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patchwriterarchive · 4 years

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title: a beautiful start

summary: this is a beautiful start, to a lifelong love letter

kenma leaves his stream running during a tender moment

genre: fluff

word count: 1893

sunflower notes: the song used for the title and throughout is ‘i choose you’ by sara bareilles.

finally, the stream was coming to an end, it was a shorter stream than usual for kenma, lasting only about 4 and a half hours compared to his 6-10 hours streams that he usually did. but it had been a long week at the office, dealing with business partners and trying to close deals with other companies and he was tired and wanted nothing more than to just cuddle up on the sofa or bed with you, some takeout, and some good movies. with a gentle sigh and a quick goodbye to the audience, he took his earphones off and closed down the game.

his eyes moved from the screen in front of him to you, a small smile on your face as you swayed your head from side to side, the words from the song playing from your earphones quietly tumbling past your lips. they were just barely audible, his mic wouldn’t have picked up on them and even now, with his earphones sitting on his shoulders, kenma could just barely make the sound out.

“let the bough break, let it come down crashing” it’s a familiar song, one he heard on your playlists while you bustled about in the kitchen making dinner for the two of you or when your fussing about the living room making sure there not a thing out of place when either of your parents come over for a meal or a catch up. his favourite time to hear the song though, is when he’s wrapped up in your arms after a long day at the office or after a particularly long stream and your fingers are carefully tangling themselves in and out of his hair as you scratch at his scalp soothingly, the lyrics just tumble from your lips. it doesn’t happen every time, but he enjoys the times that it does.

“let the sun fade out to a dark sky” he sat for a few seconds, just listening to your singing and swaying along to the music. initially you had come in to put some new gaming merch he got onto the shelf positioned above the sofa behind his main set-up, when you had come in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek as a greeting his chat blew up about how cute you two were and to let you know that his fans were saying ‘hi’ to you. now, he didn’t know what you were doing, you had been staring at a few of his figurines for a little bit lost to the world around you.

rising from his chair, the stream long forgotten in his mind, he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close to him while he nuzzled into your neck “tell the world that we finally got it alright”

“i choose you” kenams gentle arms around your waist turned you so you were now facing him and he placed his forehead gently against yours with a small smile on his face as you continued to sing to him, a little louder now that you knew he was listening. wanting to enjoy the actual song together, you removed an earbud and placed it in his ear, allowing him to listen to the voice of the original singer. to your surprise, he started to sing along with the music.

kenma wasn’t really one for singing, you being the only person who had heard him sing. it was quiet, but you could definitely make out the words to the song you were enjoying as they fell past his lips. that was also surprising, it wasn’t really the type of song one would expect kenma to know, but you supposed with the amount you listened to it, he was bound to pick it up. “this is a beautiful start”

kenma loved little moments like this. moments where you could just get lost in one another and enjoy each other’s presence. they were small moments of intimacy that made him feel special, kenma knew he was never the most affectionate person in the world and he struggled generally with processing his emotions and figuring them out, so he liked to use moments like these to show just how much you meant to him and to show he loved you, even if he didn’t really verbalise it all that much. “to a lifelong love letter”

“we are not perfect, we learn from our mistakes” pulling one hand from your waist, he slipped it into the pocket of the hoodie he was currently wearing, feeling the velvet of the box he had been keeping hidden for a few weeks now. he had known for about a year that he wanted to marry you, that he wanted to settle down and have a family with you. it had taken him a while to find a ring, searching and searching for one that was just right and when he found it, god was he excited. he desperately wanted to see it on your finger, to finally ask you to marry him. but he just could never find the right time, the past few months had been a whirlwind for the both you to the point where anytime that felt right was overshadowed by something else. first, he wanted to propose about a week after getting the ring but with the announcement of your sibling having a baby it was the wrong time, the next time he wanted to ask you got a huge promotion at work and it wasn’t right, and then he wanted to ask a third time and he closed a big deal at work that resulted in the rapid expansion of bouncing ball.

now, the fourth time he planned to ask was actually a few weeks away. your anniversary was coming up and he had booked you both a week away to [dream location] and was planning to propose there, in fact he had it all planned out to perfection. but life’s funny and sometimes the perfect time comes up at the most unexpected time.

pulling away from you, knema took the little velvet box out of his hoodies and as he sunk down to one knee, the words “i get to be the other half of you” played through the earphones you were now sharing and you couldn’t help but think about how perfect it was. there was a smile on his face as he stared up to you, your eyes started to glaze over, little pin pricks of tears forming in the corners.

“[full name], i love you” clearing his throat slightly, kenma could feel his own tears welling and his voice breaking slightly, “more than i ever thought was possible.” your lip began to quiver slightly as he looked up with so much love and adoration in eyes, “i know i can be difficult to deal with, but you don’t care. where so many others would have given up you stayed with me and showed me that i was worthy of so so much. you loved and cared for me when i though i was unlovable. you mean the absolute world to me.” slowly, he pulled the top of the box to reveal a ring inside, “will you marry me?”

the ring was beautiful, a simple golden band with rainbow gems placed on either side of a small diamond. it suited you both so perfectly. “yes. kenma, yes.” the tears were freely falling now, and you could just about form a coherent response to the sudden proposal. kenma stood slowly, taking your hand in his as he slipped the ring onto your finger before placing a gentle kiss to your lips as you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in closer to you, “i love you so much kenma.” placing his forehead against yours once again, he would have been happy to just stand there and take you in for the rest of time.

the sound of buzzing pulled you out of your little moment and as his phone buzzed aggressively against his desk, kenma’s eyes moved away from your face and towards the desk. it was kuroo phoning him, his contact image flashing on the screen alongside the name ‘rooster’ giving him away. kenma was determined to let the phone keep ringing, to ignore kuroo and just bask in the bliss that was the happiness he felt in his chest after you said ‘yes’ to marrying him, but kuroo had other ideas because almost as soon as the image faded away and buzzing stopped it started again. with a gentle huff and a roll of his eyes, kenma removed himself from your embrace and finally picked up the phone with an annoyed “what?”

on the other side, kuroo was slightly frantic. he had just seen his best friend propose to his girlfriend, and while he was happy for him and had already determined he was claiming best man, he knew how private the gamer could be, especially about his relationship, and he knew he did not want such a moment of tenderness to be seen by millions of people “dude, you’re still streaming!” his voice was panicked and slightly higher pitched then normal, something kenma immediately picked up on.

it took kenma a few seconds to process what he had said, his eyes widening slightly as he shifted to sit down on his gaming chair once more eyes scanning across the screen to see his chat going wild with shocked comments and congratulations, there were a few hateful ones but his eyes moved on from them quickly. this wasn’t like him, he always remembered to turn everything off and make sure he wasn’t on camera. he knew how vicious people online could be and he never wanted anything like that getting to you, which is why he tried to keep your relationship as private as possible. yes, his fans knew about you and who you were with you occasionally appearing in a stream, but moments like this where it should just be the two of you he kept to himself. well, he tried to anyway.

this was really the first time he had messed up, he couldn’t believe he forgot to stop the stream and turn the cameras of. it was a rookie mistake and one he knew he couldn’t make again. quickly, he gave an apology and another goodbye and shut the stream down, making sure everything was down this time and that the cameras were turned off. gently, you placed a hand on his shoulders, your tears now stopped with the only evidence you had been crying being the red nose and the puffiness of your eyes. placing his hand over yours, kenma leaned his cheek down to lay against them and let out a sigh.

“it’s alright kenma.” as your other hand came down to his other shoulder, you leaned your chin on his head softly, “they were going to find out anyway.” letting out a gentle chuckle, you placed a kiss to his hair, “my only problem is my parents will kill me, and you, for not telling them first.” a chuckle resonated from kenma, the stress melting away from him at your continued reassurance about the whole thing. leaning his head backwards so that he could look up to your face, kenma let out a huff, “yeah, i guess. we should probably phone them.” with a light laugh and a roll of your eyes you responded, “yeah, we should.”

#kenma #kenma x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #kenma drabble #.sunflowerwrites #.sunflowerstories #kenma kozume #kenma kozume x reader #hq x reader #kenma scenario #kenma oneshot

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disneychannie · 3 years

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sing for you | d.kyungsoo

pairings: kyungsoo x female!reader

genre: fluff, nonidol!au, slice of life!au, established relationship, shy!kyungsoo, baker!kyungsoo

warnings: mild swearing but nothing intense

word count: 3.09k words

you’ve dated quite a handful of men before kyungsoo and you’ve got to say that kyungsoo was really none like the rest.

he was more preserved and preferred to keep his social status lower. yes, he was a baker which means he constantly see strangers coming in out of his bakery but he has never made it a big of a deal. even though he barely promotes his bakery, there seemed to be quite a good amount of customers daily. don’t exactly know if it was because of the cute owner with the big eyes or that his goods are actually tasty. he prefers to think the latter.

then when you met him, you weren’t that surprised when he wasn’t that touch-y or affectionate with you. to say that you were shocked was an understatement. when you first became friends, (through jongin, his best friend and one of your good friends), you could tell how he wasn’t the type to always initiate the conversation but he does like to say his input on some things once in a while. for some reason that made you attracted to him though you were kinda the total opposite.

but hey, opposites attract right?

when you first started dating it wasn’t that awkward to your dismay. surprisingly, he was the first one to ask you out. not just you, who were surprised but jongin too. he always thought that you were the one who was gonna do all the work. he didn’t mind you being affectionate towards him, if you’ve ever decided to kiss his cheek, or a random back hug, he would accept it.

just, he’s not use to being out of his bubble but he hopes that you know he loves you too.

it was 12am and an hour after closing time so kyungsoo was busy tidying up the bakery. though he refuses to accept it he acknowledges why people calls him a neat freak. it takes him at least 2 hours to make sure his small bakery is clean and spotless. he does this every single day and he doesn’t seem to get tired of it.

he was moping the floor when he heard the bell of the main entrance ringing, which signals that someone has entered his bakery. he doesn’t bother to stop what he was doing tho, cause he knows that it was you. usually, after a shift at the hospital, which was conveniently the same time where kyungsoo normally finishes cleaning, you would stop by at the bakery so that you could walk with him back to your shared apartment.

“kyungsoooooo” you exclaimed skipping happily towards him with the biggest smile on your face. kyungsoo rested the mop against one of the tables to come and greet you. you engulfed him in a big hug immediately and out of instinct he would hug you back. “how was the shift?” he asked, going back to moping.

you sighed dramatically as you sat down on the nearest chair. “it was sooo tiring soo, i might as well stop being a nurse and come work here with you,” you said with a smirk on your face. kyungsoo just laughed and shook his head. “the last thing i would do is let you even stand 10 cm away from a chopping board, love,” kyungsoo joked. you fake gasped but laugh a long with him.

“i’m seriously so hungry, the hospital cafeteria served pork cutlets which i thought would taste good but ended up tasting like utter shit” you sighed plopping your head on the table which caused the sound of the impact to resonate throughout the small bakery.

“i know you would say that, i have two sausage rolls and a red velvet cake for you on the counter,” he said simply, nodding his head towards the counter as he continued to mop the floor. you squealed excitedly and made your way towards the counter to claim your goods from the countertop. “thank you so much my baby honey bunch i love youuuu,” you said dramatically making kissing sounds as you head back to your chair before to start eating the pastries. kyungsoo blushed at your pet names for him and only replied with a small welcome. he wished he was able to call you by cute pet names too but he was too shy to do so.

you took a bite of the sausage roll and made a sound to indicate how good it was. “this is so good man,” your voice mumbled as your mouth was full of the pastry. “eat with your mouth closed y/n, you’re gonna choke on your food,” he warned before heading to the back room to put the mop away after finally getting all the corners of the bakery clean. you only made a face to him and continued on eating your food.

it was the little things that kyungsoo does to show you that he loves you when he has a hard time showing it. like this for example. he knew how bad the food at your hospital was and reminds himself to make some extras for you a half an hour before you arrived so it would still be nice and warm when you make your arrival. he immensely knows how much you prefer his food than anyone else’s, well, your mom’s cooking comes first but kyungsoo has a 89.8% chance on taking that spot from your mom.

it was a week before your 4 year anniversary with kyungsoo and you couldn’t be more ecstatic about it. you already bought and even made some homemade gifts you knew kyungsoo would love.

while you were anticipating for the day to come by, kyungsoo was shitting himself.

he had no clue what to get you for your anniversary this year. he was the worst at giving you gifts and always opted on cooking something extravagant or making top tier cakes or pastries just for you but he was scared that you would grow tired at his way of giving gifts and would eventually get tired of him too. you’ve always reassured that him cooking was already enough (which you genuinely meant) but he obviously had doubts.

he has thought about getting you jewellery before but he knew you weren’t the type to enjoy wearing jewellery much but you wouldn’t push away the thought of having a nice necklace, right?

so here he was, at jongin’s house currently dying inside as he complains to his dearest friend about what to get you for your anniversary.

“i’m about to go bonkers jongin, i’ve gotten her the same thing each year and i feel like if i do it again this year she’s going to break with me on our anniversary,” he said all in one breath, and may haps on the brink of tears. “wow you truly are a simp for her huh,” jongin mumbled before continuing. “i have a quite decent suggestion but i just don’t think you would like the idea of it,”

kyungsoo shot his head up and grabbed jongin by the shoulder shaking him with determination in his eyes. “i’ll take anything you have, i mean it,”. startled by his action, jongin stuttered before talking. “well first of all, let go of me,” he said taking his friend’s hands off his shoulders. “you could try writing a song for y/n and sing it for her” jongin said shrugging.

you never knew that kyungsoo could sing but jongin knows. back in high school, kyungsoo use to join the choir and school band and was always chosen as the lead singer for each of them. but as uni came, he became a bit shy to show his voice off and only opted on not telling anyone about it, including you. it’s not that he didn’t want you to know but he thought that you wouldn’t like his singing and think that he was a full of himself.

“i don’t know about that man, what do i even sing about plus, would she even like my singing voice?” kyungsoo said suddenly going glum. jongin hated seeing his best friend at this state but he undeniably believe that this was a great idea.

“don’t even start soo, you know that i know that your voice is one of the finest out there, still think that you could’ve joined an entertainment company and become a singer instead,” kyungsoo nudged his friend upon what he said and jongin just laughed. “i’m serious though man, you could write about how much you love her but is too shy to show it to her,” he suggested. “you could even ask jongdae to help you with the lyrics and chanyeol to help you with the composing,” jongin continued.

