#i was really looking forward to going :((( and also seeing the touristy things in the area since we've never been there before | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

The total number of visits Tumblr.com received during January 2021 is 327 million.

#i was really looking forward to going :((( and also seeing the touristy things in the area since we've never been there before

bubuslutty · 11 months

Note

Omg single dad Price?? Cliche as hell but hits all the right spots when ovulating hahah

omd thank you so much for this ask anon!

I've had so much writing abt single dad price! I hope I delivered 💙

cod mw2 masterlist

word count: 2.1k

tags: fem!reader, she/her, no descriptions of physical appearance, poc friendly, sfw

warning: none.

a/n: I wrote this on my periods and by God do I want this man so horribly bad. my mind is infested with filth when I think abt him but I also want to write fluffy things for him :((

okay so single dad price au

first of all, in my head, for some unknown reason, he'd have 2 boys, maybe twins and 1 little girl, the youngest. I see them as all being under 10 years old.

maybe you first met through one of his friends, Johnny maybe, who decided to invite you to travel down to Price's place all the way from Glasgow for some sightseeing and touristy stuff, or going to a festival or going to a show to see one of your favorite bands.

You knew Price, heard of him a couple of times but never met him face to face. and lo and behold when you do, your heart does a little flip and a giggle comes out of your mouth when he introduces himself and sticks his hand out, smiling down at you.

I SORRY BUT I'M WHIPPED FOR THIS MAN-

luckily he doesn't mind the giggle and his smile just becomes even bigger, because it's evident you're happy to be there, happy to meet him. and if Johnny likes you, Price is bound to like you as well.

And he does like you, easily swapping jokes and laughing together with Johnny. He gets comfortable pretty quickly with you, he leans forward and nods to whatever you say, seemingly captivated by your whole aura. After a whole pint of beer, he unbuttons two more buttons of his short-sleeved shirt. It was already hot outside, so maybe he wanted to cool down but his eyes say otherwise.

John is fucking massive, that you can tell by his body, even tho Johnny tells you he's a busy dad of 3 children, he somehow still manages to still go to the gym. He has both muscles with a healthy layer of fat on them, and you can appreciate a big man with a soft tummy but with the strength of a bull.

You've seen pictures of John before, shown to you by Johnny on multiple occasions. And his back still haunts your dreams. In a good way. He had such a huge back that you wanted to just climb it and cling to it.

And that man had huge arms and veiny hands with blond hairs on them, and a nice full beard on his face and fluffy hair with the warmest eyes you've seen. And the absolute unit of shoulders to waist ratio ever. And to top it off that man has WICKED hips, thighs and ass.

He mentions his kids once or twice over some drinks and yorkshire pudding burritos. And you sit up, interested and curious. You ask about their ages, names and because he's such a dad, he obviously has to show you his wallpaper of his boys and girl.

You lean closer to look at them, and they're so cute, with blond hair just like him, his boys have brown eyes while his little girl has blue ones. And they're genuinely adorable that you Aww at every picture he shows you.

This leads to Johnny telling you anecdotes from when they were little, like nappies little, and how one of his sons peed on him in the middle of changing his nappies once.

It's all fun and games until Johnny frowns down at his phone when he receives a message and he excuses himself, telling you and John how he has a thing to take care of, so he's leaving you two together to have some fun, and for John to take advantage of his child-free time.

Johnny leaves after giving you a tight hug and a wink, walking out of the nice pub John frequents.

"So… What's your favourite colour?" You asked, biting your lower lip and staring at John through your eyelashes.

And he seemed taken back by your question, "My favourite colour?"

"Yeah," You nodded, feeling a bit anxious for asking such a silly question, but you really wanted to get to know him, starting by asking him innocent questions and analyzing his reactions to them.

"Blue. What about you?" He answered with a shrug and a small smile.

"Me too! It's also my favourite colour!" You gasped, excited.

John chuckled at your excitement, taking a swing of his beer while you toyed with your phone like a fidget toy.

"I don't remember anyone ever asking me about my favourite colour, except my kids of course, and that one face paint artist at school fairs." John said and you giggled again.

"What did you get painted on?" You asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Sonic the hedgehog." He sighed and you started laughing, eyes watering and shoulders shaking, even snorting once and slapping a hand to your mouth, eyes wide and cheeks hot.

John doesn't think twice before prying your hand away from your face, "Don't. A snort isn't going to chase me away."

"And uhm, I know why we're here, really here. Johnny isn't as subtle as he thinks he is." John confessed and looked away from your face, as if embarrassed.

"It's alright if you don't want to get together or anything, we could forget this ever happened, John." You said, placing a hand on top of his and leaning closer to look at his face better.

He looked at you as soon as those words left your mouth, "I didn't say anything about not wanting to get together-"

"Really?"

John sighed and grabbed and squeezed your hand, running his other hand through his beard, "Listen, you're absolutely lovely, charming and as beautiful as Johnny claims you to be. I do want to get to know you better, It's just– I'm not really someone you easily date."

You smiled, "You're a package deal."

"Excuse me?"

"Buy one, get three free." You said, watching the absolute giant of man look at you all worried as if there was something wrong with him.

John was stunned, looking at you as if you grew an extra head.

"What? You thought I'd agree to meet and flirt with you, knowing I won't get with a single parent?" You said, scooting closer to him, resting your chin on your palm and looking at him through your pretty eyelashes.

"I don't know if this is of any help, but I'm the oldest of 4 children, and my youngest sibling is 15 years younger than me. So little kids don't scare me, trust me." You said, puffing your chest as if you were a decorated soldier with veteran experience in taking care of little shits.

John cracked a small smile, "I'm sure you're a great older sister."

"I try my best." You humbly said, bowing your head and John chuckled again.

"So, how about we go for a walk and you can tell me all about your workout routine, you can't be the only one looking like a much hotter version of Superman." You said and John all but agreed.

And you do go for a walk, and chat about everything and anything. and you have so much fun that John forgets what time it is for a bit and gets surprised when his alarm rings and he has to go pick up his kids from school.

You say bye to each other and he says how he's going to invite you and Johnny over for a hangout with his other guys back at his place.

So you do go, you keep meeting him, and you eventually meet his kids, and they're lovely, polite and wary of you at first, because they're still very young and are children to parents who don't like or love each other like most parents do.

So you try your best to approach them in the best way possible, and decide to tell them nothing but the truth and talk to them like you'd talk to adults.

So when you start seeing their dad, he tells them one night over dinner, just the, and you also confirm it to them when you get invited over, "I like your father.

And his boys look up from their legos and his little girl stops flying a dinosaur in the air right before she crashes it on a city made out of blocks and barbie dolls.

"We know." The twins say at the same time and they shrug, resuming their play.

"Dinosaur?" The little girl hands you another dinosaur, and you nod, and take it from her little hand.

"Dinosaur." You repeat and you watch her dive the dinosaur's head to a barbie's head and act like he was eating the barbie, so you did the same thing, with added sound effects.

You don't expect the children to call you mum, you aren't overly friendly with them or force your friendship on them. You give them space, time and respect. And John seems to be incredibly grateful for it, even if he doesn't comment on it, but his eyes and smiles say enough.

Things slowly evolve, and the children start asking for you when you're not around.

"Dad, where's your friend?" One of his boys asked him on the way to get ice cream after school.

"You mean dad's girlfriend." The other twin corrects his brother.

"Are you boyfriend girlfriend?" His little girl asks.

"She's busy with work at the moment, and we're not dating, not yet, at least." John says.

"Not yet?"

"Why?"

"But we saw you kiss in the kitchen!"

"Please be boyfriend girlfriend! She's nice and she's better at helping us with homework than you!"

So John is now stuck in his car, being roasted by his children on their way to get ice-cream, and he shuts them up when he tells them they won't officially date until all of them like you.

Which they obviously already do and they agree very quickly.

So Price takes you out on a date, to officially ask you out, with his children as some sort of witnesses and official welcome to their family.

They're in a nice italian restaurant, nothing too fancy, and he's wearing a light blue button up with a pair of slacks that do more than justice to his legs and hips. And he looks so so nice, hair brushed back and beard trimmed and oiled up, and he has a watch on his wrist and a bracelet his little girl made him on the other hand.

His little boys are wearing button up shirts in different colours and slacks, and his little girl is wearing a blue dress with a dinosaur pin on her hair, keeping her curls away from her face. And as soon as you show up, her face lights up and she excitedly shows you her dress, spinning around, and telling you that's "It's blue! Like your favourite colour! Like dad's favourite colour!" And she also shows you the dinosaur hairpin and you all but melt and tell her how pretty she looks, and how handsome his boys look.

"You also look very handsome." You smile at John and he blushes a bit, taking your hands in his while his children watch with wide curious eyes.

"And you look very beautiful, darling." He says and you bat your eyelashes at him, "Thank you."

He kisses the back of your hands and he pulls your chair out for you to sit, and you grin and sit down. And then the children all start talking at the same time, about what they'd like to order and what you should try and what they think you'd like, so obviously they have been here before and it's a family favourite.

John tells his little gremlins to calm down and you guys start by ordering drinks and some breadsticks, then he actually has a whole speech prepared about how he's been very happy with you and would love for you to officially join their family.

And while he's saying his speech, his eyes never leaving yours, you don't notice one of his boys holding a small piece of paper under the table and nodding along to his dad's words, and the other twin holding a up thumbs up to show that John is saying everything he's written down.

While John’s little girl somehow pulled a small dinosaur toy out of nowhere and is making it sit on the table and watch you both.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend, and join your family, John." You say when John's done and his children all cheer at the same time, making some people from other tables glance at you.

"Congratulations." The twins say at the time, shaking your hand and their father's in quite a formal manner, making you giggle, "Thank you, gentlemen."

"Can we eat now?" John's little girl asks, and nobody asks why she had shoved tissue inside her dinosaur's mouth, probably mimicking feeding it.

John laughs and nods, "Yes, we can."

tag list (pls ask to be added or removed): @obiwankenobis-lap @goapgrim @smalldemonlover @silviafantin15 @reveluving @bobastayhigh @originalsimp @h-leigh @gxldyjess @msdrpreist @chaoticevilbakugo @Lacunaanonymoused @whore4dilfs

403 notes · View notes

pensat-i-fet · 1 year

Text

Birthday twins (Rúben Dias x Reader)

**Of course, I had to do a little birthday imagine for the birthday boy! 🎂 Credit to @faye01mcfc for the ginger shot idea! Hope you guys enjoy it!! ❤️**

Word count: 1852

Masterlist

Wattpad

What do you get for the guy that has it all? And that can buy anything he wants but doesn’t have yet…well, that was currently your most significant problem as you walked around the streets of Madrid. Manchester City were in the Spanish capital to try and get revenge after the way they lost in the previous edition of the Champions League, but for you, it was also a chance to do some touristy stuff and to get some shopping done.

You soon discovered that your second favourite thing called Serrano, after the ham, was the street that had that name and where you could visit some of the most luxurious stores. The architecture of the area was also stunning so you took plenty of photos and videos in between all the shopping.

“Should we go to Loewe next?”, asked Sasha, who was also in Madrid for the match and became your shopping buddy the second you mentioned your plan.

“Sure, I love their menswear. I might find something there”.

Yes, back to your problem. Sunday was going to be a very big day for you. Not only was it your birthday but it was also your boyfriend’s birthday. Meeting someone who was born on the same day as you and him becoming your boyfriend felt like some sort of destiny thing. Like you were meant to be together. But it didn’t make buying a present for him less of a pain.

Rúben had everything he wanted. And when he wanted something new, he bought it. He really was that type of guy. You wanted to write down all the things he mentioned liking for future gifts…only to find a parcel arriving home a couple of days later containing that same thing he mentioned. Really annoying.

“I like that jacket”, you said, pointing at a gorgeous bomber jacket. You loved it when Rúben wore those.

“Get it for him!!”, exclaimed Sasha, happy you finally found something you liked. “Should we go to Sephora next?”

“Duh! Always”.

So the next shop you visited was Sephora, where you bought way too many things for you…and some for Rúben. A little plan formed in your head as to how you were going to give him the presents.

Finding the perfect gifts was hurdle number 1. Number 2 was finding out when to exchange them since City played an away match on Sunday. They were heading to Liverpool to play against Everton so it wasn’t the longest trip but…should you give him your presents before he left? After he came back? And what was he planning on doing with the presents he got for you?

Saturday was also the day you were going out to celebrate with your friends, leaving Sunday as the day for a big family dinner. So everything needed to be sorted out before you left to meet your friends.

“Last party as a 25-year-old then?”, asked Rúben, getting inside the room while you finished getting ready.

“I’m getting too old for this. I need to party as much as I can before my back starts to hurt and all that”, you joked.

“The hangovers will get worse too…”.

“And you’ll use that as an excuse to try to feed me weird mushroom concoctions. I can’t let that happen”.

He shook his head before burrowing his face in your neck and muttering against your skin. “We should spend our birthdays together”.

“Call in sick?”, you suggested but he only laughed.

“We are the same age. Literally”.

Only a couple of minutes later, your phone started to buzz with a couple of texts from one of your friends saying they were waiting for you downstairs.

“I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow, old man”.

“I was born at 8 pm, not during the night like you, so…”.

He shut you up with a kiss. “Have fun”.

“I will. Good luck tomorrow”.

What you didn’t know was that Rúben was actually looking forward to you leaving because he needed to get some things ready too before leaving to meet the team. Why did he have to play on your birthday?

You made it home…late. But still set the alarm to 7.30 so you could say a happy birthday to Rúben the moment he woke up.

“Happy birthday!”, he said, beating you to it.

“Ugh, I hate you. But happy birthday my love! Or…feliz aniversário?", you tried to say, reading the note you had left on your bedside table. "Did I get it right? It’s what Google translated happy birthday to”.

“We’ll work on the pronunciation but yes, it’s correct. Thank you!”

“Look inside your pillowcase”.

That left him even more speechless than your terrible Portuguese accent. “Are you still drunk?”

“Ha ha. Do it”.

So he did, and there he found a birthday card from you.

“How did you…”, but before he could finish asking, he realized how.

“Let’s just say I asked a little fairy for help”.

“Come on, Bernardo is small but not that small”, he said, making you laugh. “Now I understand how I lost my room key and how he was the one to find it so quickly”.

Rúben opened the card starting to read it. He laughed at all your attempts to write to him in reading the card, he had to laugh at all your attempts to add little words in Portuguese. But he loved them, and all the other words in the card too.

"Go make some tea".

"I don't want to leave the bed now, Rúben…".

"Go make some tea", he insisted.

"Why?"

"Just do it".

Leaving the bed was tough but you made your way to the kitchen and found another birthday card, this one for you, behind the kettle.

"Great minds and all that, right?"

Since you were already there, you put the kettle on and moved away so the noise wouldn't disturb your call.

Reading Rúben's card put a huge smile on your face. He was so cheesy. And you loved it.

"Are you making tea then?"

"Yes, let me grab a mug and a teabag…".

"Get the mug I got you for Christmas".

You frowned but did as he told you, finding a note underneath it. The note had instructions on where to find your first gift.

"This is fun", you told him, giggling like a schoolgirl. "Also, open the big pocket of your suitcase".

He also didn't ask why, guessing what it was all about. And when he opened the pocket he saw a note telling him to go find Bernardo so he could get his first two presents.

When he went to find his friend, you started to look for your gifts. Finding them and more clues about the next one's location.

He overdid it, of course. But it was the last "gift" that you liked the most. It was just a note telling you he had called your boss so he would know you weren't going to work on Monday. Rúben had a day off after the match and that would be the perfect day for you to celebrate alone. No family, no friends…just the birthday boy and the birthday girl spoiling each other.

Both your parents and Rúben's joined you at your place to watch the match and then wait for him to get back and go to the restaurant you had booked for the day. That was, if any of you was actually hungry enough to eat dinner after all the cake you had been eating. Your dad, being the baking enthusiast he was, made sure there was enough cake to feed half of Manchester. And some cupcakes too.

"He's back", you yelled, jumping from the sofa so you could run to the door and half tackle Rúben. Good thing he was strong or you would have ended up on the floor.

"Missed me?"

"What am I supposed to celebrate without my birthday twin by my side?", you told him, pouting.

"Well, I'm here now. Let me say hello to our guests and get ready to go to dinner. And then I'm all yours".

You also needed to get ready but wanted to surprise your boyfriend and were already wearing something nice enough for dinner. He thought that was your outfit for the night when he saw you. But when he left, you ran to the guest room to put on the dress you planned on wearing that night.

"Darling, you look so beautiful", said your mum.

"Thanks. I bought this in Madrid the other day".

"Another birthday present for me?", asked Rúben, getting out of the room wearing some nice black trousers and a matching shirt. And holding the jacket you bought for him for Christmas to complete the look. He looked like a whole meal. A much better meal than the one you would be offered at the posh restaurant you were going to.

"You could try wearing it too but I'm not sure it's the right size…".

"Seeing it you wear it is much better", he whispered before taking your hand and following your families to the door.

You were getting ready for a toast when you noticed Rúben picking up his glass of water.

"Making a toast with water is bad luck", you told him, passing him a glass of champagne and seeing his hand move. "Don't you dare pick up the glass with juice. Come on, just a little sip".

He obliged and you all toasted to another year of health, happiness, love and success.

"Nooooo".

Hearing the alarm go off on Monday was never a good feeling. Especially when you remembered you were supposed to have the day off.

"Wakey wakey, old lady. I know age makes it harder to leave the bed in the mornings but we have a day full of activities ahead of us", said Rúben, jumping from the bed and leaving you there, still half asleep.

"I'm younger than you!"

"By 12 hours!"

You heard movement in the kitchen and sat up slightly, wondering what he was doing. But you soon found out, hearing his footsteps coming closer and a familiar melody.

"Is that happy birthday in Portuguese?", you asked and he nodded, holding a little cupcake in his hand. He put a candle on it too, which made you laugh.

"Make a wish".

You blew the candle and made your wish before kissing him and taking a bite of the cupcake.

"Wait! I have something for you too!"

Copying his actions, you went to the kitchen to find something for Rúben and came back to the room singing happy birthday to him.

"I hate you", he said when he saw you were holding one of his ginger shots with a candle on it too.

"Well, you weren't going to eat the cupcake so…".

But he blew the candle as well, making another wish before tickling you and making you laugh so hard you probably had woken up the whole city.

"Happy birthday, annoying but beautiful birthday twin".

"Happy birthday, my love. There's no one I would rather share my birthday and my life with than you".

#ruben dias #ruben dias imagine #ruben dias one shot #ruben dias fluff #footballer imagine #footballer one shot #footballer fluff

179 notes · View notes

autisticlancemcclain · 2 years

Text

“So,” Lance probes, “where are going?”

“Surprise,” Keith says simply. He grins when Lance huffs indignantly, right on schedule.

“Why? Just tell me! I need to prepare! What if I’m underdressed? What if —”

“I promise you’re not underdressed.”

“That’s what you think, but you’d wear jeans to a ball!”

Keith laughs, bumping his shoulders lightly with Lance’s. “I’ve never seen anyone dress up to go wear we’re going. Besides, we’ve only got one outfit. It’s not like you’ve got much else to change in to.”

Lance opens his mouth to argue, but closes it, tilting his head. “Okay, that’s fair,” he concedes. “I still think you should tell me.”

“I think you like to be surprised.”

“…Fuck you.”

Keith laughs, and Lance shoves him, but he’s smiling.

“Smug bastard.”

The tease and bicker all the way to Black, not even pausing to make their way up the ramp. Keith feels Black roll her hypothetical eyes.

