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#my self ship w him is very indulgent and focuses completely around him leaving the jujutsu world again and keeping custody of his kids
yujikuna · 1 year
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I wonder if you’d rather fix Toji or make him worse?
i have no interest in having a toxic relationship with toji im fixing that man. toji is like a stray cat in the sense that at first he comes and goes as he pleases and is slightly a nuisance and wants to take advantage of any kindness shown to him yet lashes out and runs away if you pet him the wrong way. eventually comes slinking back ready to cause problems again and is so surprised when the door is open and dinner is almost ready that he just ends up staying.
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Of Disks Lost and Cullings Interrupted
5.1k | Rating T for referenced gore and language
Summary: An unfortunate encounter somehow manages to not go quite as bad as it should have.
This is one of the self-indulgent drabbles I wrote last year for me and @theartisticapparition’s fantrolls meeting for the first time and how much of an absolute mess it would be. Enjoy.   
It has three fucking months since you ordered that hexagonal disk and you still don't have a shipping notification for it.
You stare at the screen of your palm husk. It’s a single point of brightness in the store room you slipped off to while some other ship was docking. For supplies or inspection, you don’t know and you don’t care. All you care about it the fact that no one is going to notice a single rusty slipping away for all of two minutes to fuck around on a personal device and see if maybe something went to spam. Which you are looking at now. And apparently set to delete messages after thirty nights, so if it did go to spam, it was long gone now.
“Sh!t,” you quietly exhale.
It’s objectively not even a good movie, just something dumb and cheesy that you can use to break up an evening. But it's no longer even about that. You just want the garbage that you ordered because you fucking ordered it and paid for it using some of your very limited funds. Grunt work means grunt pay and you have to at least be olive to even be allowed to complain in the first place, so your bronze ass just isn't going to cut it.
It doesn't make sense for you to not have gotten anything. Like at least a, "sorry king, your package is delayed," thing should have happened. You work in this shit, you receive and ship and log and deliver until your pan feels numb and it’s just your body moving through the motions. You have been mentally trying to work out how to even fuck up bad enough that this kind of delay would even happen because even for a rusty, who expects very little, this is still a bit much. You’re drawing a complete blank.
The movement of a shadow catches your eye, snapping you out of your thoughts. It slowly shortens from its exaggerated length to a more proportional one as the figure draws closer, straight towards you. You don’t recognize the silhouette’s lean frame, horns or hair which seemingly fanned out to symmetrical points. You definitely didn’t hear them enter or move through the storage bay.
Swallowing, you turn.
You see his color before you notice anything else about him. Your blood runs cold as you immediately straighten to attention.
Violet.
Seeing sea dwellers through screens and on posters did not prepare you for the real thing. You had never seen one in person before and definitely had never had one slowly making his way closer to you. Everything about him was sharp. His fins, his claws, his teeth, they all came to a clearly defined point. His grin was especially sharp. Almost sharp enough to distract you from whatever the hell his spear thingy that he casually held over his shoulder like it weighed nothing was.  
“S!r.” You address him, bowing your head slightly. “!s there anyth!ng ! can do for you?”
His smile widens when you acknowledge him. His golden bracelets jingle lightly against each other as he brings a hand to his chin, seeming to genuinely consider your question.
Oh goddamn it. This is going to take longer than two minutes.
“) is there anyfin you can do for me? (,” he repeats coolly. He pensively looks off to the side as he continues to move towards you. ") oh I don't know. i just wanted to sea what was back here ("
He walks just behind you and you stiffen. You can feel his eyes lingering on you.  
"!t's mostly crates here s!r. Noth!ng too !nterest!ng"
Faster than you can register it, the hand not gripping his weapon quickly grabs your shoulder, turning you to face him. The points of his manicured claws dig into you. You keep your balance as best you can, but stumble a bit.
”) now, now. you're here too (,” he smiles at you cloyingly.
And just like that, he corrects your stance, getting way too into your personal space in the process. His grin remains shallow and doesn’t meet his eyes. It just isn't warm enough to distract from how cold his touch leaves you and in that moment, you have a realization.
So, you’re probably fucked.
He holds you for longer than is comfortable in what you’re guessing is a touchy little power play, before continuing to move past you, looking up and down the racks that surrounded you two. They were nearly as high as the ceilings and he was doing a pretty decent job of acting like he actually gives a shit about what's on the shelves. He moves by each of them methodically, occasionally picking something up like he was shopping before putting each back neatly into its place.
At least the crew coming in after to replace you isn’t going to have to reorganize anything after washing you off of the walls.
He keeps going and you know he doesn’t genuinely care about whatever soaps and meal packets are back here. You don’t either, not really. He isn't even going through the whole store room, just the area around you. It is almost like he i-.
Oh.  
He’s circling you.
Is this a fish joke? You feel like this is a fish joke he’s making for himself. Or is he just adding another layer to his touchy murder dude bit?
His voice snaps you out of your thoughts before you can really try to work out what his angle on this is. You really hope he didn’t notice you starting to zone out there for a bit.
“) it all just seems rather dull (,” he draws listlessly.
“Wh!ch part?”
He glances back at you. His smile begins to falter.
“Wh!ch part s!r?” You correct quickly.
He chuckles and turns his body to face you.
“) the whole thing (” He gestures away from himself, at your general surroundings. “) i mean here you are, trapped on a run down ship, doing menial tasks for the rest of your unfortunate life. truly, i don’t know how you can stand to be here. i mean, I’d rather die than work in a place like this (,” he looks at you intensely, his pupils seemed much more narrow now that they were completely focused on you. “) what about you? (”
Ah. Yeah. You see what he did there, but he isn’t exactly providing you with any revelations about your life and you don’t exactly think boredom is what’s going to cull you.
“! see !t more l!ke a flavor d!sk.”
Your response stops him and he looks at you strangely.
“Even when !ts bad !ts good," you elaborate.
His gaze becomes harsher for a moment, and then it’s gone.
“) that is a rather crude way of looking at it, i seappose(.”
Alright. No mentally stable person seriously uses the word “suppose” out loud. You wonder how you’re inevitably going to beef it. The spear thing would be involved. It would be really fucking weird if he carried it here just to not use it, but he seems extra enough that you would not put him bringing a long a prop past him.
He notices you looking at it and smirks at you.
