump, then I’m leaning forward as the plane comes screeching to a halt. I press my eyes shut and squeeze the shit out of his hand, but he just keeps running his thumb along my skin, silently comforting me.

The plane comes to an eventual stop, and I peek open my eyes to see him grinning down at me. “Welcome to New York, Feyre darling.”

A week after our soiree to the Big Apple, I decide I have a problem.

I like Rhysand way too much to have only known him three weeks.

He’s all I fucking think about.

Which, I guess, isn’t a problem. Being swept off your feet is every little girl’s dream. But it’s getting harder and harder to resist sleeping with him.

I’ve been wined and dined and given searing kisses that make my toes curl, not to mention the whole incident on the airplane, but we haven’t actually had sex. Honestly, I thought I’d cave on the way back from New York, but I ended up passing out in a food coma before the plane even took off, my head nestled in the happy spot between his shoulder and neck.

I definitely want to sleep with him, so much so it makes my eyes cross just thinking about it, but it just scares me how much I like him.

And I know sleeping with him would just make me like him more.

I need a breather, need to get my distance and keep my head or whatever the saying is. I need to calm the fuck down, basically.

So I, being a mature adult, decide to avoid him.

I make it five days.

Five days of missed calls and intentionally unseen smoke signals.

Then he apparently decides to stoop to my level and figure out how to text, because five days after the most extravagant dinner date of my life, my phone dings.

If you ignore one more of my calls, I’m going to buy Dancers in Blue and light it on fire.

I spend exactly eighty-three seconds debating if he’s serious. I mean... surely not, right? I know he’s richer than sin, but he wouldn’t just burn fifty million dollars.

Right?

Rational thought and self preservation be damned, I pick up the phone when it starts to ring.

“That, Rhysand, was emotional manipulation.”

“Yes, it was.” He’s shameless. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not.” I don’t know why I bother lying, since I’m apparently such shit at it, but I do. “I’ve been busy.”

Yes, very busy with watching nine movies in the past four days.

“With...?”

Inspiration dawns. “My senior project.”

“Oh, really?” A nervous sweat breaks out across my back at the knowing tone of his voice, and I begin to doubt my genius. “What’s the subject?”

“Uh, well-”

“Now that we’ve reestablished you’re a horrible liar, tell me what’s really going on.”

If he were here, I’d strangle him.

Or maybe kiss him.

“I need a few days,” I mutter, upset with myself for being an open book.

“Why?”

His simple question makes me think he doesn’t want space. Is he as into me as I am to him? Is that even possible?

“Because I like you,” I say honestly, having learned my lesson about lying.

Rhysand’s quiet for a long moment, then he chuckles. “I see the issue.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. Answer the door.”

What? “There’s no one at the door.”

At least there shouldn’t be, because I didn’t invite anyone over.

“Incorrect.”

Eyes already narrowed, I stomp over and fling the door open, practically ripping it off its hinges in my frustration. He’s leaning against the brick stoop, looking sexier than socks on a rooster in a midnight blue shirt and black slacks, smiling at me.

“You are not allowed to avoid me just because you like me,” he states, brushing past me without invitation.

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

He kisses my brow. “I like you, too.”

“Okay, but-”

“And I have cake.” He holds up a clear box, allowing me a glimpse of the fluffy chocolate deliciousness inside.

It’s almost annoying how well he knows me, because chocolate cake is my vice.

I try to think of another protest that won’t que him in to why I’m actually scared, but he cuts me off because of course, he already knows. “I won’t touch you, I promise. Even if you ask.”

My lips twitch. “Even if I ask?”

“Even if you beg,” he states with confidence, strolling into the kitchen like he owns the place. He looks around, face not giving a single detail away as he takes in everything.

Thankfully, I’m not a slob, so the place isn’t dirty, but it’s definitely not a penthouse apartment.

It’s a tiny old townhouse, barely big enough to even be called that. The water is lukewarm, never hot, and I had to just take the smoke detector out of the ceiling so it would stop beeping.

It’s part of my scholarship, and compared to where most college students live, it’s a dream, so I don’t complain.

His eyes roam over half-done canvases and art supplies, pictures of my sisters, random shit I don’t have the heart to throw away.

I sigh and bump him aside with a hip so I can grab two forks, then motion for him to follow me. We head into the living room, and I flop onto the couch dramatically, then motion for him to hand me the cake.

Sitting next to me with far more class, he flips open the lid and hands me a fork. “Chocolate mousse.”

“I’m going to be three hundred pounds if you keep feeding me,” I warn as I take a bite, not at all concerned with that possibility.

“I think you’ll be fine.”

I grab the remote and flip through movies, eventually sighing in defeat and putting on Scarface.

“Seriously?” he asks around a mouthful of cake, fighting a smile.

“It’s my favorite movie, and nothing good’s on anyway.”

He looks at me like I’m the most amusing thing he’s ever come across, but settles down and flings an arm around me. Fighting the urge to tell him this breaks his whole ‘no touching’ rule, I snuggle into his side.

Maybe it’s the cake, or the fact that I’m horrible at staying awake through a movie past eight o’clock, but I drift off to sleep, my face pressed into his chest.

~Rhysand~

I finish the movie--fucking Scarface--even though she fell asleep a while ago.

She’s soft and warm against me, body relaxed into mine without an ounce of hesitation.

She tried to hide it, but I know why she didn’t want to see me.

She’s falling for me.

Which, technically, is the plan.

Technically, everything is going great.

Except she’s fucking worming her way into my heart too. Which is so goddamn annoying, it makes me want to strangle her. Or maybe kiss her.

Being with her is... a wonderful kind of torture.

She’s beautiful and charming and doesn’t look at me with an ounce of fear in her bright blue eyes, but it’s also like holding up a mirror that shows me the worst parts of myself.

I hear her laugh and am reminded of the last time I laughed and loved freely. I see her beautiful soul and compare it to the bleakness of my own.

I look at her blind innocence and force myself to not care that I’ll be the one who robs her of it.

Maybe that’s why I finish the movie. I give myself two hours to sit here and enjoy her company, two hours where she doesn’t hate me or curse the day I was born.

But then the credits role, and I have to pull my head our of my ass and get on with it, no matter how much I don’t want to.

Moving slowly so she doesn’t stir, I lift her into my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck, fingers playing in the hair at my nape, and sighs happily.

I wish she wouldn’t do shit like that.

I wish she was heartless and cruel and cold.

I make my way up the creaky stairs to her room, then put her on the unmade bed, the covers horribly messy around her. The moonlight coming through the open window illuminates her skin and allows me to see how vulnerable she looks.

She’s in tiny little shorts that shouldn’t be legal, and a thin white shirt that does absolutely nothing to hide what’s underneath. Her hair’s a mess around her, her lips are parted, and there’s a calm, peaceful look on her face.

It’s perfect.

It’s horrible.

Taking a deep breath and running a hand through my hair, I tell myself not to care.

But as I take out my phone and snap a picture, my hands still shake.

And as I type the message I’ve been mentally drafting for years, I feel like I’m going to be sick.

But as much as I hate myself for it, a feeling of victory shoots through me as I hit send. Revenge, it seems, really is sweet.

And I’m just getting started.

___________________________________________

Part 4

@perseusannabeth @cursebreaker29 @elorcan-trash @januarystears @emikadreams @alpha-omegas @joyceortiz13 @sapphic-beauty @meowsekai @ahappyhistorianreader @courtofjurdan @acalypsot @a-bit-of-a-cactus @elriel4life @girl-who-reads-the-books @shinya-hiiragi @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @ireallyshouldsleeprn @highqueenofelfhame @nahthanks @ghostlyrose2 @lovemollywho @tillyrubes10 @claralady @tswaney17 @rowanisahunk @superspiritfestival @thegoddessofyou @bamchickawowow @awesomelena555 @booksofthemoon @greerlunna @jlinez @studyliketate @over300books @justgiu12 @maastrash @aesthetics-11 @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @musicmaam @hizqueen4life @maybekindasortaace

#feysand #feysand fanfiction #feyre archeron #feyre x rhys #rhysand #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acomaf #acowar #acofas #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury

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gay-otlc · 3 years

Text

Keepers of the Chaos (Chapter 2)

Summary: Tam, Linh, Keefe, Biana, and Fitz are part of the tiny fandom for Keeper of the Chaos, and Tam and Linh's podcast convinces some of their other friends to watch it as well. The group finds themselves strangely invested in this show, where students at Tumblr High School who work together to write about an elf named Sophia, cause incomprehensible chaos, and fight their rival Pinterest High School.

Content warnings: Cursing, food, L*ura

Word count: 2005

Notes: Check out the beautiful theme song here!

(Read on AO3)

Sophie rolls her eyes as she opens the link her girlfriend sent her and puts in her earbuds. Biana has been incessantly pestering her to watch Keepers of the Chaos for so long that Sophie half wants to watch it just to shut her up, but she's always tired, or busy, and she doesn't really like watching new things. Still, Biana asked her very nicely to listen to this one podcast, and she looked very pretty when she asked, so Sophie's dumb omni ass couldn't refuse.

"Welcome to the Twins of the Chaos podcast," it begins after loading for an obnoxiously long time. The girl speaking has a pretty voice, Sophie has to admit- sweet and melodic and vaguely amused.

Maybe listening to this podcast won't be so bad if she can listen to that girl's voice the whole time.

But another person speaks, adding "Where some chaotic twins discuss our favorite show, Keepers of the Chaos," and his voice is not as pretty. She continues listening anyway, since Biana may or may not murder her if she stops.

The two voices- whose names are Linh and Tam, apparently- start talking about Keepers of the Chaos some more, giving Sophie a summary she's heard tons of times from Biana and Fitz- though the twins explain it slightly more coherently and with less... whatever the verbal equivalent of keyboard smashing is. Biana usually starts rambling about her favorite characters, like Lynn- not "Lynn the fandom mom," but the other Lynn- and Avery, or sometimes Nora and Darwin. Sophie doesn't understand any of those names and loses track of the conversation as soon as it involves too many unfamiliar names.

But Tam and Linh are making more sense, at least for the most part, until they start mentioning specific couples. The conversation gets again comprehensive soon enough, though, and Sophie does smile at the name "The Dark Duck."

By the end, when Tam says "half of them wearing sleeping masks with teal eyes painted on and the other half watching the chaos with mild amusement," Sophie is curious enough to be mildly intrigued. She listens to their outro music, and before she can regret it, types out a text message to Biana.

Sophie: fine

Sophie: ill watch it

Biana responds instantly with an array of heart emojis. Sophie blushes.

Biana: can i come over and watch with u?

Sophie: ok!

Sophie: moms making mallowmelt

Sophie: but u cant have any

Biana: >:(

Biana: hope u like being single then

Sophie: fine u can have some mallowmelt

Biana: yayyyy!

Biana: ily

Sophie: ilyt

Sophie: now lets watch ur stupid show

Biana: on my way!!!

Sophie smiles, shaking her head. She's a little annoyed, but fine, it sounds interesting enough from the podcast. And what else would she be doing? Studying? Having US history as an alternative would make even the most horrible of shows seem good. She stuffs her textbooks into her backpack and shoves some things out of the way so her room looks a bit neater before rushing downstairs. The mallowmelt smells good enough to make her mouth water.

"Mmm..." she sighs, barely taking time to let it cool off before taking a large bite. "That's so good. Thanks, Mom."

Edaline smiles. "You're welcome. Just save some for your father and I."

"Fine, fine. I have to share with Biana, anyway." Sophie huffs and takes another bite. "She's coming over, is that alright? We're going to watch a show together."

"Sure, just make sure to get your homework done."

Sophie rolls her eyes. "Fine."

"And keep the door open!" Grady calls. Edaline laughs as Sophie's face flames.

"I'm going back to my room," she grumbles, taking a plate of mallowmelt with her and walking up the stairs. She manages not to trip over her own feet and drop the mallowmelt, thankfully, as she grabs her laptop and opens Netflix. Sighing, she searches for Keepers of the Chaos and clicks on the show that comes up before waiting for Biana to arrive.

The doorbell rings soon, and Sophie carefully sets down her laptop and her plate on her bed before rushing down the stairs. Panting slightly, she opens the door for her girlfriend. Biana's wearing a t-shirt with the Amsterdam flag on it. Sophie has no idea why. Maybe Biana likes the country? Her girlfriend is pretty weird. "Come on in," she says, realizing she's been staring. In her defense, Biana is pretty and Sophie is very omni.

"Ready to go watch Keepers of the Chaos?" Biana asks. She bounces on her toes slightly.

"Alright," says Sophie. "I set it up on my laptop in my room."

"Awesome! You'll love it."

Sophie follows Biana up the stairs and into her room. They sit on the bed together, Sophie leaning against the wall and Biana leaning against Sophie, and Biana presses play. Somber kazoos begin playing in the background as the theme song starts.

We're on the edge of chaos

No one is straight

We're making fanart

Because L*ura we hate

And we're gonna have teal eyes in the end!

We must be weird, and we must be gay

(We must be gay!)

We will find every bit of sanity that we have

And give it all to Lynn

Ohhhh

We must be gay!

Biana dances a little along with the song, and Sophie can't help but smile. A curvy, round-faced person with short dark hair and colorful earrings plays a few notes on the piano, and then a KEEPERS OF THE CHAOS logo flashes across the screen. Then, a group of students sit in a classroom.

"Shai! Tater! Lynn! You three finally got together?" says the same person who just played piano, gesturing to a redhaed wearing a Sappho lesbian flag cape. She's holding the fingerless-gloved hand of a lanky person with brightly colored hair, and they're holding hands with a tall girl who has chin length brown hair. The rest of the class applauds the fiancees before returning to their own conversations.

"Yep! Thanks, Ink," says Tater.

Ink smiles at them and turns to a person with light brown skin and golden hoop earrings partially covered by long dark hair. "Hi, Kiri, how was your break?"

"Good! Here's to a good 2021?" Kiri turns to the person next to them. "How about you, Ref?"

Ref has short brown hair and red glasses. "Yeah, my break was dOPE," she says, leaving everyone to wonder how he did that with their voice. "oH, and happy belated Hanukkah to Shai!"

"Thanks, you too. And guess what! I didn't set my hair on fire this year!"

A short guy with strawberry blonde hair looks concerned. "Um. Congratulations?"

"Thanks, Sam!"

Sophie looks away from the screen and at Biana. "There are a lot of characters..." she mutters.

"Yeah, but you get to know them well enough eventually," says Biana. "Now shh, let's keep watching!"

A lot of other characters are introduced in various conversations, and Sophie's brain has a hard time keeping track of them all. She does remember Tara, a curvy, bored-looking girl with long sideswept bangs, and Blue, a bisexual who may or may not be an arsonist. She doesn't know either of their personalities very well yet, but she likes them so far. Lucat, a pale, blue haired asexual, who later joins the Hanukkah conversation, also seems cool.

Once quite a bit of introductions are done- Sophie lost count at around twenty something- are over, an announcement comes over the school's loudspeakers.

"Welcome back, Tumblr High School!" announces a voice. "I hope you all had a good break. Now, the Tumblr staff have an important announcement for you all. High schools in this county, like ours, Pinterest High School, and Instagram High School, will be holding a competition. All members of the winning team will receive a scholarship to AO3 college. If you are interested, meet in room 69 after school. Now, onto other announcements..."

Somber kazoos play again as the principal's droning voice fades into the background. A montage of the previously introduced characters wishing they could go to AO3 college moves across the screen. After a few minutes of them zooming through school and talking about how fucking boring it is, all of them gather in the room (some of them with more jokes than others) to discuss the competition.

A blonde woman welcomes them into the room. They wait a while to make sure no one else will arrive, but once everyone is there, the woman clears her throat. "Hello, everyone! I'm glad you're interested in joining the competition. My name is Shannon Messenger, and I'm in charge of admissions at AO3 College. My coworker L*ura and I designed this competition."

Sophie gasps and looks at Biana. "L*ura? But isn't that the person they hate? They said that in the intro!" Biana smiles at her, and she blushes as she realizes that she's kind of... maybe... invested in the show now. She decides she'll endure the "I told you so"s later and looks back at the show, trying to telepathically tell the characters not to trust this L*ura person... and perhaps not Shannon either. It's too early to tell whether Shannon will be an antagonist or not.

"All of you will be working as a team to write a story together. The main premise is that a twelve year old girl named Sophia is a telepath, but she can't tell anyone her secret. Then, she meets a teal-eyed boy named Finn, and he tells her that she's an elf. She travels back to the elf world with him, where she struggles a bit at the elf school Firefox, makes friends with some other elves, learns that she is an illegal creation of a rebel group called the Dark Duck, and another rebel group- the Rarelynoticed- tries to kidnap and kill Sophia and her friend Deck. There are other details to be included into the story, which will be given out to the participants as a packet. The object of this competition is not to determine your ability at coming up with story ideas, but your ability to work in groups and execute well developed ideas. Does anyone have any questions?"

Someone raises their hand- a short, tanned girl. "Lynn?" prompts the principal.

"Did you say the rebel group was named the Dark Duck?"

"And the Rarelynoticed?" adds another person, with rectangular glasses and a red bracelet.

"Raise your hand before speaking, Auran," scolds the principal. "But yes, those are the names."

"Alright then," Auran mutters.

"Unless anyone else has questions, we'll be sending out sign up forms for everyone interested, and then we will distribute the information packets about your story. You can talk to each other and start planning."

No one else has questions, so once they've all filled out the sign up form, they gather in small groups and flip through the packets, making sarcastic comments or mocking names ("'Rarelynoticed' though-" a stylish hijabi named Raiin sighs as they come across a page of information about the group) as they try to form some semblance of a plan. Once they all agree that they've made a lot of progress, they make plans to meet up again soon and walk back home.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of ominous teal eyes watch from above.

Somber kazoos play once again, and the credits roll.

"So, what'd you think?" Biana asks as Sophie closes her laptop.

Rather inaudibly, Sophie mumbles "It was good."

"What was that?"

"It was good! I liked it!"

Biana grins. "I told you so." She leans over and kisses Sophie on the cheek. "Thanks for watching it. I have to go do some homework, awesome seeing you!" As she walks out, Sophie hears her singing under her breath. "We must be gay..."

#tumblr kotlc fandom fandom #keepers of the chaos #shai types things #cursing tw #we must be g a y #shai's writing

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akihiko-sanada · 3 years

Note

BRO, WHY’D YOU LIKE YUKICHIE SO MUCH??

Ok first of all, bro,,, B R O, bro ilysm being able to infodump like this means so much to me for real. And second of all, this is gonna be very bullet point-e since I can't string a coherent sentence together to save my life. LET'S BEGIN:

Tropes and dichotomies

Yukichie has a bunch of romantic tropes, including but not limited to:

-Beautiful and popular genius falls for airhead jock outcast.

-Childhood best friends to lovers.

-Two girls fall in love but one girl's close minded parents (yukikos) disapprove and kick her out so she suddenly moves in with chie (this definitely happened i'm sure of it).

Now the dichotomies:

Fire and ice: I feel like I don't even have to explain why this is romantic so I'm just gonna jump straight into the evidence: Yukiko is the teammate with Agi and Chie is the one with Bufu, one of Yukiko’s themes is called “Snowflakes” and there's also the twin dragons special move.

Sun and moon: Might be a stretch but I really do think that Yukiko is the moon, silent, beautiful and graceful while Chie is the sun, energetic, bright and hot to the touch.

Shadows

Shadow Chie reveals that Chie developed an inferiority complex from constantly comparing herself to Yukiko (not surprising but aw :(), and part of this is her not feeling worthy of Yukiko and her company, bUT MEANWHILE YUKIKO HAS THE OPPOSITE PROBLEM WHERE SHE RELIES TOO MUCH ON CHIE,,, like shadow Yukiko literally says says to Chie “Chies my prince, she's a strong prince, or at least she was”, she hoped and relied on Chie to save her from having to take over the inn and having to stay in Inaba,,,,. ALSO WHEN SHADOW YUKIKO'S HEALTH IS LOW SHE SUMMONS A PRINCE SHADOW WTF, WTF WTF WTF, SHE STRAIGHT UP SUMMONS HER PRINCE, CHIE, WHEN SHE’S MOST VULNERABLE????? HELP???

And speaking of shadows, Chie is pretty calm when it comes to rescuing people from the TV world except for Yukiko, she goes absolutely APESHIT, says "You don't know SHIT about how I feel! Yukiko might DIE from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!" before running HEADFIRST INTO A MONSTER INFESTED PALACE WITHOUT A PERSONA OF HER OWN,, TRUE LOVE RIGHT THERE BABY. She also almost single handedly beats up a whole ass police station for even suggesting that Yukiko was involved in the murders.

