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mythicalninjas · 3 years

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A Hard Choice To Make - Part 1

"Go talk to him. It's the only way to wash your emotions away." April, the reporter of Channel 6, advise you.

"No!" Your eyes went wide "No, I won't!"

"Then do you want to live with it stuck into you for the rest of your life?"

You lower your head, not knowing what kind of response you should give besides this not-desired possibility. April is right.

Since you met the brothers—three years ago—you have created a strong family bond with all of them, specially with the fearless leader in blue who your heart shines for. You knew that something within you is brougth to life every time Leonardo is around, and it is kind of torture because you literally fell in love with this terrapin.

But there's a doubt haunting you: Is Leo with the same feelings about you? The objection behind it is almost invalid in your point of view. He is the leader of his group, known as being the only one who tries to keep his brothers in line, making decisions for each time they are out for patrol, dealing with the most heavy and difficult choices and moments throughout their adventures. And you... You are just a human as you always say.

You sigh, turning your eyes back at April "Ya know, I have no idea if he feels the same about me. I'm afraid of how he'd react from my declaration."

April leaves her desk, and sits next to you on the sofa in the living room of her apartment. "Y/N..." she said softly, landing her slender hand on your shoulder "Soon or late he will know; but if I were you, I would go talk to him. He won't figure it out alone". You nodded, staring at the floor again with your mind lost in an ocean of thoughts and emotions. "Try, Y/N. Do not let it consume you; or it will get worse" the reporter rubs your shoulder and embrace you in a comfort hug.

"Would you like me to talk to him?" She offered herself.

"No! No... I must be prepare myself first."

April let's out a soft giggle "Okay. Take your time, sweetheart. Call me if you need help." She smiled.

You let the comfort of her embrace take you completely as a help to try to kick out your anxiety, but your nervousness insists to stay. How would you say to the most respectable man that you're in love with? How would he reacts? Will he treat you in a bad or good way? You knew he wouldn't treat you like an idiot or something but even that you are not secure.

A few weeks has passed since April's advice.

You and Casey Jones were called by Chief Vicent to attend a meeting at NYPD police station for a debate about Shredder after his sudden disappearance in the day that Technodrome has appeared in the sky. And for your surprise you're not the only one who were invited.

Your mutant turtles best friends are there.

And speaking of them...

"Hey Casey and Y/N!" Mikey was the first one who came up to welcome you both as you enter in the police station. "Finally you're here! Chief Vicent is waiting for you" the young brother pointed at up stairs of the building.

You and Casey went quickly to the second floor.

Arriving there, Mikey pointed at one of the several rooms throughout the large corridor. From outside you could see three shells facing the only door of the small space, and your eyes shone. In the middle of the three massive terrapins, a blue and well-written kanji with a pair of katanas.

"Y/N? Are you coming or...?" Casey called, noticing your behaving.

You froze, desperate about what you would do with that handsome man a few steps away from you—actually standing on the other side of the table.

Gulping, you walked behind Casey as you both enter the room.

"Good evening, Casey Jones." the blond-haired woman nodded from the other side of the rectangular table, facing you both "And Y/N" she nodded again, sharing a polite smile. Other three pairs of eyes landed on you while you stand beside Casey "Hey, guys" Donnie waved with that cute grin he has. "Hey..." Raphael said with a neutral voice; and finally Leonardo who, as Chief Vicent, shares a nod and a smile.

Oh God, that smile makes your bones shiver.

"So what are the news, Chief?" Casey asked, leaning above the table to watch papers and pictures scattered above it.

"We got a prove that Shredder must be still alive" she continued "We have captured Karai who was with him in the day that Kraang has arrived on Earth for the first time, and has confessed that Shredder was teleported into Technodrome. It was the last time she has seen him" she finished, glancing quickly at Shredder's picture on her right side and then looked up at everybody there present.

"Wait, wait..." The hot head turtle interferes "Last time? But how? Karai and Shredder used to work together all the time! Perhaps she is laying-"

"We don't know, Raph." The leader cuts his brother, then Mikey continued "Or maybe Shredder is working for Kraang.", Donnie moved his body a bit to stand face-to-face with his brothers and continued "We do not know if all those suggestions are valid, but I fear what Mikey said. Shredder must be working for Kraang."

Chief Vicent nodded positively, leaning above the table "I wouldn't discard this possibility."

The idea of Shredder working for Kraang freaks you out. Shredder is known for being dangerous, and Kraang is known for being deadly; and the two of them together is a nightmare.

After a few minutes of silence, Casey questioned "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Wait. For now." Chief Vicent responded, not breaking her eye contact with the Shredder's picture beside her, and the room was filled with Raph's indignation voice "Wait?! How much time of wait?!"

"Raph, more respect!" Leo punch his brother's arm, murmuring and shaking his head in disapprove by his brother's behaving.

You tried to not giggle by their brotherhood behaving.

"We don't know..." Chief Vicent replied "but all we can do now is use what we have available to find Shredder; and Kraang. I'm highly doubt that Shredder isn't on Earth. Maybe he was brought back by Kraang. As you said before, Donatello" she pointed "the atmosphere in Technodrome is toxic for those who have a normal cardiovascular system. Hardly Shredder would survive in that thing out there".

"There's an interesting point" Leo continued "But It's been months since his disappearance and till now no one has seen him. For sure, if someone have, they would warn us."

"Or they would help him" Raph participated one more time "We don't know if someone is his follower."

"You mean a new Shredder?" Mikey asked, surprised.

"I would freak out if it is true." You said.

"Me too." Chief Vicent agreed, sighing.

The worst nightmare of the boys is that another (or other) person ended up like Shredder. For sure someone out there have inspired themselves on that horrible assassin and perhaps will keep on doing his dirty work as a next generation of the Foot Clan. It must be happening in any city, state or country right now.

After two hours of debate, Chief Vicent has decided give a break, and then back to the reunion.

You are checking out your Pinterest in another small room of the building to spend some time. But your is mind busy thinking more about Leo than paying attention to the pics on your social media. You just scroll down, the pics passing through your phone screen quickly; then your mind focused in flashbacks of your conversation with April a few weeks ago.

You want to confess your love for Leonardo. You want to face him and say how much you love him.

But why are you feeling something negative inside you?

You sighed, without knowing what to do. Your eyes lift from the screen and scanned the small room around you. There's a desk with a deactivated computer in the left and a cupboard on the right. Cupboard? Why is it here in a office? Maybe this room is used like a kitchen. And speaking of it... where's the coffee machine and other stuff used by workers?

You shrugged, ignoring it and paying attention to your phone again.

"Y/N?" A familiar deep voice called from the door frame. You jumped and quickly looked up at the person.

Actually, at the turtle.

"Oh, hey Leo" you smiled, pretending you didn't got scared by his sudden apparence. But he was giggling a bit "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" he came in, picking up a chair and sitting beside you.

Butterflies started to fly wildly in your belly.

"Come on, Y/N! Say something!" you thought. "So... How's things going?". "Really, Y/N?! Is it all you can say?!" You coursed at yourself.

Leo glanced at you and says confused "Um... Things are great. Thanks." he smiled.

Now is the time. You have to tell! You want to tell! But you're fucking afraid.

Your thoughts says to do not do it but your heart says yes. You took a deep breathe, rubbing your hands on your thighs nervously and finally looked up at him.

"Leo..." You called softly.

"Hm?" He looked back at you in the eyes. It seems that your heart will get out of your chest, and you could feel your cheeks burning.

"I...".

He just tilted his head, waiting for your answer.

"I... am gonna take some coffee. W-Would you like some?" That's it. You wanna punch yourself in the face.

He lift an eyebrow—at least you could see.

"Um... Yes, please". He answered, still suspicious about why are you acting that way. You got up from the chair where you were and walked out of the room, but before you could leave, Leo grabs your arm and makes eye contact with you, worried "Are you okay?"

"Why? Yeah! Why wouldn't I am?" You tried to act as normal as possible, but you couldn't hide it from him. This man can notice if something is right or not. And you fear that. You don't wanna mess your moment. You just want to relax with him, and not put more worry into him. Leo and his brothers are already dealing with Shredder's disappearance which is shaking them inside out frenetically. And the last thing you want is bother him with your love.

"I'll be right back." You gently released from his massive hand and left the room, leaving him alone.

"Damn, Y/N! What's wrong with you?" the whisper leaves your mouth and suddenly you bumped with another woman, hitting your shoulder with hers.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Oh, no. It's okay" the red-haired waved, grinning "I must apologize, I was distracted".

"Don't worry, I was distracted too." You giggled, then kept on your way to find a coffee machine which you have no idea where it is.

For sure your thoughts are torturing and preventing you by something you wish to do. You've been hiding your love for Leo for almost three years.

After ask a cob where to find a coffee machine you finally have found it in somewhere on the third floor of the police station.

"Okay, Y/N. You can do this" you whispered while you fill almost to the top two cups with the dark liquid. "You can do this. You can do this..." You continued to repeat, trying to fill you with courage.

"I'm ready. I can do this!"

Picking up the two cups with dark coffee youheaded back to the small room where the handsome man is waiting for you.

Stopping beside the door frame—you can't see what is happening inside the small room—you took a deep breath and get yourself ready for the long-awaited moment of your life.

Smiling, you walked in.

And froze.

Leo was there, as you expected, but he was kissing the woman who you accidentally bumped early on your way to get the coffee.

Your heart broke like someone has ripped it out from you.

It seems that the world has fallen under you; your body falling into an precipice.

You prepared yourself for three years for nothing. All the worries, expectations, and hopes you used to have, all that moments you've spent practicing what you would say to your best friend, all the great moments you and him spent. Three years of your life were wasted.

Leo and the red-haired woman broke the kiss and directed their eyes on you, surprised. You have to admit that you saw a light blush covering on his cheeks.

"Oh, Y/N." He said, smiling "Allow me to introduce you my girlfriend".

You felt a knot forming in your throat.

"Y/N, this is Melissa. Melissa, this is my best friend, Y/N." He used his hand to mention you and his girlfriend while introduce you both.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." Melissa waved.

"Nice to meet you, Melissa..." You shares a small smile, hiding your frustrating, and waved back.

You take a step forward to place the cup on the small desk next to you. Some drops of the dark liquid slipped out from the object "You should drink before it gets cold, Leonardo." You simply said, trying so hard to not cry. The leader got surprised when you said his full name. It's rare to you do it. Since you both got intimate—as best friends—you started to say his nickname as you do with the others. He doesn't understand very well the reason of your sudden change.

"Um... Yes, I will". He pronounced every single word slowly, tilting his head a bit as he looks at you. Melissa noticed your uncomfortable expression and asked worried "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"No!" you screamed mentally. "Yes! I am. I gotta go. Sorry." You whispered the last word, turning and heading out of the room, leaving the woman and your best friend together. Your eyes starts to get warm and a wet feeling of tears disturbs you completely; you refuse to cry in front of important and serious people from this place. So you forced your legs to walk fast towards the exit.

You were so distracted that you almost bumped Chief Vicent. You gasped.

"Hey, Y/N. We're going to back to our reunion right now. Have you seen Leo? I can't find him anywhere." the blond-haired woman asked.

"He-*deep breath* He's in that room." You pointed at the door in the end of the corridor. C. Vicent lift an eyebrow, studying your facial expression.

"Are you okay, Y/N?"

"No, I'm not!" You gulped as see Chief Vicent's eyes going wide by your anger, then you immediately completed, "I'm not feeling good..."

But before Chief Vicent had a chance to talk to you, you lower your head and ran away, the knot in your throat and the pain in your heart growing up wildly.

You couldn't stay in that building anymore, not with Leo there. Not with the news of his sudden dating with someone. All you want now is go home, lay down on your bed, bury your face into a pillow, and cry like there's no tomorrow—well, actually there's no tomorrow for you.

How much time Leonardo is dating? And why April didn't tell you about it? Or any of his brothers? Do someone know about his dating? Or does he didn't tell to anyone yet?

You don't wanna know.

Actually you couldn't blame him because he has no idea that you are in love with him.

And now you have to deal with a new reality.

#tmnt #bayverse tmnt #tmnt bayverse #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014 #tmnt leonardo #tmnt leo x reader #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles out of the shadows

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we-dragons · 3 years

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I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 6 Damian x reader

Professor X sat in his wheelchair glancing around the room he hums his eyes pouring over all that there was finally landing on Robin. He gives me a look gesturing over at him.

"He informed me about The Crows sir, apparently they have gone under the radar, they've killed three people and the system didn't go off. At first, I thought we still had time, I treated a wound he had it he had come in contact with one and fought it. You know like how Wolverine did, I treated the cut and it's gone, but I was sure they were still in the dream state. But he got injured saving those left how survived probably not far from here, but the fact we didn't even receive the ring can only mean...they've returned under complete control again."

Concern fills the face of professor X, he turns to Robin, who shifts uncomfortably by the entrance of my kitchen. "Who are you then?"

"Robin."

The professor nods not even turning from his spot, he looks over Robin as if completing an inspection.

"How much does this Robin Know Dreki, about you, and The Crows?"

"I told him about the Jal-sein, the old race before the collective mind sharing, and he knows about my box of scales." Professor sighs.

"How did you meet him."

"When he broke through my window last week, infected."

"You gave him some scales to purge poison."

"Yes sir."

"Very good," He moves back to his original spot in the middle of the room. "You have been permitted to stop them at all costs if you must. Your uncle will be here soon to help you kill whatever has brought them back, in the meantime try not to use the stones. We don't want to attract more trouble than what has already been done."

"You're allowing me to put my powers to use?"

"As long as you don't wear it out, vibranium is not easy to turn into clothing."

"What a minute!" Robin's voice carried out through the room. "Just what's going on?"

"Robin," Professor X starts. "your world is being invaded by the Crow so that you become one of the many planets they have drained of life. And to do it they need a vessel that can contain the leader of the Jal-sein, Hok'mor." Professor X looks at him, his use

"And?" Robin says his face remaining unreadable

"I was the vessel, I escaped, destroyed the flagship and the army they had." I shiver moving out from my room to the box still lying on the kitchen table. "They were after the life of my home, so then I became a weapon for my planet." I pull out a bag of coins from the box.

"And what do you intend to do now (Y/N), destroy them yourself." Robin stands in the entryway, professor X stands behind him.

"Yes," I turn to him a chakram and the bag of coins in hand. "so unless you know how to obliterate a bird in 15 seconds or less you need to forget this ever happened and never come back."

"So, why tell me any of this, why tell me about anything why expose yourself?"

"So you can tell your family and friends and hopefully, just maybe you can survive. Because knowing them keeps them out of your head, but too much knowing allows them to enter." I pick up Nightmare, he crawls up to my shoulder and I head out of the kitchen, Robin makes room for me but just barely. I open my closet and pull out the last thing I have, two letters one written in my mother's signature ink and the other in my own handwriting, I hold them out to the professor.

"You know there is nowhere left for me to run professor if I end out getting caught...I just want him to have this. In my letter, papers are containing the custody terms for my brother to Uncle. I just need you to grab them to complete the transfer." Professor X slowly takes the letters where they rematerialize on his side.

"Good-bye Dreki, I will see that these get to your Brother."

Professor fades out of the com, and it clicks turning off, I pick it off the floor and slip it into the pocket of my sweatpants. I pulled out the chakram ready to leave a mark on my hand, I only needed a little bit of blood to completely transform when Robin coughs gaining my attention. He leans against the wall to the left of me now glaring at my form, Nightmare growls at the boy from the corner of my eye I see his fangs getting slightly bigger.

"Are you making it a habit to ignore me while I'm here?"

"No, But I do need you to leave, you can't stay here anymore." I begin to push him out the door in the kitchen, he slaps my hands away confusion leaving his face replacing it's with anger. He open's his mouth and I put a magic orange circle on his head.

"You Robin son of batman, found this information interrogating one of the monsters. It spoke in a language that was foreign but somehow understood all of it. You have made no such connection to the girl Y/N M/N, you did not see a man from another dimension, you came back to thank her for her help you had some tea and you were just leaving." I flick my hand and the circle vanishes, his head lowers for a moment as the information in his head readjusts. He moves to the balcony edge turning to face me the scowl returned to his face.

"Thank you for the tea." he pulls out a grappling hook and leaves without another word. I sigh moving to the same device I used to contact the professor. Picking it up I hold it to my mouth.

"Find me the closest thing to a sorcerer supreme, name and whereabouts contact them when you get there."

I toss it back onto the floor and it roars to life to give me a purple image of the earth and orange magic circles to tracking and moving. I move to my couch and fall asleep waiting for this day to take me.

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I wake the next day with the globe still searching for my request I sigh and get ready for work. I thank god that it's just the coffee shop below me, I work on the weekends mostly unless they need an extra member of staff then it's just me and the older lady and her husband. They both owned the building and the shop they helped me get the apartment set up and showed me how to work the coffee machines. I don't really drink coffee though after seeing what a raving maniac my dad became without it, also it was just so bitter no matter how much sugar I put into it. I partially blame my heightened scenes that came with my abilities, so I got free white hot chocolates and any extra flavors I wanted as long as I did my job and chatted with them for a while.

I asked them personally to stay away while I was sick, so they wouldn't be affected. When I get down the stairs Martha, the elderly lady beams thankful that I'm feeling better.

"I so glad you are doing well dear, I know the acidity in our rain makes you sick so Glenn and I got you this umbrella." She hands me a purple umbrella that still has a tag on it, it reads for sun and rain.