“I still think I should be informed,” Lance says once Keith gets settled.

“I think you should stop asking.”

“…Make me.”

Keith inhales sharply, looking up at Lance from his position in the pilot’s chair. Lance is smirking at him, brown eyes narrowed and dangerous. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and what he’s trying to get.

“Well, Mullet?” Lance asks quietly. Smugly. “You want me to shut up? Make me.”

Keith flicks his gaze down to Lance’s lips. They look soft, a little shiny. A little glossy, really. He wonders where the hell Lance got lip gloss in space. He wants to lick it off his lips so badly the need almost bowls him over. God, fuck, Keith wants to press Lance to the wall right here and now and fucking ravish him, devour him, bite his neck and nip his ears and just fucking press his lips to every part of his deliciously smooth skin —

Keith shakes himself. He is trying to be a gentleman, here. He’s trying to romance Lance. That’s the least he deserves; a night to relax and laugh and have fun. Lance deserves a plush bed and low-light candles and flower petals and tender, tender time, not something desperate and rushed in a cockpit.

(He also, frankly, deserves to be fucked so hard that the only thing he knows how to scream is Keith’s name. He’s a brat, and he knows exactly what he’s doing when he crawls over Keith’s lap during family movie night “to get the snacks, sorry, don’t mind me.” But that will come, all in good time. Keith wants to enchant Lance, dammit, and by God he will.)

Keith resolutely turns back to the dashboard. “No,” he says loudly. Loud enough to give himself away, judging on Lance’s muffled giggles. “Stop that. I need to focus, Lance, Jesus.”

Keith doesn’t need to face Lance to know he’s grinning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fearless Leader.”

Keith shakes his head, although now he’s grinning too. Lance only ever calls him that when he thinks he’s won an argument.

Lance is usually right.

Lance calls him that a lot.

“We’re about to land,” Keith says, changing the subject. The charged atmosphere changes immediately, and Lance surges forward excitedly to the window, taking everything in with wide eyes.

It’s a large, sprawling set of buildings set on a boardwalk on a touristy beach planet, which Keith knew Lance would love. The cheesy flashing neon lights are clearly visible, lighting up Lance’s face in red and blue. Keith can’t help the besotted sigh that spills from his lips. Lance is just — he’s breathtaking, in every situation, in every setting. Always.

Lance flashes a grin at him when he feels him staring.

“You gonna check me out all night, or are we gonna go do something fun?”

“Both, if you’ll let me.”

Lance freezes, a little. His ears burn.

“Stop trying to fluster me,” he scolds.

Keith shrugs, helpless. “I wasn’t trying to.”

Lance flaps a hand at him, squawking a little. “That’s worse!”

Keith huffs a laugh, stepping towards Lance and tangling their hands together.

“That’s just how I feel,” he says, pressing a fleeting kiss to his warm cheek. He feels more than sees Lance’s eyes roll, but Lance pulls him closer anyway.

“Alright, alright, take me to our mysterious location now, Romeo.”

Keith hums, tugging him out of Black’s door and towards the biggest building.

“Sure thing, Juliet.”

———

read the rest of this universe here and here and here

#i love this series #vld #voltron #keith #keith kogane #lance #lance mcclain #smooth keith #flirty lance #whipped keith #klance #established klance #first date #innuendo #brown eyed lance #black paladin keith #red paladin lance #my writing #fic fragment

212 notes · View notes

plangentia · 5 months

Note

If you’re looking for bookstores, there’s a used bookstore in SE, called Capitol Hill Books, which is very cozy and has a lot of character. I think it is a bit less touristy, though, so Idk if that’s what you’re looking for.

It’s a bit too early to see the cherry blossoms unfortunately, they are quite beautiful. Even still, the tidal pond is quite nice.

Also, if you’re taking the metro, Idk how universal this is, but in DC it’s a big thing that you’re supposed to stand on the right of the escalators, so ppl can walk down the left. That’ll be less consistent on some of the more touristy metro stations (like Smithsonian)—but it is something that will very much mark you as a tourist if you stand in the left (again, this might be universal for places w/ metros, I’m not sure, just a lot of tourists come from places w/ no metros).

Also, In my (incredibly biased) opinion, the people of DC are great. There’s such character there! Unfortunately I think the people of DC get a bad rap sometimes, in part because of the politicians who work in DC who the ppl of DC don’t have a say in, and also because there is a certain type of tourist (nowadays they frequently wear certain red hats) who kinda don’t rlly respect DC as a city where ppl actually live, and of course then they don’t get great interactions w/ the locals. But I love DC.

Also the architecture! Not just the monuments and big buildings like the Capitol or the Library of Congress, but also, the houses! I love DC townhouses, they are beautiful! (Just don’t ask what it would cost to live in them—DC housing is insane).

DC is so beautiful I love it so much and I am so fervently pro DC statehood you would not believe! I love DC and I love the people of DC and I think they deserve better.

TL;DR—Capital Hill Books-a nice used bookstore, v. iconic IMO, sadly no cherry blossoms yet, but still, the Tidal pond. Stand on the right on the metro to avoid embarrassment. DC is very pretty and great and I like it a lot.

thank you so much anon!! i'm really looking forward to visiting dc! yeah i think i'll just miss the cherry blossoms when i go in july, but i'll keep an eye out for any stragglers!

ahaha, i hate when people don't stand on the right on escalators so i'll be sure to carry that through to the us! (wasn't sure if it would swap, considering you guys drive on the right, whilst we drive on the left)

3 notes · View notes

umichenginabroad · 1 year

Text

Berlin Week 4: Weekend Excursion to Copenhagen and Two Factory Tours

By Ilyana Smith, Aerospace Engineering major

One of the coolest things about being in Europe is how close you are to so many different places. This weekend was a 3-day weekend due to a holiday, so a few of us in the Berlin program decided to go to Copenhagen for the weekend.

Copenhagen

It's a beautiful city with a lot of history. And Danish is very similar to German, which was at times disorienting, but also very interesting to try to see which phrases I could understand based on my German knowledge (some, but sadly not many).

Apparently it's possible to see almost all of Copenhagen in two days. I know because it took 60,000 steps, but we did it! We saw all the big sights and even squeezed in a boat tour.

The most talked-about attraction is, of course, the Little Mermaid statue, which is an homage to Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author known for his literary fairy tales, including the Little Mermaid. The statue of the Little Mermaid is smaller than you expect, and the area is very crowded. However, there's a good ice cream shop nearby, and it's one of those things that's worth seeing if you're ever in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen's The Little Mermaid Statue

Another big attraction in Copenhagen is Nyhavn, a street with distinctively colored buildings along a canal. If you look up pictures of Copenhagen, these buildings will probably come up right alongside the Little Mermaid. There are a lot of touristy shops and restaurants along the street, but the best thing there were the ice cream shops. Like everything else in Copenhagen, ice cream is more expensive than it is in Berlin, but the ice cream was very good, and definitely worth it after a long day walking around the city!

Nyhavn

Some other awesome things we saw in Copenhagen were their very extensive botanical gardens and the Church of our Savior, which has a spiral staircase around the top of its steeple, which you can climb to get a view of the whole city. Inside the church itself is a very impressive organ.

Copenhagen Botanical Gardens, View from the top of the Church of our Savior, and the organ inside the Church of our Savior

Factory Tours

On Wednesday, we had the really cool opportunity to tour the BMW motorcycle plant in Berlin. The thing that really stood out to me about this plant was the massive amount of automation that went into it. Everything about the process that could be made automatic was automatic, and everything that humans were doing was something it was necessary for them to be doing. And the people's workstations were designed in the most ergonomic way possible, to ensure that they could do their jobs effectively for an entire shift.

Today, we went to the APCB plant in Berlin, which supplies Ford with injection-molded plastic parts for dashboards. This factory tour was less focused on the overall process and more so on the plastics processing that we've been learning about in our lab class. We'd learned about injection molding before, and even seen the little injection molder in the lab in action, but that was nothing compared with the massive injection molders we saw today making parts for cars.

It was really incredible to actually get a sense of what a factory means in today's world. My previous perception of a factory was completely inaccurate, and it was really cool to see what one actually looks like, and how much engineering goes into making one operate effectively.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

This is the Engineering Laboratory Experience at TUB in Berlin, Germany

#umichenginabroad #IPEBerlin #ilyanaSmith #IPESummer23 #Germany

0 notes

rhonddaandallaneuro · 2 years

Text

The last day in Dublin we elected to do the touristy thing and took the local hop on hop off bus. Now traffic in Dublin is horrendous which means that no vehicle can drive around quickly so you get good value looking at the attractions being spoken to by the guide. One of our drivers even sang an Irish lullaby to us to keep us entertained

The stops we elected to get off were Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Liberties of Christ Church. Saint Patrick’s was amazing with an audio tour available with Liberties having a spectacular crypt laden with golden artifices to admire.

The trip around, maybe (guessing), a five kilometre length took close on 1:40 in time. The traffic really is horrendous. The main attractions we had already visited so just enjoyed the experience. The first bus was covered and it was nice and sunny however very cold winds drifted through. The second bus had no roof so when it poured rain and I mean poured rain the bus floor filled with water which splashed back and forward as the bus started and stopped. Very funny at first but after having shoes drenched was annoying.

Finally we departed and moved back to the motel to prepare for our last night. We only wanted to go to a place that served good food and live Irish music. This we located at the end of our motels lane way. The only problem being getting a seat given you can not book anywhere in Dublin. Today was also the 31st wedding anniversary for Rhondda and Allan so it was important that as a group we had a nice meal while listening to some great music.

Not to be deterred we did the norm and stood around like vultures until someone left their seat. That only took two pints so not that long. The music was great and the food sizings huge. Talked to lots of other tourists as you do in the pubs over here and it is always great to here about other places. A great anniversary.

Sadly the time in Ireland has come to an end and after an extremely testing time finding our ferry terminal we drove forward looking forward to a breakfast on board and nanny nap as the drive at the other end will be long. The trip back to Holyhead was a bit rough due to the weather but we hit England running as we were on a mission to see Llangollen about a two hour drive in Wales.

We had planned to do this earlier but due to the Queens funeral it like everything else was closed. Llangollen is a lovely town high up in the Snowodian Mountains where the Romans created a massive water system that still exists. It is here that you take a horse drawn boat down a channel enjoying the calmness and serenity that surrounds you. The ride took just on an hour and worth the effort and time to detour.

Back on the road we continued our drive towards London stopping off in West Whitcome. My advice to everyone is if you get a chance to visit do not. The motel was not good and getting a meal long drawn out process that saw us eating after 9pm. Not to be deterred we still had to get the car back to Euro car so pulled out early in deep fog. Driving in these conditions is very dangerous but we did so being able to drop the car off on time removing additional fees. Something that Euro car loves to do.

We had gone through a $1.90 toll about three weeks ago and Rhondda had gone on line to pay. We actually paid twice but the wrong date was recorded so we were fined thirty pounds Stirling by the Tollway. This amount was charged to Euro (car owner) who then proceeded to charge us forty euro for the service fee. So A $1.90 toll ending up costing A$140 all up. You can challenge but the paperwork involved is huge due to the system used by Euro. We will never use Euro car again. The experience has been horrible.

Moving on we are now in our motel the Blue Dolphin in Paddington which is a great location with easy access to public train systems and lots of pubs and eating establishments. Looking forward to starting some great sightseeing.

1 note · View note

miekasa · 3 years

Note

okay but what about airport!levi? he gives quiet businessman vibes sitting in his slacks and turtleneck

IN HIS TURTLENECK 😭😭 He would also be quiet and to himself, but not in the emo way. You got me thinking about all of them now, so here are my other thoughts about the boys at the airport.

Levi

He thinks the idea of separating classes on an airplane is beyond stupid, but if the flight is particularly long, or particularly packed, he’s not above paying for business class for a little extra personal space for the two of you.

When he doesn’t do that, tho, he never picks your guys’ seats ahead of time, so sometimes you’ll be separated. Good thing he’s also not above lying at the check-in desk, “I’m in Zone 1, could my wife be seated next to me so that we can board together?”

They respond with an “of course,” and move your seats together, and Levi walks back with a content nod of appreciation. You are not married, and marriage sucks about as much as class separation on a 30 foot long plane, but it has its benefits.

Masks on, regardless. No debates. Pandemic or not, the mask stays on. Do not perceive him, keep the pressurized air sharing to a minimum.

Doesn’t wander much in the airport. There’s nothing in there that he hasn’t seen already, except for the marked up prices on touristy t-shirts.

And if you wander, he’ll usually just sit in the waiting area to watch your bags while you window shop and do your thing. If you’re gone for more than 30 mins, he might call, under the pretenses of, “Making sure you didn’t get lost. You know that Starbucks was near gate 41 to the left, not the right, right?” Like he’s a comedian or something 🙄

He does encourage you to get snacks before you board, tho. Airplane food is gross, and he would much rather pay for a $13 sandwich that you can snack on later, than for you to have to eat mush.

He’s got a little portable mug he takes with him for when he’s wants to buy a hot drink before getting on his flight. It’s cute.

Doesn’t fall asleep on the plane ever. No matter how long the flight is—at most, he’ll take a quick power nap somewhere in the middle if it’s over 9 hours, but other than that, he’s good to go.

Doesn’t mind if you fall asleep, and he always adjusts your neck pillow to make sure you don’t get cramps.

Jean

Travel champion. This man loves being in the airport even though he’s convinced it’s a time capsule, he fucking loves it.

King of “your airport fashion matters, babe.” Not necessarily wearing a whole three piece suit, but he does put in a little effort; it’s not just the first pair of sweats he has laying around.

Swears coffee tastes better in the airport. It does not. That does not stop him from buying it. He should learn to quit tho, especially for someone who hates airplane bathrooms as much as he does.

Charming with all the security personnel and desk assistants. You could be checking in for a flight at 4am, and Jean’s got people smiling and cheery for their shifts.

Bitches about the selection of movies on the flight, and learns to just download his own ahead of time. Gets really startled when he’s watching something and the flight attendants try to grab his attention for food or drinks—the very loud, classic, Jean Kirstein “HUH?”

On that note, he also gets startled by the loudspeaker announcements in the airport. He doesn’t know why he has to hear about American Airlines flight 2170 to Cancun, when he is not on American Airlines flight 2170 to Cancun.

Not opposed to paying extra for better airplane food or drinks on the plane if it’s the right time of day. He always finds something to toast to, plus he likes to treat you whenever and wherever he can.

Takes care of your overhead luggage and helps out the people around him if he sees they’re struggling. Gets shy when you call him a gentleman for it, and he rubs his neck, grumbling, “I was just helping the line move a little faster.”

Great timing, generous, will pick up your checked bags for you, and already rented a car a week in advance: 10/10 travel buddy.

Porco

He doesn’t like planes and there’s no solid reason why—nothing bad happened to him as a kid, and it’s not even that rare unfortunate incidents freak him out or anything—something flying just makes him a bit uneasy.

He won’t say it though, and he tries to keep it together when you’re checking in, but you can tell he’s anxious once you’re sitting and waiting for your flight to board.

He’ll ask to switch seats if you have the window seat, because somehow the feeling of being boxed in between the plane wall/window and another person makes it feel more like a car than a plane and he’s okay with that.

Going to the airport is one of the few times he hair won’t be styled, and falls in his face a bit. He usually throws on a beanie to cover it up, but you think he looks pretty cute either way.

Can’t usually fall asleep and he hates it because he just sits there thinking about the worst for the entire duration of the flight. But when you travel with him for the first time and coax him into taking a nap it’s so much better.

It’s about the only time he’ll let himself be publicly babied by you; but it makes everything so much easier that he doesn’t even mind.

So now, whenever you get on flights, he just puts his hood up, lays his head on your shoulder and waits for the magic to happen.

Bonus: you’re traveling with his friends, and Pieck and Marcel past to your seats, surprised to see Porco fast asleep on your shoulder. Pieck squeals, going on about how you must be a wizard to have gotten him to nap, to which Marcel just shakes his head, “Nah, he’s just really in love with her. Look at his face, that’s the calmest he’s been since he was five.”

Connie

Loves the airport. Not an ounce of organization in his soul though. By that I mean, yeah, he’s probably forgotten his passport at home, or forgotten that a full size bottle of body wash cannot go into his carry-on luggage.

Forgets to wear shoes that easy to take off and is fumbling over himself after the security check trying to lace them back up or put them back on.

Likes for you guys to have coordinating sweatsuits, and even though you don’t travel super often, Connie’s got at least 3 pairs of them lined up for you guys.

Sweet enough to drop plans or rearrange his schedule to travel with you if you were originally gonna be alone. He knows you can handle yourself, but he doesn’t want for you to travel alone if you don’t have to, especially if you’re going someplace far and/or for an extended period of time.

He always finds breakfast food to eat before he gets on his flight (if you two even have time to spare for food that is). It could be 9pm, but Connie’s asking for a breakfast wrap.

Hates waiting in the little pre-flight area. Claims it’s boring as hell and that’s why there’s no reason to get there 3 hours early 🙄🙄

He always spends at least 30 minutes browsing all the movie and TV show options available on-board, loudly exclaiming in excitement when they have something cool to watch—only to fucking fall asleep 10 minutes later. Right on top of you when he was oh-so-excited to watch Madagascar 2.

Always steals the aisle seat, even if it’s yours. It’s probably for the best though, because he has to get up to pee at least twice, no matter how short your flight is.

Makes some cheeky remark about you meeting him in the bathroom. He doesn’t mean it... unless he does. Unfortunately, you’ve never... successfully been able to do that out of fear of being caught by the flight attendants, but there have been a few quickies in the “family” (“It’s ethical, because technically we’re participating in the act of making a family, babe”) bathroom before you boarded. It’s his fault, not yours.

Armin

He really likes planes, and traveling in general. I think trains would be his favorite mode of transportation, but airplanes are good too.

I hate to say it but he claps when the plane lands. I will not elaborate or defend my stance on this.

Prefers the window seat because he likes to look out at the clouds as he’s in the sky.

He took his passport photo a little before he cut his hair, so the security personnel always hold it up and flicker between his ID photo and his current appearance a few times before stamping it. It makes him a little embarrassed because he can’t tell if they think he looks better or worse and sometimes he’s really fighting for his life convincing them that that’s him in the picture 😭

Listens to music rather than downloading a movie or watching a show, and always brings wire headphones to the airport so that it’s easier to share and listen with you.

If you fall asleep on him first, he’ll likely fall asleep on you shortly after. If he’s tired enough, he’ll fall asleep first, though he’s somewhat embarrassed and disappointed because he wanted to see the descent and skyline outside.

When he’s not asleep or window-watching, he’s somewhat fidgety out of excitement, rather than nervousness. He’s excited to be traveling and looks forward to wherever you’re going, even if it is just a weekend long work trip.

Hates traveling alone, though. It just feels particularly lonely to him to be going someplace foreign without company by his side. So, he’ll call you at every checkpoint and send you updates.

He only ever buys two things in duty free: shot glasses with the name of the city/country you’re traveling to, and whatever variety of button down short-sleeves are available to him.

Erwin

You knew this was coming, but this man is absolutely at the airport 18 hours before your flight takes off, and he’s driving like a manic getting there, like you don’t have all the time in the world.

Fascinated by anything and everything in duty free. Definitely spends more money than necessary on your return flight on the grounds that he was getting a good deal.

Exchanges money in the airport and keeps cash in his fanny pack. There’s no traveling without the fanny pack.