Color theory

I'm a huge rwby fan so colors is definitely gonna have its own section IFSFNS. Anyways, in color theory, colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel are considered complementary colors, and guess what the most used example for this? Green and red! Green and red always pop out when they're next to each other, and color is very important in p4 (for various reasons but a big example is how all the students at school wear dull colors except for the investigation team, they're just full on power rangers), so id like to think that making Yukiko’s and Chie’s colors the prime example of complementary colors was something intentional made to remind you of how well they work together.

Also: Chie “wow yukiko red looks really good on you” yukiko, twirling her hair “haha thanks do you mind if i wear it for the rest of my life-”. Also side note I’m 100% sure that Rio’s favourite color is red because it reminds her of Hamuko <3.

Comphet and obliviousness

It's very obvious that like, everyone’s in the investigation team suffers from comphet, especially considering their reaction to Kanji coming out (which is, something), but I'm only gonna talk about yukichies; first of all this whole scene screams of comphet, no one just gushes about their friend THAT much:

Also, Chie disapproves of all of Yukiko's suitors cause she's subconsciously jealous, Chie is 100% a baby lesbian cause shes literally like: “haha im not a lesbian, I just cut my hair short and mostly hang out with guys because then I’ll be more masculine and men like girls so-aw shit”.

Also, Inaba is a breeding ground for comphet because it's a rural town in the middle of nowhere in a town where most of the popuñation is old so,,,yeah,,,.Yukiko feels like her only option in life is to take over the Amagi inn and follow in her family's footsteps, which would in turn be like rotting away in Inaba, so I like to think that the Amagi inn is some sort of metaphor for how being yourself is key even though it can disappoint your parents by making you stray from the path they paved for you, but that’s still an important step to take to become a better person and being true to yourself. Now that isn't very different from coming out now is it?

Official art and others

-Yukiko’s and Chie’s designs inspired Tomoe Tachibana and Maria Torres from Trauma Team and they’re hella gay

-Yukiko and Chie are next to each other or side eyeing each other when the other isn't looking in 99% of the official art they're in, I wonder why that is-. Also if you look through Chie’s gallery 90% of her photos include Yukiko and vice versa.

-Everyone in Inaba knows that Chie and Yukiko are practically dating cause some bullies literally threaten Chie with hurting Yukiko saying stuff like “that precious Yukiko-san of yours” and “So don't you care about what happens to your loved ones” LIKE HELLO???

-Chies social link? oh you mean the yukichie social link right? No but seriously like Chies social link revolves around Yukiko NANFFGGW

-Yukiko’s theme in p4u is “princess Amagi” and shadow Yukiko calls Chie her prince, coincidence? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Fun headcanons and random stuff

-Chie definitely short circuited for a full ten seconds when she saw Yukiko in a yukata for the first time

-I'm sure that when the investigation team meets up like 20 years after p4 they'll be like “wait Yukiko you've been living with Chie for years?? did you get married?” Yukiko and Chie who haven't even started dating officially “no?? what are you talking about- WAIT.”

-Yukiko and Chie: *adopt three cats and a dog and call them their children*, also yukichie “we’re just really good friends :)))”

-Yukiko and Chie definitely made out with each other a couple of times using the excuse of “were practising for when we have boyfriends”

In conclusion, yukiko and chie have the type of love where they've known each other for so long and care for each other so deeply and passionately that they don't need to search for a significant other because deep down they've always known they were each others. They've always pictured the other in their life from beginning to end but have yet to put together that they want to be in each others life romantically because of comphet and just, never really seeing each other as an option because they've just always been friends, nothing more nothing less. Thank you for coming to my ted talk I hope I gave you yukichie brainrot <3

#yukichie #yukiko amagi #chie satonaka #asks #p4 #persona 4 #persona #my posts #kalidontskrrt

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skippysartq · 3 years

Text

Sakuatsu and Kagehina Oneshot

There be Fluff and Lemons here.

Read your own risk.

Just like always Hinata went the bathroom before the match today and well he didn't expect he would run into Kageyama.

'It's been so long since we have been together.'

He thought to himself trying to not get upset before the match against the boy that stood over him. "Hey buttward! Had a fun time in Rio?" Kageyama scowled down at his boyfriend who was wearing a different uniform from him.

"Yeah, heaps, made some friends saw Oikawa-San, and played some volleyball with him and I was getting better then you'll ever be." Hinata childishly poked his tongue out at the other. Kageyama growled leaning down to get into Hinata's face. "Yeah we'll see about that after the match, when I win! Shortcake!" Kageyama couldn't help but smack himself in the head, when he said that, because Hinata stood back looking up at him, with a light pink in his cheeks shocked at what he had said with out thinking. 'I know I missed him but, argh why did I call him Shortcake like some adorable pet name. Stop looking at me with those sparkling Amber eyes.'

Kageyama could feel the heat raise into his cheeks especially when Hinata responds with. "Well, you will see when I beat your ass on the court, Blueberry eyes!" Hinata shouts then cursed his brain under his breath. That made Kageyama hold his hands to his face.

'Arh he gave me a pet name too now! How are we gonna be okay playing today if this keeps up.' Kageyama growled turn away from Hinata. Suddenly he saw on of his Teammates running toward them and he panicked a bit trying to run away until he called out. "Kageyama-Kun let's go Ushijima's looking for you." Hoshiumi one of Kageyama' s teammates called out and Jumped in excitement when seeming Hinata.

"Hey The Little giant!" Hinata sprung up in the air forgetting about the moment just before. The seagull looking boy met up and gave Hinata slap on the back. "Yo, if it isn't the Greatest Decoy! We're gonna win today y'hear!" Hoshiumi laughed at Hinata's next response. "No way! We are I'll prove it!" he said smiling with determinations fire flicking in his eyes. "Well we should go then, you said Ushijima-Kun was looking for me." Kageyama interrupted the two small balls of energy. They waved to each other claiming they would be the ones to win until they couldn't see each other any more. Nice know how determined they were.

*Time skip - after the Match, Sakuatsu - Lemons Below*

MSBY Black jackals vs Schweiden ADLERS.

The match was over, They won.

The adrenalin from the game was still rushing through their bodies when they made the hazy not so rational decision to walk off the closest bathrooms together. To "Celebrate" as the piss blonde hair teammate said the man, afraid of germs and always wore a mask unless playing a match.

Some would say looking at how fast the walked to the bathrooms that they were a bit eager for it. Sakusa held the door open for the other to walk in and let the door close before he grabbed Atsumu by the collar, and slammed him to the wall. One hand next to the other head as he leaned in closer to close the gap between them, his hot breath on Atsumu's lips sent a tingle down his spine. He wanted to him already. Breathing heavily from the anticipation he felt of them closer then they had ever been and the little voice in Sakusa's head saying they might get caught if they did this now. He decided to ignore the voice in his head, and listened to his instinct to ravish the man below him. Atsumu was stuck between the wall and the sexy smirking Sakusa who pushed himself to finally land his lips on Atsumu's.

It was calm for a moment before Atsumu reached his arms up and hooked them around Sakusa's neck desperately deepening the kiss. Atsumu's mouth opened enough for Sakusa to then stick his wet tongue in and let him explore Atsumu's mouth for the first time. Atsumu's hands reached up into Sakusa's curls, as their mouth both started moving together, slowly it became a tongue fight, grunts and heavy breaths, and drooping eyes that had become blurred vision. Sakusa's hands lost grip of Atsumu's collar and he let them make their way down to Atsumu's hips pulling him in closer. Cotch to crotch Atsumu let his moan fill the air and catching his breath before smashing their back together. Sakusa growled hearing his beautiful voice like he never had before. Hungry for more, his tongue trailed its way down from Atsumu's lips to the nape of his neck.

Atsumu let out another moan as his neck was shocked with pleasure, throwing his head back. The grip on Sakusa's hair grew tighter as he sucked and grazed his teeth over the spot on Atsumu's neck. If they were in a stable mindset he would have stopped Sakusa before the peach of skin bruised. But they weren't so he didn't say anything. Sakusa's hands greedily held Atsumu's hips, slipping up into Atsumu's shirt and a slipped up and pinched his nipples, that were getting harder. As a result of this Atsumu's hips bucked towards Sakusa's. Clearly eager for more friction when they could feel each other's erctions forming. They were so caught up in the heat of the moment that they didn't hear the argument going on outside the door, until it opened and two familiar faces came in passionately making out up against the other wall. It took a moment for them to realise who they were. Shocked they stared at the others too.

They notice each other, and all four of them were blasted with fully red faces. "Uh. Sho-chan?" Atsumu questioned staring at the other two, who gulped with eyes wide. "Uh. We should go somewhere else then." Kageyama whispered and Hinata took his hand leading them out, "Sorry, Omi-kun, Tsumu-kun." he apologised as the both bolted out together. "I always knew you were the bottom Tsumu-kun!" Hinata yelled as they ran out laughing. Atsumu looked up at Sakusa still pinning him to the wall. "You can pummel him later for that." Sakusa smirked after gaining some stability. Leaning in to continue, before they had gotten interrupted.

*Meanwhile Back to Kagehina - you are safe now*

Once they had found another empty bathroom, look in before losing themselves to each other. They get a bit to close up in each other face. "Hinata. I missed you so much." Kageyama kissed his neck gently. "Uh, Kageyama. I love you." Kageyama stared down at Hinata with a teary eye, he took His hands pushing them out of the way of the door and up against the wall, making the shorter of the two gasp heat raised to his face. "I can't hold his back any more." Kageyama whispered before leaning down and pressing their lips together.

Tomas walks in. "Sho-chan? Isn't he from the team we just won against?" The both of them look awkwardly at Tomas, staring blank faced ."Uh, yeah but he was my boyfriend first." Hinata glances at Kageyama blushing. "Tomas, you can't tell anyone else about this okay."

"Sorry the whole team already knows now." Tomas said with his phone out, Kageyama's eye widen in worry. "God damn it Tomas." Hinata looks up to the ceiling, groaning in annoyance. Tomas just went on his business as Hinata and Kageyama walked out. "Sorry the moods gone. And you have to come meet everyone or they'll be bugging me for months." Hinata says pulling Kageyama out of the bathroom with him, without a single bit of worry. "You sure we should do that?" Kageyama asked their hands held together as they walked down the hall. "Well no, but yes. It's about time anyways. They all knew I had a boyfriend and have wanting to meet him since." Hinata said casually, turning his head he smiled up at him.

Kageyama only nodded in response. They walked in a comfortable silence till they got to the locker room of Hinata's team. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hinata is this your boyfriend Tomas told us about." Bokuto I called at him as they entered the room. "Bokuto-Kun you already knew about Kageyama since High school." Hinata yells back, and everyone including Akaashi who was there, stared at them. "Akaashi too." Kageyama pointed out. "Yes hello Kageyama-Kun." Akaashi sit by Bokuto waved at them, Kageyama waves back.

"Why am I not surprised Bokuto-Kun already knew and didn't tell us." Inunaki rolled his eyes packing his dirty uniform into his bag. "You can't expect my to remember something that I only knew about briefly after 5 years." Bokuto argued his point of view. "Sho-chan why? He's on the other team." Barnes plead to his fellow team mate in the mist of changing. "He was my boyfriend first Barnes-kun! Like I said since high school." he started walking in the room still holding Kageyama's hand. "It's just coincidence he happened to be on the team we faced today." he finished.

"Well now that's over, do you know where Sakusa and Miya went, coach said they weren't answering his texts." one of Hinata's teammates said. Hinata looked up to Kageyama with a knowing look, the both of knew and they stared at each other thinking.

'Should we tell them what we saw?'

Kageyama grinned evilly. "Making out in the bathrooms, on the west side." He says casually, Hinata then giggles mercilessly. "You won't believe it! Atsumu-kun is the bottom."

Then from the door there was a loud gasp. "Sho-chan how could you!" the surprisingly high pitched an girly screech came from Atsumu with Sakusa just behind him. "Wow, that's a freshly marked Hickey huh? You were right Sho-chan." everyone laughed when Atsumu's face was fully red and started chasing Hinata around, even Sakusa chuckled a bit. Then he noticed Kageyama, and stopped, when Kageyama saw him too. The both of them had become a bit embarrassed. After all that Atsumu was on the floor tired and Hinata just laughed and started getting changed after Kageyama and Akaashi made their leave.

Read on my Wattpad here too if you want.

https://www.wattpad.com/1099346162-gay-and-lesbian-anime-ships-posts-n-stories-story

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darkhymns-fic · 3 years

Text

Blossoms in Flight

Estelle is having trouble working on her next book, so a visit from Rita was more than welcome - and possibly give her a solution to her writer's block.

Fandom: Tales of Vesperia Characters/Pairing: Estelle/Rita Mordio Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: So here’s a 3 month late bday gift for @taco-night-frenzy ! Please forgive. :) Enjoy some lesbians trying to fly together and it (mostly) turns out okay!

Inspiration just wasn’t striking.

Estelle put her pen down, heaving a sigh that traveled from the very pit of her lungs until it left her mouth. She had been at this for a solid twenty minutes, having cleared her schedule to give her some well-needed writing time. And yet, as the blank piece of parchment before her told her…the words wouldn’t come.

She just couldn’t understand it! She had all the essentials down for a productive writing session; a recently cleaned-up desk where a simmering teacup was set next to her right, flowers placed on the windowsill to give her room a pleasant fragrance, a locked door so that no well-meaning knight (Flynn) could come in and ask if she needed anything, and she had even put up some nice pictures on her wall, a few paintings depicting landscapes and wildlife. Many of them were so pretty that she found herself staring at them for quite a while… or was she just finding an excuse to not do the task at hand?

Estelle shook her head, even tapping her temples with her fingers. “Focus now! You can do this!” She had the habit now of talking to herself when she tried to get into a creative mood, though always making sure her door was locked before she did. “You’ve written one book, now it’s time to write another! So…let’s get started!”

Another breath, taking back the quill pen in her hand. She could hear the children from town playing outside, but she had made sure to lock the window to minimize outside distractions. It was the best way for her to concentrate! Although even just thinking about the outside got her curious to maybe leave her room for a break… Wait, no! This was the problem!

“Focus…” Estelle whispered, taking another deep breath, staring daggers at the page as if to will her words into existence. “Focus…”

The children outside were being quite loud though – sounding as if they were just at her room, knocking their hands against the wall! But she was on the second floor, so that was clearly impossible. It must have been just wishful thinking anyway… She liked to ta her walks outside and read her latest book to the group of children. In some ways, that had been her own source of inspiration as well-

“ -elle! Estelle!”

Oh, sometimes they’d shout her name like that too, especially when she was lost in thought, looking over the great tree of Halure, with its pink petals that floated over them all. She had only moved to this town a few months earlier, along with a few trusted knights, including Flynn, for protection. But she had never felt safer. Never, except when with-

“Estelle!! Open the window already!!”

A sharp gasp left her throat, prompting her to stand up. Her chair was knocked on its side from the motion. “What? Who’s- who’s there?” Was it that ghost that the children sometimes spoke of again…?

“I’m right here!!! Hello?!”

Oh, wait, someone was actually at her window. And going by that voice…

A smile lifted her face as she turned. “Rita? Is that you?”

Her home in Halure wasn’t too tall, but with her room on the second floor, only birds and the like would make it to her window. Often she would open it to the see the town outside, along with the pink petals that floated on the warm breeze, sometimes catching onto her hair. (And with her hair the same pink shade, she would rarely notice the petals until someone such as Flynn helpfully pointed them out). But instead of the town, she saw a sight that was even more heartwarming and exciting.

Rushing to the window that she nearly stumbled, her hands pressed against the glass to push it open – and nearly Rita along with it.

“Agh! Careful!” Rita flailed a bit but latched her fingers onto the windowsill, her brown hair a bit frazzled. She struggled with the action, especially as she seemed to be carrying a sort of mechanical contraption on her back.

Estelle stared for a moment before she realized to grab onto Rita’s hands to keep her steady. “I had no idea you were here! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, don’t have to worry that much.” Rita sighed, gripping back Estelle’s hands. But she didn’t move to go through the window, at least not completely. The window was tall, enough to take in Rita’s entire height, so she deftly placed her feet on the windowsill, looking down at Estelle. “I was just out here knocking on your window for the past ten minutes…”

Estelle gasped. “Oh no, I’m so sorry. I was just so busy trying to… well, focus for a while.” She shook her head, pushing away such worries. “But, I didn’t know you’d visit me!”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rita frowned at that. “I told you I’d see ya again, just after I finished my latest project.” With that announcement, she jutted a thumb to the machine strapped to her back. “In fact, I used this to go and visit you!”

Estelle’s eyes widened with awe. “Wow… is that a new backpack?”

“It- It’s more than just a backpack! See the fan blades here?” She gestured to the things, currently very still, numbering about four blades altogether, seeming to stick out from Rita’s back like metal wings. “It’s my new flying machine. I told you that I’d show it to you.”

A memory jogged within Estelle. “Ah, that’s right! You did tell me that. I apologize. It seemed to have slipped my mind…” Still, she looked at the flying machine, how compact it was, fashioned from metal. “And all without any blastia?” Always she was impressed by the girl’s genius.

“Of course! It’s utilizing the law of physics anyway. Aerodynamics and such, so you just need to determine the lift, the weight, the drag and the thrust. Though mine works a little differently because of the shape of this, but I still have to calculate how the force of gravity affects it, and if enough thrust from the propellers can lift me up…”

Estelle nodded very slowly. She was impressed! Even with all the information making little sense to her.

Rita noticed. She blinked, cleared her throat, then crossed her arms. “Anyway… I was just in town… wondering if we could get tea together, you know…”

“Oh, that would be wonderful! I know how busy you are with research.” Estelle clasped her hands. “And I have plenty of honey this time!”

“Well, good! Tea is only good with honey, so you should always have plenty!” Rita was really quite adamant about this, which Estelle well-remembered. And if honey made Rita came by for tea more often, she would always make sure to have enough on hand.

The girl remained standing up on the windowsill though, occasionally adjusting the straps wrapped around her torso (perhaps trying to get it off?). Sometimes a rotor blade hit the sides, but Estelle didn’t mind the noise of it. In fact, she found herself a little in awe of the sight, Rita’s silhouette against the backdrop of the sky, where the stray petals of cherry blossoms floated in the breeze. They fluttered all around Rita, who didn’t seem to notice them in the slightest, too preoccupied with her machine.

Estelle must have been staring for far, far too long. “Uh, what is it?” Rita asked with a raised eyebrow. “I-I almost have this done so just get the tea ready!”

Estelle flushed just then. “Oh, Rita it’s not that! It’s just, um…” Recently, the words always seemed to escape her, not just from her pen, but just through speaking. It was as if anything significant thoughts she had just seemed to flitter away from her mind, like frightened birds. But Rita was right in front of her, so at the very least, she could keep track of what she wanted to say… “It’s just, you look really heroic standing up there right now!”

It was clear right away that Rita had no idea what she meant. “Huh?” Although her face also seemed a bit red. Flying must have taken a lot of energy and exertion, which made sense as to why she wanted tea so much. “I don’t…well… I mean if you think so…”

But the longer Estelle looked at Rita, the more she believed the image before her to be true. “Yes! Especially with the cherry blossoms falling around you. Like something out of a novel…” At that, she paused, blinked, then clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s it! The new protagonist should be someone like you!”

Rita seemed to get even redder, and Estelle wondered if maybe the heat of the day was getting to her. “W-what? Estelle, can you make sense please?”

Ah, that’s right. She hadn’t explained it at all to Rita. That was rude of her.

“Sorry. Actually… you caught me at a weird time.” She finally decided to move, going over to a side table in her room where a teapot and some cups were placed. Luckily, the water inside was still hot, and she carefully arranged a chosen tea bag for Rita’s own cup. “You see, I’ve been trying to start my new book for the past hour, but nothing’s coming to mind. It feels like I’ve hit a roadblock, so to speak.” She sighed, pouring the water into the cup. Oh, and of course added in some honey from a small dispenser nearby. “My first one came to me so easily, I just don’t understand what the problem is…”

“…Huh. Can’t say I relate much to that.” But once she turned to Rita with filled teacup in hand, she saw the girl scratch her head, looking at the floor. “Sorry. That was thoughtless to say.”

“Oh no! That’s alright.” Estelle shrugged, once again looking up at Rita against the window. She still looked so heroic, and also just so very cool. She wondered if it was possible to have a painting like this… It was just too bad Estelle couldn’t draw very well. “Maybe I just need to do something a bit differently… I’ve already tried so many different tea brews already.”

“…You really think the kind of tea you’ve been drinking is the issue here?”

“Well, this one time I accidentally switched out my chamomile tea with the ginger one, and it had me up all night!”

“Hmm…”

For a while, Rita seemed to have not heard her, preoccupied with thinking, which happened sometimes. Estelle would usually just let her go through it before interrupting her with anything else. But whatever her musing was, it didn’t last long.