") so (,” he recovers and ambles towards you, focusing his full attention on you again. His weapon no longer was resting against his shoulder. He held it against the ground and casually leaned against it like it wasn’t one of the most threatening tools of questionable identity and mass murder you had ever seen. “) what are you doing back here with all of these very uninteresting crates? (”
“! just thought ! forgot someth!ng !n here and stopped by to check. S!r”
“) without telling anyone? (”
“Yes, s!r.”
He chuckles, all too pleased, “) whale, that was a poor decision on your part. there is just so much here that if anything happened to you (,” he lowers his voice, like he was graciously letting you in on a joke, “) who knows how long it would take anyone to find out (.”
A beat of silences passes. You swallow, You know he feels the tension. He looks too excited not to.
“!, uh, maybe should have told someone ! where ! was go!ng !n case someth!ng happened.”
“) i agree (.” He straightens and picks up his weapon, spinning it with ease before he points it at you and slowly starts to bring the to your neck. “) unfortunately for you (,” he starts, “) no one knows you're here (.”
Even as you move your arms, he makes no move to stop you. He grins wider, more manic, looking excited at the idea of you actually trying to fight back.
Ha.
Sucks to be him because there is no fucking way that the last thing you do before you get culled is putting in some more effort to make this more enjoyable for the extra dude culling you.
Because if this guy's going to cull you, you're at least going to be the one making a request and try to have some fun here while you can. Because what is he going to do about it? You’re getting culled anyways, might as well, right?
The ridiculousness of it all makes you grin as you shrug at him. "Well, sh!t. Alr!ght."
This acceptance gives him pause as he tilts his head slightly, considering you. A crease forms between his brows and he tightens his grip on his weapon. ") w-"
You cut him off. You’re going to die so you think you get to be rude. Him being mad about it won’t really be your problem for long anyways.
"Can ! d!e !n a cool way though?"
") i-" he starts to lower his weapon, which you now think is a harpoon. Maybe? You don't know man. You don’t know anything about fish shit and you’re understanding less by the second.
You continue looking at him with the same resigned optimism that carried you through most of the bullshit you did. It got you this far. Which, granted, is probably getting culled by a bored sea dweller, but there are probably worse ways to go.
") wait (,” he says.
"Yeah?"
It isn't exactly like you're going anywhere. You know what to do with fear, being a rusty, you learn that shit real quick. But the look he is giving you now just makes you uncomfortable.
"What's up my guy?"
") aren't you going to fight back or somefin? ("
"Uh." You glance around the room full of mostly crates and his eyes follow yours as you search before you focus back on him, confused. "L!ke w!th a weapon?"
") yes? (" His smile tightens, seeming incredulous that you even asked.  
"Why would anyone g!ve me a weapon? ! mean, there m!ght be a broom somewhere. Actually wa!t, ! th!nk that got broken last w!pe. !t wasn't even me th!s t!me," you add with a side smile.  
He doesn't seem to know how to respond. Neither do you, so you do what you normally do when you don't know how to react.
You keep talking.
"! did troll karate for a l!ttle b!t when ! was f!ve, but !t was k!nda lame so ! stopped going. Does that uh,” you hazard, “w!ll that work for th!s?"
") no (." He narrows his eyes at you. ") plus, I know fish judo(."
Your jaw drops.
"What the fuck. F!sh judo !s real?"
") of course fish judo is reel (." He quickly spits, looking offended by your ignorance. ") do land dwellers just think that you can fight the same way underwater? ("
"! mean !'ve l!terally never thought about !t."
") i'm not surfrised ( ."
"Okay, but ! feel l!ke !f a land dweller !s !n a pos!t!on where they need to know f!sh judo, !t means they're going to lose at f!sh judo."
") i mean, i guess? (," he replies, baffled before quickly refocusing on you again. His sharp thing is pointed back at your throat as he slips back into his previous cool demeanor.
“) you do reelize the danger you’re in right? (”
Your eyes dart down to his weapon and then at him, now being the one confused.
“Um, yeah?”
Was the whole mood he had going on not an intentional thing on his part?
He stares at you. So you go on, listing things on your fingers as you go, trying not to focus on his questionable object with definite pointiness.
“So you got the whole class!c stalk and lurk th!ng so you could follow me somewhere ! would be alone where no one can hear me scream. !t’s pretty standard,” you emphasize.
You can’t read his expression.
“There was the whole slow dramat!c enter, nefar!ous d!alogue, and, uh," you glance down, "harpoon?”
“) harpoon (,” he repeats.
“That’s what ! thought !t was, but ! felt !t would be we!rd to ask.”
His mouth opens slightly and his fins flare out more, now openly seething.
“) do you know what i could do to you? ("
A lull drags on.
"Et!vor."
") what (."
"My name !s Et!vor." You continue, "! thought you were draw!ng out the you th!ng because !t's l!ke. We are a good b!t into th!s whole th!ng and !t's kinda awkward to ask for names now, so ! am just, you know, putt!ng !t out there."
He blinks. "I don't give a fuck about your name Etivor."
He still used it though.
Taking a very deep breath, he resumes. “) i am going to take immense pleasure in cutting your tongue out and slowly flaying you alive (”
He moves closer to you, slowly, predatory, circling you again. One of his icy hands brushes by your arm in a mockery of comfort as he continues to muse more to himself than you.
“) maybe I’ll slice off each of your joints, starting at the ends and slowly work my way to eventually gutting you. perhaps I’ll simply behead you. although, i think you’ve said enough to have earned far worse, don’t you think? (”
His face being this close to you is definitely starting to put you on edge more than what he is saying. But what’s really bothering you most of all is that one of those sounds a bit too familiar.
“Wa!t. That second on-”
“) you don’t get to fucking choose which one,” he hisses at you as his claws start to dig in to you.
“! wasn’t done. Damn.”
You’re honestly surprised he hasn’t just stabbed you from sheer frustration. It’s kinda funny. It would be way more funny if he wasn't going to cull you though, but you’ll take what you can get.
“!sn’t that second one from that one comedy with troll Tob!hn Bhelle?”
“) you’ve sean that? (” He raises his brows. “) no. i added a little twist with the gutting at the end instead of letting them bleed out (.” Almost hesitantly he asks, “) did you like it? because i thought they were trying too hard where they ha-.”
He catches himself and raises his weapon at you again, “) STOP. This is NOT what is taking place right now (.”