Plays crossword puzzles on his phone on the plane, and it’s just about one of the only games he has. That and Candy Crush—I get the feeling he’d be on level 500+ of that game and he always knocks out at least 10 levels on a flight.

Always a little surprised when he feels his your head on his shoulder, but he says nothing, and acts like he didn’t even notice, but there’s a telling little smile on his face.

Takes the most foul selfies of him and your sleeping self. In his defense, he had the best intentions; but that angle was flattering nobody. It’s too bad he’d already paid for the in-flight wifi and sent it to Hange because now you’ll never live them down.

You could probably get him to put on a (skincare) face mask during your flight. He forgets to take it off tho, and if you don’t tell him, he’d fully walk through customs with it on his face.

Accidentally gets drunk because he doesn’t understand that just because he can handle several glasses of whiskey in his favorite bar on a Friday night, does not mean it will translate on a plane.

#anonymous #yeah this is a roast of erwin a bit but im right i know i am #aot x reader #levi x reader #jean x reader #jean kirstein x reader #connie springer x reader #armin x reader #erwin x reader #porco x reader #aot headcanons

565 notes · View notes

panlight · 2 years

Note

What do you think the volturi secretaries do every day? are they just keeping randoms out of the Palazzo or ordering stuff from amazon for the guard or helping Heidi with the logistics for the 'fishing'? Do they have to like pay the property taxes on their property? or are they on phone duty 24/7?

I don't think SM thought about this at all (as usual) because the Volturi mostly exist to be a wrench in E/B's love rather than as fully-fleshed out entity.

But if I were going to try and develop it, my guess is that there would actually be a few secretaries. Maybe 2-3 at the top who knew the truth of what was going on (if someone gets eaten or promoted to vampire, there has to be someone else to do the job in the meantime, so it can't just be one at a time), and then more secretaries beneath them who didn't know about vampires or anything and really thought this was just a job answering phones and ordering office supplies.

The "Gianna" job in that last human-seeming lobby before the vampire stuff unfolds probably started as one of the clueless secretaries and over time was bumped up and clued in to the secrets based on recommendations from other high up secretaries or discreet tests from the coven/guard. Seeing if they can be trusted with some mundane secret as a gauge of how well they'd keep an important one, etc. Getting a sense of how many family and friends ties they have in the community. Looking for that X factor, etc. They probably also have to know multiple languages for Heidi's fishing plots.

So I think the Gianna job entails sitting at that last desk much of the day, deal with anyone who ends up in that last lobby/waiting room and having to judge whether to get the vampires involved or figuring out a way to send these people away on her own. Answering calls forwarded to her by confused under secretaries ("Some American doctor is on the phone saying he needs to speak to someone named ah-row?" Gianna doesn't forward the call. It becomes a thing. "I made it clear if Carlisle ever called to put him through, my dear." "She said AMERICAN doctor I thought he was ENGLISH?!") and probably helping Heidi with fishing duties. If someone "wins a contest" or gets an "exciting job opportunity" and tries to check if it's legit or not, they'll probably end up talking to the "Gianna" who will back everything up and make it sound real, even though the phone number they call wouldn't look like an Italian number and she might be cheerfully explaining things to them in Mandarin.

But the under secretaries probably have a pretty mundane office that is right on the street level/at the entrance, and just tell people "oh sorry no tours today" and give the false story of the family that has owned the property since ancient times, and order more toner and paper for the copier.

Maybe there's even a gift shop where they sell touristy Volterra things. Snow globes with the clock tower. St. Marcus figurines and red robes. Books with the story of the city and St. Marcus Day. Little bottles of holy water.

#asks #this is hell of course there's a gift shop

74 notes · View notes

amethystpath-writes · 3 years

Text

Date Beneath the Stars

“Hey, hun?” Villain pulled a sleeve down to the appropriate length. He did the same to the other side, but not before he checked to make sure the key beneath his watch would stay in place throughout the night. “We need to leave in about ten if we want to make it in time for our reservation!”

Hero answered- a little exasperated, “I know, I know! I just need to finish putting up my hair!”

A corner of Villain’s mouth lifted. Hero wouldn’t be done in ten minutes; she never was when it came to her hair. She wasn’t used to doing her hair, wasn’t used to doing fancy things. At the end of it all, Hero always felt she looked ridiculous and over-the-top, so she would redo it all. It was with these thoughts that Villain took it upon himself to walk downstairs and find his wife in the bathroom. “You look exquisite, love.” He peered at her in the mirror, the tiniest of a smirk playing on his lips.

The hand hovering above Hero’s head faltered as she met Villain’s eyes in the reflection. She watched as he stepped forward, placing two warm hands on her shoulders, and leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Do you really think so?” she asked, head leaning back to rest against his chest, but careful not to ruin her carefully arranged hair.

“Of course, my darling.” His hands trailed down Hero’s arms until he found her hands. “You don’t even have to try.”

“Ha! Of course, I have to try, Villain. We’re going to Great Stars.”

Villain shrugged. “The folks who go there go once and never again. It’s a shame,” he said. “The food and service are amazing. The atmosphere is otherworldly. Great Stars is the closest to heaven you will ever get. The owner put a lot of good, hard work into it.”

Hero smiled, turning in Villain’s arms until she was face to face with him. She reached, arms circling his shoulders and neck- for once, she was thankful for the heels she wore. “I don’t know about that. I thought paradise was being in your arms.”

***

The restaurant was as beautiful and extravagant as Villain said- still not as heavenly as being with him, but it was certainly a sight for sore eyes. The food was like nothing Hero had ever tasted. It was…expensive, as expensive as the online reviews said, but Villain had the money.

Living richly was something Hero was still growing accustomed to, even after being married to Villain for three years. Villain was an analyst at a local science museum- a very touristy museum. With as much as Hero hated math, she believed that someone would pay lots of money to make anyone else do it.

Hero’s phone buzzed in her pocket half-way through dinner. She checked it:

EMERGENCY- under the radar meeting…

“Hey, I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll…be right back.”

Hero could have sworn Villain’s phone buzzed, too, but that was unlikely, especially as he asked, “Are you okay?” For a moment, it seemed like he was about to ask something else, but he stopped himself, mouth scrunched up to one side in anticipation of what was wrong with his wife.

Beginning to stand with her purse, Hero nodded unconvincingly. “Yeah, fine.” The purr in his voice, his accent, almost compelled her to sit back down. This was important, though. She needed to check what the rest of the text said. “Just…drank my drink too fast.”

Villain nodded and gestured in direction of the bathrooms. Hero left without another word, already pulling her phone up closer to her eyes. She unlocked her phone so that she could read the whole message. It read:

EMERGENCY- under the radar meeting located under Great Stars restaurant. Call the bureau as soon as possible and in a discreet location.

Under Great Stars? But that’s where Hero was. There was no way there was criminal activity going on just beneath her feet, was there? She shook her head, pushing the bathroom door open. Checking each stall with a knock and discovering she was alone, Hero decided this was a safe place to contact the bureau.

The phone rang once. “Hero?”

“Yeah, Leader, it’s me. What’s going on? I’m at Great Stars right now.”

Silence followed for the slightest moment. “Already? I haven’t even given you the mission yet. You know you’re supposed to wait for proto-”

“I’m on a date with my husband…and I’m in a cocktail dress. If this is as urgent as you say…” Hero couldn’t walk into some underground crime conference in a dress like she was wearing- all sequenced and- well, it was a little short if she was honest- short for her own taste, at least. It barely reached her knees. Not to mention, there was little defence she could perform while in a dress.

Leader sighed on the other end of the line. “It is urgent. Bunch of gang bosses gathering to make long term alliances. No doubt there’s going to be disagreements and objections. With hundreds of people just above their heads, I don’t doubt there will be casualties.”

Hero cocked her head to the side. “Why would there be casualties? No one in Great Star has anything to do with any mobs. It’s just a bunch of richies and wannabes dining on overly priced servings of food.”

“One of the bosses, man from [Country] was spotted walking in by one of our team members. He owns the whole restaurant, and knowing him, he’ll cause a ruckus with one of the other men or women. One thing will lead to another, Great Stars goes down with a bang.”

It was Hero’s turn to sigh. “How long do I have to get home and change?”

“Change? Hero, I need you down there now.”

“I’m in a-”

“You’re undercover,” Leader snapped. He gave another sigh. “Just…act ditzy and like you stumbled into the wrong place- drunk on white wine. I’ve already contacted Other Hero. He’ll be going in under disguise, too. You’ll recognize him. Just…stall until he gets there, and as soon as he is, get out, get your husband out in case this blows over.”

Taking a deep breath and casting a cautionary glance at the bathroom door, Hero asked, “How do I get in?”

***

“The Underneath” was as anyone might expect a gang boss secret lair to be. Smoke flittered through the room in long, grotesque strings. The air was stuffy with not only the smell of casual cigarettes, but cigars. Hero hated cigars. Beyond the smell, though, it was dark. Lights hung from the ceiling, but Hero could hardly tell what she was looking at beyond the smoky air, though that was also because the lights were dim. Hero almost guessed she would be able to manoeuvre around the room better if she had no sight at all. Trying to touch what little she could see was more misleading than the endless trail of smoke.

Before much longer, Hero stumbled into a doorway- rather loudly at that- and upon stepping through, she found a circle of men and women at a felt-top table. Squinting her eyes wasn’t much of an act- she had already been squinting them from all the nicotine-filled air floating into her pretty whites and making them pink. If anyone had to guess, they’d think Hero was drunk and high.

Someone cleared their throat, and Hero let a bubble of feigned laughter spill out. “Now thas a funny noise.” She made a sound like hehe.

“Who is this?” A man’s voice responded- an angered man’s voice. “This looks like one of the restaurant goers!” The sound of a chair squealing made Hero jump. Her eyes opened just slightly to analyse her situation. Fortunately, she was able to spot individual faces. Unfortunately, she recognized one.

Hero swallowed, tucking her chin down into her chest. “Sorry, must’ve stumbled into the wrong room.” She masked her voice as well as she could, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyways. The person she recognized, recognized her in just the same instant.

Taking a step back, Hero felt the moment of doom every character in a horror or thriller movie does when their back meets something solid while they’re not looking. Hands grasped Hero’s shoulders and, without a word or even a grunt of notice, shoved Hero forward. She nearly tripped on her heels.

Goodness, she couldn’t think, and she couldn’t look up either. She wouldn’t allow herself to accept the fact that she recognized that…that person at the table.

“Hero?”

She squeezed her eyes shut at the voice. No. No. No! Hero’s phone was in her purse- she kept it unzipped in case there was an emergency, but…God, she couldn’t call the bureau, not against…not against Villain. Not against her husband of three years. The man she loved and adored. The one she called Paradise. The one whose lips she became drunk off of.

Hands touched her own and she drew in a sharp gasp. “Don’t touch me,” she rushed out. But this was her husband. If anything, she wanted him to lead her away from this dark and dank room. At the same time, he was…well, he was in this room- this room full of gang and mob bosses. He was- “Are you one of them?” she asked.

Before Villain had the chance to respond, the man from before spoke up, “Villain, what the hell is this? Are you going to dispose of her or not?”

A round of mumbles filled the room and Hero swallowed. The hands holding her own weren’t her husband’s. They couldn’t have been. This man in the room talked to Villain like they knew one another. And what about the whole ‘dispose of her’ ordeal? Dispose of. Kill? Had the people in this room killed those who wandered in? Even if they were drunk and unaware?

“Give me a minute, [Other Villain].” To Hero, Villain whispered, “Come here. It’s okay.”

Hero shook her head. It wasn’t okay. Nothing about any of this was okay. Villain was…Villain was a criminal- one of those disgusting men who shot poor guys when they didn’t kill a meaningless enemy for them.

Leading her out of the room, Villain asked her, “What are you doing down here, love?” How could he use that name for her in a moment like this?

“Me? You. You are supposed to be waiting for me to come out of the bathroom. What is- what are you”- Hero shook her head then realized Villain still held onto her. She brushed him away rather roughly. “I don’t- I don’t understand.”

“I’ll explain everything later, okay?”

“Later? Villain, there are criminals in there.” She pointed in the direction they came from- at that stupid room of ‘Wanted’ faces. “You need to- no, I can’t do this right now. Oh my…”

Other Hero would be here any moment. Leader had contacted him before he did Hero, which meant he would be so close- so close to busting all the men and women in that room- so close to busting Villain. She should warn Villain, shouldn’t she? He was her husband, the love of her life. Hero had to protect him…but he was a criminal.

Leader’s words floated back to her. ‘One of the bosses, man from [Country] was spotted walking in by one of our team members. He owns the whole restaurant…’

Villain owned the Great Stars and was putting everyone up there in danger by having this stupid meeting. Maybe she should let him be caught.

“Hero.” Villain purred her name, something he always knew plucked just the right strings. “You seemed like you were about to say something.”

“That man asked if you were going to dispose of me. Are you?”

Villain gave the tiniest laugh- though one might say it was more like a huff. “If by ‘dispose of you,’ you mean I am sending you home, then yes.”

Anger was beginning to bubble up inside of Hero. She couldn’t believe how…how nonchalant Villain was being about this. It was as if the fact that he killed people, demanded money, corrupted businesses- and all under the radar- was no big deal at all. Villain was ruining people’s lives and he didn’t even care.

“What happened to ‘our date beneath the stars?’”

Date beneath the stars. Damn Villain! The restaurant was called Great Stars, and the secret room was called The Underneath. In a way, he’d already told her what this date was, which was not a date at all. She couldn’t say that she picked up on his clue, though; it would mean revealing her own hidden identity to him.

“I need to get back. Otherwise, you will become a casualty.”

Casualty. Hero wouldn’t mind if she were a casualty as long as everyone else in the restaurant didn’t become one. “Take me in there with you,” Hero said.

“In the-” Villain’s eyes glanced behind Hero, at the room where all the other bosses were.

Hero nodded. “I’m your wife. Let me be a part of…of whatever this is.” Did she mean it? Partially. She would always protect her husband- it was second nature to her now, but…she didn’t agree with what he was doing, and she would talk him out of it as best she could.

The two stayed silent as Villain considered her offer. After a minute, he asked her, “How did you know to come down here?”

Seeing the sudden glare Villain was pinning her with, Hero felt somewhat frightened. He was looking at her like she was a meal- like she was prey. A rabbit beneath a wolf’s jaws. As much as Hero wanted to deny her husband’s apparent occupation, this look he was giving her was clear evidence.

“You weren’t at the table when I came out. I just…started to wander around.”

“Remind me what your boss’ name is?”

Hero swallowed. She gave a fake name.

“No,” Villain drawled innocently. “I think it was something else…Leader, maybe?” His hand reached up to tuck a piece of Hero’s hair back. She flinched back, but ultimately let his hand settle on her cheek. “I thought it was a coincidence,” he said.

“What do you-”

He shushed her gently, like a baby. “The name always rang a bell, but I was hopeful. I didn’t know for sure until you meandered into my meeting.” Without needing Hero to question him again, Villain declared, “You work for The Bureau.”

“The…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Villain ignored her. “Thing is, I know how The Bureau works, which means I know you aren’t working alone. So, how long do I have to tell the other bosses they jacked up and got us caught?”

Hero looked Villain in the eyes before dropping her gaze to his chest. There was no way out of this. He knew. “Your fellow heathens weren’t the problem.”

“Is that right?”

“What are you doing, Villain?” She touched his hand which was still on her cheek. “I’m your wife. I’m your love, right?”

He smiled at her with a quick flip of the switch. “Of course you’re my love, but…” He dropped his hand away and walked past her towards the smoky room. “Right now, you are an enemy. I need you to go home.” Villain added, “Before you get hurt.”

She didn’t wait. She left The Underneath and Great Stars as quickly as she could. As she left, she pulled her phone out and dialled Leader’s phone. “Call Other Hero off.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “He knows. Villain knows. There’s at least twenty of them down there and Other Hero will die. Do not send him down there.”

“Hero, he’s already pinged me from the building. What the hell happened?”

******

Part 2 here

#NOT A PROMPT #hero x villain #hero x villain story #good hero #evil villain #<- I feel like that doesn't need specified but the tags are popular so...#drabble #hero x villain drabble #yada yada yada #I really liked this one #Up until I read it over to edit it #The life of a writer <3 #fluff #angst #I can't think of other tags

123 notes · View notes

lovemeleo · 3 years

Text

O’Knutzy comes to babysit

To say this was heavily requested would be an understatement! Not only is this the next part in my Asher Pascal series but O’Knutzy is babysitting! This took forever but I hope you all enjoy it! These OCs and their world belong to the always amazing @lumosinlove.

If you haven’t read the rest of the Asher Pascal series, here is the master list!

CW: mild injury and mention of blood (nosebleed)

_______________________________________

The week after they took Asher to practice was filled with the same question.

“Le? Where’s Le?”

After the seven days of it, Sirius and Remus finally broke. They called Leo, asking if he would want to stop over and see Asher.

Leo was of course excited from the minute they asked, “That sounds great but I’ve got an even better idea. Y’all don’t get to go out too often, why don’t you guys go out to dinner or something? I can stay in, watch Asher for the day or night or whatever.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sirius looked over at Remus before answering, “You sure you wanna do that, Nut? He’s moving like crazy now, getting into shit.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I would really love to. Just tell me a day and I’ll be there.”

Now today was finally the day. Asher had been running around all morning, a consistent chant of “Le Le Le” following wherever he went. Sirius and Remus had decided to spend the day out, doing dinner and a couple of the touristy stops nearby.

The doorbell rang around two and Asher was scooting his way down the stairs to the door. He still hadn’t mastered walking down the stairs, but he was getting there.

“Le Le Le!” Asher stood happily, waiting for one of his dad’s to open the door. He was excited but he knew better than to open the door without them.

Remus followed after, swinging the door open. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, “I should’ve known you’d all be coming.”

“We’re a package deal, Loops.” Logan said with a grin as Asher ran at Leo’s legs, staring up at him happily.

Leo swung him up onto his hip as they all made their way into the living room where Sirius was pulling on his jacket, “Ah, I see you brought backup?” He smiled, handing Remus his jacket.

“Eh, they would’ve gotten all whiny if I left them behind.” Leo shrugged, bouncing Asher as he wiggled happily in his arms.

Two identical sounds of offense came from next to him but Leo ignored them, pressing kisses all over the giggling baby’s face.

Remus smiled as he put on his own jacket, “There’s food in the fridge. I put a list of foods that he’s been liking on the fridge, but honestly your guess is as good as mine if he’ll actually like it at that moment. We’ve got Disney Plus and Netflix, he’s not really picky with shows. He’s got a toy box in the basement by the rink as well as in his room, but he’d honestly play with anything. Diapers are all next to the changing table upstairs. If you need us, you have our numbers. Any questions?”

“Nope, we’ve got this, Loops. No worries.” Finn said with a grin, making a silly face at Asher, making him giggle and hide his face in Leo’s chest.

Sirius smiled, “Alright guys. We’re gonna head out then. Last thing, try to watch your language. He’s picking up words like crazy so if we come back and he’s swearing, I’ll have you running laps before you can say Désolé, got it?”

The three boys nodded, knowing that the captain would never joke about laps.

Remus and Sirius both leaned over, pressing a kiss to Asher’s curls, “We love you, bub. Be good for the Cubs, Ash, alright? No crazy parties!”

“Yes party!” Asher shouted back, giggling wildly as his dads pressed kisses to his face.

“Have a good day, guys!” Remus said as Sirius pushed him out the door.

And then they were alone. With a whole child. Not just any child but the captain of their team’s child.

Asher looked up at Leo, a small pout forming on his face, “Buh-bye?”

