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milk-luvr-dot-com · 4 years

Text

“A New Assistant” - The Thick Of It - Chapter 3

Summary: Nicola juggles a grieving redhead and a moronic, neurotic press advisor. Ivy and Malcolm have a falling out.

Word Count (this chapter): 5108

Rating: Mature (For adult situations, language)

Warnings: No Ao3 Warnings, Explicit Language, homophobic language, fatphobic language, sexist language, ablest language, implied/referenced past abuse

Categories: F/M, Gen

Tags: Falling in love, crushes, comedy, slow burn, explicit language, original female characters, AU - canon divergence, mutual pining, friendship, friends to lovers, angst, implied/referenced past abuse, additional tags to be added

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Full chapter and Ao3 link under the cut.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24510592/chapters/59509222

Ivy and Malcolm walked down the halls of the hotel, briskly, and popping along the way to say hello to mindless news people and other members of the cabinet, who were all nervously preparing and memorizing speeches. Ivy wasn't sure why Malcolm had invited her. She was gonna be like a bump on a log the whole weekend, since she was still too new to fully deal with the press on her own. Maybe Malcolm saw it as a training opportunity. Maybe he just wanted to not deal with a bunch of bullshit this weekend. Maybe he just wanted to spend time with her.

The latter was what was actually true. Malcolm just wanted to spend time alone with Ivy. I mean, it wasn't weird to invite your assistant with you to the party conference, right? It wasn't weird to get a room with two twin beds. Right?

Well, actually. Touch of a problem with that. As sitcom as it is, when they opened the door to the room, there was only one bed. A queen size bed. It's as if the fucking people who booked the hotel were trying to tell them something. It was actually pretty likely, rather, because they both had recently pissed off one of the desk jockeys in the department. It wouldn't have been hard to make a quick last-minute change.

"You're actually fucking kidding me, right?" Malcolm said, massaging the bridge of his nose as they entered.

"I'll sleep on the couch."

"What? No. No, I'll just call and ask for a room change. Hang on." He set his small suitcase down and made his way over to the side of the bed with the phone. He sunk in immediately. The bed creaked dreadfully. He cringed.

She sat about 3/4 of the way down the bed on the opposite side of him.

"Hello, sorry, is it possible we could get a room change? You see it's just that-... Jesus Christ, you're kidding. FUCK!" He slammed the phone down, rubbing his face. She whipped her head around. "Hm?"

"They're completely booked. No other rooms."

"Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch, then." She shrugged, looking back and staring at the painting hanging on the wall above the dresser. It had blues coinciding with a dash of yellow, a close-up of a field of forget-me-not flowers. "Pretty painting."

Malcolm was lost in thought, staring at the neutral carpet grain that hadn't been changed since the 70s. "Huh?"

"That painting. It's pretty. I don't know the name of those flowers. And trust me, I've seen a lot of flowers, I used to work in the funeral industry."

He turned, shifting further down the bed. "They look familiar." Ivy looked over at him, confused. "My mother used to garden. I'd help her occasionally."

She smiled, in a snarky manner. "Malcolm Tucker's a poof."

"Shut up. Right," he clapped, rising. "We've got to get a wiggle on, we've got reporters to jack off."

She stood up as well, following him. "A wiggle on?"

"You know what I mean. Come on, come on, come on."

They met up with some press people, among other friendly faces. It was still fairly early. T minus 2 hours until Nicola inevitably embarrasses herself.

"I mean, these are the worst pictures I've seen, really, they are. I don't know who was taking them." He pointed to one of his mates' ID badge photos. The bloke picked it up, looking at it briefly. "They've got Roy fucking Orbison doing that."

"I've heard he wasn't even blind." Ivy added, elbowing him. She was purposefully trying to embarrass him, as a joke.

"Malcolm?" The woman who's badge read Angela Heaney inquired.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Rob Holt's blog today?"

"Oh, yeah, of course, I read Rob Holt's blog. I read all the blogs. 'Cause basically I'm an underemployed fat fucking loser. Got nothing better to do with my time than sit in my bedroom like a fat space-hopper in a tracksuit, reading inconsequential, unspellchecked shit, fabricated by other fat, farting, fucking losers."

Ivy pressed her lips together, going wide eyed briefly to show her annoyance, albeit agreement. Angela began to explain, "Well, he's saying that the big health numbers in the PM's speech, they're from a false sample. Apparently, they're lifted from Andrew Dover's blog, not ONS."

Malcolm shot a look at Ivy, who immediately pretended to take a call, and walk off. "I wouldn't take any notice of it. There's nothing in that at all." He said.

"Nothing?"

"Nope, nothing. Catch you laters, alright?" He walked away, joining Ivy, who looked at him as soon as she said, "Whoever fucking leaked it is going to be leaking drool for the next six months after I've beat them into a shell of a human with a golf club. Fix it, or you'll hear worse from Malcolm. Right. Bye."

"Jesus. You're really hurling the colorful insults now."

She brushed past him, and began walking to their next destination. He followed. "Well, I learned from the best."

“Okay. So,” He clapped, “I need to phone the PM and tell him.”

“Uh, we could go up to the halls. No one’s up there.”

“Yes, right,” he pointed at her, “good. Get away from all these leeching journalists.”

They took the lift up a couple levels. Ivy didn’t expect him to stay near the lifts. No, Malcolm liked pacing. She wasn’t sure if it was a nervous habit of his (because she wasn’t sure if Malcolm was ever nervous,) or if walking around just made him feel important. Either scenario was realistic.

They lurked around the halls. Ivy was pretty sure their room was nearby. Maybe she’d pressed the same button as before by muscle memory. She could hear background chatter from various rooms of important people cheersing and toasting for important causes. But it was mostly drowned out by Malcolm’s stern voice. Being honest with herself, Malcolm was more important than anyone in those rooms.

She expected to get ambushed at least once by some eavesdropping journalist, like Nicola did. Oh, who was she kidding, Malcolm wouldn’t let that happen. He’s got a stick far too up his arse for that. He was like a light sleeping soldier in a warzone with that sort of thing.

What they did get ambushed by, instead was the crack-addicted Timothee Chalamet (Or Olly, if you prefer,) and a ginger woman.

“Oh, hey, Malcolm, Ivy. How’s it hanging?”

“Like the Gardens of Babylon. Do you know where Lord Clarkham’s room is? I’m gonna go and try and stick his balls in his fucking trouser press.”

Ivy looked Olly up and down, then smirked sarcastically, “I see you’ve pulled.” She winked.

“Uh- look this is Julie Price. She is the people’s champion that Nicola is announcing in her speech.”

“Julie Price?” They both stopped in their tracks and turned, shaking hands gently with her.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Ivy cocked her head sympathetically. “It was a massive tragedy, bless you. Are you being looked after? Olly treating you well?”