"You didn't have to do this Martha, I told you I'm not good with gifts, you already let me stay here on the government's program and gave me a job here, you and Glenn have already done so much." She pushes the umbrella farther into my chest.

"No you do so much for us, you work without complaint, you've also taken care of us and our granddaughter when she came over. When you were sick we were so worried about you so you going to take it or I can give you more gifts."

"Thank you very much."I smile brightly. She pats my shoulder and gestures to the counter to start the machines.

Once all the machines are started, the desserts are placed and the base coffees are made I open shop. Customers come in and some lounge around in the chairs or couches drinking coffees and either studying or chatting with their friends. Molly usually comes on Sunday as one of our regulars, so I would see her then. A few of our regulars are happy to see I'm back at work one of the other tenants gave me a green bean casserole and a hug. It's 5 O'clock and I make a cappuccino as I finish I hear the door open and the bell ring on the counter.

The black-haired blue-eyed male I had gotten to know as detective Richard Grayson, came in every other day at 5, he normally talks often while I tried to take his order. So I memorized what he usually gets so he doesn't block the register so I can still make the register.

"Hey Y/N I'll take the usual."

"I thought so," I hand him his drink " one cappuccino."

He takes his coffee and moves to the bar we have set up if you wanted to watch the process and it's only then I see the other people behind him, one pissed-off looking male with a cigarette in his mouth, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne. I look back to Richard he smiles at me leaning onto the bar.

"They came with me this time, It's family bonding time."

"You mean you dragged us out of the house to grab a coffee from this place cause you have a schedule."

"It's bonding Jason! Bonding!"

The two began arguing in the shop, I return my attention to the other two boys. Tim as at the counter puts a ten-dollar bill on the counter, while Damian does the same.

"Give me a regular coffee, black, large cup."

"Tea, no sugar, regular size."

Their voices crowed each other but since this happens frequently it was easy enough to at least get their orders down.

"Sure here's your change." I look back to the two arguing and I see Jason didn't put out his cigarette. He taps it and the ash of his drug falls to the floor.

Sighing I move out of the workspace gabbing a tong and a wastebasket, I take out the cigarette and throw it in the bin now gaining the full attention of Jason. I give him a stern look he seemed to freeze, bitting back any words he might have prepared to say before.

"Sir, I am not sure if I made we've previously made It but there is a strict no smoking policy. As you see we have many elderly, and young children in our establishment." I smile but I know my face is full of malice. "But please enjoy your stay at our cozy corner of our fine and fair city." I move back behind the counter start on some of my orders, I look at Jason again the smile still on my face.

"Would you like anything?" He gives me an odd look.

"White hot chocolate, Large," he nods his head over at Richard. "Put it on his tab."

"We don't have a tabs sir, he works for the police."

"So?"

"He gets Free coffee." He gawks at me as if I told him the sky was black, and I see Richard trying to contain his laughter.

"You give that guy free coffee?"

"It's a store policy." I pass out the coffee and the tea and I see from the corner of my eye he pulls out a flask. I grab the tongs again and clap them together, Jason looks at me then grumbles putting the flask back in his jacket, and instead pulls out a five and hands it to me. I take it from him gingerly and head straight to work on his order. I hand him both his spare change and his drink, and the complimentary cookie bag that came with it. He gives me another look.

"They come with a drink." I leave and continued my chores around the shop.

"You are doing much better (m/n)." I whip my head around and look at Damian who's behind me on the other side of the counter. His companions seemed to be in deep conversation amongst themselves.

"Yes, I'm doing just fine, it happens occasionally but nothing like a good cup of tea and a few nights rest couldn't fix." I go back to cleaning the counter.

"You were sick for much longer than that."

"Yeah...it happens." I change the topic to "Did you think of anything for the project?"

"Why not make a model, there is not really much to do with it anyway." I gasp dramatically.

"Not much to do with an astrolabe! You clearly didn't read the whole paper!" By now I have caught the attention of his group. Damian frowns.

"No, your paper was written very well, I just don't think we need to dwell too much on this project seeing as how we really are not presenting." I had heard that bit from Molly.

"I suppose your right." I put away the cleaning supplies and turn back to him. "I'll get started on a model right away!"

"You will do no such thing." His voice is stern. "I will come back later and work on it with you," He moves his chair back and heads out the door.

His companions follow quickly after him and they say their goodbyes.

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As promised, he came a few hours later right as my shift ended and another person came for the second half of the day. I moved the glowing tracker to my room so it wouldn't gather any extra attention.

"I have supplies, what is all of that?" my brows furrow staring at the bulging plastic bag in his hand while I turn the keys in my locks. opening the door.

"I wasn't sure if you were prepared." He moves to the door, my arm shoots in his way stopping him.

"I wouldn't go in quite yet."

"What?"

I put a finger to my lips and crouch slowly to the floor, I shake the key in my hand then slid them across the floor. A ball of black attacks the object just as it crosses the doorway. Nightmare attacks the keys rolling around and bitting.

"Ah yes, observe the feral kitten in his natural habitat." I walk inside the door beckoning Damian to follow. "I would beware he is an ankle bitter. You can set up in the living room I'll just drop this guy off in my room."

"Does he attack all the time?"

"He's been like that since I picked him up, I don't blame him he was born in a rough neighborhood." I set Nightmare on the bed next to the floating version of earth. "Watch it make sure it finishes." then head to the living room. Damian has all his stuff set out on the table. There was veneer, paper, paint, some nails, an Exacto knife, a hammer, and a bag of pipe cleaners.

"This looks like stuff to make a birdhouse," I try and pick up some of the wood that was on the table." you realize cardboard, scissors, and a sharpie would have been enough."

"And here I thought you like polished and neat projects."

"yeah, but even with cheap materials you can still create a masterpiece."

"You don't do anything nice for yourself self do you?"

"Dude the most expensive thing I own is a cat who attacks me." I sigh, I sketch out a design for the astrolabe. "Well, why don't you start on the Mater, I'll get to work on the plate for our side of America."

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"3 hours of hard work and I got to say it's not bad." I hold the fished product, It's attached to a string of green yarn. "The calculations are down to point." I put it down, I clean up the mess that's on the floor of the living room.

"About the last time we saw each other, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, you probably knew about me from the news already, the big myste#wayne#scifi#damian#bruce#bats#fanfiction#xreader#characterxreader#jason todd#tim drake#character x reader#mxf#fxm#batboys#batboys x reader#Damianxreader#X reader#DC#Marvel#MarvelxReader#DCxreader#batfam#mutants#Damian Wayne x reader ry of the missing journals. So many interviews." I dump the trash in the kitchen, saying that last part mostly to my self.

"You forgive too easily."

"I'm not as forgiving as you think, honestly you view me too highly it that's what you believe. Would you like something before you leave?"

"No, but I have something for you before I go." I open the door to my room and let Nightmare out.

"Oh?" He's already at the door and pulls a shiny gold card from his pocket, he hands it to me.

"Father thought it would be good to meet you."

"Because I'm the daughter of a famous dead professor, is he going to ask about the journals too?"

"No, this is to apologize for my previous behavior."

"Oh," I take the card looking at it uneasily. "I don't think I can go to this, I don't do well at parties."

"Not a very good excuse." He smirks.

"I'll think about it." I push him out the door and give him the Astrolabe, closing the door slowly. " I'll see you at school."

I look at the card again, It's like the parties mom went to I knew them well. While some were nice, others were nice only in their face. I laugh slightly to myself, Molly already called me earlier telling me I was her plus one to the same thing. This was already suspicious enough as it is. I look at Nightmare who cocks his head at me.

"You think I should go, don't you?" the furball nods

"Fine. I was going to be forced into this anyway."

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elladescent449-artspace · 3 years

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It Started With the Milk: Chapter 7 - Solution and Sacrifice

April tipped the delivery kid and shut the door. After setting the boxes of pizza and garlic knots on the coffee table she flopped down onto the sofa with a breath of relief.

“It was just the delivery kid, Leo,” she shouted.

A clatter from the kitchen rang through the small apartment before Leo re-entered the living room. With a disgruntled huff, Leo took a seat beside her. “Was it really necessary for you to kick me into the broom closet?”

“Uh,” Now that April thought about it, kicking him into the pantry may have not been as necessary as she felt at the time. “I panicked?” She offered with a shrug.

After a pause, he gave a dry chuckle. “Under the circumstances,” Leo sighed as he sank into the sofa, “you’re forgiven.”

April could feel Leo’s exhaustion. His humor was gone and he was practically deflated against the cushions. Straightening herself to close the gap, she said “I know that a lot is going on right now and it's scary… I’m scared too. Even I’m having a hard time understanding it, but don’t worry,” she placed a comforting hand on his arm and gave a light squeeze, “everything is going to turn out okay.”

Leo looked towards April. Mayhem jumped onto Leo’s lap, rubbing against his chest and licking his face to pull a smile from him. Leo hugged Mayhem, a small smile creeping into him as he pulled him close. “You’re right,” he smiled towards April, “thanks.”

“We’re going to figure this out, but for now,” she popped the box open, “let’s get you to eat something, okay?” The smell of warm cheese and spices flooded the room and April pulled out a cheesy piece for herself. She hesitated to pull a piece from the other half - the squirmy, blinking, vibrantly-colored-tentacle-covered half - but she did it anyway and held it out to Leonardo. “I got your favorite!”

The slice was tempting. It was his favorite. He and his brothers would share this pizza all the time, but now? The sight of the wriggling slice made him nauseous.

“Actually,” he reached into the pizza box to grab a slice of the cheese, “I think I'll stick with the classics today.”

April looked surprised by his answer but took a bite without a word. As she began to lower the creepy special back into the box Mayhem jumped over the table and snatched it from her hand.

“Mayhem no!” She jumped from her seat, “you can’t eat that!” Leo swore that he saw Mayhem smirk as he ran into the kitchen with April close on his heels. A crash followed by a bang bounced off the walls of the apartment, chased with April’s voice, “you’re on a delicate tummy diet!”

Leonardo took a bite of his pizza. It was good. Really good. While the crashing (and a few muttered curse words) echoed he began to eat faster than normal, quickly finishing his slice before grabbing another cheesy piece. He finished that too, and after he finished a third of the garlic knots he realized that this was the first time he’d eaten today. Mayhem ran back into the living room and ran across the back of the couch. April slid in before jumping onto the back of the sofa herself in a tackle maneuver and pushing Leo to the side, almost grabbing Mayhem in a hold before he poofed onto the top of the bookshelf, the creepy-special slice still clenched between his fangs.

“Mayhem not the bookshelf.” It was too late, he finished it in three bites, looking smug from his high place as he did so. April came back and plopped down next to Leo. That’s when he noticed a light dust of flour on her clothes.

Leo snorted, covering his mouth to keep the bready appetizer in. April glared a little, but as she looked up to Mayhem and then back to Leo she sighed with a giggle. “It’s not funny, Leo, he’s not supposed to eat anything but bland chicken and rice!”

“The soup?” He grinned.

“No!” A playful punch sent to his arm made him wince but he laughed along with her.

April picked up her soda and slice that had been dropped in the mayhem, leaning back with Leo as they tuned back into the TV. They had forgotten that it was on with the delivery boy scare and Mayhem. At forty minutes into “Jitsu for Justice,” Lou was on his seventh fight. Leo mindlessly bit into the garlic knots. The soda in April’s can sloshed quietly as she took a bite of her pizza. They both knew this movie, they had seen it a million times, seen it enough for it to be a comforting family favorite. Mayhem poofed into Leo’s lap, burping -towards April- before circling in his lap and curling into a loose ball.

‘Hot~,” April mouthed the script along with Lou on the screen, ‘soup!’ She heard a quiet thrumming and looked over towards Leonardo. He was drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. The usual interest he displayed in the old Lou Jitsu films was gone, replaced with a new, horrific fixation on the bottle on the table. A pang of regret hit April in the chest. She should have moved it before they started eating. How could she forget?

His expression was tight as he stared at the bottle. The bottle wasn’t shaking as much as it had before, but it still shivered every once and a while under their gaze. So that’s what’s in Donnie? It sounded so sci-fi, but April was friends with mutant turtles and Sunita, so it was kind of ludicrous for her to think that this sort of thing was improbable. “Do you know what it wants?”

“No.” The answer came without hesitation. “I don’t have a single clue, as far as I know It’s just… coexisted until today.” April felt Leo tense next to her.

“And it's violent?”

There was a quiet pop in Leo’s fist as his hand tightened. “Oh yeah.”

“And It’s in Donnie?”

Leo leaned forward onto his fist, covering his mouth as he shakily whispered, “yup.”

Donnie was under the control of some freakish worm thing, and now Leo got hurt because of it. April picked up her phone from beneath her, opening the search engine and typing in “parasite”. She paraphrased as she skimmed the wiki article. “A parasite is supposed to- a successful parasite is supposed to maintain a balance with its host. So that it can survive and reproduce.” She read through the passage, ignoring the message notifications that sat at the top of her screen.

Leo scoffed, “Yeah, I figured.” He pet Mayhem gently to hide the shake that had returned to his hands.

“So Donnie has a parasite, not... is the parasite?” She cringed at her own grammar but continued. “So we just need to get it out of him.” She sat up straighter as she clicked on an article.

“Yeah.” Leo straightened as well, looking over her shoulder to look through her phone with her. “But how are we supposed to do that?”

“You said it came out of his mouth?”

Leo swallowed uncomfortably at the memory, “yes.”

“Ok, so it’s probably in his digestive tract,” she scrolled down to skim the article, not finding a lot that she could understand, “like, his stomach.”

He said with a sigh, “I know what the digestive tract is, April.” Leo pushed into April’s shoulder as he read with her, not understanding it very much himself, “if it's in his guts, how is it controlling his body?”

“It's obviously not a normal parasite, maybe it's some mystic parasite?” She offered, running a hand over her scalp. Mayhem’s ears perked.

“So… maybe if Donnie eats something it’ll come out?”

She scrolled down further to see if there was anything in the article about diet. “Has Donnie-” April caught herself, “Has It been eating anything weird, or avoiding anything in particular?”

Leo’s eyes darted as he tried to find anything significant in his memory, “It’s only put milk in his coffee, but I haven’t really watched him eat all that much.” Mayhem huffed in Leo’s lap, his ears twitching as he continued to listen.

“Okay…” what else could they do? It’s not like they could take him to a hospital, maybe a hospital in the Mystic city? But they couldn’t just drag Donatello there. “Nobody else has noticed anything? Not even Raph?”

“I didn’t get a chance.” Leo groaned, “I told Mikey, he was the one that saw Shelldon, but…”

“But what?”

“I just made myself look crazy!” Leo jerked forwards and threw his hands up in frustration, scaring Mayhem into a rigid sitting position. “He didn’t believe me at all, and then “Donnie” came in and swept him off his feet with soft-serve!” Leo made air quotations at Donnie’s name.

“Okay Leo, okay,” April placed a hand on his arm, Leo held Mayhem in a soft hug as he sank back into the couch, his gaze returning to the bottle on the table. “So definitely a no on anybody else noticing.”

A groan escaped him as Leo sank back into the sofa. As much as he'd been grumbling and groaning, he should be buried in the cushions by now. What was he going to do? His brothers and Dad were still at home with that thing, and he needed to figure out how to save his twin, plus it’s not like he could hide out at April’s for the rest of his life.

‘Enough moping, Leo,’ Raphael’s voice was still quiet, but Leo could hear it clearly as it poked into his thoughts. ‘You need to save your brothers.’ The image of his oldest brother was comforting. As Leonardo closed his eyes, he tried imagining him in his mind. With a bit of imaginative work he was able to visualize Raph sitting in their home, lifting weights as he spoke.

‘Really, I had planned to leave them to get eaten alive.’ He scoffed at his own sarcasm. After a moment's pause Leo asked, ‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘C’mon, this isn’t a test. The answer’s easy.’ Leo would’ve rolled his eyes if this conversation wasn’t taking place in his head. Mind Raph noticed it anyway, choosing an irritated tone to continue. ‘What do you do when someones sick?’

Leonardo mused, ‘put them in a giant hamster ball filled with pizza?’

Raphael stopped lifting as the thought struck him. ‘I could actually see that working, but no…’ Raphael let the inner gears of Leo’s head turn as the puzzle pieces fell into place ‘You give them medicine.’

“APRIL!”

“Ah!” The sudden noise caught her off guard enough to pull a yelp from her. Mayhem shot up, jumping to April’s lap. “What?!”

“You said the vet gave you something, right?” Leo turned to face her on the sofa, the sudden urgency causing an actual adrenaline rush inside of him.

“Uh yeah, the-” her eyes widened as it clicked. The snapped her fingers into a finger gun at Leo as the thought struck her. “The pills. The pills!” April repeated as she began to furiously rifle through her pockets. A blister pack fell out her pocket and onto the sofa cushion where she picked it up and flipped it over to reveal neat rows of pentagon shaped, white pills. She flipped it over again, to read the back where a paper note was firmly stapled. When her eyes met Leo she said, “this might work.”

A rush of catharsis flooded Leonardo. Speaking almost prompted tears from his eyes, his breath shaky with something other than the hopelessness he was feeling earlier, “if I can give Donnie this, he might- I might be able to get that thing out of him.”

Mayhem took the pills from April’s hand, reading over the instructions himself before handing them over to Leo.