Rita turned her head just over her right shoulder, looking out into the sky. The sun was just beginning to set, casting hues of orange light against Rita’s hair. The petals continued to float around, doing so in such intricate patterns, it seemed that they danced about her. Even the wind picked up, gently rustling Rita’s clothes, including the yellow ribbon wrapped around her arm.

Once again, Estelle could do nothing but stare.

“Well, if you need more inspiration for your book…” Rita said, before fully turning back to her with a smile, one that was full of confidence. “I think I know a way to help with just that.”

Estelle still held onto her teacup, blinking occasionally. “Really?”

“Yeah! The thing is, you’re going about this all wrong.” Rita then finally jumped from the windowsill onto the hardwood floors of Estelle’s room. She did so without any thought to what she still wore on her back, which must have been lighter than it looked. “Just sitting around waiting for inspiration isn’t gonna cut it. You have to go out and look for it! If I waited for inspiration to go and continue my research, I’d just get nothing done. And if something still isn’t working out, I move onto something else. It’s as simple as that.”

Estelle nodded along, fascinated as Rita paced about her room, spilling out advice that was truly so inspiring. “But then… where can I find my inspiration?” she asked with a bit of reservation. “I’ve tried taking walks around Halure, speaking with the children… but I keep having trouble just writing down a few words at most.”

“That’s routine, Estelle. And while routine is nice, it gets boring and expected.” Rita stopped her pacing, facing Estelle with crossed arms. “I only write for academic research instead of any creative writing, but it sounds like you need a new perspective.”

Maybe here was where Estelle got a little confused. She tilted her head. “A new perspective?” How could she do that?

Rita apparently read her mind then. She asked her question so matter-of-factly. “Ever saw Halure from above?”

This was the only time Estelle ever felt just a bit unsure around the genius researcher that was so dear to her.

“Are you sure this is the best way?”

“I told you that it’s fine! You don’t think I’m strong enough, is that it?”

“Oh no! I just worry I’ll hurt you if we’re not careful…”

But as Estelle looked up at Rita from above, she saw the determination in her eyes, the way she pouted cutely like so when she was being, perhaps, just a little bit stubborn.

The reason she was above was because Rita had instructed her to lay down, so that way it would be ‘easier.’ Estelle didn’t question it, and so she complied, using the bed in her room as the best place for her to lay down straight. Rita stood by her bedside, eyes hard, arms crossed.

“…Am I laying down wrong?” Estelle questioned. Sometimes she didn’t always understand directions very well…

“No no, it’s alright! Just… thinking how to do this right.” Rita took a deep breath, then uncrossed her arms to stretch them out. Her face was still a bit red, and Estelle wished she had served her the tea a bit earlier. But Rita had declined, determined to help her find her inspiration, as she had said.

With the flying machine still strapped onto her back, Rita stretched out her arms, then nodded. “Okay! Just be sure to hang onto me once I got you up.”

Estelle, slightly nervous, nodded. “Got it!” Still, she worried. Rita was a bit shorter than she was…

Could she really carry her that easily?

Rita had sounded excited at the idea she herself proposed, and Estelle couldn’t help but be caught up in that same excitement. But, now that the prospect was happening, a few doubts popped in her head – mostly concerning herself. For one thing, her dress was probably not the easiest thing to deal with for the person who would carry her…

But before she could voice any more concerns, Rita brought down the goggles she always wore on her head, placing them over her eyes, effectively hiding them away. Then she was bending down, arms slipping underneath the other girl’s back and legs. “And… okay, just, gotta use my knees…” Rita paused, her face a bit near Estelle’s, the heat from her cheeks a bit apparent. “Uh…”

“Are you alright?” Estelle asked, feeling ashamed. “We don’t have to do this if you changed your mind-”

“I didn’t! Don’t assume that!” And with a pout, Rita slipped her hands further so that she got a better grip on Estelle. “I’m just preparing! Okay… one, two…three!”

She lifted Estelle up so quickly that she almost tripped.

“AAAH I-I mean! I have this, don’t worry!” Rita re-balanced herself, holding up Estelle much more securely. She stood up straight, legs trembling slightly, taking deep breaths every so often. “Hurry and…hold onto me…”

“Oh, right!” Estelle wrapped her arms around Rita’s neck, head leaning into her shoulder. “This good?”

“Y-yeah…” Rita turned to look at her, mouth half-open as if to say something. It was hard to see her expression with those goggles on… But then she turned away again. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

Estelle nodded. “Okay!” Still, she hoped she wasn’t too heavy for her…

But she knew better now to make any mention of it. So, she stayed cradled in Rita’s arms as the girl marched over to the open window, careful to keep her back straight, all while muttering, “All in the knees… Just like Karol said, all in the knees…”

Estelle’s lower half of the dress practically engulfed Rita’s arms, at least from what she could tell from her angle. Maybe I should say something… But the thing was, she liked being carried this way.

Rita then hopped back onto the windowsill. The suddenness of the motion made Estelle squeak. Rita’s arms shook, but only for a bit. And then it seemed as if she ran straight off the edge out into the sky. “Keep your eyes open!”

Because Rita told her so, that was exactly what she did.

It wasn’t the first time she had been up in the sky – far from it in fact. Back when she traveled with everyone, they would ride on Ba’ul and the ship he carried, over towns and cities, over the sprawling grasslands, the oceans that seemed to lead forever into the horizon. She’d feel the wind in her hair, raise her head up to the stars, drawn to the brightest one.

But it was different now.

Held close to Rita’s chest, and hearing the whirr of the rotor blades of her flying machine above them both, Estelle felt something much more different now. Her legs dangled in the air, the petals flying close to her face, bringing with her the scent of the cherry blossoms… and she couldn’t help but keep her gaze on Rita’s face, the goggles covering her eyes to protect her from the wind.

Rita seemed to notice, and though she couldn’t see her eyes, she had a feeling the girl had been caught off-guard. “I-I didn’t mean keep your eyes open on me!”

“Oh?” Estelle half-shouted, the wind carrying away both of their voices.

“At Halure! Look at Halure! Y-you can look at me later!”

Estelle did worry excessively that she had done something wrong then, but with Rita’s insistence, she finally did so, following the petals that drifted around them, to the houses that lined the pathways of the roads, to the trees themselves that extended so high above the town and into the sky. Rita flew around the branches, moved along with the wind currents, all as children shouted excitedly from below.

“Told you I could carry you easy,” Rita announced, eyes straight ahead, the rotor blades continually whirring behind her. “Now you got a new view! Is it helping?”

And though Estelle did look all around her, in awe at the height they were at, at how even with Rita’s arms, there was always that faint sense of precariousness, one that sparked something wonderful in her heart. It was exciting and wonderful, and with the setting sun, the town had never looked so beautiful just now.

But even with all of that, her eyes kept going back to Rita, who had always been so, so inspiring to her.

She had to let her know. “Rita!”

A little shake, Rita turning to Estelle in surprise. “Huh?! Don’t just scream in my ear!”

Estelle was too happy, wrapping her arms around Rita’s neck even tighter, hugging her close. “You just look so very cool right now!”

“Estelle, wait! I’m gonna lose control of my flying-!”

Too late. A brief tilt in the air, messing up the already uneasy momentum that they had, and soon enough, were flying right for that same tree, pink petals flooding both of their sights.

When the great tree had been dying, its leaves wilted and its branches drooping low to the ground, so many had lost hope for it. Estelle had felt a desperate wish in her then, one that she could barely bury down, and didn’t want to. Even as monstrous blood infused with the roots, she had begged, she had pleaded, and that alone had been enough to bring it back.

If only she could do such a thing for her very own self so easily, with just a wish. I want to feel like I can do something again. But sometimes, she realized, one had to look outside of one’s own self to find that inspiration.

As Rita and Estelle flew haphazardly, they landed against one of the branches, with a blanket of blossoms cushioning their fall. Rita flailed, Estelle now effectively on top of it. “Agh! I got cherry blossoms in my throat!”

Still, Estelle couldn’t let go of her. She nuzzled her head against the others, feeling so giddy. “You’re just… so great, Rita…”

“You could have hugged me at any other time!”

Her smile hadn’t left, even as the rotor blades now whirred a little less effectively, their mechanisms a bit clogged from all the petals that went into its crevices. If this solved her creator’s block, she wasn’t sure just yet – but she wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else.

#tales of vesperia #rita mordio #estellise sidos heurassein #ristelle #fanfiction #oneshot

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baoshan-sanren · 3 years

Text

The YinYang Master (2021) liveblog

okay so the city is where the people live and outside of the city is where the monsters live, got it

the yinyang bureau are the dudes who fight the monsters? sure

off the bat, chen kun (qingming) is accused of like killing a bunch of people in the bureau, no clue if he actually did it, but the person i assume to be the female interest does not believe a word of it (or does she)

anyway, he gets the fuck out of there, good for him

seven years later?

are these?

three raccoons in a trench coat?

there are. there are three raccoons in a trench coat, each wielding a sharp and deadly weapon

it’s been ten minutes and this movie has got my attention

OH WE’RE GETTING CHEN KUN WHO FIGHTS WITH A FAN

AND DRINKS LIKE A FISH

AND HOPS AROUND WITH HIS HAIR LOOSE GOOD LORD

hello flying demon things I like your wings

here’s the female love interest again and uh

she’s

a bit terrifying now

whoever is dubbing her must’ve smoked two packs a day for ten years because holy hell that is some gravel

the flying demon thing stole some red gem that I assume is very important

SHE TOOK HIS ASS DOWN WITH ONE ARROW

NOT TO BE A LESBIAN BUT OH MY GOD

okay these things aren’t raccoons, what the hell are they? are the weasels? I’m gonna call them weasels

anyway I’ve had these weasels for 15 minutes but if anything happens to them

THEY ARE FERRETS

A FERRET SWALLOWED THE RED GEM THING

this is quickly getting out of hand you feel me?

OH MY GOOOOOD WHO IS THIS LADY VILLAIN NOW

can you imagine having to report to your boss like, I stole the thingy but then I was defeated by three ferrets

I would die on the spot, like rip to this dude but I’m different

she has some kind of freezing ice power and I like it

now where are we

THERE ARE BADASS LADIES EVERYWHERE IN THIS GUYS

GUYS

I HAVE BEEN MISLED ABOUT THIS MOVIE

AND WHAT IS THIS LOOK? GOOD GOD

anyway, I’m not feeling too hot about this poor ferret’s prospects bc that red gem thing TALKS TO YOU and it sound pretty evil

ah shit, so the yinyang bureau is all like “those ferrets belong to qingming so he’s the one who did it, which means we were right to accuse him of trying to steal the red gem seven years ago”

no wonder this dude drinks, everyone’s out to get him

so the red gem is actually the snake? or like it was the snake? or is the soul of the snake?

this official-looking dude is just talking shit in front of this gravelly female chief of the bureau like he’s got a death wish

good, tell him to zip it

oh shit now we’re getting some past events and they are.... eventful

hm this cimu guy is getting a lot of screen time for a dead dude, perhaps he is not dead?

just now realizing the yinyang bureau boss lady is zhou xun I feel stupid

BOYA

he’s in some deep shit for losing the tribute to a drunk dude and a bunch of ferrets in a trench coat

and I have to say that’s a pretty valid thing to be in trouble for

"I fought with Qingming and he fled in defeat” *SNORT*

did this girl just

hit him with a really long cucumber?

w h a t i s h a p p e n i n g

her name is Shenle and I am now signing the adoption papers

her and boya are going into the monster realm to find qingming and I can just sense a bunch of oncoming shenanigans

I was right

i’m just now realizing that qingming intentionally left boya this spell so he can summon the bridge and come find him

what are you up to mister?

GUYS THIS MONSTER REALM

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I PICTURED GHOST CITY IN TGCF AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH

qingming just made boya his familiar and let me tell you

not nearly as romantic as it was in the dream of eternity

BUT FUNNY THO

qingming is kind of a dick too and I think I like him more

jghgjfkdghdks what is this little red monster thingy what is happening

idk what makes costume designers stuff chen kun in these high collar robes but I am here for this look

ACTION ACTION ACTION FIGHT

this is a lot of romance for me personally right now but

i’m fucking really digging the fact that both chen kun and zhou xun are like

grown-ass adults and experienced actors

she’s even older than him by a couple of years I think so like

for a hetero romance this is basically the only kind I care to see

I KNEW CIMU WAS UP TO NO GOOD

oh maybe he’s dead actually? what is his DEAL

okay this lady isn’t listening to anything you’re saying like why even bother

this poor fucking ferret

OH NO

NOT THE FERRET

okay this bitch can eat my entire asshole, fuck her and her righteous bullshit

aaaand now we’re all getting drunk

chen kun shouldn’t be allowed to do anything ever seriously he’s too hot to exist I feel attacked

hey asshole lady, do you think maybe now you can admit you were wrong and qingming was right?

now we’re all “I should’ve trusted you”

she’s literally going “when this is over, this bracelet will be yours again” I know there’s some magic thing happening w the bracelet but that’s an euphemism if I’ve ever heard one

you just called him a monster to his face like 10 minutes ago

this lady’s got some balls

qingming you’re too nice, I would’ve made her work for it

OH WE GET TO MEET THE BAD GUY BOSS

hnggg this fight scene is just

I am watching this film for the plot

oh crap the asshole lady is dead already?

that was a short redemption arc

and the snow lady is dead too hmpf I actually liked her unhinged little laugh

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW WHO THE BAD GUYS IS

i feel like the entire monster-fucking dark side of tumblr needs to get a load of this dude

where you going spider dude?

oh this is

not a good development

okay I am definitely not vibing with boya being depicted as an absolute dumbass for 90% of this film like

you could take him out of the movie completely and not lose any of the plot which is... not good

STOP STOP I’M ALREADY DEAD

I have to say these special effects are a bit over the top but so visually satisfying omg

also like

making me actually invested in every single small character within a space of 2.5 hours is pretty impressive

hngggg

i’m starting to think that the whole point of this movie is to showcase how hot chen kun is in any clothing with any hair under any circumstances

oh so now that the bad guy is dead the asshole lady is alive again

which is kind of a cop-out but whatever

“you promised to live and die by my side and never betray me” BIG WORDS FROM SOMEONE WHO BETRAYED HIM FIRST

ahh I get what he did now

that’s pretty cool

and kind of sad

I’m not crying kind of sad but that shit hurted

still, I do like this ending

although this whole thing would’ve been much better as a drama at least 30 episodes long I don’t feel like I wasted 2.5 hours

so yeah, I def rec this if you have time to kill

#侍神令 #shi shen ling #the yinyang master #basically me thirsting over chen kun for 2.5 hours #nothing to see here #long post

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translightyagami · 4 years

Note

Hi! If you're not too busy, could you write headcanons about Soichiro being super-supportive of Light and/or Sayu being trans/lgbt please? I need something to cheer me up

Hello! I think i’ve written about this before but being a really unruly tag-er of posts, I don’t think i can find them posts easily. so i’ll try to make some fresh headcanons nonny.

i think this depends on how you see the yagami sibs - their identities n such. i imagine they both end up tumbling into adulthood as trans and gay, albeit in different ways. Sayu comes around to a genderqueer lesbian understanding of herself and dates a LOT of anti-cap art students that Soichiro doesn’t like at all. he tells himself he dislikes how disrespectful her partners are, that they don’t have her best interests at heart, but the truth is that Soichiro can sense how Sayu is looking for a way to be Someone when she’s only been seen as a part, a piece. He fumbles everyone’s pronouns but gets it right on the third try, and Sayu always asks what he thinks of her choices. Soichiro is too honest for his own good but the fights don’t last super long. And even as all the different flags she’s worn collect on his desk - each one a token from a different Pride parade - he knows she’ll be okay; Sayu has never had trouble thinking for herself, and making her own path.

He’s a little worried about Light. His son, who transitioned when he was 14 and who never stopped being Soichiro’s shadow, even when he gained those last few inches on his dad. His son who won’t stop dating men Sayu uncharitably (but, Soichiro privately thinks, correctly) calls weasels. Oh sure, this revolving door of well-payed, nice-enough lovers that Light faithfully brings to dinner twice and then never again - they aren’t a threat to Soichiro’s son. Few things in the world are a threat to him, which is why Soichiro worries about those few things. He supported Light when he had top surgery, went with him to the clinic for testosterone (altho, a bit of needlephobe himself, Soichiro let his wife handle the actual shot), and got Light his job at the NPA with not a small amount of pressure to the higher-ups. Light’s happiness is important to him ... but he wishes Light would care a little more about his happiness too. Instead, Light does what he’s supposed to do - date nice but pliable men, bring them home, and remains effectively single.

“Light,” Sochiro corners him during a work lunch. “I want you to be happy. I want you to meet someone nice.”

“Ah, Dad,” Light laughs. “That’s not for me. I don’t think I’m supposed to be with anyone.” He gets quiet, twiddling his thumbs. “I have other things to do. Important things.”

Sayu graduates colleges and announces she’s moving to America. The whole family is in uproar, in a good way, and they see her off at the airport. Soichiro follows her Twitter updates, sees her meeting new people and getting into social activism. She tells her parents she’s seeing a therapist and she misses them.

“How’s Light?” she asks and Soichiro hesitates.

“He should visit you, I think,” he says.

Light is doing fine. He’s been fine for years. Now working in a higher position and living on his own, he doesn’t bring home boyfriends anymore. His passion is burnt, Soichiro can tell, and he starts asking more and more for advice - something Light never used to do. And Soichiro doesn’t know what to say: what Light needs help with is something Soichiro never had to deal with. His own life was, comparatively, easy - he met Sachiko in college. He married her. They had children. Light can have those things, sure, but it will be different and Light’s never been great at being different. So Soichiro tells Light to keep going forward - he just doesn’t know what else to say.

Sayu meets her future wife at a reproductive rights rally and brings her home after several Facetime calls that were really just gushing about how much she loves her. Sachiko and Soichiro love her too; she’s a little older than Sayu, a trans woman who has a steady job running a bookstore and pink streaks in her hair. She calls Sayu babe, and asks Sachiko for recipes. Sochiro knows she’s uneasy around him at first, but warms when he asks her questions about softball (Sayu played it in college, and Soichiro always found it more fun than Light’s short-lived tennis days). Light is courteous toward her, but he never seems fully present during the meeting. He keeps taking calls and returning to the dinner table a little red-faced.

“It’s classified,” he tells Soichiro, who asks the caller’s name. “I can’t say. But it’s someone safe, I promise.”

Light and Sayu’s future-wife go to bed early, both staying over in the house, so Soichiro sits with Sayu getting some father-kid time in. He can’t help but get her perspective on Light’s behavior. She laughs when he asks.

“Oh c’mon Dad,” Sayu says. “Light’s totally talking to a guy he likes. That’s how he always has been with crushes.”

“What?” Soichiro is shocked. “But ... I’ve never seen Light have a crush.”

“Oh yeah, okay.” Nodding, Sayu taps her chin. “You were kinda MIA at the time with the Kira case. Light used to get all blush-y and red back then when he got calls or visits from this college friend he had. I tried to spy on them once, but you know Light. He’s so good at swattin’ down spy stuff.” She scratches her head. “What was that guy’s name? It was like that actor’s name, wasn’t it? Anyway, Light would go totally dreamy after talking to him, all in his own head. Never seen him be like that around anyone else.”

Soichiro’s mouth gets tight. “Was his name Hideki Ryuga?”

“Huh? Oh yeah!” Sayu slaps her knee. “Oh my god, I used to like that actor soo much. Although that guy didn’t look like him at all.”

“Yes. I remember.”

Soichiro digs through his drawers that night while Sachiko tells him to keep it down while they have guests. But he needs to find a very specific number that he was told to use for emergencies only. He finds it taped under his bottom drawer and dials it on the kitchen phone. There’s a long period of hold music before anyone answers; its not that bad a tune.

“There’s no reason for you to call this number,” L says when he picks up. “I’m hanging up now and destroying this line. What a waste.”

“Do you have feelings for my son?”

There’s a crackle that makes Soichiro think L hung up but chewing noises revive him. L is just eating candy.

“Why do you ask?” L still sounds the same, yet there’s wrinkles in his voice that make him sound almost ... well Soichiro wants to say mature, although the candy ruins that a bit. “I need to hang up.”

“If you have feelings for him,” Soichiro bullies through, “then you need to tell him. Light deserves to be happy and I think you make him happy.”

“Hm.”

“He’s a very special person.” Soichiro has water in his voice. “I don’t think he wants to be, but he is. And if he chooses you, then you would have no better choice in the world than him.”

“Mm.” L rolls the syllables around. “I’m hanging up now. This number will not work again. Good bye.”

Soichiro stands in the kitchen for a minute listening to the dial tone before a scuffle catches his attention. Light steps away from a spilled glass of water, eyes gleaming and wide, as Soichiro hangs up the phone.