“Oh- oh not bad, yeah.”

“You stick with Olly. He’s a good guy. I know he looks a bit like an anorexic Leo Sayer, there, but… Hey, could I have a picture taken with you?” He pulled out his phone, handing it to Ivy. “I’ve got a little collection of memories, you know. Mandela and stuff. Ivy, could you do the honors?”

“Mhm! Of course.” She stepped back. “Smile!” She said.

Julie flirtatiously hit Malcolm, calling him a stunner or something along those lines. Ivy took it as an opportunity to mischievously scowl at Olly. “You really are impressive. Hey, do you know who else is impressed by you? The PM.” He mentioned, grinning.

“He has a nice part in his speech where he’d be honored to introduce you and have you on. If, you’re up to that, that is.” She clasped her hands in front of her.

“B-But that might clash, a bit. Uh, you know because Nicola’s having her on.” Olly said, looking pathetic.

Julie excused herself to the restrooms. Olly clenched his fists, desperately trying to convince Malcolm otherwise. “Y-You can’t do that!”

“You gonna stamp your foot and slam the door to your bedroom next, little Timmy?” Ivy mocked.

“Boo-hoo, Olly. Can do, have done.”

“You want us to think of a whole entire new speech in 2 hours? 2 hours?”

“We don’t want you to do anything, but if you’d like to keep your reputation and probably your jobs, you will.”

“But that’s not fair!” He made a concerned face.

“Suck it up, fuckface. If she goes on with Nicola, she’ll be watched by 15 house-bound mouthbreathers. And the swelling ranks of the unemployed, who hate us, by the way. If she goes on with Tom, it’ll make 10:00 o’ clock news.”

“It’s for the greater good.”

“Yes, the greater good, thank you, Ivy.”

“Julie, hello. Feeling better?” Ivy smiled gently, yet falsely. “So, what’ll it be, Julie? Would you like to stick with Olly here, or do you want to run with Tom, or sorry-” She laughed, as if to seem sweet. “The PM, for your speech?”

“Uh.. I’m going with the big boys.”

“Great! Good, yes, the big boys.” Malcolm said.

“Oh, sorry Olly. It was lovely meeting you.”

“Right this way, we’ll introduce you to the PM.” They walked off, leaving Olly a pathetic begging loser. They walked down the hall, standing either side of Julie like bodyguards for organized crime. Malcolm began making light conversation.

“Are you in the hotel?”

“Oh yes.”

“Oh, lovely.”

“Well,” she chuckled, “I wouldn’t call it lovely.”

They laughed along. “Oh, John!” Ivy called the bearded bloke from earlier over, who looked like he was in a rush. But he was always that way, she guessed.

“This is John, the press organizer.”

“Yes, we’ve met before.”

“Oh, have you, lovely! Are you a texter?” At some point, Julie began fiddling with her phone, and appeared to be texting someone. Malcolm shot a look to Ivy, then glanced briefly at John. She nodded.

“I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“Excuse us for just a tick.” Ivy pinched the sleeve of John’s suit jacket, dragging him down the hall a bit. “Look, okay. I need you to just casually mention to Alan Dunn and… I guess Lindsay Anorexi at The Mail, that the PM has commandeered Julie Price for his speech. Okay?”

She turned, but was cut off. “B-But that’s not strictly true, is it?”

“Yeah, and strictly come dancing isn’t strictly dancing, there’s also a bit at the beginning where an old man dribbles. So what?” She got in his face. She was going for intimidation, but it was clear John was uncomfortably turned on. So she guessed she’d settle for dominatrix.

“I-I don’t know what that means, but-”

Just then, Glenn came hobbling down the hall like a washed-old Bradley Walsh look-alike in a Sainsbury’s cracker aisle. Ivy didn’t notice, but Malcolm sure did.

Glenn brushed past Ivy. “Oh, Glenn, I can see you’re a tad peeved.” He got in Malcolm’s face.

“I’m not having it, you’ve gone too far!”

“Get a grip, Glenn. I didn’t fucking cum in your fucking mouth.”

John began laughing, which caused Glenn to turn attention to both Ivy and him. “Are you in on this?”

“Nope, just following orders. Like a nazi guard.” He did the anti-semetic salute. “You’re not Jewish, are you?”

“...No?”

“Oh, good.”

“Ivy, can you take her?” She nodded. “Julie, if you could just step in there for a moment and have a chat with some lovely people. Have some tea and biscuits. We’ve got to deal with a um… internal issue. You do understand, don’t you? Good, go on.” She didn’t wait for a response, she just shoved her gently into the room.

“You,” Malcolm pointed at John, “fucking Henry the 8th’s lobotomized cousin, piss off and back to your sad job.”

John, did not in fact, piss off. The dank cream colored hallway slowly grew more lively with increasingly angry chatter paired nicely with erupting laughter from important people in important rooms. Like a fucking wine and cheese pairing. Malcolm and Glenn were bickering about Julie, which had an intermission with one of Malcolm’s famous quips, “Oh, shit, wow here’s the beige fucking power ranger now!”

Glenn continued, pushing harder each time. “We’re taking her back!”

Olly, John, and Ivy began trying to diffuse the situation. She swore to herself this was the last time they were going to agree on anything.

“Can we get a bit more sane about this?”

“Malcolm, calm down, please. Glenn, just fuck off and help glummy mummy write her new speech. Let it go!”

“Let’s not argue here!”

Glenn continued insisting, getting redder and redder with rage. Malcolm grew more and more annoyed. Ivy’s eyes widened, knowing this was going to get ugly quickly (well, actually, the ugliness had already peaked when both Olly and Glenn showed up at the same time.)

Then suddenly, it fucking happened. Ivy shut her eyes, cringing. John covered his mouth. Glenn went down, landing over Olly.

“Malcolm!” Ivy half-shouted, putting herself between Glenn and him in case it continued, her hands on his chest. He seemed to be over it, shaking out his fist in pain.

“You hit me!” He whimpered out, kneeling on the floor.

“No! I did not hit you! You hurt yourself!” Malcolm lied, artfully. She lowered her arms, knowing the worst was over for now. “Respectfully, what the fuck sir!” She hurriedly whispered.

Glenn whined that he thought his nose was broken. “Noses can’t break, it's a myth.”

“What the fuck are you on about?”

Ivy went to go help, “lean forward, c’mon, mate. I used to be a barmaid, don’t worry, this isn’t the first suckerpunch to the nose I’ve dealt with. Does anyone have a towel? Good, good, yeah. Here you go.” She let him dab the wounded area. She sucked through her teeth, “It doesn’t look good.”

Malcolm told Olly to get him back to this room. Julie was dealt with by John, not very well, but still fine enough. “No one saw that?” He asked Ivy, who was the only other person who remained, and thankfully it was just her. Anyone else would likely have received another of the same if they happened to cross Malcolm. “No, no one. Fuck, Malcolm!”