You narrow your eyes. He's the one who kept talking.
“Then !t !s from that mov!e. You can’t just say, no !t’s not and then be l!ke,” you motion with your hands, “but w!th a tw!st! You l!fted !t.”
He bemusedly stares at you.
“) are you purposefully trying to infuriate me? was your egg dropped? do you not understand what happens when you piss off royalty? (” He snidely adds, “) i am going to get so much satisfaction out of flaying you (.”
He is literally the one holding the weapon, and holding you hostage, and also did physically hold you a few times. What the fuck does he think you’re trying to get out of this?
“! have never purposefully done anyth!ng !n my ent!re l!fe dude. ! am not about to start mak!ng an effort just when !’m about to get culled,” you respond, surprisingly defensively.
Wait, this has gotten off of the fucking rails and you don’t know where you guys actually stand.
“You are going to cull me r!ght?”
“) well, uh. yeah (.” He’s tense and glances around the room, taken off guard by your question.
"Cool." You nod at him. Worth a try you guess.
His harpoon is less looking like a weapon to be used against you and more like a barrier to keep you away from him. Silence again draws on and he stares at you expectantly. You glance around. His frown gets deeper and he looks more frustrated as time goes on. You have no idea what he is waiting for.
You never thought being culled would be this fucking awkward. Guess the torture’s already started.
") aren't you going to plead for your life? (" he demands, bringing his harpoon closer as he does so.
You’ve never been great on the spot. You try to muster something decent up.
“Uh, don’t cull me?” You said it as lamely as you felt.
He looks at you blankly. “) are you getting off on this? (”
“Dude. No. Gross.” Your face twists. “!t’s just like. !’ve never pleaded for my l!fe before. !t !sn’t sh!t you really get to pract!ce and ! feel l!ke !t won’t actually matter since !’m getting culled anyways. So. Yeah.” You slowly nod to yourself before looking up at him.
He is still waiting. Goddamn it. You sigh.
“No. Please don’t cull me. !’ll do anyth!ng.”
While that covers all your bases, it came out a lot drier than you thought but you’re too over this shit to feel any kind of way about it.
"!s there any chance plead!ng would even work?"
His disappointment was broken by a sharp laugh, ") of course not (."
“Then what do you even want from me?” you ask, getting kinda exasperated at his apparent high standards and prereqs for the randos he culls. Like it is one thing to play some kind of sadistic game with your prey, that’s normal, whatever, but it is a whole other thing to get weird about them not being good at it.
"Why ask unless y-. Oh." Your face falls as you get bitch slapped with the realization of what is really happening here. "Oh fuck."
You step back.
Your fear has apparently slam dunked him right back in his comfort zone because his grin is back full throttle and wider and sharper than ever like he was making up for lost time. ") you finally understand the weight of the seatuation you're in? ("
He slinks towards you and you feel the edge of the blade graze your neck.
"Yep," avoid his gaze and swallow.
You were going to get culled in the weirdest way possible.
“) and what is that? (,” he asks lowly, getting right the fuck back into your personal space. His smile almost splits his face and you want to crawl out of your skin.
"Th!s !s l!ke. A th!ng. W!th you."
He lowers his harpoon again, looking completely done. “) what the fuck is THAT supposed to mean? (” You half expect him to throw it across the room or through your torso.
You can’t stop yourself from speaking now that you're actually nervous and stressed and he is yelling and also way too close to your person and his harpoon isn’t doing either of you any favors.
“You had the whole k!nda fl!rty touchy th!ng going on and then you got really p!ssy when ! d!dn’t f!ght back. And you also got super d!sappo!nted w!th my sh!tty plead!ng l!ke you were really look!ng forward to !t or someth!ng.”
“) i’m disappointed because this is the least satisfying cull of my life! (,” he hisses.
You visibly cringe at the word “satisfying” and take another step back from him. There is some fear there but mostly you’re just really fucking uncomfortable. Troll Jesus Christ this dude is into some shit and you are not playing into it.
He also takes a step back too, now into a defensive stance. ") what? it doesn't look like that! ("
You suck in air in through your teeth and are looking anywhere but at him as you reply, "!t k!nda looks l!ke that."
") oh my cod ("
He just slumps down, his harpoon clattering in front of him. His mouth is in a straight line and his head rests between his hands. You stand there, unsure for a moment, before slowly lowering yourself a decent distance away from him. You honestly thought that getting culled would be less uncomfortable than it was being here while he has whatever the fuck it is he has going on going on or at least uncomfortable in a different way.  
You continue trying to avoid looking at him. It’s kinda expected that a highblood was going to cull you at some point. That was just how it tended to go for rusties, but you could not have guessed this, and now just kinda want to get this whole getting murdered thing over with.
You try to give him a moment, glancing around the room, mentally taking inventory of everything there twice. The awkward silence is weighty and the longer it stretches on, the worse you are feeling about this whole fucking ordeal.
“Would cull!ng me help you uh, not be l!ke th!s?”
He gives you a dirty look.
You sigh, "!t's not l!ke anyone gets to th!nk that for long, !f !t helps.”
“) if it helps? ( ” He spat each word, getting louder as he went on. He whipped his head at you, indignantly, “) this is your fault! ("
"What?"
") getting culled is so fucking basic. how did you fuck that up? ("
You stare at him, trying to figure out how the fuck to even respond.
Slowly, in what might be one of the last things you do in your existence, you serve this royal what you are assuming is the stalest tea of his life in the form of the lukewarm take, “you know, be!ng bad at dy!ng !s a good th!ng actually.”
These are real words. These are real words that you are saying to the guy who was leaning way too hard into the thirsty part of bloodthirsty.
You continue. "L!ke you don’t get to pract!ce th!s. ! mean, do ! look l!ke someone who has been culled before? Because ! haven’t. Have you?" You add.
He looks like he is about to have a conniption or the sea dweller equivalent. Can sea dwellers have conniptions? Because this guy is about to have a big one.
") you did not just seariously just ask me if i've ever been culled before. that is the dumbest question anyone has ever asked me! (," he practically shrieks.
"Well you're acting like ! should just know th!s sh!t. We have the exact same amount of exper!ence gett!ng culled!"
“) whale i’ve never encountered any TROLL who is so miserable that they just accept getting culled from the fucking get go (.”