“I’m sorry.” Light grabs a towel, his voice wavering and his head turned down. “Sorry, I was getting a glass of water.”

“I meant it.” Soichiro gets on his knees and holds his son’s hands. They’re not as small as when Light was a child but they fell the same - warm, smooth, full of grace even when flexing nervously. “You are special. And you’ll find someone who thinks that someday.”

They hug, briefly, but Light’s phone disrupts them with a loud ringing. Hesitating before he takes it out, Light looks at his dad and his eyes are filled with hope - Soichiro thinks its a nice, new look for Light.

“Sorry,” Light says, “I have to take this. It’s classified.”

Three years later, and Soichiro is worried about his kids - they are both having weddings during the same week. “It’s easier!” Sayu says, because she doesn’t want to fly out twice. “We’re not doing anything big anyway,” Light says, because he and L have almost no guests invited beyond family members. But Soichiro isn’t worried so much about money or flights or anything like that. He’s worried about how it will feel, to see his children going off into the world to make their own families, to be so happy, to see them survive and thrive. And maybe he’s worried for himself, more than the kids. After all, how will it feel to be a man who got everything he ever wanted?

#death note #ooooooof this is longer than i thought #okay well yeah here it is #light yagami #sayu yagami #soichiro yagami #Anonymous

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femininenachos · 4 years

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Hello I am here to tell you a saga about how my dumb ass landed smack in the middle of a fic trope for the ages today and fucked it up so completely I just have to tell someone. This story just screamed Clexa and as the unofficial captain of this ship, I lay my disaster at your feet (it’s kinda long so buckle in). I actually thought about writing this as a fic, but I don’t know that I’d do the dynamic justice. Anyway, to preface, we’ve been in quarantine for three weeks. (1/?)

Laundry is done, house is clean, yard is mowed, home projects are complete, I’ve been staring at a screen too much, and I’m going crazy. In the spirit of not losing my mind while social distancing, I decide to take a long motorcycle ride as it is a marvelous day outside. I ride a beautiful all matte black Triumph Bonneville that has more style and sass than I could ever hope to possess in a lifetime. I am cooler by proxy just for having it. (2/?)

I also live in Washington State where gorgeous views and endless forests abound with winding roads that are absolutely perfect for riding on a warm day. I set off towards the Tahuya State Forest with no real goal in mind, just enjoying the sun and the wind and how fuckin smashing I look in my trendy leather riding gear on my absolute unit of a motorcycle. I’m not really paying attention to where I’m going or how I’m going to get back (I have my phone, I could have looked it up if I needed to 3/?

and I wind up quite a ways into the forest near this lake with some jaw-dropping lakefront properties and before long realize I’m going in circles and was so distracted by the landscape I wasn’t paying attention to the road that got me there. After about 20 minutes of aimless riding trying to find my exit path I’m about to stop and pull out my phone when I see a woman walking a golden retriever along the side of the road. So I slow down and pull off to the side a dozen yards in front of her, 4/?

(I’m a petite person but someone approaching you in a fully blacked-out helmet can be a bit of a red flag and I wasn’t in the mood to get punched). I’d been riding for so long my legs were a bit shaky so when I dismounted I kicked the side of my engine but didn’t think anything of it. I start walking over to this lady who had slowed down a little when I stopped and got off my bike, and tried to give a huge, bright, friendly smile (to, you know, not be threatening), (5/?)

which she returns with a little bit of confusion. I get to about ten feet away (again, social distancing) and my useless lesbian brain short-fucking-circuits. She’s very, very, very pretty in black leggings and a cream-colored oversized fisherman’s sweater. Blonde hair up in a messy bun and rockin’ some RayBans like the shits were designed with her in mind. Mind goes blank, I go full mud turd until she raises her eyebrows and kind of tilts her head and I’m still like, “fuck fuck fuck fuck” (6/?)

and realize I’ve yet to quit grinning like an absolute dunce. Forcing myself to take a deep breath I go, “Hi! (way too loudly) I’m kind of going in circles trying to find a way back to Belfair, do you know the road that heads that way?” She gives me a huge grin with a sympathetic chuckle and I think I’m going to pass out so I almost didn’t register her saying, “Yeah of course, you just missed it. Head back that way (points), and take a left at the house where the bright yellow SUV is parked (7/?)

it’ll get you back to the main road where there’s signs to get you to the highway.” I’m approaching full fight or flight mode with how nervous and completely out of my depth I am. I mean, on a normal day I can at least act sane around pretty girls, if not a little cocky, but I was absolutely blind-sided by this angelic creature set against a picturesque backdrop (mountains, a lake, huge evergreen trees) on a blissful day in the remote woods of Washington. I barely fumble fuck a thanks (8/?)

and do an awkward backwards/side trot back to my bike and get on to start it up, and it fucking WON’T. I sit there in shock, like, “oh god. Oh no. Oh no no no,” and I’m just dumbly staring at my ignition when I hear her say, “you okay over there?” and my insides just shrivel up. I look back at her and give a very uncertain, “yeah, all good! (very fake cheery, it was painful)” and try to start my bike again, no dice. She starts to ACTUALLY approach me and I’m panicking (9/?)

until I notice when I kicked my bike while getting off I had knocked the spark plug cap loose. I furiously jammed it back on and tried starting my bike again and fucking hallelujah it roared right up. I look back at her and she stops her approach, an odd smile on her face before she waves and I smile back in one of those like Harry Potter dribbles water out of his mouth catastrophe smiles. Cram my helmet back on, get the thing into gear and ride off with a little wave behind me. (10/?)

My 45-minute drive home I was obviously mentally abusing myself for being SO. FUCKING. USELESS. Because like, what if she was going to ask to help? What if I hadn’t been so fucking awkward and actually managed to have a conversation? I didn’t know anything about her (I mean she wasn’t wearing any rings, but that doesn’t really mean much), but like, GODDAMN. I could have been cool about it or even not realized it was my spark plug that was the issue. (11/?)

What if I had gotten stranded and she offered me a cup of tea? The possibilities were ENDLESS and I just... drove off. Fuck my life. In hindsight it probably wasn't that bad, but like, it could have been so much better. (12/12)

————

This was a truly epic tale of useless lesbianism. 12/10, best thing I’ve read all week. You had me frantically refreshing my activity feed waiting for the conclusion.

But now I need a 50k word fix-it fic where you track each other down over social media and love blossoms during the pandemic.

#asks #long post #useless lesbian

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geffenrecords · 3 years

Note

can you describe chloe and bonnie pls!!

HELLO YES..........

okay so um where to start w these gay ppl...... so chloe is tall and kind of a dick <3 shes snarky and comes off as a bitch 2 a lot of ppl but she lives her gf bonnie so much omg......bonnie is smaller and a little chubby and chloe loves her so so much its almost embarrassing wow.......bonnie has frizzy black hair [shes nigerian/filipino hehe] and darker skin and wears green clothing like all the time like we get it 🙄 ur a lesbian w a selected color palette but go off queen.....anyway like i said b4, chloe is TALL like jesus woman, and shes korean so she has lot of moles on her face and bonnie loves to kith them all........kiss ur gfs goodnight hehe.......but chloe has the right side of her head shaved and idk WHY im sticking w that design but lesbianism <3 and she died her hair gray i.....do not know why........but it works.........gay rights ig..........but she wears a lot of layers hehe. her most iconic look is a pink turtle neck tucked into her black jeans and a big tan coat over it all........queen i love her bye.......but anyway they do dumb shit together and chloe is so easily flustered omg......bonnies like "im gonna kith u ily!!!!" and chloe's all blushy and nervous even tho bonnie has kissed her so many times b4......shes in love what can i say..........but anyway bonnie had more relationship experience so shes always v patient with chloe bc chloe was. Repressed and has no idea what to do........her sister was always the one w the romance knowledge she liked movies so rlly chloes only exposure to romance was being forced to sit through the notebook and other shitty ass romance movies........maybe serenity watched glee around her once or twice and chloe saw santana and brittany and was like ohKAYYYY.........WOW........WOW OKAY........cause yknow how it be. anyway theyre so in love i hate them......bonnie drags chloe everywhere and will stand there holding her hand for hourz as she just has long ass conversations w random ppl and the whole time shes playing with chloes big hands and is draped all over her all night and chloes just gettingg fucking wasted cos she doesnt wanna be here but she wanted 2 please the girlfren.......<3 love is real.......and then they go home at like 2am and they curl up on the couch and bonnie lays on top of chloe and is like "i love youuuu......did u know that.....chloeeeeeee ilyyyyy so muchhh" and keeps kissing chloes face and chloes all red and holding bonnies hands and shes mumbling like "oh whatever,,,," but shes all sappy too.....heheh........and then they fall asleep watching a stupid ass movie.....smh probably watch boss baby bcos bonnie likes it and chloe makes fun of her for it.......but yes they r super domestic and so in love its sickening omg

#theres more on them but this is all u need to know <3 #my ocs #w these ocs i just kinda. throw them into parties. they dont do anything else #bonnie has so many friends wtf girl dial it down #all u need to know abt chloe is she likes girl in red and dresses like her......#bonnie probably had a bubbleline phase. all u need to know abt her too #u guys can ask abt my ocs anytime and i will kith u on the mouth each time <3 #chloe choi #bonnie holland #bonnie needs a different last name.....i keep forgetting 2 fix it #i named them and then completely revamped them years later and holland is......not a nigerian surname #mamma mia.....past lee tf were u oing #doing*#okay im tired now gnight gays love is real #ask

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writethehousedown · 4 years

Text

Trust Fund, Gold Tongue 2/7 (Crygi) - Peridot

A/N: Thank you to everyone who showed the last chapter some love! I’m really enjoying writing this little universe, and I hope you’re enjoying it so far! My interpretation of this prompt is minuscule, but it’s there if you squint, I promise! As always my sideblog is @artificialperidot, and you can also check this fic out on ao3 if you’re feeling extra generous! Hope you enjoy!

Gigi wondered how she came to sit around a table with all four of her parents around one table at the same time. It was a modern day miracle, seeing they all hated each other in some way- even the couples couldn’t stand each other half of the time. But she supposed their family had an appearance to keep up, and she didn’t want to think about how the tabloids would document their secret family hatred if someone leaked the information that they were sitting at different tables in the dining hall.

The tabloids would be absolutely correct, though.

As a little kid, Gigi wanted nothing more than for her families to come together. At seventeen, she realised that the adults sitting opposite from her were all idiots.

Gigi loved her mom, she really did, but her taste in men was appalling to say the least. Her newest man, James, had only been around for about a month, and Gigi was already anticipating the messy breakup, where she’d have to pick up the pieces on her mother’s behalf, holding her whilst she cried and convincing her to get her life together again. It was a cycle that was used to, and one that didn’t look like it would break any time soon. Her mom cycled through men like tracks on a really terrible CD, and Gigi had never liked a single one of them. The worst of all of them, though, was her dad.

She did not want to even think about him, let alone sit through a three course meal with him every evening. Or that 30 year old with bleach blonde hair hanging off of his arm who had asked Gigi to call her mom. As if.

The five of them sat around the restaurant table in the busy country club dining hall, and Gigi found herself in a world of her own, absentmindedly twirling her straw in her drink and ignoring the chatter of the others around the table. Her parents made painfully awkward small talk between them as they waited for their meals to arrive, something about business finances or their new cars or the stock market. Gigi zoned out - her parents never really seemed interested in including her in their conversations. Not that Gigi would’ve wanted to talk to them, anyway.

She found it funny, though, that none of them would want to be within 50 feet of each other if it wasn’t for her. She was the reason they all ended up at her dad’s country club every summer. She usually lived with her mom in their penthouse, and put up with whatever boyfriends she had, because although it wasn’t perfect, anything was better than her dad’s house. But, legally, her dad was supposed to see her at least a few weeks a year, and so she and her mom and whoever her mom was seeing were all dragged to this hellhole every summer.

Three months she inwardly reminded herself. Three more months, and then she’d be eighteen, and her parents would finally let her buy a place of her own, and she would never have to set foot in a country club again. She’d been begging to buy a house of her own from the day she turned sixteen, but her parents would hear none of it, telling her that she was far too young to be trusted to spend that much money all at once. They didn’t seem to have an issue when she blew thousands on clothes or cars or house parties all at once, though. The hypocrites.

Her eyes scanned the restaurant around her, searching for a distraction, and she caught sight of the guy she had thrown her drink at earlier - her dad’s friend, David or Dave or something. She noted his change of shirt from the blue polo that had been drenched in pink lemonade, and smiled at the memory. He got what he deserved, she thought. Nothing made her more mad than people who were rude to the staff.

She was sad she had to run away without that girl though. Crystal. She was pretty adorable.

She hoped she’d see her around again, soon.

Before long, a waiter came by their table and served their food, plates piled high with steak and grilled veg and some sort of fancy sauce on the side. Gigi’s mouth watered - as much as she hated having dinner with her family, the food was never a let down.

She was halfway through a mouthful of roast beef when her mom started talking again, but this time it was to her.

“You know, Gigi, James’s nephew is going to be spending a few weeks at the country club this summer,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.

“Oh, cool,” Gigi replied, disinterested.

“His name’s Matthew. He’s around your age, too,” she said, nodding and sharing a knowing look with the others around the table. “We were all thinking…maybe the two of you could, you know, go on a date.”

Gigi almost choked on her mouthful.

Go on a what?!

“Um, thanks, but no thanks.” she replied, her voice a little shaky. She could feel her heart start pounding in her chest a little harder and a little faster than she would’ve liked.

“Oh, Gigi, give him a chance! He’s a nice young man, isn’t he, James?” her mom said, nudging her boyfriend with her arm. James nodded dumbly, before shoving another mouthful of potato into his mouth.

Tension rose in Gigi’s body, her mom’s words ringing in her ears. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but I’m not really looking to date someone right now,” she said, doing her best to be polite and not get too emotional.

“Come on Gigi, you’re almost eighteen. It’s about time you got a boyfriend,” her dad butted in, his tone seeming too aggressive for the conversation. She was surprised that her mom and dad had actually agreed on something for once, even if it was for entirely different reasons. Her mom, deep down, wanted to protect her, for her to be happy - her dad wanted her to be someone else’s responsibility.

And Gigi wanted anything but a boyfriend.

Now would seem like a good time for Gigi to remind her parents that she was a lesbian, but she didn’t particularly want to have another screaming match in a public dining hall. She had tried to have that conversation before, and it didn’t end well. She pictured the way her mom had looked so scared when her dad had yelled and rampaged through their house. How she had told her afterwards to not bring it up in front of her father again. How guilty she had felt for causing her dad to explode like that, and for making her mom so scared.

Her parents had broken up not long after that. And Gigi never brought it up again.

She had kept her love life completely private from then on, sharing secret rendezvous with girls at parties that she would never see again, and playing the role of the straight girl in front of her family. And, her family put a bandage on the stab wounds and acted as if nothing had ever happened.

But, pretending to be straight and actually dating a boy were completely different things, and there was no way she was going to let her family force her into a relationship. No way.

“Sorry, but I’m not interested. End of story,” she said firmly, her tone cutting, and it seemed to shut them up.

The five of them ate the rest of their meals in relative silence, the tension so thick it could’ve been cut with a knife. Gigi was suddenly thankful for the old saying that it was rude to talk with your mouth full. Gigi kept her mouth full as often as possible.

Dinner came and went, and desserts were ordered, Gigi opting for a raspberry sorbet that was new to the menu this year. Her parents ordered more drinks to go alongside their desserts, and Gigi wished she was a couple of years older so that she could have a few shots to make sitting through dinner more bearable.

Minutes ticked by like hours as she waited for her dessert to arrive, to give her something sweet to distract from the sour atmosphere. When it did though, she was met by an even sweeter surprise.

“One raspberry sorbet?” a voice asked from behind her.

She looked up to see a familiar face placing the pink dessert down on their table and her heart skipped a beat.

Crystal. The girl that had infatuated Gigi to the point of provoking her to throw her drink in a grown man’s face. She wasn’t too easy to forget.

Her red curls were tucked behind her ears, and she looked as though a faint blush was creeping over her cheeks. She smiled, giving Gigi a knowing look and a small nod, before walking away from their table, bouncing a little as she walked.

God she was cute.

Gigi was suddenly far less interested in her dessert.

“Uh, excuse me for a moment,” she said, and before her parents could protest, she abruptly stood up from the table and left, set on going after Crystal. She wasn’t exactly sure what she intended to say to her, but just seeing her had flipped her mood on its head entirely, and God knows Gigi needed some serotonin.

Plus, flirting with a member of staff would make her summer a little more bearable. Because what her parents didn’t see was none of their business, right?

It didn’t take her long to catch up to Crystal, and just before she made her way back into the staff kitchen area, Gigi grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the restaurant, around a corner in the porch where they couldn’t be seen.

Crystal looked a little surprised, and took a second to catch her breath, tucking her hands into the front pocket on her apron. “A hello would’ve been nice,” she said in a slightly hushed tone. “You scared me.”

“Nice to see you again too, Crystal,” Gigi replied, and Crystal giggled softly, her nose scrunching up causing Gigi’s stone heart to melt, just a little. From this close together, Gigi could make out the freckles that speckled the girl’s face, and she thought they made her even more beautiful.

Crystal bit her lip. “Um, I never got a chance to thank you, for, ya know… helping me out earlier today,” she said, scratching the side of her temple slightly.

Gigi smirked, thinking about the way the man looked with his wet hair matted to his forehead like dripping curtains. “It was nothing, really. That guy deserved it.”

“His shirt will be sticky forever now,” Crystal said, putting on the voice of a maniacal evil scientist. “The perfect revenge.”

Gigi chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief at how adorably goofy this girl was. But, she wouldn’t be Gigi Goode if she didn’t take an opportunity to mess with her a little when she saw the chance.

“His shirt is not the only thing I can make wet and sticky,” she said, with a cocky wink and a shit-eating grin, before dissolving into laughter.

Crystal’s mouth fell open in a fake gasp as she pretended to clutch her pearls and scolded Gigi, telling her to wash her mouth out with soap, but Gigi couldn’t help but notice the tiniest blush that had appeared on her cheeks, and the way her eyes had widened for just a second.

Adorable.

“So, uh, who were you eating dinner with? Is that your family?” Crystal asked, looking for a way to change the subject.

“Sadly, yes,” Gigi said with a roll of her eyes.

“Which ones are your parents?”

“All of them.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t -”

“It’s okay,” Gigi said with a small chuckle. “Technically only three of them are, because my mom hasn’t married her boyfriend. Like she ever will,” Gigi laughed.

“Your dad owns this place, right?”

Gigi sighed. “Uh-huh,” she said, her voice monotonous.

“Which one is your dad?” Crystal asked, peering her head around the corner to glance at her table.

“The one in the grey blazer.” Gigi gestured towards him slightly, making sure they were still hidden from sight. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t wanna get fired. I need to make sure no one throws a lemonade in his face on my behalf.”

Gigi burst out laughing at that, trying her best to keep her volume to a minimum but not doing a very good job. “Oh believe me, if I could throw a drink in his face, I would.”

Crystal grinned back at her, and Gigi noticed the perfect dimples in each of her cheeks, which somehow made her even more adorable. She found herself drawn to her chocolate eyes, gazing at the twinkle behind her pupils and her long eyelashes that framed them, like they were priceless works of art, which, of course, they were.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and in any other situation, Gigi would’ve made a move. She was never one to wait patiently for the right moment - she was someone that always knew what she wanted, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to cup Crystal’s cheeks and plant a kiss on her lips.

But, she had to remind herself that she was in the middle of a country club, where anyone could see the two of them. And she had a reputation to uphold. She’d need to wait until they were somewhere more private.

Plus, she didn’t want to frighten Crystal. The girl already looked like she was in a constant state of panic as it was, and Gigi thought a kiss would probably tip her anxiety over the edge.

She also wasn’t positive that Crystal liked girls, either, but judging from her messy, curly bob of hair, dyed red, and her nails, short and painted with black nail polish, it seemed a likely possibility.

“I, uh, I should get back to work,” Crystal said, looking away awkwardly.

“Yeah, you probably should,” Gigi replied. Crystal flashed her a pitiful smile, as if to say sorry, that she didn’t want to cut their interaction short, and Gigi couldn’t help but wonder how this girl, this ordinary girl who technically worked for her dad, managed to make her heart flutter with just a simple smile.

But Gigi didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Not unless she knew she’d see Crystal again soon.

“Hey, are you working again tomorrow?” she asked, an idea popping into her head.

“Yup. 10 hour shift.” Crystal replied, practically groaning.

Gigi smirked. “When’s your break? I need someone to play tennis with.”

Crystal looked taken aback at her proposition. “Uh, I think I have a break at 3ish -”

“Perfect. Then I’ll meet you on the west tennis courts at three,” Gigi smiled, certainty in her tone.