“that’s actually not a bad idea,” kyungsoo mumbled. “thanks jongin, i don’t know why i’ve never came up with the idea,” he said gratefully to his friend. “no problem dude, the only way you’ll pay back to me is by giving me a niece,” he joked, which earned a hard slap on the head by kyungsoo.

kyungsoo spent the whole week with jongdae and chanyeol trying to come up with something good in just a week. he didn’t tell you what he was doing obviously and faked that chanyeol had just gone through a massive break up and he kyungsoo had to check up on him making sure that he didn’t do anything stupid. you were gullible and actually believed him to the point you went to the flower store to buy flowers for chanyeol and had kyungsoo to pass it to him. he felt bad about lying to you but in order to give you a special anniversary gift, he had to take one for the team.

he couldn’t thank jongdae and chanyeol enough for helping him to compose and write the song that he promised to give them free pastries from his bakery for free for 2 months. his business was shaking at the thought of that but anything for you.

the day finally came and he was nervous as fuck. he still opted on buying you the new necklace though as he thought that it would at least be something you would carry around for a long time. he kept practicing at the bakery as he was making the pastries and since he was to engrossed in practicing he forgot that there were customers in his shop but thank god he got positive feedback and some of the older customers even told him to sing at retirement homes for them which he didn’t know if it was a compliment or not but he counted it as one.

on the day of the anniversary kyungsoo had packed you a nice breakfast and for one lunch as well so that you didn’t have to eat the nasty hospital food on this special day. he even gave you a kiss on the lips and a big hug before you left for work, wishing you a happy anniversary and a good day at work before letting you go.

he decided on having one of his staff to close his store down which he usually doesn’t ask them too but thank god that they were more than happy to see their hardworking boss to give them the responsibility and for once go back home early. before he went back he stopped by chanyeol’s house to burrow his guitar for the night. once he reached home he hid the guitar in the store room and started getting ready for dinner. he thought that he would get the recipe for your favourite dish from your mother since you’ve told him that you were home-sick lately and thought that this was the perfect opportunity to bring a piece of your home to seoul.

as he was finish setting the plates, he heard the front door open which indicated that you were home. “i’m home honeyyyy” you said dragging out the Y. you dropped your bag and jacket down on the sofa and crushed your lovely boyfriend with a big hug. “is this [your favourite food]?” you asked and observed the mouth-watering dishes on the table. “yeah, i even asked your mom for the recipe since you said that you’ve been missing home lately,” he said. you started to tear up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “thank you so much soo, i’m gonna eat this all up till my body explodes,” you said as a tear slip from your eye and kyungsoo laughed.

“come sit down, let’s eat,” he said and the both of you ate the delicious food he made as you talked the night away. you were talking about the patients you had to handle that day and kyungsoo took the time to admire you. you look absolutely stunning to him and he never stops thinking about how lucky he is to have such a beautiful, hard working and driven you are. you were never scared to voice your opinions out and was clearly the epitome of brave. that’s one of the thousand features that he loved about you. the thought of how brave you are was even sexy to him in some ways but we won’t talk about that.

after the meal it was finally time for the gift exchanging. you got him a new watch with his name engraved on the strap as well as new pairs of airpods with his name engraved on the casing thought you didn’t know that kyungsoo could sing, you knew how much he loves music. “y/n, this must be super expensive, thank you baby but now i feel bad,” he said, grateful that you would spend so much money on him. “don’t worry about it love, you mean the world to me i don’t care that i spend extra money if it was for you,” kyungsoo couldn’t help but when ahead and give you a chaste kiss on your lips and hugging you. “thank you y/n,” you smiled in return.

it was now kyungsoo’s turn to give you his gift and he was beyond nervous. “i actually got you something as well,” he said. he went over to the kitchen where he hid the necklace behind the sugar jar and went over to hand it to you. “you didn’t have to soo, you worked hard cooking for us,” you pouted but he still passed te box to you. you opened the box to see a beautiful necklace with a small delicate star pendant on it. you gasped upon the beauty of the necklace and turned to your boyfriend. “soo, this is literally perfect,” you said. “i’m glad you liked it, i took almost an hour trying to find the perfect one,” he said. you laughed at that and he took the necklace from you to place it around your neck. “thank you baby,”. shit this was it. “i uh, actually have one more thing to give to you,” he said

“what is it?” you asked curiously. kyungsoo then went to the store room to retrieve the guitar and brought it to the table. your eyes were as wide as your mouth was when you saw what he pulled out from the room. “where did you get that?” you asked. “i burrowed it from chanyeol, actually i wrote a song for you. well, jongdae and chanyeol helped me with it but i did most of the lyric writing,” he said and you kept quiet as you still didn’t know what to say, till realisation hits you.

“you can sing?” you asked, shocked. kyungsoo suddenly got shy and placed the guitar on his lap and had his fingers ready to strum and throat ready to sing.

With my old guitar I’ll take all the confessions I couldn’t say All the things I swallowed inside And tell you right now as if I made it into a song Just listen, I’ll sing for you

kyungsoo started off with a shaky voice cause this was the first time you have ever heard him sing but as he continued on he became more engrossed in the song.

I love you so much but I don’t tell you that I love you It’s awkward, my pride won’t allow me I’ll take courage and tell you today But just listen without much thought, I’ll sing for you

It’s kind of funny, I only have you But sometimes, I’m worse than a stranger to you When in truth, I just wanna put my head in your arms And be held by you

you were about to cry halfway through the song because one, he had such a nice voice and two, it was because you knew that kyungsoo had trouble trying to express himself to you though you could tell by his actions that he loves you, you didn’t know it was to the point that he would make a song just to tell you how much he loves you.

When today passes, I might get awkward again But I wanna tell you today, so listen

The way you cry, the way you smile Do you know how much you mean to me? Words I wanna say, words I lost I’ll confess to you though it might sound awkward Just listen, I’ll sing for you, sing for you Just listen, I’ll sing for you

just as he finished you started to clap enthusiastically. “soo, this is absolutely beautiful,” you said, hand over your mouth still trying to wrap his head around the fact that your boyfriend had such a wonderful voice.

“do you like it?” he asked, hands already sweating. “like it? babe i LOVE it, please sing more for me in the future” you said emphasising the love. he then set the guitar down and took your hands in his and made you stand up with him.

“i know i may not be the best at being vocal about how much i appreciate you but i hope through the song you would understand how i actually fell and how much you mean to me and that i love you,” he said.

you laughed through the tears and kissed your boyfriend. he kissed back with just as much passion. the both of you pulled away and rested your foreheads together.

“i love you kyungsoo,” you said. “and i love you more,” he replied placing another kiss on your forehead.

“so all this while chanyeol didn’t go through a breakup? he was just helping you with the song? you questioned.

“that man doesn’t even have a girlfriend,”

#exo #exo imagines #exo scenarios #kyungsoo imagines #kyungsoo scenarios #d.o #d.o scenarios #d.o imagines #do kyungsoo #do kyungsoo imagines #do kyungsoo scenarios

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thatbitcheschaos · 3 years

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To give a 2 week notice, or to quit on the spot?

Hello! my name is Meloney and I am doing an advice column about life lessons.

Todays topic is about work etiquette.

Disclaimer! Some names have been replaced for confidentiality. I am not saying that Great Clips is a bad place to work! I’m sure other salons are ran amazingly!

Let me start with a little backstory about my career, I was working at Great Clips for about 6 months, started a few days shy of the month of April. When I was interviewed I asked for my starting pay to be $11 an hour. During the interview I mentioned that I worked for another Great Clips for about 2 years, 6 months prior to this but was let go because of Covid. So I knew the way the salon was ran and I am great with speedy, but good haircuts. I felt as though I deserved this pay. The owner of the company his name is Dan, and the manager of the salon, Crystal were the two people that interviewed me for the stylist position. They told me that because I am just starting they can give me $10 an hour with quarterly reviews and opportunities for a pay raise. I said ok that is fine but I do have rent that I have to get paid. So the raises are important to me. They had this understanding and reassured me that they will keep that on my notes during my reviews. I said ok. Working at this salon was fine, but unfortunately like most work places, it was not ran very well. Crystal was always making rude comments to me about anything and would scold me as I would walk up to clients, which was very unprofessional. It was in front of the clients! Also im a 25 year old woman and she is about 31, so we are both adults. I am not a child for one, so scolding me is off the table in my book. And second of all it is disrespectful. In my eyes I felt as though she put herself on this high pedestal, most likely thinking because she’s the manager she can get away with being snippy with the stylists thinking they have no choice but to accept this behavior. So flash forward to about a month ago, I had my friend Jenny get a job with me. I met Jenny at the first Great Clips I worked at. She was the assistant manager at this time. The old salon we worked at was absolutely terrible, they treated her very poorly, and was always screwing her over and overall just not caring about any of her needs. So she quit and moved over to my salon as just a stylist. She was okay with that because she had enough going on in her life and did not want the extra responsibilities. So about a week ago I finally got into my online paychecks, I had only seen my direct deposits and didn’t think about checking to make sure my paychecks were correct. This is a huge mistake and I suggest that everyone check their paychecks every time you get paid to make sure you are getting your full amount! I regret not checking my paychecks because if I did I would have seen that I was getting $9.50 an hour instead of the agreement of $10 an hour. When I checked my paystub Crystal showed me that I was finally getting $9.75 an hour. Which she did not mention to me about it when it changed which I didn’t like because this is my pay she should have notified me of the raise regardless of the pay rate. I was furious! I said to her “Why am I not getting paid $10 an hour!?”. To where she replied “If you want to talk about it we can do it in the breakroom”. So I follow her into the breakroom and she told me because of my haircuts she started me at $9.00 an hour (which was wrong, I started at $9.50). This was a load of bologna. I just said ok. I didn’t feel like getting into it with her because I don’t argue with idiots. I don’t have patience for that anymore. I was mad the rest of my shift which was about 4 more hours because I was closing at 8. When I got home I called the owner of the salon and asked him why I wasn’t getting my full pay rate to where he just acted super caught off guard and couldn’t speak without stuttering. I saw that as a red flag. He said “Well who told you that you were getting $10 an hour, who interviewed you?”. I was shocked that he asked me this question because he was the one who interviewed me! Overall he didn’t have answers for me. He was confused about the whole situation. He told me I was an awesome worker and that he would see what he could do. I feel disrespected because they lied to me about my pay rate and never told me. I also feel dumb for not checking to make sure that I was receiving the correct pay rate, so that is on me. I worked Sunday and then on Monday, I thought to myself, “Why am I still working here and not actually getting the pay I deserve?” So Monday my shift started at 12pm. I show up 15 minutes early to work for every shift. I suggest everyone do this because it gives you time to get set up, or get ready for the shift. Instead of clocking in I start packing up my station and bringing stuff to my car. My manager comes out of the back door and asks me what im doing and I tell her I quit. Without hesitation she asks for the salon key and tells me not to forget this container I have on my station. The schedule was already made up for the week, so they were now short handed . As I’m driving away the general manager Tracy calls me, but I don’t answer. Then Dan calls me and I don’t answer that as well. I had already had a job lined up and was on my way there to set up my station. The new place was ok with me starting early so I was ok with my finances in that regard. I get a text from Dan asking me what I am doing and why I quit when he told me that he would talk about my raise to Tracy and Crystal. I texted him back saying “I quit because I know that I am worth more than $9.50 ($9.75) an hour. I do not waste my time places where there isn’t an overall understanding of that. I start my new job tomorrow where I am making more than you’re ever going to offer me. Have a good day! So then I text Jenny that I quit and grabbed my stuff. She called me and said “why did you quit? You screwed over the whole salon and Tracy whos about to get knee surgery, who now has to cover the open spots you left”. I told her “Because they screwed me with my pay and I wasn’t going to put up with it”. She told me that she gets that but it was stupid of me. Then told me that she got a call from Tracy asking if she had heard from me, then she got my text about quitting. She told me she would call me back and it has been a week now and have not heard from her. I understand her frustration and why she’s mad, I did not think that she would stop talking to me. I did not think this idea though fully. I did not realize I screwed over the entire team that I had. And Jenny especially. I do not know if she is ever going to talk to me again, I hope she does but I do not think she will. Overall, walking out on a job is not the way to go, it is disrespectful to the innocent coworkers who now have to cover my shifts and switch up their schedules for my actions. I also lost all of my work friends in the process which I am very upset about as well. I burned that bridge with everyone and that really sucks because I didn’t think that’s what would happen. I feel like an asshole and have felt like one all week. I regret the decision that I made but unfortunately am not able to go back and change it. I hope whoever reads this will learn from my mistakes and think logically instead of acting on emotion. If you’re workplace is absolutely miserable and you are being bullied to the point of mental breakdowns then that’s a scenario that warrants for you to walk out of. Mine, not so much.

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noona-clock · 4 years

Text

The Engineer - Part 5

Genre: Engineer!AU

Pairing: Chanwoo x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,312

Thankfully -- and a bit surprisingly -- you received a text from Chanwoo the day after your date/not-date/hangout/whatever it was, and it really didn’t seem like he had noticed you being awkward at the very end. He simply asked how your day was going and if your air conditioner was still working.

You smiled to yourself, and from there, things between you were normal. He didn’t bring up the word ‘date,’ and you didn’t bring up how weird you’d been. The two of you just had a pleasant and entertaining text conversation!

In fact, the two of you had quite a few pleasant and entertaining text -- and phone -- conversations over the next week. Since he was busy doing mechanical engineering stuff all day, he would respond to you here and there until he got in his car to drive home late in the evening -- and that’s when the real talk began. He would call you as he drove, and you would put him on speakerphone as you lazed on the couch.

What started out as everyday small talk (”How was your day? How was work? Did you eat?”) turned into discussions about random conspiracies and existential speculations. For a guy who said his main hobbies were baseball and video games, he sure had a lot of deep thoughts.

Speaking of baseball -- the two of you hadn’t just spoken over the phone. One weekday when Chanwoo, apparently, hadn’t had to work, he invited you to the park where you’d first met as he was already there playing baseball.

Of course, the thought that maybe he meant this to be another date was brewing in the back of your mind... but once you got there, the atmosphere between you and Chanwoo was so relaxed, your anxieties almost instantly melted away. The talks you’d had together over the past week or so had done wonders for your relationship -- friendship -- I mean -- well, you know what I mean. Your friend relationship!

Spending time at the park was turning out to be a weekly thing, actually. Chanwoo had texted you about half an hour ago, and you were now walking to the park to meet him for the fourth week in a row.

And it had now been long enough that you were certain there was no romantic intent on his part. The two of you had gone to eat lunch and dinner together several times, but he had never tried to hold your hand or kiss you or anything. He never used heart emojis, and even though he did compliment you a lot, it wasn’t anything that made you wonder if maybe he had feelings for you.

He was such a great guy, though! He was super sweet, but he also had a savage streak that made you laugh. He was thoughtful, smart, genuine, and he was never late.

And let’s not forget about those dimples. He still had those, and they still made your heart skip a beat when he smiled or laughed.

As you walked, the park just up ahead, an idea popped into your brain... You weren’t sure if it was a good idea, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. It was... an idea you would simply try out and see what happened.

You picked up the pace, knowing Chanwoo was already there waiting for you -- because he had been every other time, and you were coming to understand just how reliable this guy was.

More reliable than your air conditioning system, at least.

When you spotted him in one of the empty baseball fields, a grin came to your lips. You watched as he gently threw a ball up into the air then quickly got into hitting position with his bat, waiting for the ball to come back down. When the ball reached just the right spot in front of him, he swung his bat and you heard the telltale crack of a successful hit. The ball went sailing over the pitcher’s mound and into the outfield.

He’d done this before, and sometimes you stood out there collecting all of the baseballs -- most of the time, you sat in the front row of the bleachers and talked to him. Today, you went to the front row of the bleachers and sat down so you could talk to him.

“That was a good hit,” you said once you were close enough to him. “...Right?”

You still weren’t that well-versed in his favorite sport, but hitting it all that way had to be good!

“Yeah, I like to think so,” Chanwoo chuckled, looking over his shoulder and shooting you a grin. “How are you?”