The whole pack added up to about three thousand and six hundred milligrams of Praziquantel. Leonardo wasn’t a pharmacist but that seemed a bit overkill even with his current situation. He took a deep breath. He just needed to give him the pills, no big deal, maybe he could slip it in ‘Donnie’s’ food or maybe just get him alone and somehow trick him into taking them? It was pretty eager to drink after Leo yesterday, maybe he could dilute a few pills in a water bottle and fool him into drinking that.

“Leo…”

He looked back up to April.

“I’m suddenly hit with the implications of giving Don pills without his knowledge.”

Leonardo opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. He took a deep breath before releasing it, forcing himself to relax. “I know, but…” She was right, this was sketchy, and in any other circumstance he’d take a step back and reconsider. Leo took the bottle from the table and held it between them. “This is real.”

Looking at it again made her insides squirm. Donatello was her best friend and if this was real… April tried to remember what the vet had said about the medicine but not much came to mind, what if it was too much, what if it hurt him in a different way. But if this was really happening… With a sigh she took the bottle from his hand, noticing how cold the bottle felt. “I trust you, just-”

A cheery electronic ring interrupted them, prompting April to pull her phone from her pocket. She flipped over her phone to reveal the hippopotamus turtle meme. Raphael.

The ringtone went off once before she slid the green button to activate the call, putting it on speakerphone. “Raph, hey what’s up?”

“April, something happened between Donnie and Leo at the lair.” Leo quietly grimaced. “Leo’s disappeared now and I think he might be hurt because I can’t get a hold of him and I have no idea where he might be.” They could both hear Raphael’s voice crack with that last line. Leo felt a stab to the heart before he was flooded with regret, of course Raphael would be worried. April looked at Leo, who nodded.

“Leo’s at my place, you wanna talk to him?”

“Wh- YES!”

Leo took the phone from April’s hand. “Hello?”

“Leo, where are you? Are you okay?!” The boom of the sudden audio jerked Leo's head away from the device. Raph panicked across the receiver.

“Yeah, Raph I'm fine, I just…” Leo hesitantly looked towards April. “I just got to April’s,” he lied.

“Leo you’ve been gone for hours, no phone call and you expect me to believe that you’re just fine?!” Leo could hear Raph pace from across the phone. “What happened? The lair was a mess when we got back.”

Ah. Right. The skate ramp must be in shambles after Donnie’s Tech bo threw...“Is ‘It’ there?”

“What?”

“Listen, Raph,” Leo stood and walked across the room to face the window, “you need to stay away from Donnie, it’s not Donnie it’s something else. There’s something inside of him controlling him, it attacked me when I figured it out.” The words fell from his mouth in a frantic hysteria the faster he spoke.

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down,” Raph’s tone softened. “I know that you might feel a little frazzled right now but you need to come home.”

Leo scoffed at that. “It’s not Donnie, Raph!” Leo shouted. There was a pause across the line, Leo could practically hear Raphael thinking. A thought struck Leo and his mouth went dry. “Is it… Is it there with you?”

Raph took another moment before he replied, “Donnie is-”

“You guys need to get out of there,” Leo cut him off, “if it’s in the lair you guys need to get out now!”

“No, no... No,” Raph continued to speak gently. His soft tone beginning to calm Leo from over the phone. “Donnie left, okay?” “Are you sure?”

“Yes Leo.” Leo tried listening from across the phone, trying to find any indication that his brother was lying. But he wasn’t. As he always was, Raphael was telling the truth. “You’re at April’s? I can come pick you up,” he offered.

“No, no it’s fine Raph,” he turned towards April, locking eyes with her as he spoke. “I’ll- I’ll come home.” He was doing this. He was really going to do this. Everything suddenly became overwhelming as he tried to think of what exactly he needed to do and say in order to make this work, how it needed to go so that nobody got hurt, including himself and Donatello. Leonardo released a shaky breath, “are you sure that… thing isn’t there?”

“Yeah, Leo, I’m sure.”

“I just-” he laughed as he rubbed a hand over his head. “I know that I sound crazy but…” there was a hesitation, “If I started from the beginning I’d just sound more crazy than I already feel.”

Raphael hummed, “It’s okay Leo, we can talk about it when you get home,” well that was a conversation that Leo was now dreading, “are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?”

Leo closed his eyes. “Yeah,” he forced himself to tense before relaxing again. “I can- I can make it home just fine.” Before Raphael could say anything else he added, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I’ll see you soon.” A sigh of relief could be heard from over the phone. “I love you.”

A genuine smile appeared onto Leo’s face, “I love you too.” And then he hung up.

Alright, there’s no time to wait. He went to the bathroom where he reattached his Odachi to his shell, April followed him from behind, abandoning the bottle on the sofa. “Leo, are you sure about this?”

They exited the bathroom to go back to the living room, where Leo retrieved the pills from the couch, “sure about what?”

“How do you know that those will even work?” An irritated bark snaps them both back to Mayhem as he stares them both from the table, his tail tapping the hardened wood in irritation. April ignores Mayhem, looking back to Leo, “how do you know that the pills will work?”

“I-” He tried to find true conviction, “I don’t.” His hand gripped the door handle, hesitating to turn. “But it’s what we’ve got.”

The silence that ensued was almost painful as April tried to offer any other suggestions. She looked to Mayhem, who only looked with sympathy before nodding.

“I just…” she breathed in before releasing with a heavy sigh, “I just want you to be okay-”

The rapid knocks on the door made them both freeze. Leo held a hand out to April in a stopping motion. The rapping came again and he released the door handle, stepping away quietly.

The knocks came again, louder this time. “April.” Oh no. “It’s Donnie.”

April grabbed Leo by the wrist. He stumbled after her as she dragged him away from the door and around the corner. She opened the door to her room. With a loud whisper, “go out the window.”

“What?” He replicated her volume. The pounding came again. “April, I am not leaving you alone with that thing!”

“You need to go home.” She opened the window, poking her head out and scanning the alleyway for anything or anyone. “I can handle this.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled confidently as she gave him a tight hug. “I got this.” And then she shoved him out the window.

The door opened before his fist could hit again. Mid-air and ready to knock. Donatello’s hood was off, odd for someone who kept his hood on even during late night basketball. He was startled by the sudden opening of the door, and he stood frozen, a little confused as he stared at her.

April straightened, brushing a loose strand out of her eyes as she smiled, trying to fight the pants of air that was leaking out of her lungs. “Donnie! Hey!”

Donatello stared at her, presenting a look of confusion that April didn’t recognize. Her smile faltered as she waited for him to respond.

In the awkward silence her eyes went up to his fist. There was a bandage around his hand and her eyes narrowed. “What happened there-”

Recognition flashed over his eyes and he smiled. “April,” his curt response didn’t match his expression, “where’s Leo?”

“He, uh” her eyes almost looked over her shoulder but she fought it to keep her eyes on him, “haven’t seen him.”

A knowing smile crept on his face as he looked over her head into the apartment. “Uh huh.” He lowered his fist. Slowly placing it back into his hoodie pocket where his other hand lies.

“Well, I mean I saw him earlier when he came and picked me up, but after that… didn’t really-” a hand firmly pushed her to the side as Donnie entered her apartment. He didn’t look at April as he crossed the threshold, his eyes only flicking from side to side as he scanned the room. She scoffed in disbelief, stumbling back at the unexpected push. “Okay,” she laughed angrily, staring him down as he ignored her. “Why not just come in uninvited.”

Mayhem appeared on the sofa briefly before teleporting away again, taking something with him too fast for Donatello to see. His brows furrowed at the spot where Mayhem had been. “So you’re saying that he’s not here.”

The abrupt nature of his voice caught her off guard. “Yup,” she slammed the door shut before leaning on it and crossing her arms. “Leonardo is not here. Meaning that you can leave.”

“Uh-huh, just want to make sure.” Mayhem appeared back onto the coffee table, a low growl emitting from his chest as he watched the turtle take slow steps further into the apartment. “He hasn’t really been acting like himself lately.” Donnie smiled and approached Mayhem, reaching a gentle hand out as he whispered something that April couldn’t hear.

Mayhem snapped at him, causing Donatello to retract his hand sharply. Mayhem’s hackles raised as he bared his fangs, emitting a harsh growl prompting Donnie to take a step back. Donatello looked to her, sending a cold gaze that quickly died under her piercing stare. She looked from Mayhem to Donnie, “he’s not the only one.

Donatello sighed. “April, it’s very complicated.” He turned towards her, waving his hand dramatically. “It’s mutant stuff, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Excuse me?”

He ignores her as he opens the pizza box on the coffee table. “Creepy special?” She says nothing as she watches him. Mayhem stops growling long enough for him to hop off the sofa and race over to stand by April’s feet.

‘Donnie’ enters the kitchen and she follows. Post and pans cover a majority of the counter and a light layer of flour dusts it all. He considers it for a moment but huffs as he slowly leaves the kitchen.

April kept close behind him. “So what was that other thing?’”

“Pardon?” He doesn’t look at her as he speaks, only gazing around her apartment carefully as he goes down the hallway.

“Y’know, that thing that came up? The thing that kept you from picking me up? Like you promised?” She put an emphasis on the last part.

A quiet chuckle escaped him. “Mikey needed my help with something, y’know how he is.” He shrugs, only glancing into the bathroom as he went farther into her home.

“Oh,” she feigned belief,“and what was that thing?”

Donatello waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

She spoke a little louder. “Well, the thing was so important that you couldn’t pick me up, so it must have been serious.”

He opened the door to her room, “I said don’t worry about it.”

“Why are you acting like this?” She wanted to yank him back by the ponytail. He wouldn’t look at her and now he was in her space. “I was out in the rain for close to half an hour, you said you were going to pick me up, and you didn’t, I’m going to worry about-”

“April,” he half-chuckled-half-shouted as he got near the open window. “Stop talking.”

She heard Mayhem gasp at her feet. Leo was right. This was not Donnie. Any doubts that April had promptly said their goodbyes and threw themselves out the window along with Leo. This was not Donnie and now April knew it for sure.

“Get out of my apartment.”

A response didn’t come from him as he stood stationary. After a moment he slowly moved his hand to shut the window. It fell closed with a click.

“You’ve got until the count of three to get out of my apartment before I-”

The bones in his neck cracked as his head turned with a jeering smirk. “Before what, Ms. O’neil,” his body turned to face her, his head not moving and his eyes not blinking as he did so, “what will you do if I don’t leave your apartment?” Aprils skin prickled as the hair on her arms raised. She opened her mouth only for ‘It’ to sharply bend forward to come closer to April’s face. “You’re just a human, and humans are easy inside and out.” She took a step back as it took a step forward. Mayhem’s growls raised in volume as he placed himself between them. “Self absorbed. Unreliable. Cowardly. And weak.” Her back touched the wall and it placed a hand above her head. “So what could you, April O’Neil, possibly do.”

April threw the first punch. A half-fist, to be more precise, right into his throat. It reeled back in shock and she followed up with a left hook before grabbing It by the color of it’s hoodie and dragging it’s stomach into her knee. She flipped onto Its back, immediately applying a rear-naked choke. She’d have to thank Splinter again sometime for teaching her this stuff, after the whole “parasite” situation, that is..

“Y’know, when I first saw you, I almost didn’t believe him.” It leaned forward, picking her up off the ground as it tried to shake her. April wrapped her legs around Its waist. “That smile was perfect. The way that you stood, the way that you composed.” She heard it cough as she increased the pressure “And then you opened your mouth.”

Both her arms were gripped as she was slammed into the dresser. She yelped but kept her grip. It repeated it as it stumbled around the room until her head came in contact with the doorframe. Her grip loosened enough for It to pull her over Its shoulder, slamming her into the ground enough to rock her consciousness.

Mayhem screeched as he lunged forward. ‘It’ pulled something out of Its pocket, and a loud pop cut Mayhem’s cry short. April lifted a leg, sending it square into Its jaw. It reeled back again as April rolled over onto her feet near the bed, swiping her bat from under the bed frame.

“Get out of my apartment!” She swung downwards but it stepped to the side as it gripped her shoulder, harshly pushing her back. It raised its arm and a loud pop sounded again. She felt something hit her chest and a web of sick green folded over her vision. She lost her balance and fell backwards onto a rounded surface. She was inside of a transparent ball.

It straightened and spat something black onto the carpet before rubbing a fist over its mouth. A dry chuckle came with a grimace, “well… I did ask what you would do.” She tried to stand only to slip on the slick surface. The ball was a green akin to the color of a swamp, with purple veins gripping the inside and outside of the ball. She looked to her right, where Mayhem was trapped in a similar ball. He vanished in a flurry of blue, only for him to appear inside of it again.

She banged on the transparent wall, “what is this? Let me out!”

“Oh,” it brushed its sleeve and cracked its neck, “you can hear me, but I can’t hear you.” A dark smile, too big for Donatello’s face stretched across ‘It’. It waved a small metal oval, akin to a dog clicker. “Should’ve minded your business O’neil.” It took a step towards her only to step on April’s cellphone, which had fallen in the skirmish. It looked down, then back up to her before smirking and reaching down to pick up the device.

It tapped the screen before It began to pace theatrically, announcing every word it typed. ““Hey… Mom.” It glared at April mockingly, ““just letting you know that I’ll be at Sunita’s tonight.””

“No!” April’s bat was with her. There wasn’t enough room to stand, even if she could, but she got up to her knees, bat in hand, and slammed the pommel into her prison wall.

““Love you, ttyl.”” It threw the phone over its shoulder, leering as it took a step towards April. “You humans say that kind of garbage nowadays, right?”

She hit harder, the shock from the bat starting to crawl into her shoulders with the amount of force she was sending into her prison.

“Y’know, I wanted to do this differently. Take my time, enjoy myself, have a little fun, but no~ The blue one just had to screw it all up!” ‘It’ twisted back before planting a punch to the surface of her cage. The force of his punch sent her prison into the wall, where she lost balance and slammed into the side full force. Her head reeled from the impact and she fell to her stomach before she could brace herself. “And now,” the thing gripped one of the many plant-like veins that clutched the sphere and jerked it down, sending her tumbling onto her side. She heard It laugh viciously. She looked up as the lights were switched off, still reeling from the impact. Grey lighting from the rainfall flooded her room and the monster that wasn’t Donnie was transformed into a dark silhouette. It locked her door from the inside as it walked out. Just as the door shut, it finished: “it seems that I’ll just have to speed things up.”

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #writing #fanfiction #It started with the milk #chapter 7 #fanfic #leo #leonardo #april #april o'neil #mayhem #agent 64 #tmnt #my writing

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siren-virus · 3 years

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ok, It's been a long while since I've sent an ask, and though that can be atributed to life being life, that can only go so far and these previeous 3 days I've been lazing around mostly XD So, in order to compensate, here's the asks for Free and SWUP that have entered my brain and I haven't filtered out yet that I'll send you. Answer as you see fit for I might send repeated questions or some that have already been aswered before in another form.

For SWUP, would SWUP (Does she have another name? I can't remember) ever try a work somewhere? She has to get money somehow if she wants to be able to buy food, clothes, a home, and pay for all the medical expences she might have to go through. What other friends would she have other than wine aunt and coffee barista? I remember you said there might be a third one who's not really relevant, but whos father is, and you were still unsure on wether to include them or not. Also, the humans in this Earth, how much do they know about aliens? The Unicorns and Dragons? I imagine that considering the amount of damage they can do when they fight, and considering that apparently their experiments on abducted humans that they leave on Earth for like a month before taking them forever, would make them fairly known, and have something like a world agency looking out for different cases or something, however succesful they actually are.

Now onto Free, Is there any chance that we could get to know of any of the friends that the rag-tag group would make along the way of the travels? Like, there HAS to be someone who they befriend without any shennanigans involved at the very least, or with minimal ammount of them, just as there HAS to be a friend made after a disaster of cataclismic proportions happens that inebitably onvolves the found family. Also, how long was Leo outside on his own before bird friend (forgot his name) found him and started to get them back to the Domes? Considering that they have a long adventure, I imagine that he spent at least a month outside without an idea of any direction he was going, and getting lost along the way because of course he gets lost, before he was found. Would the team find anyone else who was part of the Domes but left of their own volition too? Another traveler similar to Leo, but that doesn't want to return to those places for X or Y reason? Would there be anyone from the Domes that they meet that DIDN'T want to leave the Domes in the first place but got out regardless? This could be for whatever reason, from kidnapping to exhile to attack to the Dome to simply escaping from a bad situation.

oop sorry for taking a bit to get back to you,

youre questions make me realise how under developed my stories are wheeezee so i rlly appreciate your questions!!

SWUP aka Vicky her human alias. or I guess the unicorn is the alias. AH SHIT I DIDNT EVEN THINK OF THAT!! Originally when i made SWUP she was supposed to be in high school. But as i grow I also like my characters to grow with me. Maybe I'll get her a job as one of them gym buddies (it has to be a job that allows for some form of freedom, enough to like be able to do th vigialnte thing- (i forget the name) Medical expenses aren't too bad, I'm basing it off aus medical- which means medicare! Plus she doesn't need the hospital all that often, she can regenerate.