“!’m not m!serable! !’m real!st!c! ! don’t have a weapon, ! can’t fight for sh!t, f!sh judo !s apparently fuck!ng real, and plead!ng does noth!ng. !’m gonna end up at the same place no matter what ! do so why drag !t out? L!ke, come on.”
You slump against the wall, exhausted from this whole interaction. “!t wasn’t great, but ! don’t see much of a po!nt !n gett!ng so worked up about sh!t ! can’t control. ! just wanted to go out !n a cool way s!nce noth!ng ever fuck!ng happens here. The reason ! was even back here !n the f!rst place was to see !f ! had an update on a stup!d hexagonal d!sk ! ordered three months ago. But that sh!t !s apparently !n the vo!d," you gripe.
You pull out your palm husk and check again. Jack shit. You groan.
You’re surprised to hear him chuckle.
“) sucks to be you (.”
“Yeah." You shake your head. "And then a few seconds after ! found out, some guy showed up to cull me.”
He actually laughs. This is so fucking ridiculous so maybe that’s why you are too.
“) it’s a lot more fun to be doing the culling (.” He eyes you again and you don’t want to crawl out of your flesh this time, and you feel like that’s a real development here. “) you seam like you’d lose a fight (.”
An accurate assessment.
“Yeah. Troll karate didn’t do sh!t for me.” A beat passes. “Drones actually burnt !t down l!ke two w!pes after ! qu!t.”
He snickers and a moment passes.
“) one month for a disk? that is fucking bullshit (.”
“Three.”
“) fuck (," he raises his brows. Moderate inconvenience seems to repulse him more than anything you've said tonight. ") that sucks, i get my shit next night with cullazon prime (.”
"N!ce. !'d probably try that if ! had more than twenty seven whole caegars."
Broke bitch disorder also seems to do it for him in the humor department and the two of you continue chilling in silence. Less uncomfortable this time. You almost feel bad for thinking he was a sadistic creep.
He breaks the silence. “) give me your palm husk (."
“What?”
“) i don’t repeat myself (," he replies tersely, holding his hand out to you.
What the hell.
You type your code in and pass it to him. He glances at the massive crack on the center of your screen with disgust. He looks at you and shakes his head before he starts typing.
He didn't ask, but still, you answer. “! cracked !t do!ng a k!ckfl!p on a doll!e.”
He doesn't look up. ") you can't do a kickflip on a dollie (."
"Not w!thout a cost."
He spares you a side glance. ") why the fuck would you even do that? ("
"Because !t !s bor!ng as sh!t out here and there !s much better to do !n the ma!lblock."
He hums noncommittally.
"Were you just spaced?"
") and what if I was?(," he asks, a touch defensive.
"Noth!ng. ! was just wonder!ng !f !t sucks th!s bad at your level too?"
") of course not (," he snaps. ") do you genuinely believe anyone could be doing worse than you? ("
"Well yeah." You tap your sign. "But not by much."
He huffs and rolls his eyes before he looks out for a moment.
") i'm abshellutely krilling it out here (,” he states resolutely before continuing, “) but taking orders is a reel pain (.”
He sullenly joins you in leaning back against the wall.
Damn, This might just be the first time he's ever had anyone above him. Well, above him and specifically giving him orders you mean, judging by the way he is basically pouting over it. Everyone loses agency when they ascend. Guess it just sucks more when you have more to lose, not that you’d really know.
"!t doesn’t get better, but you do get used to !t," you say, not looking at him.
He glances at you, frowning deeper before exhaling.
You keep not looking at him when you ask, "So. Are you go!ng to cull me?"
") no. there is no salvaging that. you completely ruined it (." He replies bitterly while returning your palm husk.
The cullazon app has been downloaded and opened to an account page. You raise an eyebrow at him.
He announces, “) okay etivor, i shared my cullazon prime with you. you’re still going to be a sorry excuse for a troll, but you might get enough out of it that culling you acshelly becomes entertaining (.”
This is a joke. This has to be a joke.
“Thanks, but there !s l!terally no way for me to pay you back for anyth!ng ! buy on th!s.”
“) do i look like i need your fucking charity? (” he sneers.
He is actually serious about this. He looks too pissed not to be.
“Nope, you’re way too bl!nged out for that,” you grin. This dude is wild. “What’s your number?”
He looks at you suspiciously.
“!s th!s really where you’re gonna draw the l!ne? You gave me access to your Cullazon, but won’t g!ve me your number? Ser!ously?”
He doesn’t ask this time. He just swipes it out of your hands.
“) i am ievahn mordax, probably the best thing that has and will ever grace your miserable fucking life and i will brutally cull you if you mention any of this ever happened to anyone (.”
He hands it back, but still holds onto it. “) i’ve made myself clear? (”
“Yeah,” you nod and he finally lets go. This is way better than a shipping notification. 
Oh. 
You check the time.
"Fuck!" You leap to your feet and he quickly grabs his harpoon.
") what? (" he shouts.
"! was supposed to be here for l!ke a m!nute to check on the d!sk." You look at your palm husk again. It has been way more than a minute and you have the feeling someone definitely noticed by now. You completely forgot about having some work work to do considering you thought you were going to die. "Sh!t." You look at him again. "Do you have anywhere to be?"
") what? (" He squints.
“! mean you just had some free t!me and you seem bored and apparently don’t believe ! can do a k!ckfl!p on a doll!e. ! have to defend my good name. You get !t.”
“) what good name? (” he snickers. “) and if i did, why the fuck would i want to spend anymore time with you? (”
“Because you can’t make fun of my Cullazon orders !f my boss culls me for tard!ness. You be!ng around means she can’t say sh!t.”
He seems to consider, “) a compelling argument. and i do get to watch you maim yourself in the dumbest way possible which is a definite bonus (.”
You grin as you start walking. “Or have your pan be blown when you see what trollk!nd can really do when there is l!terally noth!ng else to do. !’m push!ng l!m!ts here !evahn.”
“) you’re pushing your luck (.” He leans his harpoon against himself as he follows.
“Maybe.” Quickly, you face him and add. “But ser!ously, be cool. !f my boss f!nds out about any of th!s, she w!ll absolutely cull me.”
“) she can’t cull you (,” he huffs. “) i already called dibs on that (.”
You grin returns.
“Damn. !’ll let her know.”