You let out a sigh as you plopped onto the metal bleacher and said, “I’m glad for a break.”

Chanwoo’s brow furrowed softly, and a frown tugged at his lips. “Work?”

You simply nodded, letting out a positive hum in response to his question. For some reason, work had been more busy and stressful than usual, so spending your lunch hour at the park was just what you needed.

“How’s work for you?” you asked, clutching the edge of the bleacher as you watched him bend down to grab another baseball. “Have you found any other bugs yet?”

“No, not yet,” he laughed before going through his little ‘throw the ball up, wait for it, then swing’ routine.

“So, I really am just that special,” you stated. “The bugs only like my air conditioning system.”

“Well, yeah, you are pretty special,” Chanwoo murmured, and when you lifted your gaze to look at him, you saw he was still watching the baseball he’d just hit.

Hmm... That had been an interesting remark. And the tone of his voice... the fact he hadn’t been looking at you when he’d said it... and he still wasn’t looking at you now...

Before you knew it, you found yourself blurting out, “Hey, so, I was thinking -- I know someone I think you would really like, and I want to set you up with her.”

This was, indeed, the idea you’d had while walking to the park, and the fact that Chanwoo may (or may not) have just said something a little more than friendly to you made now seem like a good time to bring it up.

Chanwoo had been reaching for another baseball on the ground, but your words made him pause. His forehead wrinkled with confusion, and he turned just his head to look at you.

“You what?”

“My younger cousin,” you continued, raising your eyebrows. “She’s super fun and sweet, and she just broke up with someone a couple of months ago, so she’s single. I think you would really like her.”

As Chanwoo stood up, taking a couple of steps toward you, you slid your phone out of your back pocket and began to navigate to your photos.

“I -- I don’t --” he stammered.

“Here,” you interrupted, turning your phone around to show him a selfie the two of you had taken at the last family holiday. “She’s really, like, bubbly and cute. That kind of girl. And I think she graduated... a year after you?”

Chanwoo glanced at your phone briefly before turning his gaze back to you. “You... want to set me up?”

“Yeah!” you grinned. “I mean, I haven’t mentioned it to her yet, but she loves meeting new people, so I highly doubt she’ll say ‘no.’”

The more you thought about it, the more genius you thought your idea was. If they did end up dating, you would get to see Chanwoo at all your family gatherings!

You just... could never, ever tell your cousin how you felt about his dimples. Or that you might have gone on a maybe date with him once, though you still weren’t really sure.

“Uh... I --” Chanwoo’s cheeks had suddenly gone very pink, and he turned back around to head to home plate. “I’ll think about it. Get back to you.”

“Okay, sure,” you replied before putting your phone back in your pocket.

But then Chanwoo got out his phone, looked at it with a frown, and then said, “Actually, I just got a message from work, so... I gotta go.”

You frowned right along with him. “...Oh. Well... okay, I’ll see you --”

“Bye,” he interjected, resting his bat on his shoulder and grabbing the bag he brought with him. “Could you go get all the balls I hit into the outfield? Thanks!”

He was practically halfway to the parking lot already, so you could do nothing but call out an ‘Okay!’ after him.

Slightly trudging your feet, you headed to the outfield, picking up as many of the baseballs as you could and dropping them in a wire basket by the dugout. You then headed off of the field and toward the walking path, figuring you might as well get some more exercise in since you were here.

But something about this didn’t sit right with you.

Chanwoo wasn’t one to just leave suddenly like that, and as far as you knew, his company never scheduled emergency appointments...

So, what else could you do?

You took out your phone and called Miles.

Thankfully, he answered after one ring with a “Hello, my love.”

“Hey,” you frowned. “Are you busy?”

“Not at the mo’... What’s going on?”

“I... have a guy-related question.”

“Ooh,” Miles trilled. “I hope it’s about that younger guy. You haven’t told me anything about him since that night, and I almost blocked you on Instagram for it.”

“Oh, be quiet,” you chuckled, your lips tugging up into a smirk. “I mean, it kind of is. But we’re just friends. I was just hanging out with him at the park, and I offered to set him up with my cousin --”

“The loud one?”

“She’s not loud! She’s energetic,” you retorted.

“...Uh huh.”

“Anyway. He got kind of... weird after I brought it up, and then he had to leave suddenly for work, so...”

Miles didn’t even let you finish leaving your sentence hanging.

“Uh, he likes you,” he declared with the utmost confidence but also in that tone that clearly says ‘Are you an idiot?’

“Wha --! Miles, he does not,” you argued. “We’ve been hanging out for, like, a month and he hasn’t tried anything! Hasn’t said anything!”

“...Have you tried or said anything?”

For some inexplicable reason, you shifted your eyes all around you, as if Miles was standing in front of you and you were trying to avoid his gaze.

“Have you?” he repeated.

“...No,” you finally answered.

“So, maybe he’s too scared that you don’t like him back, so that’s why he hasn’t tried or said anything. Or maybe he has tried or said things, and you just haven’t noticed.”

“No, I --”

“Either way, he definitely likes you.”

You were still skeptical, even though Miles turned out to be right (especially about relationships) 9.8 times out of 10.

“How could you possibly know that? You’ve never met him --”

“But, girl, if you want to introduce me, I’ll get Tristan to make spaghetti for him.”

“-- And you’ve never, like, been around us together. There’s no way you could know if he likes me or not!”

Miles let out a sigh, and you could so clearly see him closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “You say you offered to set him up, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And he said he...”

“Would think about it and get back to me.”

“That’s sign number one. Your cousin is basically gorgeous -- not more gorgeous than you, of course --”

You beamed. Miles, even when he was being an annoying know-it-all, really was the best friend you could ever ask for.

“So, if he didn’t say ‘yes’ right away, he’s either playing for my team or he’s interested in someone else. Then what happened?”

“Well,” you sighed. “Then he started to go back to playing baseball, but he took his phone out and said he had to go do some work thing, and then he left.”

“How did he leave?”

Your brow knit together instantly. “What do you mean how did he leave?”

“Was he rushing?”

“...Yeah. I barely even got to say goodbye.”

“Okay, listen very closely, my dearest friend,” Miles began. “You agree with my number one, right? The fact that he didn’t say ‘yes’ immediately to meeting your cousin probably means he’s not interested in some way or another.”

It made sense, and even though you knew Chanwoo was pretty shy, you felt like he trusted you enough by now to know you wouldn’t be pulling some scheme or something.

“Yes, I think I can agree with that,” you nodded.

“So, think about this: if a guy you liked offered to set you up with his cousin, would you want to keep hanging out with him?”

...Oh, great. Sometimes, you really hated it when Miles made such valid points.

“...No,” you answered.

“Then don’t you think it’s a very reasonable conclusion that Chanwoo likes you?”

“...Maybe.”

“I rest my case.”

You simply huffed, not wanting (just yet) to admit he was probably right.

And then Miles asked the question you knew he was going to ask but was really hoping he wouldn’t.

“Do you like him?”

You almost whined because you did not want to answer that. But Miles would definitely bug you about it until you did, so you bit the bullet and said, “I think he’s a great guy, and his dimples make my heart flutter, but I don’t know.”

You could hear Miles open his mouth to say something... but he didn’t.

That wasn’t good. Miles? Not saying what was on his mind?

“What?” you asked -- though, you really more demanded.

“Nothing, I just -- Let me just ask one more question, and then I’ll let you go.”

“...Okay,” you answered warily.

“Do you ever still think about the age difference?”

Oh, shit.

Well.

He had you there.

“Point taken,” you said.

After Miles hung up, you put your phone back in your pocket and allowed yourself some time to think as you finished your walk.

Because you sure had a lot to think about.

Part 6

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emy-loves-you · 4 years

Text

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 20: Single Parent

Logan needs a nanny to watch his 3 sons. Patton wants to take care of kids. Sparks fly and chaos ensues. Patton POV, logicality with creativitwins, familial Intruprinxiety and dad!Logan Ages: Logan(37), Patton(35), Remus and Roman(7), Virgil(10)

Day 19 | Masterlist | Day 21

Patton smiled at the cheery tune the chimes played as he stepped into the cafe. He checked his phone again to reread the email he had been given just a few minutes ago. He said he was sitting at one of the tables wearing a black polo, blue tie, and glasses. Patton fought back a giggle as he scanned the tables. This reminds me more of a blind date than a job interview- there he is! Patton quickly made his way over to the small table in the back of the cafe. His potential employer was hunched over his phone, reading an article of some sort. Patton stopped when he was a foot away from the table and spoke up. “Mr. Sanders?” The man’s head shot up, and Patton fought down a blush. He had assumed that Mr. Sanders would be an older man, in his late 40s or early 50s. He didn’t look a day over 30. No time for gay panicking! Patton fiddled with the sleeves of his cardigan. “I’m Patton Hart. The one applying for the nanny position?”

Mr. Sanders nodded. “Of course. Take a seat.” He gestured to the seat across from him and Patton sat down eagerly, trying not to let his nervousness show. As far as Patton was aware, he basically already had the job, and this was just a customary interview to make sure that Patton didn’t lie about anything in his application. Still, Patton couldn’t help but fear nervous. Patton tried to ignore his anxiety and focus on what Mr. Sanders was saying. “So, Mr. Hart-”

“Please, Mr. Hart’s my father. Call me Patton, please.” If Mr. Sanders noticed the was that Patton nervously tugged on his cardigan sleeves, he didn’t say anything.

“Patton, then.” Patton smiled appreciatively. “Would you like to order a beverage before we begin?” Mr. Sanders used his coffee cup to gesture towards the front of the cafe.

Patton blushed. “No thank you. I tend to talk more with my hands when I’m excited or nervous. I’ve learned from past experience to not have hot drinks around when that happens” Patton used his head to gesture towards his hands as he spoke, which were gesturing as he spoke.

Mr. Sanders gave him a look before continuing. “Alright. I will go over your application and ask a series of questions. If you feel as if a question is too invasive, please let me know.” Patton nodded, and with that, the interview began. “Patton Sanders, 35 years old. Raised in North Carolina. According to your previous employers, you’ve done extremely well with children in the past. You’ve dealt with kids at almost every age. You’ve been shown to successfully perform both the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR. You have also been employed as a tutor and have multiple years of volunteer work at shelters and public schools. It says here that you recently moved here a few weeks ago. Are you intending on pursuing any other job while employed as a caretaker?”

Patton shook his head. “The original offer you gave should be enough for me to afford my apartment.”

Mr. Sanders blinked, and Patton suddenly felt like he’d done something wrong. “I’m afraid there was a communication error somewhere. Allow me to clarify: you would be staying in my house while working for me.”

Now it was Patton’s turn to blink. “What?”

Mr. Sanders frowned, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. “I am very dedicated to my job, Patton. Sadly, my job requires me to have extremely flexible hours. It would be incredibly redundant to have you stay from 8 AM to 5 PM, then have to hire a sitter from 5 PM to 11 PM. There would also be several benefits on your end. Unless you started using an excessive amount of food or utilities, you would not have to pay for food or housing. You would be staying in the guest bedroom, and you would have every Sunday off, which is my day off as well.”

Patton rubbed the back of the neck sheepishly. “I think I remember reading that in the advertisement, but I assumed it was less of a requirement and more of an option.”

Mr. Sanders steepled his fingers as he stared at Patton. “I apologize, but it would be necessary for you to stay in the guest bedroom in order to ensure that my children have constant adult supervision. If you do not wish to be employed, I completely understand-”

“No!” Both men were surprised by Patton’s shouting. Patton blushed as he continued. “I still want the job, I just didn’t want to waste your living space if it was optional. If it’s mandatory then I’ll take the room. I’ll just have to wait for my lease to end in a few weeks.”

Mr. Sanders nodded. “Alright. Next question: why do you wear your cardigan around your neck?”

Patton smiled. “I don’t get cold very easily, but I always have my cardigan on me just in case. Besides, it makes me look more friendly and fun. Kids like to call it my superhero cape!” He struck a dramatic pose, and he felt a surge of triumph when Mr. Sanders' mouth quirked up slightly.

They went through several more questions before Mr. Sanders smiled, holding out his hand. “I believe you would get along well with my children. I understand that you would like to wait until your lease ends to move in, but I would appreciate it if you start a daily shift on Sunday. I will be there to make sure that you interact well with them. Does that sound satisfactory?”

Patton nodded, shaking Mr. Sanders' hand. “Sound’s like a plan, Mr. Sanders!”

“Please, call me Logan.” Patton smiled as he heard the name. Logan. It’s fitting.

“Well, Logan, what are your kids like? I was given general ages and names, but nothing else. What are their favorite colors and activities? Any allergies or disliked food? Any mental illnesses, disorders, or sensitive topics that I should know about?”

Logan took out his phone and showed Patton the lock screen. It was a photo of Logan with three children. Two identical twins posed in red and green respectively, while the third child looked slightly older with a baggy purple hoodie. “The twins are Roman and Remus, 7 years old. Roman always dresses in red, while Remus dresses in green. They both have extremely vivid imaginations, and they get upset when you don’t participate. Roman has some confidence issues, while Remus suffers from intrusive thoughts from time-to-time. Virgil is 10. He’s almost always wearing that hoodie. He says that his favorite color is black, but it’s actually dark purple. He has been known to suffer through anxiety attacks, and he tends to have trust issues towards strangers. Virgil prefers to be left to his own devices, and music tends to help when he’s stressed. The twins tend to find amusement in pulling pranks on Virgil, though he does not appreciate the sentiment. They all enjoy watching Disney movies and all have artistic talent. There are no food allergies to speak of. All of them were closed adoptions, so I would appreciate it if you don’t bring up their birth parents. That is all you should need to know before you meet them.”

Patton smiled as he listened to Logan describing his kids. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he deeply cared about his kids. “I’m sure they’re lovely. I can’t wait to meet them!”

Logan nodded, moving to stand up. “I assure you they’re just as excited to meet you. I’ll email you my address.”

“Oh, wait!” Patton reached into his pocket and pulled out an ink pen. He then grabbed a clean napkin from the table and scribbled his number onto it. He handed the napkin to Logan. “Here’s my phone number. It would be best if we have each other’s numbers in case of an emergency.”

Logan took the napkin, and Patton suppressed the shiver he felt from where their fingers met. “I’ll be sure to contact you with my address as soon as I get home.”

Patton blushed, moving to leave. “Alrighty then. See you on Sunday!”

Logan nodded. “Farewell.”

Patton smiled before hurrying out of the cafe. He quickly drove to his apartment, not stopping until he was inside of his (soon to not be) home. He gently caressed his own fingers, blushing as he remembered the electricity he’d felt from their fingers touching.

Patton shook his head, but the grin and blush he had never faded. “Logan Sanders.” He whispered to himself. Patton then tilted his head curiously. Logan Sanders…where have I heard of that name before?

Patton went over to his bed and pulled out his laptop. Search: Logan Sanders. Patton flipped through several websites until he saw Logan’s face. He quickly clicked on the article and gasped.

Logan Sanders, 37 years old, was just appointed as the CEO of Logic Tech two months ago. That’s where I recognize his name! I can’t believe he works for Logic Tech. Isn’t that the same company that he used to work for?

Bzzz.

Patton slammed his laptop shut, suddenly feeling like he’d done something wrong. Was this technically invading Logan’s privacy? It was an article that Patton could easily access at any time (he was pretty sure he’d read it before), but did that mean it was okay? Was Patton in the wrong for searching for Logan’s name?

