#jane in the background like. please just put it in the oven..... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ravenveenova97 · 1 day

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Paldea Romance

Child hood flashback with Jacq

what both Raven and Jacq looked like when they were kids, this flash back to there childhood together.

youtube

(you know the drill lolz for background wile u read)

I wake up and rub my eyes and sit up in my bed and look around my room and yawn, I could hear humming coming from outside mine and Kio’s room it was our mother happily baking away in the kitchen I could smell cake in the oven, just then my belly growled and I got out of bed and walked over to check on my little sister she was sound asleep still, I smile sweetly and leave her to sleep and walk out of my room to my mum “mummy I'm hungry” she looks round and stops humming and smiles at me and crouches down and puts her hand on my head “Morning my little angle” I smile at her and she picks me up in her arms and holds me while she cooks “well sweet heart mummy making some pancakes would you like them for breakfast” I smile bright and giggle “i love some oooo can I have choce syrup mama” she laugh at what I say and plates up my pan cakes and then puts me down, I walk to the dining table and climb up on the cheer and sit down and watch my mum put the plate down and add chocolate syrup onto them.

I look at it and my eyes light up after she was done I dug into the food I ended up making a big mess and after I was done I had chocolate sauce all over my face my mum giggled at me “you're supposed to get it in your moth sweetie not all over your face” she grabs a wet cloth and starts to clean me up I fuss a little as she was cleaning away the syrup from my face “there all done back to that pretty face of yours” I laugh just then my little sister Kio walked in with tears in her eyes I look at her and jump off the chair and run to her “sis you ok why you crying” she sobs and hugs me I hold her tight “big sis I had a nightmare that I was being chased by ghosts they were scary” I rub her back to calm her down and I pulled away and smiled “sis ghosts aren't real just like the monsters under your bed” she was sniffing while looking at me “but what if they do, they will chase me” she was really upset and I started to act like a fool to cheer her up “ well if that happens your big sis will chase them away I yell go away and roar at them” I made a big loud roar noise witch made Kio smile and then giggle, good she stopped crying mum looks at us and knees down to both of us and put her hand on Kio’s back “don't worry cupcake your big sis will always protect you right Raven” I nod confidently while crossing my arms just then Kio’s belly growled “heheheheh little sis hungry, mummy make her pancakes too and put all the topping on it hahahahah” mum picks up Kio and puts her in the high chair and I get onto the chair agen while standing on it.

“Sweetie don’t stand on the chair you might full and hurt yourself” I look at mum and decide to kneel down instead I spoke to Kio wile mum was doing her some pancakes when she was done she walked over and gave Kio her plate and cut up the pancakes into small bite sizes “what would you like on them my dear” Kio thinks and then looks at me “I want what big sis had” I chuckle and pick up the chocolate sauce and squeezed it onto her pancakes for her and watched her eat, after she was done mum let her out and took the plate and put it into the sink “girls mummy needs to do some food shopping today so you be coming with me” I look at her and palled an unamused face “but I wanted to go and see Jacq today, please mummy I want to go and play with him” I begged my mum to let me go and refused to smile until she did she sighed at me then smiled softly “you really like him don’t you, fine you can go but be on your best behaviour ok no getting into trouble” I jump for joy and hug her “thank you mummy, I go get ready now” I ran off to my room lathing happily to myself and picked out a summer dress and some merry janes the dress was light pink and the shoes light purple, I ran out of my room making a brake for it out the door but mum stops me “you're not going out until I've done your hair” I look back at her and realised she was right I had bed hair still I walk over to my mum and sat down in front of the sofa so she could do my hair while she was doing that me and Kio were playing pada cake “pada cake pada cake bakers man bake me a cake as fast as you can” we played for a little and mum finished my hair “there we go you can go now” she giggles as I move my hands up to my hair she did cute little space buns for me, I was so happy I got up and opened the door and ran out into the front garden and saw my mums starter Pokémon and waved good bye to it “i see you later meowsie” she waved back and I ran as fast as I could down the road.

I ended up getting to Jacqs house and I looked up he’s window was open and I call up to him “JACQY ITS VEE YOU COMING OUT TO PLAY” he hears me and looks out of he’s window and I'm waving at him with a big smile on my face he blushes a little and responds “i be down just give me a minuet” I giggle as he leaves the window, few minutes pass and I'm pouting with my arms crossed just then he walks out the door and runs up to me and smiles nervously “geez Jacqy what took you so long” he smiles softly and pats me on the head “sorry Vee mum was talking to me I'm sorry I keped you waiting” I look away still pouting at him he gets really flustered “Vee I mean it I'm sorry” I look at him and then smile and tap he’s arm “ok but your it” I run off laughing as he was in shock “no fair Vee I didn’t know we were going to play tag” I turn round and stuck my toung out at him he lathed and chased me around the field.

There was a couple of times he almost got me, but I dodged out of the way “hahahahaha can’t catch me your too slow” I tease him while running around but just then I end up tripping “VEE!!” I feel Jacq hand grab mine and he pulls me into him which in turn made us both fall back onto the grass when we land Jacq holding onto me tightly “Vee you ok, you didn’t hurt yourself did you” I look up at him and smile and then giggle “no I'm ok but it looks like you caught me heheheheh” we both laugh and decide to go and explore away from he’s house, we walk down towards the light house and have a look around in the grass for Pokémon we found a few and played with them for a bit but a cave catches my eye and I walk towards it, there was a ledge and I tried to reach up to it but I couldn’t reach I began to pout and then Jacq walked up to me “what's wrong Vee” I look defeated and sad as I look at the ledge “I want to go in there but I can't reach the ledge to climb up” he looks at it and then crouches down and puts he’s hands together.

“i could give you a boost and you can climb up” I smile brightly and then step onto he’s hands and he boots me up I manage to get a hold of the ledge and pull myself up I then turn round and reach down “come on Jacqy your turn” he smiles and takes my hand I manage to pull him up to the ledge and he grabs hold of it and pulls himself up, once up we make our way into the cave I was in aww “wow it's so cool in here the walls are glowing” Jacq chuckles at what I said “its actually the moss it likes to grow in damp caves like this one” I look at Jacq impressed “wow you know everything that’s amazing Jacqy” he smiles shyly wile rubbing the back of he’s head just then I see a Houndor and I run towards it and pick it up and give it a big hug “awwwwww your such a cutie” it freaks out and jumps out of my hands while hitting me with an week ember attack and runs off “VEE YOU OK” Jacq runs up to me and I'm stood there shocked for a moment and then laugh “hahahahahah I got emberd” Jacq sigs in relief that I'm ok and then reaches into he’s pocket and pulls out a handkerchief and starts to clean me up “Vee you shouldn’t grab Pokémon like that especially sneaking up to them” I smile and he just softly chuckles at me after he cleans me up, we see a bunch of Houndor come out into the opening and my face lights up and I squill I'm about to move but Jacq stops me “Vee let them come to you kneel down like this and they should come over” I watch what he does and they all start to flock around him I smile and do the same they give us a good sniff and I reach out to one of them and pat it on the head the Houndor let out a happy cry my face lit up even more and then I get jumped by the one I was petting and I was being licked “hahahahah your such a good Pokémon, come on stop that it tiggels” I'm lathing a lot and Jacq pulls out a note pad form he’s bag and writes notes down and then he looks at me “you really like Houndors don’t you” I smile as I'm petting the rest “yer I love them, I love all dark types heheheheh” but just after I said that I shivered and Jacq realises it “Vee you ok” I smile at him and then frown “sorry I was thinking of one dark type I don’t like and that’s Lokix it has no business being a dark type its icky and grose” Jacq laghths at me I look back at him “you really don’t like bug Pokémon do you hahahaah”

I smile and look back at the Houndors that were playing with each other just then we hear a big howl go through the cave and all the Houndors look round me and Jacq could see a Pokémon coming out of the shadows it was a Houndoom and it was glaring at us Jacq freaked out while I was starry eyed “VEE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE” he grabs my hand and makes a mad dash for it “but why it was just a Houndoom” we continue to ran for the exit as we left Jacq jumped down off the ledge but me I end up tripping and landed on my knees scraping them, Jacq panting trying to get he’s breath back and he hears me starting to sob “Vee you ok what happ.....” he looks at my knees and see that they are all cut up and I burst into tears, he begins so panic a little but calm's down “Vee its ok your fine here let me help” he goes into he’s bag and pulls out two band aids and put them on my cuts I slowly stop crying but still sniffing “there we go all patched up” I wipe my tears and look at my knees “it still hurts tho *sniff*” he smiles softly and puts he’s hands on my knees the warmth of he’s hands helped ease the pain and then he started to chant “pain pain go away come back never again” I look at him and smile he looks up at me and smiles back “did that help” I end up throwing myself on him hugging him tight.

He got a little embarrassed and red in the cheeks “thank you Jacq that helped a lot I don’t feel it anymore heheheh” I look up at him and now he was completely red in the face I tilt my head to the side “you never call me just Jacq its always Jacqy” I relies and blush a little and move away “yer I know but it felt nice to just call you Jacq heheheh” he softly smiles at me still red in the cheeks and pats my head “well you can call me whatever you like Vee” I smile shyly and he gets up and gives me he’s hand and I take it and hold it tight “Jacq when were adults can I be your wife” he’s taken way back by that comment and beet red and having a hard time talking he looks at me and all he could muster up was a simple nod saying yes this made me super happy, we spent most of the day playing close to home until it was time for dinner Jacq ends up walking me home while still holding my hand when we got there we said good bye and waved at each other.

Mum at the door waving to “thank you for looking after Raven for me” I walk into the house and looks like my dad back home I run up to him and hug he’s leg he chuckles and ruffles my hair “did you have a good time sweetie”

#pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon fanart #pokemon violet #pokemon romance #pokemon jacq #graphic art #Youtube

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morphinethevaccine · 3 years

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Would you want to be their roommate? (ADA Edition)

a/n: In which you're the roommate of various Armed Detective Agency members. I'm only like, half serious.

— Dazai Osamu Boundaries? I don't know her.

Rule #1 of rooming with Dazai is understand he's a hypocrite. While he's 100% the type to read your diary, eat your snacks with zero intention of replacing them and take your stuff without asking, he does not want the favor returned.

Honestly, Dazai prefers to have his own space. Having a roommate makes it a little hard to engage in some of his more reckless endeavors, like ignoring warning labels to mix bleach and ammonia, trying to inhale oven fumes, and womanizing (its not like he usually brings people back to his place anyway because he isn’t keen on people knowing where he lives, but the point still stands).

Just pay little mind to the fact your toaster is missing because he tried (and failed) to drop it in the bathtub with him. Again.

— Atsushi Nakajima and Kyouka Izumi I feel a sitcom coming on.

Moving in with a stoic former murder turned do-gooder and the traumatized orphan with a self worth problem too many sounds like a scriptwriting fever dream. But hey, a positive: no matter how screwy your background is, you don't have to feel like the weird one.

Quirks aside, neither makes a bad roommate: Atsushi is thoughtful, caring, and marginally domestic, while Kyouka minds her business by staying out the way for the most part.

Considering the bizarre makeup of the occupants, people might look at the three of you and wonder how you manage to coexist. Maybe the three of you can even be the wholesome version of Three's Company, complete with regular misunderstandings that could have easily been avoided had someone just been more forthcoming.

— Doppo Kunikida Is this really how you want to live your life?

Has his lights on timer and 'quiet hours' he sticks to religiously. Organized to a 'T': you putting things back in the incorrect place or leaving a jar on the wrong shelf in the pantry is going to give him a tension headache.

Definitely shouldn't be the residence of choice for messy people, those inept at reading social cues (who in turn won't know when to shut up and leave him alone), or anyone with an alternative sleep pattern. Will not hesitate to tell you off if you're running the microwave at 2 am.

A great place for routine addicts or wayward souls in need of someone to beat order and structure into their head-- sometimes literally, but for the non-anal retentive, this is probably the closest form of spiritual suicide on this side of heaven.

— Jun'ichiro Tanizaki and Naomi Tanizaki For those who don't value their mental health.

At first glance, not a bad place to stay. Jun'ichiro’s a solid cook, gives off everyman/boy-next-door vibes and is relatively sane (unless Naomi's in danger). Naomi's nice enough and likely a fun person to hang around assuming she's not glued to her brother's side.

But don't get too excited just yet. Both tend to be fine, if not enjoyable to interact with individually, but the main problem with rooming with this pair is having to stomach them together.

Imagine listening to these two doting on each other. All the time. Hearing that day after day is going to shave at least 10 years off your total lifespan, give or take. I suppose you can invest in earplugs and work on expanding your happy place, but is it really worth it?

— Ranpo Edogawa Roommates? I think you misspelled 'parent and child’

Expect to hear "Great Detectives don't do (insert thing he should definitely be doing)" often. Could be a great roommate if he applied himself, but his laziness tends to delve into 'hand me the remote even though it's an inch from my fingertips' territory.

Don't expect him to know how to use the garbage disposal or run the dishwasher (or be apologetic about either fact). Can't be trusted to buy groceries: his contributions are just the entirety of the snack aisle: Twizzlers, Mike and Ike's and this color changing drink he found at the convenience store.

Pushes off things he should be doing (like his laundry) on you because 'you're washing clothes anyway' and has the frustrating tendency to only 'deduce' things you really don't want him to, like why your girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with you.

— Akiko Yosano Not too bad, actually.

While Yosano might come across intimidating, she's largely harmless to the average joe or jane. Unless you piss her off, she has little reason to saw off any of your extremities.

Generally speaking, she’s a normal roommate who respects your personal space (and expects the same in return, so please do the same if you value your life) and takes care of her portion of shared responsibilities without issue. Yosano isn't argumentative, but she's not one to bite her tongue, either.

So if you're looking for a roommate who's not going to call you out if you're on some bullshit, Yosano is not that roommate. As long as you pull your weight and aren't unusually annoying, the two of you can manage a cordial relationship with minimal threats and/or bloodshed.

— Kenji Miyazawa Prepare yourself for a host of weird proverbs.

Has a 50/50 chance of calling you 'roomie' ("Because that's what city people say, right?") or something else mildly irritating. As the literal personification of its not that deep, it's pretty impossible to get him upset, which is great news for you-- just in case you happen to be the annoying one in this scenario.

Kenji's probably the most laidback roommate of the ADA roster, who wouldn’t fight you for ownership of the larger bedroom or get salty if you monopolize the bathroom.

Bonus points if you happen to find his often bizarre stories about life in the country entertaining rather than disturbing (said stories are always told with a smile no matter how screwed up they are, of course, because this is Kenji.) Overall, not a bad person to have as a roommate unless positivity and blind optimism tend to give you hives.

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janeyseymour · 4 years

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Quaran-queens

someone prompted this a while ago, but i just got around to it now... so sorry for the late post but.... it’s here? enjoy?

Anne is not handling quarantine well and Lulu isn't handling not being able to see her girls.

13 days. It had been 13 days since the world shutdown, and the third queen was losing it. In desperation for some sanity, she called her baker friend.

“Hey girl!” Jenna’s chipper voice rang through.

“Hey there,” Jane sighed as she plopped down on her bed.

“Oh you don’t sound too excited. What’s goin on?”

“It’s been 13 days since I’ve been out of this house, and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to survive anymore.”

“I told you you’re always more than welcome to come quarantine with us.”

“And leave my house for Hurricane Anne to destroy?”

Jenna bit back a chuckle. “I suppose you’re right. What’s hurricane Anne done today?”

“Oh boy, are you in for a story...” Jane recounted the story with a heavy groan.

“Anne Boleyn! How many times have I told you to stop heelying around the house? You’re going to break something, and that something could be yourself!” Jane’s shrill voice could be heard throughout the house from her spot in the living room.

“Janey, lighten up a little. I haven’t broken anything yet, and I’ve been super caref-” the sound of a vase shattering could be heard followed by a very quiet, “shit.”

“That better not be my vase shattered on the ground!” Jane stood from her place on the couch and marched herself in the direction of the crash.