He hurried off in the direction of their room. He opened the door, letting her in before slamming it back again. “Jesus fucking tapdancing Christ, Malcolm, you broke a man’s nose!”

“Oh, he’s fine.”

“It is so not fucking fine!” She stood there, shocked, choking on words coming out of her mouth. He sat down in the chair that faced the door, looking at her stoically. “Do you know what fucking makes this worse? Hm? This didn’t fucking help anything. Glenn and Olly and Nicola are all still going to be seething with rage at us for taking their fucking star player!”

“So what?”

“So fucking what? You’re actually kidding me. You’re so fucking caught up in the moment, so fucking primal like a tiger looking for it’s next meal. You don’t even fucking think of the future.” Ivy’s voice began breaking, on the verge of tears. “Do you know what all that career hopping taught me? It taught me I was fucking wrong. I was fucking wrong so many, many times. I was so fucking wrong to waste money on schools that got me no more happiness, I was so wrong to waste my remaining teenage years bunging around the cinemas with my friends instead of being at my bedridden mother’s side. And right now, I’m thinking I’m wrong in getting involved with you.”

He slapped the arms of the chair, getting up so fast. “THEN FUCKING LEAVE, IVY! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU! I NEVER ASKED TO BE AROUND YOU 8 HOURS OF MY FUCKING DAY!” He stood over her. She backed off quickly into the skinny entryway of the room, touching the wall almost. Her eyes widened, out of fear. Making eye contact with him, she let tears begin dripping down her face. She covered her mouth, muffling whimpers of things like “please don’t hit me.”

Malcolm bit his lip, backing up, and pressing his back against the other wise of the entryway. He could have sworn his eyes felt wet with salty droplets, which refused to fall. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“What?”

“I’m so fucking sorry, Ivy.”

She stayed quiet for another minute, wiping away her tears, and sniffling. Strangely, she began chuckling. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, you stupid old man.”

He furrowed his brow, confused. "I'm gonna go apologize to Glenn for you."

"You don't have to." He covered his mouth, looking down, ashamed.

"I know." She said as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a one-sided hug that didn't last more than a few seconds. He blushed, looking down at her, frozen. "Right, I'll be back later."

"Jesus, Ivy!" Nicola shouted when she entered the room almost silently.

She didn't react. "You alright, Glenn?"

"I don't want to speak to you Ivy, sorry. Nor Malcolm."

"I think you should leave."

Ivy ignored her, turning to the bathroom door. "I've come to apologize, Glenn. On behalf of myself and Malcolm."

"Oh, what, 'cause Malcolm couldn't do it himself? Had to get his winged monkey to go out here and do it? Fly my pretties, fly!" Olly tacked on to the conversation, helping nothing.

She shot a look at Olly, before turning around and putting her hand on the door frame. "I'm really sorry, mate. Sorry he did that in the heat of the moment, you know? And I'm sorry I didn't stop it, it was really quite stupid and shortsighted of me. We're under a lot of pressure, right now, you know. It's a fucking war zone. We're soldiers, you gotta expect there's just a bit of friendly fire."

"Yeah."

"Good. Good. I would uh, hug you but I don't want to get any blood on my blouse. Shake on it?" She stuck out her hand, and he took it. The half-dried red liquid between their hands squelched disgustingly. She cringed.

Malcolm entered the hotel room, "How's the patient?"

"I'm fine, Malcolm. Just sore." He called out from the bathroom. Ivy ran her hand under water and dried it off with one of the fancy paper towels. "I've already apologized, sir."

Malcolm nodded, clapping and turning to Nicola and Olly. "Alright, so you've lost Julie. You've got a cavity the size of a prisoner's arsehole in your speech. Got a back-up plan?"

"We'll figure it out, thank you."

"Why don't we help you, hm? I mean, it is the least we could do." Ivy piped up.

"Yes, yes, yes, roll some tits up the flagpole and see if anyone gets wood."

"Christ. Okay, well, all we've got is Mannion's second holiday."

Ivy sat down on the couch behind Nicola's chair. Malcolm joined her. The couch was tiny, as was everything else in the room, so they were pretty close quarters. They didn't mind, but Malcolm didn't stay for long. Again, he liked to pace, and pace he did, like a caged tiger. Glenn joined the group, sitting in the remaining single seat. "He works really hard at planning his holidays." Glenn said.

"Fucking A+ quality sarcasm there that you're lobbing at 'em. Boom."

"I feel like I'm in a therapy group being run by my own rapist."

Everyone's cell phones chimed, all in sync. "Oh, shit." One of them said. "It's got out!" Another added. Olly sarcastically said, "No, I thought it was room service cold-calling."

"Who the fuck leaked it? No one saw it, right?" Ivy looked at Malcolm. He was preoccupied checking around the internet. "Fuck! It's on Rob Holt's blog! Okay, we need to get your people's champion out of this hotel, before some tabloid minge-flannel starts soft-soaping her."

"So we've got her back again?" Nicola asked.

"Jesus, don't be so sensitive about this!" Malcolm yelled.

"My fucking responsibility! Fuck the speech!" Nicola yelled also, slamming the door to the bathroom.

"Women! Women, huh? Slamming the fucking door. Where did this idea come from? Wilma! Fuck off." He spat.

She called out to him, "I'm making a phone call."

"Make a phone call, phone a fucking friend." He collapsed next to Ivy again into the couch.

"Women," Ivy mocked in a nasty tone. "Okay, Fred Flintstone."

"Shut up." He smiled, looking at her softly. She giggled.

"God, get a room you two." Olly said, without looking up, continuing to type.

"We have a room, sod off and write your mummy's speech." She squinted at him, crossly

"Ivy, we should go back and get ready for the stupid banquet thing." He touched her shoulder, which caught her off guard. Normally she instigated physical contact. "Right you are, yeah."

They joined some reporters to have wine and break bread in fancy dress. Malcolm dawned a bow tie, which Ivy made mental note of to make fun of later. Glenn had joined them, feeling a bit better, and no longer bleeding.

"Have a bit more, Glenn, go on." Malcolm poured him a bit more. "Watch your step, though, don't go tripping up again."

"Absolutely." They laughed along.

Angela, same reporter as earlier, piped up. "D-Day. What is it, Malcolm? I thought you were one of the boxers, not the emcee."

"No, I've just got to rear my ugly head, as you would have it, at a few receptions this evening. Including the Rod Hughes do for Tom. Believe me, I'd rather slip into something more comfortable. Like a coma." Again, they laughed along.

The same woman continued, "Malcolm, you've started beating up your own guys. That has to be a bad sign."