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likeshipsonthesea · 5 years
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okay so legit one of my first-ever nurseydex posts was this one right here and while i still agree with/hc parts of it i have to admit it’s a bit outdated for how i see nurseydex’s relationship now so i thought why not make a new “why i ship nurseydex” post three years later to explain my own rambling understanding of them??
so, anywho. imagine a dex-- back when he was just will-- growing up with this huge weight of expectation around him, about every aspect of his life-- expectation of what a man ought to be, expectation of what a student ought to be, a worker, a son, etc-- and despite what he wants and feels, striving to meet/exceed this expectation to satisfy his parents and make them proud and be who they want him to be. like, following his ma around when she does chores might be fun and helpful, but a man is supposed to be doing the dirty, heavy work, no baking or doing laundry (at least that’s what his brother says) and from the time he’s little he knows that college means money and they don’t have that, but education is also very important and college is how he gets a better life for him and his family, and so from elementary school he’s studying his spelling words and times tables and striving to be the best student he can be because scholarships and respect and expectation. and yeah, maybe there’s other expectations, around who he can and cannot like, and maybe that doesn’t always fit the way he thinks it’s supposed to, and he allows himself little indulgences knowing one day that he will do what is expected of him and make his parents happy, and the crushing weight of that-- of knowing what the future will force him into-- has him frozen between the need to be what he’s supposed to be and the want to be free, and these warring ideals within his own mind leave him grasping and uncertain and--and angry at everything (family, town, society, himself) for putting him there to begin with and then-- and then-- he goes to samwell
MEANWHILE there’s a little nursey, small and surrounded by smiling parents and nannies and love, and somehow, despite it all, he’s anxious. it’s his brain, probably, but at four, nursey doesn’t know anything about brains, all he knows is that his parents aren’t home and maybe that’s his fault and before he can understand how jobs work and how their importance doesn’t outweigh his parents’ love for him, he’s sitting at home wondering how to be better, how to be enough to keep them there, how to be good. and he excels in all his classes, gets bored sitting there with all his fancy private school kindergarten work finished on his desk, and his parents bring him to the doctor’s thinking it’s an attention disorder and he gets diagnosed with anxiety. at eight. and his parents-- mama gets mad (and nursey hasn’t yet learned to distinguish anger at the world and anger at him) and mom becomes focused, ready to fix it (not realizing, really, how nursey sees it as a need to fix him) and dad is maybe the best, he just buys some puzzles and makes hot cocoa and sits with nursey when the world gets too tough, and still nursey leaves thinking i’m a burden, he has to take the time to do this, i’m a burden, and he grows up with the idea that he has to be good, can’t be broken, has to pretend to be perfect even if he isn’t otherwise his parents will be sad and it will be his fault, and it works (until it doesn’t) and he thrives (until he doesn’t) and everything is happy and perfect and wonderful (until it isn’t) and things break apart and nursey decides perfection is impossible to fabricate but pretending to be chill, pretending to at least be okay is enough, and so he moves on with this veneer of okayness and this mess of anxiety and apprehension and worry underneath and it’s such a delicate balance he somehow manages to handle until samwell
(under the cut bc, well. it got a little long. oops?)
and there it’s like-- they’re both at the perfect point to just completely explode one another. nursey sees this walking ball of seemingly together person and pokes at it, this kind of self-projection thing really, trying to break the outside and see the mess within, and meanwhile dex looks at nursey and sees someone perfectly content with everything in life and turns on every probing question like it’s an attack, and maybe it takes a few terms-- maybe all of their frog year-- to start seeing past the cracks. maybe a few of nursey’s questions poke at places more sensitive than he’d meant to see, and maybe dex calls nursey out on things his anxiety has whipped out of control, and maybe after they lose the playoffs and dex is angry and violent and not enough and nursey sees that-- feels the ache of imperfection, too-- and somehow the knowledge that he’s not alone makes it better? and suddenly he wants to make it better for dex, too? and so they go into the summer after frog year with the beginnings of an understanding and things are-- tentative, but they know how to deal with fragility better than most, and it survives the break, survives the infrequent texts and tangential group chat conversations
and sophomore year they have rooms across the hall from one another, randomly. they walk together to practices, because why not, and tag along on team breakfasts (dex is a morning person, nursey is not, dex likes being helpful, nursey likes making it to bfast before holster eats all the waffles) and maybe they start talking-- actually talking, not barbs and banter and chirps just a bit too sharp to laugh at. it’s like an actual conversation for the first time since they’ve known each other, and c’s ecstatic and their hockey’s great and things are going wonderful.
until one of them catches feelings.
it doesn’t quite matter which one of them-- maybe dex falls in love with the way nursey gestures with his hands too much as he talks and how he waxes poetic about everything, but mostly nature and books and how it feels to smile without knowing it, and maybe dex falls in love with the way he feels around nursey, like he could say anything and nursey wouldn’t- he’d judge, maybe, because nursey likes doing that, but it would never be maliciously, it would always be out of a want for dex to grow, learn, be himself more. and seriously, that wouldn’t be hard to fall in love with
or maybe nursey falls in love with the weird bits of knowledge dex drops about any and everything, always attributed to an aunt or uncle, of which he likely has an unlimited stock, and the way that dex catches him when he trips on the sidewalk and the strong, sure way his hands curl around nursey’s body, and how when he gets flustered or embarrassed or angry or happy, his flush is a different shade depending on the emotion, and how nursey-- when he’s around dex-- doesn’t wonder if dex thinks what he’s saying is dumb-- he probably does-- because dex cares anyway and isn’t that just completely and wholly unavoidably wonderful?
so. one of them falls in love. there’s a dib flip. dex goes a little overboard. so does nursey. neither of them reacts accordingly and it’s nearly impossible to say which one reacts to the other’s overreaction. one person has their heart beat up (he still doesn’t like me, he still thinks i’m just someone to annoy) and then they lose before they even make the playoffs and then jack and bitty come out on live tv and dex’s parents infer things that break expectations and nursey’s parents start fighting (unrelated) and nursey wonders if it’s his fault (it isn’t) and they come back to samwell in the fall poised to break one another apart.