In terms of friends she doesn't have many not because she socially inept (like myself)- she was very popular in highschool, but there isn't many people she can relate to. Her best friend James (pending name) comic book nerd that loves super heroes is all she's got. And some gym bros, but they're just friends at the gym, outside complete strangers. I really do want James to be relevant to the plot and not his dad and daddy issues, but he's a bit hard to squeeze in. Maybe if I sat down to actually do some writing, maybe--- ALAS I am but a creature of laziness, and poor attention span. (im barely focusing on Flee atm and I rlly wanna try developing GECKO again fml)

Humans know little to nothing about aliens (excpet for like the government and so wackos who a really into scifi) So even though SWUP is doing her best to help ppl, she's seen as a horrifying villain that is stage one to an alien invasion. (the scifi wackos play a part in that.) Although most Police officers appreciate the help... most.

Suprisingly no, most humans who were mutated into unicorns almost seem to disappear, SWUP is an exception. Why is that hmmmmmmmm? this is kind of a big moment, if I ever plan to push this idea to the webcomic/animation stage, youll see.

There's not really an official .org agency or anything like that, but some wackos who love space, and an actual scientist or 2. So far they have deducted that unicorns are evil space creatures who prey on humans and consume their flesh to get stronger so they can lay eggs and take over the world. There's not a lot of truth to that. Some parts tho... but which part? At the moment I'm really into mystery- so maybe I'll add some mystery elements, or I'll give it to GECKO. first i gotta redesign Mac, poor lad is not a looker I'l tell you that.

FLEE I barely know their friends either- haven't gone about developing them. HOWEVER. I do have a villain in mind. I remember making him for my illustration class back in uni (sigh uni days...) I dom't have a name, but I have a face. He's a big leader of this village known for killing the hybrid/mutants. He and his crew, a rag-tag gun loving, truck driving, share-a-brain-cell, lot. How they've managed to become successful hunter bunch is unknown.

But one the friends I have developed enough is Bolt, who also comes with their own shennanigans and an old rusty bus. Techincally they don't need it because they're fast as fuck, but it helps to have around incase you get a goliath sand bobbit on your hands.

Tristian is the human, Leo is the bird friend. Actually Trisitian was out on his own for three days, he didn't cover much ground when he finally met Leo either- dumbass didn't bring enough food and water to last. He didn't even have a plan, just wanted to go out. The only reason Leo didn't send his ass running home was because something- or someone- pushed them far. far away. Oh my who could it be?

Tristians kind of a rarity, not many people leave the domes unless it's through underground passageways to other domes. Most people are blissfully unaware of the outside world. Not to say Tristians the only one who escaped, but he's the only one who's survived outside for so long. (dome people don't have any survival skills) The only reason Tristians gotten so far is dumb lucks and a hot headed bird friend.

#flee #answer #swup #tristian #leo #vicky

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queerpyracy · 3 years

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I hope it's ok to ask your farmer expertise for writing purposes? if a farm was abandoned for c. 2 weeks, with no one to care for the animals, how would the ones you are familiar / have experience with fare -- starve, break out of barns/enclosures, etc? I'll drop dollar in your ko-fi if u answer thx

i'm gonna put this under a cut both bc it's long and bc some of the content might be upsetting, general content warning for animal death and injury

so, what kind of farm infrastructure you have/how it was left is going to matter here

animals with outdoor access are going to have a much easier time getting out than those closed up in a barn, though if they are closed up they'll push on anything they can get to move and doors can come off tracks/hinges, a big enough and desperate enough animal will break a chain on a gate or break a latch on a door. (bulls, especially, are great for fucking up gates for less desperate reasons than thirst. we had a mature bull jump over a gate for horny reasons, and there is now a permanent bend in the top bar.) sometimes they even lift gates off their hinges, which isn’t a perfect way to get out bc cows don’t like walking over that kind of stuff but they will if they have to.

chickens aren't great fliers but they can get over fences pretty easy if there's not a roof in the way, so if they're penned but not in a coop, they'll get out to look for food and water. they'll have the easiest time food-wise (unless it's winter) but will also be the easiest for smaller predators (hawks, raccoons, foxes, skunks, coyotes, etc) to pick off. this'll depend on whether or not your hypothetical farm was abandoned during the day with chickens outside or at night when they were shut up in the coop for protection, in which case, unless your birds have access to two weeks worth of water, they're fucked. mine made it about 8 days on the water provided them when we had to evacuate because of wildfires, but they were topped off knowing we might not be able to get back to them and given extra water because of it. we're talking a 2 gallon covered water can + a coffee can for seven hens, it wasn't too hot, and they were almost dry when i was able to come home.

chickens might be able to make it without food for two weeks, but they might also start cannibalizing each other. this would probably start with a bird at the bottom of the pecking order getting injured and then the situation escalating from there. (this, by the way, doesn't happen unless chickens are under a lot of stress. like chickens are fucked up but i feel the need to be clear that this is not Normal chicken behavior. they will give each other minor injuries but cannibalism happens bc of extreme stress.) chickens will also kill small snakes and rodents.

chickens that are outside without being able to get back in their coop will find a tree or other elevated place to roost at night. chickens that are outside with access to their coop might choose to roost in their coop or outside. laying birds will also start to pick fun new secret places to lay their eggs, under bushes and such. even fed chickens will sometimes eat their own eggs, hungry chickens are absolutely likely to become routine egg eaters. extremely hungry chickens will stop laying.

roosters might be able to fend off skunks and raccoons, but hawks drop out of the sky* and anything much larger than a raccoon is going to devestate an unprotected flock. chickens that are outside in winter and can't get out of the cold are going to be vulnerable to frostbite, particularly their toes and combs. also: if a chicken gets wet down to its skin there is a very high likelihood it will get sick and die.

*hawks will kill a chicken but chickens are also generally too large for them to carry off, so they’ll leave most of the chicken where they found it.

a note on predators in general: you'll have to decide how aggressive they were before the humans were no longer around. where i am, the coyotes are pretty good about keeping their distance, but that's not true of every place, and if they were already a problem, they'll definitely increase their hunting in the absence of humans to keep them at bay. larger animals like cows and horses might be able to drive off or kill a coyote/dog or a small bear, but if they're contending with mountain lions that'll be more of a problem for them. not impossible to drive off/kill, but much more likely to successfully kill livestock.

i don't have much experience with sheep but a problematic dog can kill tons of them in a relatively short time so you can extrapolate from there. i can't think of anyway people tend to keep rabbits that wouldn't leave them dying of dehydration after a few days, unless they manage to pop a latch on their cage/hutch, but they too are going to be extremely vulnerable to predation, being small, unaccustomed to wild conditions, and possibly a highly visible color. domestic rabbits also can die of fright very easily. (my sister's rabbit, who survived a cow sitting on her cage and lived many years after, is an outlier and should not be counted.)

what kind of fencing you have is going to matter: cows don't give much of a shit about barbed wire fences even when they aren't thirsty and hungry, so that won't be much of a problem for them either. if the fence is old, they might push over a rotting post and get out that way. downed wires (barbed or otherwise) might result in an animal getting tangled up--they might be stuck or they might have a horrible ankle bracelet which will cut into them and get infected. they might break the wire from the fence, have a horrible ankle bracelet, and get stuck/tie up their back legs somewhere else.

electric fences are going to be a bit more problematic unless the power is down. cows (and i assume most other livestock) will go through an electric fence if the voltage is compromised in some way, which can happen just from having tall grass/weeds that get wet and short out the fence. if an animal gets tangled up in a hot electric fence and there's no one there to free it, then it's fucked. an electric fence isn't going to be hot enough to kill it fast, is the problem, just enough to make it harder to escape. (i had a rather frightening experience this last summer with a heifer getting her back legs tangled in a temporary wire. she's fine but she wouldn't have gotten out without my help and her legs didn't work for a couple of minutes, and she seemed kind of Off for weeks after that. you wouldn't know anything had happened to her, now.)

wire mesh fences are going to be the hardest to get out of. cow/hog panel fences can be busted where they're tied together/stapled to a post (especially, again, if the fence is old and the posts are decaying.) wooden fences they will just knock over or break through. hedges will be eaten and used for shelter. if for some reason this farm has stone walls that could be a problem for everything except maybe goats and chickens.

goats are escape artists anyway, as long as their horns to get stuck in anything/their feet don't get tangled up, they'll be out and roaming. they are smaller and thus more vulnerable to predators than larger livestock.

access to water is going to be the primary motivator in the short term and the thing that will kill shut-in animals the fastest, as for whether or not anything that manages to get outside will starve in two weeks time, that's going to depend on the season and place. the middle of winter in a place with snow and ice is going to be very hard, obviously, but if we're anywhere between spring and autumn and there is food to be had somewhere, then hungry animals will try to get to it. if they can't get out of fences, hunger might drive them to eat toxic plants they ordinarily avoid. how deadly that is to them depends on how toxic it is, how much is available for them to eat, and how big the animal is. a large cow can probably survive a few stems of tansy ragwort but not a field. (sheep, weirdly enough, can apparently eat young tansy ragwort plants without issue? again, not much experience with sheep but this fact has haunted me since i read it. tansy ragwort causes liver damage in almost everything but sheep, which die at the drop of a hat, Fine, I Guess.)

they'll also start chewing on things that aren't toxic but they might avoid for other reasons, like risking scratching up their nose by eating blackberry leaves, or lower branches of conifer trees. any branches of deciduous trees they can reach, if in leaf, will be one of the first things they go after. if they're regularly pastured under these trees, they'll already have pruned up the bottom branches to however high the tallest animal can reach. if it's autumn or after and there are apples or other fruit on the ground they'll absolutely clean those up, no matter how old--tho after two weeks anyone who finds the place will probably have missed the period of time in which there were drunk livestock. goats will also strip bark off trees, girdling and ultimately killing the tree.

if they can get out of fences they'll wander however far they need to go to find more food. how lucky they are again depends on the season and location. steep hills will provide more danger, especially if it's wet and slick. how regularly they return to the farm itself probably depends on where the water is and if there's better shelter there than anywhere else. (depending on how isolated your hypothetical farm is, wandering livestock might be the indicator that something is Wrong.)

if there are stores of grain laying around that ruminant livestock get into and gorge themselves on, they could get bloat and die that way. they'll also eat bedding straw if hungry, which isn't really nutritious, as long as it isn't covered in urine or feces. in a mixed species group of animals they're more likely to graze closer to/around the feces of other species than in their own. don't ask me why this is just something i've observed.

under severe stress like dehydration or hunger a lactating animal will dry up, which could have consequences for their offspring. if they're old enough to eat solid foods this isn't necessarily lethal, but could stunt their growth in the long term, or leave them more vulnerable to hypothermia bc of the decrease in calories.

some bullet points bc this is A Lot:

animals that are closed up in a barn/coop/etc are at a much higher risk of dying in under a two week time span than animals that aren't

thirst and lack of shelter will kill them faster than hunger

winter is going to in general be the most dangerous season for them to go two weeks without care

most livestock find ways to escape their holdings even when they aren't desperate

small and very young animals are going to in general be more vulnerable to weather and predation

that's about all i can think of off the top of my head, if you have any more questions i'm happy to help.

#farm tag #Anonymous

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boyy-wonder-grayson · 4 years

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Winter's Weather // Dick Grayson Au!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Warnings: nothing other than some swearing and maybe a little angst if you squint (?)

A/n: chapter 2 it's finally here!! I don't know how to feel about this since I've hit writers block quite a few times while writing this,I wanted to make it longer than the first one, which it is, but I don't know. Sorry about the moodboards they're easy and fun to do, so I'll probably do more lmao. Thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated :) anyway enjoy!!

The first night at her father’s cabin was spent reminiscing of all the times she has been there when her family was complete. Her father was a fisherman, so he usually would wake the girls up and take them to the lake to teach them how to fish. Y/n was quite good at it, her sister Remy on the other hand was not kin of the early activities her father would take them to. Y/n found her father’s old fishing roads at the back of the house; she’d probably end up selling them or donating them to the local shop back in town. It wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. It’s been five years since her father had passed and the wound was still fresh; her father had been her best friend through life. He was a kind man with a wicked sense of humor, he was the backbone of their family, so when he passed it was harder and harder to go back home to her mother who apparently didn’t took him long to find someone else to spend the rest of her life with. That was something Y/n wasn’t happy about; is not that she didn’t want for her mother to be happy, on the contrary, it was that her father’s death was still very much fresh on her mind and she was not ready to move on from that just yet. That was part of the reason why she moved back to his old cabin; to make peace with his death, and try to live a happy life just like her father had wanted for her.

So far she wasn’t doing a good job at it.

In the mess that her father had left on the basement of the house she found more and more stuff that belonged to him and it was hard for her no to cry; being surrounded by her father’s presence was something she wasn’t quite ready to do apparently. She found his old camera inside of a box. The box was filled with Polaroid’s of her, some with her sister and her mother and some of the house. His father was an amateur photographer and that camera was a gift from her in his 50’s birthday. He loved It so much that he took it everywhere with him. He used to say that a picture could tell a better story than words could muster, which it used to annoy her given that she was a writer; writing was her life and for her father to say something like that would make her roll her eyes, but now looking at the photographs she realized he was right. There he was smiling at the camera hugging her closer to his body, laughing because he was squeezing her so hard that her face could barely be seen, nevertheless her sister took the picture. She sniffed looking around and drying her tears, it was going to be harder than she thought. She grabbed the box and the camera and took them upstairs with her, promising that tomorrow she would organize everything and would set her life in motion. After all she would do it for her father, if not for her.

----------------------

It was seven a.m. when she heard a knock on her door and groaned, hoping that whoever was brave enough to disrupt her sleep would just go away, but of course she wasn’t that lucky. The knocking intensified until she threw the covers of her bed and shivered when the cold morning air hit her warm body. Apparently sleeping with a short sleeved shirt and some shorts wasn’t a good idea in winter. She opened the door without looking who it was; she was already in a bad mood, one: because who the hell comes all the way to the middle of the woods to wake someone up at the crack of dawn –overdramatic as always—and two: nobody knew she was back in town so who the hell was banging on her door so early? Her question was quickly answered when she was face to face with non-other that the annoying man from yesterday.

“What are you doing here?” she asked confused “and so early in the morning” she added bitterly trying her hardest to show her distaste of his visit.

“Good morning to you too” the guy replied sarcastically. “Like I told you yesterday, your father put me in charge of his place and since you’re here now, and since I’m sure you’re not aware of how a cabin is run, I thought I’d explain to you, so you don’t tear this place down” he said smiling at her now, showing a cute smile that made her stomach turn but not in a good way. He was cocky and she didn’t like that. Not that much at least.

“Is it necessary that you come here at 7 a.m. to do this?” she asked through gritted teeth. She couldn’t believe the audacity of this man.

“Yes, because unlike you I can’t lose my time with people who decided to come live in a cabin in the middle of the woods because her life in the big city wasn’t working for her” he said dryly, almost as if he was angry about it. Y/n was taken aback with his response and look at him in disbelief, partly because of how quickly his playful and cocky attitude changed to a more serious and dark one, and partly because he was right about her reason for coming back to Mystic so suddenly. It was true that her life in the city was not going well and she thought some fresh air from the small town that saw her grow would be a good change, but she wasn’t going to give this stranger man the satisfaction of knowing he was right. He was so right.

“Excuse me Mr. Grinch” she said, earning a glare from the boy. “I don’t need you here. I’ve spent years in this cabin; I know exactly how to keep this place running okay? So you can go now and steal Christmas or whatever that Grinch’s like you do” she said turning around leaving the boy standing at the door. It was her second day back in town and she was already infuriated with this man. Who the hell does he think he is to talk to her like that?

The man on the other hand was fuming; he didn’t like her attitude, and he certainly didn’t like to be compared to one of the most famous grumps in the world, especially by someone who didn’t even know him. He had his reasons to be that way, to be guarded against everyone and everything; that was at least his justification for his shitty attitude, but Y/n was not going to put up with that.

“Listen city girl, I’m not here to discuss how you should or should not do, your father gave me explicit instructions to keep this place intact, and unlike you, I plan to follow them” he said walking closer to the girl. Y/n was angry now. She didn’t even have her morning coffee and she was already arguing with a man, her morning could not be better. Before she could start spewing insults at the boy he started talking again.

“Do you know how much firewood you need to survive the winter? Because no offense but I don’t think chopping wood is one of your strong suits. Or do you know how to properly clean and dry the wood? Or do you know what kind of stain you need to use in this particular house? I’m sure you do right, since you’ve always came here?” he asked question after question making the girl fell smaller with each one. It was true that she didn’t know much about what it took to keep cabin running, but she was stubborn as hell and was not going to back down from an argument, not when her pride was on the line.

“I don’t need some lumberjack wannabe to tell me how to take care of my house, I can always talk to someone else, or hire someone to the maintenance for me” she replied smugly, enjoying the way his face contorted with each word she said. He scoffed and ran a hand through his hair trying to calm himself down, it wasn’t ideal that he was stubborn as hell too. Their personalities collided and no one was going to back down if that meant admitting they were wrong.

“Your father asked me to take care of this place, and I will do it whether you like it or not” he said looking straight into her eyes. She would be a big fat liar if she said that his stare wasn’t doing things to her. Her stomach twisted and her heartbeat accelerated looking at the man in front of her. He was hot and handsome as hell, his brown eyes became darker the more frustrated he got and she imagined herself in a different situation with those brown eyes staring at her with such intensity. She quickly shook her head to get rid of such sinful thoughts and cleared her throat trying to come remember what he said last.