Patton’s phone buzzed again and he nearly threw his laptop. He tried to calm his racing heartbeat as he checked his phone.

?- (4:13 PM) Salutations. This is Logan Sanders.

?- (4:14 PM) Is this the correct number?

P- (4:14 PM) Patton Hart here! You have the right number

L- (4:14 PM) That is good

Patton was then sent an address.

P- (4:15 PM) You want me to start on Sunday, right? What time?

L- (4:15 PM) 3:00 sounds amenable. Since it is my day off, you won’t need to be there in the morning.

P- (4:16 PM) Alrighty then! I’ll see you on Sunday!

Patton smiled as he turned off his phone. He was going to meet the children on Sunday! And seeing Logan again would be a nice bonus.

#sanders sides #AU_gust_2020 #single parents #logicality #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders

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let-it-raines · 4 years

Text

Catch Me If You Can (39/40)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

a/n: thank you to @resident-of-storybrooke for literally everything, to @imagnifika for this banner, and to all of you for all of your support on this story and on others. I never expected to get quite so attached to this one, so I like that you guys are too. Misery loves company and all that. lol.

I hope you enjoy the last real chapter. The epilogue will be coming soon! ❤️⚾️

(If there’s any weird formatting, hop on over and read on AO3. Tumblr is being funky with my formatting.)

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40

-/-

Outside, thunder rolls, quickly followed by a flash of lightning that illuminates the bedroom.

It’s raining.

Raining.

On the final day of the World Series.

Fuck.

Emma jolts up in bed so quickly that her head gets a little dizzy, all of the blood that’s supposed to be in other parts of her body very obviously in the wrong space, and she has to shut her eyes to keep from throwing up while the sound of rain continues to pitter outside, a continual drip that she doesn’t want to be hearing.

It cannot rain today.

After a few seconds, when Emma’s head feels normal again and not like she’s about to feel dizzy enough to fall down even without standing, she opens her eyes and twists to the side to make sure that Killian is still sleeping.

He isn’t.

In fact, he’s not even in bed.

For a moment, Emma wonders if she should bother to go and find him or let him be by himself wherever he is in the apartment. He was understandably quiet on the entire way home and through dinner last night, and she could practically see all of the gears turning in his head. There’s an unwritten list up there of how he wants to pitch to each and every batter on the Dodgers today, and Emma is almost positive that Killian is currently going through it and changing his game plan over and over again until he perfects it.

Considering the fact that her phone says it’s three in the morning, Emma is thinking that she needs to drag Killian back to bed. He may not fall asleep, but he can at least stay in bed so that his body gets a little bit of rest. Maybe he’ll fall asleep. Maybe he won’t. But it’s worth the effort.

Sighing, Emma pulls the thick covers off of her legs and adjusts her pajama pants so that they’re not hanging below her ass from where they shifted in her sleep. She doesn’t bother turning any lights on, the city and the storm bringing in enough that she can see without it, and after walking out into the hallway, Emma doesn’t even have to look in the spare bedroom or the gym to find Killian.

He’s sitting on the window seat in the living room, his legs pulled up to his chest and his cheek resting against the window as he looks outside, very obviously awake.

Killian is going to stress himself out far too much.

Quietly, she makes her away over to him, and while he doesn’t say anything to acknowledge her presence, he does let his legs fall open in obvious invitation for her to join him on the seat. She does, slowly adjusting herself to make herself comfortable while Killian wraps his arms around her stomach so that the warmth of his palms permeates over her skin to warm her from the chill of the apartment. It’s November in two days, but New York is already cold.

There’s a brush of scruff against her cheek followed by the soft press of lips against the underside of her jaw before Emma sees the reflection in the window of Killian resting his chin on the top of her head.

His fingers tap against her stomach in a pattern that she doesn’t recognize, but she doesn’t mind. She may have come out here to convince Killian to come back to bed, to get some rest so he won’t be like a zombie out on the field today, but there’s something almost soothing about watching the rain fall down to the ground to cover the street under the florescent lighting of the street lamps. Even with the thunder, the sound of rain is relaxing, and Emma can understand why Killian was out here being consumed by it.

(She’d still prefer the rain to stop.)

“What are you thinking about?” Emma whispers.

“You.”

“Liar.”

Killian chuckles, something deep in his belly, and she can feel it reverberate throughout her back from where he’s pressed up into her. “I mean, at this particular moment I was legitimately thinking about how good you smell, but no, I haven’t been thinking about you and the softness of your hair the entire time.”

“Damn. I thought our deal was that you always had to think of me and nothing else. Don’t you love me?”

Killian squeezes her stomach. “It’s too early in the morning for you to be so cheeky.”

“Says the man who probably never even went to sleep.”

“I did go to sleep,” he sighs, and Emma watches his eyes flutter closed in the window. “I maybe woke up an hour or so ago to use the restroom, and my mind just…it didn’t bloody turn off. I have changed mine and Al’s game plan at least seven times.”

Wow. She knows him so well. It’s almost a little ridiculous. Not that she’s complaining.

“Let’s…” Emma hesitates, not sure what exactly what to say that she hasn’t already said. “Let’s talk about something other than baseball, okay? We will talk about it after we’ve gone back to sleep and gotten some rest, but for now, this apartment is a no baseball zone. So, talk to me about literally anything else.”

His fingers keep tapping against her stomach, and Emma moves to place her hands over his, a silent reminder that she’s right here and not going anywhere. She may have run before, may have not known what to do when he lied about his shoulder and his accident and everything that came with that, but she’s not going to run now.

This entire relationship has been terrifying, but she’s glad that she took the leap. They’ve conquered some big freaking mountains.

“I’ve emailed someone to see what I need to do to finish my degree.”

Emma almost jolts forward so that she can turn to look at him, but Killian doesn’t let her, holding onto her that slightest bit tighter so that she loses a little bit of her breath.

“When did you decide to do that?”

“A couple weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Wasn’t sure if I was going to go through with it. I’m…I’m still not sure when exactly I’ll go back. The woman said they could arrange online classes for me, and they can help arrange a different schedule. I don’t know if I’d start during the off season and see how many credits I can finish before next season starts up. Or maybe I’ll go all year round even while playing. I could always wait until I’m retired, but I don’t exactly want to do that.”

Emma tries to take it all in and figure out the best way to respond to him. This is obviously something Killian has thought about a lot. There’s not a reason in the world for Killian to have to go back to school. He’s not going to be a physics teacher or professor any time soon, if at all, so this is obviously something he’s decided to do for himself just to have as an accomplishment.

Killian deserves to get to do things for himself.

“I think you’ll figure out exactly how you want to do it, babe. I’m really proud of you for doing that.”

“It’s nothing to be proud of.”

“Too bad.” She pats his hand again and shifts her head back so that she can kiss the underside of his jaw. “I’m proud of you. Unless this is some kind of long con to actually become professor Jones so that Will can’t say it mockingly anymore.”

He chuckles, and she kisses his jaw again. “Damn. You’ve foiled my plan.”

“I knew it,” she yawns, unable to cover her mouth with her hands. “You know, when I graduated from college, I got some kind of fancy ink pen that I never used. They gave them to all of the journalism majors. What do you think they’d give physics majors? Calculators?”

“No, because we’d already own a hell of a lot of those. I might need to get some new ones, though. And possibly find some old books and go through them. It’s been almost a decade. I’m not sure I even remember anything.”

“We can go back to school shopping for you. We’ll have to take a picture of you in your cute little outfit with your backpack on your shoulders. I’ll put it on the fridge and everything.”

“You realize I’m doing this online so I’ll just be wearing my regular clothes sitting on my ass in here. I may not even wear clothes while I’m doing it.”

“Well, I can still put that picture on the fridge, but we’ll have to take it down every time someone comes over. No one needs to see that much of you.”

Killian practically purrs in her ear as he trails hot kisses down the side of her neck, and it sends chills down her spine and up over her skin. “You certainly do. You could see it now if you want to.”

Emma brings her bottom lip between her teeth and tries to rein in any budding arousal. “As tempting as that sounds, you and I are both deliriously tired, and I really only came out here to get you to come back to bed…to sleep. We should go do that.”

Teeth bite down onto her neck. “Fine. That seems like the sensible thing to do, and as an almost college man, I have to be sensible, right?”

“Or binge drink and then study all night for a test at the last minute even though you had weeks to study for it?”

“Do people still do that?”

“I think so.”

“We’re really old, Swan.”

“Yeah,” she sighs as she stands from the bench and pulls Killian up with her, “but I think we’ve still got it.”

Emma easily falls back asleep, especially when Killian closes the curtains and turns on the box fan to drown out the sound of the storm outside, and while she doesn’t really know when Killian fell asleep, he’s slumbering away when she wakes up, his breath coming out in small puffs and his hair falling over his forehead. The weight of the world isn’t on his shoulders right now. He’s not thinking about what he’s got to do today or not do today, and Emma hopes that he sleeps as long as he can.

Hopefully right up until he needs to eat breakfast and go to practice.

But hopes are not always reality, and in reality, Killian wakes up a little past nine and all of the tenseness in his body returns. She can see it in the set of his shoulders and the way that he carries himself as he does some stretches to loosen his body up before making breakfast and getting on with his morning routine. She’s terrified, her stomach absolutely in knots, but she’s not going to tell him that. Emma is sure that he’s aware that she’s in this and wants this for both herself and for him, but she’s not going to tell him and put any extra pressure on them.

It’s more than just one man out there. It’s more than just Killian, but Emma understands how Killian works. If they win, he won’t take any credit for it. If they lose, it’ll be entirely his fault. She’s sure he’s talked himself into thinking otherwise, but his brain will revert back to that.

The storm in the night seems to have disappeared, the streets beginning to dry even if large puddles of rain water are left in dips in the cement, and according to all forecasts, it should be dry enough for them to play today. There are supposed to be light sprinkles, maybe a scattered storm or two, but it’s all sunshine when the game is scheduled to start. If there are any delays, Emma hopes that they aren’t long.

Killian may very well lose his mind.

(She may too.)

He’s currently showering, and while she hasn’t been keeping track of how long he’s been in there, it’s been long enough for her to curl her hair. She’s entirely sure that the humidity is going to cause it to frizz and fall flat, and the network will probably have her hair constantly attached to a curling iron and hair spray until her hair is like a bird’s nest of tangles and product.

Whatever it takes to look good on TV today, right?

She’s supposed to wear a dress or a skirt, something form flattering and attractive for television, but since there are no technical rules as long as she stays dressed, Emma completely ignores that suggestion in favor or her favorite jeans, a pair of trusty boots, and one of Killian’s jerseys, buttoning it up and tucking the front into her jeans. She’ll have to put on a sweater later to combat the cold, but she doesn’t want to do that just yet.

It’s ridiculous, but putting on the sweater means it’s time to go and she’s just…she’s not ready. They need a little more time.

“Are you wearing my jersey?”

Emma jumps and clutches her hand against the chain around her neck that’s visible with the way the jersey is buttoned up. She did not hear the shower turn off or hear Killian open the bathroom door. But considering he’s standing in the doorway with a towel wrapped low around his waist, he obviously did.

“Yeah?”

“What about – ”

Emma shrugs, a smile stretching across her lips. “Fuck them. I don’t give a damn about what anyone has to say. I can do my job while also dating you. It’s not a mutually exclusive thing, and today is a big day. If I want to wear the jersey, I can wear it now.”

Both of Killian’s brows rise high on his forehead, but he’s smiling too as his arms cross over his chest so that his muscles bulge the slightest bit. “I think this is the most attractive you’ve ever been.”

“Because I’m wearing your jersey? I thought we’d gone over that before. I – ”

“No,” he laughs with a shake of his head. “Because you’re saying fuck ‘em to all of the people who we both know will say shit about you wearing that. I personally think they should all pull the sticks out of their asses, but then what would they have to talk about?”

“Happy things?”

“Nah, that’s too boring for them.” Killian walks toward her, a definite swagger in his stride, and the cool tips of his fingers come up to touch her cheeks as he cups her face and brings his lips down to move over hers, slowly and thoroughly kissing her until she can’t breathe. It’s the good kind of breathless, though. “I don’t know if I’m going to kick ass today, but I know that you are. It’s pretty much undeniable.”

“You’re going to kick ass. Think it into existence, twenty-nine.”

“Yeah, but I don’t…I don’t know. I – ”

Emma sighs, and she swears it goes all the way down to her bones. There’s only so much she can say. At the end of the day, Killian has to be the one to believe in himself.

“You know,” she starts as her hand reaches up to her neck so that her fingertips ghost over the cool metal again, “about two months ago I had this really big thing happen to me, and I don’t think I’d ever been that nervous. Well, that was until my idiot boyfriend decided to play with an injured rotator cuff because he was too dumb to say something to anyone.”

Killian playfully rolls his eyes, but she sees his jaw tick. Still such a stubborn ass.

“Anyways,” Emma continues as she reaches up to unclasp the necklace, grabbing onto it and the ring before guiding her hand up to his where they’re still resting on her cheeks. Killian’s blue eyes widen so that she can see every color in them, and they get the slightest bit bluer when she places the ring in his palm and closes his fingers over it. “I was given this really beautiful, special ring so that I had a reminder that someone was cheering me on even when I couldn’t hear the cheers. You had this for a lot of years. I think you might need it back.

Killian’s Adam’s apple bobs up and down before he starts shaking his head from side to side, his eyes closed so that black lashes land against his cheeks.

“No, no, no. I’m just…no, Swan. I’m not taking it back.”

“It’s your mom’s ring.”

He opens his eyes then so that she’s consumed by the blue even as he steps away so that they’re no longer touching each other. Has she done something wrong?

“Aye, my love,” he mumbles even as he opens up the chain and wraps it around her, easily clasping it back so that it hangs around her neck once more. “It was my mom’s, but I gave it to you. I’m not taking it back. It’s yours now.” Killian smiles at her, the soft one that makes his eyes crinkle that she’s come to know as her own, before bringing his closed fist to his chest and tapping right over his heart. “I know right here that people are cheering for me. I know that my mom, my family – I know that you are cheering for me no matter what happens out there today.”

Emma’s not crying. She swears that she’s not crying and that the tears in her eyes are allergies or something, but that would be a lie. It would because she loves him a ridiculous amount, and she’s proud of him over everything that he’s done and been working toward lately.

He’s a good man with a good heart, and he deserves all of the world.

Stepping forward, Emma reaches up to tuck his wet hair behind his ear as her thumb traches over the apple of his cheekbone. “I love you, and I don’t care what Liam or Elsa or Addy says. I’m your biggest fan in that stadium today, and I promise I’ll be cheering you on no matter what happens. Tonight, win or lose, you and I are celebrating, okay? We’re going to sit in our pajamas stuffing our face with all of the food that you’ve been stress baking, and we’re going to drink copious amounts of alcohol.”

He arches his brow. “This sounds unhealthy.”

“You’ll have either won or lost the freaking World Series. I think we deserve a little unhealthy.”

“I think you might be right,” Killian chuckles, dipping his head down to slant his lips over hers. “I love you too, by the way. I’m probably going to tell you that a lot today.”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me.”