"Oh, he didn't hit Glenn," Ivy swiped with her hand, smiling, defending him. "No, I didn't. Why would I do that? And there's no proof that I did."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Malcolm," she chuckled.

"Watch," He threw a fake punch "he doesn't flinch."

"Malcolm wouldn't hurt a fly, and trust me, I'd know, because I've had to roll up Sunday's paper and whap a few in his office for him." Ivy said, grinning.

"We're pals, I mean," He went to go stand next to him, "Look at the size of this guy, I wouldn't hit him. Look, he's a fucking man-mountain!"

"Are you calling me fat?" Glenn jokingly attacked back.

"Heh, that's the banter."

They continued for a few more moments. The conversation was slowing, like a dying fireplace on Christmas eve. Malcolm gave Ivy a look, which said "we've got to get going," and they excused themselves. Once they rounded the corner into the halls once again, they saw John, the fucking idiot, from earlier. They stopped, and Malcolm shoved him into a room. Ivy was a bit concerned, considering that she didn't know who's room that was. She figured she might follow them, eavesdropping on their conversation. Maybe she'd pick up a few classic Tucker scare tactics.

She heard something about tweezers from the twat, something about bullocks, and then finally, she heard Malcolm answer his phone, announcing that Julie was the leak. Something about Twitter.

Malcolm opened the door quickly after that, which startled Ivy half to death. "Were you listening in?"

"Of course I was, I wasn't just going to sit outside the door waiting for you like some primary schooler waiting for her mummy, all arms crossed and lunch box in hand."

He raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly, "...So, anyway, Julie's the leaker."

"I know."

"Well how'd you know, I only found out a minute ago?!" They left the room, almost running into a maid on their way out. He looked at her. "Oh, listening in, right. Sorry, I forgot."

"You're as daft as a goat sometimes, you know, Malcolm?" She teased.

"Shush."

Malcolm and Ivy went to Glenn's room, where the 3 fuckheads of DoSAC were increasingly panicking, trying to finish Nicola's speech while she memorized it.

"Squeeze my cock and call me Nancy," Malcolm announced, pushing open the door to the room and inviting himself inside. "Were you born in a barn, Glenn? Keep the door and your arse cheeks tightly fucking closed, right?"

"That's a fucking tiny kettle. Did they use your dick as a ruler, because boy, it sure fucking looks like it." Ivy said.

"Where's glummy mummy?"

"She's having a pee." Glenn delivered.

Ivy suck out her hands, "Oh, Julie!" Julie was seated on the edge of the bed, twiddling her thumbs. "How are you?" She clasped them in front of herself.

She shrugged, "Could be worse."

Nicola came out of the bathroom, jumping at Malcolm's presence. "Fucking hell, Malcolm."

"Julie, darling, could we have a wee word with you?" He said.

"...Why, is something wrong?"

Malcolm squatted down next to her, awkwardly. "Do you know a man called Rob Holt?"

"I've never heard of him, why, what's all this about?"

"Well it's just that he's one of your uh, followers, on... Twitter?" Malcolm looked at Ivy. She nodded, echoing, "Twitter."

"And we think that some of your uh...?"

"Tweets."

"The tweets that you've been doing have actually been reported, out there."

"Well." She exhaled, "What're you accusing us of?"

"We're not accusing you of anything." Nicola said.

"You all look like you're accusing us of something! You fucking sound like you're accusing us of something!"

"No, no, no, no-"

"I've seen Spooks! You have treated me like a bag of shit all day!" Julie began, standing up. "I mean, I'm a very, very patient person, but I've had it up to here with yous lot! I should've known not to trust yous lot, when you fucked over them Metric Martyrs. All I was trying to do was right by my Jason, right? And if he was here now, he'd be fucking appalled by the way yous lot are carrying on. He always said you were a useless bunch of wankers."

Olly came in, holding a bag of crisps which crinkled obnoxiously. Although nothing could be more obnoxious than whatever was about to come out of his mouth. "Oh, Julie! Oh you're back! Excellent. Every epic needs a hero. Put tiny kettle on, lad, I'm gasping."

Malcolm was staring darkly at him, arms crossed. The awkward air was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. "Uh, everything okay? What's-What's going on?"

"Uh- Malcolm, could you just come to the toilet with me, for a moment." She pushed him into the toilet. Ivy turned to look at it, making a confused face. She leaned towards the door once it shut, to try and hear some form on conversation. She only managed to pick up the gist of the plan.

Malcolm covertly told Glenn something. Ivy was too tired and too over it to figure out what. Julie left by herself in a ferocious hurry. As soon as the door slammed closed.

"Good riddance." Ivy mumbled.

"Do we have anything we can use against her?" Malcolm demanded.

Nicola rubbed her temple, crossing her arm over her chest. "Metric Martyr stuff. That's all I can think of."

"Fruit by the pound?" Ivy lifted herself off the wooden hutch, joining them near the bed. "That's it?"

"Fruit by the fucking pound. Fuck. Okay, well, we say we're dropping her for extremist views. How about that?"

The group shrugged, mutually agreeing that it was good enough for them. "Just don't go into detail, otherwise they'll crawl up your arse like a dirty little Syrian dwarf hamster all over again."

Ivy snickered at her own joke which was in her head. "How do you like them apples? By the pound?"

Olly and Nicola sighed heavily, one of them remarked, "Jesus."

After quite a night of wine drinking, toasting, celebrating, or otherwise partying, Malcolm and Ivy said their goodbye's and goodnight's to friends and coworkers. They both looked like Hell. Well, it could be worse, but still Hell. Malcolm's bow tie was crooked and half undone (it was actually surprising to Ivy that he both knew how to tie one and had a real one, not just a pre-tied one). He had spilled droplets of dried cherry colored wine on his white button-up, which he had failed to notice in time, so it was likely that they'd leave irreparable stains. Ivy's makeup was smeared, a faint streak of eyeliner spread across her temple from a forgetful moment where she wiped the corner of her eye. Her dress was wrinkled, her hair messy. They were both half wine drunk. The clock read 12 am.

Despite looking like an embarrassing mess, Malcolm thought she was so incredibly gorgeous. He caught himself staring through the cracked door and into the mirror while she was washing her face and brushing out her curls. Good thing her eyes didn't catch his or he'd never hear the end of it. "Who's sleeping on the couch?" She asked, kneeling down beside her bag to pull out her pajamas.

"Huh?" He said, setting his tie in his overnight bag and removing his jacket.

"I said, who's sleeping on the couch?" She went back to the bathroom, this time closing the door so she could change.

He pulled his shirt out of his trousers and began unbuttoning it. Malcolm didn't listen to a word she said. All he knew is that she asked a question. So, he responded, "Sure."

"Were you even listening?" She laughed.

"No."

"Whatever. Are you decent?" Ivy had finished getting dressed. So had Malcolm, apparently, since he answered with a "Yes."