The brown eyed boy wasn’t too different from her. His eyes darted towards her chest, he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra and the cold air of the morning made her nipples hard, but she was too engrossed trying arguing with him to notice. But he did notice my god. He removed his eyes quickly from her chest and the next thing he noticed was her long legs; he imagined himself in a different situation where her legs would be wrapped around his waist. He shook his head gently removing those thoughts from his head, hopefully she wouldn’t have noticed the way he was checking her out. She didn’t, but she did ask him a question.

“What?” he said feeling stupid for thinking about taking the woman in front of him against the nearest wall, instead of listening to her.

“I asked what your name is, or should I call you Grinch?” she asked with amusement dancing in her eyes.

“I’m Richard, but everyone just calls me Dick.”

------

The following day Y/n woke up early that day with the intention of doing some work around the house. She wasn’t sure yet what would happen to the cabin; she thought about selling the place once she finished with the maintenance and some remodeling. A cabin in the woods would give her some good money; but detaching herself from the house where she spent half her childhood and teenage years was hard.

She still had time though. She was taking some time away from the city so spending time away from everyone and being on her own would do her good. Or at least that was what she said to herself. She decided after having her second breakfast –which consisted of some coffee—that she needed some groceries if she was going to spend the winter in the woods. The stores weren’t so far from the cabin so she grabbed her wallet, keys and wrapped herself in her warmest clothes to go out and face the winter of Connecticut. She made it into town in twenty minutes. It was snowing slightly when she got out of the car, she had park just in front of Mrs. Bradley old market. That place was already when she was a kid and apparently was still standing strong. Mrs. Bradley was the nicest woman she had ever met, the woman would always sneak a candy or two for her and her sister when they were shopping with her dad, her mother didn’t like that and scoffed whenever that happened but Mrs. Bradley would pay no mind and do it whenever she could. The bell atop of the door dinged when she entered the shop, making the old woman lift her gaze and when she recognized a smile stretched across her lips.

“Y/n! Oh look at you!” the old woman beamed at her making her smile even bigger. The woman moved from her spot behind the register to hug the girl, which the later reciprocated with as much enthusiasm as the woman.

“You look so beautiful; look how much you’ve grown!”

“Thanks Mrs. Bradley you’re looking good too, didn’t age a day.”

“Lucky for you flattery would get you everywhere with me” the woman said, making the girl laugh. One thing she loved about this town was the people. Most of the town had seen her grow from a little kid to the woman she is today. She had a special place for everyone in this town, especially Mrs. Bradley, she was like the grandmother she never had.

“Well lucky me then” she said giggling with the old woman.

“I haven’t seen you in what? Five years? ” Mrs. Bradley asked rubbing her hands along her arms in a comforting manner “I’m sorry about your father, we were all very sad to hear that he was gone, I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt. You were so closed” she said smiling sadly.

“Thanks, and yeah it was…hard, that’s why it took me so long to come back here” she admitted; it was easy for her to talk to this woman, easier than with her mother for sure.

“I know sweetie, I know. But you’re here now, and that’s what matters.” She was so grateful to have someone like her that she could confide in about pretty much everything.

“Yeah, and I’ll be around for a long time I think,” she confessed. The old woman hugged her once again and professed how happy she was that she had decided to stick around for a while promising that they would have a chat whenever she was free. The girl nodded excited to finally be back somewhere where she felt comfortable enough to call it home. She apologized to the customer that was waiting for the women to finish chatting and made her way to the back of the store to get some groceries. She was halfway done with every item on her list when she found herself in front of the cereal aisle; she scanned the shelf looking for her favorite brand, she smiled triumphantly when she found the last box at the top of the shelf. She stood on her tiptoes trying to reach the box before someone snatched it out of her grasp. Her head snapped quickly to find the body attached to the hand that took the last box of cereal and of course it had to be no other than Dick.

“Give it back” she said, already annoyed by her presence. Dick looked down at her acknowledging her presence and chuckled when he saw her frowning like a child.

“No” he said, trying hard not to laugh at her expression. Her mouth was slightly open, her brows were furrowed and he knew she was ready to retaliate.

“I saw it first, I even grabbed it first before you literally took it out of my hands” she explained “So technically it’s mine” she said crossing her arms across her chest.

“Technically it’s in my basket, so it’s mine,” he said. He would never admit it but as much as he was annoyed by her, he still enjoyed pissing her off.

“You stole it! So give it back now” she reached a hand waiting for him to return her cereal.

“Nop” he said and turned around leaving her with her mouth open. She was trying to think of a good comeback but dick was halfway across the store by then.

“At least he does justice to his name” Y/n said grabbing a different box of cereal, sighing she continued her shopping hoping not to bump into Dick for the rest of the day.

--------------------

Dick’s phone rang the second he sat inside his car. He sighed when he saw the name on the screen.

“Bruce” he said coldly. He wasn’t in the mood for a lecture now; he had shit to do other than to listen to what his dad had to say.

“Son, how are you? I wasn’t sure if you were going to answer the phone” Bruce said making Dick roll his eyes and his passive-aggressiveness.

“Yeah, well I did. Can I help you with something?” he was already stressed about this whole thing. He moved from Gotham to avoid everything and everyone; but apparently Gotham did not move on from him.

“Not really I was just checking on you, since you don’t seem to call much these days” Bruce said sounding a little…sad. Dick felt a pang in his chest. Guilt. He knew Bruce was not doing this on purpose, despite everything he loved his dad and Bruce loved him too, but being reminded every week or two how he seemed to forget about his family stung.

“I know, and I’m sorry it’s just…it’s still hard,” Dick confessed over the phone. He heard Bruce sighing on the other line.

“I know kid, I know it’s hard. But I thought moving there was supposed to do good to you. What happened?”

“Nothing happened that’s the thing” he said not making much sense “Nothing happened. Things just stayed the same as it was back in Gotham and I honestly don’t know what I was expecting when I moved out here. I guess I’m just mad that my feelings didn’t change after all the time I spent here” he pinched the bridge of his nose; he didn’t know why was he saying all this now, he spent so much time lying to himself and his father about being okay and now the words came out of his mouth like a damn breaking after holding the water for far too long.

“Look Dick, I know you don’t like when I give you advice but listen to me son” Bruce said in a serious tone “Things won’t change unless you make them change. Moving out was just the first step, maybe it was a good one or maybe not. But things won’t be different because you don’t want them to be different. Starting over is a big step in life, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad one. You need to start thinking less and start acting more.”

As much as Dick hated to admit it, Bruce was right. He wondered many times if the only reason why he wasn’t moving out in life was because he was subconsciously sabotaging his own life; and the answer was yes. He had many opportunities to forget about her and find someone new to help him heal his broken heart, but he refused to take them because he was afraid. Afraid of being hurt again, afraid of opening to someone only for that someone to leave him like it happened the last time. He knew it was stupid to hold onto the pain from the past, and that not everyone was going to hurt him, but the fear was there and he spent so many years being comfortable inside the wall he built around himself, that thinking of going out of them was scary.

“I know, and I try but…I can’t”

“I know son, but being scared it’s just part of the healing process. You can’t throw your life away for one misstep. It’s not worth it. She wasn’t worth it” Bruce said trying to lift the boys’ spirits.

“Thanks dad, I kind needed this long overdue conversation” he said sincerely. He missed his family.

“No problem kid, I know I haven’t been the best example when it comes to relationships, but I know a thing or two” Bruce joked. Dick smiled wide, missing the old man and his antics.

“I have to go, I’ll talk to you later dad” he said, turning the engine on.

"Okay kid, take care, and please don’t hesitate to call. We miss you, I think even Jason does”

“Tell him I miss him too, and maybe one of these days you can come visit, if that’s okay with you” dick said suddenly worried about his father’s answer.

“I’d love to Dick. Very much.” He hung up the phone and smiled genuinely in what felt like years of not doing it. He was unaware of someone else looking at him from the other side of the street.

#dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you #nightwing #titans #titans imagines #titans imagine #titans x reader #netflixs titans #dcu #dc #dcu fanfic #fanfic

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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How Far I'll Go - Chapter 4 (Nina West/Monet X Change) - Meggie, Mia Ugly

A/N: This chapter was getting out of hand (pushing 13k and not even close), so we decided to split it so we can get out an update and not have to worry about mincing words as we finish up the second half of the chapter. This one is still lengthy (9k)!

Prior – Nina and Vanjie ended up in the top during the first episode, with Vanjie taking the first win of AS5.

To come – Nina learns a secret, shares a secret, and has a realization.

Chapter Four - never looked at me this way before

Nina wakes up and is still on Drag Race.

It is an ungodly hour and he barely remembers his head hitting the pillow; they filmed a bunch of talking head interviews after the runway, and wrote letters for Laganja, and de-dragged and ate what little takeout they could stomach at one a.m. It’s only two days in and he feels the exhaustion in his bones, but Good God Girl is he happy that he survived the first elimination. Not only survived, but was in the top two. Got to dance it out against Vanjie, got to watch Monet in the audience, smiling all white and shiny like some sort of monster (he’s got to know the effect he has, right? Has to know).

Nina forces himself out of bed with a not entirely silent groan, tries to immerse himself in his Disney princess fantasy where little bluebirds are singing to him, fluttering around helping him get ready, bringing him his towel and razor and - actually, bluebirds armed with razor blades might not be exactly Disney’s brand. He can workshop that bit.

He showers, shaves, tries to dress quickly. He wanted his Werk Room aesthetic to be a bit less “quirky elementary school teacher” this season, but when he looks over his choice of boy clothes, he realizes that that just might be his actual aesthetic - on TV or off. Damn. Well, whatever. He’ll never be Vanjie, fashion-wise, but at least he’s not Brooke.

Nina gathers his things in a hurry because he wants to get downstairs for breakfast before the rest of the girls invade. It (probably) has nothing to do with the fact that the mentors meet fifteen minutes before the contestants come down to get their briefing for the day’s challenges. He’s (probably) not trying to run into Monet.

Things are decidedly less awkward after they hugged it out on the runway and even danced a little. Monet had his hands on Nina’s hips for a moment there, said how proud of him he was (and damn it, that lights something up in Nina that he doesn’t want to look at too closely). Even though he hadn’t won the lip-sync, even though Vanjie essentially wiped the stage with him, Monet was proud. Happy he’d chosen Nina to be an X-Queen.

Something dangerous could be brewing if Nina were going downstairs early just because he wanted to bump into Monet this morning, try to make him laugh because that smile is just - something else, or find out how he takes his coffee or -

But Nina isn’t. So it’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Just peachy.

Nina bounces on his toes as he presses the call button for the elevator and waits. He feels good, more relaxed. Getting past the first episode is hardest; no one wants to be the first one out (unless you’re Vanessa, then you take that shit and run with it). And he has a trip to the Bahamas under his belt. That’s something to look forward to. He’ll take his drag mother, maybe; it’s not like they’ll let him substitute the dogs for a Plus One.

The elevator dings and Nina, still lost in thoughts of sandy beaches and the hot sun on his shoulders, takes a second to recognize the couple wrapped around each other in the back corner. Probably wouldn’t have recognized them at all, given how smashed together they are - a gasping, moaning, many-limbed organism - except for the fact that they immediately pull away from each other, looking wide-eyed with panic at the elevator doors.

“Oh.” Nina tries his best to maintain a neutral expression as he gets into the elevator and turns conspicuously around. “So I guess you guys are speaking again.”

Brooke and Vanjie are silent behind him. Nina counts down the floors. After all that weirdness yesterday, they’ve apparently - worked things out. Or something. Nina is not in the headspace to think about it right now.

Eventually Brooke clears his throat, says “Good morning,” like he’s Nina’s manager at work or something.

“Yep, hi, good -” Nina says, just as the elevator lands on the ground floor with a thump. Nina steps out without waiting for the two of them (because he has first-hand knowledge of being mortified in elevators and knows that the last thing you want is company) and walks briskly to the conference room.

The mentors are just finishing their meeting and starting breakfast. Production thinks it’s fair to let them have meals together, but the P.A.s are never far away, making sure none of the competitors get an unfair advantage from too much early information.

Trixie’s tapping away at her cell phone with one hand and shoveling cereal into her mouth with the other. Vanjie hadn’t been kidding when he said Trixie was always on the grind. Nina’s half impressed by her dedication to be working at 7:30 in the morning and half - concerned? Maybe he’s glad Trixie passed him over during the draft.

Monet is staring down a plate of pancakes, but he looks up and smiles when Nina comes into the room.

“Bubble Guns!” Monet calls, and Nina can only assume he’s being summoned. (Because, logically, no one else carried bubble guns into the Werk Room during their entrance. And, logically, who else would Monet be talking to? Nina’s the first to arrive other than the mentors and the crew.) “See hos, this is what a winner looks like. You all might wanna have a word with your girls about it.”

“I think my girls are good, thanks,” Trixie says deadpan, without looking up from her phone. There is a crease between her eyebrows and - now that Nina really sees her, she looks extremely tired.

“Bubble Guns?” Nina asks because he can’t not mention that.

“Just trying it out. Officially you’re still Jean Grey, this is more like a pet name. Like honey or snookums. You like it?”

“Nope,” Nina says quickly, and Monet laughs. Nina files that laugh away for when he needs it. There’s something about the low husk of Monet’s voice that makes him get all - distracted. Yeah, let’s go with distracted. And that’s the last thing he can afford to be right now, but sometimes it’s easy to forget -

His attention shifts as Brooke comes into the conference room, followed by Vanjie thirty seconds later. Vanjie’s mouth is swollen, and Brooke’s neck is red and blotchy from beard-burn. It all seems incredibly, stupidly obvious to Nina but then, he’s working with some additional information. Anyway, he notices.

And Monet notices him noticing.

“I’ll see you and Asia in the Werk Room, yeah?” The laughter is gone from Monet’s mouth, he’s suddenly all business. “Go get some food in you.”

“Right.”

Nina Bo’nina and Shea have come in, and Vanjie makes a beeline to them, voice getting immediately louder and growlier. Nina grabs some toast and finds a seat off in the corner where Brooke is alone, drinking coffee and eating nothing. He gives Nina a cautious smile as he sits down across from him.

“Sooo…” Nina starts around a mouthful of toast, and Brooke’s face goes stoney.

“Yes?”

“Just um, wondering. What’s going on.”

“Nothing.” But contrary to his words, Brooke’s eyes immediately clock Vanjie’s laugh across the room. He seems to realize what he’s doing, and decides to stare at his coffee instead. “It’s - nothing. We talked last night and - you know, things just happened.”

Things just happened. Right. Thoughts are running through Nina’s head - and some of them are probably unfair. His first helpless reaction is judgement, and that’s not his usual go-to. He doesn’t like being that person (live your life, stand in your truth, etc.) but come the fuck on, Brooke. Things don’t just happen between two people with this much history, especially when one half of that equation is clearly stupid in love and the other half is in denial.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Brooke says, saving Nina from any sort of soapboxing he might feel tempted to do. “We’re adults, I’m not -”

“I’m not looking at you like anything.” Nina raises his hands, only lying a bit. “I just worry. About both of you.”

“Well don’t.” Brooke’s in a mood this morning, but at least he seems to realize it. “Sorry. Just ignore me until I’ve had another coffee, I don’t know what my problem is.”

Nina suspects that they both know what Brooke’s problem is, but he doesn’t offer that up. And apparently, whatever Nina witnessed in the elevator that morning was just for the elevator, because Brooke and Vanjie don’t have a word to say to each other during breakfast or after. They leave separately, and Nina leaves a few minutes later, giving a “casual goodbye nod” (you know, like a normal person does) to Monet on his way out. Monet nods back but is deep in an intense-looking conversation with Trixie and Alaska. Nina leaves them to it.

Both Brooke and Vanjie are subdued during the filming of the Werk Room entrance. Nina wonders if they’re thinking about last season, the many times they came into this room all tangled up with each other, or kissed for luck before moving to their stations (if Nina’s thinking about it, he can’t imagine they aren’t). Now Brooke and Vanjie are at opposite sides of the pack, Vanjie grinning at Nina Bo’nina’s goofy dance moves, and Brooke just off by himself, working his worn-out red hoodie like he’s on a runway.

They all gather in a group to talk about the elimination, and get Blair’s take on being safe. She’s not crying yet, which is a good start.

“It’s a wake up call. I’m ready to show the judges that I mean business,” she says with a mild air of confidence, “that I have more to offer than I did last night.”

“Yeah you do, girl,” Vanjie says warmly. “That’s why I kept you.”

“Speaking of Miss Vaaaanjie…” Shea uses that moment to shift the conversation. “How you feel about being a winner, baby?”

Vanjie laughs. “Lord Jesus, I think it’s about damn time. If I didn’t win something this season, I was gonna send my own ass home.”

“Dela already trademarked that shit, you ain’t original,” Nina Bo’nina tells him. “She’ll take you to court about it.”

“I ain’t scared of no Seattle queen, Mary,” Vanjie sounds so authentically offended that everyone, even Brooke, cracks up. “Nah, for real. They all up there, drinking coffee and being polite and shit - practically Canadian.”

He darts a look at Brooke, who arches one eyebrow and steeples his hands like the cartoon villain some fans think he is.

“I’ll have you know that Canadians can be… extremely shady,” Brooke says, a hint of a joke in his voice.

“Bitch, you don’t gotta tell me. You already gone and proved it.”