if in frog year it was an explosion, in junior year it’s a careful disassembly. they poke at the soft spots they’ve learned in the past year until the whole living situation comes crumbling down and, in the rumble, everything is silent and so much clearer. nursey is alone in a top bunk with a broken wrist, isolated from the team and his parents, scattered across the globe for work in an effort to get away from one another. dex is tucked away in the basement, sucking at hockey as his body refuses to get used to a different d-partner and his conversations with his parents consist of short sentences and loaded silences, and he has no idea what to do with either.
spring comes early that year. flowers poking up amongst frost-bitten blades of grass, birds chirping in the early hours of practices. nursey is back on the ice. he and dex don’t speak, except to work through plays. it begins to come back-- their understanding-- if only on the ice.
bitty starts visiting jack more on the weekends and chowder is off with caitlin and doing compsci homework and talking to recruiters. whiskey usually isn’t there anyway and tango is off doing everything and the waffles are cool but suddenly they seem so young.
on saturday nights, dex cooks and nursey sits at the table with him and complains, mostly to himself at first, about his writing prof. as the weeks wear on, dex adds his own complaints, too. sometimes nursey will throw in something good that happened. sometimes dex will tell a joke (usually a pun, usually horrible, usually inducing belly-aches in nursey regardless). afterwards they do the dishes. dex mentions how he used to love doing the dishes, how it calmed him. how his brother used to comment on it disparagingly. nursey mentions, another time, how his roommate at andover would hate the impromptu headphone dance parties he’d put on-- how it was something he’d do with his dad, when he was young. how it made things better, for a while.
(they never really talk about when happened, dex’s parents or nursey’s, the ache of loneliness that fall term, not until very later, after samwell, after-- well. it takes a while, but when they finally do talk about it, it hurts less if only because of the delicateness with which they’ve learned how to handle such things, by then)
 by the time the end of the year arrives-- when they win  the fucking playoffs and hoist bitty onto their shoulders with a burning pride in their chests-- nursey and dex would call one another friends. to their faces and everything. and then there’s a banquet and dex gets the c and-- as a twist-- nursey gets the a (maybe coach and hall approached dex before the banquet, explained how close the votes were, asked him if he’d mind, and dex gave the most honest answer maybe he’d ever given in his life-- it would be an honor)
they go into the summer with one another at the top of their messages. they call nearly every week, snapchat daily, about nursey’s internship at a publishing house, dex’s at a tech company in boston. maybe nursey panic-calls dex at three in the morning going on about the publishing process and how crazy it is and how i’m never going to be published and dex calms him down with some seriously misinformed words about the literary business that make nursey breathe easy anyway, and maybe dex goes home one weekend and there’s radio silence until dex calls him on the way back home and asks nursey to just talk and so from maine until massachussetts it’s nursey’s voice rambling about pears and children’s books and cooking equipment until dex gets back to the apartment his internship is paying for and simply says thank you
and they go into senior year this unquestionable team with a legacy to uphold. dex works through plays without hesitation, showing the baby frogs (juniors, they call them) the ropes and silently making the team a warm space, while nursey inspires and comforts and corrects the little things, and they run the haus in the same way-- nursey planning movie nights and board game nights (now that holster and jack are gone and there are strict rules in place) and dex is usually there in the kitchen, cooking and baking and willing to listen to anything the players have to say, and if you asked any of the baby frogs what they thought of dex and nursey’s relationship, they would’ve said that their captains had been friends for years (and maybe, in the right light, that would be true)
how they get together at this point is not important. whichever one didn’t catch feelings sophomore year found them, sometime afterwards, behind a box of forgotten things, forgotten only because they’d been there quietly for so long that no one had every thought to question their presence, and so, in senior year, when they are both in places where things are no longer fragile, where “broken” is a word easily thrown away, they come together with little fanfare.
over a pie, one softly raining afternoon, or in a slipped-into-snowbank on the way back from practice, or in the library over an open textbook or between laughter or in the moments before sleep embraces them on a roadie, or any number of other things.
that is not the most important part-- it’s important, of course, but not the most-- the most important part is that they were, are, together long before any moment like that occurs. because they both learned, grew from the volatile, fragile people they arrived as. grew because they forced each other, became better, stronger, with the guidance and comfort and assurance the other offered. because that is what makes a partnership, a bond of the souls, a love like theirs. it is not being perfect, not even being perfect for one another, but being there and willing to grow.
maybe it’s samwell-- got your back-- that puts them in a place where this kind of process can work. maybe it’s the nature of college itself. maybe it would’ve happened regardless of where they were. but it happened, and it’s wonderful, and that’s what matters.
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lafislife · 7 years
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TWOM Ch.1: Surviving Requires
Alexander Hamilton always thought he was going to be someone one day. He was ambitious, hard working and smart, and did not mind demonstrating it every time he had the chance.
Now he is trapped in the middle of civil war, and all his dreams crumble to the ground, the future he had carefully planned disappearing before his very eyes.
But he survives. He always does. And maybe something better can come out of this.
Time: Modern Civil War AU.
(T/W): Pain, wound, maybe some soft insults.
(A/N): This is the first chapter to this fic. It does have a very slow beginning, but the action will come around, I promise.
I still haven’t decided on ships yet, so I accept your ideas on it. To be honest, this is quite self indulgent, and I find it probable that I may write characters, well, out of character. I am sorry if I do so.
Again, I need to clarify that my first language isn’t english, so I will probably fuck up a lot. Please view my mistakes with indulgence, and correct them whenever you feel like doing so.
Alexander was almost surprised that he woke up. A second later, he is almost regretful: pain is everywhere, but specially, his right side and his head are hurting like hell: the skin over his ribs feel tight and every time he breathes, it stretches painfully, a fire burning along the scar. The headache, instead, is a dull, constant kind of pain, with waves of such an intense throbbing migraine he thinks he is going to faint each time. He groans as he realizes that maybe death was a lot better than the messy state he is into now.
He lays down, hand going up to cover his eyes and he shifts, ever so slowly, to his left (and unhurt) side. He can hear voices in the distance, and he wishes he could not, because the headache is relentless and unforgiving, and he can’t even make the words out anyway. What he can tell, however, is that it seems to be an argument, and an ugly one at that.
He wishes he had a glass of water. He is thirstier than he ever was before.
He knows he should be scared, but it is difficult to be after almost experiencing death. The fact that he was not in a bathtub filled with ice to the brink was also helping him remain calm. Instead, he is covered up to the chest with sheets that smell musty and feel soft against his naked torso.