“I’ll clean it up! I’ll buy you a new one!” the green queen promised before the blonde could even round the corner.

When her eyes set upon her favorite vase in shards on the ground, she yelled, “Catherine! Come deal with Anne. I can’t right now.” The third queen walked down the hallway to her room, eyes glued to the ground. Had she looked at the woman with space buns, she might have lost her temper on the shorter woman.

“Jesus Christ Anne,” the gold queen could be heard sighing as Jane closed her door. Sighing, she sat on her bed and pulled out her phone.

About an hour had passed when a notification had come up on her phone.

AnnieBoleyn started a live video

Perhaps against her better judgement, she clicked on the live. She still wasn’t quite happy with her predecessor after the incident earlier in the day.

“Hey queens! It’s Annie again. I’m bored out of my goddamn mind, so I thought I would just tell you all about my day!” The green queen giggled a little bit. “I woke up this morning thinking ‘ oh my god I’m stuck in this house again with Lina, Janey, Cleves, Kat, and Cath again. What can I do to piss any of them off today?’ I hadn’t even really done anything yet, but turns out, just by being me, that happens. I was bored and heelying around the house when I accidentally broke one of Janey’s vases. I cleaned it up, but she still got pissed.”

That comment pissed Jane off.

JaneySeymour: Anne, I’ve told you a thousand times not to heely in the house. I don’t know why you can’t just listen.

“But I cleaned it up!” the woman on screen remarked. “And, I already ordered you another one!” Anne adjusted the camera a bit to show off the kitchen. “Now, I’m trying to make some cookies as an-” a door could be heard slamming shut in the background followed by a frustrated-

“Anne Boleyn! Get out of my kitchen! You are not making cookies!”

“But I’m making them for you as an apology! Some are already in the-” the smoke alarm went off.

Jane could be seen in the background opening the oven door, a cloud of grey smoke infiltrating itself into the kitchen. The look she shot Anne was no look that anyone wanted to be at the other end of.

“I’ll fix this!” Anne said hurriedly.

“I’ll fix this!” Jane roared back. “You’ve done enough for the day. Please, just... I don’t know. Go find Cathy to annoy or something. Just get out of my kitchen.”

“I heard that!” Cathy yelled from her room. “Do not come in Anne! I’m working!”

“Jane, honest, I can help clean this up.”

The green queen turned to her phone that was still recording them. “Queendom, I have to go. Janey is about to lose it.”

“‘Lose it’ is putting it lightly,” The blonde huffed as she opened various windows and the smoke wafted out of the room. “Alrighty then, get to scrubbing.” She situated herself at the island counter and gestured towards the mess.

RoseAmongstTheThorns: wait... can you keep the video on? We wanna watch anne clean lol

Jane laughed lightly at that request, her voice immediately going soft as she addressed the audience. “It's pretty boring really. Anne’s just going to be scrubbing things until they’re sparkling again.”

“It’ll just be Janey telling me ‘keep scrubbing! It’s not clean yet!’ and ‘I still see some cookie dough!’ No one needs to hear that but me.”

“Alright now queendom. We’re going to sign off and clean the kitchen. Maybe, just maybe, one of us will go live later tonight to show you Anne’s cleaning skills. Have a good day now. Love you!” Jane ended the live.

“And then, 20 minutes later, Annie told me that the kitchen was clean. So I went live to show the queendom her version of clean,” Jane shook her head the image.

“Hey Queendom! It’s Jane here and-”

“Janey, they know it’s you! It’s on your account!” The green queen playfully rolled her eyes.

“Anyway,” Jane drug out. “Annie over here thinks that the kitchen is clean. Can the queendom help me out and decide if it’s clean or not?”

Immediately, comments came pouring in.

Theroseamongstthethorns: uhhh sorry anne, jane’s gonna have u cleanin for a while

Sixqueenswalkintoabar: ...it’s cleaner than it was before?

Hausofholbein: jane’s standards have to be higher than that.

“Hausofholbein would be correct,” Jane muttered as she glanced over the comments. “This is not up to my standards.”

“Oh come on guys! It’s pretty okay, right?” Anne tried to worm her way out of tidying up.

“Do you think we should let the queendom see more in depth?” The third queen raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest.

“No, no,” Boleyn rushed out, knowing her work wasn’t done. It didn’t hurt to try to get out of it though. “I’ll just clean it up.” The second queen got back to scrubbing the pans in the sink.

“Alright guys, I better help her out some. Thanks for your help queendom!” Jane smiled into the camera and waved.

Right before she ended the livestream, Anne could be heard mumbling, “Yeah. Thanks a lot queendom.”

“You know I love the girl, but she’s a lot sometimes. Thankfully, she’s off and annoying Lina. Anyway, enough about my own personal hell; how is Lu handling all of this?” The blonde turned the attention away from herself.

“I’m sure if you decided to quarantine with us, it would make my daughter’s year,” Jenna laughed. “She had a full on tantrum today because she couldn’t have some ‘Janey and Lulu’ time. Kicking, screaming, crying- the whole nine yards.”

“Oh jeez. I’m sure she’s happy to be able to spend time with you and Jim though?”

“Oh, she is. But uh, she wants Janey and ‘her girls’. She wants all of us together. So...” the brunette dove into her story.

“Lu honey, come on,” Jenna pleaded with her daughter.

“No! I’m going to see my Janey!” the little one protested, halfway through putting her shoes and socks on. “I don’t care if I have to walk there myself, but I am-”

“Little miss, you know you aren't to leave this house unless there’s an adult with you.” The baker’s husband came walking into the room with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Daddy, not you too!” Lulu whined.

“Sweetpea, it’s not mine or Daddy’s fault we’re stuck in the house. Janey’s got to stay at her house too. She wants to see you too baby,” Jenna tried to reason.

“Then, let’s go see her! I want to see my girls!” the young one continued as she put on her second shoe.

“I want to see the girls too, but we just can’t,” the baker paused. “Ignore the law.”

“A little white lie,” Jenna sighed. “I don’t like doing it, but I had to think of something other than ‘we can’t.’ You know that doesn’t work on her.”

“Daddy says we break little laws all the time, like when we cross the street without being at a corner!” the girl pointed out. “Let’s just break this one too!”

“Hun, I said no.” Jenna’s voice lost a small bit of softness.

“Daddy? Please?” the girl with pigtails looked at the doctor with puppy dog eyes.

“Mama-” Jim caught a glance at the glare his wife was giving him. “Mama and I have talked about it. We just can’t go see them right now. It’s too dangerous. We all have to stay healthy.”

“And that sent Lulu into hysterics. She told us she didn’t want to live with us anymore and that you and the girls would take her in and-”

“Which we would,” Jane chuckled lightly.

“And she told Jim that he was a meanie and told me that she couldn’t believe I would keep her from seeing you.”

“Oh jeez. I’m over here struggling with Anne, but you have a small child. Can't even imagine what that’s like.”

“Anne is like a small child,” Aragon opened the door and let herself into the gray room Jane occupied. “Sorry for listening in. I just wanted to let you know that Anne and Kat are downstairs fighting over the last glass of chocolate milk. Anne screamed something about, ‘Viva la choccy milk’. Do you want to intervene, or should-”

“Please. I think if I go downstairs right now, I might lose my temper.”

“And Anne might lose her head,” Aragon chuckled. “I’ve got it. Sorry to bother. Tell Jenna we all said hi.” The first queen made her way out of the room and could clearly be heard yelling at the two cousins.

“The girls say hi,” Jane giggled a bit.

“Tell them we say hi back.”

“Anyway, where were we?”

“Lulu couldn’t believe I was keeping her from seeing you.”

“Ah yes.”

“I had to walk away from the situation because I knew if I stayed, I might’ve lost it on her or Jim. Jim also walked away after parking Lulu in her room for ten minutes. And then...” Jenna continued on with her story.

“Lulu, you can come out of your room now,” Jenna said gently as she knocked on her door. She heard shuffling in the little girl’s room and opened it.

“Louise, what on Earth are you doing?” the baker questioned as she watched her daughter stuff her backpack with a stuffed animal, clothing, and a pack of oreos. Her daughter looked at her briefly but stayed silent and only continued to pack her bag.

“Jim!” the brunette yelled. “Get up here!”

“Huh?” Jim poked his head into the hallway. At this point, the small girl had finished packing and marched her way over to her father.

“Daddy,” Lulu paused. “I mean, Jim?”

“No Lu. I’m Daddy.”

“Not anymore. I’m running away to go live with Janey and my girls. But uh, Ma- I mean, Jenna told me I’m not allowed to leave the house without an adult, so will you help me run away to Janey’s please?” The little girl stared up at her father with big blue eyes as she clutched onto her backpack.

“I’m afraid not Lu. Quarantine is affecting all of us,” Jim laughed lightly as he patted his daughter.

“At least she didn’t try to run away by herself,” Jane commented.

“Yeah,” Jenna sighed. “I’ll give her that.”

“So I’m stuck here?”

“‘Fraid so kiddo. Can we be your parents again?” Jim asked gently.

Lulu mulled over this for a few seconds. “I guess so,” she finally sighed. “But only until quarantine is over. Then, I’m going to run away to live with Janey. Maybe she’ll help me escape.”

“Whatever gets you through this quarantine,” Jim laughed quietly before leaving.

“You’re kidding,” Jane couldn’t even stifle the laughs that were bubbling up inside of her.

“Nope. So, I was thinking maybe we should do one of those video calls tonight. It’ll keep Anne from doing anything mischievous for a little, and Lulu will be happy because she’ll at least get to see all six of you for a little bit.”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

Quarantine turned out to be much longer than any of them hoped, but the video chats did keep “Hurricane Anne” from destroying the house (well, not completely, but it helped), and Lulu was happy to be able to see her girls, even if she wasn’t able to shower them in hugs and kisses.

And no, Lulu did not try to run away to the queens’ house again. Not after she saw the aftermath of Anne’s baking catastrophe that almost lost the six their house.

#six the musical #six musical #six fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #six musical fanfic #six fanfic #waitress the musical #waitress musical #waitress musical fanfic #waitress the musical fanfiction #jane seymour #jenna hunterson

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bottleofspilledink · 4 years

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God's Watching, Put on a Show || Chapter I

September 10, 1993, St. Agnes School For Girls

Eve stared at the bible she was so desperately clutching, her nails creating indents on it's fine, leather cover.

"Hail, holy queen,

Mother or mercy,

Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope..."

Her stomach twisted as she switched from one prayer to another in her head.

"Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,

And to the Holy Spirit..."

She wasn't even sure if she'd finished before beginning a different one, thoughts continually straying, focus nearly non-existent.

"Our Father,

Who art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name..."

If she was more aware of herself, she would have thought it miraculous that the book didn't simply slip from her grasp.

They had just finished the first gym class of their senior year and she could still picture it so vividly.

Airy sighs of relief echoed through the showers, mixing with the sound of running water and murmured complaints of aching limbs.

Warm water cascaded down them all as her chestnut eyes wandered, gaze flitting from the floor, to the nude girl next to her, to the faucet knobs, then to the floor once more.

She couldn't help but envy Claudia's soap, the lilac bar sliding over the soft, supple skin of her thighs, gliding over the gentle swell of her breasts, leaving sweet smelling suds and translucent bubbles in their wake.

It hardly got better when she towelled off. Girls roamed around the room in various states of undress.

When the prayers didn't work, she brought her sweaty hands up to palm at the rosary that, despite dangling at her neck, had always felt too tight.

Just a bit.

Her face flushed as even more of earlier's memories surfaced.

She recalled how her classmate, Tabitha, leant down to ask for a turn with her brush, entirely bare save for a towel that, instead of covering her body, had been used to wrap her wet hair.

She recalled how Naomi had slipped on the wet tile, bumping into her in an attempt to stay standing, wet hair dripping onto Eve as she was pressed into the locker, body hot against her back even with the towel between them.

And once that failed to purge the thoughts from her head, she shifted her gaze to the crucifix above the whiteboard, exchanging prayers for pleas so desperate that would make anyone who heard it cave and help her.

Though unfortunately for Eve, no one was listening.

She wanted to stop the thoughts.

She needed to stop the thoughts, the frantic beating of her heart, the pulsing heat that came from between her legs, lest she risk losing everything in this life and the next.

"Please," she thought, eyes clenched shut, her ivory hands were slick and shaking as she brought them together, fingertips growing red with each pleading squeeze, "help me."

"I know you wouldn't put me through this if you thought I couldn't handle it, but I'm begging you, help me." The words were now a mantra, repeating over and over til it lost all meaning, words meshing together in her mind in a senseless fashion, fading into the background of her thoughts all together.

Her amber eyes brimmed with tears at what could happen to her, to her soul, if she wasn't able to stop, if this wanton depravity escaped her mind, if she decided to go forth and search for ways to fulfill this sick fantasy of hers.

And through some miracle or curse, her prayers had been realized in the form of the shrill shriek of the fire alarm. Her heart beat in panic instead of longing and arousal receded, replaced by fear.

"Get in line, girls. Remember our drills," Sister Jane said, calmly rising from her seat, somehow immune to the fear and worry that now permeated the air.

At the order, lines were formed, rushed and frantic and the complete opposite of their usually pristine formation as they speed walked through the cloisters.

The place was bustling with life, tiny heels clicking and voices buzzing as the already crooked lines dissipated completely as people shoved and bumped into each other.

Eve could barely move, her right side pressed firmly into the walls. She shuffled along as best she could, making way for one of the nuns fighting against the crowd trying to reach the telephone to call the fire department.

They arrived at the courtyard quickly and despite the attempts to settle them, some girls were running all over the grass, shouting names, looking for friends and ensuring their safety.

Though the source of the fire was still a mystery, it was clear that calming the students would take a good while.

Eve was shivering in the crisp autumn air, a crunchy leaf smacking her in the face as she rubbed her hands together. In all the commotion, she had left her coat behind, the thick wool remaining draped over the back of her chair and utterly useless to her now.

Just when the sisters were at their wits end, one of the more elderly nuns and girls in aprons rushed out of the west wing door with their hands and handkerchiefs covering their mouths.

They donned flour stains on their school-mandated black aprons and reeked of smoke. Most were violently coughing, one of them dry heaving onto the grass because of the force of it.

The girls were far too distracted to notice one of their fellow classmates slipping away from them.

"Sister Agnes!" The women rushed over to her as she fell to the ground, habit nearly slipping off when her frail body collided into the damp grass.

"What happened? Did all the girls make it out?" Mother Cecilia asked, nearly hysterical as she knelt by her fallen friend.

"Thank the Lord, I believe so, yes." Sister Agnes pushed herself up and hid the bit of hair that escaped her hood. "Oh, I don't know what happened! We were just baking, and- and I- That girl! She put it in the oven! That wretched girl! She must have started the fire!" The woman marched over to her students, face distorted in rage.

"Where is she?! Where's Lilith?!"

Eve, being so far from the commotion, hardly noticed it all as she sat alone on one of the wooden benches. She was far too occupied with warming herself. A violent shiver went through her as her leg brushed against the cold metal nail of the seat.

"Feeling chilly?" A girl with striking red hair asked her, taking off her oven mitts and waving them at Eve.

"Oh! Uhm, no, I'm fine. Thank you, though." She said, straightening herself. A gust of wind had blown past them, allowing Eve to catch a faint whiff of the smoky scent emanating from the girl.

The other merely smirked, "Shy? There's no need to be. Besides, I can see you shivering."

The blonde gave an awkward laugh, feeling her face flush as she was caught lying.

"You got me there! But really, I'm fine, it's nothing I can't handle," Eve tried reassuring the girl, who only raised a brow at her.

"Sure about that? I don't mind letting you borrow them, it's not like I'm using them or anything." The girl practically insisted on taking the oven mitts, holding them out to Eve.

Even from afar, she could feel it's warmth, her hand gave a tiny twitch, completely revealing how much she wanted it.

"If you're sure..." She reached out and took the mittens from her, their fingers briefly brushing together.