The other queens laugh, following Brooke’s lead, but Vanjie’s tone is a little bit sharp, and things are starting to feel - not uncomfortable, but like they could be heading in that direction. Nina wracks his brain, trying to think of something kind and clever to say that would re-route the conversation - when they are rescued by their Lord and Savior RuPaul.

“Hello, hello, hello!” he calls, coming into the Werk Room.

“Thank God,” Nina hears Cracker say under her breath, and he can’t help but agree.

Then all of the mentors follow Ru down the stairs, and Nina stops thinking about anything at all.

“Look who I found at the bus stop!”

Nina immediately (and unintentionally) catches Monet’s eye, flinches, and gives him an awkward wave (a wave? Why did you wave? You could have smiled or just - looked away but - waving like a passenger on the Titanic, Nina, oh my God). Monet makes an extremely amused face and waves awkwardly back.

“Ladies. For today’s maxi challenge you’ll be performing in three All Stars ‘she-quels’ that honour our… scissor sisters.” Ru raises an eyebrow. “You will be placed in teams of three to create follow-up scenes from famous movies about women that looove women. Not to give Mommy Hytes an unfair advantage.”

Brooke smiles and licks his lips, clearly knowing where his fanbase is.

“I’m the Mommy on this show, and don’t forget it.” Ru glares in mock fury at Brooke for a moment before smiling brightly once again. “Now to separate a cast of this - quality - into teams, I think we’re going to need a little muscle. Oh Pit Crewwwww.”

The very attractive (and probably very cold) Pit Crew come into the Werk Room armed with blankets and pillows. (Nina has had this dream before - but usually RuPaul wasn’t in the mix.)

“Who’s up for a little slumber party with your best squirrel-friends?”

The queens around Nina all raise their hands, none of them as quick as Brooke. Nina’s first reaction is to see how Vanjie’s doing with all of that, but then he puts it out of his mind. He’s more than a bystander in their love story, right? He’s gotta be.

They stop filming so that two Set Dec can come in and arrange the pillows and blankets in a cozy circle on the floor. The queens all find a seat there, interspersed with members of the Pit Crew. They film a bit of B-roll of them painting each other’s nails, doing a massage chain, pillow fighting, etc. Nina doesn’t really know where this is going, but when Ru puts an empty Absolut Vodka bottle in the middle of the circle, something awful rattles loose from the deep, dark forest of his repressed high school memories.

“To choose your teams for this challenge, we’re going to play a nice wholesome game of Spin-the-Bottle. Mentors, to keep things professional, you may leave the circle. Pit Crew, you stay right where you are.”

Nina glances helplessly at Monet as he gets up and then helps Trixie to her feet. It’s a stupid move, and when Monet inevitably realizes he’s being stared at and catches Nina’s eye, Nina immediately looks away. Probably turns red or something, breaks out in hives. You know, whatever would make him seem like the most pathetic person ever.

“Miss Vanjie. Nina West. Because you were our top All Stars in the Talent Show, you will be picking teams. And if you feel like giving your new teammates a little sugar, I’ll allow it. But no pinkie fingers. Let’s keep it clean this season.” A wink at Brooke.

Vanjie is up first, and his spin immediately lands on that delicious ginger in the Pit Crew. (Bryce? His name might be Bryce.) From the sidelines, Trixie Mattel feigns disappointment and Nina vaguely remembers some kind of flirtation between the two of them on All Stars 3.

Brooke’s face freezes, but Vanjie only gives Bryce a kiss on each cheek, ignoring the cat calls from the other queens.

“Thank God!” Trixie says loudly. Too loudly. “You know that I’m the only queen for you, Brycie.”

Her tone is - weird and over the top (more than the usual over the top Trixie) but Nina can’t think about that now. He’s really good at taking on other people’s problems to avoid the problems in his own life, and that’s - okay, it’s an issue, but it’s an issue he can’t fix in the next 15 minutes and he has other things to worry about.

Nina goes next. Maybe he has a lot of emotions about the fact that the mentors are no longer in the circle (like - oh God what if he had had to kiss Monet? And OH GOD, what if he had had to kiss Monet?) but he puts them to the side. He’s strategizing, doing his best Brooke Lynn Hytes Ice Queen of the North impersonation and thinking about who would be the most strategic pick. Not that strategy has any place in this but you know…

The bottle lands on… Nina lets out a laugh.

It’s pointing right at Blair, whose smile grows wide as she stares Nina down across the circle.

“I do declare!” Nina says (he knows Blair can act, is going to steadfastly hope for the best) and he kisses Blair on the hand while she fans herself like a proper Southern belle.

“Try to pick a teammate this time,” Ru tells Vanjie, as he spins the bottle again. “Or Bryce maybe.”

Vanjie’s spin almost lands on Bryce again (“Whore!” Trixie yells) but when it finally stops, it’s definitely pointing at Asia. Vanjie beams, crawling over to her and giving her a messy and handsy fake kiss while the other girls shriek with laughter (not Brooke though. There’s a smile on his lips but it looks like it was hung there with a hammer).

Nina spins again, pretty satisfied with anyone that could end up on her team. It’s All Stars, baby, these queens are all winners. The bottle spins and spins -

“She’s got the endurance,” Ru comments.

-then slows and stops… in front of Miz Cracker.

Cracker glances flatly up at Nina before breaking into a little victory dance. She crawls over to Nina and leans in for a kiss before pulling away, covering her mouth.

“Wait, are you kosher?”

Nina cocks his head to the side. “I do enjoy sausage.”

Cracker clicks her tongue. “Better not risk it.” They settle for a handshake.

“Team Nina West is complete!” Ru comments with a wide grin. “Miss Vanjie, spin again. Then our remaining queens will make up the third team.”

Vanjie makes a show of blowing on his fingertips before he spins. And wouldn’t you fucking know it -

“Brooke Lynn Hytes!” Ru announces, no doubt extremely happy at the drama that’s about to unfold.

Vanjie’s eyebrows twitch, that little ripple of pain, before he smiles fake and flawless.

“Oh no, Mary.” He doesn’t move from his place in the circle. “Been there done that. That queen already got these cookies.”

Brooke smiles flatly, blows a kiss that Vanjie ignores.

“Now that means that Shea Coulee, Nina Bo’nina Brown, and Ivvvvy Wiiinters will make up the final team. Ladies, you three will be performing a scene from the film Carol.”

Damn it, that’s a supergroup right there. Nina forces himself not to worry. He’s got Cracker (and himself, but stay humble, girl), they’ll be golden.

“Team Vanjie.” Ru turns his attention to the source of all the awkward tension in the room. “You’ll be performing a scene from the film Monster.”

Brooke and Asia instantly go wide-eyed in the exact same way (while Vanjie does a little shrug. A moment later, the title seems to make an impact: “Shit, is that with Charlize being all ugly and killin’ dudes?”)

“That’s the one,” Ru says nodding.

Asia and Brooke still haven’t lost the look of panic on their faces, and Nina can’t really blame them. How are they supposed to make Monster funny? It’s the saddest story ever - though Nina can see Brooke giving off a bit of an Aileen Wuornos energy. Hmm, there’s a thought.

“Finally, Team Nina West. You’ll be performing a scene from a film that is near and dear to my heart - for absolutely no reason that I can think of - But I’m a Cheerleader!”

Oh my God. Nina can’t hold back his delight. He loves that film, it’s camp as hell, and RuPaul was in it - they’re going to have to turn it out, but Cracker and Blair are stand-out queens. He knows they can do it.

“Mentors, you’ll have the chance to check in on your queens as they rehearse, as well as co-direct the scenes during filming. And tomorrow’s runway theme is another nod to our sapphic sisters: Lavender Menace. Gentlemen, start your engines. And may the best woman win!”

*****

Nina ends up eating lunch with Vanjie again, the two of them sitting cross-legged on the ground with sandwiches like a couple of kids on a picnic. They talk a little bit about how rehearsals are going (without ever once mentioning Brooke’s name) but Vanjie is constantly furtive and shifty-eyed. Nina doesn’t have to guess why.

“Whatever you wanna say, I already know it,” Vanjie says quietly, after a pause in the conversation goes on a beat too long to be comfortable. “You’re gonna tell me to be careful or I’m being stupid or something, and really bitch? I been telling myself that all day.”

“Well.” To be honest, Nina had been planning to say most of those things. This is easier. At least it will save some time. “Okay then.”

“‘Sides, it ain’t going to happen again.”

Nina raises his eyebrows, and Vanjie scowls at him.

“It ain’t! I ain’t doing that again, no ma’am. Me and your girl, we’re done. Don’t pretend you never had an itch to scratch. It don’t have to mean nothing, right? And it sure as hell don’t mean nothing to him.” A flicker of pain crosses Vanjie’s face before he presses his lips together, manages a smirk that’s shaped more like a broken heart. “Bitch, I seen you and your walk of shame after that finale, you know how it is. And you still ain’t told me who it was.”

“Uh. No.” He coughs. “No, I did not.” How did this conversation get so quickly out of Nina’s control? “A – gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“You think you’re some kinda gentleman? With your dress undone and your wig over your arm? You a ho just like the rest of us.” Vanjie grins, delighted. “If it was just some random trade you wouldn’t be so shook up about it. It’s gotta be someone we know.”

“I’m not shook up. I just – it was nothing. A one-night thing.” It hurts to say, more than Nina expected it would. But he knows it’s true. He has to know. And if there had maybe been the possibility of it turning into something more – even just lunch – Nina certainly put an end to that the next morning.

“Girl, look at who you’re talking to. You think – you think I don’t know that lie when I hear it?” Vanjie swallows, smiles weakly. “I been there, right?”

“Vanjie-”

“So who was it? Another queen? Bitch, you kaikai-ing with Yvie? I remember there being some kissing –”

“No.”

“Hmmph. Nah, you right. Miss Scarlet would’ve already murdered your ass in the ballroom with the lead pipe, Mary.” Vanjie narrows her eyes, thinking it over. “It wasn’t any of the Dream Girls - though Silk would climb you like a tree, you give her half the chance.”

“Can we talk about something else? I really don’t want to -”

“Who were you talking to that night? ‘Cause I fucked off early. Was it -”

“How’s it going, Jean Grey?” Monet’s low voice interrupts them. “Hey there, Miss Vanjie.”

Vanjie cranes his head back to beam up at Monet who is standing, arms-folded, above them. “Hey girl! You come to try to steal me for your team? I ain’t messing with Miss Trixie, no ma’am. You piss her off then Katya’s coming after your ass, and that bitch crazy.”

Monet laughs. “Okay, fine. Fair. Won’t even try it. Came over here to ask Miss Nina West if she wanted to run lines with me and Cracks after lunch. What you think?” He rubs the back of his neck.

“Sounds great. Yeah. Thanks.” Nina looks up at Monet, tries not to turn too obviously into a puddle.

“Don’t thank me, I got wig money on the line.” Monet winks, smiles, places a hand on Nina’s shoulder. It lingers for a moment too long. “I’ll come grab you after.”

“Okay.” He watches Monet walk off, then looks back at Vanjie.

Whose mouth is hanging open.

“Oh, bitch.”

“Stop,” Nina warns.

“Bitch!” Vanjie repeats, swatting Nina’s leg playfully. “Okay, I see you, Miss Nina.”

“Please, don’t,” Nina begs.

Vanjie raises an eyebrow and presses his lips together into a tight smirk, but Nina knows this isn’t done, won’t be done until Vanjie has the details he craves.

“It - oh, God - okay.” Nina sighs. “There was a lot of tequila involved and bad decisions and now it’s kind of weird.”

“I bet,” Vanjie says, and then bites his lip. “Was it good? I mean, Monet looks like he’d be good. So was it good?”

Nina’s face catches fire, he’s sure of it. Positive there are flames shooting off his forehead from how hard he’s blushing. And he hates it, because he knows that gives more away than his words would.

“Ha! So it’s like that. Damn.” Vanjie sits back, looking far too amused. “Miss Nina and Miss Monet… I gotta say though…” He pauses and takes a long drink of water from the bottle at his side, no doubt for dramatic effect. “Didn’t neither one of y’all look like it was nothing just now.”

“Well it - it was. Nothing. And I - the next morning, I - there are some things that -”

Vanjie takes pity on his inability to form a sentence. “Listen, girl. I’m just saying - you looked good. Together, I mean. And it can be nice to have a piece of something when the competition gets intense.”

Vanjie tries to look down and not across the room at Brooke, where he’s sitting and laughing with Shea, Ivy, and Asia, but fails. He shakes his head (only slightly, but Nina sees).

Maybe Nina isn’t the only one here who spends time trying to fix other people’s relationships instead of worrying about his own.

He clears his throat. “It… He’s my mentor. Even if I was interested - and I’m not saying that I am - and even if he were interested, which obviously he isn’t - anyway, the point is it wouldn’t work. At least, not on Drag Race.” What he doesn’t add is that he’s seen a relationship blossom on national television, and he isn’t keen to experience the raw heartbreak that is Branjie.

“Mmm.” Vanessa’s tone is introspective. “Drag Race ain’t forever.“

Vanjie’s always been able to read into things beyond surface value. Nina was half-convinced that was the reason Brooke and Vanjie would make it. Vanjie seemed to see things in Brooke that Brooke didn’t even see in himself. Noticed when Brooke was getting in his head, getting too anxious. Knew without a word when Brooke had to be left alone, and when he needed someone to make him laugh. It was a weird symbiotic thing they had for a bit, and Nina had envied it, even as he’d been happy for his friends. He thought it was - something.

“Please don’t tell anybody, okay? Not even Brooke.”

“I told you. Me and your girl - we’re done. It’s gotta be like that.” Vanjie only sounds a bit like he’s drowning. “Your secret’s safe. But listen, don’t throw shade at your own damn self. Monet… He’s good. Like good and nice and shit. Like you. So just think about it.”

Nina nods, all while fully intending to try as hard as he can to not think about it. But with Monet fluttering around the break room, laughing and dancing with Trixie and smiling that perfect smile, he knows that’s going to be easier said than done.

*****

“My name is Graham and I like girls!” Blair chirps.

Monet purses his lips. “Hmm. Okay. So let’s do it again and… I don’t really know how to say this other than… Butch it up a little?”

Blair nods, but Nina can sense the frustration building.

They’ve been running lines for three hours and it’s not going well. The three of them have read over the script, selected their chosen roles, and consulted with Monet (who thought it was brilliant and hilarious to have Nina - with his line-backer shoulders - play the wholesome cheerleader Megan. The way he laughed when he described it made something special and intense fire in Nina’s stomach, and he’s got to get control of that. Especially now that Vanjie knows? Damn it. Put it in a box and kick that box into the sun.)

“My name is Graham and I like girls!” Blair says again, and her tone is… exactly the same. It’s very Blair. And there’s nothing wrong with that per se, it’s just not what they need for this challenge.

Monet nods and quirks his lips into a terse smile. “Maybe let’s take a break.”

Nina turns to Cracker, who’s playing the repressed Born Again camp counselor.

“I think we’re getting there!”

Cracker scoffs and rolls her eyes before stomping off after Monet.

Blair slumps into a chair against the wall and looks up at Nina miserably. “I’m really screwing this up.”

“No,” Nina lies and sits down next to her. “You’re shaken, that’s understandable. Just relax and you’ll be fine.”

“I just… I don’t get this character at all.” Blair tosses her script on the floor. “I’m really trying, I am, but like - I’m so afraid I’m going to be sent home. And I’m probably going to be sent home, now, because I’m screwing this up and it’s all I can think about.”

Nina remembers that feeling all too well, relates intensely to Blair’s feeling of inadequacy. But - damn it, all their lives are on the line here. He’s got to get Blair out of her head, even if it means - changing things up. Giving up the role that made Monet laugh like he was dying. Nina can - he can do it. It’s not the first time. It worked out okay for him and Brooke last year (okay for Nina anyway. Brooke did - substantially better with that arrangement). And Nina was… Safe. He can handle safe. Safe is good at this point.

“So.” Nina clears his throat, steels himself for what’s coming. “Which character would you rather play?” Brace for impact. Do it for the greater good.

Blair chews her thumbnail. “Honestly, I think the uber-religious one? Cracker’s? Like maybe my tone would fit better? I can do repressed gay, I mean - I’m from Indiana.”

YES! I mean, fine. The greater good.

Nina tries not to seem too obviously relieved.

“Okay! Okay. So now we just have to convince Cracker to switch roles with you. To be honest, I feel like she could probably pull off Graham.” (Surly, sarcastic - yeah, Cracker will have no problem there.) “You should be the one to ask her though - since she and I… well. I mean. You guys are Season 10 sisters! Can you do that?”

Blair nods. “Yes. Yeah, I’ll ask her. Thanks Nina! I feel better about this already.”

Nina plasters on his best Miss Congeniality smile, hopes he doesn’t seem too worried. He isn’t. Not really.

While Blair chases after Monet and Cracker, Nina looks across the Werk Room at the other teams. Nina Bo’nina, Ivy, and Shea’s team is falling over with laughter - Shea in a perfect blonde Cate Blanchett wig and a tailored fifties dress that is doing everything for her. Nina knows that confidence doesn’t necessarily lead to a winning performance, but in this case, he doesn’t see how they could fail.

Brooke, Vanjie, and Asia - that’s a different story. Brooke has definitely gotten into serial killer mode, but he and Vanjie are staring grim-faced at their scripts, clearly frustrated. Even though he can’t hear what they’re saying, Nina can see the way Brooke keeps getting distracted when Vanjie speaks, or when he gets too close. Vanjie’s eyes keep getting darker and darker, and poor Asia is stuck trying to pull the two of them together while keeping them apart.