Rubbing his hand along the little boy’s back, Leo nodded, “Yeah, they went buh-bye, but they’ll be back later. Did your daddies feed you though? You hungry?”

“‘Gettios!” Asher perked up in Leo’s arms, looking up at him excitedly as they walked to the kitchen. Logan pulled open the fridge, digging through until he found a large bowl filled with Spaghettios.

Asher cheered as soon as he saw the bowl, making the boys laugh. “Guess that’s the right one, Lo.” Finn said, sitting at the kitchen table as Logan made a small bowl up and heat it up in the microwave.

After settling Asher in his highchair, Leo sat down in the chair next to him, fixing a bib around his neck. Finn couldn’t help the happy sigh he let out. It’s just.. This was domestic as fuck. Like Asher obviously wasn’t their kid, but they were all taking care of him and Logan was making food and Leo was getting him all buckled in. One day.

Logan brought the bowl over, grabbing one of the baby spoons from the drawer, “Can he feed himself?” He asked, setting the bowl on the little highchair table.

Finn shrugged, “Give him the spoon and see.”

They all turned to Asher who stared right back, “”Gettios?” He asked, his hands moving towards the bowl.

Logan quickly held out the spoon to him, “Want the spoon, Ash?”

Asher grabbed it, “Frozen spoon!” he said excitedly as he began to eat. Most of it even made it into his mouth. Most of it.

“We’re gonna have to give him a bath.” Leo said, leaning into his hand as he watched Asher absolutely demolish the food.

Finn shrugged, “I can do it. Can’t be too hard.” Logan couldn’t help the loud laugh that he let out.

“Yeah because bathing a squirmy child is just the easiest thing.”

As soon as Asher was finished, Leo got him unbuckled from the chair and handed him off to Finn, “Go on then. Let us know if you need any help.”

They heard Asher giggling all the way up the stairs as Finn took him up to the bathroom. Leo shook his head with a laugh as he wiped off the high chair.

“So how soaked do you think he’s going to be?” Logan asked as he wrapped his arms around Leo from behind.

Leo chuckled as he put the sponge back in the sink, “Oh, he’s definitely going to have to borrow some clothes from Loops.” He turned to press a kiss to Logan’s forehead before leading him into the living room.

They both flopped back onto the couch, letting out a breath.

“You’re good with him, mon soleil,” Logan murmured, reaching to intertwine his fingers with Leo’s. “Honestly so cute.”

Leo smiled softly, tracing over the older boy’s knuckles, “I like kids. Like they don’t judge you and they’re just so giggly and happy. It’s nice. They’re nice.”

A loud splash echoed from upstairs, followed by a happy squeal.

“Finn better not swear in front of him. I’m not doing laps because he can’t hold his tongue.” Logan glanced up the stairs to the noise.

The bathroom door creaked open, “Can someone get him some clothes? And also some clothes for me?” Finn yelled.

Leo laughed as he got up, “I called it. You wanna go grab Asher some clothes and I’ll get him some of Loops’ clothes.”

They met back at the bathroom, the door swinging open to Finn, completely soaked, and a grinning Asher in a cute hooded monster towel.

“Hi.” Asher said with a smile, his head resting on Finn’s chest.

Finn rolled his eyes fondly, “So I cleaned up the bathroom. Can you guys take him to get dressed so I can get dressed?”

Reaching out, Logan smiled, “Yeah, I’ll take the little monster.” Asher cuddled up to him as soon as he was in Logan’s arms.

They took him out of the bathroom, getting Asher dressed in his own room. Logan tickled his belly as they got him into a clean diaper and then a clean pair of pjs.

Finn joined them not long after, hair still wet but in dry clothes, “I threw my clothes in their dryer. What’s the plan now?”

“Why don’t we go downstairs and Ash can show us his toys?” Leo suggested, looking over at the little boy.

A smile quickly formed on Asher’s face, showing the few teeth that had started growing in, “Okay! I show you.” Asher tapped on Logan’s chest until he was set down, and quickly ran to basement stairs.

The three of them were off to follow him, getting to the top just as he began his butt-scooting journey.

“Well, that’s fu- really adorable.” Finn caught himself, remembering Sirius’s warning about the swearing.

Logan chuckled, “Nice catch, mon rouge.” He said before following after Asher. By the time they made it down, Asher had already begun pulling various toys out of the box.

Looking around the room, Finn let out a whistle. The entire basement was amazing. An entire rink, a giant TV in the corner with multiple consoles, and toys everywhere. He wondered how often Loops and Cap came down here to skate? He walked over to the short wall that wrapped around the rink, opening the small gate that blocked Asher from getting on. “This is wicked. Imagine having your own rink in your basement..”

Logan leaned over the wall, “I feel like Cap spends a lot of time down here. Honestly, Loops too.” He muttered.

“My daddies skate all the time. I skate too.” Asher explained as he pulled out of the last of his toys.

Smiling, Finn watched as the toys were spread across the floor, “You skate too? Are you any good, Little Loops?”

Asher was up and heading towards the rink before they could blink, “I skate good.” He assured, grabbing the small pair of balance skates that sat next to the gate and pulled them on over his socks.

They watched as he stepped carefully onto the ice. His legs wobbled a bit as he moved his feet forward, sliding across the little rink. He was actually doing pretty well for a small child, and Finn said as such.

But Finn spoke too soon.

After getting complimented, Asher turned to grin at Finn but he must’ve turned too quick. His left foot slipped back, making him flop face first into the ice. The basement was quiet as Asher pushed himself up, a stream of blood beginning to fall from his nose. As he saw it drop onto the ice, his eyes widened and he burst into tears, a loud wail cutting through the silence.

Leo quickly jumped onto the ice, picking Asher up, “Go get a paper towel or something!” He said to the guys as he got Asher off the ice.

“I bleed!” Asher cried, his fingers gripped at Leo’s shirt.

Finn quickly came back down the stairs, holding a washcloth, “Hey, look at you, bud. Getting your first hockey injury before you even get a pair of skates. You’ll be a pro before you know it!” He said, putting on a smile even though Leo could see he was freaked out. It appeared to be working though as Asher’s tears began to slow.

“I-I be a pro?” Asher mumbled as Finn wiped his face before carefully pinching his nose. They all had bloody noses before and knew what to do, but it was a bit different with a little kid.

Logan came down with new clothes for him to change into, since his current outfit had blood on it, as well as an ice pack. They all moved over to the cushy couch pushed into the corner of the room, Asher sitting in Leo’s lap.

“Of course you’re gonna be a pro, Ash. You’re already skating so well.” Logan assured him as Finn kept his fingers pinched over his nose.

Asher whimpered softly at the pressure on his sore nose, tears forming in his eyes again, “Ow, that’s ouch.”

Finn winced, but kept the pressure, “I know, bud. But we’ve gotta keep it for a couple more minutes. Then maybe we can have some ice cream?”

He perked up a bit at the mention of ice cream, “I like ice cream.” Asher whispered, his eyes flickering between the three boys as if to make sure they were telling the truth. As if any of them could tell him no.

“Of course, little man. After we’re done, we’ll get you in your clean pjs and then have some ice cream.” Logan reassured him.

When they hit the 10 minute mark, Finn carefully removed his fingers and the washcloth. Luckily the bleeding had stopped. They all let out a quiet sigh of relief, but they were still going to have to explain to Sirius and Remus why their son’s face was bruised.

Logan and Leo carefully pulled off the dirty pjs, replacing them with a clean cozy pair as Finn threw the dirty clothes and washcloth into the wash.

He came back to Asher curled up on Leo’s lap, sniffling softly as Logan helped him hold the ice pack on his nose.

Asher perked up as he came back, “Ice cream, Finn? We have ice cream now?”

“Yeah, bub. Ice cream now.” Finn said with a smile.

They all made their way to the kitchen and sat at the table. Leo kept Asher on his lap, holding him close. Seeing him fall like that really freaked him out and he wasn’t about to let him go.

Finn pulled a bowl out of the cabinet, setting it on the table. A small frown appeared on Asher’s face as he watched Finn put a small scoop of ice cream into the bowl.

“Where’s your bowls?” Asher asked quietly, holding the ice pack to his face.

Logan leaned into his hands as he watched Asher, “That’s your ice cream, bud.”

Asher shook his head, “No, I share. You too.”

Chuckling softly, Finn grabbed three more bowls and gave them all the same portion, “Alright, we’ll all have some, Ash.” The little boy wiggled happily, leaning back into Leo again.

“Now why don’t you let us help you eat this? That way you can keep holding your ice pack.” Leo offered as Finn placed the bowls out.

Asher paused, looking between his ice cream and the ice pack before letting out a soft sigh, “Yeah, that’s good.”

They all enjoyed their ice cream, each of the boys taking a turn feeding Asher his. In between them giving him bites, he began dozing off on Leo’s chest.

“Looks like it’s time for bed.” Logan whispered, setting his spoon into his bowl. Leo looked out the window, surprised at how quickly the day had gone by. Sirius and Remus would be home soon. Finn collected the empty bowls, getting them into the dishwasher.

Asher sniffled softly, moving the ice pack from his face, “Nuh-Night time?”

Carefully resting the small boy on his hip, Leo made his way up to his room, “Yeah, bub. Time for bed.” He pulled back the blankets in the crib, gently laying Asher down in the middle.

Asher let out a big yawn, wincing as the movement twinged his nose, “Night-night, Le. Love you.” He brought his hand to his mouth, blowing Leo a kiss.

Leo couldn’t hold back the giant smile that spread on his face as he blew a kiss right back, “Night, Ash. Love you too.” He murmured. There was a noise machine next to the night light, and Leo turned on both of them before heading back to the living room.

When he got back in, both of his boys were sprawled on the couch. “Who knew taking care of a kid was so hard?” Finn muttered, his head on Logan’s lap.

“Literally everyone knows that, sweetheart.” Leo said with a laugh, plopping into the empty spot on the couch before turning on the TV for some background noise.

Logan glanced at the TV before looking back at Leo, “We’re gonna have to tell Loops and Cap we broke their kid,”

Just as Finn was about to reply, the front door was opening.

“Well, the house is still standing so it couldn’t have been that bad.” Sirius said with a laugh as he tossed his keys on the table.

Remus hung his jacket up, looking over the pile of boys on his couch, “You all have a good day? How was he?”

There was a pause before it erupted out of Logan, his eyes wide, “We broke him!”

Finn quickly smacked him in the arm, “Jesus, Lo. Why would you say it like that?” He exclaimed.

“You broke him?” Sirius asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Leo let out a sigh, “We didn’t break him. He was showing us his skating skills downstairs, and slipped. Hit his face on the ice. He’s okay, his nose bled a bit but Finn bribed him with ice cream.” He explained.

There was a pause before Remus let out a laugh, “God, he’s got the worst balance. Did his face bruise this time?”

Logan’s eyebrows furrowed, “This time?”

Sirius nodded, “Oui, cette fois. He trips over his own feet, but he’s getting better. Or he was. Probably trying to show off for you guys.” Finn could feel Logan let out a sigh of relief.

“We told him he was a pro now because he got a hockey injury,” Leo said with a grin. “He just fell asleep like 15 minutes ago though.”

Sitting in the chair across from them, Remus smiled, “Well it sounds like an eventful day. W-Wait, are those my clothes, Finn?”

Finn looked down, blush spreading on his face, “Um yeah. Sorry, Loops. Ash decided that I also needed a bath? But I was still wearing my clothes… And Cap’s would’ve been way too big.”

Sirius let out a laugh, “Love that you got stuck with bath duty, Harz. But really, thanks for watching him for us. It was nice to get out of the house without having to worry about keeping an eye on him. We really appreciate it. Did you guys wanna stay here? You all look beat.”

“Nah, thanks though, Cap. I think we’ll head home.” Leo said as he corralled his boys, handing them their jackets.

After they said their good-byes, the Cubs made their way out to the car and started to head home. It was quiet for a bit before Logan broke the silence.

“Well that effectively healed me of my baby fever.”

Finn and Leo burst out laughing in the front seat, glancing back at him in the rearview, “No babies, mon chou?”

Humming softly, Logan leaned back into his seat, watching the smiles spread on his boys’ faces, “Maybe. Maybe one day.”

166 notes · View notes

witchofthesouls · 3 years

Note

That Sparkeater!AU of yours is so delicious... Can we have Bluestreak defending his s/o from violence and/or other accusations?

You sneak into the Autobot base after Bluestreak doesn’t show up for a few hours. Actually, you were going to leave to visit some old haunts and comm him later. Things happen. Especially with random Decepticon attacks, more unexpected aliens coming to Earth, or anything Wheeljack-related.

Swoop had caught you. The Dinobot landed heavily near the rockpile as you stretched out the kinks of your spinal struts. There was something in the way he studied you, helm cocked like a bird, the same narrowed gaze as his brothers tried to sniff out any underhanded tactics from your actions. (You’re not blind to see their treatment by the majority of the Autobots. You’re just lucky to be able to walk away, live on your own terms, and keep your head. At least for now.)

You had that one loud crack of pure satisfaction before all the warmth from the sun ran cold in your frame with Swoop’s well-intentioned, backhanded declaration.

Tentacles latch onto the ceiling and you swing past the cameras and ghost over the motion detection. There's tension in the air like the quiet after a rough storm. You flick out your tongue, tasting everyone’s spark signature and locking onto Bluestreak, you can also taste the remains of spilled energon - the type that’s from a mecha’s lines.

It's easy to pick out the damage scruffed along the orange halls. It's easier to piece together what happened, especially when you can tell who's missing among the gathered 'bots grumbling below.

You track him down into the brig; bypassing a few mechs still surly with cooling tempers and flared plating, several pacing in their cells.

You drop down outside of Bluestreak’s cell and he looks up, surprised and startled, doorwings sweeping high up before relaxing. He doesn't look too bad. Discolored protoform, a cracked left optic, a dented nasal that's bleeding sluggishly, a split lip.

He rushes to you, talking and talking, words blurring as he reaches out of the plasma bars and roughened digits take your own cold, metal hand. Apologies for skipping out, for missing date night, make-up plans to a place you and him are curious about, and all the weird touristy activities to do...

The tangent keeps running and he keeps dancing around it. The elephant in the room.

“-tried surfing before and it was fun. We can go to museums and botanical gardens and haunted hotels that you can tell me if they're actually, really haunted or just a fake tourist trap. Which is really funny in a way because how do people really know if it’s really haunted and not-”

"Bluestreak. I know what happened."

He freezes, words stopping mid-sentence, he looks ashen with pale optics as he asks, "How much did you find out?"

"Just enough." You reply, tiredly. You don't want to repeat what was said. It's unnecessary cruelty.

Quiet settles between you and him; heavy and fraught. He squeezes your hand tight and refuses to apologize for landing in the brig for retaliating against those accusations and rumors, with his own fists even. You don't expect him to; you've been in this situation again and again and made choices on what was best at the time. Violent ones, too.

You understand the urge to lash out. People are people, regardless of origins. People share a deep-seated fear towards monstrous forms, and highly suspicious towards individuals that don't properly fit well into their regulated society. Even association can taint a reputation.

And you're both as a former vampire and current sparkeater, an organic turned mecha, and despite Ratchet's declaration of your "truly alive" status and your spark, you still feel stuck between the living and the dead.

(Humans and Cybertronians are more alike than they want to see.)

You refuse to leave it like that, though.

Bluestreak chokes on his surprise as you lean forward, but the plasma doesn't leave any burn marks on the grey armature. You sigh against him and his arms wrap around you. His comms are down, so with a low voice, the words only between you and him, you ask him if there's anything for you to do. Anything at all.

He has an idea of your capabilities, you let him consider the options on the offer.

If he lets go after them, you're going to haunt their afts with the petty acts of vengeance. Little things that will spoil a day and cause so much inconvenience: pulling out all the knobs of their habsuites, pouring jello mix in their cleanser, moving all their furniture a few feet to the side.

You've learned the type of patience afforded to the immortals; you'll find what gets under their plating.

#ask #transformers #transformers g1 #Bluestreak #Swoop #reader insert #creature #sparkeater #Creature into Sparkeater!Reader AU #violence #implied bad times #My writing #maccadam #G1 #you made friends so Blue had brawl backup #let just say monsterfucker and cradlerobber were the mildest things were said

57 notes · View notes

smarchit · 3 years

Text

Look Around, Look Around pt 3

Summary: You escaped an abusive marriage, pregnant with your husband’s child. He sends a bounty hunter after you to bring you back. Everything changes. Din Djarin/pregnant!reader, no use of y/n

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: Pregnancy/related topics, implied/referenced rape, mentions of abuse

Notes: yaaaaaaall better get ready bc the story really starts to kick in during this chapter - stay tuned!

So you'd been travelling with the Mandalorian for a little over a month now. A month of helping him as best you could around the Razor Crest, which usually meant watching the baby while he was out looking for work.

He'd kept it to touring mostly well-populated planets for now, and ones usually far less dangerous than he was used to working on. He didn't want to put you in any unnecessary danger than what came with one in his field of expertise, so it was mostly touristy things on larger planets.

You had fun at first, but those weren't the type of places his work usually stuck around on. So you had to keep moving, keep hopping from skughole to skughole in pursuit of work.

Presently, you were seated on a crate outside of the Crest while he negotiated a docking fee from the Twi'lek woman who owned the hangar and adjacent inn. You rubbed a soothing hand over your stomach while the unborn baby inside you did somersaults. It's okay, little one. I'm right here.

"Need a room for your wife?" the woman asked, slightly louder so you could hear her. She raised a brow at the Mandalorian, who slightly turned to face you.

"She's not my wife - and no," he corrected sharply. "We don't. Just need the hangar spot for a day or so."

You sighed and looked down at the bounty hunter's little one that was currently trying to chase down a cricket nearly as large as he was. He'd tire himself out, which would be good for you later on.

It had been getting a little more difficult for you to sleep at night, not due to anxiety, but due to the creeping pressure on your back and hips.

The Mandalorian, stoic and chivalrous as he was, had offered you his bed to sleep in. He'd found some extra bedding in a shop on Tatooine and bought it all for you so you weren't suffering anymore than you had to. You were nesting. The child constantly was snuggling in the bed with you, and would make his way into your room while the Mandalorian slept, much to his panic. He'd wake in the morning and frantically search for him at first, but now he knew right where to find you.

"Ready?" the Mandalorian asked, making his way back over to you. He had a bag slung over his shoulder and the keys to a speeder in his hand.

Dare you say it, it looked very dad-like, and you actually found a smile creeping across your face at his casual pose.

"Where's this one hiding?" you asked as he shut up the door to the Crest. You scooped up the child, something that was getting increasingly difficult with each day, and stood with him in your arms.

"About a four hour ride that way," Mando said, gesturing with his whole hand pointing east.

You groaned internally. "Four hours!"

"You can stay here if you want," he said with a shrug.

You glanced around the old hangar and scowled. It was completely walled in, and you could see none of the planet from here.

"I'm coming," you said firmly.

He nodded once. "Alright then. Let's go."

***

It took almost five hours to get to your destination, due in part to the rough terrain and also to the fact that your baby thought it would be a wonderful idea to park itself on your bladder.

Coupled with the fact that you were carrying a squirming infant on top of that didn't make for an enjoyable trip.

You finally made it to a small inn in the middle of nowhere long after dark. The soft yellow light from the windows lit up the otherwise overwhelming darkness around you and the front door opened quickly as you neared the inn.

You pressed your back against his chest in fear. This was out in the middle of no where - you hadn't seen another settlement in hours. They shouldn't know anyone was coming...