And for a second, a single, fleeting moment, the overwhelming desire to hold the other girl's hand overtook her, and she froze, head spinning at the other's heat.

She wanted to feel her smooth skin, her warmth, and have her soft hands encompass her own.

But no such thing happened and Eve pushed the thought aside to slip the oven mitts on.

"Thank you. I honestly don't think I could have taken it much longer, I have more goosebumps than an actual goose at this point."

The girl laughed at this, hearty and loud and absolutely stunning as her frame shook with the force of it all. The autumn sun made her hair shine like a ruby, it's tips grazing her apron as she moved about.

"My name's Eve, by the way." She clumsily brushed her own hair from her face, oven mitts making the task more difficult than it should have been, then stuck out her hand for the other to shake.

"That's pretty. It suits you," the girl said nonchalantly. Eve would have thought it to be sarcasm if it weren't for the seemingly genuine smile still on her face.

"I'm-"

"There you are!" Mother Cecilia pushed through the crowd of students and grabbed the dark haired girl's outstretched hand, preventing it from reaching Eve's and pulling her up. "Come with me! Now!"

And so, the girl was gone before Eve could make a sound. She could do nothing but watch as people around them parted to let the two pass, not wanting the wrath of Mother Cecilia to befall them too.

They stayed out there for another fifteen minutes before the fire department arrived.

The girls were craning their necks as they crammed themselves at the windows to get a glimpse of the firemen as the ran through the halls, hose trailing behind them. Whispers of excitement ran through them as one of the men actually entered the courtyard to talk to the nuns.

After an hour long role call, they were ushered back to their classes, chatter untamable due to all of the events that had transpired.

There was only one girl who stayed silent through it all.

Eve was still staring at the red oven mitts when she reached her seat, wondering how on earth she would return them, til the answer presented themselves through the tag that slipped out when she took them off.

On that tag, scrawled messily in a thick black marker was the name Lilith Damien.

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centuryofdean · 4 years

Text

Of Food and Comfort - Part 2

Author Disclaimer:: Marvel and its characters are not mine. I take no credit. Instead I claim the maybe not so great plot, writing and characteristics of the reader insert character. I am not a die hard Marvel fan, I haven’t read all the comics, but have watched the movies. I may get some things wrong, so please don’t hate me. I also have been incorporating Old Norse as terms of endearment.

Summary:: You worked for Tony Stark as a…mechanic of sorts. Anything around the Avengers compound that needed a technicians touch, you handled. With working and living there, you had grown to be friendly with the super heroes. Of course you had grown to have feelings for one of them. The muscled Thunder God to be exact.

Rated:: M for Mature. Please do not read this story unless you are 18+. At this point in the story there isn’t much, but later on the M rating will come into effect.

Warnings:: Language

Pairing:: Thor x Reader

That night with the movie was so long ago, you couldn’t remember all the little details. Instead you could only remember how you curled comfortably into Thor’s side. Neither of you had cuddled before, but it is something you will always remember. Especially at times like now, when you wonder how he’s doing.

The next morning after the movie night you spent the day doing your normal work, a little confused when Thor wasn’t following you around like a lost puppy dog. Instead you continued on and prepared a special dinner just for him.

Only to have your small heart break to find out he left in the middle of the night back to Asgard.

You tried to tell yourself it was nothing, don’t feel too bad about it. He had things to do there too. Don’t be like Jane, you told yourself. Be better than that. Support his life, because that is all you can do.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month; still Thor did not return. Even though you worried for the big guy, Steve said Thor had gone for four months once. Things happen within each of the nine realms that he needs to attend to.

After a month into his absence, you met Liam.

Liam worked at the high-end auto store you visited for maintenance of the cars in the garage. You had been visiting that store for almost a year and never ran into him. Once you laid eyes on him though, it was a little breath taking. His hair was dark and thick, just wavy enough to hold a shape a top of his head. Brown eyes the same shade as warm chocolate and full lips you wanted to kiss with every breath in your lungs. Now he was a man you stood a chance with--because he wasn’t a super hero or a God.

“Hello,” he smiled offering a hand, “I’m Liam. How can I assist you today?”

“Air and oil filters,” you breathed a little harder. “For sixteen different cars.”

His eyes widened a little bit before motioning you to follow him to the computer. “It’s for the Tony Stark account, all the vehicles are saved in his database. They usually have them ready for me,” you trailed off.

“Oh! You must be Y/N. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he smirked. “I’ve heard a lot about the legendary woman who wrenches for Mr. Stark and hangs out with the Avengers.”

“That’s me,” you wrung your hands nervously. Why did handsome men always make you nervous?

More small talk ensued while he started to ring up all the filters. You grabbed a bundle of blue paper towel and pulled out your wallet. Inside it, was full of Tony Stark’s various cards that you could use for whatever you needed. Anything. At all. It was nice being his somewhat tech assistant. Thankfully you didn’t have to plan out his life, Pepper Potts still handled that on top of Stark Industries.

“Tell me Y/N,” Liam handed you the receipt, “do you date the average Joe auto part’s salesmen?”

Two Months Later

“Tony! We already ran a background check on him four different times. One of which, you handled yourself instead of letting SHIELD do it,” you huffed while putting another pot in the oven.

The genius was propped on the counter, not helping, but watching you prepare different plates and dishes. It was Thanksgiving and Bruce’s birthday. So, you offered to make a Thanksgiving feast to celebrate the holiday with the only family you had now. It was nice to consider them family. Tony was like the older annoying brother you wished you always had.

On second thought, maybe the brother you wished you never had.

“I’m just saying Y/N, he could be HYDRA in disguise,” Tony replied curtly.

“Completely normal auto parts salesman Stark.”

Liam and you had been seeing each other for a few months, and he wanted to invite you to his family’s dinner. You kindly declined, and when you mentioned it to Steve he insisted you invited your boyfriend. Then you had to explain he wasn’t your boyfriend, but Steve wasn’t buying into it.

It must have been the time Steve came to pick you up, and Liam had his hands on your ass and his tongue in your mouth.

It was a pretty strict rule you made ever since you left high school and started college. You could go on dates and see someone, but you refused to get into a relationship with them unless you knew each other for at least three months.

“Miss Y/N, your guest Liam Herrington has arrived. Shall we open the doors,” FRIDAY’s voice called over the intercom.

With a quick glance around the kitchen, you deemed everything okay for a few minutes while you ran down to the entrance to greet Liam. The last thing you wanted was for him to enter a house full of super heroes without someone else at his side. Your blue jeans already had flour on them, but your canvas tan colored blouse was clean for now.

Sam had already opened the door and invited Liam in. You took two more strides to grasp his hand and start to lead him through the base. “Come on now baby girl,” Sam laughed after you, “introduce us!”

“Dinner is ready,” you called behind you, “we can do introductions at the table.”

Shortly after you said that, FRIDAY made an announcement that went through the base.

The dining room held the largest table you could find on short notice. It should be large enough to seat everyone, but barely large enough to hold all the food you made--and you made a lot of food. It looked like the last supper for an army, although you have seen how they eat. Once everyone entered and started to sit, you motioned Liam to sit at the spot on your right. All you needed to do now was get plates and set them at the seats for everyone. Like always, you loved to play the hostess.

“So, everyone, this is Liam. Liam this is…well almost everyone. I’ll let you introduce yourselves while I get the plates set,” you called over the small talk.

Half of the table was already set with plates, you just needed to get the rest. Then you would pour yourself a very large glass of wine. The cooking had been so stressful you sipped on a glass here and there, but now you could enjoy it.

The noises from the dining room grew for a second, but nothing you could make out over the fan running in the kitchen. With a stack of plates in hand, you emerged and set them on the corner of the table nearest you.

“Lady Y/N!”

Only one person called you that. Every fiber of your body tensed and sung in joy at the sound of your name off his lips. You hadn’t heard his voice in so long, you could feel the heat behind your eyes start to ignite. Before you could take him in, you were lifted off your feet and encased in his warm strong arms and musk.

“Oh, how I have missed you,” Thor’s voice hummed in your ear while he held you tighter. Had he ever hugged you before? You remembered how you both cuddled on the couch months ago.

This was so much better.

Just as quick as it started, he set you back down to correct your ruffled blouse. “What is the occasion of this feast you have prepared,” he questioned aloud. You directed him to a chair, one across from you while trying not to act flustered. With the rest of the plates handed out you grabbed another glass and some wine to pour for him.

“Bruce’s birthday and Thanksgiving,” you smiled at him warmly while you poured the glass. You turned to leave his side and return to your seat, only to be surprised to see his arm closing off the only way out. His hand was rested on Steve’s seat next to him, almost as if he was trapping you in with him. When you opened your mouth to ask him to move it, Thor retreated naturally. You were coming around to your seat as he extended that hand to Liam.

“Nice to make your acquaintance, I am Thor. Are you a new member of our team,” Thor asked while shaking Liam’s hand lightly.

“Erm, no. I’m Liam—uh Y/N’s guest.”

Thor’s electric blue hues rounded on you, eyeing your form with Liam’s arm on your chair, similar to his stance just moments ago. Something in his gaze hardened to indescribable.

Conversation flowed between everyone. It all was a dull blur. The only thing that captured your attention was how Thor’s light seemed to have flickered out. It was almost as if he was put off, like when Jane broke it off with him. Could that be the issue? Was he upset because of Jane still? Did seeing a couple happy before him remind him of his loss?

After the last bites were eaten, everyone chipped in on helping clean up the dishes. It was nice to have a crew to help with the mess of dishes that were used for the dinner. Afterwards, everyone moved to the common room to sit and drink while talking. The mood lightened and soon funny stories were being passed back and forth.

Thor smiled and quickly took a sip from his flask. It contained Asgardian liquor, something to actually get him tipsy or drunk. “Y/N and I went to the market to get food,” he said looking at you.

“Thor you always go with me,” you smirked. The wine had you tipsy and a little red in the face.

“Well we went to the market and purchased Pop-tarts.”

Instantly you burst into laughter, small tears forming in the corners of your eyes at the memory. At the time you were a little embarrassed and somewhat horrified, but now that you thought back on it, you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Mind you,” you pointed out, “he had twelve boxes of pop-tarts on the belt. Twelve--and the checkout girl was checking him out.”

Thor didn’t roll his eyes when he was playfully annoyed, he would smirk softly and gave you a droll stare. The familiar act was heart warming, causing you to smile radiantly.

“The girl asked how many children I had,” Thor boomed in laughter. There were a few chuckles, here and there from others. “I told her we had four.”

That did get everyone to bubble up in laughter. You downed the rest of your wine and stood, ready to get a refill. “She looked so appalled,” you chuckled out. “But it was even worse when he grabbed my stomach and said the fifth was on the way.”

Liam trailed behind you while you walked to the kitchen, leaving the thunderous laughter behind you. His hands skimmed your waist while you poured more of the delicious drink into your glass. “I think I’m going to head out babe,” he murmured into your neck. After a large sip of your glass, you left it on the counter to walk Liam to the entrance of the base. The walk was a little lengthy, it involved an elevator and trekking across to the other side of the compound. It was somewhat worth it though, because once the elevator doors closed his lips crashed into yours in a deep kiss.

All the wine made it a little surreal for you, but you kissed him back anyway. If everything kept going this smoothly for another month, you would call him your boyfriend happily. So far he had been wonderful.

Liam’s hand was glued to your ass while you walked to the door. His car was parked right next to it thankfully. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he whispered, pressing one more kiss to your mouth.

“Please do,” you murmured, smiling softly and watched him get in the truck and leave.

The walk up to the common room was a little difficult to maneuver while tipsy, but you made it after pressing the level three button a few times. Your glass of wine was still on the counter. With a quick grab at it and you back to the common room.

The day had gone well. You made an amazing dinner for everyone, Liam got along well, and Thor was back. Everyone was where you left them in the room, except Thor took Liam’s spot on the love seat. You settled in next to him and continued to drink and talk with everyone.

“I don’t know if I like him,” Tony scoffed and looked directly at you.

“Like who,” you inquired confused.

“You’re boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend Tony,” you huffed.

“Good,” Clint agreed, “I didn’t like him either.”

“Do you kiss guys like that who aren’t your boyfriend,” Steve asked a little confused.

“Whoa! Why don’t you guys like him? Steve, stop analyzing my dating life, please,” you whispered frustrated. The night was going to well until now!

“He left without a goodbye to the rest of us,” Thor rumbled next to you, then drinking from his flask heavily.

“You have no room to talk big guy,” you mutter, “I always find out you left after everyone else did, by word of mouth.”

Tony waved his hands around, looking for words. Clint just shrugged, “He doesn’t seem good enough for you sweetheart.”

A quick roll of your eyes left you dumbfounded. “Then tell me oh Clint my uncle I didn’t know I had, who is good enough for me? I’m not getting any younger, and my bed gets lonely,” you reply.

Sam swept up in a large bow, tipping to the left a little, “At your service ma’am. I make an excellent bed warmer.”

The room erupted in more laughter, soon forgetting about the small bump in conversation over the dislike of your choice in men.

As the darkness took the sky, the night progressed and most of the others had become tipsy. Steve and Thor had been sharing Thor’s flask for the majority of the night. Surprisingly the super solider was glassy eyed and slurring a bit in his words. You had never seen Steve drunk before, or even heard of the man getting drunk—and you had seen him pack away quite a few beers. What was in the flask? Absinthe?

“Come on, it sounds like you guys had fun last time with yanking the hammer,” Sam nudged Thor in the ribs again. The way the words had come out had you burst out laughing, tears threatening to spill over.

Thor thrust his hand out behind your back. Suddenly a gust of wind caressed your shoulders and a slight tingle across your ass, causing you to shiver. The hammer was in his hand as he pulled it around to show Sam. “Only those who are worthy can lift Mjölnir,” he took a few steps to place the hammer on the table in front of everyone.

Sam didn’t hesitate to put both hands on the handle and yank as hard as he could. When the metal weapon didn’t so much as budge, most of the team chuckled. Steve rolled his eyes as he pushed Sam away from the hammer. With both of his hands, muscles straining, he was able to move the hammer about an inch in one direction. Thor’s smile slid off his face for a fraction of a second until the hammer remained still again. Your eyes widened, realizing that the look that crossed his face was mild fear. The alcohol in your veins made you bold in your addled mind.

Your fingers wrapped around Steve’s bicep as you ushered him away from the table and the hammer. Once planted firmly in front of it, your hands rested on your hips.

“So, only those who are worthy can lift Mojior,” you raised a brow at the hunk of blonde and muscle.

Thor crossed his arms across his chest in amusement as he smiled. “It’s name is Mjölnir. If one is worthy enough to rule Asgard and protect the nine realms, they will be able to wield the power of thunder, lightning and Mjölnir.”

“So, if I lift Mahal,” you started again, “what do I get?” It must be a competition, if you lift it, you get a prize.

His deep laugh radiated through the room, tickling your heart. It was a little hard to breathe.

“Tis not some dwarf God from your movies schat. Say it with me, Mjölnir. Myawl-nir.”

You attempted to repeat the words he said but failing miserably due to your loose tongue from drinking.

“So, if I lift Mew-Mew,” you repeated, “what do I get?”

He finally came to sit on the couch that was before the table, snuggling in next to Tony. All the team members were lounging and enjoying the show. From your understanding, the last time this happened, no one picked up the hammer either. Steve was the only one to make any progress, but still was not to lift it. Truly you knew you couldn’t, but it was endearing to see how amused he was from your antics.

“If you can lift Mjölnir, I will take you to Asgard.”

You offered a shrug, saying with your body that the prize was good enough. Ideally you wanted him to take you into his arms and—no, you cannot think of Thor like that anymore. He wasn’t—isn’t—interested. And you had Liam.

Liam didn’t have sky blue eyes that could make you melt into a puddle of goo with one glace though.

With a sigh you forced your brain to turn off while you pressed both hands to the handle of the hammer. It was warm and electrifying at first touch, almost as if you got static shock. It startled you, making your body jerk back with the hammer still in your grasp. The heavy chuck of metal followed you to the floor as you tumbled. “Ow,” you muttered.