She stepped out of the bathroom, crouching down once again to put her clothes away. Malcolm felt his heart skip a beat. Oh God, he thought, she's even more stunning now. She was wearing a plain black spaghetti strap tank top and soft pajama shorts. She wasn't even trying to be attractive, she just plain was. Ivy had her arms crossed over her chest, staring at his face stoically.

"Right, I don't really feel like hunkering down on the couch tonight. So I'll sleep under the covers, you sleep on top."

"What?"

She sat on the side of the bed that had the flower painting. "Do you need hearing aids? We're both adults, get over it." She said, sliding into bed and rolling over. "Just don't snore."

"Fine." He pulled the spare blanket off of the top of the armchair, fluffing it out over the bed and laying under it. "Goodnight, Ivy."

"'Night, Malcolm."

#the thick of it #malcolm tucker #peter capaldi #malcolm tucker x original female character(s)#pcap #jamie's fanfics #fanfic #fic #fanfiction #a new assistant - fanfiction

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snow-lavender · 5 years

Text

The Last Day of Normality

AKA, “Why is there a superpowered teenager in my kitchen?”

Word count: 3075

Didn’t have anything specifically written for Jackie’s birthday today, so I decided to post something I had pre-written. This is my take on Jackie's first appearance. Fully headcanon!

Heads up, contains trans JBM, I know that’s really not some people’s thing.

AO3 link: here

July 10th, 2016

Jackie was done.

He couldn’t deal with this anymore. Fuck his classmates and fuck the school policy and fuck his Aunt Doris and fuck Irish conservatism and just...fuck. He dumped all the books and supplies out of his backpack and threw it onto the bed. You need to start acting properly. Jackie snorted. Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen anytime soon. Your niece has some behavioral issues we need to address. Of course leave out the fact that the people he kept fighting were total assholes. Any more suspensions and we may have to consider expulsion. As the floorboards creaked, he noticed he was shaking. He tried to take a deep breath and calm down and...no, screw that, he needed to punch something.

You have such a bright future ahead.

Thump, went the pillow.

You can’t solve every problem like this

Thump.

I’m glad you’re experimenting, but you’ll be an adult soon.

Thump.

What will people think?

Thump.

I have your best interests at heart.

Thump.

Jackie paused, shoulders heaving. It felt like he’d been going at it for ten minutes, but, like always, his clock showed that only two had passed.

I have your best interests at heart. Yeah, that was the problem, wasn’t it. Doris legitimately thought she was in the right, thought they had the same plans for Jackie’s life, expected that her perfect little child would be just that. Perfect.

And Jackie loved her, he really did. Doris was the only family he’d ever known. But damn it, he couldn’t spend another day in this house.

He grabbed his bag and went to raid his closet. Jeans, shorts, loose tees, sports bras, everything was dumped unceremoniously in. Laptop, chargers, socks, toothbrush- photos.

Jackie stared at the two photos on top of his bookshelf. One was of his parents, cuddling a small bundle of blankets. The other was of him and Doris from a few years ago, smiling in front of the Cliffs of Moher. He hesitated, then shoved them both in his bag as well.

‘hey, can i come over? -Jackie’. He shot off a text to one of his friends, then paced around the room, trying to burn energy.

“Jackie, dinner’s in ten minutes!” his aunt yelled up.

‘Now? -Morgan :P’

‘preferably -Jackie’

“Alright, I’ll be there soon!” he replied.

‘Kay. Need a drive? -Morgan :P’

‘i can walk -Jackie’

Well, it was now or never. He shouldered his pack and reached for the doorknob...the fuck?

Jackie turned around, blinking in the sudden bright light. A green orb floated in the centre of his room. “What?” he murmured under his breath, reaching out to touch it-

Then there was a flash, and nothing remained in the bedroom but piles of scattered belongings.

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

Jackie blinked the spots out of his eyes. When had he fallen on the floor? He moved to get up, then froze when he felt the floor. That wasn’t the carpet from his bedroom. He looked around as his vision cleared up. Instead, he was in a small, wood furnished kitchen.

“What the fuck?” came a voice to his left.

Jackie looked over. In front of him was a man in his mid-twenties, looking just as confused as he felt. Jackie blinked away the blue glow around him, eyes still spotty from the flash.

“Who the hell are you? How did you get into my apartment?” the man asked.

“I-I don’t know!” Jackie stuttered. “I was just in my bedroom, and there was this weird orb, and then I was here!”

“Orb?” the man repeated. “Like a green, glowy type orb?”

“...yeah?”

He ran his fingers through his very green hair. “ ‘Cause the same thing happened here; I was just makin’ coffee, then there was an orb and it flashed and out popped some random kid.”

Jackie tried to even his breathing. “What the hell? Do you have, like any clue what that was?”

“Maybe? Do you have magic blood?”

“Uh, what?” answered Jackie.

“You don’t come from a magic family, then?” the man pressed. Was this dude delusional? Did Jackie just get teleported into a psych ward? It didn’t look like any hospital he’d ever seen before.

“Magic isn’t real, though.” he said hesitantly, trying not to provoke the man.

He snorted. “You sure about that?” he said, gesturing around the room, and okay, Jackie had to admit, he might have had a point. The man held out a hand. “I’m Sean.”

The teen took it slowly. “...Jackie.” he replied. “Where am I, exactly?”

“Athlone, County Westmeath.” As he pulled Jackie up, Sean squinted. “Are you Irish? Do you even know what that means?”

“I’m from Dublin. And I made it through fucking primary school, I think I can piece it together.” Jackie said indignantly

Sean held up his hands. “Hey, you can never be too careful.” he chuckled. “You want some tea, Jackie?”

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

Half an hour later, the two were in Sean’s sitting room. An awkward silence had fallen after the bare minimum of information had been exchanged. (How to contact Jackie’s parents/guardians had been the main point of conversation. Sean had looked a little confused at Jackie's reluctance to contact any other adults, but thankfully hadn’t pried. He’d simply said that it was Jackie’s priorities were his choice, and agreed to figure out their current situation first)

“You said you were from Dublin?” Sean finally asked.

Jackie looked over at him. “Yeah, why?”

Sean squinted. “You looked familiar, so I was wondering if we might be related, but I don’t have much for family in the city.” He paused. “Maybe it’s like that whole ‘There are seven people in the world who look like you’ thing? ‘Cause you look a lot like I did in Uni.”

Jackie took his first real, long look at the man on the other end of the sofa. “You do look kinda like my Dad did.” he conceded after a minute or two.

Sean’s eyes widened. “We’re not dealing with, like, time travel, right? It’s 2016 for you?”

“Yeah.” Jackie laughed. “Thank fuck.”

Sean smiled. “Good, meeting my future kid would come with a shit-ton of questions I don’t want to think about.”