"They're waiting here for us," Mando explained. "There's nothing to worry about."

You didn't relax even as the bike slowed to a gentle stop in front of the house. Mando jumped off first and held his arms out to you to jump into. The step down was higher than you realized and you stumbled off of it, landing against him heavily. He caught you with ease and set you back on your feet.

The child cooed in your arms when he realized how close his adopted father was. You gently shushed him and pulled his little swaddle over his head.

"Mando!" a booming voice called from the doorway of the in. You jumped a mile and yelled in fear. On instinct, you jumped behind the Mandalorian and turned your body to protect yourself and the two children from any harm.

"Dern," he said, holding up his hand in a greeting to the hulking figure in the doorframe of the inn. "Thank you for agreeing to house us. It's... Greatly appreciated."

"I'm always happy to help you after what you did for me all those years ago," the one called Dern said. He finally stepped into the light. A Devaronian man smiled down at you and you tried your best to not cower from him. He towered over the Mandalorian, who was already tall compared to you, and you had to crane your neck to see him.

"Don't mention it," Mando grumbled. "Really."

The Devaronian roared with laughter and slapped his hand on Mando's backplate hard enough to send him stumbling forward. He then approached you and you squeaked, holding the child tight enough to make him give a sharp cry.

"What's this?" he cooed, giving you a quick once over. "You have two little ones now, Mando? The green one Xi'an's or something?"

"Neither are mine," he said, sounding midly disgusted. You hoped that wasn't directed towards you. "I'm raising the one. The girl is a friend."

Friend. The word, you found, stung more than it should have. You were only that, you supposed. Patched him up a few times. He held your hair back when you got motion sickness on more than one occasion. You were the one he called for when he had a nightmare. He was the one you ran to when you first felt your baby kick - you had laughed when he called your baby aruett'ika when it stopped moving as soon as you managed to convince him to put his hands on your belly. Friend.

"Well, I'm always happy to give you shelter when you need it," he said, nodding in the Mandalorian's direction. "And as for her, I'm just happy to give shelter to anyone who can put up with you and not want to dump you in the Sarlacc pit."

You swore you heard Mando's eyes roll back into his head as he retrieved the bag from the rack on the speeder.

Dern held the door open for you and bowed when you entered. He waved one finger at the baby in your arms, who blew a tiny raspberry and made a mean face.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," he said, making a sweeping gesture at his living space.

You looked around, noting all the potentially soft places for you to lay and you sighed wistfully before making your way to a pile of cushions. The child wiggled out of your arms and plopped itself on a black cushion and babbled up at Mando, who gave a heavy sigh.

"I made supper," Dern offered. "Wasn't sure what guests you brought with you, so I made a bit of everything."

"Something with bones for the little one," Mando said.

"Anything that isn't fish," you said quietly, leaning back in the cushions. "It's been turning my stomach."

"Aren't you glad you didn't stay on Sorgan," Mando teased as Dern turned to the pot on the stove.

"Could have been making a fortune as a basket weaver," you hummed, pressing a hand to your belly. The baby had been restless all day and still hadn't settled and you shifted uncomfortably as they chose that moment to kick particularly hard.

"You okay?" Mando asked. He sounded worried and he leaned forward in his chair to get closer to you.

"Fine, fine," you murmured, "She's just jumpy."

"You think you're having a girl?" he asked, resting his elbows on his thighs.

"Omera thought I was having a girl, so it just sort of stuck," you replied with a shrug.

"Might be nice," he mused. He sounded distant, like he was thinking about something.

You wanted to ask him why, but Dern returned with two bowls of hot soup and a cup of broth for the child.

Mando gave an awkward cough and stood, taking the large bowl in both hands.

"Ah, forgive me, my friend," Dern said. "I have forgotten. A guest room is set up for you - please, eat there."

He nodded and thanked his host before he disappeared down the narrow hallway.

In the few weeks you'd been travelling, you realized you never saw him eat, never saw him take food into a room to eat. He must eat long after you and the baby go to bed. The thought broke your heart. How often did he wait for you to decide you were sleepy and go to bed so he could eat?

"So," Dern chuckled as he watched the baby slurp his broth, "You've been traveling with him long?"

You shook your head. "A month," you murmured. "He... saved me."

Dern nodded. You hoped he didn't ask anything else. It wasn't like it was hard for you to talk or make friends, like you imagined it potentially could be for Mando, but you really didn't want to consider the possibilities of all the stuff that could have happened to you had another hunter found you.

Would you be dead? Alive? You shuddered at your internal question - would you still have your baby?

"See?" Dern said, "Man's got a good head on his shoulders."

You nodded absently in agreement. You'd been told that by Cara before, and by a man named Greef Karga only a week or so prior when he realized you were sticking around for a while. The Mandalorian made an impact. He killed with such an acute precision and his skills as a bounty hunter were unmatched. Yet he was gentle in ways that you don't think anyone would believe if you told them.

You, the child, and the Devaronian ate in silence. You hefted yourself off the cushion and walked to the sink basin. Your host got up to follow you into the kitchen.

You were aware of his proximity to you as you took a sponge to wash your dish. He watched you with dark eyes and you felt your pulse rise in fear.

"If you're just a friend, who's child is it you carry?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"My ex husband," you said. Then you added dryly, "He's dead."

It was a bold faced lie and you hoped he wouldn't notice and leave you alone. No such luck.

"Perhaps then you need some... Assistance with raising your bundle."

Dern trailed a broad hand up your arm and you shied away from his touch. Goosebumps broke out on your skin, but the act of touching at all made your flesh crawl.

"I'll manage," you said firmly. You heard the quiver in your voice and you kicked yourself.

"Are you sure?" Dern didn't even wait for you to reply. He reached a hand over and roughly grabbed your belly. He dug his nails into your arm and spun you so he had you pinned against the counter. One of the drawer pulls bit into your back. His hands gripped you tight enough to bruise your skin.

"She's sure," came a gruff voice from behind you.

Mando was standing there, bowl in hand, helmet firmly back in place. You could tell from his body language that he was upset.

Dern took a step back, his hands raised in surrender.

"Come here," Mando ordered, nodding at you. You walked over to stand by him, your legs shaking bad enough that he wrapped a hand around your waist to steady you.

"She's going to bed," Mando said, keeping his eyes steady on Dern. "Got it? If I find out you did this again, I'll reactivate your tracking beacon. I know quite a few people looking for you."

"Whatever," he grunted, turning to the dishes.

Mando took you down the hall to the guest room, making sure to not frighten you.

Once inside the bedroom, you let out a loud sob and a shaky breath. You leaned heavily against the door and pressed your hand to your mouth to calm yourself.

"Breathe," he whispered, his strong hands on your shoulders the only thing keeping you upright.

"Just breathe. I've got you, okay?"

You nodded quickly and tried to even out your breathing so you wouldn't hyperventilate.

"Can I hug you?" Mando murmured. "Is that okay?"

You thought for a minute and then nodded. No one had ever asked if they could touch you before...

He gently wrapped his arms around you and held you. His gloves were warm as they spread across your back. You expected the chest of his beskar to be cold, but it felt warm against your belly.

"You're safe," he promised, the modulator of his helmet made it come out in a whisper. "No one is going to touch you unless you let them first. Just breathe. I'm here."

You took a few more gulping breaths and relaxed into his arms, one hand gripping the fabric between his arm guards. You didn't think a metal man would give great hugs, but you also didn't think there was a way out of your marriage. You've been known to be wrong before.

There was a gentle flutter in your belly and you laughed, wiping your cheeks. "It's okay, little one..."

Mando pulled away from the hug slightly and looked down at where your hand rested on your stomach. He made a slight move to pull away but you grabbed his wrist and gently placed his hand beside yours.

"I still can't feel it," he said softly but with as much seriousness as he could muster, "Aruett'ika."

You laughed louder than you had in months.

TAGLIST (ask to be tagged!): @miscellaneous-mando @lestrange2703 @someplace-darker @the-last-twin-of-krypton @divineangelix @c1996 @mell-bell

#my writing #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fic #no use of y/n

165 notes · View notes

fabulouspotatosister · 4 years

Text

occupational hazard

summary: The best place to be when danger arises is by the Doctor’s side, but sometimes danger comes just by being at his side.

word count: 11, 934 (oof)

warnings: swearing, illness/poisoning, one character is kind of a creep

a/n: here it is.... finally.... the inaugural Long Fic for 11... i have “connections” (on ao3) for 13 and now i have this!! this took way too long to write because i kept getting distracted watching critical role, but now it’s finally done and i can... move on... anyway i hope you all enjoy!!

gif by: @dobrien

---

“…and this - should be Lobar Three!”

The Doctor spreads his arms with a flourish as the TARDIS lands, its wheezing noise reverberating throughout the console room. The Doctor pirouettes around the console with the grace of a giraffe and slams down a lever – the TARDIS stills.

A small laugh makes its way out of your mouth. “Should be?”

“Yeah, should be. Moderate climate, beautiful mountain ranges, and gorgeous views thanks to its unique atmosphere,” the Doctor continues, dancing towards the doors. “Get ready for the sunrise of a lifetime!”

He says it like a cheesy tour guide, flashing you one of his manic grins before he peeks his head out of the door.

A beat of silence. You hear him groan, then he sticks his head back in.

"Not Lobar Three," he says sheepishly, "Lobar Four. I missed."

"You missed?" You dash away from the console to stand next to him and gently elbow his side. He mutters a soft "ow". "Oh, one day I'll learn how to drive the TARDIS, and you're going to be sorry."

"Oi, don't diss the driver," the Doctor says indignantly, his mouth curling into a frown - though one that's probably more embarrassed than upset. It's fun to see the Doctor flustered, all frowns and furrowed brows, arms crossed over his chest. You decide to try again.

You grin widely, moving closer into the Doctor's side. His mouth hangs open a little bit before he frowns again. "Maybe I should get try and get River to teach me, you've got her on speed dial right -"

"No, no, no, you are not getting River involved in this," he grumbles. "And I do not have her on speed dial. At least it's inhabited. Come on!"

The Doctor swings the doors open, and a bright white light spills through. Carefully, he steps out of the TARDIS, and you follow suit.

You look around, your gaze travelling along smooth marble walls interrupted by framed portraits of wintry landscapes. Several green potted plants stand next to a stone desk. Right next to the empty desk is a shelf full of brochures - the Doctor shuts the doors behind him and runs to the self, plucking a brochure and flipping through it.

"Doctor, where are we?" you whisper.

The Doctor doesn't look up from his brochure. "Like I said, Lobar Four. Fourth planet in the Lobar system, very touristy, and also very cold, on account of it being farther from its system's sun -"

You sigh, interrupting him. "No, I meant where exactly are we?"

"That is a question I can answer."

You turn your head towards a low, rumbling voice - your gaze focuses on a bear-like creature, standing on two feet, walking slowly towards you. Something about its presence is quite commanding, and you stand a little straighter. "Welcome, strangers, to the P'kone Mountain Resort. What is your business here?"

"Hello!" the Doctor says cheerfully, stuffing his brochure into his jacket. "I'm the Doctor and this -" He pats your shoulders and you smile politely - "is my companion. We're just having a look around. Lovely resort. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. ...?"

"The Doctor!" The creature's eyes widen, and he steps forward, bowing his head. The many chains on his suit strike each other and make jangling sounds. “I did not expect such an esteemed visitor to arrive. I am Merban, and the pleasure is all mine."

"Oh, esteemed visitor?" The Doctor bows back, then glances at you - you fumble and bow awkwardly. If your bowing is offensive at all Merban doesn't say anything. "What's the occasion, Merban?"

Merban straightens, folding his hands - paws? You'd have to count how many fingers he had - behind his back. His white fur almost makes him disappear into the white marble walls, but the many golden accents on his maroon suit shine under the lights. "We are having a political summit regarding our planet's trade. You may join us, if you like - dinner is just beginning."

"Dinner?" you ask, then cringe at the way your voice echoes in the space. Merban nods slowly.

"Yes, child," he says, a gentle smile spreading across his features. "We would be very humbled to be in your company."

"Oh, his company, not mine," you laugh, gesturing to the Doctor.

Merban frowns, tilting his head to the side. "No, your company is appreciated as well. We Lobarians have heard many stories about the Doctor and his companions. How they travel together, spreading kindness amongst the stars. You play a very integral role in those stories. We will honor you just as much as him."

You feel your face grow warm. You glance at the Doctor and he smiles at you, a proud gleam in his eyes. "Oh. Well, uh - thank you," you manage, your voice small. "Yes, we'll join you. Please, lead the way."

"Very well." With another polite nod, Merban turns on his heel and starts walking into the hallway behind him.

"Honored? Me?" you gush, walking not too far behind Merban. You're only human, and although the Doctor's always said that humanity's brilliant, there's still a tiny part of you that jumps in joy at the praise. "They tell stories about you and I'm a part of them?"

"We're a package deal, you and I." The Doctor shrugs, but there's still a smile playing on his lips. A package deal. Never one without the other. You soften at the thought. "Word gets around quickly. You get used to it."

"Oh, I think I never will." You try to swallow a laugh, but it bubbles out of you anyway. "Spreading kindness amongst the stars is such high praise. I didn't think we were doing that."

The hallway widens into a large room, and your breath catches in your throat. Intricately carved pillars curve upwards into a domed ceiling, leading to a shimmering centerpiece hanging in the middle of the room that seems to shift in the wind. Scattered around the room are circular tables, decorated with a silken cloth that reflect the lights beautifully. There are a few Lobarians at every table, all dressed in formal wear lined in gold, all of them prim and proper in their seats.

"Friends and allies," Merban announces, "I proclaim the arrival of two very esteemed guests, the Doctor and his companion!"

A bout of polite clapping spreads across the room before it quickly falls silent again. Merban leads you to a longer table set on a stage - a Lobarian with fluffy brown fur dressed in an azure suit quickly leaps up from his chair to greet you and the Doctor.

"Hello!" he says brightly, taking your hand in his - five fingers, so not paws - and shaking it vigorously. "I'm Koramaz, it's so nice to finally meet you." He jerks his thumb behind him at another Lobarian with similarly colored fur, who rises from his seat to join Koramaz. "That's my assistant, Orvin. Why don't you say hello?"

"Greetings." Orvin reaches out to take your hand, the faint gleam of a ring shining on one of his fingers. He presses his mouth against the back of your palm - you raise your eyebrows at him and he laughs, a low sound. "I'm sorry. Traditions travel far and wide across the cosmos. I was told about this human one. Did that offend you?"

"N-no," you stutter out. The Doctor moves to stand behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders.

"Lovely to meet you both," he says. You nearly miss him grumbling something under his breath.

Merban settles into his seat. "If you are finished with your introductions, shall we begin?

Koramaz smiles, his teeth bared. And they're sharp. "Of course, Merban. Shall we?"

Merban offers that you sit beside him - Koramaz insists the same thing. In the end, you and the Doctor end up at the center of the table, with Koramaz on one side and Merban on the other. You watch as elegantly dressed Lobarians float into the room and begin handing dishes on silver platters to the guests, spinning around every table like the service is one big choreography.

"So - about this political summit," the Doctor begins, leaning back into his chair and clasping his hands together, "what's going on? Why don't you fill me in on the details, Merban?"

"Our planet is currently divided into two factions," Merban explains. He nods up at one of the servers politely as they set down a plate in front of him. "I am with the Protectionists. We wish to keep our planet's economy independent. That involves increasing restrictions and taxes on foreign exports."

"And I," Koramaz starts, waving away a server, "am with the Expansionists. We want Lobar Four to be seen on the galactic stage! Opening our doors to foreign trade has to be the best way. Don't you agree with me, Orvin?"

Orvin just hums in reply, the blue cloak resting on his shoulder swaying with the motion.

It's only now that you notice how the room is divided in two - the ones wearing blue sitting on one side, and the ones wearing red sitting on the other. It's also only now that formality of the event hits you. The Doctor in his suit and bowtie fits right in, but you - you're in a shirt and pants. You reach up the grab the hem of your shirt, anxiously running your fingers over the fabric.

"Preposterous," Merban mutters. "Lobar Four is not yet ready for that kind of progress."

"If we're not ready now, then when will we be ready, Merban?" Koramaz counters. "Hmm? What do you say to that?"

"Well, progress is subjective, when you really think about it," the Doctor says. "It all depends on what your goals are, and if your goals differ, then so does your idea of progress. I suppose that's what makes this so difficult."

"Spoken like a true public speaker," you whisper, leaning in.

The Doctor chuckles. "I was on Aristotle's debate team."

Koramaz turns to face the Doctor, his eyes glinting. "Say, Doctor, why don't you put in a good word for us? Everyone here trusts you a lot, and I'm sure you agree with me. Opportunity for all, and all that."

The Doctor smiles and shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm not really one for politics. The gossip can get a bit -" He grimaces slightly - "much. More of a negotiator. I don't really interfere."

You snicker at that. Really?

The Doctor narrows his eyes at you. Hush.

"I'm sure you lot can come to a compromise," the Doctor says. Merban scoffs.

"Compromise has no place in Koramaz's vocabulary," Merban says. Koramaz shrugs at that, raising his palms in the air. "The boy has a one-track mind, as the young ones say. I can only hope that these talks go peacefully."

"Yes, we only want the best for our planet." Koramaz nods slowly. He glances at Orvin, his gaze hidden by his fur. "It's a shame you won't put your two cents in, Doctor. But rest assured, we'll come to a conclusion by the end of the night."

A small tap on your shoulder makes you look up at one of the finely dressed servers. They carry a small tray filled with glasses of a rose-colored liquid. The server nods at you, then the drinks. "Would you like one?"

"Sure, thanks." You reach up and take one of the glasses - the rose-colored liquid sparkles, and when you smell it, it does smell faintly of roses. "Is it alcoholic?"

"It is a wine from our territory," Merban says, "a gift from my faction to Koramaz's for all of us to enjoy."

Koramaz swirls his own glass of wine. "It's a wonderful gesture. What about you, Doctor? Will you drink?"

The Doctor waves off a server, shaking his head, but he's got his own glass too. "Nah, I don't drink. But I do love to hold the glass in my hand, it makes me look cool."

Your laughter is what sets the whole table off - Koramaz chortles, and even Merban gives a low chuckle. The Doctor smiles, proud, raising the glass like Gatsby at one of his parties. It's enough to make you laugh again, steadying your hand so you don't spill your drinks.

You raise the glass to your lips and sip the wine - it tastes fizzy, and burns your throat when you swallow, but it isn't bad. The Doctor frowns like a disapproving parent, pointing his sonic at the glass. You raise your eyebrows at him as he skims over the readings.

"What?" you say, lowering your glass.

"I don't want you getting drunk, this is a diplomatic affair," the Doctor says quietly.

"Okay, Mr. Grumpy Face. You're no fun." You take a big gulp of wine and then immediately regret it as it burns even harder in your throat, blazing a trail of fire all the way down to your stomach. You cough, your face twisting into a grimace. "Don't laugh."

"'Course not," the Doctor says, laughing. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" you splutter. It still burns, and you pound your fist against your chest. "Ack. I shouldn't have done that. Don't go all 'I told you so' on me and tell me that the wine isn't safe for human consumption."

"Oh, it isn't," the Doctor says nonchalantly. When you stare at him, your eyes going wide, he laughs. "Kidding! I'm kidding. Look at you, all panicked with your big eyes."