“I don’t believe that at all.” He winks, and Emma swears that her heart flutters. “I’m going to get dressed, and then we can go to the stadium, okay? I want to get my practice in early in case it does rain again.”

“Yeah, sounds perfect.”

-/-

The stadium is nothing like it was yesterday morning. There’s no empty field that’s covered in morning dew with a quiet air around it that allows someone to simply sit out there and think about the history of this place that’s happened before and the history that’s still to come both for the team and for each individual player and for those who love them. People are bustling everywhere. Vendors are already in their stalls, executives are walking up and down the hallways in their suits, heels clacking along the tile, and players are seemingly everywhere. Emma wasn’t quite expecting anyone to be in the clubhouse, maybe just a few people, but they’re all watching old tapes, eating food, stretching, and bouncing strategy back and forth.

It’s like being thrown into chaos with no hope of getting out, but Emma manages to when Ariel pops up out of nowhere with a bright smile on her face that only broadens the moment she sees Emma.

“Perfect.” Ariel claps together her hands. “Just the couple I was looking for.”

Emma points to herself. “Us?”

“Yep. Things are about to get really crazy today, and I need the two of you to pose for a picture before we forget. It’s just perfect that you’re wearing his jersey.”

“Why do you need a – ”

“Just go with it, Swan,” Killian laughs as he wraps his arm around her waist and tugs her closer so that Emma can rest her hand on Killian’s chest. “When it comes to A, it’s best to obey.”

“That sounds like a great motto.”

“Kind of like a cult, though.”

“Just a little bit.”

“Shut up,” Ariel groans as she lifts her phone in the air. “And smile, I mean. Don’t look like I’m forcing you to do this.”

“But you – ”

Emma doesn’t get to finish her sentence before Killian is squeezing her hip and making her squeal as he brushes his lips against her cheek so that his scruff scratches at her skin like the asshole that he is.

But at least he’s an asshole in a good mood.

“Perfect,” Ariel sighs. “Now, Emma, I need you to come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s about to get even crazier in here, and I’m saving you from the madness.”

Emma doesn’t even get a chance to tell Killian goodbye or good luck before Ariel is dragging her by her forearm out of the clubhouse and down the hallways of the stadium going on and on about everything that’s going to happen today like Emma doesn’t already know. Of course, there are several things that Emma didn’t know. Apparently, her plan for she and Killian to go home and eat junk food and get drunk isn’t really going to happen. He’s got press obligations that far exceed anything that she does, and then there’s usually some kind of team celebration that they all do together. It could be moved to the next day, but that’s usually reserved as an off day before the city does a parade and other celebrations and…

This is only if they win.

Emma points that out, and Ariel immediately corrects her and says “when.” She’s convinced that they’re going to win, and she will not take any other kind of thinking around her. Positive vibes only.

Emma and Killian are totally going home and eating junk food and possibly getting drunk before falling in bed. To sleep. Everything else can wait. And if it can’t, fine. They’ll deal with that and do all of the celebrations and be happy about it because it’s a really big deal, but at some point in the next week, they’re both locking the door, turning off their phones, and then not letting anyone or anything bother them.

Unless it’s the food delivery guy. He can bother them.

But that’s it.

She’s gained approximately ten new wrinkles on her face in the past two weeks, none of them coming from being a year older, and Emma very much needs the season to be over for her own sanity.

Without a doubt, she’ll start to miss baseball in no less than two weeks.

Ariel Fisher, however, lives and breathes baseball and managing baseball players and quite possibly being the most supportive woman on the planet – and that includes Mary Margaret Nolan and her continual positivity – and even if the Yankees sucked, she would somehow cause them to win by her willpower alone.

Emma has known her in a personal capacity for over half a year now, and she’s still not used to all of the never-ending energy. Ariel probably had a full night’s sleep last night. Or maybe she didn’t sleep at all, and she’s in that stage of sleep deprivation where everything is heightened and you’re hyperactive.

Emma would bet on the latter of the two.

But Ariel does eventually finish talking once they’ve made it far away from offices and weight rooms and restaurants up to the suites that Emma is so familiar with now. She’s also familiar with all of the people waiting inside. Killian’s family doesn’t joke around when it comes to baseball. There is no reason for them to be here this early, and yet here they are.

And suddenly Ariel has disappeared, probably off to talk someone else’s ears off.

“That isn’t rain.”

“That most definitely is rain.”

“Anna,” Kris sighs as he and Anna stand at the windows looking out to the field, “that’s rain. It’s this thing that happens when – ”

“I don’t need a science lesson. I need it to stop.”

“I’m pretty sure the entire team is doing some kind of rain prevention dance downstairs because I think we all need it to stop.”

Everyone turns to look at her like they didn’t hear she and Ariel come in.

“Emma,” Lucy shouts, scrambling up from the couch to run toward her and tackle Emma in a hug that’s quickly joined by Addy.

“Hey, girls. Are you guys excited?”

“I’m bored,” Addy sighs out, which is not at all what Emma was expecting.

“Bored? How can you be bored?”

“Because I want the game to start! It’s taking too long, and we’ve been in here forever.”

“It’s been fifteen minutes,” Liam tells Emma as he walks over to her and scoops up his daughter while bending to kiss Emma on the cheek. “But we’ve been very impatient with waiting even though whining isn’t going to speed up the game time.”

“So it’s been a fun morning in your house then?” Emma asks.

Liam rolls his eyes, and even though he and Killian don’t look too much alike, she can see the resemblance there. “Joyous. And from my chat with Killian this morning, I can tell it was about the same at yours with the sleepless night.”

“Well, it is a big day today.”

“Just look up the weather forecast, Anna,” Elsa groans as she moves to rest her head against the countertop. “It’s supposed to rain in the middle of the game. We have known that the entire time, but the sun is literally coming out. It will be dry enough to start play on time.”

Emma arches her brow. “Was Elsa the one not sleeping?”

“Yeah,” Liam mumbles as he adjusts Lucy on his hip, “yeah, she was. She and Addy sat in the living room all night because they couldn’t sleep. I expect them to crash soon.”

“I’m fine,” Elsa promises even as she takes a sip of coffee out of the largest mug Emma has ever seen. “I’m exhausted, but I’m fine. Where in the world did Ariel go?”

“I have no idea. She was here and then she wasn’t. I’m not even sure why she pulled me away from the clubhouse. It’s all been a bit of a blur.”

“Her nickname could be The Blur or something ridiculous like that. She’s always zooming in and out of rooms.”

“How’s Killian?” Anna asks as she steps away from the windows. “Is he freaking out? Has he tried to run away yet?”

Emma’s hand reaches up to toy with her necklace, moving the ring from side to side and choosing not to worry about the weather any more than she already has. “He’s fine. He’s freaking out, but he’s fine. All he needs is for the game to start so he can stop psyching himself out.”

“I want the game to start too,” Addy whines once more as she falls out on the couch and throws her arm over her eyes.

“Darling,” Liam laughs, “have we ever considered that we made her too big of a fan?”

Elsa shrugs. “I don’t think we ever even had a choice.”

Emma stays up in the suite talking and eating cheeseburger sliders and drinking hot chocolate for the next hour, and it’s enough distraction that she doesn’t really think about what’s going on and the nerves radiating deep from her stomach and out to every inch of her. That only really begins when she has to officially start working, leaving the suite to walk to the ESPN booth and get her microphone hooked up to her and prepped for the start of the game. They have her hair curled again, just like she thought, and Isaac and James most definitely eye the jersey she has on. Emma ignores them, even if she does put on her sweater and take the raincoat the network offers her, and leaves the booth to go find the spot they have saved for her behind home plate.

People are filling the stands, a hushed murmur covering the stadium as the sun continues to peek through dark clouds, and Emma’s eyes are stuck on Killian as he continues the last of his pre-game warm-ups.

This exact day last year was one of the craziest days of her life, and she doesn’t think any of it could compare to this.

“You look like you’re going to vomit,” Jeff murmurs as he sets up the protective cover over his camera.

“I kind of feel like I am. Don’t date someone on the team. It’s too much.”

“I think I’m safe in that department.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do,” he laughs, and Emma doesn’t miss the rare smile on Jeff’s face. “You ready to go?”

Emma adjusts her earpiece. “Yeah, I’m ready to go.”

-/-

The Dodgers score on Killian’s first pitch.

A home run right off the bat – literally – and Emma feels the collective groan around the stadium in her bones. That is not what was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a strike, then two more, and an out. Easy as pie, right?

(Killian would tell her pie isn’t actually easy.)

But that’s obviously not how things are going to go today.

Sports have really got to be a little less dramatic. Her nerves can’t take it. Can’t things just be simple? Can’t they have gone back to the beginning and have won in four straight games instead of losing enough so that they’re in game seven of the World Series?

“If” doesn’t exist, especially in sport, Emma reminds herself. That’s what Killian would tell her, and that’s what she has to remind herself.

It only works a little bit.

One pitch at a time. It’s how Killian is going to be out there, and it’s how Emma is going to be sitting in the stands talking back and forth with the guys up in the booth thinking the same thing. It’s kind of hard to think that, though, when there’s a continual string of near hits and misses and Isaac and James up in the booth won’t stop being so damn negative that it makes Emma want to scream.

The score is 1-0 in the top of the third inning. It’s not the end of the world.

The looming dark sky overhead is kind of making her think that way.

“I’m too nervous, Rubes,” she mumbles while Killian winds up his arm to throw a pitch. There’s two men on base, both due to errors from King. She’d feel petty and a little glad if she didn’t need him to play well for the team. “Tell me about wedding stuff. Distract me.”

There’s static in her earpiece before Ruby’s voice comes in. “We’re getting married on a beach with no clothes on. Don’t worry. We can get waxed on the bachelorette weekend, so we’ll all be as smooth as babies.”

Emma huffs. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m hysterical,” Ruby corrects, and a part of Emma knows that Ruby and Graham might legitimately get married like that. “We haven’t planned any more than what we talked about last week. Small, intimate, and then a killer party with good food and drinks. Finding a location is hard. Everything is so expensive.”

“Destination wedding?”

“How is that cheaper?”

“I’m sure you can find a really inexpensive place in Nebraska or something.”

“You can get married in Central Park for one hundred dollars,” Jeff adds in, and Emma snaps her head away from the game to look at him. He shrugs his shoulders. “What? I know things.”

“I think the one hundred dollars is only if you want to get married in a certain spot, though,” Ruby sighs. “We’re going to keep looking. Graham said that he’d ask some of his buddies at the precinct if they knew of any spaces. It doesn’t have to be pretty since I know Mary Margaret will work her magic to make it that way no matter what.”

Killian’s pitch lands right in Will’s glove, and the umpire calls the batter out. Thank goodness. She doesn’t know what she’d do if someone else got on base. Then they’d be loaded with no outs, and things would pretty much be screwed from here on out.

Emma reaches over into her bucket of popcorn (she bought the jumbo size because she is stress eating) and stuffs a handful into her mouth instead of eating one or two at a time. One piece falls out of her mouth and down her shirt, landing somewhere in her bra so that she has to pick it out.

“You’re on the jumbotron right now, Emma,” Ruby giggles.

“Ah, fuck,” Emma mumbles as she looks up to see there be a replay of her digging in her shirt. “I hate everything.”

“That’s a little dramatic.”

“Me eating is like a running joke this season. I don’t get it.”

And she doesn’t really have time to get it before there’s the thwack of a ball against a bat straight past first base and away from everyone.

Shit.

It’s not good. Not at all. The two runners already on base get home, and the batter manages to make it to second.

It’s 3-0, and this is not at all how today was supposed to go.

Emma’s lungs are doing that thing again where they’re not taking in air, and there’s not enough popcorn in the world to make any of this better. If the tick in Killian’s jaw is any indication, she knows that there’s no one in the world more pissed at what’s happening than him. They don’t have anything together, and if they don’t get it together soon, they’re going to run out of time.

And then the sky opens up, little droplets of rain falling and landing on Emma’s nose, and that saying “when it rains, it pours” seems oddly appropriate right now. Her sadistic sense of humor is about to get worse.

They can’t lose. They can’t. she won’t allow it.

The rain keeps falling, a steady downpour of water, but it’s not enough to call for the rain delay. Not yet. And Killian is able to strike out the next guy and then get the third out of the inning with Eric catching the hit.

And just like the rain, the play stays steady. It’s not spectacular baseball by any means, mostly just a sludge match as everyone tries to keep their hands dry and the water out of their eyes, and the score slowly improves. Lance hits a good ball to get two RBIs, making it 3-2, and they manage not to allow any runs in the top of the fourth inning.

Good.

They’re creating chances. That’s what matters. They’re creating chances, and Emma can continue to eat her soggy popcorn while she freaks the hell out about what’s happening and continues to try to act like she’s a professional and not overly invested in the outcome of this game like she’s got money on it.

It’s the bottom of the fourth inning now, a chant of August’s name moving across the stadium so that it shakes in anticipation, and the bases are loaded. There are also two outs. Emma’s not saying that this could be the thing that changes the momentum of the game, but if the way that she’s gripping onto Jeff’s arm is any indication, she knows that this could change the momentum of the entire World Series.

“Come on, Booth,” Emma yells out as her free hand hits against her thigh, the wet denim clinging to her skin. “Be smart. Watch the ball.”

August obviously doesn’t know how to follow instructions because then it’s a swing and a miss.

Strike one.

There’s no chance for a strike two because while the rain has been sprinkling for the past hour, it’s pouring now. Jeff is mumbling about his camera and the cover not doing enough, but all Emma can focus on is all of the players running inside to the dugouts and fans shuffling inside while an announcement comes over the speakers that there’s an official rain delay.

An hour ago, she would have welcomed it. They didn’t have any of the momentum then. They do now.

This isn’t how things are supposed to be going.

Fuck.

-/-

“So how long is the rain delay going to be?”

“I don’t know.”

“But can you find out?”

“I can’t control the weather, Emma.”

“But you know things that we don’t, David,” Emma groans as she paces back and forth in a tunnel in the stadium, her hair frizzing around her face and her jeans completely soaked through. “It’s been an hour. Are they going to call the game? Are they going to continue it? This is agony.”

“You need to calm down.” Emma looks over to David with raised brows, and he holds his hands up in the air. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to say that to you, but you’re going to give yourself a heart attack if you keep worrying like this.”

Everyone they know is going to give themselves a heart attack, apparently.

“I know, I know,” she sighs, reaching up to hold onto her necklace and quieting down as some people pass by the two of them, probably looking at her like she’s a crazy person. “I’m nervous. This is really hard. I just…I want to be allowed into the clubhouse so that I can see him. He’s going to be freaking out. I just know, and I – ”

David walks toward her and places his hands on her shoulders while he looks down at her with a soft, reassuring smile on his face. She’s sure that he would hug her right now if she wasn’t soaking wet.

“Killian is fine, sweetheart. You are fine. We’re in the fourth inning. There’s still five more to go, whether it’s finished today or tomorrow or a week from now. They have time to come back. You, however, need to be back in hair and makeup because you’re supposed to be doing a clip on SportsCenter in fifteen minutes to fill the dead air time.”

“Shit. Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I couldn’t get a word in. You were kind of having a meltdown.”