Jackie made a face, setting off another round of laughter between the two. When they calmed, Jackie let out a huff and fell back onto the couch cushions. “So we’re back at square one.”

Sean sat up suddenly. “We might not be, actually.” He fished his phone out of his pocket and started tapping away. “This could be a stretch, but....”

“But what?” Jackie asked. When he got no response, he repeated, “But what?”

Sean still didn’t acknowledge his question, but he did mutter “Perfect.” and then pull himself up from the couch. “I have a friend who might have more information. C’mon.” he said, walking out into the hall.

As he followed after the man, Jackie kept on prodding for information. “You said something about magic families? Can you use magic, then?”

Sean looked up from his phone. “Hm? Oh, yeah, I grew up with it.” he said distractedly. Then he stopped abruptly. “Shit. If you could keep that a secret, that’d be great.”

“Even from this friend of yours?”

“Please.”

Up the stairs and around the corner, Sean opened a door and entered. “Huh.” Jackie said as he followed in. “I think this room has more tech than all of my classrooms combined. What d’you need all this for anyway?”

“I’m a youtuber.” Sean answered from the desk.

“What, like Pewdiepie?”

“Yep.”

Jackie took in his surroundings. His eyes were drawn to a bookshelf filled with various merch and figurines. “What are all of these?”

Sean turned back from the desk. “Huh?” Then a fond smile fell across his face. “They’re gifts, mostly.” He started pointing things out. “That bug is from my friend Suzy, those are from this kid Alfie that I met in London, the Undertale ones there I got at Pax this year, this buddy here I bought myself, but I love him, so he goes on the shelf anyway..”

Jackie nodded as each item was pointed out. He noticed a particular abundance of one logo, and the pieces finally clicked. “Wait…” Jackie whirled around. “You’re that septic dude that Quinn won’t shut up about!”

“Hm?” Sean turned to face him, mid-tangent. “Oh! Probably, yeah.”

“Aren’t you, like, famous?” Jackie questioned. “Why do you live in such a tiny apartment?”

Sean gave him a look. “I’m sorry, that was kinda shitty, wasn’t it?” Jackie said after a second. “Kinda.” the other agreed, “I get that sort of thing a lot, don’t worry about.” He set a hand on Jackie’s shoulder.

The two were interrupted by a skype ringtone coming from the desktop. Sean bolted over to pick up, Jackie following behind a moment later.

The call opened, displaying a worried looking man. “Jack! Is everything okay over there?”

“Uhh, sorta? It’s a little complicated.” Sean gestured for Jackie to move into frame. As he did, Sean’s friend inhaled sharply. “Jackie, this is Mark. Mark, Jackie. He just kinda ...popped into my apartment. Soo… yeah.” he finished awkwardly.

“Hi?” Jackie said, giving a small wave.

Mark cursed under his breath. “Okay, now I get why you mentioned the... yeah, that clears things up. Uhh, I’m gonna just...gimme a sec.” He typed something frantically into his phone. “Nice to meet you Jackie. Jack mentioned-” he paused. “That’ll get confusing fast.”

“You could just, you know, call me by my actual name?” Sean replied with a smirk.

“But that’s weird!” the other whined, grinning. “Alright then, Seeaaan. I’m gonna pop into the office to grab Google. Be right back!” and with that, Mark hung up the call.

“Did he say Google?” Jackie asked hesitantly.

“I think so?”

The two stood silently for a few minutes, before Mark called once again. This time, he was sitting at a computer desk. Standing behind him was another person who looked strangely similar to him. This stranger stood rigidly, arms behind their back and face blank.

“This is Google,'' Mark said. “He’s... uhh...hm, how do I explain you?” he muttered, turning around to glance at him.

Google’s eyes glowed blue. “Designation: Google IRL Humanoid Home Assistant. Model Serial Number: G-IRL 001B. For more information about this product, please consult your user’s manual or contact Google Support online or through telephone.”

“I guess that works.'' Mark said after a moment.

Jackie and Sean stared, dumbfounded. “...Holy shit, is that a robot?” Jackie asked.

“I am an Android.” it (he?) corrected sharply.

“What the fuck.” said Sean.

“Why are you surprised?” Mark asked. “I told you about him. I texted you to complain about him literally last week.”

“Well yeah, but I didn’t think he’d look so much like a machine!”. Sean protested. The robot frowned deeper.

“But they don’t have that kind of tech at Google yet, right? They would have told us! This is a huge technological leap!” Jackie said, brow furrowed.

“That’s because they didn’t make him.” Mark replied.

“Huh?”

Mark grimaced. “Okay, um, the gist of it is, you have a character, right? From a skit or joke or something. So in my case, sometimes to characters, well,” he gestured behind him, “become real. Somehow. I still have no clue how it works.”

Jackie gaped, slack jawed. “So you made a video about a robot ...and he just came to life.”

“Yup.”

“Do they all look like you?”

“Yeah, ‘cause I play them first.”

“....uhh….”

“Yup.”

Jackie turned back to Sean. “And you’ve met these...things?”

“I call them figments.” Mark interrupted. “Like ‘figment of the imagination’.”

Sean was still staring at the robot, looking uncomfortable. “I’ve only met one other, when Mark was telling me about them last year.”

Mark winced. “Yeah, I figured Googs would be a better first introduction than Wilford. He’s less...well, just less in general, I guess.”

“Why are you telling me any of this? I don’t get how any of this is-” Jackie froze. “You think I’m like them.”

Sean looked sheepish. “It would explain why we look so similar.”

“But I’m real!” Jackie protested. “I existed before this. I have a life, and friends and all that shit! I’m a real person!”

Mark spoke softly. “All of my guys have backstories, things that feel like they happened. But those people never existed.” He smiled apologetically. “It gets easier with time, I promise.”

“But I’m real.” Jackie repeated. “I can prove it!” He pulled out his phone. “Look, my friends have been texting me non-stop!”. As he spoke, another notification popped up.

New Text from Morgan :P

Jackie, please answer. Everyone’s really worried about you. Doris called the Garda and everything.

“See!” Jackie yelled. “They’re real! I’m real! I’m not some imaginary character!”

Sean raised his hands placatingly. “Jackie, calm down. It was just an idea.” He stepped forward.

“Get off of me!” Jackie yelled. He pushed Sean away and ran out the door.

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

Jackie ran down the stairs, looking for the bathroom. He needed someplace private. He bolted into the small room and locked the door. Curling up on the floor, he rubbed at his face, and checked his phone to try to calm down.

Meanwhile, in the recording room, Sean and Mark stared in shock at the door. Slowly, Sean pulled himself out of the mattress he’d been shoved into. “Um.” he said eloquently.

“Are you okay?” Mark asked. “Yeah, I think so.” he replied.