You groan and the Doctor laughs again, louder this time. Your annoyance drops at the joyful sound and you smile, biting your lower lip. You're out of place in a super fancy alien dinner party, and yet the Doctor is still squarely by your side, his laugh like an anchor amongst all of the extraordinary things happening. You file that nice thought away for later, to admit to him in a more vulnerable moment.

"And now, a dance," Merban announces, raising his glass, "to cement peace between our two factions. Koramaz, if you will?"

"Of course." Koramaz rises and makes his way to the very center of the room - the guests dressed in blue all form a circle, and the guests dressed in red partner up with them.

Orvin extends a hand to you. "Wait. Before you join the dance, I have a gift for you."

He unclasps the pin that holds his shoulder cloak in place - it slides off his shoulder, the fabric shimmering in his hands - and throws it over your shoulder. He leans in close to pin it, his fur just tickling the skin of your neck. It looks a little strange, the beautiful piece hanging off of your casual clothes, but Orvin looks proud. "Perfect for a beauty like you."

You smile shyly at him. "Thank -"

"Yes, thank you very much," the Doctor says quickly. He shoots a polite smile in Orvin's direction before he practically drags you away. "You didn't have to say yes," he says, his grip tight around your wrist.

"I didn't?" You pry your hand out of his grasp. The cloak sways as you move, cold like metal as it brushes against your arm. "It's a really nice cloak, though."

The Doctor huffs. "It's finely-woven chainmail - the metal links are as tiny as thread. Makes it look just like normal cloth. Lobarian craftsmen do not mess about. Symbolic Lobarian attire, the one-shoulder cloak, common throughout the whole system."

"Symbolic of what?" you ask. The Doctor sighs, his brows pinching together.

"It's an old symbol, it doesn't matter." You shoot him a look, trying to give him your best puppy-dog eyes - the Doctor holds your gaze before he sighs again, deeper this time. "Oh, you - alright, it means you're unbound."

"Unbound?"

"Unmarried, without a partner, whatever you want to call it!" the Doctor says, his voice climbing higher. "Single. I don't know."

You watch the Doctor, shoulders slumped as if in defeat, his hands thrown up in the air in frustration - if you didn't know any better, you'd say he looked a little -

"Raise the music!" Koramaz bellows, and the music grows even louder. Everyone starts to sway, some joining hands, some pulling each other close.

At Koramaz's announcement, the Doctor relaxes slightly. He extends his hand to you, bowing slightly like a proper gentleman - "Shall we dance?"

"Aren't you a terrible dancer?" you ask, placing your hand in his.

The Doctor smirks up at you, and your heart stutters in your chest. "You've never seen me waltz."

You breathe out a laugh as the Doctor steps closer to you, your hand still clasped in his. You bring your free hand to his shoulder - the Doctor, not taking his eyes off you, lets his hand come to a rest on your waist.

And oh, his eyes. Have you ever really looked at the Doctor before today? Like, really looked at him? Has his face always looked like that?

He said you were unbound but you certainly don't feel that way - swaying with him, the Doctor feels like the only thing keeping your feet on the ground. You blink up at him, at his hair that just looks perfect for running your hands through and his eyes that seem to hold everything.

You haven't been looking. Now you're looking and you really like what you see.

You exhale through your mouth at the realization, and hope that the Doctor doesn't hear. He's humming along to the music, happy enough. "Doctor?" you ask, jumping a little at the way your voice comes out strained.

The Doctor hums in response, a note of the song. You swallow. What's brought this on? Is it the alien wine you've just drunk? It probably is. Liquid courage. "Have I ever told you that I think you're really -"

"Excuse me," a Lobarian next to you coughs, "you'll have to pass her along."

You feel the Doctor's hand tense against your waist. "What?"

"We're meant to dance with everyone," they explain. "The dance can't continue until you pass her along. Sorry."

Something flickers across the Doctor's face, too quickly for you to figure out what it is. He lets go of you, pushing you gently away from him, and you think you catch him frowning as you're passed along.

It's easy enough to engage in light conversation with the Lobarians who dance with you. Most of them are overwhelmed at your presence, others are adorably curious about human customs. They ask questions about climate and plants, some of them tilting their heads in confusion at the idea of a "summer". A few remind you too much of old economics teachers.

You've just finished talking with a tall Lobarian woman when she spins you and passes you along to the one beside her - strong arms catch you, and you look up at Orvin's face.

"My cloak suits you well," he rumbles, smiling.

"It does," you say brightly. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

Orvin hums, intertwining his fingers with yours. You jump at the intimacy of the action, but his hold is too tight for you to pull away from it. "Do you know what it means?"

"Y-yeah, the Doctor explained it to me."

"Then you must know what I think of you," Orvin says. His hand, once settled on your waist, starts drifting towards the small of your back - you shudder at the touch. "Do you know what it means when it is given to someone?"

"No," you squeak out.

Orvin's pulling you closer, your bodies nearly flush with one another. "From one unbound to another… I think you know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I follow," you say, leaning away from Orvin's face, which was now very close to yours. His teeth are just as sharp as Koramaz's. "But I'm - I'm not unbound."

"Well, you might not be - but maybe your partner isn't here." He leans in closer to you and you stiffen. To anyone watching, Orvin might as well be dipping you, but all you want to do is kick him and run away. "Why don't we have a little fun?" he whispers, his breath tickling your ear.

There's something almost predatorial in Orvin's gaze that sends your poor heart into a frenzy. Sharp teeth and something sharp digging into your back. You squirm in his grasp, trying to find safety - the Doctor. You meet his gaze from across the room, and you have to blink at the intensity of his glare.

Orvin can't see it, but the Doctor is burning holes into his back.

"I'm not unbound," you repeat, trying to put a little fire in your voice. The Doctor's gaze flickers from Orvin to you and he shoots you a polite smile, but the look in his eyes hasn't gone. My anchor, you think. "The one I'm bound to is right behind you."

Not entirely the truth, not entirely a lie either. Maybe it's a wish.

A few seconds pass, the silence between you and Orvin heavy with tension. He turns his head to face the Doctor, and then he laughs. The sound sends shivers down your spine.

"Alright," he finally says, "I assumed. I apologize."

You'd better be sorry is the first thought that crosses your mind. Orvin shifts his hand away from the small of your back - a sharp pain pierces through your skin. You suck in a breath through your teeth.

"You alright?" Orvin moves his hand back to your waist. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," you say. The pain is gone as fast as it came. "Probably just static."

Orvin looks down at you curiously, but nods. He pulls back from you, getting ready to pass you to your next partner, and you spin, and spin, and, spin, and hang on, should you be spinning for this long or -

"Woah, woah!"

You're spinning. You're still spinning. Or is the room spinning? You blink slowly, your eyelids heavy. Maybe it's the wine, the one glass of Lobarian wine you had that's messing with your system. Maybe the Doctor was right, maybe it really wasn't good for humans. The room lurches forward - or maybe you do.

"Hang on, I've got you."

The Doctor. You're back in his arms, still swaying slowly to the music, which sounds so far away now. Has someone stuffed your ears with cotton? You lean forward and rest your head on his shoulder, pressing your forehead against his tweed jacket.

"I saw you stumbling," the Doctor says, his voice quiet near your ear. "What's going on? Have you had too much to drink? I told you -"

You groan, cutting him off, your stomach roiling. "I don't… feel good. I feel like..."

You grip against the Doctor slackens, and you fall - the cold marble floor doesn't greet you. Instead, the Doctor's arms wrap around you before you can collide with the floor.

You can faintly hear a gasp spread throughout the entire room. The music's stopped, too. You want to apologize for ruining everyone's fun, but all that comes out of your mouth is another weak groan. You squeeze your eyes shut, but the room's still tumbling. So dizzy...

Koramaz's voice drifts in. "Oh, no. What's wrong? What's happened?"

"I don't know, I need to find out first," the Doctor says. You feel him pull you closer, letting your head rest against his chest. The double beats of his heart join the pounding in your head. "She said she wasn't feeling well, why would she be not feeling well..."

"There is an infirmary, in the hotel," Merban suggests. A furry hand pushes the hair away from your face. "She can be taken there until she is well again."

"Right, since you all have great service." The Doctor's voice waver's ever so slightly. You reach out, your hand wrapping around one of his braces. "I'll go with her. I'll stay until she's better."

Please, you try to say. It comes out like a strangled noise in the back of your throat instead, but the Doctor seems to understand. You feel his lips press against your hair. Don't leave.

"No, Doctor," Koramaz says gently. "This could be really serious. There might be a criminal in our midst. We need you here, to answer some questions."

Merban speaks up. "Koramaz, are you insinuating that -"

"No, I'm just being thorough."

"And if I won't?" Something dangerous plays at the edge of the Doctor's voice. His hold on you tightens.

"Do not worry." Merban's voice is calm and steady. "Rest assured, your companion will be provided the best care that we have."

Koramaz speaks again, and you feel yourself being moved, away from the Doctor - a whine bubbles out of your mouth, your hands still searching for where the Doctor is. No! "Orvin'll help take her to the infirmary. Won't you, Orvin?"

Not this bastard again… "As you wish," Orvin says. He scoops you up and lifts you. Everything lurches at the motion, and you groan again, dizzy, confused, and maybe just a little bit scared.

Their voices get farther and farther away, but even though all the nausea there's a thought, clear as day, nagging at you in the very back of your mind.

"H-hang on," you mumble. "Guys, I don't think I'm drunk..."

The Doctor tries to swallow his jealousy as he watches Orvin walk away with your limp form in his arms. That's not what he's supposed to be feeling right now, but he can't help the ugly feeling that's snaked its way into his hearts.

You'd looked radiant tonight. The sight of you in Orvin's cloak - although a little bit annoying - is something that he's sure is etched in his brain. You'd looked like royalty in the blue piece. He’s seen a lot of royalty, and they’re absolutely nothing compared to you. And you looking up at him, almost dreamily, face flushed with alcohol, is not something he'll forget.

But he can't get the way you reached out for him out of his brain, either. The way you gripped one of his braces for dear life, the way your hands reached out blindly through your confusion, looking to him for comfort.

Not jealous, he tries to convince himself, worried. He's better at that anyway.

"What's going on?"

"Let me see, let me see!"

"They've just carted her off..."

The Lobarians start muttering amongst themselves. After you'd fallen into his arms, they'd scattered, grouping back into their respective factions. The beautiful palette of reds and blues divided again. It's funny what fear does to a people.

"Now, now, everyone, calm down," Merban says. "There is no need for panic. Fear and suspicion will only make our investigation harder."

"Fear and suspicion?"

"Merban's right, we need to stay as calm as we can -"

"No, we need to start asking questions!"

Murmuring spreads through both factions. The Doctor watches Merban, hands held out, trying to placate everyone - and Koramaz, shifting on his feet, mouth bared in what almost looks like a snarl, his sharp teeth reflecting the light and making him look even more vicious. He can sense it, Koramaz's anger, and he takes a careful step backward. The whole thing is a puddle of gasoline, and if Koramaz says anything, there will only be ashes left behind.

"Now, have any of you here seen anything suspicious during tonight's proceedings? Anything at all?"

Most of the Lobarians shake their heads, looking at each other with wide eyes. The Doctor's seen this before - classic political intrigue. Two factions with a rivalry. It's something he'd love to solve, if he wasn't dealing with the nagging worry slowly climbing up his throat.

Suddenly, Koramaz snarls, pointing a finger at Merban. "If anything, you're the suspicious one!"

A collective gasp. There it was. Now there was a fire.

Merban raises his hands, shaking his head. "Koramaz - you must be mistaken. As I have said, we all need to stay calm, and -"

"No, we aren't going to stay calm," Koramaz grumbles. "Who invited the Doctor and his companion to the dinner? Whose territory was that wine from? Hmm?"

There's another gasp, and another wave of panicked muttering. Merban sighs. "Koramaz, please. Let us talk about this."

"They're the ambassadors of the universe, well known through time and space!" Koramaz voice shakes with emotion, his entire body trembling. "You did this! You tried to poison a visitor - a potential ally in trade, an opportunity - to keep our planet independent! Your cruelty knows no bounds."

"Koramaz - no -" Merban begins, but soon enough his voice is drowned out by the sound of yelling and fighting. "Koramaz!"

"Doctor, look at him!" Koramaz shouts, glancing at the Doctor with wild eyes. "Don't you see how guilty he is?"

The Doctor stays silent.

"Everyone, are you feeling well? Have you had any of the wine?"

"You bastards!"

"We're just trying to help Lobar Four!"

Koramaz goes still in the middle of the chaos. The Doctor narrows his eyes at him - narrows his eyes at the way he takes a deep breath in, adjusts his suit, and relaxes as soon as the first stone has been thrown. He storms off, disappearing into the throes of panicked and angry Lobarians.

The Doctor moves to stand next to Merban. The Protectionist leader looks absolutely frazzled, his once pristine fur now sticking out at unnatural angles.

"Merban," he says, and Merban jumps at the sound of his voice. "I'm sorry, you lot are really being quite noisy. I think I'll head back to my ship now, if that's alright with you."

"No, Doctor, we -" Merban sighs, ragged. "I may need your help. You must be concerned for your companion. If you cooperate with us, I'm sure we can find a solution."

Concerned is an understatement. "I'll be here," he says, placing a reassuring hand on Merban's shoulder. "But I won't be of any help while you're all squabbling. I'll stay out of your way until this all dies down."

Merban relaxes ever so slightly, and the Doctor gives him a small smile. Slowly, he nods, placing his own hand on the Doctor's shoulder. Merban's touch is firm, but his gaze wavers. "Of course. Feel free to leave, Doctor - but do come back. We will let you know when we need you."

"You're a good man, Merban," the Doctor replies. "Thank you."

The Doctor waits until Merban lowers his hands, and watches him as he plunges into the crowd of arguing Lobarians, his deep voice rising above everyone else's.

Good show, Doctor. Time to make your escape.

He slips into another corridor as quietly as he can, the sounds of petty words being thrown at one another getting softer and softer. He walks towards the lobby, where the TARDIS is parked, anxious hands fidgeting to keep his mind off the first thing it drifts to - a worst case scenario.

But of course, it does. The Doctor just doesn't want to bring those thoughts to the front of his mind.

His worry is practically clawing out of his throat now. The Doctor fights it first. Merban had promised you'd be safe, but Koramaz - Koramaz hadn't made any promises. Only threats. He stops fighting his fear, his hands curling into fists.

The Doctor turns on his heel and walks the other way.

He thrusts his hand into his jacket, and with a soft cry of "a-ha!", pulls out a brochure. It's the same brochure he'd picked up when he landed - it's shiny, reflecting the light into his eyes, and also very informative, as all good brochures should be.

He turns it over in his hands. Printed on the paper is a map of the hotel, a tiny glowing blip on the paper marking where he's standing.

The Doctor opens his mouth to explain it to you, paper-thin optics with a built-in directional tracker, waiting for your excited response - then he falters. It's quiet. You're not going to respond because you aren't there, right by his side, where you should be.

Problem number one. The rest, he can deal with later. Finding the area on the map labeled "Infirmary", he sets off in that direction first.

The Doctor walks silently though the hallways, sonic screwdriver held up like a weapon. He won't boast about it, but Time Lords have better hearing than humans - not the best, but still quite good. He can still hear the distant sound of raised voices, but he tries to focus on something else. He tries to see if he can hear you, your voice, your breathing, your heartbeat, anything of yours that he can recognize.

Nothing.

He looks through the glass doors of the infirmary - and they're empty. He peers in further, and there's still no sign of you. None of the beds have a pillow out of place, and the staff inside are too busy tending to other people.

Not jealous, not jealous, worried, starts to sound quite bad in the Doctor's head. Jealousy would have been better than this.

The Doctor lifts the map to his face again, squinting at the tiny text printed onto it - Infirmary, Function Halls, Private Rooms. The private rooms don't look too far away from the infirmary. A guess won't hurt, the Doctor thinks.

Then, close by - the sound of a clattering doorknob. And voices. Faint groaning.

"Doctor..."

Then a faraway thud, the sound of something soft falling to the floor. Like a body.

Maybe this guess would hurt. The Doctor runs towards the source of the sound, one of the private rooms, and presses his ear against the door. What he hears next makes his heart twist painfully in his chest.

It's you, it's your voice. It's too faint for him to make out any words. The Doctor grits his teeth as he presses his whole body against the door.

It doesn't budge. He tries the doorknob - locked. Anger joins his repertoire of already jumbled emotions, setting his hearts alight with a white-hot anger that he hasn't felt in a very, very long time. He points his sonic at the doorknob, gripping it so tightly he can see his knuckles turn white - the door swings open and he very nearly drops the device.

"Help," you mutter weakly, sprawled on the floor. "Help me."

"No, no no no -" The Doctor drops to his knees beside you, sweeping the sonic over your body - the whirring noise makes you furrow your brows, and he apologizes under his breath. He has a feeling he's going to be doing a lot of that. He skims through the readings, his hearts pounding out of his chest at every point of data.

He tucks his sonic back into his jacket and gently turns you over. You roll onto your back and groan, your arms hanging limp at your sides.

"Hey," he murmurs, his vision going hazy. He blinks quickly. Not now.

Slowly, he wraps his arms around your shivering form. You're shaking like a leaf in a storm, and you feel impossibly frail in his arms. A sob makes its way through your trembling lips, and the sound rips the Doctor's hearts in two.

You had just been smiling, laughing, dancing with him minutes ago. Now you're sobbing in his arms. The Doctor swallows.

"Doctor?" you mumble. You're looking into nowhere, your eyes glassy. "I need to - need to find the Doctor..."

Now you were just being cruel. "It's me," the Doctor chokes out. He blinks the tears out of his eyes, again, but he can't stop the few that slip out. "I'm here, I'm right here. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" Your cheeks are shiny. "Wha… what for?"

This. Everything. The Doctor reaches out to wipe your tears - and he jerks his hand away. You're burning up, sweat beading on your forehead, your hair sticking to the damp skin. Even Orvin's chainmail cloak has absorbed some of the warmth.

"Nothing," the Doctor whispers. He takes your face in his hands and presses a kiss to your forehead, even though heat is coming off you in waves. "I'm going to take you home, okay? You're going to be alright. I promise."

"Home," you slur, your head lolling, "yeah, home sounds good."

The Doctor doesn't like making promises. He's too afraid of what happens when he can't keep them, but he swears he'll fulfill this one. You lean into his touch and sigh, that one puff of breath scalding the skin of his hands.

Your eyelids flutter as you head comes to rest on the Doctor's chest. Another round of shivers wracks your body, and the Doctor tightens his grasp on you.

As gently as he can, he rises to his feet. The motion makes you whimper, and you curl up in his grasp. He sets his jaw and steps out of the room.

You mumble things under your breath as the Doctor weaves through the hallways, making his way back to the TARDIS. Back home. He doesn't want to listen, because your delirious mumblings make his hearts hurt terribly, but he does catch a few. A few "sorry"s, a handful of "hurts", the occasional "ow", and "I tried to warn him".

"Tried to warn me about what, sweetheart?" he coaxes when you mumble it for the third time. You blink up at him blearily, recognition flickering in your tired eyes.

"M'not drunk," is your breathy response. "Didn't feel drunk. Felt sick. My back… hurts."

"Your back?" the Doctor asks. You groan in reply, and when the Doctor jostles you experimentally that groan tapers off into a weak cry of pain. It's too much for his hearts. "Was it the wine? Do you think it was the wine?" he tries, following another lead.

"My back," you insist weakly. "Dance… he was too close..."

The TARDIS comes into view, and the Doctor quickens his pace. Just a few more steps and you'll be home, safe -

Merban nearly runs into him. His jaw drops open at the sight of you hanging limply in the Doctor's arms. "Oh, goodness," he gasps, "what's happened to her?"