Brooke must feel Nina watching him because he looks up and gives him a painfully fake pageant smile.

Nina smiles back with wide, panicked eyes, gives Brooke a brittle thumbs up (at least that makes Brooke laugh). He wishes he could say that his team would at least do better than Brooke and Vanjie’s - but at this point, barring a miracle from Saint Cracker, he has no idea how that’s going to happen.

He looks down at his script. Works on memorizing the lines now that he knows Blair isn’t gunning for his role (he’s basically got them down already, comes with the territory). He tells himself that he’s lived through situations inconceivably worse than this one (and he really, really has) so no matter what, he doesn’t have to feel like there’s a badger in his chest, savaging his liver. What happens, happens; go big, be kind, etc.

“You’re looking pressed as hell.”

It’s a testament to how distracted Nina is that Monet can slip into the seat beside him without Nina even noticing.

“You don’t have to be. Cracks and Blair are talking it out. Think they’re going to switch roles. How you feeling, Bubble Guns?”

“Um.” The nickname takes him aback a little. He said he didn’t like it, but come on; he likes the fact that Monet is still paying attention to him. Still invested in him. Even if it’s mostly because there’s money and prestige and basically winning another season on the line.

“Don’t get all green on me, girl.” Monet sighs. “You should feel fine. You were… You were killing it in rehearsals, okay? You’re a funny bitch, Nina West. You got this.”

Nina nods. Forces himself to focus on the words on the script in front of him and not the way that his first and last name roll together effortlessly off Monet’s tongue, the way his deep, rich voice wraps around each syllable, caresses it.

“Thanks,” Nina mutters, flipping the edges of his script. “But I don’t know—”

Then Monet pulls the script from his hands, takes Nina’s in his own, lays his hands on top of Nina’s palms, and faces him. Head on.

“That’s the thing we need to stop,” Monet says quietly. “I know you. You run shit in Columbus, Queen Nina West. Where’s that confidence?”

“This isn’t Columbus. It’s different here,” Nina manages to get out, hands burning under the weight of Monet’s on top of his. He won’t be the first to pull away no matter how much he’s tempted, no matter how much of a bad idea this feels like.

Monet tips his head to the side. “It’s as different as you make it. Deep breaths now. We gotta get this anxiety thing under control if you’re gonna win a crown.”

Nina angles his body until he’s facing Monet straight on, then they lock eyes, and Nina lets Monet guide him.

In, out. Nina feels like his heart might pound through his chest.

In, out. Monet’s eyes aren’t just brown, they’re mahogany, notes of purple and maroon and gold in the depths.

In, out. He might imagine it, but Nina thinks he can feel his pulse sync with Monet’s in the same way their breaths are flowing together, a slow beat running through their palms.

In, out. Monet might be leaning closer, but Nina could also just be concentrating way too hard on those eyes that aren’t really brown and the feeling of Monet’s fingers on his and—

“Monet!” It’s Cracker from across the room. Her hands are on her hips, eyes narrowed in a sneer, and Nina clears his throat, effectively ending anything that lingered, dissipating the electricity in the air between him and Monet.

He might be making it up (it’s getting hard to tell what’s real and what he wants to be real as far as Monet is concerned), but Nina would swear that Monet rolls his eyes as he removes his hands from Nina’s and smiles at him. Which… That smile is like Christmas and birthdays and the last day of school and ice cream on the hottest day of the summer all rolled into one. It’s everything.

“Keep working on it,” Monet says, tapping Nina’s script. “And listen, girl: you got this. Okay?”

Nina nods. When Monet says it, it’s almost enough to make him believe it himself.

*****

The mentors are there with Michelle when they get to the soundstage for filming. Nina knows he looks ridiculous in his over the top cheerleader costume, but it makes Monet laugh out loud when he sees him (Nina’s hoping it’s in a good way). The other mentors are sitting beside Michelle too - Trinity waves at Blair, and Trixie is looking down at her phone as usual. She slides it under her thigh as the enter, but the screen lights up almost immediately.

Cracker looks hilarious in her bad-girl outfit with a messy wig and layers of black eyeliner. The role switch is really working for her. Blair’s Born Again camp counselor look is a little understated, and it makes Nina worried – he encouraged her to make it more campy, but Blair was terrified of looking “ugly” and this was their compromise. Whatever, it’s done. Move forward.

“My comedy queens!” Michelle calls out when she sees them. “Look at you! I feel like all of you have that theatre background, right? Or have killed an acting challenge or two, so this should be easy for you all. You feeling confident?”

The three of them share an awkward look. They’d run the lines a few times after the switch, but there hadn’t been a ton of time and, well… Blair had been concerned about memorizing everything after spending all morning focused on the other role. Nina’s fine, Cracker’s fine, but Blair…

“We’re going to do our best,” Nina says instead of answering the question, because – that answer could be played out on-screen so many ways (the cocky team before their downfall, etc.), and he doesn’t want to take the chance. He manages to catch Blair’s eye, though, and tries his best to give her a reassuring grin.

“Okay, well. This is high camp, right in your wheelhouse. And we know it has a special place in Ru’s heart, so make us laugh, okay? You all ready?”

Nina nods and they find their marks. Make ‘em laugh. He can do that.

“Action!”

They start off a bit rocky - Blair nervously rushing through her lines, but at least she remembers them. They have to take the scene from the top, but after that, Nina starts to feel like he’s getting into the groove of it. And then Cracker enters the scene.

“My name’s Graham, and I like girls.” Cracker’s tone is correct. She’s sarcastic and absolutely over it, but Nina gets flustered waiting to see how it will go and misses his cue entirely.

Cracker rolls her eyes and continues, but the rhythm of the scene is off and they never recover. Damn it. Damn it - okay, move on, move forward.

Eventually, they get enough that production will be able to piece together and they move on to the next scene. Wherein Cracker immediately flubs a line. Nina tries to keep his expression neutral, but he sighs before he can help it.

“Cut!” Michelle calls. “Sorry, Cracker, Nina – you two are supposed to have chemistry, right? I’m not feeling any of that.”

Cracker gives Nina a pointed look, and Nina smiles tightly at her.

“Let’s try it again,” Michelle says.

“I can’t be a lesbian, I’m a cheerleader!” Nina wails and Cracker strolls in, smoking her fake cigarette.

They only get a handful of lines in before Michelle is calling “Cut!” again.

“What’s going on here?” she asks, and the set goes completely silent. “Miz Cracker, you’re a funny queen, but you’re coming off flat.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, I’m not the one who’ll be going home if you don’t get it together. Mentors, anything to add?”

Trinity, Trixie, and Monet exchange uncomfortable glances with each other.

“Are you having fun?” Trixie asks after an awkward pause. “Because it doesn’t look like you are. And if you aren’t, no one watching this is.”

Michelle nods. “Right? Trixie, you and Katya always look like you’re having fun together on UNHhhh, and that’s why everyone loves it. Like, we get to watch two people who are just crazy about each other and having a great time. You can’t fake that.”

Nina might imagine it, but it looks like Trixie stiffens - sits straight up in her chair, thin legs crossed at the knee. The foot she was swinging out of habit stops and even as she smiles, tries to look casual, Nina can see that her fingers have curled into tight fists.

“Yeah,” Trixie says slowly. “I mean, we’re best friends so… It’s easy, right? This should be easy. It is easy.”

Monet squeezes Trixie’s knee and glances up at the stage. “Y’all know what you’re doing. All of y’all can act. Just - loosen up.”

“That’s right!” Trinity chimes in. “And Miss St. Clair, from one good Southern girl to another, don’t be afraid to get a little messy. You’re a funny queen, you got this.”

“Just have fun with it,” Michelle reiterates.

Nina nods, accepting the feedback. He isn’t having fun right now, to be honest. Cracker’s looking at him like she might bite his head off, and Blair’s eyes are welling up with tears, and soon enough he’s going to embarrass himself in front of Michelle Visage and a bunch of drag legends - not to mention Monet who he’s totally crazy about -

Oh.

Shit.

That was not a thing he meant to - to think. Or feel. Or - or -

He likes Monet.

Like likes him, like a stupid teenager with a crush.

Oh no.

For all his insistence that their hook-up meant nothing, that he was going to keep his head in the game, Nina is suddenly struck blind with the realization that he’s completed fucked.

And he has this realization on a soundstage as his team is falling apart around him.

Perfect. Wonderful.

“We have enough time for one more take,” Michelle says softly. “Just one. So let’s make it count.”

Nina takes a deep breath and holds it. This cannot be happening right now. He tries to remember where his mark is.

“And action!”

They make it to the end of the scene, where the girl-on-girl kiss is interrupted by Blair only to dissolve into a frantic menage-a-trois. When Michelle finally calls cut, she isn’t smiling. Monet and Trinity look worried as well. Trixie is… Well, she’s gone back to tapping away at her phone, but she forces her lips into a tight smile (that looks more like a grimace) when she surveys them.

“All right, ladies.” Michelle sighs. Tense. Stressed. Like it’s her proverbial life on the line. “Thank you very much. And I really hope you bring it on the runway tomorrow.”

They leave the soundstage feeling - heavy. Down. Unable to stand the air of defeat, Nina instantly goes into mama bear mode.

“It’s fine, Michelle’s hard on everybody. Blair, I think the last take was your best one, and Cracks –”

“Nope, no, do not call me that.” Cracker holds up a hand and shakes her head. “My friends call me that.”

Nina stares at her. This doesn’t feel like the time to squabble over nicknames. “Oh, sorry, I – just got used to hearing Monet say it. I know -”

“Because Monet is my friend,” Cracker says slowly. “So.”

“O-kay.” Nina can’t think of anything else to say right now.

Blair is looking between the two of them in sheer terror, eyes welling up with tears.

“Don’t cry, Blair,” Cracker says, and her tone is rather - pointed. “This whole thing isn’t your fault.”

Nina feels the sting of the comment, and wishes he didn’t.

“Sorry,” he says, as politely as possible, because whatever is going on here, it seems to be ramping up. “Whose fault is it then?”

Cracker holds open her arms in a dramatic shrug.

“Well, you’re the team captain.”

Blair takes a step back. “You guys - let’s just - we’re all feeling stressed so maybe we should -”

Nina holds up a hand. “Actually, I think I’d really like to have this conversation.” He faces Cracker head on. “I’m sorry, and I don’t know why this would be the case, but it kind of feels like you’re angry at me? Like you’ve been angry with me since the first episode.”

“Angry at you?” Cracker rolls her eyes. “No, I don’t feel any way about you whatsoever. I’m just trying to put together the image you present with what I know about you as a person.”

“What do you know about me as a person?” He doesn’t know Cracker at all. How did she somehow get this terrible opinion of him?

“Clearly the Miss Congeniality thing is something you do for television, right? And then when the cameras are off you just walk all over people.”

“I’m -” Nina looks at Blair’s stunned face and then back to Cracker. “I’m sorry, what did I ever do to you?”

“To me? Nothing. But Monet…” Cracker shakes her head. “After everything he told you, it’s low. It’s fucking low.”

“Sorry,” Nina says for the second, third, fourth time, because he cannot believe what he is hearing right now (and Brooke always said he was practically Canadian). “After Monet told me what?”

Cracker’s got to be referring to Nina’s (okay, fine) ghosting of Monet following the finale taping. Monet must have told her about it, and admittedly, it was not Nina’s best moment. But it wasn’t like there had been - feelings or anything involved. At least, not on Monet’s part. It was just a hook-up, right? And any chance for anything else to come of it - well, that’s done. That ship has sailed. And - it’s for the best. Nina’s been telling himself that for weeks, months even. And he really doesn’t want to talk about this right now, not with the newfound understanding of his feelings still ringing in his ears like a gunshot.

“Whatever. This is such bullshit.” Cracker rolls her eyes. “Everyone thinks you’re so great, like ‘Go Big, Be Kind,’ whatever. But you are not. And I didn’t want to get into this, but - Monet deserved better. And after what he said -”

“Look, Cracker.” Whatever happened between him and Monet, whatever Nina feels, there certainly hadn’t been much conversation. They’d both been far too gone on tequila, and their mouths had mostly been… otherwise engaged (don’t think about that, not now). “I honestly have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. Monet didn’t tell me anything, so… I’m sorry, I guess, that I’m confused, but I don’t want to argue with you anymore. Do you want to tell me what I’m supposed to know? What you’re so angry about? That would be swell. But if not - I don’t know what to say.” He’s tired of fighting, tired of Cracker’s vitriol. If this is how she’s going to be all season, he isn’t sure a crown and a title and $100,000 is worth it.

Cracker looks up at him, eyes narrowed in distrust and defensiveness.

And then - something changes. Her expression twitches and then - softens at whatever she sees in his face. She looks down briefly, then looks back up.

“He…” She uncrosses her arms, shakes her head. Her entire demeanor changes, eyes going wide like she’s seeing Nina in person for the first time. “Oh my God. Monet didn’t tell you. He didn’t, did he.” It’s not a question; there’s no lilt in her voice, just a sad note of realization.

Nina shakes his head, a bit thunderstruck by what’s going on in front of him.

“He didn’t tell you,” Cracker says again. “That fucking idiot. Oh my God.”

“Well.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Nina takes a chance, reaches across the distance between them, and takes her hand. “Don’t - do that. Don’t kill anyone.”

Cracker nods, gripping his hand tightly. “This… explains so much actually. Oh my God. Nina.”

“Listen, Cracker, I honestly don’t know what this is about. I don’t -”

“I’m so sorry,” Cracker interrupts him, and all of a sudden she is the charmingly neurotic queen he remembers from Season 10. “For how I’ve acted towards you. It’s… not okay. I can’t believe - I’m just sorry.”

“Thank you,” Nina says sincerely. “That means a lot.”

“And I didn’t mean what I said… About you being not great. I just thought - oh my God, I’m so stupid.”

“Listen.” Nina stops her. “I’m good. We’re good. Let’s - can we start over?” He cranks up the Nina West charm. “‘Cause I’m like such a huge fan.”

Cracker smiles, a bit embarrassed.

“Or at least I was. Before you came for my life.”

This makes Cracker laugh, and she nods. “Starting over sounds good.”

They bring it in for a group hug, mostly because Blair looks like she needs it. Nina takes a moment to fully have an out-of-body experience, because this has been the strangest day he’s had in recent memory. He kind of wants to keep asking Cracker about the whole Monet thing, wants to figure out what he’s meant to know, but - baby steps. He doesn’t want to ruin whatever fragile peace they’ve found for now.

“Does this mean I can call you Cracks?” he asks.

“Fuck off,” Cracker laughs. “But Blair, you’re allowed.”

All the queens grab dinner together that night; craft services sets up something in the conference room, and Nina sits off in the corner with Brooke again - mostly for Brooke’s sake than his own (mostly, mostly he swears). Things with Cracker are better (she gave him a small smile across the table as they filled their plates), but still not entirely comfortable, and Nina thinks it may be best to let the dust settle before he tries to spark a true friendship.

The mentors aren’t there - they went out for dinner together, because they are All Stars and deserve it. Or something (no, but really, they do. They already lived through two seasons, and came out the other side. It’s only episode two and Nina thinks they all should have statues).

Brooke doesn’t seem - great. He’s clearly worried about his team’s performance, fidgeting more than normal, barely eating anything. His eyes are always glancing over Nina’s shoulder at the table where Vanjie’s sitting, and Nina feels a bit like he’s in high school again, hanging out with the cool kid who’d rather be somewhere else.

“And how’d she do?” Nina asks, leaving no doubt as to who he’s talking about.

“Oh, Vanessa? Well, you know. I mean, neither of us are Meryl Streep.” For the first time all evening, Brooke’s mouth curves into a shadow of a smile. And Nina’s heart breaks, just a bit.

It brings him back to his stupid Monet feelings from this afternoon, something he’s been trying to avoid thinking about like it might cause brain cancer. Whatever, it’s fine, it’s fine. Nina has - experience putting these sorts of feelings to the side. He feels a lot, and he’s a crier, all that fun stuff, but - the romantic bits, those are things that can be compartmentalized. He’s had enough hopeless crushes in his life as an ex-Conservative, broad-shouldered, Disney-loving drag queen from Ohio (no shade on Ohio, go Buckeyes) that he’s an expert in unrealized longing.

Grit your teeth and clench your fists until the feeling ebbs.

Sleep doesn’t come easy that night. Nina doesn’t know what the next day will bring, and he’s pretty sure he wasn’t the weakest member of their team, but the final decision isn’t going to be up to the judges. It will be up to his sisters. And hopefully hopefully hopefully he’s endeared himself to at least a few of them, enough to keep him around for another few episodes.

Maybe he’s worrying for nothing, maybe it’ll all be fine. Nina wouldn’t want to see Brooke or Vanjie go home, of course - but at this point being declared ‘safe’ would feel like a goddamn gift. More than he deserves.

When he finally falls asleep, it’s restless, and full of odd dreams. He’s on stage back in Columbus, and Monet is there in the audience, wearing that honey-gold dress from the night of the finale. He’s trying to tell Nina something, Nina can see his lips moving, hands cupped around his mouth, but his voice keeps getting drowned out by the noise of the crowd (when Nina finally wakes with a gasp, Monet’s voice is running through his head like fog, but the words are already lost).