There, in your lap was Mjölnir.

“Holy shit,” Steve muttered.

Thor was up in an instant, coming to rest on his knees next to you with wide surprised eyes.

With one hand, you used your slim muscles to lift the hammer up in between your face and his. It wasn’t light by any means, but it was just light enough that you could wield it like a large wrench. Up close you could see the writings and geometric designs on its surface, something you never paid attention to before. Your E/C hues met sky blues over the gleam of the sleek weapon.

“My dróttning,” he murmured in awe.

“Holy shit, Steve said shit,” Tony erupted from behind Thor.

Natasha scoffed, “Fuck that. Y/N has the power of thunder. We can get rid of Thor now.”

Soon the night started to come to an end. You were most certainly drunk, legs wobbling as you teetered down the hallways to stumble to your room. Only Natasha shared the hallway with you, but Thor insisted that you wouldn’t make it to bed by yourself. Maybe he was right, because you almost ate the floor a few times. Oddly he was a little tipsy as well, because every time you almost fell, and he caught you—you both melted into the floor in a fit of giggles.

Once your door loomed up, you ran to it and slammed into the knob with a breath of air. “We made it,” you sang quietly. “Thank you Thor, what a gallant gentle-sir of you.”

“Yes, of course. You would have fallen on the ground and slept in the kitchen if I had not brought you,” he replied.

Once the door was opened, you stumbled to the bed where you sighed in relief. Now all you needed to do to finish the night is to get your pants and bra off. Your hand flicked the button open easily, then used your thumbs to push the waist down. “Thor,” you grumbled, will you take my pants off for me?”

Almost as if he was waiting for instruction, you felt his large fingers work to find the cuff of your pant legs and pull each off with little effort.

“Again,” you sigh again, “thank you.”

“Anything else I can assist you with Y/N? Do you need a…. bed warmer,” his voice was soft and murmured, almost a little gruff.

“No,” you yawned, “it’s too hot as it is… Goodnight Thor.”

If you weren’t so drunk out of your mind, you would have thought for a moment Thor offered to have sex with you.

Previous Chapter << Part 1: Potato Soup

Next Chapter >> Part 3: Soft Pretzels

Tag List:

@lancsnerd

#marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #thor x reader #thor odinson x reader #thor fanfiction #thor fanfic #y/n #thor #thor x y/n #reader insert #of food and comfort

59 notes · View notes

is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 10

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 7,783

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

It’s times like these that I really do wonder which is more nerve-racking: being thrust into a social interaction unwillingly with a whole bunch of people? Or unwittingly with just one single, solitary person?

With the large group, it was definitely and without a doubt overwhelming. Just finding the strength alone to speak up and join in the conversation was a skill that still escaped me. And even if you did manage to get so much as two words out, that meant all eyes were suddenly on you. What if you talked too much? Or too little? What if you forgot what you were saying at all? Or worse, what if you said something stupid? What if you embarrassed yourself so bad that there’d be no showing your face ever again in the light of day, much less to another human being?

Which, if I’m being totally honest, I would probably find kind of amazing.

Hermit for life, yo.

But then, there were also advantages to the crowd. The biggest one being that an antisocial, cave-dwelling troll like me? More often than not could get away with saying nothing at all. Everyone else could handle all the chit-chat while I simply faded into the background and soaked up the ambiance. That way, I could just make an appearance and give the illusion of being socially active without actually being socially active.

One-on-one exchanges, on the other hand? Now those were a whole other beast. No, make that whole other species.

There was no fading into the background here. There wasn’t even a background to fade into. All there was was you and the other person. A person you were expected to carry half of the conversation with. When put on the spot like that with someone I barely knew, forget having a back-and-forth dialogue like a normal and well-adjusted friggin’ adult, I was lucky if I got anything out of my mouth more sophisticated than “uh” or “um.” Then there were the awkward silences where I’d frantically try to come up with something, anything to say only to have my useless lump of a brain play possum and draw a total blank. I died a thousand and one deaths in those damn silences.

And okay, sure, this was Lea we were talking about. An individual who by now I’d shockingly, and on more than one occasion no less, made reasonably successful small talk with. But a few minutes of a lunch break here or some brief, friendly banter while I was taking his order as my customer there was completely different than now finding myself alone with him in a booth at some random pub on a Friday night.

And besides, it was Lea. Lea, who I’d seen shirtless and slathered in ice cream. Lea, whose lips my lips had thrown themselves at within the first five minutes of meeting him. Lea, who-

Damn it, brain, really? Was now really the best time to be playing the highlight reel of Elsa’s Greatest Embarrassing Hits?

Needless to say?

Was.

Terrified.

Anna Fryse, if you could please report to the table in the back right corner, your older sister is waiting for you and is in desperate need of someone to hide behind right about now.

Also, Anna, if you were ever planning on developing the ability to psychically read thoughts, particularly mine, now would be the time to do it.

...of course, for her to hear that message, she’d need to already be psychic.

And if she was, that meant she was ignoring me.

Which she totally would do.

Brat.

Checking back into reality momentarily, it was in this second that it came to my attention that I was staring at Lea without realizing it. Well now I realized it. Particularly because he was looking back at me with a smile. My heart flatlined, my face paled and my eyes darted away.

Oh god, I had been staring. Did he know I’d been staring? ...of course he did, Elsa you dope! That’s generally what two people do when they're sitting together at a table talking.

Talking. Right. That was a thing I should be doing.

Alright, brain, I know you’re doing your best impersonation of the sound of a mime convention in there right now, but I’m going to need you to work with me here. Think of a word. Any word. Just something to get the conversation rolling. Oh yes. I can feel it. Here it comes. And that word is…

Flamingo.

...seriously, brain? Hadn’t we already said all that there was to say on the subject of flamingos earlier during the little palm notes debacle? Need we bring that back up again? I mean, I do see where you’re coming from - once you ask a man what he does in his flamingo, what else more is there to discuss with him, really? Might as well just-

“Fabracadabra?”

Lea’s voice broke through my thoughts, drawing my eyes back to him.

Wow. Now that was a really good word.

Way better than my lame word. Pssh, flamingo? What was that even about?

Wait… his word was also the name of another one of our ice cream flavors.

He took a swig from his ale as he studied me for a second, cocking his head before at last shaking it. “Nope. Too fruity sweet. You’re the type o’ gal who likes something with a lil more...” he clicked his teeth together with a smirk, “...bite to it.”

I blinked, some of my tension relaxing. Then my lips were doing something strange. Was it that crazy thing all the kids were doing nowadays, what’s it called? I believe the term was… grinning? “You’re… still trying to guess which one is my favorite?”

“Just you wait and see,” he scooched around the booth to sit closer to me, sliding the Ifrit bottle along the table with him, “I’m gonna get it. Mark my word.”

Turning my head slightly, I gave him some side-eye. “...you seem pretty sure of yourself.”

“With good reason! I’m twelve-and-oh, baby. Haven’t been wrong yet. Trust me, your top pick off the Ice Palace menu is as good as called.”

“Who ever said it was an Ice Palace signature flavor?”

His head rocked back at that, then he narrowed his eyes, “You play dirty.”

I hid a smile behind my fingers. “Want a hint?”

“Nah,” he leaned back, propping his elbows on the high back rim of the booth and stretching his long legs out under the table, crossed at the ankles. “Hints are for game show contestants and lame-os who lack self-confidence.”

“And you certainly have no shortage of confidence.”

He beamed, closing his eyes. “Nope! Who has two thumbs and is one cocky ass mofo?” Said two thumbs pointed at himself. “This guy.”

A soft snort escaped me and I shook my head. “No doubt about that,” I murmured as I looked away.

You know what? Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad afterall. Actually, it was turning out kind of... nice.

My gaze settled on Anna and Kristoff out there. It was all the poor boy could do to keep up with my sister on the dance floor. She even tossed him out into a spin at one point, much to his surprise if the face he made was any clue. But he seemed to be coming around to the whole experience. It even looked like he might be, dare I say it, having fun. They both did. Watching the two of them had me feeling an upward tug at one corner of my lips.

“So how ‘bout it?” I heard Lea ask.

I looked back at him, quirking an eyebrow. “How about what?”

His eyes crinkled as he nodded towards an open spot out in the middle of the pub. “Wanna dance?”

Cue sound of shattering glass.

“Ack! My drink!” Rayne yelped from the booth behind me. “Sorry, I’ll pay to replace the cup!”

As for me? I’d choked. On what? My heart launching itself up into my throat would be my guess.

“W-with you?” my mouth blurted out without consulting me first.

“No, with Grand High King Fuddy-Duddy over there sporting the scar,” he tapped a finger to the bridge of his nose, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, with me.”

Why? Why would he ask-? What could he possibly be- Oh! Oh I get it now! He was just being nice! Yeah, that had to be it. He just wanted to make sure I had fun tonight. That I felt included. He was being a good friend. He really was a very sweet guy.

But me? Dance with Lea? Me? Who cowered and fled at the first sign of any form of human contact? Nope. Couldn’t do it. Quite simply no way, no how. Dancing with Lea meant I’d have to get close to him. That I’d have to touch him. Er… not to say that there was anything wrong with touching him! I mean, it actually might be quite pleasant to-

Wait, what?

Uh… let’s just put a pin in that wayward thought there and come back to it later, like say, oh I don’t know… never. In the meantime, Lea was still waiting on my answer.

I opened my mouth to give it.

All that came out was a squeak.

...let’s try that again, shall we?

Clearing my throat and snatching a wisp of my hair to tangle around my fingers, I at last got out a hasty, “No, I don’t think so.”

Was that harsh? It sounded harsh. Ugh, this is why I don’t do people!

He tsked and sighed. “It’s cuz I’m ugly, isn’t it?”

“What?!” I blanched before quickly shaking my head. “No! No, no, no! That’s not it! Not because you’re ugly! I mean, you’re not! Ugly, that is! Not at all! Far from it, you’re very-” I slapped both hands over my mouth, face roasting.

Shut up. Shut up right now.

I watched him bend forward, planting one elbow on the table and chin in his palm as he now eyed me with a wide, cheshire grin. “Do go on, I’m all ears. I’m very…?”

Oh this smug, son of a…

My eyelids drooped and I lowered my hands. “...very manipulative in fishing for compliments.”

“Guilty,” he snerked, leaning back once more and slouching a bit into the cushions. His grin twitched wider, “So, that’s a hard no then?”

I couldn’t help a tiny smile of my own. “Sorry. I... just don’t dance.”

“No worries. Figured you might say something like that. But couldn’t pass up the chance to ask either,” he winked, taking another sip of his drink. Then he paused, pursing his lips to one side and rubbing the nape of his neck. “...so what is your story anyway?”

Brow furrowing, I asked, “My story?”

He struck up a finger, “You’re twenty-two. Fresh outta college. Guessing Ivy League no less just by the look of you, but total shot in the dark there. And you just got your first job… in a mall food court. Which, ya know, absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it’s the type of gig that only teens, university students, and college dropouts go for. Take it from me, a dropout twice over now, but back at it again for round three hoping it sticks this time,” up the hand went again, now with index and middle digits crossed.

“Why didn’t it the first couple times?” my head tipped to one side.

Who, me? Trying to take focus off myself? Deflecting? Psssh, I would never!

He splayed a hand out over his chest, “Believe it or not, I wasn’t always the well-adjusted, level-headed and responsible individual that you see before you today.”

“Really?” I snorted, squinting at him. “Is that what I’m seeing before me? I hadn’t realized.”

“Shush, you. Trust me, six, seven years ago? I was a real punkass troublemaker. The kind of boy you don’t bring home to your parents, all about the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll scene, ya know? That whole college thing sounded lame to me, but all my friends were doing it, so figured hell,” he shrugged, “why not give it a shot? But me and college didn’t really play well together. I didn’t take it seriously, not really. So eventually decided it wasn’t for me and kicked it to the curb. Few years later? Thought myself older, wiser, ready to give the big ol’ four years and a diploma deal a second chance. But I was just fooling myself, I hadn’t changed one bit. Wasn’t long before we were parting ways once again.”

I folded my arms on the table, “So what’s changed? Why is try number three going to be different?”

Lea frowned up at the ceiling. “I guess you just hit a point in your life when you realize you don’t want to be slinging pizza dough at minimum wage forever. Even a screwup like me’s got dreams. Nothing too fancy... just maybe something like owning and operating my own place. Maybe a lil ice cream parlour by the beach, a real mom and pop kind of store.

“Ah, it’s silly,” he chuckled, shaking his head, “but either way, I know jackshit about running a business. And that’s why I’m back to hitting those books once again and this time I’m doing my damnedest to hammer some knowledge into this thick skull of mine,” he pointed to his temple. “I’ve really buckled down and, uh…” his eyes darted away, “...shall we say, kicked some old habits.”

“You sound like you really want to make it work this time.” I propped one elbow next to the Shiva, leaning my cheek into my hand. “I haven’t known you that long, but based on what I do know about you, I’m guessing there isn’t much you can’t do once you’ve really set your mind to it.”

“Thanks!” he laughed. Then his smile turned a shade wry, “Don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to change the subject on me.”

...fudge.

He went on, “You got my story, now I’d love to hear yours.”

“I told you already,” I frowned, my hands reaching for a napkin to start twisting between them. “My, er… my major didn’t work out. This job… it’s temporary and-”

Lea cut me off with a wave of his hand, “Yeah, yeah, I know what ya said. I’m more interested in what wasn’t said.”

I grimaced, my fingers strangling the poor paper napkin harder. “It’s… a long story.”

“I got time. Loads of it. Only if you want to talk about it though. No pressure, it just looks like you need it.”

Did I? What was that supposed to mean anyway? “...It’s kind of personal. I’m not even sure if it’s something I really should be talking about.”

His forehead wrinkled. “What, like it’s a secret?” Then his face brightened. “I love a good secret! Okay, how about this. Let’s do a trade. I’ll give you one of my secrets, you give me one of yours. Could be anything, big or small, just whatever you want.”

I blinked at him.

Apparently, he took that as a yes, for now he was hunching forward, bringing his face closer to mine and whispering, “So here’s one that only one other person knows and only cuz he’s known me since he and I were in diapers. Not even the kiddos are in on it. Okay, so, my first name?” He gave one more quick glance around to make sure the coast was clear before lowering his voice even further, “Not actually Lea.”

My eyebrows knit together. “It’s not?”

“Nope,” he shook his head. “Middle name. Go by it cuz I hate my first name.”

“Which is?”

His face pinched. “Axel.”

“...Axel,” I repeated flatly, one eyebrow arching.

“Yup. Apparently, my folks were total diehards for Guns n’ Roses. But the real kicker? The couple o’ useless junkies that gave me life were apparently too high off whatever drug o’ the week they were on to even make sure the name was spelled right on the birth certificate. So instead of having a rockstar singer for a namesake, I’m named after a goddamn skateboard trick all thanks to one stupid E that wasn’t s’posed to be there,” he grumbled, throwing himself back into his seat and slumping down, crossing his arms.

I just stared at him for a second, silence stretching. Then I spluttered and burst out in laughter, trying to smother it behind my hands.

“Wow, rude much?” he deadpanned.

“I’m sorry, I really am! It’s just, with the name and that whole story and your pout…” Oh gosh, that pout! I thought he was supposed to be twenty-five, not five. Still giggling but sobering somewhat, I continued, “I just couldn’t help myself. I really am sorry though, I know I shouldn’t have found it funny.”

“Bah, it’s fine,” he brushed off with a grin. “I’ve had my whole life to get over it and yeah, it’s a lil funny. But now it’s your turn, Missy. Gimme a secret. Anything’ll do. And don’t worry, I’ll be a lot nicer about it than some insensitive clods at the table,” he gave me a pointed look, smirk still in place to show he was only teasing.