“Uh, cool! I should warn you though, I haven’t played tennis since summer camp when I was like thirteen,” Crystal giggled, looking a little nervous despite the smile plastered on her face.

Gigi raised her eyebrows. “Then I guess I’ll just have to show you the ropes again,” she said, fully aware of the confidence she exuded, and gave Crystal a sly wink, so small that if Crystal had broken eye contact for a second, she would’ve missed it. Judging by the flush of pink on her cheeks, though, she had definitely not missed it.

Crystal grinned. “I look forward to it,” she said with a nod, before slipping back around the corner and going back to her work.

Gigi waited a couple seconds after Crystal left before walking back to her table, making sure to not look too suspicious despite the smile tattooed on her face. When she sat back down again, she was met by the scowl of her father.

“What took you so long?” he grumbled.

“Girl things,” she replied without missing a beat, because she knew that it would shut him up. And, it wasn’t entirely untrue, either.

When she looked down at her plate, though, she discovered that her raspberry sorbet had melted, and was no more than a pink puddle.

Gigi didn’t mind at all.

#rpdr fanfiction #crygi #crystal methyd #gigi goode #trust fund gold tongue #peridot #lesbian au #fluff #angst #tw: homophobia #concrit welcome #summer lovin' 2020 #day 2: camp #submission

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bloodbitchwitch · 4 years

Text

The Sparda Family's Pet

Chapter #01

It was another normal day for you. You woke up in your dingy old mattress and dust-covered room. You lived in an abandoned building so this was normal for you to say the least. You had been given away to an orphanage at birth but as soon as you turned 18, you were kicked out and was forced to live on your own accord. You had nowhere to go so you wandered around a bit and eventually came across the oh so lovely, almost falling apart building.

You yawn loudly and stretch your limbs then throw your legs off the bed to sit up slowly. The light from the window across from your bed, temporarily blinding you as you stand and start to make your way over to the small dresser where you stuffed all your belongings in, which wasn't much, just a few changes of clothes and some miscellaneous objects. You take out a new pair of clothes for the day, you wonder what and how you were going to eat today. You didn't have money and without that, you were either left with dumpster food or stealing whatever you could and you were definitely going with the latter. You continued your daily morning routine and once finished, you left your little and barely standing paradise and headed into town where you'd hopefully find breakfast.

While walking, you spotted a man in a leather jacket swiftly following quite an attractive young lady with brown hair and glasses. You hummed to yourself and continued on, barely even acknowledging that the man had some sort of robot arm. After walking quite a bit past the loud couple that were now yelling at each other from behind you and could be heard about a block away, you saw a few small rocks roll past your feet and abruptly stopped. Turning your head left, the direction the rocks came from, you found yourself peering into a dark alleyway that you had failed to notice before. You shuffled your feet a bit nervously because you knew that rocks didn't just go rolling themselves. Swallowing the spit in the back of your throat, you inched closer towards the alleyway. "Hello?" your better judgment being thrown out the window even though you knew you probably should have walked away and not looked back.

A small cough that echoed through the alleyway and a small boy walked into view. He looked hungry and scuffed up. His clothes were dingy and his skin had small cuts everywhere and dirt-caked his face. He had tears brewing in his eyes as he huffed lightly. "Please help me. I'm hungry and have nowhere to go..." You were heartbroken the second he said "hungry" and frowned lightly. You crouched down and got eye level with the boy and beckoned him to come closer. When he finally got close enough for you to reach out and grip his shoulders firmly but not enough to hurt the poor boy, you looked him over to make sure he wasn't hurt too badly and once finished your eyes returned to the boy's face which had contorted into some sort of monstrous-looking being. Your eyes went wide and you screamed loudly which alerted the couple down the block that you had passed. Your breathing quickened as you were face to face with the demon child that had grown a pair of sharp teeth and huge claws. The demon boy coiled his arm back and was getting ready to impale you with his sharp claws when suddenly the man in the dark coat jumped over you and the demon boy. Guns in hands while still in the air, he shot multiple rounds into the back of the demon head causing him to fall forward and nearly landing on you if the brunette from before hadn't pulled you into her chest before so. Blood poured out of the monstrous child's head and pooled at your feet. Your mouth had gone dry as you stared at the deformed and deceitful demon child.

The pretty lady brought her hand up to your face and blinded you by covering your eyes from the horrendous sight. "Nero! Was that really necessary? Right in front of this poor gal?!" The man, apparently called Nero, clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Well if I didn't then she wouldn't be standing there, would she? No. she'd be cabobbed onto the shit's arm and bleeding out." the man sassed the woman in front of him, not really upset or anything, it's just how their relationship kind of works.

While the two bickered, you could feel the creature's blood seep into the holes on the bottoms of your worn-out shoes. You cringed and panted, wanting nothing more than to get out of the bloodied alleyway. She tried to step backward, which only succeeded in getting the pair's attention. "Hey now Nero, we should probably get her outta here, she's probably scarred cause of your dumbass." and with that, she grabbed onto your hand with her other hand that wasn't shielding your vision from the gory sight in front of you and guided you away. When she deemed you both to be a safe distance away from the alley, she removed her hand from your face and smiled down at you. "Well aren't you a cute little thing." she snorted and grinned down at you. You blushed a bit and looked down at your blood-soaked shoes "Thank you..." you mumbled lightly and looked behind you to see how far away you were from the crime scene that just took place, only for you to see the man named Nero instead who was most likely intentionally blocking the view from you.

Nero stared down at you for a few seconds, taking in your appearance before huffing lightly and crossing his arms only to turn his head and look the other way. He sort of had a pink hue on his cheeks but you couldn't tell if he was blushing or if he had any kind of adrenaline rushing after that onslaught. You cleared your throat and began to speak. "Um....thank you for saving me back there. I almost became monster food." you then proceeded to give a small, nervous chuckle. The pair nodded and gave you a "No problem". You were about to say goodbye and go your separate ways until your stomach decided that now would be the perfect time to remind you of the reason you were out and about anyways. Your face began to turn a crimson color as they both chuckled at the sound of your stomach making gurgling noises. "Well, I see no reason to leave a pretty little thing such as yourself out on the streets and hungry. Hop on in the van and ill make ya a good ole breakfast that'll stop all that noise!" the pretty brunette exclaimed loudly and grabbed hold of your hand once again and dragged you into her van. "I'll even cook for ya for free since you're so darn cute!" she said in her raspy voice and gave another little snort. Your blush only seemed to darken at her words and you took a seat at one of the barstools by the kitchen area inside the van. "By the way Darlin, the name's Nico and that there is Nero." she pointed to the male who had killed the demon as he was taking a seat next to you on another bar stool. He looked over at you and gave a small smile and a nod before uttering a simple "Hey" which you returned. "It's nice to meet you both, my name is y/n" you gave both a small smile and continued "Thank you both for saving me".

While Nico was cooking and had most of your attention on her, Nero couldn't help himself but look you over again like he did outside. He found it attractive and after Kyrie broke up with him, claiming she was lesbian and started seeing some girl, he needed something to distract himself from the degrading thoughts he had about himself, claiming that he wasn't good enough for the woman he thought he'd marry. He licked his lips and took in your curves....or wait...curves? The more he looked at you, he could see just how hungry you truly were. You looked so small to him and compared to Nico, you were basically skin and bones. How long have you been in need of food? He also noticed all the holes and how dingy your clothes looked. He frowned and came to the conclusion that you were probably trying your hardest and living out in the streets. "Hey" he spoke up "You live around here?" you turned your attention to the white-haired male and pursed your lips. "Yeah, I live down the road. Two blocks away to be exact." Nero's eyebrows furrowed. "Nico and I just came that way. The only house that way is abandoned and falling apart". After hearing his words, your face turned red once more but not because you were shy but because you were embarrassed he now knew that you lived in some old and dusty building. He noticed that you looked upset at his words and mentally cringed at himself for being too blunt. "Hey there, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset... I just... I don't think you should have to live there is all." Nero then thought about his next words carefully and decided that any punishment he'd get out of this would be worth it. "I was thinking that if you wanted to, you could come live with my uncle, my father and I at my uncle's shop?" he peered down at you with what looked like puppy dog eyes and honestly, who were you kidding, it's not like you were going to say no anyways. You were hungry and living in poor conditions. "I... id be more than happy if you'd let me stay with you guys. I'll help around with your uncle's shop and make sure to pay you guys back in any way possible for letting me stay". Nero blushed at your words and felt his cock twitch in his jeans after hearing that you'd pay them back in any way possible. He bit his lip and looked away "yeah yeah whatever. We'll deal with all that when we get to the shop. While we're here though, do you have any belongings you want to pick up before we head out?" You shook your head no and finally turned your attention back to Nico who had just finished breakfast for everyone.

#devil may cry #dmc #dmc vergil #dmc5 #dmc v #dmc dante #dmc nero #dmc nico #dmc trish #dmc lady #dmc morrison #dmc kyrie #devil may cry sparda #dmc sparda #dante son of sparda #sparda #vergil son of sparda

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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Tree House Kisses, Chapter 21 (Adorney) - Scorpio and Veronica

A/N: I am very excited to post this chapter, especially because I get to include this outstanding artwork by my HERO, @grinder-lector-art. It’s the banner on my own blog and every time I look at it, I get a bit weepy-eyed. -V

Also, this seems like a good a time as any to plug the wonderful moodboards that Scorpio made to go along with this story (including a few specifically inspired by this chapter). If you’re looking for previous chapters, click here! Xoxo!

Chapter Summary: Everything falls apart. But it’s Courtney’s party, and she’ll cry if she wants to…

Chapter 21: It’s Raining on Prom Night

“Hello party guests!” Darienne called over the mic. “We are now serving dinner! Please help yourself to the lovely Mexican spread, over by the garden. It is all vegetarian and the trays marked with a pink heart are vegan. Don’t make that face, Adrian, you’ll be fine,” she chastised Adore’s brother. “Anyway, after you have your plate, the birthday girl has requested for you all to take your seats, as we have some entertainment, produced by Courtney and Thorgy and starring some people here tonight...I wonder who?!”

She stepped away from the mic, trying to help usher people towards the food, especially the slower-moving adults and the cheerleaders who were still on the dance floor fooling around.

“Mrs. Del Rio!” she beckoned Roy’s mom over. “Look, only a few people know this, but there’s a secret tray of chicken under the veggie skewers. For VIP carnivore guests only. Tell your husband.”

Aida laughed, giving her a hug. “Thank you, honey. Courtney already tipped us off, but we appreciate you looking out for us.”

“I do my best,” Darienne said, winking. She walked over to the main table where Courtney had a confused and mildly irritated look on her face. “Dari, there’s one too many seats here. Is it because of Raja? Didn’t we fix this? I don’t want an empty chair right up front, it’ll look weird--”

“Calm down, it won’t be empty.”

“Well, who’s sitting here?” Courtney put her hands on her hips.

Darienne imitated her pose, hands on her own hips, and leaned in. “It’s a surprise. Go get yourself some dinner, Miss Sweet Sixteen, and don’t worry about it!”

Courtney narrowed her eyes, and after a beat, backed down, pulling Adore and Roy with her over to the food. “I’ve got my eye on you, Darienne!”

Darienne laughed, shaking her head, and pulled out her phone.

“Courtney, everything is set up if you want to start the video,” Thorgy said.

“Okay…” she glanced down at her phone again. Still no answer from her dad. “Let’s just wait one more minute, until everyone is sitting.”

“Cool. Tell me when to hit the lights and then--”

“Shut up, Thorgy.” Darienne shoved him out of the way and stood behind Courtney’s chair, covering her eyes.

“Hey!”

“I told you there was a surprise, right? Well...it’s a little late due to flight delays and other extenuating circumstances, but...come on out!”

There were few delighted gasps and squeals from the table, and Courtney exclaimed, “What? What?!”

Darienne uncovered Courtney’s eyes and turned her chair around and standing there, in a black and white checkered dress, was Dela.

Courtney let out an ear-piercing shriek, jumping up and throwing her arms around her old friend. “DELA! OMIGOD! I can’t believe you’re here! How are you?! How’s Seattle?! I miss you! Oh my god!!” Courtney jumped up and down, hugging her tightly.

Dela laughed and hugged her back. “Happy Birthday, sweetie. I missed you too! Sorry I’m late…”

Courtney pulled away, teary-eyed, and sat Dela down beside her. Darienne laughingly moved the place card that had been there (Roy’s) and soon everyone was chattering excitedly and catching up, hearing about Dela’s new school in Seattle. Courtney promised to tell Dela the story in detail of how she and Roy became an official couple after the video.

“And we finally learned the truth of why Adore never liked me,” Bob joked, causing Adore to roll her eyes.

“Is it because you were so annoying?” Dela smiled.

“Absolutely,” Adore said.

“Not,” Bob added.

Courtney filled her in about the family that had moved into her house.

“See the pretty blonde over there next to Gia? Her name is Pearl. She’s really nice, actually. Adore tried to fuck her but that didn’t work out.”

Dela’s eyes widened and then she looked over at Bob, who made an “I told you so” face.

Adore scoffed, offended. “That is not how it went down.”

Courtney shrugged, smirking, and replied with a teasing, “Whatever you say,” and a hair toss.

Dela giggled. “So, I heard there’s about to be some intense walk down memory lane video? Is that true, because I love those, it’s my favorite part of every wedding, every Bat Mitzvah…”

“Yeah, we were about to play it.”

“Go for it! I better be in it though.”

Courtney grinned. “Oh, trust me. You are.”

As Adore suspected, the video was incredibly long and cheesy, filled with tons of photos of Courtney, Courtney with her family, Courtney with friends. There were also a lot more video clips than Adore anticipated - from recitals, home movies, including a gem from Courtney’s first day of kindergarten that she’d never seen.

“Courtney, love, please come out! Bob is waiting so nicely!” Karen cajoled.

“NO!” Courtney shouted, stomping her feet, refusing to come out the front door,

Bob, already tall and lanky at five years old, sat down on the front steps, head in his hands, clearly over Courtney and her temper tantrum.

“Courtney, why don’t you want to come out? You love school...” Karen wheedled.

She opened the door a crack and shouted, “I love PRESCHOOL! I don’t want to go to kindergarten! I’m too small! Everyone is going to be mean to me!” She slammed the door with a loud bang, continuing, “NO NO NO NO NO!”

Bob shook his head at the camera, rolling his eyes.

“Roy! Vanessa!” The camera flipped around to catch the Del Rio kids walking down the block, Karen at her wit’s end, begging them to help convince Courtney how much she’d love kindergarten.

Roy scampered inside and emerged 20 seconds later, holding Courtney’s hand, a big smile on her face.

“Roy’s gonna beat up anyone who’s mean to me!” Courtney announced happily, skipping down the steps.

Everyone at the party let out a collective “Awwwwww…”

Roy shook his head. “I was so full of shit. You think I was about to get in trouble by starting a fight my first day of school? That goes on your permanent record. Luckily for me, no one was mean to her.”

Courtney laughed and kissed him. “It was a comforting lie.”

On the screen, young Roy put his arm around Bob and led him and Courtney down the block towards the elementary school. “Kindergarten is great. You get to play all day and sing songs and do lots of fun stuff.”

“Did you like it, Roy?” Courtney asked, gazing up at him.

“I thought it was kind of boring, but I was already reading books. You’ll love it.”

Adore shook her head, chuckling, as the video faded back into photos. Even in first grade, Roy was a patronizing know-it-all.

Willam and Pearl dug into their food, plates piled high with enchiladas, Spanish rice, beans, grilled chicken that they’d begged off Adore’s mom, veggie skewers, salad, taquitos, and mini quesadillas, amused grins on both of their faces as they watched Courtney’s baby videos.

A video of Courtney and Adore learning to rollerblade played across the screen. A young Adore was pretty good, compared to a falling and pouting Courtney.

“Attagirl, Lesbian!” Willam cheered, earning a glare from Adore, three tables away.

Pearl leaned over and murmured, “Why does this feel like a wedding more than a birthday party?” Pearl glanced down into Willam’s lap to see him texting someone.

“Or a funeral,” Willam mumbled back, causing Pearl to laugh which was covered up by the chuckles from the crowd laughing at Adore having to hold Courtney’s hands to help her skate.

Willam slid his phone over to Pearl, to show her the texts he had been sending Adore all night. Most of them had been him insulting Adore on her horrible fashion choices during her preteen years. Pearl shook her head, snickering to herself as she shoved another mouthful of rice into her mouth.

“What y’all laughing at?” Alyssa whispered leaning forward on the table.

The screen started off black, a few girls could be heard talking. The camera shook, before a round face framed with red hair in pigtails popped into view.

“Okay, it’s on,” Darienne said before she ran off screen.

“Turn the music on!” someone hissed. Seconds later the music started and Adore ran into view, hair teased huge, in an animal print top and pleather pants. Followed by Courtney, in white gogo boots and a British flag dress.

“Ohhhh, shit!” Willam began cackling with glee.

And then the rest of the girls. April wore a black dress and stilettos, hair ironed flat. Dela was in track pants and a sports bra, and Darienne was in a little pink dress with white sketchers, sucking on a lollipop.

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want So tell me what you want, what you really, really want I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want So tell me what you want, what you really, really want

Pearl’s mouth dropped open and Willam covered his mouth to hold in his laughter as they watched the girls prance around the room.

Darienne was a beat behind the rest of the girls, obviously missing steps, and clearly uncomfortable as Baby, comically overplaying the cutesy little girl thing to the point where it was nearly creepy. Dela and Courtney were the most enthusiastic, and seemed to know all the moves (with Courtney as a nearly manic Ginger and Dela really trying to sell Sporty’s “tomboy” vibe).

Watching a younger Adore, who was apparently Scary, prance around the room trying to keep up with Courtney and Dela was absolutely hilarious. Every time they had to turn, she would go the wrong way, at one point crashing into Dela and nearly knocking her over. And April’s imitation of Posh Spice, barely doing the moves at all, an air of “too cool” apathy only added to the overall disorganized vibe.

“This is soooo embarrassing,” Gia whispered to no one in particular, but everyone at the table heard her.

“Gurl,” Alyssa nodded.

WILLAM: Nice moves, you guys could have replaced the real spice girls

ADORE: Fuck off

PEARL: Was this professionally choreographed?

ADORE: Fuck. Offffff!

Adore glared at Willam and Pearl as they doubled over laughing, flipping her phone closed and crossing her arms. She watched them prance around on the screen and couldn’t help, but remember the arguments that took place just for this video to happen.

April, Adore, Courtney, Darienne and Dela had gathered at Courtney’s house and as they sat around the living room listening to the Spice Girls, Courtney suggested that they should make their own Wannabe video.

“Oh! That’ll be so fun,” Bendela said, the other girls nodded excited about Courtney’s idea.

“I’ll go get the camera!” Courtney ran off.

“I’m Posh,” April said.

“I’m Ginger,” Adore quickly called.

“Don’t you think I should be Ginger? I mean I have red hair,” Darienne suggested and Adore made a face.

“You can be Scary,” Adore suggested.

“If we’re doing this, I think I should be Ginger, I have red hair, I’m the oldest. April should be Posh, Courtney should be Baby-”

“No, I wanna be Ginger,” Courtney rushed back into the living room with her Dad’s camera, interrupting Darienne. “I’m the biggest Spice Girls fan, and I love Geri, I--”

“Too late! I already called Ginger,” Adore said smugly.

Courtney’s mouth twisted up in anger, gripping the camera tightly; steam was practically shooting out of her ears. “Adore Delano you know I waited FIVE HOURS at the Glendale Galleria to get Geri Halliwell’s autograph, and I have the British flag dress, and I--”

“Blah blah blah, whatever Baby!”

Five minutes later and Adore and Courtney were still in a heated argument over who got to be Ginger.

April watched on in amusement, happy that no one was trying to take Posh away from her, Dela just wanted the arguing to be over and Darienne didn’t understand why they thought they were more Ginger Spice than her.

“It’s! Not! Fair!” Courtney stomped her foot, crossing her arms and pouting at Adore.

“Yes! It! Is!” Adore mocked Courtney stomping her foot and crossing her arms, “I called it first. So I’m Ginger.”

“If you’re anyone, you’re Sporty,” Courtney rolled her eyes.

Adore took a step back from Courtney, fuming, looking around the room to see the other girls’ reactions. Dela sat down next to Darienne, silently offering her snack to her.

Adore leaned to Courtney whispering, “I should have been Ginger and you know it.”

Courtney stuck her tongue out in response, before shaking her head, “I think you made a good Scary. And you’d have been good as Sporty, too.”

“What?! Now that I think about it, that was a totally homophobic suggestion,” Adore said.

“Hey, if it looks like a duck, and walks like a...well...”

Adore’s eyes bulged and her mouth opened in mock offense, and Courtney laughed, leaning over and kissing her forehead.

“I’m pretty sure I’d be the best choice for Ginger,” Darienne whispered to Dela, who nodded in agreement.