“So, this isn’t exactly the same thing. But do you have any clue what could cause..” He gestured at the door.

“Some random teenager throwing me across the room and then super speeding himself away?” Sean finished.

“Yeah.”

“Unfortunately.”

He stretched, grimacing as he wiggled a shoulder. “I recorded a video where I dressed up like a superhero. It went up today.” Sean sighed. “And I called myself ‘Jackie-boy-man’.”

“Jackie.” Mark echoed.

Sean didn’t reply. “Can I call you if I need anything else?” he said after a moment.

“Course you can. Anything at all, man.”

“Thanks.” Sean walked over to the computer. “Thanks for everything. See ya.”

“Bye. Good luck Sean.”

Sean hung up the call and put his head in his hands. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he muttered.

Leave him. Make him leave.

“Nope, none of that.” Sean replied.

Not his home. Not your responsibility.

“Stop it. Just because I don’t need to help doesn't mean I shouldn’t.”

Bleeding heart. Weak resolve.

“Okay, you can stop now.” Sean said, standing up. “I’m going to talk to him, and he’ll decide what to do, and you,” he emphasized, “are going to shut up and be reasonable for once.”

He left to recording room and started looking through the house. Jackie wasn’t in any of the bedrooms, not in the living room, not the dining room, or the kitchen…

When he tried the door to the toilet, it was locked. Sean knocked hesitantly. “You okay in there?” he asked. There was no response. “Can I do anything to help?” Still nothing. He tried once more. “D’you want some more tea?”.

That one got a quiet “Okay.” Sean left for the kitchen, and when he returned, Jackie was sitting against the hall wall, head on his knees. He set the two mugs down on the floor, before sitting himself. It took a little while, but Jackie finally spoke up. “I’ve been missing for two days.”

“What?” Sean exclaimed.

“Before I was here, I was in my room, on Friday night.” he sighed. “My friends think I ran away or something.”

“Did you talk to them just now?”

Jackie covered his face further. “Mhm. Told ‘em I was safe. But what else do I say? ‘Hey, by the way, I got magically transported across the country, and also imaginary friends can be real, and also I might be one of them?!’”, he rambled.

“Yeah, Mark and I talked some more after you left.” Sean paused. “You got out of there crazy fast. Like, inhumanly fast. Did...did you know you have super speed?”

Jackie stared at him. “...I just figured I was bad at time management.”

“You threw me across the room.”

“...And anger management.” He looked up, worriedly. “You’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I landed on a mattress.” Sean smiled. “And I’m not mad. You should have seen some of the shit I did when I was still learning control. My parents have repainted the kitchen twice, and you can still see some of the scorch marks.” he chuckled.

Jackie laughed too. “Okay, sure, why not add superpowers to today’s what-the-fuck list.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Anything else, Universe? You wanna add multiple realities or some shit to the mix?”

They laughed. “Yeah, what a fuckin’ great birthday.” Jackie snorted.

Sean turned to him, surprised. “Happy Birthday! How old are you?”

“Seventeen.” Jackie smiled. “One more year, then I can finally move out.” Then he froze. “What if I lived here?”

“What?” said Sean. “How does that make sense?”

“Well, you think I’m one of those figment things, right?” Jackie continued.

Sean nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re supposed to be a superhero character I made up.”

“All of your friend’s figments are close to him. Besides, you’re the only person who knows what’s going on.”

“I really don’t.” Sean protested.

Jackie shrugged. “Still. We’re, like, connected or something. You could help me figure out these powers or whatever. And…” he shrunk down again. “I wouldn’t really mind moving. I was about to get expelled, anyway.”

Sean rubbed at his forehead. “I’m twenty-six. I can’t raise a teenager. You’re like, ten years younger than me.”

“People make it work.”

He sighed. “I..I’ll think about it?”

Jackie nodded. Sean moved to get up, when Jackie suddenly interrupted. “Wait! Okay. Umm... so, you’re cool with gay people, right?”

Sean looked confused. “Yeah?” Then it clicked. “Oh! Oh no, don’t worry, I’m cool with you being-yeah, it’s okay.”

Jackie looked relieved. “Okay. Okay, cool. Then we’re good. No issue here”

“Gotcha.” Sean stood up, grabbing the mugs. “I’mma deal with these., then I gotta go record. You can use my Playstation, if you want. And I’m upstairs if you need anything.”

Jackie flashed him a thumbs up, then went back into the bathroom. He braced himself on the sink and looked into the mirror.

A superhero, huh?

Yeah, that could work.

#jackieboy man #jacksepticeye egos #septic egos #writersofjack #writers of jack #fanfiction #trans jackieboy man #my writing #snow shitposts #please let me know if i made a mistake or was disrespectful #the last day series

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candy-corps · 6 years

Text

Moth Problem

Julie belongs to @vulcan-and-the-mighty-muses ~

Julie was in the gas station glancing from her phone every so often when someone came in, and watched them until they went out. It was a slow day like usual and she felt like an eternity had passed.

The next customer that came in however, was a little more special. Clothed in a colorful robe and headscarf, along with some shades, the woman simply appeared outside, with no car or a bike to accompany her. As she walked in she took a look around, lowering her glasses to do so and revealing a pair of bright eyes.

Julie smiled seeing the odd figure, but the eyes are what tipped her off as to who it was. "Hey sweetheart. It's nice of you to stay up so long just to come see me. Though I guess it would be boring at home with our kids going to school." Julie was wearing the usual work uniform.

They were alone! Fantastic. Belle took the glasses off, just tucked beneath her scarf, and smiled over at Julie; then took, the scarf off as well. "I got the sudden urge to kiss you" she explained the unplanned visit, folding the fabric and acting all shy.

"Well, nothing's stopping you." Julie said before leaning over the counter smiling. "But there's no reason to be so shy about asking for a kiss." Julie honestly didn't mind, and this wasn't against the rules. "My lunch break is in a few minutes if you want to join me so really you I should consider you early."

There was not? It was her lucky day then. Smiling to herself, Belle inched closer, faking interest into the items on the shelves when obviously, she only had eyes for Julie. "I would like to join you" she decided, leaning over to her, lips not quite touching. Yet.

Julie leaned in closer before kissing Belle quickly and then back to her job. "I can get us both a coffee if you'd like. And you can add all the stuff yourself." She liked to see Belle and all. But she couldn't help but notice something. "Belle, you know you can still travel around, and see your other partners right?"

Well, she would like that. Belle smiled to herself, happy to be kissed and have that wish granted. Just to seem startled as Julie asked her that question. There was a long pause. "I wanted to ... specifically kiss you, though" she said then.

"I understand, but you have really gone around since you brought me here. And it's a bit of a worry for me. I don't mind you having multiple partners. And I don't mind you going to see them if they live in other universes." Julie just wanted to let Belle know that it was alright to do that.