Oh. Right. That. I’d almost forgotten. Though technically, I’d never agreed to anything. Then again, he did just kind of bare his soul to me. And I did just kind of ridicule him when he did. So maybe… in a way, I sort of owed it to him?

“I…” My voice wavered as I hesitated, hands mangling the napkin again. I gnawed my lower lip, looking down, hearing the thudding in my ribcage get louder. Finally, I squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth, not fully sure what was going to come out. “My parents… have no idea where I am right now. They haven’t for a while.”

His eyes widened slightly at that. Whatever he’d be expecting, apparently it hadn’t been that.

Hey, same boat here, buddy.

“Oh… I see,” was all he said at first, taking another slow pull from his drink now as he turned this new little tidbit over in his head.

And that wasn’t even the half of it. I hadn’t mentioned the type of family I was from. Or that’d I’d been in a relationship, no, engaged with a fiancé. Or that’d I’d left him at the altar on my wedding day. Or that when I had, I’d made the split second decision to abandon the only existence I’d ever known and was now stumbling through life with absolutely zero clue as to what the frick I was actually doing.

...yeah, that would have been a lot. Perhaps a bit too much for sharing time. I think I’d made the right call with dropping only this one tiny piece of the puzzle. At least for now. And who knows? He seemed pretty perceptive, maybe it’d be enough for him to read between the lines and answer some of his questions about me. Then again, maybe not.

At last he leaned forwarded onto his elbows, one arm tucked behind the other, and said, “Alright, I’m gonna take a crack at this and you can let me know if I’m right. Or not. You don’t even have to say jackshit, you can just let me blather on like the big lunkhead that I am who likes the sound of his own voice too much, which I’m used to so no worries, totally your call.” He paused, steepling his fingers to his lips as he seemingly gathered his thoughts. Then, “Up ‘til now, I’m guessing you’ve probably led a pretty sheltered life. One where you were maybe used to having all the decisions made for you. But then, for whatever reason or other, you recently decided to cut the cord. So now you find yourself out in the big, bad world that no one really prepared you for, scrambling to find a foothold, scared shitless and just trying to figure out what the hell to do with yourself, let alone with your future.”

Holy… how on earth did he…?

Swallowing hard, I fiddled with the straw in my cocktail and mumbled, “Wow, you are good. Ever consider becoming one of those windup psychics in a box that spits out fortunes on little cards?”

He snorted. “Sure did, but was too dang tall to fit into the glass case. Too bad, those lil dudes have it made.” Then he tilted his head. “...want some unsolicited advice?”

I shrugged, now absently stirring the blue liquid of my drink. “Sure, why not.”

“Get out there. Explore. Try new things. Right now, I’m guessing your worldview is very small, so you need to expand it. It’s the only way you’ll figure out what to make of your life. Cuz as glamorous as it is, I suspect you’re like me and don’t exactly want to be working the food court all the way up into your golden years.”

Now I looked up at him, a crease forming between my eyebrows. “...are you telling me to get out of my comfort zone?”

Lea chuckled, scratching his cheek, “Sure, I guess that’d be one of way of putting it.”

“That’s actually something I’ve been hearing a lot lately,” I sighed, sinking further down into my seat. Sure, it sounded good in theory. But in practice? Easier said than done. “...any suggestions on where to start?”

He gave a low hum, rubbing a curled knuckle to his chin. Then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. “Got just the thing! Be back in a jiff!” Then he sprung up to his feet, one hand on top the table to catapult himself over it and out the booth. As soon as his shoes hit the floor, he raced off, disappearing into the bar crowd.

...okay?

Should I be afraid? Yes, I think I should be afraid. Very, very afraid.

My eyes squinted, scanning the crush of soberly-challenged people out there, searching for that distinctive fiery head of hair. Should have been easy given Lea was a living embodiment of Mount Fuji, but even so, I was having trouble spotting him.

A sudden blur darted out of the throng and landed hard on the cushion beside me, crashing into my side and distracting me from my hunt.

Said blur was Anna. Surprise, surprise.

“Whew!” she puffed out happily, sweating and fanning herself with one hand while the other crammed fries into her mouth. “That boy… Kristoff, was it? Man oh man, would he be in trouble if I didn’t already have a boyfriend!”

Both eyebrows shot up my forehead. “Boyfriend?” That was news to me. “Since when?”

She froze mid-bite, shoulders stiffening and eyes going round. Then she snatched up her drink, slurping it down as her eyes shifted rapidly about. Then with a loud gulp, she at last let out a weak laugh, “It, uh… it’s new! Yeah, we… met… at the wedding! Sorry I didn’t tell you, I just didn’t want to say anything because I, er… felt bad! With, ya know, your love life all in the toilet and the bombed engagement and whatnot, so… heh…”

“Oh,” I averted my gaze with a tiny frown. At the wedding, huh? Was it someone from his side of the family? Or maybe a friend of his? Regardless, it didn’t really matter I supposed. I directed a soft smile her way, “I’m fine, really. There was no need for you to hold back. You know you can always tell me anything.”

“I know that!” she laughed, flicking one hand dismissively. “But please, it’s me. I have a new beau like every other week, so it’s hardly anything to stop the presses over! No, the real scoop here is what’s the deal with you and Lea? I wanna know everything!”

“Lea?” I creased my brow, making another quick visual sweep for the guy in question. Still no dice, but I did see Yuffie across the way playing a game of Darts with Meg and Terra. Though… could it still really be called Darts when the projectiles being used were more of those little ninja stars? Either way, it came as little to no shock when next a scowling Leon could be glimpsed making a beeline for the trio. “What about Lea?”

“Don’t play coy! I saw you two getting all cozy-like in this booth here all by yourselves just a minute ago!” her eyebrows waggled.

I scoffed. “There was nothing cozy about it. We were just talking.”

“And smiling. Like, a lot.”

“So? People smile when they talk.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, people. You don’t. Except for with me and Ray-Ray. Plus,” and here she got in my face, jabbed a finger into my collarbone and paused with all the drama of Sherlock Holmes about to reveal the key piece of evidence at the climax of an epic murder mystery. “...you laughed.”

Eyelids drooping, I grumbled, “I laugh all the time.”

“Nu-uh! And not like this, you don’t! Gawd, it’s been… I don’t even know how long since I heard a noise like that out of you. You can’t fool me, there’s definitely something between you two. A… a spark!”

A half groan, half huff escaped me. Anna was always like this. She’d binged one too many romantic comedies in her as of yet short existence on this earth. I’d been considering telling her about the Kissident, but now? Bad idea. Like, in all the history of bad ideas, it would just be the absolute worst. She’d have a field day with that one. Better to keep it on the hush-hush for the time being. “There is no spark! There’s not even a… a flicker! Or a glimmer! Or a glint! Not even a fizzle, okay? We’re just friends. Besides, I just broke up with a fiancé not even a month ago, so alleged sparks are the furthest thing from my mind, understand?

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” she slyly brought the Golden Chocobo back up to her lips.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, I cracked my knuckles, “Methinks if the little sister doth enjoy breathing, she’ll knoweth when to zip it.”

“Methinks the little sister is zipping it forthwith!” Anna chirped with a two finger salute. There was a lull as she plucked another fry to give it a nibble. Then, “Sis, can I just tell you how amazing this is?”

My head dipped to one side. “What is?”

“This!” Her arms spread out wide before bringing both hands in to gesture at me, “You! Being out in the real world! Making it on your own! Meeting new people! Having a job! All of it! You’re different! It’s a good different! And this is just the start too, I can already see it, you’re gonna do great things. I’m so proud of you,” she cooed, pinching my cheek.

I swat her hand away, “Great things? Please, Anna… I scoop ice cream at a mall.”

“Yeah, for now! But that alone was a huge step for you. I mean, c’mon, if someone had told you a year ago that you’d be out from under Mom and Dad’s tyrannical thumbs and doing the whole independent thing, you’d probably would’ve just thought that person was spouting crazy talk.”

“I suppose that’s true,” I murmured, feeling the hint of a grin pulling at one side of my mouth. “I guess… I never knew what I was really capable of.”

“Well, now you’ve had just the kick in the rear you needed to find out!” Her smirk then slowly faded into a tiny grimace. “Listen… I’m so sorry about what happened. If I’d known how unhappy you were, I never would’ve let you get all the way up to the day of wedding bells before-”

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize,” I shook my head, putting my hand on top of hers. “It wasn’t your job to save me, it was mine. I just… should have done something about it sooner. Then maybe things wouldn’t be the disaster zone I imagine they are now back at home,” I puffed out a heavy sigh.

Anna laughed, “You got that right! Mom and Dad? Still hella pissed! So any thoughts on when you’re gonna talk to them?” I winced, looking away. She hastily tacked on, “No rush or anything! And you don’t have to worry about me spilling the beans to them either about where you’re laying low! Take all the time you need. I just think-”

“Sorry to interrupt ladies!” We both jumped slightly in our seats as Lea made a sudden reappearance, skidding to a stop beside our table, eyes bright and ear-to-ear grin splitting his face in two. “But I’m gonna need to borrow El here for a minute!”

“Of course!” Anna giggled, standing up from the booth to clear a path out for me. “She’s all yours!”

Um… excuse me?

Don’t I get a say in this?

“Thank you!” he singsonged before snatching my hands in his and yanking me up out of the booth and onto my feet. “Come on, we’re up next!”

Up? Up where?

He started to turn but stopped, tapping a finger to his pursed lips. Then the smile was back with a vengeance as he picked up the Shiva and shoved it into my hand. “Lil liquid courage never hurt!” he gave a firm nod before taking my other hand in his once again and sprinting off, me doing my best not to spill the drink as I stumbled and tripped after him.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Where are we going?” I called out as we weaved a path through the crush of people, ignoring the soft, weird buzz I was feeling where my fingers were interlaced with his.

Not breaking stride, he turned his head just enough to glance at me out of the corner of his gaze, eyes crinkled. “You’ll see.”

My bad feeling now had an added side of gut-wrenching dread thrown in on the house.

Particularly because I was pretty sure we were heading straight for the-

“Next up on the karaoke stage,” a female voice suddenly rang out over the speakers high above while the music coming from the jukebox faded away, “we have Elsa and Lea here to sing a duet for us! Please welcome them with a round of applause, everyone!”

The room erupted in cheers and clapping as we at last broke out of the dense crowd to find ourselves directly in front of the stage.

Aka my worst nightmare.

Well… at least at the moment.

My nightmares had a tendency to pass around the highly coveted and sought after “Worst” title, depending on which one was most pressing at any given second of the day.

There wasn’t that much to it. The stage was made of dark, polished hardwood with maroon, heavy velvet curtains hanging behind it to decorate the back wall. There were a couple of stands for the cordless mics accompanied by a lone barstool between them. And of course, the karaoke machine itself, front and center with a large screen on top of it for displaying the lyrics. As a whole, it was almost deceptively innocent looking in its simplicity.

But I knew better.

I’m on to you, you miniature torture chamber cleverly disguised as fun for the whole family.

“Surprise!” Lea beamed down at me. Then another tug at my arm and I was staggering to keep up once more as he brought me around to one side of the stage and up its stairs. I tried to put on the brakes, but my legs had turned to jelly, rendering them useless. Instead, it was all I could to stammer and splutter as he chipperly explained, “So as far as available songs go, it was slim pickings when it came to duets, nothing but cheesy love songs. But I think I picked the best one of the bunch, super energetic, should be loads of fun and-”

“No!” I at last managed to get out, jerking my hand free, whirling on my heel and marching back down those steps at warp speed.

He was quick to follow, grab me by my shoulders, spin me back around and guide me up again, still with that stupid grin in place. “Aw, c’mon! You asked me for ideas on new things for you to try! So here you go!”

“Who says I haven’t done this before?” I hissed, feet now scraping across the stage as he slid me along it.

Lea snerked through his nose. “I took a wild guess.”

“That was awfully presumptuous of you.”

“So what, you telling me you’ve sung karaoke?”

“No, but that doesn’t make you any less presumptuous!”

We came to a stop now next to the mics. He stepped in front of me and bent down to my eye level, his hands still firmly gripping my upper arms to keep me from bolting. “Come on, El! Do it for me! As a favor to a friend!”

I shot him a deadpan look. “Fun fact: we’re no longer friends.”

“Since when?”

“Since ten seconds ago when you dragged me up here against my will.”

“Pfft, you don’t mean that,” he finally released me, ruffling my bangs and rolling his eyes before stepping over to the mics, unblocking my field of vision. That’s when I saw it.

All.

Those.

People.

Watching. Murmuring. Waiting. I’d already known the bar was packed, but now, up here, sensing every single last one of those eyes on me, the place seemed to be all but bursting. There were just… just so many! I-

Wait, was the crowd shrinking? And not as is thinning out, but were the people actually getting... smaller?

“Oof!” I wheezed out a surprised grunt as my back collided with something.

Oh.

That’d explain it.

Apparently without me even realizing it, my feet had taken it upon themselves to back me away from the edge of the stage, away from the people and straight into the curtained wall behind me. My hand started groping about, looking for the edge of said curtain, latching on when I found it and sweeping it out for me to hide behind. Everything went dark.

I am stealth.

A ghost.

A ninja.

Sneakiness personified.

Unseeable, unknowable, and-

The curtain whipped away and I winced as light returned, revealing Lea standing before me. He laughed, “There you are!”

I squeaked, grabbed the curtains and yanked them in front of me once more.

Now where was I? Ah, that’s right… ahem! Unseeable, un-

The velvet curtain flew to the side once more and Lea hooked his hand in my elbow, pulling me out and back towards the karaoke machine. “Trust me, you’ll be fine! You got nothing to worry about! I’ll be there the whole time, hamming it up and just in general making a big idiot outta myself, so no one's even gonna be looking at you. All you gotta do is stand there and sing your parts when they come up, 'kay? Song’s super short too, so it’ll be over before ya know it!”

My lips parted to tell him exactly where he could take his “super short song” and stick it, but was interrupted by the spotlights suddenly flicking on. One zeroed in on Lea, the other blasted me like a paralyzing ray and I just stood there, eyes wide and unblinking, mouth hanging open and alcoholic beverage still in hand.

Another wave of applause went up for us as Lea tossed me a mic. Frozen stiff, I made no move to catch it, instead just watching it dumbly as it arced up through the air before streaking straight down in front of me to clatter against the stage. He snorted, bent down to pick it up and put it in my free hand, pressing my numb fingers to close around it before he moved to stand in front of the other mic.

My breathing was shallow, my heart was a jackhammer and my feet no longer seemed to work, now just glued to this spot.

Oh god, was this really happening?

That’s when the music started.

Apparently, yes. Yes it was.

The tune was led in by a quirky, rubbery bassline and a playful piano. Wait… I knew this song. Yeah, it was from a musical. The one full of leather jackets, summer lovin’ and grease lightning. Musicals were a good thing. Musicals were a thing I knew. Kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. Used to sing along with them all when I was little. It could actually be considered kind of pathetic, the sheer percentage of my brain that was still to this day crammed full of all the words to famous Broadway hits.

All that said though… it did absolute friggin’ zilch to calm me down.

“I got chills, they’re multiplying,” Lea started off, dipping his mic stand dangerously low and giving it a wide sweep around before straightening back up and removing the mic from the base. He was no Travolta, but his voice actually wasn’t half bad. “And I’m losing control,” he sang on, spinning on one foot once, twice, three times before abruptly stopping to point at me with a smirk, working some hip action. “Cuz the power you’re supplying… it’s electrifying!” His whole body spasmed from head to toe as he fell to his knees then full on faceplanted at my feet, causing me to jolt back a step.

...hamming it up? Please, more like going whole hog! Jeez!

My part was coming up in about five seconds. I could hardly hear the music anymore over the thundering of my heart or the hiss of breath hyperventilating in and out of my nose. That’s when it happened again.

Everyone and everything around me was suddenly in slo-mo.

Man, I really needed to get a handle over my powers of time control!