Emma practically has to run down the hallways, which doesn’t help her appearance at all, and she’s sure that here makeup is streaky and her hair a wild mess that can’t be tamed, and the entire world can probably see her bra underneath her jersey right now. There’s not a hell of a lot that the makeup department can do, especially without a change of clothes besides a dry raincoat to replace the one that got soaked through, but they try their best before she’s standing in front of a plain backdrop inside the stadium talking back and forth about what’s going on in the game, breaking it down inning by inning in a way that she hasn’t had to do quite some time.

Considering she does it all with last minute notice and no notes in front of her, she thinks that she does a damn good job.

None of that really matters, though, because right as they’re wrapping up the segment, they get the announcement that play will resume in the next twenty minutes.

It’s time to play some more baseball.

Emma shouldn’t have eaten all of that popcorn because her stomach is most definitely churning with nerves.

They can do this. They have to. They will.

-/-

August immediately gets struck out, and the fourth inning ends with the Yankees still down 3-2.

The next two innings are scoreless for both teams, and Killian wraps up his game after that. He played well. It wasn’t his best, the weather and the nerves probably impacting him, but she’s proud of him.

She’ll be proud of him no matter what.

And she really wishes that the network wanted her to do a mid-game interview or let her go into the dugout just so that she could see him and tell him that in person, but they seem to be determined to only allow her to stay on the sidelines by herself.

Emma: I love you, I love you, I love you.

Emma: You’re my favorite player (and person) no matter what, and I can’t wait to see you when this game is over and you’re holding that trophy.

He texts back almost immediately, and he must have his phone out on the massage table.

Killian: Will you go out with me if we win? Or if we lose?

Laughter bubbles up inside of her, and it’s the first time all afternoon that she’s felt this light.

Emma: Only if you ask me out on live television like the asshole you were when you did that last year.

Killian: I think I can do that.

Her stomach flutters again, and even though this is kind of the biggest game that Emma has ever watched in her entire life, her eyes keep switching between her phone and the game. It’s pretty much the only way that she can stay calm and keep getting air into her lungs without one of them collapsing and her having to go to the hospital.

This game is going on forever. Literally. Each inning is longer than the last, and the sun is beginning to set over the horizon so that the remaining gray clouds disappear into the dark of night. Florescent lights fill the stadium, lighting up the crowd and the players, and Emma can’t stop shivering, especially with the remaining dampness of her clothes and the chill that’s whirling around. It’s got to be forty degrees out here at the most, and if it weren’t for Mary Margaret brining down her coat for Emma to use, she’d turn into an icicle by the end of the game.

Probably before the end of the game.

Today is obviously going very well.

It’s not just Emma, though. The crowd is starting to get a little delusional now too. The game has been going on for over six hours now, the last three completely scoreless, and everyone is getting restless and antsy and probably very, very drunk.

Some rum or whiskey or several shots of tequila is sounding really good right now.

She can’t have any of it.

And she’s moved on from popcorn to copious amounts of hot chocolate to keep her warm.

It’s now the bottom of the ninth in what could possibly be the last inning of the game and the end of the season, and they’re still down by one run. It’s almost exactly what happened last night, and Emma’s dentist is going to hate her for how much she’s grinding her teeth.

Just one run to tie it up. One more to win the whole damn thing.

Easy, right? Right.

“Fuck,” Emma mutters underneath her breath, unable to keep the thoughts inside. This cannot end up like last night. They’re so damn close. They can do this.

Eric settles into his position in the batter’s box, his hands moving up and down his bat until they’re in the right spots, and Emma would probably give up her entire salary to know just what Ariel is doing right now up in the suite. She’s got to be losing her mind.

Emma is kind of losing hers.

One. Two. Three.

The ball flies off of Eric’s bat, straight down past third base so that it practically paints the line, and Eric is off like a cheetah, quickly passing over first base and turning so quickly that he nearly falls on his way to second base. Emma stands, unable to stay sitting down, and she can’t even hear herself yell over the roar of the crowd as Eric slides against the dirt to mark up his uniform and have his fingers touch second base right before the ball gets to him.

Safe.

Holy shit. They have a man on base.

And August is up next. God, she hopes that he doesn’t choke again. There’s been a hell of a lot of pressure on his shoulders in the past two days, and he’s crumbled underneath it after having some really big opportunities to close things out. As good as these guys are at playing in the moment, the past does have the ability to creep up around them and wrap around their neck to pull them back to the past so that they can’t move on.

August has to move on.

One. Two. Three.

Strike.

Shit.

One. Two. Three.

Ball.

Okay.

One. Two. Three.

Strike.

Fuck.

Emma cannot do this. She absolutely can’t. It’s too much. It’s all too much, and she has to bend down to put her head between her legs. She knows that her phone is going off, that she’s got texts and calls and emails, but she can’t look at any of them. If it’s something for work, Ruby will speak into her earpiece or Jeff will say something.

This is the worst. Who likes sports? This is just the worst.

One. Two. Three.

The ball thwacks against August’s bat, and it flies toward left field. Emma is positive that it’s going to go over, absolutely positive that it’s going to be a home run and that they’re about to win this game. But then it hits against the wall, and suddenly it’s back in play. It’s not a home run, not quite, but it’s enough to have Eric round third and run toward home, his body barreling as quickly as possible before he’s sliding through the dirt once more so that it flies up around him.

Safe.

3-3.

Holy fucking shit.

Emma can’t hear. She can’t. The crowd is that deafening, and while Emma isn’t jumping up and down, her knuckles are going white as they grip onto the sides of her seat. All she can focus on is the way that Eric runs straight into Killian just outside the dugout, the two of them jumping up and down and hitting each other’s backs and asses as every other member of the team surrounds them in a celebration that sends chills down her spine.

Her cheeks are warm for the first time all night, and Emma has to force down the emotion in her throat.

It’s not over.

But that’s a good thing. They have the chance to do this, to win this now, and Emma’s heart is pumping blood faster than it ever has in the entirety of her life. It may very well beat out of her chest.

She doesn’t even care.

The high comes down five minutes later when King is easily struck out, putting their first out of the inning on the board, and even Emma isn’t petty enough to want Arthur King to do poorly when him doing well is good for the team. She’s petty. Just not petty enough.

Will Scarlet, though, deserves the entire world, and all of the organs in Emma’s stomach shift again when he steps into the box and adjusts his helmet. Sprinkles of rain are falling down from the clouds and spitting against Emma’s skin, but it’s not enough to stop the game. Not yet. The momentum is with them again, the game and the championship on their bats, and Emma has never known Will to be scared of a little rain.

One. Two. Three.

A swing and a miss.

Strike One.

One. Two. Three.

No movement. Deep breath inhaled.

Ball.

One. Two. Three.

No movement.

Strike Two.

“Damn,” Emma mumbles under her breath as she tightens the jacket a little further over her arms, her legs shaking and tapping enough to power the electricity in all of the Bronx. She’s going to break the chain around her neck for how tightly she’s tugging on it. It’s fine. It’s all fine.

It’s got to be all fine.

The water is spitting a little harder now, Emma’s vision getting a little bit blurred, and it’s taking everything in her not to stand up right now so that she blocks the people behind her. Ruby is chattering in her ear cursing or hoping or something, her phone is still going off, and Jeff has to be complaining about how much Emma is crushing his forearm.

She doesn’t care.

Because Will is standing in position again, and he’s ready.

One. Two. Three.

There’s a sharp blow when the ball makes contact with the bat, and while the rain and the stadium lights make it hard to see, Emma already knows that the ball is going over the back wall and into the crowd.

Gone. It’s gone.

It’s freaking gone.

Will Scarlet is an absolute legend.

The Yankees just won the World Series.

Killian just won the World Series.

Everything is so loud around her, cheers reverberating and shaking the stands so that Emma can literally feel sounds, but she has trouble focusing on any of that over the sound of her heart pounding in between her ears and Ruby yelling in her earpiece that Emma has to get down to the field.

The field.

She has to get down to the field, and somehow, she does. Jeff must have carried her there or pushed her or something. It’s a madhouse, one Emma can’t navigate, and she knows that she’s supposed to be doing some kind of interview, preferably with Will, but there’s no way for her to find anyone. It’s a mass of players all huddled together and jumping up and down as coaches and wives and children all join in, the rain coming down even harder than earlier.

All Emma really wants is to find Killian and kiss him like she’s never kissed him before.

That’s saying something.

Emma sees him standing ten feet away from her on the outskirts of a pile of men embracing each other in happiness, his hair a mess like he’s been running his hands through it for the past two hours and his smile so large that it reaches his ears. He looks beautiful, ethereal almost, and Emma can scarcely breathe looking at him after pushing through so many people to find him.

That’s when he sees her through the people and the rain and the unending joy.

Killian pulls his arm up to tap his closed fist over his heart, and Emma’s heart stutters at the movement before a slow grin stretches across her lips while she reaches up to tap her fist over the ring and her heart.

She was cheering him on the entire time.

One. Two. Three.

Emma takes off toward him, ignoring Ruby in her ear and Jeff behind her with the camera, and in six strides, she’s pressing up onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck, holding onto him so tightly that her feet come off the ground and Killian’s hands scramble for her ass, barely holding onto her as he lifts her in the air and swings her back and forth as they both get covered in the continual downpour of rain.

She can hardly see, the water far too much, and when she cups Killian’s cheeks and slams her mouth into his, he tastes like water and spearmint gum and quite possibly all of the happiness in the world bottled up into one human being.

Kissing him and being here with him is everything she ever wanted and everything she never allowed herself to dream.

“Fancy seeing you here, Swan,” Killian laughs, his mouth still pressing against hers.

“What are you talking about, Jones? I was right here last year.”

“Yeah,” he smiles, the grin the most infectious thing she has ever seen, “but I think I like this year a hell of a lot better.”

“Can’t wait to see how you try to top this next year.”

Killian throws his head back in in laughter, his skin covered in rain, and he finally puts her down on the ground so that her feet sink into the soft grass below her, arms still wrapped around Killian’s neck so that she’s close enough to see the sparkle in his eyes and the smile on his lips.

“You know what, my love? I think I’m good staying right here in this moment for now. We can figure out the rest later.”

-/-

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#catch me if you can #cs fic #cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan fanfic #captain swan ff #captain swan fic #captain swan

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mysmedrabbles · 5 years

Text

RFA Comforting an MC with Terrible Period Pains

requested: by anonymous

a/n: oh my god the header is a MOOD for this ask. enJOY and hAVE FUN READING THIS therES SO MUCHCOFFEEINMYSYSTEMHHHHH want to support my period-ic writing ayy see what i did there? then feel free to buy me a coffee!

warnings: aside from that terrible pun you just witnessed? n/a

-AAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHH mod alex

Jumin

-he finds you clutching your stomach, sweat beading your forehead as you move from uncomfortable position to uncomfortable position, mastering positions he’d figured only Elizabeth the III could do

-worry creases his forehead as he rushes to your side, touching your side gingerly, almost scared that you’ll crumble under his fingers, but all you do is let out a pained groan, unable to speak as the pounding in your head grows louder with each stab through your gut

- “mC aRe YoU dYiNg???”

-through pained gesturing, he finally understands that you’re not dying, just going through a torture worse than death

-has no idea what to do, just lays down with you, holding your hand and rubbing soothing circles on your back

-as soon as you finally fall asleep, he’s calling the doctor, wanting a professionals opinion on how best to lessen your pain

-poor doctor in his mind is probably like, “you,,,could have looked this up,,, on your phone,, that you used,,, to call me,,,,,,,, at 1 IN THE MORNING”

-he feels awkward, not being able to help you with more than a hot bottle on your stomach and keeping you company, running his hands through your hair and massaging your temples as he sits with you, helping you the only way he knows how, by rambling about the stock market

-at some point you tune out what he’s saying, focusing on his voice and the comforting patterns hes tracing on your skin

-you can bet that he buys you the most expensive german chocolate, anything that you want, anything you crave will be imported right away and be on your front doorstep the next morning

-he most likely has a calendar app on his phone where he keeps approximate track of your cycle so that he’s always prepared to give you extra special attention and care

-when he goes on business trips that last longer than a week, he has a box specifically made, kind of like a care package containing but not limited to:

-the finest chocolate (10 different kinds! with a surplus of your favourite!)

-those emergency hospital crack-and-place heat packets, good to keep on your lower back and uterus

-oranges and broccoli (though these tend to be in the fridge)

-with a small note on how much he loves you and will see you tonight on call, telling you to take care of yourself and leaving the doctors phone number in case of an emergency

Jaehee

-she KNOWS the pain,, she K N O W S

-im not saying that at some point your cycles start happening at the same time, but thats exactly what I’m saying (i have no idea how this happens irl but it does and?? idk its odd)

-so generally the two of you are sitting home together, laying sprawled on the couch, 4 Ibuprofen between the two of you as you watch Zen’s old musicals, watching Jaehee sleepily hum along as she holds you against her chest, stroking your hair and bringing up your hand to her mouth, kissing your knuckles as the two of you fall asleep together

-she knows you have a harder time than her when your period rolls around, so she has a tendency to insist that you don’t stress yourself out at work, keeping you mostly behind the counter where you’re not carrying hot liquids for too long.

-helping you out whenever she can, hugging you from behind as you struggle to stand on your feet, giving you momentary support as she takes the cup from your hands, instructing you to sit down

-no one has ever seen her so lenient with someone when it comes to work

-you log onto the server to gush about Jaehee, posting pictures of her running around at work, helping customers, “ThAtS mY wIFe Y’aLL”

-she has a special coffee brew that she only breaks out when you’re in severe pain, added her secret ingredient (which she refuses to tell you about) that somehow make everything better

-practically begging her to judo kick you in the spine because goddamnit it hurts so bad (she doesn't, opting for a soothing massage instead)

-kisses and cuddles galore, she puts the care in “caring for you,” to the point where she doesn't complain about her own mediocre periods upon seeing just how bad the pain is with you (please take care of her anyways she deserves the best)

Yoosung

-listen,, this boy grew up with sisters and a mother, he’s practically a pro when it comes to helping you out

-the second he sees you rush into the restroom in a panic, he’s already getting the pill bottle and hot bottle out, doing the bed the way you like it and pulling out your favourite blanket and warm stuffed animal

-insists to take care of you the whole time, and is willing to skip school to stay home with you,, its only after threatening him from the bed, wagging your finger weakly at him does he actually go, however he’s one to send you worrying text messages through the whole day, and silly photos of a leaf he saw or a funny cat meme

-he cooks for you like theres no tomorrow, and is always extremely apologetic when he gets home an hour later than normal due to grocery shopping, only to find you having finally fallen asleep, stuffed animal discarded neatly on the bedside table, hugging his pillow instead

-his eyes soften, heartrate slowing down as he gazes on your sleeping form

-trying his best not to disturb you, he tiptoes out of the room, getting your favourite dinner ready, and trying his best to make something with your preferred chocolate

-you hobble out of the room sleepily, the smell of food drawing you to the kitchen

-he’ll immediately drop everything, running to you as he helps you to a chair, chiding you for getting up and straining yourself when you could have just called for him

-playing video games together lazily, him joking that he should let you win, but this just drives you to beat his ass in mariokart, absolutely demolishing him with no mercy

-he sits there shell shocked as you sit next to him grinning

Seven

-he’s versed in over five languages, survived the worst years of his life, is number one in the Shooting Star Server, the best hacker on the planet, and yet he has no preparation on how to help you through periods

-he knows the basics, but seeing you in such pain makes him rethink everything he thought he knew

-he sees you constantly shifting, arching your back in a vain attempt to crack it, crack any bone for momentary relief, and decides this is his time to shine and help you somewhat

-he gives the best back massages, working the pressure points on your lower back, and getting out all the knots in your shoulders, pressing kisses to your shoulder blades as he goes along, fingers working on the entirety of your back.