"I don't know," the Doctor growls, the anger in his hearts a roaring fire. "How about you tell me why she wasn't in the infirmary? Or why she was all alone in a locked room with a raging fever?"

"Doctor, I -" Merban stutters. "I was under the impression she was being cared for."

"Well, your impression was wrong."

Koramaz appears behind Merban, and his eyes widen in shock. He reaches out for you, and something in the Doctor snaps - he isn't allowed to get close to you like that, no one is! He steps back quickly, shielding you in his arms.

"No, don't you touch her!" he snarls, suddenly much older and ancient and dangerous.

Koramaz stops in his tracks. The Doctor glares at him, breathing heavily, watching as he stumbles backwards. There's a sick satisfaction building in him at the fear in their eyes - and the Doctor realizes that maybe, just this once, he doesn't mind being ancient. He doesn't mind being dangerous.

But then you mutter something disjointedly, shift your frail body in his arms, and it's all wiped away like writing on the sand. The anger gone in just a moment, replaced by a fear that keeps him rooted to the floor.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Merban asks softly.

The Doctor looks down at you. He's always scared, but not like this. Never like this.

"I'm being selfish," he says, and he disappears into the TARDIS.

“Have you done it?”

“I have.”

“Good job.”

Voices drift into your hearing. All you feel are sensations – incoherent and choppy, like someone had deleted entire minutes of your memory, scenes jumping from one to the other. Being scooped into someone’s arms, carried into the dark. Silken sheets brushing against freezing skin. Something thick and heavy being laid over you, suffocating you –

“Make sure she isn’t found until later. You know the plan. You know what he needs to think.”

The voices are familiar. Should you be alarmed? You feel like you should – but you can’t be. It’s too cold to feel anything else at all. There’s a soft click, and then laughter. Low laughter, laughter that’s too threatening to be kind. The sound sends shivers up your spine.

A small part of your mind’s still awake, and its screaming at you to get the hell up. You roll, and twist - then you fall, and the bed disappears from underneath you. You’re weightless for a second before your elbow collides with the floor. You’re too tired to even cry out in pain.

A thought pushes through your mind as you reach up at what looks like a doorknob – find the Doctor. He’s home, he’s safety, he’s everything. The doorknob rattles once, twice, nothing.

“Doctor,” you manage, and then –

Another voice drifts in. Warm and comforting. Soft against the sharp pain.

“Hush, I’m here,” the voice says. Something cold presses onto your forehead. A bead of liquid trickles down your temple and disappears into your hair.

“Where…?” You draw in a slow breath, your head lolling against a surprisingly warm pillow. You want to open your eyes – look upon your savior, as dramatic as that sounds. But your eyelids are so heavy, and you give up before you can even try.

“It’s alright, you’re safe, you’re on the TARDIS.” This time it’s hands, a palm pressing against your forehead, gentle fingers pressing onto your neck, both of them blessedly cool. You sigh and lean into the touch.

“Try to rest – you’re still burning up.” The hands retreat – then they come back, brushing against your cheek. The touch says a thousand words that you’re too tired to understand. “I need to figure out what they’ve put in you before…”

Silence for a moment.

“…I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”

Darkness swallows you before you can say anything back.

You come to consciousness like a computer waking up – every system flickering to life one by one. Touch comes first – you’re in a soft thing, a comfy thing, a bed. The faint hum of the TARDIS reaches your ears, low enough to be calming background noise. Sight is the last thing that comes to you as your eyes flutter open.

This isn’t the medical bay. It’s missing the sterile white walls and clean lines you’re used to waking up to when your adventures go inevitably south – and this isn’t your room either. It’s big and barely decorated, and while most of the rooms on the TARDIS feel old, this one feels older than most.

“You’re awake!”

The Doctor comes into your vision. You notice three things – one, his jacket’s gone, the sleeves of his button-up rolled up to his elbows. Two, this bed you’re lying in? Huge. Three – the Doctor’s eyes are very, very red.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Not – sure,” you reply, your voice hoarse. “Confused. How long have I been out?”

The Doctor doesn’t answer that. He sits down on the bed instead, pulling your arm gently from under the blanket with a practiced ease. He rolls up your sleeve and peers at your forearm, his gaze steady and laser-focused on one spot on your arm.

The Doctor’s mysterious, but sometimes he can be easy to read. It isn’t hard with his face – he doesn’t shy away from emotions, and even when he tries to, they slip out of the mask he tries so hard to maintain. There have been quiet nights on the TARDIS after those botched adventures, that have started with anger and ended in tears from the both of you.

You flick your gaze from your arm to the Doctor’s face, and really look. Even through the thick haze that lays like fog on your mind, you can see his eyes, red-rimmed and sunken, and the way his jaw is tight and his shoulder are squared with a tension you’ve seen before.

He must be angry, you think, angry that I’ve gotten hurt, somehow.

“Good,” the Doctor finally says, looking up at you with a tired smile. “The antidote seems to be working – I made it with your blood, by the way, so if you feel a little lightheaded that’s on me.”

But there isn’t any anger in his eyes. There’s no storm, no fire. Just… exhaustion, and maybe a hint of relief as he looks at your face.

You must have missed it.

“What happened?” Your mouth doesn’t form the words quite right, and you catch the way the Doctor’s lips curve up fondly.

“You were poisoned,” he says, running a hand through his hair. It’s messier than it usually is, and his bowtie’s askew too. He turns away from you before you can reach up and fix it.

“Poison?” you ask. You struggle to connect the dots in your head, your mind still running too slow for your liking. “Someone poisoned me?”

“Not organic, not one you can buy either. Unprofessionally made, cobbled together in a back alley.” The Doctor’s gesticulating wildly now, moving his hands around in the air – without his jacket, he looks much smaller, and a little ridiculous. Then you wonder where his jacket is. “Something like this, you’re not looking for an easy kill – you’re just looking for results.”

“Yeah, they got results,” you groan. Every part of your body aches, and trying to reach any thought is like swimming in an ocean of molasses. “They definitely got results.”

You press your palms against the bed beneath you and push – and the world tilts at the movement, a sharp and sudden pain piercing through your lower back. You fall back against the mattress, the air leaving your lungs.

The Doctor whirls around, and before you can blink his hands are frantically hovering over you. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“My – back,” you grit out, your head still spinning. “Ow.”

The Doctor’s already wide eyes widen even more. His hands, once reaching out, pull back to rest against his chest, tightened into fists. “When I found you, you – you kept warning me about your back, telling me your back hurt, and I couldn’t look because I was too –”

His voice breaks, and he trails off. He stares, eyes full of unshed tears, and swallows his words instead.

“Never mind,” he says quietly, shaking his head. “Let me have a look.”

Steady hands help you into a sitting position, even though the pain bares its sharp teeth every time you shift. You cling to the Doctor, fabric bunched up in your hands. He has to gently pry your grip open so he can move, and crouches behind you.

Still lost in a haze of pain, you can only blink blearily into the distance. You barely feel the Doctor’s fingers slowly curling around the hem of your shirt, or the way hits your bare skin as he pulls it up slightly. But you do hear a sudden exhalation of breath, and the whir of the sonic as he passes it over your skin.

After that – silence. Uncharacteristic silence, a silence that’s almost deafening as the Doctor skims through the readings.

“What is it?” you venture.

Another moment of silence. Then – “A puncture wound. So small you can barely see it.” The Doctor’s fingers brush over it, and you shudder. “It’s… an entryway. The source of the poison.”

The Doctor moves, and then he’s right by your side again, gently pushing you back onto the bed. He’s sad, you can tell that much, but his eyes have a familiar storm brewing behind them. Just lying in wait to rip and tear into everything in its path. The smile on his lips does nothing to hide that.

“Right. You –” He points at you, standing up – “should be getting some rest. I need to take care of things with the Lobarians – y’know, stuff. Diplomatic stuff. Important… stuff. I’ll be back.”

Something in you stirs – not anger, because he doesn’t need it right now, worry – and your hand shoots out, weak fingers wrapping around the Doctor’s wrist. “Let me come with you.”

“You’re supposed to be healing, not running off with me,” the Doctor says, his voice soft but admonishing, “It’ll be really boring, I promise -”

“Isn’t that how this whole thing started?” Your grip tightens around his wrist. “Me running off with you.”

The Doctor looks down. “I invited you.”

“And I said yes,” you whisper. You tug gently, and he sits onto the bed with a soft thump. You know this Doctor – and right now he’s volatile. Letting him leave would be like a match to gasoline. “Listen, I don’t want you to do anything stupid.”

Please stay goes unspoken. I care about you goes unspoken, and about a million other things too.

The Doctor sighs, but there isn’t any edge there. “I can never say no to you, can I?”

“Nope,” you say tiredly, popping the “p”. The Doctor laughs. Anything to make you stay.

The Doctor settles into the bed beside you, and as if on cue, the lights dim. The TARDIS’s humming grows even softer, fading until all you can hear is the sound of the Doctor breathing beside you.

“She’s being awfully nice,” the Doctor whispers beside you. “She’s spoiling you.”

“She likes me,” you reply. “Jealous?”

“Only a little bit.”

You hum in response. The darkness is already lulling you back to sleep, but you shift and nuzzle into the Doctor’s side. You feel him go still against you, against the sudden affection, but you don’t let up – you cuddle closer to him, you ear close to his chest.

You should be embarrassed. You’re probably embarrassed. But the relief you feel at getting the Doctor to stay by your side is clouding your judgement, and then there’s also the whole getting-poisoned-thing. You can imagine the look on the Doctor’s face – eyes wide, cheeks red, mouth parted like he can’t think of anything to say.

But he loves surprising people. “A few days,” he says quietly.

“What?” you mumble into his chest.

“You were out for a few days.” The Doctor shifts, wraps an arm around you. “I’m answering your question.”

“Oh.”

Snuggled into his chest, you can hear the sound of his heartbeats. Their rhythm pulls you closer to sleep, and your eyes slip shut.

Then you hear the Doctor sniff, feel his breathing hitch, and suddenly it’s your turn to go completely still against him.

“I didn’t want to scare you,” he continues, sounding so impossibly small. “You were in and out of consciousness while I worked on the antidote. You -” A ragged sigh, then a soft whisper of your name - “you nearly died.”

Fear grips your heart tightly, squeezing dangerously – partly because of the fear of dying without being aware of it at all, and mostly because of the fear that coats the Doctor’s every word. You would have left him all alone, and if the distant storm brewing in his eyes is any indication, he would have done something much worse than stupid.

“I’m sorry,” is all you can say.

“No, don’t be, don’t be,” the Doctor murmurs. His lips brush against the top your head, and he pulls you even closer to him. “Please don’t be sorry. You did nothing wrong. This is my fault.”

“It’s not…” you begin, but the Doctor shushes you, and runs his fingers through your hair. Every motion pulls you deeper into sleep, and although you have a thousand things you want to say, you’re fading.

The last thing you remember is a whispered apology.

It's cold when you wake up again. You shift in the bed, trying to snuggle against something that should be behind you, but there isn't anything there. You blink the sleep out of your eyes and sluggishly reach out, letting your arm flop against the empty sheets, searching for warmth.

Your eyes shoot open. Empty sheets.

You turn your head to the side to find the spot beside you empty, the sheets smoothed out like a certain Time Lord had never even been there. Even your blanket's smoothed out, pulled over your shoulders and up to your chin like a parent would do.

It shouldn't hurt, waking up alone. It always happened. The Doctor isn't yours - he's always moving, always running, and someone like that can't ever be tethered, especially not to you.

But it does, and you find tears pricking at your eyes at the thought. If he can't be yours, then you can't be his either, and that means -

"No, you listen to me!"

You push yourself up. The pain in your back is still there, but it's a dull pain now, and certainly nothing compared to way your heart's started hammering in your chest.

That's the Doctor's voice in the distance, loud and ringing and angry.

You throw the blanket off your legs and climb off the bed. Your bare feet press against the cold wooden floor, and the chill sends another burst of clarity to your mind. He's out there, alone, and furious. Never a good combination for the Doctor, historically, you think, reaching up to rub your arms.

Your gaze falls onto a crumpled pile of tweed fabric slung over one of the chairs. Picking it up, you run your hands over the fabric. It feels sentimental, doing that, like interacting with a memory. The things this must have seen...

It's too big for you when you throw it over your shoulders, but it feels like him and smells like him, so it's enough. You wrap the Doctor's jacket tighter around yourself and stumble out of the room.

The sound of arguing drifts down the TARDIS hallways, and it's hard to make the Doctor's voice out from all the overlapping voices. The Doctor was right, though - the TARDIS is kinder today, and the hallways don't wind as much as the usually do. It's a straight shot to the console room. The voices get louder as you get closer to the door.

"Y'know, the funny thing about politicians is that they lie."

"Doctor -" That's Koramaz - "you have to believe me; I would never lie to you!"

"It's in your business to lie, part of the job description really. Why wasn't she in the medical bay? Why was the door to her room locked?" The Doctor's voice gets louder as he speaks. "If I didn't think so highly of you, I'd think you were trying to leave her for dead!"

There's a sigh, and Merban speaks - "Your opinion of us shouldn't have to change, Doctor. Let's keep this amicable."

"Amicable?" the Doctor asks, incredulous. "Ha! We'll see about amicable when I find out what you've really done - no one hurts the people I love and gets away with it!"

Fuck. You run up to the doors and try the doorknobs - they're locked. Fuck!

The Doctor's voice is dark, darker than you've ever heard it before, his words laced with an anger usually reserved for only the cruelest of beings. He knew he would leave, and he knew I'd follow him - the nerve of the man! Your sweaty hands slip against the metal doorknobs and you swear under your breath again. You press against the door, but it doesn't give.

"Please," you beg, looking up at the TARDIS's engine. It hums lowly. "I know you're listening. Please, old girl, before he does anything he's going to -"

The TARDIS doors swing open, a gust of wind pushes you out the doors and you stumble out of the ship and back into the P'kone Mountain Resort.

"...regret."

A wave of silence crashes over the room. Everyone stands frozen in time, still dressed in all their finery - Koramaz and Orvin standing side-by-side, hands raised in the air; Merban with an arm outstretched, held up protectively over the other Protectionists; and the Doctor, because he is the Doctor, standing proud in the middle of the room. Jacketless.

The Doctor's head whips towards you and his gaze softens, his eyes raking over your form. "Are you okay? What are you doing up?"

"I'm fine," you say, waving away his fussing hands. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I told you to rest," he says. Something cold cuts through his voice, and you narrow your eyes at him.

"I thought I told you to stay," you shoot back. The Doctor closes his mouth. You peer into his eyes, finding the fire that's infamous for, and counter it with your own. He shrinks against your glare.

The room's still divided, glittering red against shining blue. The Lobarians whisper to one another, and while you can't catch what they're talking about, you can make a guess. Time to put on a show.

Orvin steps forward from the crowd, wringing his hands together. "Are you well, now? We were so worried about you."

The words drip out of his mouth, sickeningly sweet like honey. You remember the glint of his teeth when he smiled at you on the dancefloor, and the sharpness of his hand against your back. He was too close, much too close.

Two can play at that game. You bare your teeth in a smile.

"Thank you for your concern," you say sweetly, walking up to him. The Doctor reaches out, tries to stop you, but you shoot him another look. "Might I say, you're a wonderful dancer."

"Oh, well, thank you," Orvin mutters. He swallows and clasps his hands together tightly in front of him. "So were you."

"Yeah?" Your smile grows wider, and Orvin shudders. "You know, you're a great dancer, but a terrible fucking liar."

You grab Orvin's clasped hands and pull, prying his hands apart. Your fingers dig into his wrists, nails carving crescents into his skin, and he yelps.

"Didn't we get close, Orvin?" you ask, leaning closer to him. Orvin's breaths come in short puffs, and behind him Koramaz's eyes are wider than dinnerplates.

Glinting on Orvin's left hand is a ring, golden and intricately carved, a shiny red jewel set into the top. The Doctor comes close, leaning down to look at his hands.

"Ooh, nice ring," the Doctor says, peering at the ring, understanding dawning on his face. "College ring, class of 4320 at the University of Neloba - good school, I was a professor there for a cycle. But -"

The Doctor turns towards you, gives you a quick smile, then shoves his hand down the pocket of his jacket. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver, and with a flourish, points it at Orvin's ring. He holds it upright to read the results - and something dark crosses over his face.

"It's a match," he says quietly, "to the poison in your system - by the way, mind if I take a look?"

Orvin opens his mouth to protest, and you twist his wrists upward, his palms facing the ceiling. He makes another pained noise.

The Doctor pulls the ring off his finger and holds it up to the light. Gently, he presses against the red jewel - and on the bottom of the ring, a small needle pops out for just a second before it disappears again.

"Ah," the Doctor says simply, gesturing to Orvin with the ring still held between his fingers. "What do we have here?"

"Orvin, how could you!" Koramaz gasps, his voice shaking with every word. "My own assistant, doing something so dastardly -"

"Oh, THAT'S ENOUGH!" the Doctor roars, throwing the ring to the floor. You jolt, and the whole room seems to shake at the sound of his voice, loud as a crack of thunder. "Stop lying, stop acting - just stop! Why did you do this?"

Koramaz shakes slightly, exhales, then goes completely still. If the Doctor's fire, Koramaz is ice, reflected in the pristine blue of his clothing. The Expansionists, standing near him, look like an ocean ready to swallow the Doctor whole. Slowly, he smiles, and spreads his arms.

"You're a warrior, Doctor," he says, shaking his head. "You've destroyed. Razed down everything in your path. Sometimes..." He glances at Merban - "that can help people."

"Koramaz..." Merban's jaw is hanging open. He shakes his head slightly, his eyes wide and unbelieving. "I did not think you were capable of such things."

"You didn't think at all, Merban."

"Help you," the Doctor spits, glaring at Koramaz. His hands are balled into fists at his sides. "What, so you wanted to turn me against the Protectionists? Was that it?"

"Your anger is a weapon, and one I intended to use." Koramaz smiles again, but it's thin. "I had no choice. Like Merban said, I don't believe in compromise."

The Doctor stares, fire burning in his eyes. Shoulders tense, he starts walking slowly, stalking Koramaz until there's barely any space between them, until he's cornered, nose-to-nose with the Oncoming Storm. The Doctor almost dwarfs Koramaz, his glare boring holes into him.

"Funny, because I'm starting to think that too," the Doctor growls, his jaw set. He looks down at Koramaz like a predator to prey, and for the first time, you see genuine fear in Koramaz's eyes.

"Doctor," you call out. He doesn't seem to hear. He's the Oncoming Storm now, surrounded by a hurricane of his own making. "Doctor!"

"My anger? A weapon?" The Doctor's voice is cold and sharp, like knives trailing against skin. "Do you want to find out why, Koramaz?"

You know why - you know exactly why, from stories weaved across time and space - Koramaz trembles under the weight of all the Doctor's sins, and the Doctor doesn't need to add another name to his list.

You have to fight it. You have to fight against the blustering winds of his fury, but you push through - and your hand wraps around his. The Doctor faces you, his eyes shining with an anger that isn't entirely human, and you do the only thing you can really do -

Pull him from the edge. Smile, and squeeze his hand tight.

"Don't" you whisper, and although what you really want to say is still left unspoken, in that split second, there's no one else in the room. Just you and the Doctor.

You're his anchor now.

"You had a choice," you tell Koramaz, still clutching the Doctor's hand. "You thought that if you hurt me, you could make the Doctor do something terrible. But he's better than that. He's a good man."