That was sweet of her. "I know ... " Belle said quietly. She looked a little down, thinking: Was it time to tell Julie? Maybe it was. "I can't reach them" she had her know.

She came around the counter and hugged her. "How about we get a coffee and you tell me about it?" Julie was concerned for her mate and wanted to talk things out. Maybe there was something that they could do.

She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want it to be real. Belle sighed as she hugged Julie back; the fabric of her clothing stretching as her wings meant to move to her from beneath. "Sweet coffee?" she asked quietly.

"Of course. But you should let wings out. I'm sure that isn't healthy for them." She let go before going over to the coffee machine and began to make them both a cup. "How about you come here and add the sugar yourself?"

"Am I allowed over there?" Belle asked. This did seem like 'employee space only'. Since it was Julies request, she loosened her clothes. A little worried all might just fall to the ground and leave her half exposed, but on the other hand ... not too worried about it. There was only Julie here.

"Yeah. People are allowed to make their own." She said before her watch went off. "And I'm officially on break now." Julie really didn't mind, and it was okay with her. And as the employee who was watching the place she didn't see a problem with it.

Alright then. Belle stepped forward and joined Julie. Now that her wings were free to move, she curled one around her straight away.

Julie smiled feeling the wing before putting an arm around her. "Belle, please talk to me. I want to help you through this. So please, tell me why you can't see your other partners?"

Belle needed a long moment to reply; her mough opening and closing a couple of times when she tried but did not succeed to say the simple truth. "The dimension travel ... doesn't work" she said then, miserably. "I lost touch to Sam and two children."

Julie gently pulled Belle into a hug sighing. It would take more than coffee to cheer her up. "I'm sorry Belle...I wish I knew how to fix it...I know it hurts. I know exactly what losing others feels like. You have people here who can help you out. And another of your kind in the tower. He might be good company for you to talk to."

"You're my partner" Belle replied. She didn't want to talk about this with anyone else. She kept quiet otherwise. She just needed a second. She thought she felt better after she shared, really though: it just made it more real. This was a situation now.

"Alright. But you don't have to lie about him. I think Seth said his name was Bruce. He's who Seth's stayed with when we wanted time alone." Julie said gently patting her on the back. "And don't worry. We'll figure something out. And when we do you'll have some kind of closure on this. Alright?"

Alright. Belle kissed gently Julies cheek, so grateful that she was around. "What did I lie about?" she wondered, glad to talk about anything else.

"About the cute bat guy you've kept to yourself. If you're worried that I'm jealous I'm not. He honestly seems really cute, and I've seen him a few times. I think Seth actually goes to school with one of his kids."

"Bruce?" It must be him. Forest didn't have a kid that went to school with Seth that she knew of. "Yeah. He lives nearby. What ... What?" She was so confused. Maybe she didn't understand Julie right because she was sad though. Okay, lets try putting more attention to what she was talking about instead of her breathing and heartbeat. Belle smiled apologetically and brushed through Julies hair. Lets try that again.

"Yeah! I've had to leave Seth with him a few times when we needed some alone time." Once the coffee was done she poured them both a cup smiling. "You don't have to pretend. I'm sure you've fooled around with him. And I don't blame you. He's rather handsome.'

"He's what?" What was it ... with her ears ... today. She could have sworn Julie just implied ... ... Belle frowned.

Julie looked over but seeing the frown worried her. "What's wrong? I was just joking around. He may make a good friend, but that's about it. And if you want him to yourself I understand."

Belle stuck out the tip of her tongue in disgust; then shook her head. "No." No. No ... She couldn't do that right now. She'd need a lot of sugar for her coffee to fix her crushed heart and soul now. She started pouring some in her cup and was thinking. "Didnt I ... ever ... mention ... he is like ... my brother?" she wondered aloud.

Oh no! Nonononononono! "Belle, I didn't know." Julie hugged Belle a bit harder as if trying to fix what she had said. "Belle, you never told me. So I didn't know. If I had then I never would have said any of that. I would have made a few comments about how short he was, and maybe joked around with you about him. At most I trust him to watch Seth for us." Julie was now thinking about what all she could do to fix this. Maybe a date night, or buying Belle some clothes or jewelery?

He was short, yes. That helped. And being hugged certainly did as well. "I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind. I thought you knew" she apologized.

"It's okay. And if you want I can drop Seth off there, and the two of us could have a date night. Go somewhere nice." Julie just felt terrible and embarrassed about all of this.

Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. A night to get her mind off all this, and certainly Bruce. "Yeah" Belle replied.

Julie got her cup after adding all her stuff to it, got her lunch box, and led Belle out to the back before sitting down sighing. "So, have you heard the rumors about Moth-Men in the city?"

"Moth-Men" Belle repeated. "Actually ... " she shook her head. "What do they say?" She sat down opposite from Julie and sipped on her coffee.

"Well, I've only read the newspaper recently, but apparently there was some kind of crash outside the city, actually pretty close to here, and not long after human like moths were seen in the night sky."

"Oh." That was news. "I was ... quite occupied" she huffed. Hm. Did Forest already cover that? Or one of the others? They should ... ... "I'll take a look decided." Not now, but after Julies break was over. She wanted to know what kind of aliens were camping near her girlfriend.

"I heard rumors that one of them was with a bat-man thing, and that they both went into Metro Tower. Well, twice actually. And the next day after the second one broken glass was found around your brothers." She got out a sandwich and some apple slices before she began to eat. "We should probably go make sure he's alright. I don't know what it's like having a brother, but if something like happened to my family then I'd be making sure they were alright."

"Oh, he'd come to me when something was really wrong" Belle assured. And then really thought about it. Did she come to him when something was really wrong? Like lately, with her being unable to get to Sam or the little ones? Hm ... "I should probably check on him, yeah. Thanks for the reminder." Belle smiled at Julie, happy to have a partner like that.

"I'm just glad we were home with Seth that night. And now that I think about it I'm not sure if I want to go out. I mean, what if something happens again, but this time he got hurt? I'd never be able to forgive myself for that."

No date night. Belle looked at her coffee. "I understand" she said, voice low. "I check them right away once your break is ending. Just taking a look and then, talk to Forest. I don't want you to be worried."

"I'm sorry Belle. I'm just worried about Seth. I've already lost a husband and his little sister. I can't lose him." She finished up her lunch and sighed before leaning on her.

Belle stayed a while like this and then kissed Julies temple. "I know."

She sighed and cuddled up with Belle until her watch went off. "Welp, breaks over." She said before reluctantly standing up. "See you at home."

"Yeah" Belle affirmed. "I go ... take a look at these moths." Belle got up as well. She didn't want to leave Julie just yet, but there was little choice.

#RP #Belle RP #Belle and Julie RP

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