-shares his Honey Buddha Chips with you, even letting you take three or more bags, as long as you promise to not waste any that is.

-keeps you away from spicy foods, dairy and phD pepper, his technical knowledge had gotten him that far at least, and even though you’re more than happy to eat junk food for a week straight, for the first time ever he insists on eating better, giving you foods such as salmon and oranges,, only after heavy persuasion and multiple times of you threatening him does he let you have chocolate

-he stays with you the whole time, making sure you’re laughing and taking care of yourself, trying his best to ease the pain with terrible terrible jokes and horrible Saeran impressions

-he knows that you dont like having a heating pad on your stomach because its so weird barely being able to move and having to stay in one place, so he places his laptop on your stomach, letting it overheat on your pelvic area as the two of you play fireboy and watergirl

Zen

-before we start i just wanna say Zen is 100% the type of guy who would hold no disgust or immature “ew thats icky”type attitude to the thought of buying his s/o menstrual products and he looks down on any man that does have that attitude

-he’s not quite versed in how to help you, but he’s a fast learner, and would rather rely on your own reactions to his help and seeing what works for you as opposed to just asking the void that is the internet what is supposed to help

-he’s one to carry you everywhere while you’re on your period, not letting you strain yourself for fear you’ll get off balance, fall and hurt yourself, and he’s constantly referencing you as his prince(ss), even more than usual

-singing you to sleep, letting his melodious voice wash over you as he holds you close, letting his natural body warmth keep you warm

-strokes your hair as you lay down, exhausted from all the pain, your body physically not able to stay awake anymore, practically blacking out

-if you cry, he’ll hold you, massaging your back and whispering soft comforts in your ear, but inside he’s pained by the distress this is causing you, and is mainly frustrated that he can’t do more

-sometimes he wakes up early in the morning to go for a jog or get breakfast for the two of you, and he’ll leave multiple sticky notes with sweet messages, ensuring that he’ll be back soon and to take it easy until he’s back home

-this man with Refuse to let you strain yourself in Any way, and will drop Everything to run over if he sees you so much as bending over to pick up something, practically throwing himself over the dropped item and insisting to pick it up for you

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repairslip9-blog · 4 years

Text

8 points You really Did Not know About Cellulite.

Hifu Face as Well As Neck Lift enhancement therapy

Content

We Have A High Success price getting Rid Of Skin identifies efficiently.

therapy overview.

catalog For treatment

therapy From a General Practitioner

Summary Of Your treatment

Femiwand vaginal Area tightening therapy Edinburgh.

Coolsculpting client.

If you are only simply starting to show indications of ageing, you may not require a full facelift surgery. This method includes the doctor making little incisions in front or behind the ear. Depending upon the level of lift you need, the cosmetic surgeon may likewise make a tiny cut along the hairline. They will then place a stitch just under the skin and also into the underlying coarse cells.

Although renovations and necklifts are normally effective and can produce dramatic outcomes, a facelift can not make you look 18 once more, and also you must be aware of the restrictions before you agree to have surgery. A facelift includes raising and also repositioning the skin and soft cells of the face. Sometimes, the specialist may need to make a little cut under the chin for the necklift part of the surgery.

youtube

We Have A High Success rate getting Rid Of Skin marks effectively.

For a typical facelift, your surgeon will make a medical cut right around your hairline, past the front of your ears. Cuts may likewise be made under your chin, if the procedure consists of lifting a drooping jaw line. Your skin will after that be very carefully divided from the underlying muscle mass of your face. The skin will after that be raised, pulled back as well as any type of excess will certainly be trimmed off.

How many inches can you lose with CoolSculpting?

Results vary for each patient. However, there is an average of 20-30% reduction in the treated area, which can significantly slim and contour your waist and abdominal region. Many patients lose several inches from their waistline after the completion of their recommended treatment plan.

Unsatisfactory outcome Often, individuals are not pleased with the result of their facelift or necklift. This might be to do with the look or feel of the face or neck, or the shape not fulfilling assumptions. It is extremely important that you talk with your surgeon, prior to you have the surgical procedure, concerning the appearance as well as form you desire, as well as whether this can be securely attained with a good end result.

With each other, after considering your facial structure, skin high quality and also general wellness, you will certainly select the most effective training course of treatment. Unlike cosmetic surgery that is done on the body, a facelift just avoids you from returning fully to work out and full activity for about 6 weeks. You will see the final result after about 4 months as well as the marks will certainly remain to fade over the list below year. A facelift at The London Facility will certainly take around 2 hours, but the surgical procedure time will certainly be much longer if you also have a brow lift or an additional procedure at the very same time.

Does fat freezing work?

Cryolipolysis appears to be a safe and effective treatment for fat loss without the downtime of liposuction or surgery. But it is important to note that cryolipolysis is intended for fat loss, not weight loss.

A facelift & neck lift involves the skillful and also cautious elimination of excess facial skin from the neck, chin and cheek areas, under basic anaesthetic. When you awaken from your surgery you will certainly have dressings on the face as well as possibly drainage tubes in position. A facelift is plastic surgery to lift up and pull back the skin to make the face tighter and smoother. Many people will certainly stay in medical facility for 1-2 evenings following their surgery. a company that helps of evenings will certainly rely on the time of day your facelift is accomplished.

They will certainly listen to your objectives as well as work with you to produce the face look you desire. Our team deal you all the support you require both before and after your facelift It is regular to feel a little uncomfortable when you remain in public due to the swelling, redness and bruising around the cured area after a facelift.

treatment summary.

catalog For therapy

Nevertheless, the large majority of wounding and also swelling ought to have cleared up by about 4 weeks. By now, lots of people really feel comfy sufficient to be seen by buddies and coworkers. If you have a major occasion turning up such as a wedding event or birthday celebration, strategy your surgery 2 to 3 months before it. Your doctor will certainly give you particular advice on how to wash and wash after the surgical procedure. As a whole, you might bath as well as clean your hair 48 hours after a facelift surgical procedure. Make use of a mild hair shampoo as well as be especially careful around the treatment area. Be mild when brushing or brushing your hair to ensure that you do not capture your comb in the stitch lines.

How do I get rid of stubborn belly fat?

20 Effective Tips to Lose Belly Fat (Backed by Science) 1. Eat plenty of soluble fiber. 2. Avoid foods that contain trans fats. 3. Don't drink too much alcohol. 4. Eat a high protein diet. 5. Reduce your stress levels. 6. Don't eat a lot of sugary foods. 7. Do aerobic exercise (cardio) 8. Cut back on carbs — especially refined carbs. More items•

They may be a bit pink for some time however discolor to a regular skin colour as well as appearance. Discoloration and also swelling are short-lived following a facelift and are mostly solved by two weeks. Suppleness in the external cheek area can nonetheless, linger for a couple of months.

Can ice packs reduce belly fat?

If your goal is to drop weight and fat, you may want to consider the idea of using ice packs along with any weight loss diet or plan you may be on. Using Dry Ice packs can help reduce weight !!!? That's right. It appears that putting an ice pack on your stomach for 30 minutes can burn off the hard-to-address calories.

Lumpiness under the chin on the neck is likewise usual especially if excess fat has been gotten rid of by liposuction surgery. You will certainly need to go back to the medical facility regarding a week to 10 days for a regular check. It prevails for patients to have eyelid surgical procedure with a facelift therefore there might likewise be a see to remove an upper eyelid stitch. It is suggested not to have your hair tinted for at least a number of weeks following surgical treatment.

youtube

therapy From a Gp

A facelift can be done alone, or in conjunction with various other procedures such as a temple lift, eyelid surgery, or nose reshaping. The marks before the ear are not normally visible after a facelift.

How many times do you have to do CoolSculpting to see results?

Patients may begin to see an improvement in the treated area a few weeks after their treatment, but it may take up to four months before they enjoy their full and final results. While every patient is different, most patients benefit from one to three sessions for each area of concern.

The overall objective of a face lift is to raise the skin from the face, tighten up the underlying muscle mass and then rearrange the skin, eliminating any extra. Your doctor will suggest on the very best therapy for your requirements. As well as the facelift, we provide eyelid surgical procedure, eye bag elimination and also brow lift therapies. All our doctors are General Medical Council registered and carry out hundreds of procedures, consisting of facelift surgery, every year. Facelift individuals generally remain in for 1-2 nights after their surgical treatment. Your length of stay will certainly depend on the time of day your treatment is performed.

Summary Of Your treatment

This type of cosmetic surgery recovers the reduced eyelid area as well as cheeks. Worn out, drooping cheeks are raised offering the face a rejuvenated look and also this treatment can aid with deep nasal folds. This form of cosmetic surgery lifts the upper as well as reduced face, eliminates excess skin as well as enhances the look of deep lines and folds. We offer a bespoke option customized to your desired results and suitability. Your cosmetic surgeon will certainly go over at length your preferred result, the numerous kinds of facelifts offered as well as show to you a profile of their job.

This is due to the fact that the incisions are made along the hairline and around the ears, so your hair will cover them up. The majority of clients do experience bruising and swelling complying with a facelift. Nevertheless, after a few days, you are able to conceal some of the bruising with a little makeup, ought to you desire to. You ought to expect to have the stitches for 7-10 days before they are removed. Facial plastic surgery stays one of the most preferred plastic surgery procedures. Lots of people pick the surgery to help recreate an all-natural, vibrant as well as fresh look. We have a group of dedicated team as well as highly seasoned GMC-registered cosmetic and plastic cosmetic surgeons that are experts in facelift surgical treatment, and also that have actually operated in both the NHS as well as economic sector.

Femiwand vagina firm therapy Edinburgh.

Does ice pack reduce fat?

Simply strapping an ice-pack to a fatty area like the thighs or stomach for just 30 minutes can burn away hard-to-shift calories. The cold compress works by triggering the body into turning flabby white fat into calorie burning 'beige' fat. Humans have two types of fat tissue.

In this technique, the laceration is made along the hairline, past the front of your ears to below the earlobe, and also behind the ears. The cosmetic surgeon has the ability to boost and also tighten up the tissue of the SMAS, and utilizes stitches to obsess it to its brand-new position. Although it is a much longer treatment with a longer healing time, this method generates long-lasting outcomes. It is also preferable for males and females who have much more serious sagging of face skin.

https://la-lipo.uk/swindon/ ="display: flex;justify-content: center;">

A tried-and-tested secret much-loved with elegance insiders who have been scheduling this for many years at facialist Vaishaly's Marylebone center. It's the one to pick if you like your elegance treatments a bit more low-tech but high up on outcomes. Incorporating genuinely fantastic massage with a galvanic/microcurrent wand-like tool, which actually pushes in a glow-enhancing hyaluronic acid lotion into the skin while lifting and also toning the facial muscles at the very same time.

It works by contracting as well as reducing muscular tissue fibers, which cause the lifting as well as tightening result.

Over the coming months, you'll discover skin tightening and also lifting of the skin, leaving you with more youthful feeling and look skin.

HIFU technology is totally risk-free as well as has actually been utilized in medicine for years.

Yet it may additionally be used for guys that just require treatment to one little location of cancer in the prostate.

If you are interested in a discovering more concerning a non-surgical face lift in London, you can connect with a participant of our team to reserve your initial free examination at our Primrose Hillside center.

It may likewise cause less adverse effects, since less of the healthy and balanced tissue is damaged.

It will then be sewn back to the line where the cut was initially made. You can additionally expect some scarring, yet a seasoned plastic surgeon will minimise and conceal facelift marks. Plastic surgeons at Ramsay hospitals are GMC signed up, on the GMC Specialist Register for plastic surgery, been experts in facelift procedures, and have actually worked in both the NHS and economic sector. Many patients are pleased with the outcome, but some locate their new form challenging to obtain utilized to. You can not evaluate the outcome of your facelift or necklift for about 6 to 9 months. Even if the procedure is a success, you may require one more operation in the future to have the skin tightened up once more.

The cosmetic surgeon will certainly utilize this stitch to lift the cheeks, jowls and also the top neck. Time, sunlight damage, and also way of life can impact the fragile skin on the face as well as neck. As we age, the skin can create great lines, wrinkles, jowls, and a loss of definition to the jawline. The eyes and also the edges of the mouth can droop, as well as deep lines and also folds can develop, making you look cross or exhausted, despite how satisfied and relaxed you really feel. If you are dissatisfied with the effect ageing has actually carried your face, Bella Vou's professional cosmetic surgeons can precisely lift, tighten up as well as smooth the skin and also muscular tissues on your neck and face to invigorate your look. Your doctor will certainly describe the choices readily available to you and the very best approach to attain your objectives.

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kaycmoney · 4 years

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I Need Money Now – 25 Safe Ways To Get Cash Fast

Do you need money today? Times like these — when you’ve suddenly been hit with an emergency or an unexpected expense — can be stressful and overwhelming. But there are options.

Just remember: the cure for stress is action. The quicker you commit to taking concrete steps to solve the challenges you’re facing, the better you and your wallet will feel.

The good news is that with a little bit of creativity and hustle, you can get yourself out of the situation you’re in and prevent this kind of financial crunch from ever happening again.

Read through this list of viable, safe ways to get money fast. They’ll work today, but they can also serve as a solid foundation for building a better financial future.

Ideas To Make Extra Money In Less Than A Week

When it comes to needing money urgently, there are three strategies to pursue. You can borrow money, make money, or save money in a way that frees up cash flow today.

These strategies are not mutually exclusive. Depending on your situation, it may make sense to pursue all three today.

Keep in mind, however, that it’s best to avoid borrowing money if at all possible. Often, people in emergency financial situations take out expensive loans with bad terms. These loans may help them meet their immediate needs, but will only cause more problems down the road.

That said, the ideas below are broken down into three different categories:

Ideas to make extra money in less than a week.

How to save big money in a cash crunch.

The best (and worst) ways to borrow short-term money.

Without further ado, let’s find you some cash fast.

Leverage The Gig Economy

For most gig economy jobs, it may take a day or two to get approved and start making money. Once you do get approved though, having the option to earn money on-demand is quite nice.

Here are 10 popular gig economy jobs that allow you to make money on demand. If you have any interest at all, apply now; by taking action, you’ll avoid the “I need money today” desperation in the future. You can also check out our list of the highest-paying gig economy jobs for more options.

#1 — Postmates

Postmates is one of the fastest ways to get started making money in the gig economy. As a Postmates courier, you’ll deliver groceries, food from restaurants, and other miscellaneous items.

With Postmates, you can work literally whenever you want (as little or as much as you want), and you can cash out instantly after earning money. That means you can work for a few hours one afternoon and have that cash in your bank account the same day.

One of the unique things about Postmates is that it’s one of the few freelance delivery services that allows you to deliver by foot. This is really only a viable option in very dense urban areas, such as New York City and San Francisco. But if you live near such a location, it can be a decent way to make some quick money without a vehicle.

Learn more about Postmates.