“Well, you’re the obvious Baby, Courtney! Come on!” Adore cajoled desperately.

“Ugh!!” Courtney screeched, then cried, “You know what? We don’t have to make the video at all.” She turned around and tried to run off before Adore stopped her.

“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll be Scary because she has the coolest hair and you can be Ginger,” Adore huffed out in annoyance.

“Yay!” Courtney cheered, wrapping her arms around Adore, planting a wet kiss on her cheek, “You can be Ginger next time, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Adore said, knowing full well that Courtney was lying and that she’d pull the same shenanigans next time, if there ever even was a next time.

“So, that means April’s Posh, Adore is Scary, I’m Ginger, Dela you can be Sporty and Darienne can be Baby,” Courtney turned to the other girls. Darienne frowned, not really on board with the casting.

“Courtney, are you sure you don’t want to be Baby. I mean you’re blonde and cute and would make the perfect Baby,” she tried to convince her one last time.

Courtney frowned, “Do you want to be Sporty?” the tremor in her voice and the look on her face told Darienne that they would be in for another tantrum if she kept arguing, and she didn’t think she could deal with it.

“Fine, I’ll be Baby,” Darienne sighed.

“I’m never gonna forgive you for dredging up that Spice Girls video…” Adore grumbled.

Courtney laughed half-heartedly, shrugging. “Sorry boo, it’s my favorite.”

“I loooooved it!” Dela cried happily. “I think we should do it again, like a reunion tour. There's totally room on the dance floor.”

“Uh, how about no fucking way?” Adore retorted, a look of horror on her face. She looked to the others for support, but Courtney was distracted by her phone.

COURTNEY: Where are you? It’s almost 9…

Darienne looked at Adore and cleared her throat. “You know what I think we need? Presents.”

Adore nodded. “Yes!” she exclaimed as Courtney’s eyes lit up happily.

“Great idea!” Roy jumped up to help Darienne grab the gifts and Adore mouthed ‘THANK YOU’ at both of them. Roy smiled and gave her a wink.

Courtney sat in a decorated chair, ankles crossed demurely like the princess she was, everyone gathered around her wanting their present to be opened first.

“I’m only going to open a few presents for now,” Courtney announced knowing that she wouldn’t make it through everyone’s presents quick enough. “So, who wants to go first,” she sang, closing her eyes and holding her hands out, making grabbing motions.

Her dad’s parents, Grammy and Papa were the first to pass Courtney her gift, which consisted of a card and birthday money.

“Thank you, so much,” she squealed at the hundred dollars, giving both her grandparents a kiss.

Darienne decided to be the brave soul to go next. “Here you go, Courtney.”

“I wonder what it is,” Courtney shook the wrapped present causing everyone to laugh. She tore the paper off to reveal a beautifully carved frame, painted pink and white. The picture in the frame was taken at Courtney’s 13th birthday party. Courtney started to tear up at the memories that the picture brought.

Courtney stood in the center of the picture, brows furrowed cutely, with icing on her nose, a laughing Adore beside her. Roy was trying to stop Bob from digging his fingers into his slice of cake. Darienne was the only one posed for the camera with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face while April, Dela, Thorgy and Jamin were captured in the background, oblivious to the picture being taken.

“Thank you, Dari!” Courtney sniffed, pulling Darienne into a tight hug.

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Darienne squeezed her back, “I made it the frame and painted it myself.”

Courtney grabbed the picture frame and stared at it for another moment before sitting it aside carefully, “Thank you so much.”

After Courtney sat back in her chair, Roy stepped forward with his present. “Here you go, princess.”

Courtney took the big bag from him, dramatically weighing it to see how heavy it was. Pulling out and tossing the pink tissue paper behind her, Courtney pulled out the card first. Ripping it opened, her mouth dropped at the season passes to Six Flags Magic Mountain.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you, babe,” she pulled him down her a quick kiss on the cheek, “This summer is going to be sooo fun,” she shimmied her shoulders excitedly at the thought of going to the amusement park all summer, especially since the new rides were supposed to be amazingly death-defying.

“Told you,” Adore cracked. “Whore for danger.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on it,” Roy joked quietly, and Adore made a face at him.

Courtney laughed, setting the envelope to the side, her face lighting up when she dug into the bag pulling out what looked to be lotion and bubble bath.

“Oooh,” she bounced in her seat as she unscrewed the top on the lotion to get a good whiff, “My favorite. You remembered.” She looked up at him with adoring eyes.

“Of course. Keep digging,” Roy urged.

Courtney set the lotion and bubble bath aside, reaching into the bag and pulling out a rolled-up t-shirt. She shot Roy a skeptical look before opening the shirt to get a good look at it.

“A Destiny’s Child shirt,” Courtney turned it around, holding it up for everyone else to see.

“Yes, because you’ll need it for the concert-”

“CONCERT!?” Courtney screamed, scooting to the edge of her seat looking at Roy with huge eyes.

“Yep, my cousin Monica is a dancer on the tour and she hooked us up with some dope seats when they come here in September--” Roy said.

“Ahhh!” she screeched, hopping up out of her seat to show her mom, sister and grandparents what her boyfriend had gotten her (even though they saw the whole thing) and they smiled and gasped in excitement for Courtney. Roy slid into Courtney’s seat, glancing around the room, momentarily catching Adore’s eye and smirking. She smiled back sweetly, letting him have his little moment of glory.

“Omigod, thank you!” Courtney leaped into Roy’s lap, covering his face with kisses.

“You’re really happy? I figured like, jewelry or something...you know, it would be kind of predictable. But this is something we can do together.”

She pressed their foreheads together. “You’re the best boyfriend ever, and we’re going to have the most amazing summer.” Courtney wrapped her arms around Roy’s neck, whispering, “I love you so much…”

“I love you more. Even though you’ve been a real pain in the ass…”

“Hey!” Courtney exclaimed, pulling away, but Roy pulled her back, capturing her lips in a sweet, tender kiss, hands circling her waist.

Dela looked at Adore. “Are they always like this?” she asked quietly, wrinkling her nose.

Adore stuck her tongue out, nodding. “Always. Gross, huh?”

Dela nodded, then poked Courtney on the shoulder. “Hey, birthday princess…” she sang.

“Yeahhh?” Courtney lifted her head, leaning against Roy’s shoulder, slightly glassy-eyed.

“Want another present?”

“Yes!”

Dela handed her a shiny turquoise bag.

“Wait, you really got me a present?! But you came all the way here, you didn’t need to also buy me something!”

“Awww, I love you, and you’re so full of shit!” Dela laughed.

Courtney giggled.

She opened the turquoise bag and found it stuffed to the brim with glittery nail polishes, lip glosses, and a pair of super chic retro sunglasses, which she immediately tried on, pursing her lips in a model-esque pose.

“Gorgeous! See, I knew they were you!” Dela exclaimed.

“Aw, thank you Dela,” Courtney pulled her into a hug, “I've missed you so much.”

Courtney was about to get up, when Adore asked, “Time for one more?”

“I think we can manage that,” Courtney grinned.

“Here you go.” Adore handed Courtney a long, narrow box, wrapped in black glittery paper. The tag said “2005.” “I hope it satisfies your demands.”

Courtney giggled, remembering how she’d made Adore promise that her present would make everyone jealous. She unwrapped the box, opening the velvet lid slowly. Inside was a rose gold charm bracelet.

The first charm Courtney saw was a tiny little bow. She bit her lip, holding back tears, studying at all the other charms. There were some sweet ones that represented them and their friendship, like music notes and drama masks and a little heart, and then a bunch like the bow that seemed to go with the presents she’d gotten over the last two weeks...a tree, a roller coaster, tiny little crutches, a lollipop, a microphone, a hairbrush, a ladder, the British flag.

She laughed at the skull and crossbones, then touched the one beside it, looking up at Adore’s expectant face. “What’s this one?”

“The eternity symbol. Best friends forever.” Adore’s voice was soft.

Courtney lunged forward, wrapping her into a hug, tears dripping down her face, sobbing into her neck.

“So you like it?” Adore whispered teasingly into her hair, holding back tears of her own, trying to keep things light.

“It’s perfect.” Courtney pulled away, tears still falling. “Can you help me put it on?” she asked.

“It doesn’t match your other jewelry--”

“I don’t care,” Courtney sniffled, wiping her eyes with a gloved hand.

“Okay, then.” Adore took her wrist and fastened the bracelet.

Courtney hugged her again, clinging to her tightly.

“Come on, let’s finish dinner so we can dig into that ridiculous pink cake over there,” Adore murmured.

She slung an arm around Courtney’s waist and led her back to their table, glancing at Roy on the way, who had his eyes narrowed at her. She shrugged and grinned at him, feeling a little petty, but knowing her victory was bittersweet. She may have won this round, but he was still the boyfriend.

DAD: Hiya kiddo. Hope you’re having a blast. I hate to be a bummer but I’m not gonna make it tonight. I’m sure you’d rather spend the night with your friends anyway. Have a fantastic birthday, I love you loads, and I promise that Katya and I will take you out to dinner real soon to celebrate.

Courtney snapped her phone closed and put it down on the table, straightening out her skirt.

Roy put his hands on her shoulder. “Did he say when he’s--”

“He’s not coming,” Courtney said flatly, clearing her throat.

Adore swallowed, trying to think of something to say that would make her feel better, and coming up dreadfully short. She looked up into Courtney’s eyes, could see how crushed her best friend was, and knew that nothing she could do would fix it.

Courtney looked away from Adore’s sympathetic expression, those hazel eyes so full of concern that they’d make her burst into tears if she looked at them a second longer, took a deep breath and turned towards the dance floor, sighing. “Why are those lights out?”

“What lights?” Roy asked.

“Those!” Courtney pointed to a string of fairy lights that were out, near the dance floor.

“They probably came unplugged. I’ll go check.”

Courtney followed him over to the dance floor, looking around, tapping her foot. “Nobody is dancing. Tomas, can’t you play something more fun? Where’s the playlist I gave you?” She crossed her arms.

“Yeah, sure. I was just trying to keep it kind of chill while people finished dinner. We can kick things up.” The DJ winked at her and opened his laptop.

Darienne walked up and asked, “Hey, babe, do you still want to try and save some of the enchiladas, ‘cause they’re almost gone…”

“WHAT?! We were supposed to save a whole tray in the kitchen to bring to the shelter tomorrow! Who put it out?!” Courtney demanded.

“I don’t know, I’m sure it was an innocent--oh, no...”

“What?”

“It looks like you’re missing an earring,” Darienne said, touching her cheek softly.

“What?!” Courtney cried, panicking.

“Yeah, hold still, it’s probably just somewhere on your dress. Dela, come here, help me for a sec.”

Courtney stood, wringing her hands, as the two girls searched the folds of her skirt. “I can’t lose that earring, I borrowed it from my mom, it belonged to my great-grandmother, oh god, you have to find it, please hurry.” She began to whimper, covering her face, as Grandma Muriel approached.

“Why do you look so distressed, dear?”

“Grandma, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she wailed, grasping the older woman’s hands. “I think I lost Nana’s earring, it must be around here somewhere but I don’t know if we can find it and--”

“Courtney, for heaven’s sake, get ahold of yourself.” Muriel shook her head, walking away.

“Just stop, it’s no use…” Courtney shook Dela off her skirt. “It’s too dark. We’ll never find it.”

“But maybe we can--”

“I said leave it!”

“Okay, sorry.” Dela exchanged a look with Darienne and backed off. “I’m gonna go get some more punch…”

“Uh, Court, I think one of the bulbs in that string burned out, they aren’t working,” Roy said.

“Ugh! Great!”

Suddenly, the cheerleaders stormed the dance floor as Missy Elliott’s “I’m Really Hot” began blasting.

Courtney nodded at Tomas, who winked, and then was pulled into a group of squealing girls by Laganja. That’s when she noticed the red flower on Alyssa’s dress. “Really, Alyssa? You of all people can’t follow a dress code?”

“Step off, Jenek.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m one of the few people here who doesn’t find your diva nonsense charming. I’m not the one. So step. Off. If you know what’s good for you.”

Some of the cheerleaders paused, taking notice of the two girls standing in the middle of the dance floor.

Bob's hand tightened around April’s as he tried to subtly nod in Alyssa and Courtney's direction.

“Five bucks on Alyssa,” he whispered, causing April to snort.

“You're terrible. Alyssa won't do anything but make her run extra laps at cheer practice or something. She's all talk,” April murmured, eyes watching the two girls.

“I don't know, Alyssa has about 20 pounds on Courtney. She could definitely take her.” Bob shrugged his shoulders, pulling April closer as he waited to see what would happen, April’s cheeks reddening.

After staring each other down, Courtney turned on her heel and flounced away, nearly bumping into her mother.

“Hey, love, did you want to do the cake now, or wait a little?” Karen said. “I think people are mostly done with dinner, so--”

“I don’t care!” Courtney snapped. “Whatever.”

“Well, it’s your party, Courtney, so I think you should--”

“Fine! Do it now! It’s not like it fucking matters, mom, it’s just a stupid cake!” Tears burned in her eyes.

Karen looked at her like she was debating whether to smack her across the face or give her a hug. After a few moments, she spoke in a quiet voice. “I’ll go get the candles.”

“Great.” Courtney bit her lip, holding back tears.

Roy took a step towards her. “Courtney, everyone is doing their best, okay? I mean, I know you’re upset about your dad, but that’s no reason to act like a bitch to everyone who’s here, who’s trying to--.”

Courtney narrowed her eyes at him, pushing him away. “This is not about my fucking dad, Roy!”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, babe, whatever you say.”

“Go fuck yourself!” Courtney screeched, shoving him out of the way and storming off the dance floor.

Roy stood for a moment, helpless, knowing he’d done the wrong thing, as “1, 2 Step” began blaring over the speakers, the bass pumping, the dance floor filling up even more, suddenly feeling stifling.

“Good work, bro,” Adore said, thumping him on the shoulder.

“Fuck. I don’t know where she went…” He shook his head.

“I know where she went,” Adore assured him. “Maybe let’s not light any candles yet, though?”

Roy nodded.

Adore climbed the ladder, hoisting herself into the tree house and sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Hey.”

Courtney wiped some tears from her cheeks.

“Hi.” She was curled in the corner, in a beanbag chair. Her tiara was askew and her gown was wrinkled, the tulle bunched up around her like a glittery fuchsia cloud.

“Planning to hide in here for the rest of the night?”

Sniffling, Courtney shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Alright.” Adore shoved the second beanbag chair over to her and stretched out. “In that case, I’m sort of bummed I didn’t bring any snacks, but I guess we’ll live.”

Courtney giggled a little in spite of herself, then sniffled as her tears continued to fall.

“I know I’m being awful. Roy was right.”

“Yeah, well, Roy’s always right, isn’t he? That doesn’t mean he needed to say it.”

Courtney closed her eyes.

“I hate that I care this much. I feel like such a stupid fucking baby. But...it’s my first birthday without him, you know?”

Adore nodded, silently taking her hand.

“I just really thought he’d come. I really thought, even though things have been weird and everything, that when it came down to it, I’d still be able to count on him. That he still gave half a shit. I’m so dumb.” She shook her head, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Adore brushed the tears away gently with her fingers, whispering. “You’re not dumb.”

Courtney leaned on Adore’s shoulder. “I even had a song picked out for us to dance to.”

“What song?”

“You Are My Sunshine.”

“Dude. That is so cheesy.”

“I know! That’s the point!” Courtney laughed, fresh tears falling.

“Well...it’s his loss, because you are sunshine. And you’ve never looked prettier.”

Courtney smiled, knowing that she was, at the moment, a tear-stained mess. “Thank you for lying.”

Adore took the edge of a blanket and dried Courtney’s cheeks, then opened her handbag and pulled out a compact, eyeliner, and lip gloss. She got to work fixing Courtney’s makeup and within two minutes, leaned back, pleased with her work. “There,” Adore said, adjusting the tiara on her head, rearranging her blonde curls. “Beautiful.”

“You are, too,” Courtney said softly, gazing up at her.

Adore looked at Courtney and, for a moment, it was if she could really see her. Every insecurity, every desire. She took Courtney’s face in her hands and tilted her chin up. She leaned in slowly and brushed their lips together.

Courtney’s heart raced as she savored the sweet softness of Adore’s mouth. She gripped the tulle fabric of her skirt in her hands, and then before she could blink, the kiss was over and Adore was pulling away again, still looking at her but not in the same way. The walls were back up and it felt as if a chasm had opened up between them.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--” Adore’s voice was hoarse and distant.

“No, it’s alr--”

“We should go back.”

“Okay.” Courtney felt like crying again, and she wasn’t sure why. She just followed Adore, out of the tree house and back to the party.

The good news was, the DJ had managed to keep the party going. It seemed like most people hadn’t even noticed that Courtney left, from how much fun they were having on the dance floor. Except Roy, of course, sitting at their table, sipping forlornly out of a pink sparkly cup.

She approached him, nervously biting her lip, adjusting her elbow-length gloves. “Hey.”

He looked up. “Hi.”

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a monster all day, and you’ve been really great, like you always are, just the best, and, and you were right, I was upset about my dad, and I’m just...I’m sorry.” Courtney pressed her lips together, trying to hold in her tears. “Please don’t be mad.”

Roy stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to upset you. But like, this is a birthday party and you’ve been so stressed and irritated, and I just thought--”

“I know, I know.”

“This is probably a totally insane idea, but what if we...keep an open mind here, this is crazy, but...what if we try to have fun for the rest of the night?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Huh...huh?”

Courtney laughed, pulling him in for another hug. “You’re so lame. I love you.”

“Me too, baby.”

“Do you wanna dance?”

Roy put his hand over his heart. “I would love to, but I don’t know that Spice Girls choreography.”

Courtney giggled and pulled him onto the dance floor. “Don’t taunt me, Del Rio, or I’ll make you learn. Dela’s leaving again Monday, and I think you’d be a really cute Sporty.”

“She is the butch one.”

“Good point. Maybe you should be Posh.”

Roy laughed and put his arms around her as the DJ switched to Usher and Alicia Keys singing “My Boo.” Courtney leaned her head on his shoulder, and sighed, glancing around the dance floor. She caught Adore’s eye and smiled at her. Adore raised a pink sparkly cup at her, holding her gaze for a long moment until Willam thumped her on the shoulder to get her attention back.

Courtney looked back at Roy, who flashed his dimples at her and kissed her softly. She felt a stab of guilt, remembering the other kiss she’d gotten that night. But, it didn’t mean anything, right? It was just a friendly kiss, her best friend trying to make her feel better.

She closed her eyes, insides twisting, stomach in knots. Because if she was really honest with herself, it wasn’t the kiss that she felt guilty about. It was that feeling, the moment Adore pulled away, of regret. She dug her fingers into Roy’s shoulders, and he held her tighter around the waist.

Suddenly, she couldn’t stop the tears and she was crying again. Roy cupped her face and kissed her cheeks. “What’s the matter, babe?”

Courtney shook her head.

“One of those ‘it’s my party, I’ll cry if I want to’ moments? Should I just leave it alone?” Roy asked.

Courtney nodded as Roy swiped a napkin from the dessert table and dried her eyes.

“Alright. Come here.” He pulled her close and she fell into his arms, unable to tear her eyes away from where Adore stood with Willam and Pearl, deep in thought.

Adore stirred her punch with a straw as she half-listened to whatever Willam was running his mouth about. She couldn’t believe that she had kissed Courtney, especially in the emotional state that the blonde had been in, but in that moment it had felt so right and that’s what made it all the more wrong.

Adore was a slave to her feelings, and it felt like the more she tried to run from them, the more intense and reckless they became when they caught up to her.

That’s the moment when the lights suddenly cut out and Karen wheeled in the giant birthday cake, decorated with a huge fuchsia bow, black and white stripes, and shiny silver stars. Everyone gathered around the birthday girl to sing, and Adore focused on the sparkler candles, glittering in the darkness.

Goosebumps rose on the back of her neck, the feeling of someone’s eyes on her pulling Adore from her thoughts.

Hazel eyes looked up to find bright green eyes staring back at her. Adore grew anxious, unable to interrupt the emotions behind Courtney’s piercing stare.

Adore wondered if she had fucked up and Courtney was mad at her or even worse, if Courtney knew Adore had feelings for her that she shouldn’t have.

Adore looked away, her chest growing tight as a million thoughts ran through her head.

Courtney continued to gaze at her best friend, unable to focus on the crowd, on her mother and everyone urging her to blow out the candles.

“Babe, make a wish…” Roy said, kissing her temple.

Courtney bit her lip, eyes falling closed as she blew out the candles, not daring to let herself form a coherent thought in that moment. Because if she did, she was afraid of what she might wish for. She opened her eyes back up, and everyone was cheering, while Kimmy began to slice up the cake.