He does not know how long he lays down, eyes closed, throat dry. He does not dare going off on his own. First, his body hurts a little bit too much for him to tolerate movement, second, the headache has reduced him to a dizzy mess and third, he is not fond of the idea of opening his eyes and risking worsening his migraine.
He had started to doze off when he hears footsteps down the hall coming towards him -or his room- wherever that was. The door opens, the floor creaks -and he realizes, in an unconscious and flashing thought, that the floor must be wooden- and the hinges squeak -he needs to oil that, he thinks, then he laughs to himself for being so ridiculous- before being closed again.
“Are you awake?” The voice asks. It is soft, almost bird-like, and pleasant enough for it to avoid worsening his headache. Alexander opened his mouth to answer, but the first try at speaking ends up being a cacophony of throaty sounds and painful coughs that has him curling up in pain, clutching his side.
“Oh, sorry, I am so sorry.” the voice whispers and rushes to his side, placing a hand against his forehead. It is soft, and cold, and pleasant against his feverish skin, and he lets out a sound that he hopes comes off as grateful. “I came here to check on you. I am glad you are awake” the voice says, and Alexander can tell that their owner must be at least faintly smiling.
“I brought water,” they say, and the thought of it is so pleasant that Alex dares to open his eyes, even if it is just a little bit. He can’t see much “Do you want me to help you drink some?”.
He knows he cannot speak, not yet, so instead he nods, uncurling a bit now that the pain from his coughing fit was receding. The voice -or well, the person that owned the voice- lifted his head carefully and put the cup -hard plastic cup, he guesses by the feel of it- against his lips, tilting it enough for water to start dripping down his mouth. Alex swallows almost immediately, the feeling so refreshing that he lets out a raspy, throaty sound of pleasure. He can hear the voice laugh, and he is almost embarassed.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough for now” they say, and Alex would have complained if it wasn’t for the fact that he still felt unable to speak. Instead, he lets the person carefully lay his head down against the pillow. “I am sure you have many questions, but it is best if you rest for now. I’ll come back in the morning. Is that okay?”
Alexander was even surprised the person asked him if it was okay. Such kindness in such harsh times was difficult to find, and he started wondering if he was actually alive or in some kind of limbo between hell and heaven. Nevertheless, he gave the voice a small nod before nuzzling the pillow a little bit.
He hears the door open up, the wooden floor creaks under the voice’s footsteps, the hinges squeak, and then it closes, leaving him alone again.
————————-
He does not realize he has fallen asleep until he wakes up again. He can tell it’s early in the morning because his eyelids are tinted in soft yellow instead of the bright white of the previous night. The pain in his ribs still haunts him, but the headache has almost disappeared, and he was glad for that.
This time, there are more people in the room, and it is a while until he can count how many: three. The bird-like one seems to be absent, and he is almost uncomfortable with the idea of meeting even more people.
“-plies, we need more bandages and we will need fuel soon, winter is closing on us.” This voice, the first he hears, sounds serious and collected, stern but with an edge of gentleness that made Alex feel at ease.
“I know a place, I’ll see what I can get this night” second voice speaks. His voice is gravelly and raucous, low in tone. It sounds simple, and his intonation makes it sound like whatever the task that was at hand, it was easily achievable.
“We will also need some food, we will run out soon, even with the farm. See if you can trade some” voice one kept on going.
“What about new clothes? Ours are torn and will barely do anything through winter. I think the church was offering them, and we can barter-” spoke Third Voice, and this one sounded much younger than the other two, energetic to the point of fretfulness.
“We’ll see tomorrow,” interrupted voice one,  “now we need to keep ourselves fed, healthy and warm”.
Alexander realizes he must have moved, or shifted because the voices stopped after that. He hears shifting in the room, and he opens his eyes. Much to his discontempt, his vision is blurry for the time being, and he can barely recognize the silhouette of his hosts.
There was an almost uncomfortable silence until one of the voices clears their throat, and speaks up, “How are you feeling today?” they say. It is the older, calmer voice that he had heard first.
Alexander tests his voice, and he realizes his throat is not as raspy as the day before. “Alive. Barely so” he says in a hushed tone. He hears two laughs, but he is certain that the man who just spoke had not change his serious demeanor.
“That is good enough. You lost a lot of blood, we were afraid you wouldn’t make it” they say, and Alex can hear a bit of relief on their voice. He sits up, carefully as to not stress his wound much, and blinks a few times, eyes adjusting to the light.
“You have a mean punch for a lost-a-lot-of-blood guy” speaks voice two and voice three laughs heartily. Alex focuses his eyes a bit, and when they do, he can see three men standing in front of him: he guesses voice two was the one with a huge black bruise on his right cheek. Voice one was almost surely the tall, broad man who just rolled his eyes with a shadow of a smile gracing his lips.
“Oh.” Alex says, almost sheepishly, cheeks heating up a bit, “sorry ‘bout that”.
“Eh, I think we are even. I got you really bad on the head” Voice two answers, pointing at his own head with his finger. Alex understood why his head hurt so much when he first woke up. Now it just felt uncomfortable. “I just needed to stop you from bleeding to death on me”. So he was not stealing his backpack, Alex realizes, suddenly relieved.
“I think I owe you my life then” Alex says, more matter-of-factly than grateful. Not because he isn’t grateful, mind you, he is. But the idea is still hard to grasp for him. He blinks a few times, trying to concentrate. “So…”
“Oh, where are our manners” speaks Voice One again, straightening his woolen vest and stretching his hand, “George Washington. These are John Laurens” he said, and the young man that had remained silent stretched Alex’s hand, careful as to not shake him so much “and Hercules Mulligan” Alexander and him shared a curt nod.
“Alexander Hamilton,” he adds when all introductions are made, “a pleasure to meet you. I actually did not expect to open my eyes after the incident”
“To be fair, we were not expecting it either” suggests Mulligan, with a smirk playing in his lips. “It seems you are a fighter, though”. Alexander smiles, because he knows that if he laughs he is going to end up in too much pain.
“I’m sorry for causing such inconveniences. I am sure you have better ways to spend resources than on wounded punks. Specially scarce ones like peroxide and bandages” Alexander replies. He feels a bit guilty about making this completely strange people take care of him.
“Don’t worry about that, the more, the merrier” Laurens intervenes. “Also, you kind of paid for the bandages and alcohol yourself. You had them on your backpack” he adds, sounding almost cheerful.