You look up at the Doctor. He's staring at you, gazing, a mixture of pride and sadness in his big green eyes. His lower lip trembles.

Deep breath. Only the truth, now. "I know him."

You can hear the faint murmuring of the Lobarians, and before your eyes the colors shift - the red mixes into the blue, Protectionists and Expansionists talking with one another, hands on shoulders, offering comfort.

"What do we do now?" one of them asks, their hands tightly gripping the front of their dress.

"You sit down," you say, and stand a little straighter. They're all looking at you now. "Reconvene. Actually discuss things instead of plotting and scheming behind each other's backs. Be better, for the future of your people. That's what this was all about, wasn't it?"

One Lobarian bows. Then another. Soon enough, all of the Lobarians in the room are bowing to you, a show of respect and reverence. Even Koramaz is bowing, his face cast to the floor.

You glance at the Doctor, smiling. I learned that from you.

He smiles back, gentle. I know.

Merban lifts his head, still poised despite his ruffled appearance. His eyes are damp, sorrow swimming in them. "Koramaz will be dealt with as best as we can. I am truly sorry for what we have done."

"Occupational hazard," you reply, bowing back to him. "Learn from this, won't you?"

"We will try." Merban nods slowly, and a tear slips from his eye. "I'm sure you understand now."

"Understand what?"

"Why you are a part of the stories," Merban says, bowing once more. As you stare at the Lobarians, all bowing in a show of respect and reverence, you do now.

You turn away from everyone and tug at the Doctor's hand, as gently as you can. The storm in his eyes ebbs, leaving behind a slight drizzle. "Let's go home, yeah?"

"Home," the Doctor echoes. "Home sounds good."

The Doctor doesn't say a word for the whole trip home.

He's quiet as he walks up to the console, pushing buttons and pressing levers without the manic energy that he usually has. It's disconcerting, but not surprising, and you settle for leaning against one of the railings as he works. The TARDIS stays kind, and takes off without even a shiver.

You keep your eyes on him as he pilots - watching him push in coordinates, swinging screens around - but the tension hasn't left his body. He's still wound up, ready to snap at a moment's notice, so you stay quiet. There's no sound but the hum of the TARDIS's engines.

Your mind drifts just as the TARDIS does, the room swaying slightly underneath your feet. This is what it's like, travelling with the Doctor in his magical blue box, and you know not every adventure ends well. Not every story has a happy ending.

What was another near-death experience? You practically lived off of them, thriving off of the rush that filled you when you escaped danger by just a hair. Running and laughing together. But this feels different, you think, still watching the Doctor walk slowly around the console, because something's changed.

But what was it?

You pull the sleeves of the Doctor's jacket. He hasn't asked for it back yet, and a small part of you hopes that he never does. It's incredibly comfortable, and the only warm thing in the cold space between the two of you.

The Doctor's eyes are dark, and the dim TARDIS lights cast shadows over his youthful face. The ship's lights and sounds were a tell if you couldn't figure out how the Doctor was feeling, and now they were completely in sync, darkness against darkness.

He brushes past you and slumps into one of the chairs, crossing his legs. He shuts his eyes, presses a hand against his forehead, and heaves out a shaky sigh.

"Are you mad?" you ask, your voice just above a whisper. The Doctor snaps his head up to look at you and he looks so weary, so old and so tired.

"Mad? Of course I'm mad," he says, the edge in his voice still there, but fading away. "I'm cross. Extremely. That doesn't usually happen."

You swallow, still gazing at him. His stare is intense, and he hasn't really looked you in the eyes since you stepped back onto the TARDIS. "I mean, are you mad at me," you add softly.

The Doctor's eyes widen a fraction, and he sits straighter in the chair. "No," he says, "no, not at you. Never at you. Why would you think that?"

You're quiet. You're never this quiet. You shrug, and the Doctor's jacket nearly slips off your shoulders. You catch it before it can fall - you also catch the Doctor's eyes tracing your form, his gaze stuttering to a stop at the sight of you in his jacket.

You shift against the railing, pulling his jacker tighter around your body. "You okay?"

"'Course I am," the Doctor replies, obviously not. He looks deflated sitting in the chair, his form almost swallowed by the seat. "I'm the king of okay. I said I was never gonna use that title again. Ignore me."

You give him a small smile, and he lights up a little bit. "No, you're not."

The Doctor frowns at you. "I am."

"You always lie," you tell him, raising your eyebrows.

The Doctor sighs again, but it isn't exasperated or angry - just defeated. He stands up in one quick motion, his hair flopping with the movement, and moves to stand in front of you. He takes a deep breath, steadying himself, and gazes down at you.

"I'm sorry," he says slowly, and the words echo in the room. He's standing close enough for him to reach out, but he doesn't - instead, he keeps his distance, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. "It's my fault you got hurt."

"It isn't," you protest, but the Doctor shakes his head.

"It is," he insists, and something like desperation colors his words. "They hurt you because of me. They knew how much I cared and they weren't afraid to use that."

"It's not your fault." You reach out and take his hands, shaking your head. "Caring isn't a weakness, you know that better than anyone."

The Doctor stays silent for a moment. He's still staring, unnaturally still despite the tears that threaten to spill out of his eyes.

"I should take you home," he whispers hoarsely, trying to pull his hands away from yours.

"No!" you blurt, and the Doctor goes still again. "No," you say again, softer, and intertwine his fingers with yours.

"I can't promise to keep you safe," the Doctor mutters.

"You don't have to." One by one, you lace your fingers together. His hands are bigger than yours, and he practically covers your entire hands with his. He watches you do this, his lips slightly parted, eyes sparkling with what looks like… wonder? "I want to stay with you. I don't care how dangerous it is, or how many times I get hurt - it's worth it."

And you mean it, every word. Every bruise, every scar – just something that comes with the life that you’ve chosen with him.

You stand on your tiptoes - the Doctor laughs quietly and leans down his head. You press a kiss onto his forehead, pouring everything you want to say into it, and hope he understands.

The Doctor straightens, standing taller. You frown up at him and fall back onto your feet. "You're so tall."

"Regeneration's a lottery," he says, and a smile - a real one - spreads across his face, like a sunrise warming the cold evening air. And just like a sunrise, the TARDIS's lights grow brighter, her humming and trilling like a triumphant symphony. "You're wearing my jacket."

"I am," you say. You're still very comfy in it, and the Doctor notices, because his lips curve up in a fond smile. "Does a Time Lord giving someone their jacket mean anything?"

"Why do you ask?" the Doctor asks, pulling his hands away from yours to smooth down the front of the jacket.

"Well, Orvin's cloak meant something. Does this mean something too?"

The Doctor's face goes red, and you have to push down a childish giggle as he flounders.

"The Lobarian courting cloak means a lot of things," he says, waving his hands around, "It's a symbol for the heart, the soul, the being of a Lobarian. Giving all of you to another."

You raise an eyebrow at him. "But I took your jacket."

The Doctor's eyes glitter. "...Well?"

Now it's your turn for your face to burn - you pull at the sleeves again, biting your lower lip. Your heart does flips in your chest, and you don't try to stop it from going haywire.

The Doctor, with another laugh, scoops you into his arms - he wraps his arms tightly around you, pressing his face into the crook of your shoulder, his whole body shuddering as he breathes a sigh of relief. You place your hands in his hair as he finally unwinds, relaxes, and lets go.

"Keep it for now," the Doctor murmurs against your ear, "I've got spares."

You stay there for a moment, just holding each other as the TARDIS sings around you.

"I’m not leaving you," you breathe out. "Package deal, remember?"

The Doctor doesn't say anything, just nuzzles closer, and it's enough of a reply for you.

#doctor who #doctor who x reader #eleventh doctor #eleventh doctor x reader #11th doctor x reader #eleventh doctor fanfiction #doctor who fanfiction #finally this is done.... i hope you guys like this lmao!!

491 notes · View notes

nownothingcantouchyou · 2 years

Note

I totally get what you mean about New Year’s Day representing a perfect closer and opener! New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, the holiday itself, marks the ending of one year and the beginning of the next. For Reputation, New Year’s Day marks the end of this initial phase of a relationship. They’ve gotten through the tough obstacles and are looking forward to better days which are seen in Lover. New Year’s Day, the song, is about looking back and picking up the bottles before moving forward into a new year/phase. If Reputation, the album represents the wild, tumultuous party, New Year’s Day, the song, represents staying after the party is long over and the dust has settled to help clean up (staying during the chaos and helping clean up the messes). But New Year’s Day, also invites us to consider what happens after the bottles are picked up and everything is back to normal. The chaos has (mostly) subsided, what happens next? When there is no crisis to weather and no aftermath to endure, there’s just calm. Which is where Lover picks up, with the realization of how true love is staying through the good times, the hard times, but also the boring times. The times where life is just going by. You can see this in the song Lover where she romanticizes leaving “Christmas lights up until January” and making their own rules in their own place. This is also seen in London Boy, where she talks about where she wants to see all of her lover’s favorite spots, not the fancy, touristy spots necessarily but the spots that actually have some meaning to him. It’s the softest part of falling in love, getting to know your person through seeing their favorite places through their eyes and spending the whole day together letting them show you everything and the intricate details of their favorite things. My favorite part of New Year’s Day being the closer for Reputation is Daylight being the closer for Lover. After the bottles are picked up and the early morning hours are gone, it’s Daylight and you can how truly golden Love can be. Anyway I know this was really really long and extremely family so very sorry for that. Also if I sound insane and stupid, please feel free to delete this ask. Hope you are having a great day!!

this is so awesome!!! thank you for sending this and for taking the time to write it. i agree with you! i love that you said new year’s day is both a beginning and an ending. and i’ve always liked thinking about new year’s day and daylight as songs that kind of need each other so this is really cool!!!

i hope you’re having a great day too!!!! <3

#anonymous #asks #long post

2 notes · View notes

hockeylvr59 · 4 years

Text

Secret Love Part 13 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: Days 6 and 7 in Iceland. We’re over halfway through this vacation...are we ready for it to end or do we wish it could last forever? Thanks to @nazdaddy for the help with the childhood story.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2,102

~~~~

When you woke up with a headache the morning of Monday, June 22nd, it took you a minute to realize why your head was pounding. Oh yeah...you’d almost slipped and told Cale that you love him…

Groaning, you tugged your pillow over your head, not ready to face the daylight. Sadly though, as much as your head hurt, your stomach was protesting the lack of being fed the night before.

“Morning beautiful.” Cale whispered from a chair in the corner where he was looking through maps and his phone.

“Try that again when my head doesn’t feel like it’s hosting a drum competition.” You mumbled digging through your bag for some pain relievers.

“Sounds like we should get you some breakfast…” Cale murmured softly.

“Yes please.” You requested, burying your head against Cale’s chest as he moved to hug you. “Probably shouldn’t have passed out before dinner…” You sighed, popping two pills before swallowing them with a bottle of water Cale handed you.

Thankfully, by the time you’d eaten a full breakfast, your headache had subsided a good deal, enough that you felt like you could follow through with Cale’s plans for the day even if he assured you that you didn’t have to.

A bumpy hour long drive (which would not have been possible without 4-wheel drive) later you reached Dettifoss Waterfall. You were absolutely astounded by the number of waterfalls on this island because it seemed like everywhere you went there was another one. This one boasted the reputation of being the most powerful waterfall in Europe and as you watched an immense volume of water go crashing over its edge you understood why.

Taking more touristy pictures for your parents, you, for what felt like the thousandth time, climbed back into the car. Another hour and a half drive took you to the coastal village of Husavik.

“I think you’ll enjoy this next activity.” Cale declared as you climbed out of the car.

“Yeah?” You inquired, cocking your head. “What are we doing?”

“Whale watching?” Cale replied, a bright grin on his face.

“Are you serious?” You exclaimed.

“Well hopefully? I mean the whales will have to cooperate.” Cale shrugged. “But it’s supposed to be a pretty cool experience.”

“Let’s go!” Your excitement only continued to grow as you checked in with the tour company, dressed yourself in the overalls they provided, and made your way onto the boat.

As you waited for the tour to start, Cale handed you a set of pills and a bottle of water.

“I forgot these when we went to the lagoon but I think you might need them today. With your headache this morning, seasickness might hit a little easier.” Cale explained.

Taking the pills, you swallowed them before kissing Cale lightly. Even you forgot about your proclivity for seasickness most of the time, so the fact that Cale remembered and had brought motion sickness pills kind of blew you away.

Your families had been on a cruise together when you were 15 and Cale was 11. You’d always been fine out on the lake but the moment you were on a boat in the open ocean for the first time you became sick as a dog. You spent more than half the cruise in bed, and had only gotten through the other half by popping motion sickness pills as frequently as you were allowed. Cale had stuck by your side, watching movies while you slept against his shoulder and refusing to go do anything if you weren’t feeling up to it. It had been one of the last times you’d spent such an extended amount of time together until recently, but it had also been so long ago that you were shocked Cale remembered.

“Thank you.” You breathed, squeezing his knee as the tour guide started to give a quick safety briefing before the boat headed out into the bay. For about an hour you continued out before finally the boat came to a stop for at least the moment. It took some patience but eventually your tour guide pointed your attention to some moving figures out to the left side of the boat.

“Dolphins Cale...those are dolphins!” You blurted out. They were absolutely beautiful and you certainly hadn’t expected to see them. They didn’t stay in the vicinity of the boat long but shortly after they left, off to the right the flick of a whale’s tail sent water flying. The boat moved a little closer and you were able to see the whale surface again, water pushed out of the blowhole as it took in air.

Two more whales made an appearance while you were out in the bay, one fully breaching the water before diving back under. It was a surreal experience...one you were certain you would never forget. You weren’t sure if you or Cale were able to get any decent photos but honestly that didn’t matter much to you because you just wanted to enjoy the moment you were in.

By the time you started heading back to shore, your seasickness had started to catch up with you. Land was a welcome sight at that point and as Cale helped you off the boat, he helped you steady yourself before assisting you in getting out of your overalls.

“Let’s get some more food in you sweetheart.” Cale led you over to a restaurant for lunch and then the two of you just walked around the village until most of the unpleasantness you were feeling had passed.

“Was that worth the pain?” Cale questioned as he opened the car door for you.

“100%.” You replied, kissing him gently. “That was something I think I’ll remember forever so thank you.”

“Anything for you.” Cale stated offhandedly, but the look in his eyes suggested he really meant it. “So the only other thing on the itinerary is another waterfall...do you want to go, or just head back to the hotel?”

“Would you mind if we just go back to the hotel?” You murmured.

“Not at all.” Cale assured you. Like those days on the cruise where seasickness got the best of you, you spent your evening curled into Cale’s side just watching tv. You’d come so far from the kids you were back then and you knew if you’d told your 15 year old self that someday you’d be in love with that gangly boy who had rubbed your back while you cried because you were missing everything, she certainly wouldn’t have believed you. Though Cale was a man who had grown into his body and not a gangly kid anymore, he was still the kind, compassionate, beautiful soul that he was a decade ago and the way he cares for you has only grown.

____

It was hard to believe that you had been in Iceland for an entire week. It was flying by so fast and the closer you got to the end of your vacation, the less you wanted to leave. This time alone with Cale was so wonderful and the thought of going home to where you didn’t wake up beside him everyday made your stomach twist uncomfortably.

“I can hear the gears in your head turning.” Cale declared as his lips pressed against the back of your neck and his arms pulled you closer to his body in bed. “Everything okay?”

“Just thinking about how I don’t want this to end…” You admitted, snuggling closer.

“Me either.” Cale agreed.

Neither of you seemed to be in a rush to climb out of bed. In fact, you just laid there enjoying being in Cale’s arms for nearly half an hour before your body protested the stillness and forced you to get up and stretch. Even when you did get up, Cale was quick to follow and as you got ready for the day he was by your side, the two of you moving around each other with a practiced ease.

Though you didn’t really have a strict agenda, there had been so much to see and do or so much driving ahead of you that it felt like you had to keep moving or you’d fall behind. Today though felt nothing like that. You took your time at breakfast before heading just a few minutes down the road to the Dimmuborgir lava fields.

Walking around the volcanic structures, you held Cale’s free hand as he took pictures with his phone in the other.

From there it was another quick drive to Hverir, a fumarole field with boiling mud pits. The smell of sulfur was expected this time and though you didn’t love it, it didn’t bother you as much as it had at Geysir. You’d never known that so many different environments could exist so close together until this trip and it was mind-boggling to experience all of them in such short succession.

Having checked off the majority of Cale’s list for the day by lunch time, you headed back to the hotel to eat and grab swimsuits. From there you headed over to the Myvatn Nature Baths, another hot spring.

Honestly, you’d enjoyed the Blue Lagoon but you and Cale had both been so tired from everything else that you were really looking forward to just spending as long as you liked relaxing this time.

Checking in, you parted to change again and after quickly showering you pulled on your suit, wondering if Cale would flip over this one like he had the last. His eyes went wide, but he wasn’t quite as speechless as before as he pulled you close.

“Sunflowers for my sunshine…I see what you did there.” He grinned. Though it was the middle of the day, the nature baths were significantly quieter and less crowded than the Blue Lagoon had been and it made you feel more comfortable swimming close to Cale, perching yourself right beside him as he found a spot to lounge.

After a while, you settled into a small pool with alcoholic beverages, leaning against Cale’s side.

“This is perfect.” You murmured. As much as you loved exploring, you were basking in just being, not having to do anything or go anywhere. Cale’s fingers brushed lightly against your hip and you draped one leg over his knee as you turned to kiss him gently. “Maybe I should look into a hot tub for the backyard.” You mused. “Iceland has spoiled me and I’m not sure I’m going to want to swim in anything colder than this ever again.”

“I mean...I’m not going to talk you out of that…” Cale chuckled. “It may not be the most practical decision, but we could certainly have some fun with it.”

“Head out of the gutter Mr. Makar.” You giggled. “Do you think about anything but sex lately?”

“Can’t help myself around you…” Cale shrugged, pressing a light kiss to your nose. “But that should be obvious considering I’ve had more sex with you in the month we’ve been together than in my entire 3 year long previous relationship.”

“My gain…” You replied. You were never going to apologize for wanting to have sex with him. Nor were you going to apologize for the fact that the sex was really good and getting better every time. Being physical with him felt natural and you were glad to hear that he felt the same way.

“This is something special huh?” You breathed, taking a sip from your wine glass as you looked out across the large pool to the skyline beyond.

“This trip? Or us?” Cale clarified, finishing off his beer before setting the empty glass off to the side.

“Both...but mainly us.” You whispered.

“Yeah beautiful...this is something special.” Cale agreed. “A year ago, I never would have imagined how good things could be...being with my best friend. Now I can’t imagine life any other way.”

As your eyes met, you couldn’t help but feel there was something left unsaid, but as he kissed you, you felt the weight of those unspoken words deep within you.

“I can’t either.” You murmured as your lips pulled back from his.

Breaking the intense moment, you moved to the larger pool, swimming around until you and Cale were both ready to leave.

Today had been a wonderful day...you felt relaxed and closer to Cale in every way. Though you would leave the Northern coast of Iceland behind in the morning, in a way you were taking a piece of it with you in the form of memories that you hoped would last a lifetime.

Swimsuit:

#cale makar #cale makar imagine #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #cavalanche #038

108 notes · View notes

Last Seen Blogs

dokidobe

yellow.dr.monv

jalaklantang

neelamcultural-blog

shinycreationenemy

Mr. B

msfarplane

M. Ś. Farplane - on the way of imagination.