Roy swept her up into his arms again while the lights turned back on and Tomas turned up the music, Beyoncé‘s “Baby Boy.”

Pearl handed a piece of cake to Adore, taking one for herself too. “Dude, let’s go ask the DJ to play ‘American Life.’”

“That song where Madonna raps about her household staff?” Willam asked skeptically.

“Yeah! It’s so good!”

“That’s fucking embarrassing, New Girl.”

“Adore, come on, back me up here! I mean, or ‘Hollywood’ is good too…” she mused.

“I think I’m gonna take off,” Adore murmured, setting her cup down and pulling her phone out of her back pocket, sending a text to Raja asking if she could get a ride so that they could hang out.

As the song finished, Courtney lifted her head from Roy’s shoulder, smiling at him. “Thank you,” she said, reaching up and touching his cheek with her gloved hand.

“Anytime,” he replied, flashing those killer dimples at her.

Courtney glanced over to where Adore had been standing, feeling an urge to clear the air, just to make sure everything was okay, but she was gone. She excused herself from Roy, leaving him with Darienne and Dela, and hurried over. To her dismay, Willam and Pearl both reported that they thought Adore had left, and so she tore through the backyard to Adore’s house, shouting her name, finding her leaning on the side of her garage.

Her pounding heart began to slow down as she caught her breath.

“Hi...sorry for yelling, I just…”

“No, it’s okay. Are you alright?” Adore asked.

“Yeah. Um…” Courtney licked her lips, adjusting her gloves awkwardly. “Willam said you left, and I just wanted to find you so I could...I wanted to say thank you. For...for the bracelet. And...everything.” Courtney took another step towards her, eyes soft and misty.

“You’re welcome. Happy birthday.” Adore’s own eyes still had the same inscrutable, slightly guarded expression they’d had earlier. But her smile was genuine.

Courtney wrapped her arms around Adore’s shoulders, burying her face into her friend’s neck and hugging her tightly.

“I love you, Dory.”

Adore closed her eyes, holding her close, trying not to be hyper-aware of the warm breath against her skin, the scent of her silky hair, the all too recent memory of the taste of her.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. As if by some miracle, they were suddenly blinded by headlights as Raja’s car pulled into the driveway. Adore broke away from the hug, waving gratefully to her.

“Um, that’s my...I gotta go,” she told Courtney, who simply nodded. “Goodnight. The party was awesome. And I love you too!” She blew a kiss as she slipped into the car.

Raja tossed a cigarette out the window as she pulled out of the driveway.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Glad you texted.”

“Me too. I had to get out of there.”

“Not into the quinceanera fantasy?” Raja laughed.

Adore shook her head. “Been a long day.”

“Stressful?”

Adore looked over to Raja, the streetlights illuminating her features.

“Yeah,” Adore said, voice only slightly above a whisper, eyes flickering to Raja’s lips.

Pulling up to the stop sign at the end of the street Raja put the car in park, turning to face Adore.

“Well, we all do it. Have a big princess-like party; if we don’t want it our mom’s ‘ll make us,” Raja said lowly, leaning on the armrest.

“Really?” Adore asked, leaning on towards Raja, “Did you?”

“Mhm,” Raja smirked, eyes flickering to Adore’s lips, “My ma made sure that I had an extraaaavagant birthday party. I had a big turquoise dress, my hair done up, the works.”

Adore let out a breathy giggle, “You don’t look the type.”

“No?” Raja raised her eyebrows, slightly tilting her head and Raja’s warm breath hitting Adore’s face made Adore notice that they were closer than she realized. Lips inches apart.

“No.”

“Maybe when we get to my place…” Raja placed a sweet kiss on Adore’s lips-- that had her chasing Raja’s lips as she pulled away, “I can show you some pictures.”

Raja smiled innocently, but Adore wouldn’t let her get away. She needed to forget what happened earlier; she needed to forget her mistake, the way nothing seemed to matter, but them in the tree house. Adore leaned over the armrest, pulling Raja back towards her, pressing her lips into Raja’s harder than the first kiss, desperate to erase the way Courtney’s lips felt against hers. Raja could do that, Raja could make her forget and when the older girl nipped at her lip, Adore let her in.

The position was awkward with the armrest pressed between them, but the feel of Raja’s hands on her, tugging her closer was worth it. Adore gripped at Raja’s jacket, when they broke for air, Raja leaving kisses along Adore’s jaw before Adore guided Raja’s lips back to hers.

Before the kiss could deepen again the girls were scared apart by a horn beeping behind them. They looked up, both startled, as a car sped around them, the driver tossing them the finger.

“Damn, bro, calm down,” Raja said, and Adore giggled, arms sliding back around her neck.

“Come back here…”

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wikiangela-fanfics · 4 years

Text

"I could really eat somethin'"

This is a fic from Fictober 2019 (I wrote only two, lol) and it’s kind of based on “That 70′s show” and their Circle - so all the stuff of how they act is based on the show, I have no idea if it’s accurate even a little bit

And again, I liked the idea, but I feel like I fucked up the second half of this fic hah

Ao3

Summary: Dean and his friends go out to eat something while being high, in the middle of the night. As chance would have it, they meet Dean's crush.

Words: 4514

***

It was Friday night. Actually, it was already Saturday. Four teenagers were sitting in a circle at the round table. They were all in great moods. It was probably mostly due to the joint they were sharing. They were finishing another one and they were quite high at this point. But let’s introduce them first.

First, sitting in an armchair, a little bent towards the table, with huge grin on his face, was Dean Winchester. He was laughing at something someone said, tho he wasn’t really sure what it was. Even in his washed out jeans and a t-shirt with a band name, and high, he looked gorgeous. Back in high school he was one of the hottest, most popular guys. Not that he cared about all that. He was a twenty-one year-old college student now, and they were sitting in his small apartment at the moment.

To Dean’s left was his best friend, Charlie Bradburry, sitting in the middle of the couch, talking passionately about something. They’ve been friends forever and now they were going to the same university. Her beautiful red hair was up in a ponytail, with few strands of hair and her fringe loose all around her face. She was wearing Dean’s t-shirt, because she spilled coke all over hers, being her clumsy self.

Opposite to Charlie, and to Dean’s right there was his other best friend, Benny Lafitte, on an ottoman, holding the joint at the moment and taking a drag on it. He was also Dean and Charlie’s friend. They all met at the same time in elementary school and were inseparable since. Benny too went to college with Dean and even used to live with him for a while, before they decided that living together was not good for their friendship. They drove each other crazy.

And finally, opposite to Dean, in another armchair, was Sam Winchester. He was Dean’s younger brother. He was seventeen, in high school, and visiting his brother during winter break. But he was… not like his brother. In Dean’s words, he was a geek. With great grades and already knowing exactly what he wants to do in the future. Dean was in college, but even he had no idea what he wants to do. Sam wasn’t smoking with them. He took few puffs just so they wouldn’t tease him about how lame and uptight he is. And he knew them all for years, he knew they would do that. Then they stopped paying attention and he was just observing them with amusement.

“I could really eat somethin’.” Dean said, interrupting Charlie’s rant about something he wasn’t listening to.

“You always do.” Charlie laughed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway... what was I talking about?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows and trying to remember.

“I honestly have no fuckin’ idea.” Benny said, giggling , and passing the joint along to Dean.

“You’re pretty.” Charlie said to Dean and chuckled.

“You’re prettier.” he answered with a wink, then taking a drag of the joint.

“Well, duh.” she said, laughing again. “Gimme” she took the spliff from his hand, smoking it instantly.

“I think you’ve had enough, babycakes.” Benny reached across the table to take it from her, but she dodged from his hand.

“Look who’s talking.” she said, taking another drag. Then she gave it to Sam, who immediately gave it to Benny, who after a while gave it back to Dean, who just remembered that he’s hungry.

“Guys, I’m starving.” Dean said again, in a kind of whiny tone. “Let’s go out.”

“Yeah, I could eat too.” Benny shrugged.

“Yay, food!” Charlie exclaimed. She was probably the highest of them all. She was already up, going to the front door and putting her shoes on.

“You good, Sammy?” Dean asked his younger brother, of course thinking it was his first time smoking. It wasn’t. And he wasn’t really smoking right now anyway. Dean stood up and put out the joint.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded, also standing up. “So we’re going out?”

Benny and Charlie were already out the door, with shoes and jackets on. They were laughing about something on the staircase.

“Yeah, we gonna eat.” Dean grinned. He couldn’t help it.

“Where?” Sam asked, putting his jacket and shoes on.

“Well…” Dean started, but got interrupted.

“How about this diner around the corner?” Benny said. “You know, the one where the guy you’re in love with works.” he said and Dean was surprised that his tone wasn’t even teasing like always. He just said that so casually, like it was the most common fact.

“I’m not.” Dean said. “But whatever. We can go there.” not like the guy’s gonna be there anyway. It was middle of the night and Dean saw him there only during days. And he knew for a fact that it’s open 24/7. He’s there quite a lot, especially on weekends, when the guy works.

“In love, huh?” Sam asked teasingly. That he was not aware of, and he was undoubtedly the person that knew literally everything about Dean.

“Shut you cakehole, bitch.” older brother said, but he couldn’t contain a smile. Mostly because he was that high.

"Jerk." Sam muttered back.

They all went out of the building and started walking down the street. They were all talking and laughing. Charlie and Dean were walking hand in hand. Benny and Sam were right next to them. It was around 2am. There weren’t many people out.

Few minutes later they went into the diner. And Dean stopped suddenly, unknowingly pulling Charlie back towards him, and causing Benny and Sam behind them to almost bump into him.

“Dude, what the fuck-” Benny started, but then he just snorted and tried to suppress a laugh. “So he is here.” he added. “Sammy, meet your brother’s great, unrequited love.”

“Maybe a little louder, would ya?” Dean said, trying to appear annoyed. But he wasn’t really capable of being annoyed right now, thanks to the weed. He was too relaxed. He pulled Charlie towards the nearest free table. It wasn’t hard, just two others were occupied. “And to you he’s Sam.” he added, knowing that the kid’s gonna say it anyway.

“C’mon.” Benny rolled his eyes, sitting down opposite to him and Charlie.

“Dean’s right.” Sam said, sitting next to him. “Only Dean calls me ‘Sammy’, which I still hate by the way.” he said with his famous annoyed expression and Dean laughed.

“Even our parents are not allowed to call him that.”

“We know.” Charlie spoke up. “We’ve known you for quite some time.”

They all started bickering, when someone approached the table.

“Hello, what can I get you?” they all looked at the waiter. Dean swallowed loudly. It was him. No amount of weed would make him relaxed enough to not be a little bit nervous around his crush.

“Hey Cas.” Dean cleared his throat, looking away from him. “I’ll have the usual.”

They all placed their orders and Cas went away, with Dean observing him. Cas was in a really well-fitting pair of black jeans, and a white polo shirt that they were supposed to wear in the diner, and a red apron. And he looked good. Like always. His dark hair all messy. But the thing about him Dean liked the most, in appearance, were his eyes. So blue and bright and… deep and nice and Dean was so in love with those eyes. He also loved Castiel’s sense of humor and the way he got confused when he didn’t understand a joke or a reference. Or how smart he was and he seemed to know every fact there is about everything. And he was so nice and helpful to people. They talked quite a lot. But not long, because Cas was always working. And Dean never had the guts to ask him out, even as friends. And when they weren’t talking and Dean was in the diner, he liked to observe him. He knew all his cutest smiles and expressions. And he was a little creeped out by himself, but he didn’t care.

“You’re staring.” Charlie said in a singsong tone.

“So what?” Dean found himself not really caring if Cas notices. But that lasted a moment, after which he came back to reality. “I’m hungry.” he said again.

“Dude, we just ordered. Be patient.” Benny rolled his eyes, smiling.

Dean and Benny started talking, Sam pitched in from time to time, mainly just listening, while Charlie was ignoring them completely, drawing on napkins with pen she asked another waiter for.

“Wow, that’s nice.” Sam said to her, while other guys were still talking.

“Thanks, Sammy.” she grinned and stuck out her tongue when he rolled his eyes. “You know you’re stuck with ‘Sammy’, right?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” he sighed, but he had a little smile. They were like family. “But it’s okay, as long as it’s just you three.” he knew he would not win with them. With Dean. To Dean he will always be his little brother Sammy and he had to come to terms with it.

Just then Cas came over with a tray full of their food. He put everything on the table.

“Thanks, Cas.” Charlie grinned at him.

“That’s pretty.” he pointed to Charlie’s drawing.

“It’s nothing.” she chuckled. “You’re cute.” she added, looking up at him, and before she said anything else that might be stupid or about Dean, Dean nudged her with his elbow, maybe a little too hard. “Oh wow, I’m hungry.” and she dug in her food, already forgetting what she said.. They were still high.

“Enjoy your meal.” Cas smiled, a little abashed, and then was gone.

Just then Charlie said seriously “If you’re not gonna ask him out, I will.”

“What?” Dean turned towards her, shocked. “You’re a lesbian.”

“And still, he’s so dreamy even I am attracted to him.” she said, a little bit jokingly, but the rest of them couldn’t be sure. “I was never even attracted to you, and according to every girl in high school, that was impossible.” she pointed out.

“That’s not true, shut up.” Dean took a bite of his food. “If you go out with him, we’re not friends anymore.”

“You gonna break up with me?” she asked in a mockingly shocked tone. “Over a guy ? How can you even say that?” she theatrically put her hand on her chest. “Wait, you’re not gonna, are you?” she seemed genuinely concerned now.

“He’s not just any guy.” Benny said. Dean just kept eating, because he was really hungry. Normally they wouldn’t stop with the jokes and teasing, but they were stoned now, so one of them will change the subject soon. The only thing he would worry about, if he was sober, was that they were talking incredibly loud. “He’s the one . The one that wrapped Dean around his finger not even trying.”

“Seriously?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah.” Charlie nodded and then started laughing. Then she got all serious. “Guys!” she exclaimed. “What if we all got magic powers, like, like wizards- Like, what if we were supposed to go to Hogwarts but we never got out letters?!” she seemed really concerned about this, which was really funny to the rest of the group.

“Wait.” Benny thought about something intensively. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard it already tonight.”

“Really?” she was confused.

“Yeah, you’ve been talking about it before Dean suggested food.” Sam said. He was still the sober one.

“Oh.” she said, and it seemed like she was suddenly deep in thought. “I would eat some ice-cream.”

“Later.” Dean said, rolling his eyes. “Oh fuck, it’s good.” he added, pointing to his food. “But we gotta get ice-cream after this.”

“Yes!” Charlie clapped.

“This coke is the best!” said Benny, sipping the drink he ordered.

Sam was amazed at how quickly their moods and topics were changing, basically this whole night. He knew how weed worked, but still, he never saw his big brother like that, so it was weird.

When they were finished with the food, they spent a bit more time there, just sitting and talking. Then they paid and left. They started walking back towards Dean’s apartment, Benny and Charlie deep in conversation about some sci-fi movie they both watched and now they were discussing and freaking out over the end of the world. Sam was to them listening with amusement, and Dean was deep in thought. Then suddenly he stopped.

“I’m gonna be right back.” he pulled the keys out and gave them to Sam. And then he just turned around and walked away.

“What?” they were all confused.

“We were supposed to get ice-cream!” Charlie remembered.

“Let’s go then.” Benny decided. “Dean’s loss.”

“Are there any places with ice-cream even open right now?” Sam, of course, was the voice of reason.

“Shoot, I didn’t think of that.” Charlie said, looking like she’s about to cry.

“Then we’ll find some 24/7 supermarket or something and we’ll eat ice-cream at home.” Benny said. “Sound okay?”

***

Meanwhile, Dean felt bold and stoned and he was not thinking clearly. So he decided to do something stupid.

He went back to the diner and saw Cas wiping tables.

“Hey.” he said, walking over to him.

“Oh, hi.” Castiel looked at him. “Did you forget something?”

And Dean got lost in those blue eyes. And all he wanted to do was kiss Cas’ lips. But... Keep in mind that he was intoxicated, when he mindlessly said, or maybe even muttered “I could really eat somethin’.”

“What?” Castiel squinted his eyes adorably as he did, when he was really confused. “You just ate, Dean.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Dean chuckled uncomfortably. “Sorry, I’m a little high. Um, what I wanted to say was-” he took a deep breath. “You wanna go out with me sometime?” he said quickly and nervously. The only reason he got it together was weed and even that wasn’t enough to not stress about Cas’ answer. Or maybe it was starting to wear off? He wasn’t sure.

“Of course.” Castiel smiled widely.

“I mean, on a date.” Dean added, not sure if the beautiful angel in front of him understood. He bit his lip nervously, while Cas just chuckled.

“I got that. I would love to go on a date with you.” Cas said slowly so it would really get to Dean. “Just don’t be high then.”

“Yeah, ‘course.” Dean laughed. “I’ll give you a call.”

“You don’t have my number.” Cas said, pulling his pad and a pen, writing a number and then tearing the page out of there and giving it to Dean. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Dean smiled. “But I really could eat somethin’. It’s the weed.” he explained. “I think we were gonna get ice-cream.”

“We have ice-cream.” Cas said. “We can share.” he smirked.

“Sure.” Dean said, already forgetting about his friends. “But this will not count as the first date.” he added.

***

Later that night, maybe around 3:30am, he was back in the apartment, where the rest of them were eating ice-cream from a box.

“Suckers.” he laughed. “I just had ice-cream with Cas. And I got a date. Sorry, Charlie, he’s mine.” Dean grinned and his friends were in shock.

“I knew you had the guts to ask him out.” Benny finally said. “Well, really I didn’t, but good for you.”

“Congrats. And don’t fuck it up.” Sam spoke.

“I guess I prefer ladies anyway.” Charlie shrugged.

Dean sat down with them and after the box of ice-cream was empty, they all went to sleep.

***

The next day, when the weed wore off and Dean was sober, he woke up and started panicking.

"I asked Cas out." he said to himself. He pulled the number out of his pocket, as he didn't change before sleep, and just stared at it for some time. "And he said yes. Fuck me.” he covered his face with his hand, still not believing that it actually happened. But he knew it did. He didn’t remember much of last night, but he definitely remembered his talk with Cas.

“I’m sure he will, but shut up.” Charlie groaned next to him, turning her back to him and taking more of the covers with her. She wasn’t a morning person. Well, neither was Dean, but he was too nervous about his date. They were sleeping in his bed, Sam was on the couch in the living room, and Benny on the floor in living room.

Dean rolled his eyes and got out of bed. He quickly put Cas’ number into his phone. He knew that Castiel is probably asleep after night shift, and also he didn’t want to be the guy that calls right away. That would seem lame. Although he did not want to wait too long...

So he called him later that day, when his friends went back to their houses and it was just him and his brother.

“Hello?” Cas answered and Dean felt this familiar warm feeling he got every time he heard Cas’ voice.

“Hey Cas. It’s Dean.” he said and went to his room, to be alone and so Sam, who was sitting in the living room watching tv, would not hear his conversation.

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel said. “I’m glad you called.”

“I’m calling about that date… because I did ask you out on a date, right?” he added, suddenly doubting himself.

“Yes, you did.” Cas laughed. “You really were that high, huh?”

“I guess.” Dean bit his lip. “So, are you free anytime next week? Around 6pm maybe?”

“I’m free tomorrow night.” Cas said, but then added quickly “But we can find time next week too, I just thought- Nevermind, sorry.”

“No, that’s cool. I mean, that’s even better.” Dean assured. “Honestly I wanted to ask you even about tonight, but I didn’t wanna be too, um, pushy, I guess. But I’ve been wanting to ask you out for so long that the sooner the better.”

“Okay, great.” Dean could swear he heard Cas smiling. “Tomorrow night, then.”

“Oh, wait.” Winchester suddenly remembered that his brother is staying with him for another few days. He opened the door and called “Yo, Sammy, you gonna be okay if I leave you here alone tomorrow night for a couple hours?”

“I’m gonna be fine, Dean.” Dean could see only his back, but he was sure Sam just rolled his eyes. “Go on your big date and have fun.”

“Thanks, little bro.” he closed the door again. “Sorry ‘bout that.” he said to the phone. “It’s just that my brother’s visiting and, you know.” he shrugged, although Cas obviously couldn’t see him.

“So tomorrow around six?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Should I pick you up?”

"Sure, why not.” Cas chuckled. “I’ll text you the address.”

***

He was really nervous for the rest of the day, and the next day. Normally, when he or his friends were feeling stressed, they would smoke a bit, just enough to relax. But he promised Cas he would be sober. Besides, he wanted to remember everything exactly.

But he didn’t even know where to take him or what to wear.

“Dean, relax.” Sam sighed, when Dean was running all over the apartment, looking for his favourite t-shirt. “You’ll figure out what you wanna do together.”