Alex is surprised at first, a bit shocked that they would admit going through his things so openly, but then remembers that this people saved his fucking life, and the thought becomes more bearable. He shakes his head a little bit. “Thank you, really. Is there some way I can repay you?” he asks, and moves to get up.
George catches him before he could even move, a strong hand against his shoulder. “Move and we are going to need to patch you up again” he says, and Alex relaxes against the pillow once again. “We are fine. You need to rest and heal up, and when you are ready, we’ll talk it over”
Alex decides to obbey, sitting back, and George nodded, seemingly contempt that he had obeyed him. For a moment, Mulligan seems to be going to say something, but Washington cuts him off, “We are going to let you rest. I think Maggie is in charge of food today, so I’ll tell her to bring you something light to eat. We can’t risk upsetting your stomach”.
Alex nods and thanks them again. He could not believe his luck, and truth be told, he found himself doubting that this was really happening. In times of war, it was strange to find kindness in people. He watches as the three of them turn around and left the room.
Alexander wonders what to do next. He still isn’t sure about these people: kindness is hard to repay, specially when it’s giving in advance, and even more now, in the middle of “war”. Being left alone, in a safe place like this, gives him time to think and reflect about his life, a thing he was not able to do since the outbreak.
As a college student, life seemed figured out. He was studying bot law and economics, and although it was stressful for him, it was one of the happiest moments in his life. He had made good friends, joined the debate club (and people hated how good with words he was) and was in the way of becoming an honored student.
Now, with all the shit that was going on, he was reduced to a skinny, shaky mess that limited himself to live day to day, barely eating, barely sleeping, barely living. There was no one he could really trust, many of his friends died on the first shelling that devastated his university. The rest had gone their separate ways, some managing to escape the country before the worst, some dying in further attacks.
Alex was the lucky in the unlucky: he was caught in the middle of war, but at least he was alive. He could not seem to die: not to the shelling, not to the bandit raids, not to the military checkings and not to that fucking sniper atop the bell tower.
He tried to remember all the political and military actions that drove the conflict to this point, but every time the throbbing in his head would return, so after a few tries he decided it was best for him to just let it be. Instead, he carefully lifts his covers to check on his wound: there was not much he could tell about the wound with bandages all over it. What he realizes, however, is that whoever did them knew what they were doing.
Alexander is even more grateful now.
Next, he checks the top of his head and finds a bump, probably from the blow to the head by Mulligan. To be fair, it could have been worse than that. Alexander makes a mental note to thank him again for saving his life, this time with more gratitude than he showed before.
After stretching his arms carefully, he eyes his bedside table and finds there a glass full of clear liquid, probably water, for him to drink. On the floor, against the nightstand, lays his backpack, as green and dirty as he remembers it. He tries to reach for it, but the pain on his ribs reminds him that he ought follow Washington’s words: don’t move.
Alex cursed under his breath as he lay back on the pillows, a small pout making its way to his lips.  He hated being still.
—————————
A knock to the door brings Alex back from counting the tiles in the ceiling, a habit he had taken up when he was too anxious to be able to sleep. It has worsened since the war started.
“Come on in” He answers, perhaps way too eager. Truth be told, being left alone with thoughts he could do nothing about (not write them down, not talk them out, not act upon them) was maddening for Alexander.
“Sorry to bother you” says someone as the door opens, face peeking behind it. It is round, with small lips, a tiny nose and bright eyes, surrounded by neatly kept chestnut hair. There is a little band aid on one side of their otherwise unmarred forehead. “John said you were awake and I wanted to check on you”
Alex recognizes it then. The same crisp, soft, bird-like voice that has spoken to him yesterday. He is glad that he can finally see their face. The match between them -the voice and their face- seemed tailor made.
“On the contrary. I am bored out of my mind, I would actually like some company” he smiles, and Nightingale -that’s the bird their voice reminds him of- enters the room, a small smile playing at the corner of their lips.
“How are you feeling? It seems your throat is at least better than yesterday” they say, and Alex nods as he watches Nightingale grab a chair from somewhere behind him and seat besides him.
“I am better. I take you are the one who offered me a drink yesterday?”
“I am” she says with a shy smile, maybe a bit taken aback from being remembered. “I am Elizabeth Schuyler, but Eliza is enough, really”
“Alexander Hamilton” he answers, a small smile tugging the corners of his mouth. “But you probably know that already. I am sure John…Laurens?” he waited for her confirmatory nod “already told you my name”.
She laughs, covering her mouth a bit, and Alexander is not surprised to find that it is as musical as her voice. “He did, yes” she smiles at him.
“In any case, thanks for the drink yesterday. I really needed it”
“I figured as much. With all the blood you lost, I was worried you would be dehydrated if you woke up” she explains, and suddenly a bit mortified, adds, “when you woke up, sorry”.
Alexander smiles it off, for Eliza’s relief. “It seems I had all odds against me” he states, and her expression makes his smile grow wider. “I like challenges. My mother would have been proud of me”.
It’s Eliza’s turn to smile, and even laugh a little, “I didn’t know ‘champion of blood-loss-and-posterior-dehydration’ was an achievement to be proud of. Or one to be seeked”.
“I like stepping up the game” Alexander answers, and Eliza laughs again, to Alexander’s pleasure. He realizes he would never get tired of her laugh.
“Is the wound hurting too much?”  she asks, and Alexander shakes his head as a reply. “Good. You’ll need to get those bandages changed tomorrow after dinner, but for the time being you are on your way to a fast recovery” she smiles, and it makes Alex feel at ease. Until now, nobody had mentioned his wound, or how severe it was.
“I am glad to hear that. I will make a note to thank whoever patched me up. They made an amazing job”.
Eliza’s eyes twinkle for a second, a soft smile on her lips, and she nods before she looks down at her hands. “Dinner will be ready soon. I think Peggy is making some kind of soup you’ll be able to stand”
Alexander is about to answer when his stomach interrupts, loudly, making his cheeks turn a deep shade of red. “Well, I was going to say my opinion on dinner, but I guess you already got the idea”
Eliza laughs again as she grabs the empty, plastic cup from the nightstand. “Well, I think you’ll be glad then”, she says, making her way to the door “Peggy does make a mean soup” she winks at him before she leaves the room.
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