#rpdr fanfiction #nina west #monet x change #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #ninex #eventual branjie #background trixya #canon compliant #all stars au #smut #angst #fix it #how far i'll go #hfig #mia ugly #meggie #on set fic #concrit welcome

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wormyapples · 5 years

Text

Evertroll

Part 1

"I already hate this place" I said more to myself than anyone. We were in the car on the freeway going up into Rhinebeck, New York. The part of New York nobody cares about. Cows, corn, apples, goats and strip malls full of nosey grandparents and an abysmally small number of pre-college age kids desperate to leave town for the city.

Worst of all, my cousin Jezzy had lived there with my mom and her immediate family. This was going to be a horrible weekend.

I scraped at the remainders of my chipped black nail polish while my dad whistled along to Nickleback on the radio. I couldn't tell if it was the song making me want to puke or the egregiously long drive.

"Come on Kaylie. What happened to enjoying your favorite season? Hayrides, pumpkins, and your favorite? Hot cider, but fresh, locally made" said dad, trying to cheer me up.

Maybe it worked. I couldn't stop the slight smile he inspired, but I could hide my face by turning it towards the window and watching the swaths of green land and prairie houses pass by. That's when he figured me out and I could see him smile from the corner of my eye.

"And don't worry. You can text me anytime. If you're bored, if you're upset. You know you can reach out" he continued on, as Nickleback faded to Daughtry.

"Ugh" was all I said. "Can we listen to something else? No offense"

"Here" dad replied, unhooking his phone from the mount on the AC vent. The phone was connected to the car speakers by bluetooth, but I did miss the days when we'd flip through a case full of CDs. I scrolled through his playlists with my band-aid wrapped right thumb until I settled on a stray AFI song, "girls not grey".

"Okay. We are almost there. I'm gonna pull into a drive through and order some coffee. Want anything?"

I knew he was talking about Dunkin Donuts. Dad was a police officer but he was on vacation. That didn't stop him from going to his favorite feed station.

"Oatmeal?" was all I said with a shrug. I was barely hungry, but if I wanted to survive entering Rhinebeck without a mental crash, I needed the sustenance.

"Of course honey" says dad as he pulls the car neatly into the drive thru. There were no other customers there. Upstate New York was so different from Queens. The pace was slower. Everything was monumentally more boring.

I picked at a loose thread hanging from the collar of my Tripp moto jacket, a hand-me-down from Jezzy of course. Remembering that fact made me want to hide it in my sleepaway bag. Did she even remember it anyway? She had a million jackets just like it. I placed my bets on her forgetting and sighed.

Dad and I ate quietly and sipped coffee and hot white chocolate respectively as we closed the distance between civilization and the family house. Well, mom's side of the family.

Pulling up onto the spacey car-addled drive-way lawn hybrid felt both familiar and strange. I finished my tasteless oatmeal and warm drink just as dad finished his doughnut and started on his breakfast sandwich. The smell of the maple sausage filled the car.

Immediately I saw my baby cousin Abby outside on the front steps of the big family house holding her American Girl doll and twirling one of her blond pigtails. My youngest aunt, Tabitha came out of the house and scooped Abby up into her arms and approached the car just as dad put it in park. Tabitha called back and soon Mom and my other aunt Jennifer and uncle Joe came outside. Uncle Joe was wearing oven mitts and had on his "Grill Sergeant" apron. He must have been flipping burgers in the backyard. I wondered if grandma was up too? She had dementia and needed constant care. But I found that I missed her anyway.

Dad opened my door after he got out of the car and I stepped out, unprepared for the borage of hugs and shoulder pats that soon followed.

"Hi" was all I said after the first hugs. When mom hugged me, I said "hey mom I missed you"

"I missed you too honey" she said and kissed my forehead. Abby squealed when she hugged me and hit me with her doll.

"Ow" I said.

"Come on inside Abby. Let's eat some cookies. Your aunt Madeline worked on them all day" said aunt Tabitha towing Abby inside. As I lugged my sleepaway bag over the few steps that led into the house, I watched in the corner of my eye as mom and dad talked quietly outside by the car. A part of me hoped dad would suggest they go get something to eat. In this fantasy, mom agreed and the two of them would go out and eat all day, and maybe dad would stay over too. But a girl can only dream.

The house smelled like pine scented Cheseapeake Bay candles and grilled beef.

"Hey there scout" said uncle Joe. "I'm making burgers. Feel free to have one if you're hungry from that long journey out of the city"

"Thanks uncle Joe" I mumble, heading straight upstairs for the guest room, hoping and hoping with all my heart that Jezzy wasn't in there. It was her room before she ran off and started living with some creep. It was around then that the family's wariness turned to me instead of her. She got off their plate. Me? I was the appetizer about to be upgraded to a dreaded entree.

I didn't even look up when I dropped my Nightmare Before Christmas sleepway bag on the floor by the door, but as soon as I did, my stomach dropped.

There was Jezzy sitting on what was to be my bed. She had the same long vibrant purple hair--- reminding me of all the times I enviously eyed the dye bottles she'd leave littering the bathtub and dining room table. She wore the same signature shade of autumn brown lipstick, one of her trademark moto jackets, ripped black jeans and shiny black chunky heel boots. I was taken aback by how amazing she looked, how it made me idolize and dislike her all at once. Nobody prepared me for this.

"Hey there cuz" she said, her voice raspy yet upbeat. "I'm so happy you like that jacket. I wore that to a few concerts when I used to go. Wow! you cut a bang? It looks so good, that layered teased look. Just a wait a few years and maybe Madeline will let you get highlights" she says crossing her legs.

"Do they know you're here?" I ask. No greetings. No manners. I was slightly ashamed.

"Of course not" she said. "Oh and by the way. Don't let anybody bully you here okay? You're not like some kind of spawn I spit out before running away. You're Madeline's kid. You're a good kid. My mom, as much as she likes to pretend she was, wasn't exactly a stellar child. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess" she finishes it off by biting into a McIntosh apple I didn't even realize she had, if she had it at all before biting it. Her lipstick stayed perfectly intact afterwards.

"Okay" was all I could muster. "Well, I'll be fine"

"I know you will. Just stay safe. Stay away from bridges and all that. You know" she says with a smile. "Grandma would appreciate it. A little milk in a bowl. Don't step over the mushroom rings and such"

I clenched my jaw. Here we go again. I needed her to disappear. I needed her to leave. Even though I thought she was gorgeous, and wanted with every fiber of my being to be just like her. Run off with my own dark prince, go to any shows I wanted, get into clubs with a fake ID, meet bands and artists and directors, model for underground magazines and kiss boys behind the bleachers. Most of all get to know her. The real Jezzy. The brave, wayward girl. The only one in the family privy to grandma's whimsical insanity. The only one who could get her to speak a coherent sentence. It sat heavy on my bones, that desired that wish to know the world they shared, and the world Jezzy ran away for.

But I was just Kaylie. The ticking time bomb. The one that reminded everybody of Jezzy. And grandma's dementia. And everything that ever went wrong in the family.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" I nearly spit.

"I'll see you around. Bye Kaylie" she says with a warm smile, standing up, long, reed thin, perfect. She looked like she could drift on the autumn air like a fallen leaf. Like her laughter brings the wolves to howl at the moon. Like her hands can tame the night. Like she dances with elves in the forests. And part of me ached for it. Ached for the life she chose. It was so physical I almost rushed to her. In my mind I fell at her feet and begged her to tell me how she did it.

But I'm Kaylie Scheifflin. I'm not Jesslyn Rivers.

When I turned to glance at the doorway to see if anyone was eavesdropping, I felt a slight draft of cool air and when I turned to look back at Jezzy, she was gone.

0 notes

citycfangels · 7 years

Conversation

text: raquel ⇄ charlie

Raquel: BABE! So I should let you know that I had them put "requests constant coffee" in my contract as a forewarning so I'm still buzzed off that but.... I might've found my new favorite place in the world.

Charlie: well done, babe. it wouldn't be you if that wasn't in your contract

Charlie: and here i thought that was my bed. how is it going?

Raquel: well I'm glad I'm not surprising you with anything shocking here.

Raquel: that's actually my third favorite place. It's going great. We started the drive scenes which just means me riding around in the passenger seat and letting my hair tangle in the wind and my costar is actually pretty cool.

Charlie: it doesn't because a world in which you don't have coffee is an awful world.

Charlie: which one is the second?

Charlie: i'm glad it's going well. i'm so happy for you, Quel. you deserve this and more.

Raquel: and a world where I act like I'm possessed by a demon.

Raquel: disneyland, duh. No, I'm kidding. It's actually the house I grew up in.

Raquel: Thanks Babe. Soon enough it's going to be your turn to conquer the world too.

Charlie: and i don't wish anyone to see that. i've been there.

Charlie: well, i'll settle with the third position

Charlie: thanks, but i don't know how. well, unless i become the best bartender in the world famous for my cocktail combinations or my coffee blendings

Raquel: I wasn't that bad was I?

Raquel: maybe I should just take you to my number one place and you can try to convince mewhy it should be your bed instead.

Raquel: or you could open up your own place. Cafe in the morning and then close for a few hours and make it a bar. The drinks you come up with can be your own menu. You have the experience for it. You'd be great at it.

Charlie: are you kidding me? you were the worst

Charlie: that sounds like a plan to me

Charlie: it's ambitious, but it sounds good. you really think i should do it? that i'm that good to do that?

Raquel: I was not.

Raquel: okay maybe I was and I'm sorry about anything I said when I had zero caffeine in me

Raquel: then I guess we're going to Pismo beach sometime soon.

Raquel: it might be but I believe in you even when you think it might be ambitious. You're smart and great so I think you can do anything.

Charlie: you're welcome for the coffees

Charlie: let me know when and we'll take days off

Charlie: you believe too much in me, but as long as you're my #1 client and give me enough publicity, it could be a project i might be interested in.

Raquel: thank you 😘

Raquel: well I just took those five days off so we can wait a bit and then we can go since Emeven if I want to become a huge actress, I still don't want to lose my job.

Raquel: no, I believe in you just the right amount I'l be you #1 client, cheerleader, spokesperson. Always.

Charlie: that sounds fair, just let me know and we'll go. i could use a break from this, you know

Charlie: well, thank you. it sounds hard but who knows what will happen from here to five years, for example? we'll never know, we could be successful then

Raquel: and a break with me on the beach would be the best break you can get.

Raquel: well successful in five years is the plan. Successful and happy that's all I want.

Charlie: and if it ends with sex every night i can die happily

Charlie: ambitious but approachable, i like your plans

Raquel: and if it doesn't end in sex every night?

Raquel: I like that you like my plans because you're somehow wrapped in them.

Charlie: i'll be sad because i will probably end up with a boner from seeing you all day in a bikini, but i will survive without having sex

Charlie: i have to say you know how to sell it, babe

Raquel: well... I can't stand you being sad so I guess that just leaves us with the option of sex every night.

Raquel: I haven't even told you the best part yet. Your name out front on something that is completely yours.

Raquel: I could have gone all game show host-y and said A BRAND NEW CAR

Charlie: i like that option very much. for how long should we be away? a week?

Charlie: oh fuck, i'd love that.

Charlie: you'd be a good game show host. a hot one.

Raquel: you want to take me away for a whole week? If we both can get that much time away then yes. I want a week with you.

Raquel: I knew you would. Just thinking of properties in West Hollywood or Santa Monica or even Hollywood

Raquel: well I'd be better than all the guys that host them.

Charlie: well, getting away from this forever would be unrealistic, but a week is enough for me

Charlie: oh, are you already thinking of places that'd be good for this? awww

Charlie: anyone could be better than them, tbh

Raquel: well us getting away forever wouldn't work either

Raquel: duh, you're lucky I'm not looking at real estate agents yet.

Raquel: true.

Charlie: we wouldn't get the money we need, we're poor.

Charlie: i don't even have the money for it, we should wait a bit. well, i should wait a bit

Raquel: we would become poor but in the meantime I could totally be your sugar mama

Raquel: babe. I believe in you. We don't have to wait.

Charlie: my sugar mama. my hot and sexy sugar mama, that sounds kinda good

Charlie: why not? you shouldn't pay for everything, babe, and there are a lot of things i need to figure out

Raquel: I'm not even sure why I like the thought of that too.

Raquel: I wouldn't be paying for everything. It would be yours. I just don't want you to think that money is something that should stop you. Them we figure things out and make sure it happens.

Charlie: because you'd be taking care of me economically and sexually, and we both know how much do you like to take care of me in that sense ;)

Charlie: it's not only that, it's just that it's not that easy to start a new business. i know you're eager to make it happen and i appreciate it, but let's do this the right way

Raquel: well when you put it like that... I do love taking care of you sexually. I was actually just thinking about it.

Raquel: And I know that. New businesses are the ones most likely to fail. You mean with business managers, real estate agents, multiple business Offers and income projections?

Charlie: really? what were you thinking about?

Charlie: all of that and all those things i have yet to find out. i should read a book about it or something before doing anything

Raquel: about howmy mouth can take care out you. How I want to trail kisses down your entire body until you beg me to stop.

Raquel: okay. Well you can read the books and I could always just watch you read or set up meetings. Anything you need.

Charlie: oh, i love how your mouth can take care of me, you know you can do that anytime, babe. until it's time to put that mouth to work somewhere else

Raquel: after the long days without me I just want my mouth to take care of you until your toes curl. Your hands in my hair. With you all the way to the back of my throat.

Charlie: i'll be there for sure all my way to the back to your throat. i want to make your eyes water as i deepthroat you. i want to scratch the back of your throat as i fuck your mouth

Raquel: i know you love it when my eyes water while I look up at you. I need you so bad. I need you inside me. In my mouth. In my pussy.

Charlie: it's a fucking turn on, babe. i love seeing you enjoy that, especially when there are a lot of girls that don't like giving head, but you... you love it

Charlie: you're so eager to have me inside you, but all i want to do is tease you. have your tits in my mouth, tease your pussy and finger you just enough to make you wet before i eat you out so good you would probably forget your name for a minute

Raquel: well when you taste so good and make those faces how am I not supposed to love it?

Raquel: taste me while I tug on your hair. Make me forget the rest of the world.

Raquel: you are such a tease. Get here NOW.

Charlie: gladly so. i love looking up to you and seeing those faces of pleasure, moaning my name, seeing your chest wave as i drive you crazy

Charlie: i wish, but you're miles away and i can't exactly focus on driving when i have such a tent in my boxers

Raquel: me biting my lip. biting into my arm while you play with my clit.

Raquel: So you're saying I have to stop playing with myself long enough to drive over to you? But I'm already waiting for you baby.

Charlie: so do you want me to drive all the way to Santa Monica to fuck you?

Charlie: are you wearing anything at all?

Raquel: No, I want you to drive to my house and fuck me on every surface.

Raquel: nothing at all. How can I when I'm thinking about you?

Charlie: i will try to get there, but i won't promise i'll be there soon because you know, traffic

Charlie: until then, try to not touch yourself and keep all those orgasms for me because i'm going to give you multiple orgasms

Raquel: I hate traffic can't you just like fly over.

Raquel: I know you'll come through with that promise even if it'll be hard not to touch myself while I'm thinking about you. I just have to find ways to keep myself entertained.

Charlie: if that was possible i would be already there

Charlie: good, because we're having a fuckfest tonight

Raquel: people should really get on the whole flying cars thing just for the sake of our sex life.

Raquel: best way to end the day.

Charlie: that would be a good solution whenever we have needs

Charlie: is there another way better than hot and wild sex?

Raquel: it would be the best thing ever. Either that or teleportation

Raquel: hot and wild sex and falling asleep in your arms

Charlie: that would be hella useful

Charlie: that's also a very nice part, if you want my opinion

Raquel: and not just to us.

Raquel: I always want your opinion but the falling asleep thing wasn't up for much of a debate.

Charlie: well, it's not like we get any sleep when we're naked in the same bed, and neither of us can't complain

Raquel: I'm not complaining at all but I have a meeting in the morning and I could use some sleep and coffee in the morning so that's why I would really be asking you to stay :P

Charlie: oh, you only want me there for the coffee? i'm hurt

Charlie: but okay, i'll let you sleep and you'll have your coffee ready in the morning

Raquel: just for coffee and your body, duh

Raquel: you're the best.

Charlie: for my body too, huh? anything else to say about it?

Charlie: i know, babe ;)

Raquel: just that I appreciate the abs and the face that's attached to that body.

Raquel: don't get smug or else I'll have to take back my compliment.

Charlie: i appreciate your appreciation, especially when your fingers and mouth are involved

Charlie: :(

Raquel: fingers, hands, lips, they're all going to be used tonight

Raquel: okay that's a lie. There's a no take back policy on compliments but still.

Charlie: i like the sounds of that

Charlie: you're the best

Raquel: well now you're just buttering me up, but I'm only the best for you. See you soon😘

Charlie: see you and your naked body soon, hopefully in less than an hour

Raquel: definitely less than an hour. If you take an hour I'm definitely starting without you and then I'll just make you watch until I finish.

Charlie: not that i wouldn't love seeing that, but i prefer getting you off than seeing you touch yourself

Raquel: then I guess you've got to hurry.

Charlie: let's hope traffic isn't my enemy tonight

Raquel: let's hope. It'll be both of our enemies tonight.

#text #text: charlie #all: charlie #text: 005 charlie #ship: rarlie

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