It was in this uncanny second of my wildly burgeoning mutant ability (ha, if only) that I spotted them. Rayne and Anna, in the front row of the crowd with big smiles to root me on. As I locked eyes with one then the other, my sister gave me an excited nod of encouragement while my roommate was mouthing something to me. Couldn’t be sure, but it looked suspiciously like the words ‘comfort zone.’

Then I looked down at my hand holding the Shiva.

...liquid courage, huh?

...fine. Let’s do this.

Nostrils flaring, I raised the drink to my mouth, knocking back several gulps before slamming the glass down on top of the barstool. Still shaking, I jerked the mic up to my lips, knuckles white around the handle. Like a dam bursting, the words started flooding out before I could even think them. “You better shape up,” oh gosh, was that a quiver I heard in my voice? My free hand down by my hip clenched tightly. “Cuz I need a man, and my heart is set on you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lea still flat on the floor but now propped up on his elbows and gawking at me. I looked away, heat flooding my face. Come on now, I know it’d been a while since I last sang so I was rusty, but I couldn’t be that bad. Stubbornness flaring, I took a deep breath and continued, words stronger now, “You better shape up! You better understand to my heart I must be true…”

“Nothing left, nothing left for me to do,” Lea came back in with a fierce grin as he scrambled up onto his feet. “You’re the one that I want!” we both sang the chorus as he landed to my right, doing the iconic dance from the scene in the movie, with a thumb hooked in the waist of his pants and swinging his hips to and fro. “Oo-oo-oo, honey, the one that I want!” In a shuffling side-gallop, he passed by in front of me to my other side and repeated the move. “Oo-oo-oo, honey, the one that I want!” Again with the side-gallop, this time behind me, and again with the little jig. I was biting back a smile. Well, at least he was true to his word… he really was making a big idiot out of himself. It was getting harder to stay mad at him. Harder… but not impossible. “Oo-oo-oo, the one I need, oh yes indeed!”

Lea now moved several steps over to his side of the stage, giving me room as the song shifted in preparation for the second verse that I was going to be starting off. I tensed, spine ramrod straight as I recalled what the next lines out of my mouth were going to be. Feeling my blush creeping all the way down to my toes, I wrung the mic in both my hands now as I stiffly brought it back up and squeezed my eyes shut. “If you’re feeling affection,” I wasn’t here, I wasn’t me, “you’re too shy to convey.” No, I was Olivia Newton-John at the school carnival, oozing confidence in a smoking, skin-tight outfit showing off her killer bod. “Meditate in my direction.” Oof, the next part. How did Olivia pull off that breathy purr? Maybe something like, “Feel your way.”

Harsh feedback screeched through the speakers, making my eyes snap back open. Apparently it had come from Lea’s mic, which he was clumsily fumbling to keep from dropping it. Now having it firmly back in grip, he brought it back up in time to croak out, “I better shape up!” He cleared his throat, banging a fist to his chest and now looking a little red in the face. I guess all that prancing around must have been catching up to him. “Cuz you need a man…”

“I need a man who can keep me satisfied,” I sang back, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Whatever his malfunction had been, he was now bouncing back, face brightening as he ran into a knee-slide, stretching a hand up towards me, “I better shape up if I’m gonna prove-”

“You better prove,” I rolled my eyes and shook my head at his antics, “that my faith is justified.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, hopping back up before my voice joined with his, “Yes, I’m sure deep down inside! You’re the one that I want!” The chorus started again and Lea grabbed my hand, catching me off guard and twirling me into a spin. “Oo-oo-oo, honey, the one that I want!” Now he pulled me up against him, flashing me a cheeky grin as one hand wrapped around my waist and the other took hold of mine, mic sandwiched between them. “Oo-oo-oo, honey, the one that I want!” Unable to resist any longer, a laugh bubbled out of me as he swept us around in circles in time with the upbeat music, bringing his mic up between our lips whenever we needed to sing the next line. “Oo-oo-oo, the one I need, oh yes indeed!”

The chorus repeated a couple more times, Lea continuing to dance us about the stage the whole time. Once when I was able to catch a glimpse out into the audience, I even spotted Rayne and Anna busting a move themselves on top of one of the tables, Riku on the ground frantically gesturing for his wife to get down. When the song finally started to fade, the room erupted in applause and whistles. Lea released my waist, but didn’t let go of my hand, instead tugging me towards the edge of the stage. There he raised my arm up high before he bent into a flourishing bow for the adoring fans, pulling me down into one as well. As we both straightened back up, a smile tugged at my lips and I breathed a sigh of relief as my heart rate finally began to calm down.

I’d done it. I’d actually sung in front of all those people and lived to tell the tale. And oddly, I was even... almost kind of giddy about it? It couldn’t be that I’d actually enjoyed that? No. No way. That was just the adrenaline talking as it still coursed through my body which was finally getting to relax now that the danger had passed. I was just happy it was over with! Yeah, that’s all it was. It had to be.

As the bar quieted down once more, Lea returned the mics to their holders before jumping down off the front of the stage and pivoting around to smirk up at me, “Damn, El, why didn’t you tell me you were packing a gorgeous set o’ pipes on you?”

There that blush was again, creeping back up my neck. I gave a soft harrumph, “Stop, I do n-”

I was startled into silence as he picked me up by the waist, my hands hastily going to his shoulders as he lowered me down off the stage and deposited me on the floor beside him.

Okay… so that happened.

“I’m serious!” he pulled his hands back, planting them on his own hips as he hunched forward slightly. “You’re trying to figure out what to do with your life, right? Well, I think we hit a ringer here! Ever consider being a singer?”

I turned my back on him with a snort and walked away, heading towards our booth. “Oh, sure. I’ll just have to hire professional wranglers to drag me kicking and screaming up to the mic for every performance.”

“Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” he caught up and fell into step beside me. “You had fun and really got into it, I could tell!”

Only because Lea had been distracting me the whole time. “It doesn’t matter either way, only fools try to make a career out of singing. Do you know how hard it is for most people to make it big in the music industry?”

“Yeah, but most people don’t have a voice like yours.”

I groaned, “Please, can we just drop it?”

“Fine, fine, dropping it,” he raised his hands in surrender. Then, “So… are we friends again?”

I side-eyed him, wrinkling my nose. “...probationally.”

One corner of his mouth twitched upward and he slipped his hands into his pockets. “I’ll take it! And hey, at least something good came outta our lil musical adventure.”

I gave him a questioning look, to which he grinned wider.

“I got to dance with you after all.”

Author's Note: For those who don't know it, the song they sang is called "You're the One That I Want" from the musical "Grease" - a rather problematic musical at that (as I discovered from rewatching the movie while writing this chapter after not having seen the movie in over a decade) but I still love this song and you can pry it from my cold, dead hands xD Also I may or may not have watched 50 (thousand) youtube videos of couples singing this song at karaoke for IMPORTANT RESEARCH reasons before writing up this chapter. I must say, just simply writing the karaoke scene felt almost as mortifying as if I'd actually had to go up on stage and physically sing the damn song myself! I don't normally write songs lyric for lyric in my stories, but I just figured with what an anxious bundle of nerves Elsa is in this story, it was kind of important not to just gloss over and hand-wavy the karaoke. So yeah, I don't usually write singing scenes, but hopefully this one turned out halfway okay? Anyhoo, on another note, Elsa is a lot better at this whole holding-a-conversation thing than she gives herself credit for… once she gets over her crippling anxiety at the very idea of stringing more than two words together! And lastly, I found a way to give Lea both his names in this fic, woooooooo!

Next chapter, this thrilling night out continues! What further adventures in Friday night drinks await our hermit heroine? Is a career in singing ACTUALLY on the table for consideration or will it forever remain a pipe dream? Will Elsa ever perfect her ninja skills, which seriously leave something to be desired currently? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you hit that like button last chapter, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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lolainblue · 6 years

Text

Phoenix -- Chapter 9

t/w vague light smut

Normally I would have let things sit for a few days but I since was acutely aware of how little time remained before Jane left again I called her the next evening to see if we could spend some time together on Sunday. We made arrangements for me to pick her up and take her to brunch, but she called early that morning to let me know she was behind with her preparations for her trip and wouldn't be able to make it. We rescheduled for later that day but I was convinced she had gotten cold feet and so I moped around all afternoon, expecting her to call back and cancel again. When my phone rang twenty minutes before I was due to leave to pick her up I thought my suspicions had been confirmed, and I wasn't able to completely hide the irritation in my voice when I answered.

“I'm sorry, did I catch you in the middle of something?” Jane asked uncertainly. “Well I was just getting ready to come get you but I'm guessing that's off the table again?” Jane made a sort of growling noise on her end of the line. “I was just calling to suggest that you come over here instead of us going out. We need to talk and I'd rather not do it in public.” “I'm sorry. I guess I just assumed...” “You know, I warned you about this right up front. I'm very busy, Jared, and if my unpredictable schedule is too much for you right now...” “It's fine,” I cut her off quickly before she could try to find a way to back out of this altogether. “I was just disappointed that I might not get to see you again before you left for your tour. Cutting this off before it gets started is the last thing I want to do.” “Would you like me to make dinner? We can order out if you'd rather but with you resuming your tour again next week I figured it was one of our last chances for a meal that didn't come from a take-out container for a while.” “You don't have to go to any trouble, Jane. I'm happy to just spend an evening with you.” “it's no trouble, really. I love to cook, and I don't get to do it nearly as much I want.” “Well, it sounds like you're already set on cooking for us. It sounds great. I'll see you in about a half an hour?” “Sounds perfect.” I hung the phone up with a frown. How many times had I been frustrated with the woman I was dating who had complained about my own hectic, unpredictable schedule? How many brunch and dinner dates had I missed over the years? Jane and I had been on one date, why was I acting like she was already mine? I was reproaching myself enough for my irrationally clingy behavior so I tried not to focus on the generally panic-inducing “We need to talk.” statement from earlier in the conversation. After all, she wanted to make me dinner, that was a good sign, right? Jesus, Jared, get out of your head. You're as bad as Shannon. I finished getting ready and headed over to Jane's. Jane answered her door with a warm smile for me. She wore another simple dress, pastel greens and pinks in clean lines, and her now strawberry hair hung loosely down her back. She had a kitchen towel over one shoulder and she was barefoot. She looked incredibly comfortable and happy to see me and I relaxed immediately. “Hey, come on in. I just need to get things put in the oven and then we can have that chat. Would you like me to get you something to drink?” “Maybe just some water?” I asked as I followed her into the house. She ushered me into what I assume was the living room and excused herself. While I waited for her to return I looked through the contents of her shelves. They were filled with small art pieces from her travels, mostly African nations as far as I could tell, although most of the globe seemed to be represented. I carefully picked up a few of the pieces, resolving to ask her about them and their stories when there was more time for conversation. “Hey,” Jane said, tapping me on the shoulder and startling me. As she handed me the bottle of water she had retrieved she noted the piece in my hand, a steel cutout sculpture of two figures in cultural dress, and smiled. “I picked that up in Nigeria two years ago,” she said. “It's one of my favorites.” “You'll have to tell me more about it,” I said as I carefully placed it back on the shelf. “Once I finish in the kitchen. I'll be right back.” She disappeared again and I returned my attention to the room's contents. In addition to the varied small pieces, there were two large tapestries on the walls and collection of pictures of Jane with various scenes behind her. A lot of them were her in cold weather gear with mountains in the background. I was amazed as I looked them over. She had come so far from that wistful girl in the diner, the one who hid her notebooks from me and talked of a world she'd never seen. I realized I didn't know her very well at all anymore. Then again, how well do you ever know someone you've just started seeing? There was still plenty of time for us to get to know each other and write our own adventure. “All right, what are you smiling about?” Jane had returned to the room, sipping something from a rocks glass, towel no longer slung over her shoulder. At some point, she had put on a pair of flats with skulls and little pink roses on them. I felt my smile grow larger. “Great shoes,” I said. “Still Jane the horror fan at the end of the day I see.” Jane smiled and pivoted her feet, showing them off. “They're some of my favorite shoes. But you didn't answer my question.” “I was just enjoying looking at all the spoils of your travels,” I lied. “I should set something up like this but I'm not really that organized.” Jane gestured toward a little settee near the window and we both took a seat. “I'm sorry about this morning. My assistant quit with no notice on Friday and I was meeting someone the publisher recommended in hopes of finding a new assistant before the tour started.” Jane had an assistant? Well, that was a perfectly good reason to cancel at the last minute. “Shit, that sucks. So did you find someone?” “I think so, yeah. She seemed very competent, she had great references, she's worked for an author before and even better, she's completely free and can join me on the tour on Thursday so I'll only be alone for two days.” “That's amazing. I'm glad you'll have someone.” I remember Roger's concerns about Jane being alone on tour. Hopefully having an assistant there would help. “How long had you had the last one?” “Two years.” “And she just quit on you?”{ “She found out she was pregnant and didn't want to spend her first trimester throwing up in strange bathrooms I guess. It's fine. Sometimes things happen.” “I guess.” “So...” Jane pulled out a coaster and sat her drink on the end table next to her, an ornately carved affair that was probably another trophy from her travels. “I guess there are some things that we should probably get straight right up front. That way if this isn't what you want or if this isn't going to work we can stop now and stay friends.” “What did you have in mind.” Jane narrowed her eyes and looked me up and down and I got the distinct impression she was trying to gauge what she thought my reaction would be. “So, we can see each other, we can be dating, but that's as far as I'm willing to go at this point.” “I'm not sure what you mean by that, Jane.” “I'm not your girlfriend. You're not my boyfriend. I want to keep this casual.” I was confused. “Wait. You haven't been seeing anyone at all for four years, I show up, and suddenly you want to date around?” “No,” Jane said with a shake of her head. “I want you to.” “Shouldn't that be up to me.” “It is, of course, it is. But...” She reached over and took my hand, her soft fingers pressed tightly against my palm. “it isn't about me wanting to see other people. I'm trying to take some baby steps here. You need.. a lot of … attention,” she stuttered, choosing her words carefully. “I can't be solely responsible for that or for your happiness. I'm not ready for that. We're going to be apart too much for that. If you don't want to see anyone you don't have to but I want you to feel free to if you're lonely or need... companionship.” “You think I'm incapable of being faithful,” I inferred. “That's not it...” “I'm not Shannon,” I said bitterly. “I know that.” Jane's voice was tight and clipped and I immediately regretted what I had said. “It's exactly like I'm telling you. I need some time to learn to do this again, without any pressure. If you don't want to see anyone else then don't. But please don't tell me about it. I don't know if I'll feel jealous if you're with someone else but I'm pretty sure I'll feel guilty if you're lonely because of me. And if you change your mind,...” Yeah, I could see how that scenario went, me proclaiming my fidelity and then suddenly not. “I just want us to agree to keep things casual for now. That's all. We can always change our minds later.” I wanted to agree. It seemed so easy. I got to have Jane and a free pass to have all the extracurricular fun I wanted too. But I realized I wouldn't really have Jane. Just because I was confident she wouldn't be dating anyone now didn't mean that situation couldn't change too. I hated to think I was simply easing her back into the dating arena just so she could stroll off into the sunset with someone else, but what else could I do at this point? She was being honest. She was setting boundaries. The least I could do was respect them. “I don't really see as how I have much choice. We'll keep it casual if you want. But you'll let me know if that want changes, okay?” Jane brightened and placed her palm against one of my cheeks before kissing the other one. “I promise.” I didn't let her pull back, quickly closing my arms behind her and drawing her in