“Yeah, but still. I have no clue- ah, shit!” he exclaimed after he hit his foot against the couch. “I really want this to work out. It has to.” he added, running back to his room. “What t-shirt did Charlie wear yesterday? You know, the one she took from my closet?”

“I don’t know, didn’t pay much attention to that. Just wear whatever, you always look the same.” Sam was getting annoyed. His brother was insufferable sometimes. “And you never really cared what you wore on dates.”

“Yeah, but this is Cas.” Dean had to go out in twenty minutes if he wanted to be on time. “I really, really like him, Sammy.” he stopped in the door to his room and looked at his brother.

“I know.” Sam sighed. “And he likes you too, don’t worry. I honestly don’t know any person, who isn’t a teacher, who didn’t like you.” he said, because, yeah, Dean wasn’t so popular with the teachers. He was doing good at school, but his attitude wasn’t always the best. He was kind of a smart-ass.

“Funny.” Dean rolled his eyes. “And he’s gonna be a teacher.” he mumbled, going back to looking through his closet. Cas was working at the diner on weekends, and for the rest of the week he was in college too.

“Then you’re screwed.” Sam joked and got a pair of socks thrown at his head. “I’m kidding! Jerk.” he scoffed, getting up to take a beer out of the fridge. He loved being at Dean’s place, because he could do whatever he wanted, like drink beer that his brother would buy him.

“Bitch.” Dean responded. After few minutes he walked out of his room in blue jeans, black t-shirt with unbuttoned, red, plaid shirt over it. “Be honest, how do I look?”

“Like I said, same as always.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“You’re no help.” Dean scoffed and FaceTimed Charlie, asking the same question. She was at some party, getting drunk and high again.

“You look awesome!” she yelled, through the music. “I’m sure you gonna get some tonight!”

Sam laughed at that and Dean just hung up. It was about making good impression, not...ugh. Well, Cas knew him for over a year now and still wanted to go out with him, so maybe he didn’t have to panic as much. And he kinda ruined the ‘first’ impression when he asked him out while high… All that is left is not making a fool out of himself on the date.

***

He parked his car in front of the building Cas lived in. He got out of the car and that’s when he saw the door opening and Cas was walking towards him, wearing a light blue shirt and black jeans, with unzipped jacket over his shoulders.

“Right on time.” Cas grinned.

“Yeah, like to be punctual. For the important things.” Dean chuckled. “Fuck, you’re cute.” he said without thinking, looking at Castiel’s smile. Cas blushed and gave him a sheepish smile.

“You too.” he said and they were silent for a moment. “Is this awkward?” he then added, feeling a bit weird.

“Only if we let it be.” Dean answered, opening the car door for Cas. He was acting way more confident than he felt. “So how about dinner?”

***

They ended up going to the dinner, then to the movies, and then finally ended up in a bar, drinking beer and talking. Turns out, once they got past the awkwardness, they couldn’t stop talking about basically everything.

“So do you smoke often?” Cas asked, taking a sip of his beer.

“What?” Dean was caught off guard, as they were just talking about the fact that they like the same books.

“I mean weed. You know, when you asked me out-”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Dean interrupted him with a little chuckle. “Yeah, I was pretty stoned. But not too much, okay? I know when to stop, unlike one of my best friends.” he added.

“So do you do this often?” Castiel asked again.

“I mean, when I’m very stressed, or when I’m with my friends and we’re bored... “ he bit his lip. “Maybe quite often.” he shrugged. But then he thought that maybe Cas asked because he doesn’t want to be with a person who gets baked all the time. “But not that much, I mean, it’s not like we do it every day. And weed is not that bad-”

“I know, okay.” Cas interrupted him with a smile. “I don’t have a problem with that. I like you.”

“Well, that’s good. ‘Cause I like you too.” Dean grinned.

“Good. I was only asking, because I never did it, so-”

“Wait.” Dean’s eyes widened. “You’re tellin’ me you never smoked weed?”

“Never had the chance.” Cas shrugged.

“Well, do you wanna?” Winchester asked, not really thinking.

“Why, do you have some?” Cas laughed, but he caught himself really considering it. You gotta try everything, right?

“Not on me, but I got a stash at my place. We could go even now. I mean, if you want to. And my brother’s there, but he’s cool.”

“Okay.” Cas said, surprising them both. “Let’s go.”

“Now?” in answer Cas just nodded.

***

So half an hour later, they were sitting on Dean’s couch, and Dean was lighting up a joint. Meanwhile, Sam was in Dean’s room, where Dean told him to go, reading a book.

Cas smoked for the first time and it wasn’t that bad. At first he didn’t feel anything. Then he started to feel kinda funny. And he was laughing and didn’t even know why.

“For a first time, I think that’s enough.” Dean said after a while. He laughed too.

“I want to kiss you.” Cas said out of the blue, looking Dean straight into the eyes. He was thinking it the whole evening, and now it just kinda slipped out of his mouth.

“That’s fine by me.” Dean smiled, leaning in. He was too chilled out to be stressing about it. When their lips met, he felt ten times higher than he was. It was so amazing and new and exciting. And they both couldn’t stop smiling during the kiss. After they broke the kiss, they just looked at each other.

“You know what?” Cas chuckled, his forehead against Dean’s.

“What?” Dean asked, pulling a little bit away and looking into those beautiful eyes.

“I could really eat something.” at that they both burst out laughing. So they decided to ask Sam to make them some sandwiches. He wasn’t happy about it, but he did it anyway. It was Dean’s big date, he didn't want to be the one ruining something, even by not making a fucking sandwich.

And years later, when Dean and Cas moved in together, they still couldn’t believe that it all started from weed. If it wasn’t for that night when Dean got high and wanted to go out to eat, who knows if he would ever had the guts to ask Cas out? Maybe Cas would ask him? Although he was never really sure if Dean was interested and didn’t want to make a fool of himself. Anyway, the sentence “I could really eat somethin’” has become one of the inside jokes for the group of friends, and, more importantly, a really important thing for Cas and Dean. A sentence that started it all. Or maybe it was weed? Well, they were thankful to both.

That night with his friends, smoking in the Circle, forever was the memory Dean would cherish, even if he remembered it really vaguely. He got the love of his life out of all this. The person who he would be with for the rest of his life. Turns out, weed can be really helpful, huh?

#destiel #Destiel fanfic #destiel oneshot #fluff i guess #fluff #destiel fluff #fanfic #old fic #i kinda like it #but i fucked it up #i write only fluff #fanfic writing #posting old stuff #for now #based on a show #that 70s show #inspired by a show #fictober 2019 #fictober prompts

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who-is-reign · 4 years

Text

Hello, hi, hey

Hi I did a short writing thing- here it is!!

Everything starts with a hello, a hi, a hey. A greeting of some kind. Ours started with something else. It started with a trip, a lot of apologies, and crying. Though I feel like I should probably start at the beginning. That makes more sense anyway.

It all started on what I knew was not going to be a normal day. The day started with two pieces of toast, 3 slices of peaches, and a mug of earl grey tea. Or what I was hoping to be a mug of earl grey tea. I poured the rest of what was left of my mug into a thermos and walked out the door.

3 stairs, take a left, 5 steps forward to the next stairwell. 10 steps down, 5 breathes, 2 stops I could have taken, 7 doors I could see. I ran to my car, even if it was only 5 feet away.

30 minutes and a coffee stop later, I was at work. I work at a publishing firm as the executive editor. I have been there since the start of this company, Indigo Query. I helped with the name of course. Most of the books that I edited are Best Sellers right now. I can’t say I’m not proud of that.

Today is the release date of the first book I wrote. I have babied this book for 4 years. All of the characters are complex and have their own stories. I tried to make it to where there weren’t any background characters. To where there were stories going on behind the scenes, or the main focus of the chapter. It is 1563 pages, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 468900 words. This book is my literal child. I have had these characters since I was in 6th grade. I only started seriously writing out their story in the last 4 years.

I just realized that you know nothing about me. Maybe that’s for the best. You’ll find out later anyway.

I walked in, went through the cafe, up the elevator, through the small library. I was there, and my book was there. On my desk, I saw a hardcover copy of my book. I almost started crying. Okay, I did start crying. That art was my choice, it was made by one of my oldest friends. I carefully picked up the book, letting my hands run over the almost woven texture of the cover, the embellished sides, and the title. Lastly, my name, small in white coloring. I turned to the copyright page and breathed in. My name is listed as the author and editor. My best friend’s listed as the cover artist. This is what I was meant to do. Write books, edit books, publish books.

I put the book down, I couldn’t read it. Not yet. I needed to meet with Leo Adams, president of the company. He is not the original president, he took over after the old president passed. I personally am not a fan of his. I think he is corrupt and doesn’t deserve the company. The only thing I can hope is that one day this company, my home, will get a better president. The only reason I stayed with this company, is because of my book. I could leave if I wanted to, other publishing companies have asked if I wanted to sign for them.

But I have something in my eyes, something I can’t give up. I want to own Indigo Query. I want to own the thing I love more than anything. This company is my life, my livelihood. I hate seeing a man who doesn’t care about books be in charge of it. I need to save the company I have over a decade of time into. But right now, it is my time. My book is getting released.

I need to focus on that and nothing else. I need to work, that’s what I need to do. What I want doesn’t matter right now, and it won’t matter for a while.

I walked as fast as a caffeinated lesbian could without it being considered running to Leo’s office.

“Ms. Kore, it’s fantastic to see you. And of course congrats on the book release, it looks fantastic already.” Leo’s words drawled on, a slight curve to his phrases. I hated it.

“Of course sir, I couldn’t have had this book released without you,” I replied, trying desperately to keep the ill intent out of my voice.

What I didn’t say, was that of course, I couldn’t have had this book released without you. Even with you, there were so many issues with getting it released. Including the date getting pushed back 6 months. I could have had this book out, and sold by now. But no, he said it was too problematic. It took all of the editors, our cover designers, the VP of the company, and basically everyone to get him to allow it to be sold.

“Though Ms. Kore, I must tell you, I really do not think this book will thrive that much. I just do not want to see you getting hurt. Take the day off, you need to.” I almost scoffed once he said that, but I really only muttered thank you and walked out of the office.

I practically ran to one of my coworker’s desks and sighed completely and utterly overdramatically. This coworker has been my friend since high school and they helped found the company. They also know about my aspiration to own Indigo Query.

“Oliver, I can’t believe him. He literally said that he didn’t think my book would work out and that he just didn’t want me to get hurt.” I groaned and tried to not sound whiny, though I know I did.

“Babe, that is so horrid but also you are so close to literally owning this company. You are so close, and you can’t lose sight of what you have done because our boss is horrible.” I know they’re right, and I am really close, but I need a break.

“I’m leaving for the day, Adams said I had to.” I sighed.

“Girl you have been here for less than an hour, sit down.” Oliver raised their eyebrows and practically forced me to sit at my desk.

I just rolled my eyes and got to work on a new manuscript that came in today. It wasn’t long before my eyes felt like they were going to burst from my head.

“I’m taking a coffee and tea run. Want anything?” I closed the manuscript, my question aimed for Oliver who was holding a red pen and had a red pen tied up in their hair.

“Yes, yes, and yes please darling. You know my order anywhere.” And they were right, their order hasn’t changed since freshman year. Unlike everything else. Oliver used to be really shy, with red curly hair, they didn’t have confidence. And now they talk or flirt with everyone, have longer sunset ombre hair, and have more confidence. I’m proud of them.

I walked out of the building and to the nearest cafe. I ordered Oliver’s, which was a matcha latte with added raspberry syrup, apparently, it was amazing. Then I got a London fog earl grey tea with extra vanilla syrup.

I noticed the cafe had a small bookstore and I walked over there after ordering. I saw something that warmed my heart, my book. I inhaled deeply in shock, already a small bookstore had my book in it. I grabbed a copy and read through some of it. My words, my characters, my world. I get now why it is such a big deal for Oliver every time they see a book they wrote. I only walked away when I heard my name getting called. I grabbed both of the cups and walked away, saying thank you many times.

Close to the door, the not so impossible happened. Someone ran into me, my tea spilled everywhere. Oliver’s drink ended up being safe somehow.

“I am so sorry, I can’t believe myself, I’m so sorry. Deeply sorry. Let me help.” The person who ran into me sputtered out.

“Don’t be sorry it was an accident, it is okay,” I say looking at them softly.

They had hair a little bit longer than their shoulders, it was a coppery red. Their eyes were a shade of amber. That was when I realized.

“Laurette?” I asked, stunned that this may be her.

“Yeah? Do I know-- Persephone!” Laurette hugged me and sighed. “It’s fantastic to see you!”

“Good to see you too. What are you doing these days?”

“Oh! I’m living with Ophelia with our kid. I’m a fashion designer and she is a daycare owner. So she gets her share of kids every day. What about you?” as Ophelia spoke I could practically feel her love for her wife.

“That is fantastic! I’m the chief editor and now an author for a publishing company called Indigo Query. My first book got released today actually. I work with Oliver Evanora.” I was filled to the brim with pride.

“Really? Congrats! I bet the book is amazing! I’ll have to check it out sometime. Tell Oliver I said hi. ” Laurette sighed happily, “Well, it’s been great seeing you, I’m so sorry about the tea. I hope to bump into each other again.”

I smiled and went back up to the counter to grab the tea they remade, gave them a 10 dollar tip, and left. A newfound pleasure seeped through me. I walked back to the office, careful not to spill anything. I gave Oliver their drink and went straight back to work.

4 hours later and the clock showed 5 pm, the day that I had been waiting for years to happen was over. Since I needed desperately to get home, I made Oliver give me a ride home.

“Why didn’t you drive to work? You have a car.” Oliver asked when they were in their car.

“Because I wanted to walk.”

“It’s winter, it is dark at like 4. You can’t walk home when it’s dark. We live in a city, girl.”

I just sighed, they were right anyway. I didn’t think it through.

“Want to get food?” They asked, “Cause I am starving!”

“Nah, I’ve got to get home.”

“Ok girl, whatever you deem useful,” Oliver said, already pulling down my street.

“Thank you so much! Oh and by the way Laurette said hi.” I said as I shut the door.

I went inside and set water on to boil. I started stirring the water clockwise and humming a distant melody. It was almost time. The water started to bubble like an ancient potion that had just been given the final ingredient. I poured the water over a mug, grabbed a tea bag, and let it seep. At this point, the stars were already out and thriving.

After a quick 5 minutes, I grabbed my mug and walked outside into my backyard. I went directly to my shed. My shed was more of my office than a shed. It had a typewriter, my laptop, a shelf filled with different types of teas or coffee. Plants were scattered about, my desk had a big fluffy white chair pushed up to it. Everything was a pastel blue, pink, or white. It didn’t really seem like it was mine, but it was. And it’s more of a home to me than my room is.

I sighed as I sat down on my mug, put on gardening gloves, and grabbed my spade. I went outside and started to get to work. I planted a new rose bush, I replanted my lemon tree that's growing out of their pot. I moved my ever-growing cherry tree to where they’ll get better sun.

All of this I did while humming, or singing in some parts. I am the type of person to sing and talk to my plants. I am also the type of person to own 3 trees and more plants than I can count.

I heard a bang and I flinched, my entire body froze in place, as if any movement would cost me my life.

“Is anyone there?” I whispered, barely to where anyone could hear it.

“Hello, darling” When I heard Oliver’s voice I calmed down, “sorry to scare you babe, but you seem stressed. Thought I’d help.”

“It’s okay, Oli.” I sighed, already putting my spade and gloves away. “So, how did you plan to calm me down?”

“Stargazing with some people from high school,” Oliver replied, smiling.

“Like who?”

“Kira, Raven, Laurette, Ophelia, Lilith--” Oliver was about to continue but I cut them off.

“Okay, I get it, almost everyone. Let’s go.” I said, laughing, “Let me change first.”

Five minutes later I was in Oliver’s car wearing a star printed black layered lace dress and 4-inch heeled black boots.

“Let’s go! I wonder if they all brought their kids! Oh, I can’t wait to see Sabrina or even Litha! I miss my coven friends.” Oliver used to be in a coven at school, it broke up after our senior year.

“Where is the place we’re going anyway?” I asked, playing with my acrylics.

“It’s only 30 minutes away, a small little cabin. Though, we are staying for a week. I took all the clothes that are yours at my house, it’s enough for 7 days. Plus they all look great.”

“What about work?!”My yells could probably be heard by our high school friends.

“I got it covered babe, don’t worry,” Oliver said in a sing-song tone.

“Got it covered? Um, no. My book just got released, I need to be in town.”

“Honey, your book is already almost sold out at 3 stores. I only bought one copy. Your child will be fine.” Oliver sighed as he looked at me, “You need this. More than any of us do. So, I dragged you into the countryside to look at stars and hang out with people from our high school. Don’t you want to see everyone’s kids? I’m pretty sure Ophelia and Laurette are bringing theirs.”

“Okay, fine. I do need this, don’t I?” I pulled out my phone and breathed in.

‘I need this, I need a break. 7 days hanging out with old friends will give that to me.’ I thought as I mindlessly scrolled through twitter.

Then I came across this,

‘Jdjisddsj this book came out today! I already love it! #ScarletDreams #Persephonekore’

“Holy bees, Scarlet Dreams is trending in the literature section on twitter.”

“That’s fantastic, but we’re here.” I looked up and saw a cottage with wildflowers surrounding it, two beehives sitting among the flowers, a few kids running through fields.

We parked next to where a collection of other cars were. Immediately I was pulled into a hug by Ophelia and Laurette.

“I missed you!” Ophelia exclaimed as she pulled away, her child pulling at her sleeve.

“I missed you guys too, it’s fantastic to see you.”

Oliver looked at me, then to everyone and said: “Was I right? Did you need this?”.

I could practically see his fear of him making a mistake, a dark sludge crawling through him, pulling him down and towards his own Tartarus.

“Yeah Oli, I really did. Work was starting to hurt a little.”

A group of three people left the cabin, they were all holding hands and walking right next to each other.

“Oh, hello. I’m Cassandra. I don’t remember you from high school” She said her last sentence more like an inviting question than a statement.

“Hi, I’m Persephone, I didn’t really talk to many people other than who I knew so I can’t expect you to remember me.” I ended my statement with a small laugh, trying to match her tranquillity.

“Babe, you said there wouldn’t be that many people” The person who spoke was as far behind Cassandra and they could be while still holding her hand.

“I wanted you to come, plus I didn’t that many people would show up, darling.” Cassandra's voice was somehow softer than it was before, it seemed as soft as flower petals blooming out to show a beautiful rose.

Or rather the sun urging a rose to show it’s own beauty. Cassandra’s red hair had so much volume it seemed to live on its own, like a red fox laid over her shoulder. She was wearing a vintage lace dress that was white with roses on it, you could tell a petticoat was hiding beneath the layers of the dress from how it poofed out. Her cheeks were a rosy red, and her eyes had pink eyeshadow flowing out from them. Her eyeliner wings were sharp enough to stab, and honestly, I wanted her to stab me with them.

As soon as I realized what I was thinking I felt guilty, though I wasn’t sure why.

A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, “Hi, I’m Jade!” said the other person next to Cassandra.

Her hair was a really big fluffy black braid, purple threaded itself through the braid, and blue and green followed. The braid went to her lower back and was tied with what I thought was a gold string. A black mini dress hugged her sides. A light pink fluffy jacket was partially zipped and fell off her shoulders. The dress went to her lower thighs, then a few inches down my eyes trailed down to her light pink knee-high boots.

“Take a picture and it will last longer darling,” Jade said, the tone of her voice playful yet held enough flirtiness to send shivers up my spine and turn my face red.

“Darling, let's not immediately start to flirt with the new girl. Let’s not kill her on the first day here.” Cassandra spoke, her tone matching Jade’s.

The one who has stayed behind Cassandra the entire time stepped forward, appearing to gain confidence from my embarrassment.

“Why not? She may hold up longer than I did.” They said, their voice was soft yet firm. It held together like a cactus in heavy wind, trying to keep its grip. I felt like that’s the type of person they were, a cactus. Harsh on the outside with spikes and a few flowers to lure you in, but held water and healing on the inside.

I knew my face was painted a shade that countered everything around me and the dress that now seemed to hug me instead of flow around me. Like the petals of a tulip instead of an orchid. My heart sped up and I felt frail, yet held stable by these people who I had only met what seemed hours ago but what I knew was minutes, or even seconds that had just been drawn out to a century.

Then coughing erupted into my thoughts as Oliver shimmed their way in between me and the group, “Let’s go inside, I need warmth.”

“It’s not even cold” I sighed.

“Whatever,” They said as they already started towards the cottage.

As soon as people realized that Oliver had started to walk away, people hurried to follow them. That was Oliver for ya, they could sure direct a crowd.

#writing #writing save #I did a thing #please read this #it took so long #pleaseee #my writing #original characters #original writing #i did this with my brainnn

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