for a real kiss. She didn't resist, snuggling into my arms with a contented sigh, her own arms winding across my shoulders and crossing behind my head. We stayed like that until the kitchen timer went off and Jane slipped out of arms reach before returning to the kitchen. I took a minute to calm down and adjust myself before following her, the rich scents of spices reaching my nose long before I caught up with her. “Something smells amazing,” I noted as I watched her plating food. “I hope you like it. I know you're vegetarian too but I realized I have no idea how you feel about spices so I tried not to make it too overwhelming.” I peered over her shoulder and saw her mounding brightly colored lentils and peas on a plate. “It's ...” My brain suddenly made sense of the garlic, ginger and North African spices tickling my nose. “... misir wot!” I exclaimed. Jane grinned broadly. “You know it?” “I love it!” She pointed to the other two mounds on the plate. “That's gomen wat and ater kik,” she explained as she finished plating up the Ethiopian dishes she had prepared. “I've got bread in the oven. Could you take the plates to the table, please? The dining room is right through there.” The table was already set with flowers and lit candles and I placed the plates at the waiting settings and waited for Jane to join me. The food was perfect, and as we at we traded stories about both of our adventures in North Africa, the awkwardness of the previous conversation fell away. Jane was as bright and curious as always, and her natural storytelling gifts shone as she related tales of her travels to me. I helped her clean up once the meal had ended and we returned to the room where we'd had our previous conversation. Jane pushed a button on the wall and the larger of the two tapestries slid back, revealing a large television screen. “I thought a movie would be a nice way to wrap things up,” she suggested. I let Jane choose something, not really caring what was playing as long as I got to hold her. We snuggled together on that settee again, Jane's back to my chest, her hair falling across my arm as I wrapped it around her. I couldn't resist running my fingers through that hair as the movie played in the background, twisting strands of it and smoothing it away from her face, tucking some behind her ear or stretching one errant curl that escaped her straightening iron. Jane seemed to enjoy the attention, sighing contentedly and snuggling deeper into my lap. Once the movie ended Jane stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “Would you like to take a walk?” “Nuh-uh,” I said, reaching for her waist and pulling her back into my lap. I smoothed the hair from her face one more time as I tilted it towards me. She felt the same way in my arms now as she had that night at the hotel, an odd bit of good fortune I couldn't quite accept as real. I wondered if she would ever truly feel like she was mine. Maybe she wasn't supposed to. Maybe that was the magical thing that kept relationships going for sixty years – that complete and utter awe that the other person is still there every morning, that out of all the people in the world, they choose to share their stories and their breakfasts with you, they choose to learn with you, explore with you, grow with you. That they choose you at all. Or maybe that's not it. Maybe this something else. Either way, it was nothing that I had felt before and the newness of it was thrilling. I turned Jane around, lying her against the small sofa and pinning her underneath me. There wasn't much room, and we shifted positions until we fell on the floor in a tangled mess. Jane roared with laughter, immediately sliding her arms around my neck and pulling me against her again. I was lost there in her arms, kisses sizzling between us like loose electrical wire, when I heard a commotion and a door slam. Jane groaned against my neck. “Roger must be home from his date. Don't make too much noise Maybe he'll just go straight to his room.” Dutifully I held Jane in silence, listening to the noise coming from the kitchen. I heard Roger's voice and waited for what I assumed would be Gretchen's but the next sound was another male voice. Confused, I looked to Jane but her forehead was creased as she was frowning in confusion herself. “Wait here,” she said as she slipped out from underneath me. I listened to Roger and his companion giggling in the kitchen as glasses clinked and a refrigerator was opened and closed. The laughter stopped abruptly and I knew Jane had joined them. “Hi, Jane. Where's your new emo boy-toy?” Roger slurred. “I know that's his truck in the drive.” “Don't worry about where Jared is. What the hell is this?” There were some murmurs and then footsteps and then a door closed. I could only assume that Roger's friend had been shuttled off to go somewhere else so that Jane and Roger could talk. “What the hell does it look like, Jane?” “It looks like you're back to slutting it up, that's what it looks like.” “Well, look who's gotten all self-righteous all of a sudden. All that celibacy is going to your head, Sister Jane.” Roger sounded extremely drunk, drunker than I think I had ever encountered him being. “What about Gretchen?” Jane hissed back at him. “What about her?” Roger asked. Unlike Jane's stage whisper Roger's voice rung out loudly with a lack of discretion that only belongs to the thoroughly intoxicated. “We had one date. What's the big deal?” “You know exactly what the big deal is. And how fucking drunk are you?” “Oh my god you need to get laid! Have you always been this much of a drag or am I just now noticing?” There was a long pause and I gritted my teeth and tried to resist the urge to go in there and defend Jane. I knew it was none of my business and I had no idea what was really going on, but I hated hearing Roger talk that way to Jane. “Roger, I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you lately but you're being a complete asshole here. You're the one that told me it's only cool if everyone is on the same page. Are they, Roger? Does Gretchen know you're out picking up random guys? Does this guy know you're supposed to be seeing someone?” “I don't have to explain anything to you. We both know Jared is somewhere in this house. That's super classy, by the way. Running around with your ex's whore of a younger brother.” I felt the steam pouring out of my ears as I stood up and headed back into the kitchen. Before I could get there, however, I heard another door slam and when I found Jane she was alone, standing at the kitchen island, gripping it so tightly her knuckles were white. Her eyes grew wide when she saw me. “I'm sorry, Jared. You didn't deserve that.” “You're damn right I didn't. What the hell is up with that?” Jane shook head and picked up the glasses Roger had presumably gotten out before their little tiff. “It's a long story...” “I have time.” She looked at the glasses in her hands, then back at me. “I'm sorry, Jared. It's late. Could we maybe call it a night?” I took the glasses from her and reached for her waist, pulling her gently against me. “If that's what you want.” Jane nodded and gave me a perfunctory kiss. “I'm sorry. I know it's not fair. I have a little free time tomorrow evening. Could we maybe try this again?” Whatever genial mood Jane had been in had dissolved, and pressing the issue at this point wouldn't have changed that. She was probably right. Better to try again tomorrow. “I'll call you in the morning?” She nodded and walked me back out to my truck. The house was completely dark when I got home, and I was lost in thought as I turned the evening's events over and over in my head. I was a little discouraged by Jane's reluctance to dive headlong into a relationship but I had to admit it was sensible. I was encouraged by the rest of the evening, however, even if had come to an awkward and abrupt end, but the night still had one more gift to give me. I was completely caught by surprise when I turned on my bedroom light to find Shannon sitting in the middle of my bed, and I jumped involuntarily. “Fucking hell, Shannon. You scared the shit out of me.” Shannon sat the drink he had been holding down on the nightstand and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “You've been with Jane,” he said flatly. “Don't bother denying it, I can smell her all over you.”

@thepromiseofanend@msroxyblog@nikkitasevoli@llfd1977@mustlove6277@fyeahproudglambert @little-poptart@snewsome756@guccilowell @monicasanoli @lady-grinning-soul-k

#shannon leto fic #shannon leto fanfiction #jared leto fanfiction #jared leto fic #30 seconds to mars fanfiction #TB: Phoenix

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marvel-lously · 6 years

Text

It’s who I am now...

Content: angst I guess

Pairing: Avengers x reader

Words: 1157

A/N: So this is my first attempt at writing so yes this is kinda trash, but please, don’t go too hard on me. I’ll be grateful for every like, comment, reblog... Before I start, I just want to say thank you to @supersoldierfreak ‘cause girl you’ve helped me tremendously. I also wanted to tag a few of my favorite blogs (I hope none of you minds), because I would really really appreciate your opinions: @tbholland @hymnofthevalkyrie @itstomsdarling @ptersparkers @that-fandom-sucks-tho @inkvin @a-confused-turtle @str-spangled-banner @fandomyimagines @hufflepuffholland @fictional-wonderland @shitty-imagines-95 @acrossthehearts @potatolikesmarvel @avengerschatroom @winterbuttmunch @agentmarvel13

Heading to work you were walking through the city streets, repeating the things you've been now repeating in your head for over two years. Keep your head low, avoid eye contact, your hood on and your face covered. Avoid all restaurants, cafés, larger shopping centers and any larger public places. Don't talk to anyone for longer than five minutes and never two days in a row, or they will memorize your face. Pay in cash and in cash only, credit cards can be tracked. Take the subway instead of a bus or a taxi. Every day a different path and every day a different shop. Every month a different job, a different name, a different person.

A different person.That's what you've become. Every time you looked in the mirror, you barely recognised yourself. The person that was looking back at you was no longer you. Y/N you once knew was gone, gone for what you now thought, was for good. A smile that was once present on your face was now long time gone and the sparkle that was present in your eyes died along with it. Your facial features faded significantly. There were now dark circles and bags under your eyes, growing bigger and bigger with every night you lacked sleep. Your cheekbones seemed to drop and your chapped lips no longer complimented your once present smile. Your pretty face was now hidden behind the mask of the person you've become. So that's who you were now. A different person, barely a person. This month you've dyed your hair in black, quite a difference from last month's blonde ombre. You could barely remember how your natural hair color looked like, since you've dyed your hair differently so many times in the last couple of years. You missed your old self, but more than that you missed your old life, your friends. Your friends… do they still think of you every now and then, do they still care about what’s going on with your life. Is Steve still mad at you for what you did, is Clint mad at you for leaving Wanda, Nat, all of them without as much as a goodbye, do they even know you did that for their own good?

Those thoughts were running through your head again as you saw your reflection in a glass door of a small suburb Court you were now employed in. You didn't want to work in a place full of people, but you had to pay the bills for your apartment. You started out as a cleaner in a small night club, where you weren't noticeable and the danger of someone recognizing you or memorizing your face was low, since all the people you came in contact with were drunk and drugged. You hated that place and were more than happy to go elsewhere after a month. You worked as a cook in an even smaller food delivery shop, but it ran out of business due to the lack of orders. For a short time, you even worked as an assistant of some librarian. Sorting books and checking through the system every now and then. You changed your job every month, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. And with every job you changed, you changed your name as well. Your first fake name was Lilliana, then Jane or Janet or something, you can't really recall all the names you’ve had. For this month your name was Amelié. An ally of yours helped you create your fake background for every job. It wasn't much, but it was enough so that you could get one. People would think that a job somewhere in court would be risky and all, but it proved to be safe since it was just a small court in a city suburb. You worked as paralegal, which meant zero contact with people, only sorting through papers and old crime reports, but it gave you a nice opportunity to have a check in on things that concerned your sudden disappearance. The pay was good enough and you were wondering whether you should perhaps keep this job for a while longer.

You entered the hall that opened before you, showing your fake identity card to the guard. He gave you a nod and you went up the stairs, making your way to the main hall, where your office was located. You unlocked the door and entered. The late renaissance ceiling greeted you. There was an old wooden desk near the window. The walls were in faint yellow colour, decorated with fading flowery patterns. The office wasn't very big, but you didn't need big anyways. As long as it had a couple of bookshelves, where you could put the already printed paperwork and a working computer, you wouldn't complain.

After the day in the office you headed home. You lived in an old apartment a few blocks from the court so you could go by foot. Your entire apartment building was old and it was a miracle that the building still stood. Dirty pink walls welcomed you to your bedroom. You threw your clothes on the bed and your bag on the ground, too tired to care. You were in need of some good sleep, but you were also hungry. You decided that it's better to head to kitchen now and make something to eat while you still have your energy left, rather than take an hour of afternoon sleep and wake up even more tired and drained of energy than you already were. Your kitchen was very poorly equipped. It only had a rippled stove, with no oven, there was a small kitchen counter and something you could barely call a sink, and a fridge that came to your mid- thigh if you stood. There was only one cupboard in the corner of the room, but you somehow managed to put all your dishes and plates in it. You took an egg from the fridge and put some coconut oil in a pan. You decided to make ˝ham & egg ˝ and have some bread with it, something your father used to make you when you were little.

You soon finished eating and decided to finally go to bed. The weather was cold and it was raining outside. You wrapped yourself under the blankets, more than ready for some rest. You weren’t even sleeping for an hour, when your nightmare and the lightning outside woke you, still panting you got up, deciding to make yourself a cup of tea, which would hopefully calm you down.

Sipping on your cup of tea, you tried to push the nightmare in the back of your mind, yet, needless to say, you weren’t succeeding. Nightmare brought memories and they made you replay all the bad things in your head, that happened to you in the last years, and again you found yourself thinking of what got you in this position…

#marvel fanfiction #marvel #avengers x reader #steve rogers x reader #bucky x reader #Clint x reader #nat x reader #wanda x reader #tony stark x reader #peter parker x reader #angst #marvel fandom #it's who I am now #fanfiction

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omgpourquoi · 7 years

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nothing subtle here (1/6)

Dex knew he was in trouble the first time he saw Nursey playing hockey. It was a practice, in frog year, and Dex had already decided that he and Nurse, Derek M. were not going to be friends. Or even acquaintances. Or anything close. But all the irritating comments and rolled eyes in the world couldn’t stop Dex’s stomach from swooping as he sat on the bench and watched Nursey slam a guy into the boards, steal the puck, and shoot for the net. He recognized the fluttery feeling in his stomach, he was a gay man competing in competitive hockey. It was hopeless trying to ignore the fact that hockey players were hot as hell and Dex had given up trying long before Samwell.

But still, Dex told himself, it didn’t actually mean anything. A hockey crush is different than a crush crush. So Dex swallowed the feeling and once he was paired up with Nursey on the ice, it wasn’t that big of a deal. He had less time to watch Nursey when he was trying to keep his eyes on the puck, anyway.

Dex pushed when Nursey pulled. Their mutual agreement to disagree made the world go round and helped the goals get scored. So what if Dex felt slightly nauseous around Nurse sometimes? It was worth it for the cause.

At least it was worth it. That was before they were roommates. By the time junior year began, Nursey was his best friend, and it made Dex want to kill him even more. Being someone’s best friend meant you knew shit. Personal shit. And knowing personal shit about Derek Nurse was a dangerous game for William Poindexter. Knowing personal shit might, Dex hoped, ruin the lightheaded feeling he’d gotten when Nursey had hugged him in a celly freshman year, that had shown up sophomore year when Nursey barged into his dorm on a Sunday night with pie from the Haus asking to watch Netflix, or that had plagued Dex as he and Nursey studied into the early hours of the morning during every finals week so far.

It had been about a month of living with Derek Nurse and William J. Poindexter was suffering. The lightheaded feeling was, decidedly, getting stronger and Dex was, decidedly, dying.

So, out of desperation, he called someone who could help.

His brother picked up on the third ring.

“Hullo?” Dex could hear the sound of laughing children and the soft tones of his brother’s wife, Jane, in the background.

“Hi. I’ve got a problem.” Dex’s brother, Marcus, was, arguably, the one person Dex could really talk to, about anything.

“What kind?” Marcus asked. Dex could hear the sound of a screen door opening and slamming closed, muffling the laughter of his nieces.

“It’s Nursey,” Dex sighed.

“Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“I know that sigh. That’s the ‘i’ve got a crush on a boy sigh.’ ”

"I do not have a-"

"Will, please. I’ve known that sigh since you gave it to me when I asked you why you punched Tom Dewey back in elementary school.”

It was true that Dex had punched Tom Dewey, an annoyingly good-looking kid who had decided to marry Cindy Foshee during recess that day. At the time, Dex had thought he was jealous of Tom, but looking back on the situation, he had definitely been jealous of Cindy. It had been a dramatic day for Miss Hanson’s second grade class.

“So, Nursey, huh?”

Dex didn’t reply. His brother knew about Nursey, teammate and frenemy. He did not know about three a.m. Nursey, who hummed softly as he wrote a paper or Nursey on roadies, stealing fries from Dex’s plate.

Now, his brother sighed. “That makes things complicated.”

“You’re telling me.” A pause. Dex rubbed his face and leaned against his desk. “Okay, so yeah, I might I have a crush on Derek Nurse.”

“Tell me everything.”

And Dex did.

Nursey knew he was in trouble the first time he saw Dex in a hat. Well, it wasn’t the hat exactly, it was the fact that Dex sat in the middle of the kitchen at 1 a.m., head in the oven, tools scattered around him.

Halfway through freshman midterms, Nursey was out for a late walk and thought he might pop in to see if there was any leftover pie in the Haus fridge. What he found instead was his defense partner on his hands and knees.

"If you’re trying to kill yourself, the oven isn’t exactly the easiest way,” Nursey whispered into the quiet air.

Dex had jumped, banging his head on the oven door.

”Fuck, Nurse. Where’d you come from?“ Dex was whispering, too, but Nursey could still hear the bite in his words.

And that’s when Dex had emerged, with a backwards snapback over tufts of auburn hair, grease and grime on his face, and a hand on his head, presumably where he had hit it. In the dimly lit kitchen, his pale face looked grumpy. It was so Dex but also something different, something that tugged at Nursey’s chest.

"Nursey?” Dex’s half whisper had startled Nursey out of his “whoa, you are attractive???” thought.

Stay calm, Nurse. Don’t freak out. Just act naturally. It’s chill.

“Oh, I came from outside. Well technically, I came from a vagina.” Yikes.

Dex rolled his eyes. “That’s gross.”

“You’re gross.” A weak chirp, but Nursey hadn’t just been knocked off his game; that snapback had sucker punched him in the gut, taken his lunch money, and violently thrown him off his game.

“P.S. you also came from a vagina. That’s the miracle of life, bro. What the hell are you doing in here?”

Dex held up a screwdriver.

“I’m fixing the oven.”

“At,” Nursey checked his watch, “1:13 a.m.?”

Dex just shrugged, sitting back on his knees. Nursey tried to ignore the tug in his gut as Dex wiped a hand across his cheek, leaving another streak of grime behind.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Dex said, his voice matching Nursey’s half-whisper.

“What?” Nursey had missed the actual words that came out of Dex’s mouth.

“I finished a project and I couldn’t sleep. So I — Never mind it doesn’t matter. What’d you want?”

“Oh.”

Focus Nursey. It’s late at night. You’re tired. Just because you noticed that Dex looks good at in a hat, doesn’t mean that you actually think he’s attractive. Chill.

Comforting himself, Nursey climbed over Dex’s tools and made his way to the fridge.

“I came for the pie, Poindexter. Chill.”

Nursey could practically hear the rolling of Dex’s eyes from behind the fridge door.

“There isn’t any. Bitty procrastinated on studying for his French exam, so I’m pretty sure he lives at library now.”

Nursey found this to be a goddamn tragedy. He shut the fridge door dejectedly.

“Whyyyyyyy?” Nursey whined, not bothering to keep his voice quiet.

“Shh! Jesus, Nurse! You’re gonna wake up the whole Haus. You’re so dramatic.”

“Me? Dramatic?” That earned him another eye roll, this time he watch Dex’s eyes swirl and then land on his.

Nursey swears he can hear his own heartbeat in the silence of the Haus around them as the moment between them stretched on. One minute. Two.

Dex was the first to move, clearing his throat.

“Well, I’m busy…you know…” He motioned to the oven behind him.

He was busy tinkering with the oven, to calm himself down, Nursey realized. Something about the idea that Dex – angry, grumpy, and always ready to tear something down Dex – was able to relax while putting something back together made the last little thread of indifference melt from Nursey’s heart.

Shit.

Everything felt small, warm, and bright, despite the dim lighting of the kitchen.

Nursey needed to get out of there before he did something stupid.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Not chill.

“Okay, chill,” he managed before he tripped over the tools on the ground and landed on Dex.

“Omphf!”

Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.

He was up before Dex could say anything, backing up towards the door.

“Sorry, bro.” And then he was out of the Haus, trying to forget the smell of salt and cheap aftershave and the feeling of Dex’s body against his own.

They had never talked about it, but Nursey thought about it all the time. Especially when he was mad at Dex. The moment reminded him that even an idiot who didn’t think that the government was spending too much on defense or thought that A THOUSAND roaches would be easier to deal with than one teensy person, was still human.

Nursey also thought about it in moments like this, when he sat in his ENG 3500 class and read poetry. Stupid romance poetry.

The girl next to him dragged a highlighter across her page, drenching e.e. cummings’ words in blue ink.

“i sit and / think of you / the holy / city which is your face / your little cheeks the streets / of smiles / your eyes half- / thrush / half-angel and your drowsy / lips where float flowers of kiss”

Stupid. It’s stupid that this poetry — poetry that’s supposed to make him think about love in the rain, love from a window — makes him think about that night in the kitchen, two fucking years ago. Stupid that it makes him think about the stillness of that moment, of the smell of sea salt and aftershave, of wisps of orange hair sticking out of a red cap, of dim lighting and tools scattered across the ground.

“I want you to write with the same passion. Set up a scene, okay guys? Due next class.”

His professor’s dismissal disrupted Nursey’s moment, pulling him from the darkness of the kitchen to the sounds of scraping chairs and rustling of college students desperate to get home for a nap.

Nursey’s thoughts turned back to Dex as he made his way across campus towards his next class. Damn his Thursdays and damn back-to-back classes.

Since that night in frog year, Nursey tried desperately ignore the twisting in his gut when Dex flashed him a smile right after scoring a goal or leaned over him on a roadie to get a better look at something outside of the window or stayed late with Nursey at the library, even when Nursey knew his work was done.

At first, Nursey was able to convince himself that he just thought Dex was nice to look at, but as time wore on even Nursey knew that it wasn’t just a simple acknowledgment.

Wanting to kiss your best friend during an argument was the complete opposite of chill. Not to mention it would completely ruin the hard won equilibrium that Nursey and Dex had found at the beginning of sophomore year. Not to mention he and Dex were rooming together now. The resulting mess was bad enough that Nursey had written at least four poems and two short stories about it. At least.

It was one minute being irritated at Dex for playing his shitty music out-loud and the next minute seeing Dex being heart-meltingly adorable as he slept with his arms wrapped around a pillow. It was wanting to punch Dex in the face for arguing that the government shouldn’t regulate healthcare and wanting to angrily grab Dex’s lips with his own when Dex threw up his arms in exasperation, exposing a strip of pale skin that his shirt had been hiding. It was finally, after a few years of pushing it away and telling himself it was no big deal, writing it down in his journal.

The least chill thing about all of this? Having a crush on fucking Will Poindexter.

My NurseyDex playlist that I listened to while writing. “Nothing subtle here” is a line from the Selena Gomez song, Bad Liar.

Chapter 1/6. Read the rest: part one here. // part two here. // part three here. // part four here. // part five here.

Poem: In The Rain- by e.e. cummings

s/o to my sis @amonggsavages for beta reading all this! Much love x

#nurseydex #dexnursey #william j poindexter #derek malik nurse #omgcp #check! please #omgcheckplease #checkplease #mutual pining fic #i'm such trash guys #my writing #nothing subtle here

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netmaddy-blog · 7 years

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Old Country Home

New Post has been published on https://netmaddy.com/old-country-home/

Old Country Home

When we were just tiny toddlers, my older brother and I hopped into our parent’s old Nash automobile so excited about visiting our grandparents in the country. The drive from Corpus Christi to San Antonio brings back some of the most yearned for memories of my life; a simpler, less complicated time in life that I can go back to and take refuge.

My dad, always thinking ahead, had prepared child-sized, home-made “facilities” for use on our road trip. Since gas stations were few and far between, he handed me a small red Folger’s coffee can with a lid and my brother a small glass coke bottle. This little accommodation became a family tradition for road trips back in those days.

Mom packed a large brown grocery bag full of sandwiches and cookies wrapped in waxed paper along with a gallon of iced tea in a clear glass milk jug. Ice chests were still a decade away and so was the technology for plastic baggies. There was no air conditioner in the old Nash so we traveled with the windows open, heads and hands flailing in the breeze (seatbelts hadn’t been invented yet). Dad filled up at a “full-service gas station” for twenty-two cents a gallon (which is sadly extinct now, along with glass gallon milk jugs.)

“San-An-Toni, An-Toni-Oh; She hopped upon a pony, and rode away with Tony; If you see her please let me know, And I’ll meet you in San-Antonio!”

Mom taught us all the road songs she knew; i.e., “You Are my Sunshine,” “Hush Little Baby,” “America the Beautiful,” “Texas Our Texas,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Home on the Range,” and “San-An-Toni-O,” come directly to my mind. We came from a musical family where everyone sang, played instruments, danced and played records. No more songs? No problem! We counted wooden telephone poles and read billboard signs until we fell asleep.

After driving about forty-five to fifty miles per hour, on a two lane road, for what seemed like more hours than telephone poles, dad put his left arm out of the window to signal a turn and then slowly pulled onto a bumpy dirt road named Rockport Road. About five miles away was my grandparent’s small dairy farm-turned-cattle ranch. Dad always referred to his childhood home as “The Ranch.”

Rockport Road (later F.M. 1518) was a busy artery in the early part of the twentieth century; connecting many productive little farming communities in the Oak Island Community area to the city of San Antonio. Today, this road is South Loop 1604 West and the old ranch house is right off the highway, about five miles from Somerset on the south side of San Antonio. Later in life, I was to discover that our family was one of the oldest Texas families to settle here as far back as 1825.

“Souvenirs”

“They’re here!” shouted Grandmother. Coming quickly down the old stone steps, I noticed that her dress was covered with many tiny flowers. There is nothing like the smell of a country grandma, for she smelled like cookies and love. We pulled up to their modest dairy farm house that was on the edge of a hundred and twenty-six acres spread. Dad parked in the sandy soil and red dirt clay since there was no driveway. Their entire front yard was their driveway.

The first thing I noticed was a beautiful, circular rock garden that sparkled in the sunlight. We felt the texture and shapes of the stones in the round structure that glittered with samples of their vacations. (There used to be a time when it was not illegal to take a sample or two of Montana or Yellowstone National Park home with you.)

Several layers of rocks were stacked about three feet high with nothing to hold them together but each other. We discovered petrified wood, iron stone, colored chunks of glass, flat oval stones, really soft, glittery sandstone, open geodes with white crystals, small round pebbles, grey flat slabs and blue geodes. This collection represented ten years worth of “souvenirs” from Texas all the way up to their Montana land.

The tiny purple Verbena and the green and white Chaparral were in full bloom with millions of new flowers. They smelled like musky cologne and lay draped like curtains over the fence in their front yard. Years before, Grandmother had planted an orange tree next to the house to protect it from the cold in winter. Everyone told her that orange trees don’t grow in San Antonio, but as long as she was alive that orange tree produced sweet oranges.

Two purple and two pink Crepe Myrtle trees grew in the front yard alongside the Pomegranate trees that were imported from out of state. Grandmother gave mom some jars of her home made mustang jelly that she had made from the wild mustang grapes that grew on the property. She found wild mulberry bushes and raspberry bushes out on the land, but the wildlife usually quenched their appetite on them first.

If it grew on a vine, a bush, or a tree, she could make it grow, preserve it in mason jars and pass it on to friends, family and the community. She even collected fresh eggs every morning from the chicken coop and Granddad milked his own personal Jersey cow twice daily.

Their old farmhouse kitchen was a slanted, add-on cook porch with a roof that was a full foot shorter than the rest of the house. The oven didn’t cook evenly because it sat on a slope, but cookies were still wonderful in Grandmother’s oven! She had a real “ice box” with a chunk of ice in it for refrigeration and an old timey washing machine; the kind that squeezes the clothes through two rollers. After we settled in comfortably, Grandmother called my brother and me into the kitchen for some home made cookies and store bought vanilla ice cream that she had purchased from Henry Edward Butt (H.E.B. grocery store).

That evening, we snuggled into a soft double bed in what used to be “the girl’s room.” I traced the thick raised pink roses on Grandmother’s hand crocheted blankets with my fingers, as if trying to remember them. The bed was big enough for little children but I couldn’t imagine how my three aunts slept together on it. Life was simple back in the day that my three aunts were young, and they were happy there, for farm life was all they knew.

The girl’s room had a conservative, black chiffarobe for their dresses and a matching black dresser for their clothes. They also had an old fashioned vanity table to sit at with a mirror. It was peaceful in my aunts’ old bedroom. I wondered how many times they must have sat there and combed their hair, looking into the long mirror. Now I am looking into the same mirror and feeling like a country girl myself.

When Dad was born in 1928, Granddad built a long, porch-room at the back of the house for him. It had a wooden floor and a slanted tin roof that, like the kitchen, was also a foot lower than the rest of the house. Dad lived in that porch-room all the way through college, at Trinity University. Frugality was the operative word back then. But they always had money for the children’s college education, the girl’s singing engagements, and dad’s football games.

When it rained upon that old tin roof, it sounded like little bee bees falling from heaven. The grown-ups didn’t seem bothered by it because they were caught up in a rousing game of Canasta; a card game that took two decks and at least four people. This was Granddad’s favorite pastime and he played it like a champion.

Later on, as the rain stopped and the night grew still, the boisterous voices coming from the dining room turned into soft, muffled conversations of family visiting family. Grandmother was teaching my mother how to crochet raised roses on a granny square blanket just like my aunts had on their old bed. Later, I was to learn the blanket would be for me! All was well at my grandparent’s home.

Rag Rugs, Button Boxes and Granddad’s Marbles

Grandmother had a gift of creating something out of nothing, or very little. She was very imaginative and always kept her crochet needles and a sewing box near her rocking chair. In her leisure time, like an artist with her pallet full of paints, she made from scratch several dozen beautiful rag rugs out of the family’s old, worn out clothing.

My bare feet were never cold at her house because she had covered all of her wooden floors with colorful, knotted, floppy tie rag rugs. When a work shirt or dress became unusable, she took her large pair of sewing scissors and ripped the garments into thousands of equally measured ribbons. Using her iron, she pressed them into biased tape, and using her crochet needle as a hook, she tied the cloth into limitless, colorful, hand-made floppy tie rag rugs.

My brother spent hours playing with Granddad’s boyhood marbles that he had toted around since his own childhood. I was fascinated with Grandmother’s fancy button box and all of the buttons which were placed in it when a garment needed to be turned into a rug. I organized and color-coded them, playing for hours with her large button box. She had the most interesting and unique buttons I’ve ever seen.

Grandmother Beatrice was ahead of her time with recycling. She gave her floppy tie rag rugs away to friends and those “in need of a rug.” Once, she made a long, narrow, white floppy tie rag rug that flowed down the hallway of her favorite niece, Jane McCabe’s hallway, in her lovely home on the north side of San Antonio. Jane was formerly a Parker, like Grandmother, and came from our wealthy Detroit, Michigan relatives who migrated to San Antonio in the early thirties.

Grandmother gracefully wove dark green ties to make the leaves, red ties to make the cherries into the white background. Jane McCabe proudly displayed her Aunt Beatrice’s long cherry rag rug in her large hallway for twenty-five years, until the old rug needed to reitre. It was quite the envy of all of her neighbors and a conversation piece at her bridge parties, too!

King Snakes and Doodle Bugs

My cousin Stevie, who was just a year and a half younger than me, knew all about the difference between rattle snakes and King snakes. “The rattle snake will kill you, but the King snake is harmless and kills the bad snakes” he said.

He also taught me, ever so gently, how to tap a tiny little grain of sand into a Doodle Bug funnel in the barn next to the chicken coop. A Doodle Bug is a black quarter-inch long hard shelled bug with about a hundred tiny legs at the base of its armor.

These little sand creatures dug their funnels with all those little feet in order to bury themselves beneath the cool sand during the day. We tapped one or two grains of sand in their “little tornadoes” in order to confirm if there really was a Doodle Bug inside the funnel or not. If he was home, the Doodle Bug would fast and furiously kick out the sand with his many legs. When in sight, we quickly scooped him up and let him walk on our hands. We meant no malice to nature’s little tornado diggers and always returned them back to the sand, wherein they would immediately begin to feverishly kick sand up in the air and disappear.

My brother and I returned to “The Ranch” several times. Our grandparent’s house even became a refuge during the evacuation of Corpus Christi when Hurricane Carla came ashore. Today, my brother lives about an eighth of a mile from the old homestead in his own “Ranch.”

In 2003, I was actually able to go back to “The Ranch” over fifty years later, to live with my eighty-eight year old aunt Bebe. She had inherited her parent’s old homestead and moved back there after her retirement from teaching. It was through coming back here that I was able to find my roots and remembered that uncomplicated, simple childhood that I had experienced so many years ago.

#featured

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