#2 — Airbnb

You can earn money fast renting out your place on Airbnb. Stay with friends or your folks while your place is booked. (Your mom thinks you don’t visit enough anyway…)

Payments for Airbnb sellers are released 24 hours after your guests check in.

Think your place isn’t nice enough? Think again. You can offer everything from full homes to basement couches. You might not earn top dollar for the latter, but rates for shared rooms still tend to be around $30 per night, even in remote areas.

Learn more about Airbnb.

#3 — Instacart

Instacart is an online grocery shopping and delivery company. There are two types of work available on the platform.

In-store shopper: A part-time job as an employee of Instacart. You’ll work inside grocery stores, hand picking and packing customers’ online grocery orders and handing them off for delivery.

Because this is a part-time position, you’ll earn a consistent wage, but it will be on the lower end of the spectrum. Since you’re working in-store, you don’t need a vehicle.

Full-service shopper: An independent contractor (i.e., a freelancer). As a full-service shopper, Instacart will send customer orders to your smartphone. You’ll then go to the assigned store, pick and pack the items on their shopping list, and deliver the order directly to their door.

You’ll earn per-order commissions based on the time it takes you to complete the delivery (as well as the driving distance from the store), plus customer tips. That means you have the potential to make more money than in-store shoppers. However, since the work is dependent upon demand, it can be less consistent.

In general, full-service shoppers make around $10 to $20 per hour. Unfortunately, unlike with Postmates, you’ll be paid weekly and there’s currently no option for instant withdrawal.

Learn more about Instacart.

#4 — TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is a gig economy platform that helps connect people looking for help with odd jobs and those looking for short-term, on-demand work.

Taskers — as TaskRabbit freelancers are called — perform every kind of work under the sun. You’ll find typical day labor tasks like running errands, picking up and delivering items, and doing yard work. But you’ll also find less common things, like assembling IKEA furniture and even just standing in line.

Here’s an example: whenever Nike releases new limited-edition sneakers, resellers will pay Taskers to show up at stores hours early and hold a spot in line.

No matter what your experience or skillset is, chances are you can find a way to make money on the site.

Learn more about TaskRabbit.

#5 — DoorDash

Like Postmates, DoorDash is a food delivery service that allows freelancers to work (almost) on-demand, picking up and delivering customers’ orders from local establishments. I say “almost” because DoorDash does have a scheduling system; you have to sign up for shifts (which you can choose), and failing to consistently go online during your shifts can get you kicked off the platform.

However, one perk about DoorDash is that if you live in an area where it has a consistent stream of orders, the payout tends to be a bit better than Postmates. Also, each time you’re offered a delivery (via a notice on your smartphone), you’ll see a minimum guaranteed payout amount, and you can choose to accept or decline the job.

As with Postmates, “Dashers” can get paid daily, although there is a $1.99 instant cash-out fee.

Learn more about DoorDash.

#6 — Rover

Love dogs and need a quick way to make money? Rover might be the perfect option. Think of Rover like Uber for dogs; you’ll visit customers’ homes at designated times and take their dog for a walk.

Average pay is about $15 per hour, although you’ll do slightly better if you live in an urban area, or a place where there’s enough demand that you can take two or three dogs out for a stroll at the same time.

Learn more about Rover.

#7 — Tutoring

Good tutors are always in demand. EF Education First is an online education company that connects qualified freelance tutors with kids all over the world who are striving to learn English.

As an EF tutor, you’ll have clients assigned to you and all the necessary teaching materials will be provided. Base pay starts as high as $20 per hour, and you can earn bonuses by reaching teaching milestones (like 100 classes taught).

To become an EF tutor, you do need a bachelor’s degree (in any field) but no teaching experience is required as EF considers all aspects of your resume and professional background.

Learn more about EF Education First.

#8 — Turo

Turo is like Airbnb for car owners. When you sign up, you can list your car and rent it on a daily basis for cash. This can be surprisingly lucrative, and is one of the few options on the list that often works out better for people who live in rural areas (where there’s a lower supply of available rental cars).

Also, the type of car you own can really boost your earnings. Obviously, people are willing to pay a premium to rent a convertible. But other types of vehicles can also bring in above-average rates. One prime example is minivans, which are highly-sought by families on vacation but are often sold out at commercial car rental locations.

Learn more about Turo.

#9 — Uber

Uber is one of the most popular gig economy jobs. As an Uber driver, you’ll make money by picking up passengers and driving them to their desired destination. The rates vary by location and demand; for example, prices are usually higher when it’s raining. You’ll usually earn better rates in cities, but you can also do well in rural areas where rides tend to be longer.

Uber also has a service called Uber Eats, which allows you to pick up food orders from local restaurants and bring them directly to customers at their home or workplace. If you’re in an area with strong demand, you can often make slightly better per-hour rates with Uber Eats as compared to traditional Uber. And if you don’t have a car, Uber Eats allows you to deliver via bicycle or scooter.

One of the best perks about Uber is that once you’re approved, the company will send you a special debit card issued by GoBank. Having this card allows you to cash out your earnings and get paid instantly — that means you can drive for a few hours and immediately access your funds, with no waiting or clearance periods.

Another perk is that you can work whenever you want, with no restrictions or limitations. There are no schedules on minimum/maximum hours — it can be either a full-time or part-time job on the weekends, depending upon your needs.

Learn more about Uber.

#10 — Fiverr

Fiverr is a marketplace where you can sell services — which are called “gigs” — for as little as $5 (and for as much as you want). Some popular gigs on Fiverr are services such as proofreading, website design, data entry, and miscellaneous virtual assistant jobs.

But it’s a great forum for creatives of all types, as you can monetize almost any skill or talent. Keep in mind, however, that it takes three weeks from the time the client accepts your work for your earnings to clear and become available for transfer to your bank account or PayPal.

Learn more about Fiverr.

Sell Something On Craigslist, Facebook, EBay Or Other Marketplaces

Aside from the options above, your best bet for fast cash is to sell an asset you own.

To do that, you’ll want to:

Sell something that has a lot of demand

List your item on a marketplace with many active buyers

Some of the best marketplaces to list on are:

Craigslist

eBay

Facebook Marketplace

OfferUp

Here are some of the best options for selling specific types of items.

Books:Have extra books lying around? Head to a used book store to cash them in. Make sure to call ahead to ask if they’re buying books right now. For those that live in a state with a Half-Priced Books (120+ locations across the U.S.), they’ll give you cash on the spot.

Clothes:Plato’s Closet gives you cash on the spot for used clothes. The one catch here is that the store is aimed at teens and young adults, and only buys new and lightly-worn threads from in-style name brands.

If you’re a bit older and have designer items that might not be a fit for Plato’s, check out The Real Real. You might hate to part with something like a designer handbag or shoes, but just one such item can fetch a pretty penny if it’s still in great condition.

DVDs and other random stuff: Many people are surprised to hear this, but Amazon allows private sellers to list items like used DVDs, books, games, LEGOs and tech on its site. You can even opt-in to the company’s Fulfillment by Amazon program (FBA), which means you’ll send the items to an Amazon warehouse and they’ll take care of shipping them to the customer.

Electronics:If you have old electronics lying around (especially cell phones), a good marketplace to sell them on is Gazelle. What’s nice is that you’ll know the price ahead of time; as soon as you enter your device’s details, you’ll see a flat-rate offer.

Everything else: Try a pawn shop, which will usually buy almost anything of value. Of course, you’re not going to get maximum value for selling items at a pawn shop, but you will indeed get cash on the spot. Items that sell well are:

Precious metals and jewelry

Popular tech (phones, tablets, cameras, and e-readers)

Collectibles

Do your research beforehand to understand the value of what you’re wanting to sell. This allows you to negotiate better. Also, if you have the time, visit more than one pawn shop for a quote — and don’t fall for the “this offer is only good right now” speech; pawn shops need to buy items to make money… if they made you an offer once, they’ll more than likely make the same offer later.

Don’t forget about yard sales, the OG method for selling things quickly. If you don’t get any good offers from the options listed above, garage sales or yard sales are still an effective way to generate cash quickly. Plan your sale for a Friday and Saturday to maximize revenue. You’ll be surprised how many people still attend these sales.

Related reading: The Best Craigslist Alternatives for Buying and Selling

Do A Bonus Round Of Survey Companies

There are dozens of legit websites that pay you to share your opinion. You can’t make a lot of money this way, but you can definitely earn some extra cash relatively quickly — especially if you use a strategy called “the bonus round.”

With the bonus round, you sign up for sites that offer a new-member bonus and complete just the minimum amount of work necessary to cash out. For example, Swagbucks offers you a $10 sign-up bonus with a minimum withdrawal of $25.

Here are two survey sites with bonus offers that pay cash, along with the minimum amount to withdraw.

Swagbucks

$10 sign-up bonus

$25 minimum withdrawal through PayPal

MyPoints

$5 sign-up bonus (after completing five surveys)

$25 minimum withdrawal through PayPal

#Make money online #，make money，#make money today

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prorevenge · 5 years

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Contract Negotiations in a Second Language

This one's a bit bit, sorry for the length, I've tried to cut it down... hard to do without losing some twists and turns in the story. Hope you think it's worth it, I sure do!

TLDR @ the End.

I work in China as an English teacher. There are hundreds of great jobs out here, but at least an equal portion of people trying to screw you in every way possible. Each company I've worked with has been an education in paperwork, contract negotiations, and leverage. 6 years in, I'd like to think I'm finally getting the hang of it. 6 years working here isn't unheard of, but it's rare, and my level of education/job experience (plus standard white face) sells for quite a premium here.

At this private school I'm one of 3 foreign teachers, a job that carries a lot of prestige locally, and brings in a lot of students (read $$$), as only certain schools are even permitted to hire foreigners and even less can afford/find them. During recruitment periods, parents are paraded into my classroom, and I'm sometimes given bonuses because of how often I'm complimented on my energy, teaching style, even handsomeness (this matters in China... I'm NOT handsome, but white in rural China is auto-handsome). The other foreign teachers here are African--and yes, there's a substantial racial bias, and they get paid much less. I've chosen this school, because it's got the lowest cost of living area with the highest offered salary---but most importantly the highest amount of free time. I work about 20 hours per week, save 70% of my salary, and spend the rest traveling. I had negotiated a VERY competitive salary. I also signed a non-standard contract that I had personally edited. I was proud of myself... at least until....

I arrived at the school and the international staff liaison immediately asked me to sign their 'standard contract'--the earlier one was a mistake, and couldn't be submitted for my visa. I now knew this was one of "those schools" I'd heard stories... they would do anything to screw over the 老外 (foreigner). I pulled up my big-boy britches. ... I needed to be prepared. ... I wasn't...

Initially, I didn't even read the "standard contract," it offered me only 2/3's of my agreed upon salary, so I told them to update that. They returned (days later) and I read it--a horrific document that would lose me: my Christmas holiday (a great luxury in China), my salaried status (a shift to per/class pay with no pay for canceled classes), and even allow them to charge me if I leave without finishing my contract. More terrifying still? "additional 'activities' or 'events' could be assigned without pay or notice" apparently at any time. The contract would also require me to locate another foreign teacher 'replacement' before allowing me to sever employment, and prevented me from leaving this school for any competing school in China.

"Everyone signs it!" was chanted at me by four separate workers (all of the English speakers in the building), each appalled that I was arguing. I informed them "I'm not everyone. We'll stick to my contract."

(I found out later, everyone apparently does sign it. They just don't bother following it. The other foreign teachers just run away on payday. The school has lost more than 10 teachers this way.)

Four individual attempts were made to rewrite the "standard" contract to include what I had negotiated for. Each new version left out new things... (I hate to ignore Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." , but we were approaching the edge of Occam's Razor here... "The simplest explanation is usually true.") God, I prayed they were only stupid! By the end, I simply wrote the contract using their format.

Except by then we were 6 months into the school year. Operating that long without an official contract in China is dangerous, and can allow the government to seize my 'illegal wages.' But there were just 3 more months until summer vacation... except...

that's when the school decided that they didn't want to pay my summer salary. Now my paperwork clearly said that I was a salaried employee, and that I was to be paid whether they had classes or not. Summer had no classes, I pointed out, but I still get paid. ... I hadn't anticipated them creating a summer school just to give me classes. But, the dates for 'summer holiday' wasn't specified, so I lost three weeks of my vacation to their "summer classes." At the meeting where I debated the ambiguities in the contract, seeking some discussion, a meeting of the minds, the boss lady simply demanded, "Will you comply with the contract you signed or not?" [This remains the most English and the only grammatical English she's ever spoken within my hearing.]

Would I do what I signed up for? Fuck. ... I would.

...but contract negotiations were already starting... for the school year (by now) beginning in only two months. I hadn't been prepared before, but I was determined to get my 3 weeks back.

The initial plan was to set my demands so high that eventually insisting on getting 3 weeks vacation or 3 weeks extra pay would seem reasonable. I rejected the three contracts they offered me (each one a version I had already seen and refused the year before), the foreign staff liaison (FL) suggested that I again write the contract myself, so I would be happy with it. I sighed, and uttered , "好吧," (a reluctant "Fine.") Don't mind if I do!

I had three contract versions sent to them by the end of the day. (They were just modified versions of my last 3 employers)-- but they were written in amateur and heavy English legalese. Poor ESL (English Second Language) workers never had a chance. They balked.

Now, my email clearly explained that each contract offered different benefits, each a separate option I'd accept: One gave me less classes/week, one provided substantial penalty fees for each week my salary was delayed, one insisted that my "holiday" salary for the year (3 months) be paid immediately. Additional benefits tossed in at random: sick days, penalties for not giving notice of canceled classes/holidays, (as opposed to the less than 24 hours notice I'd heretofore received). I even added my water/electric bill, cafeteria meal card, and internet to the list.

Overwhelmed by the complexity of the documents... FL asked for the 3 to be combined into a single document. I did, again reminding them that they contained several options, and this time adding that it was really an initial negotiating position. I'm quite certain that reminder was never read. Well, I combined the documents... every potentially reasonable request I had managed to concoct over 2 months was thrown together into the final draft.

I imagine FL having a quiet heart attack upon reading it, knowing sending it to the boss was akin to a suicide attempt. That's when they stopped paying me.

I had now agreed to working one summer month [okay, 3 weeks] "free" (as it should have been a holiday), and now I had worked another month, but payday arrived without them paying my salary... my legal options were pretty unknown to me, it's not my legal system, and I can barely parse a Chinese sentence, much less read legalese... I continued to work, and occasionally remind them about needing paid... as I neared two months behind in salary... we began "negotiations."

These contract negotiations were more stressful than any breakup I've ever had: First, I would be called into the office, berated at for being ungrateful (usually) for hours, have it explained that I was being unreasonable, told precisely how much each of the workers in the office made (fractions of my salary), and then asked to make some concessions, ... I told them they'd receive concessions only if they made some proportionate concessions on their end. (This is China. None of the people I was talking to were authorized to make any concessions, they were just aware the boss lady/owner (HRH-- Her Royal Highness) was NOT HAPPY with my requests [or perhaps would be not happy?--I still don't know if/when she read the contract]) But there was nothing they could do... I started playing games on my laptop while waiting for them to run out of stamina. I wracked up 120+ hours on the game. Wake up. Go to class. Go to meetings. Get yelled at. Lunch break, go home, nap, return in the afternoon for a repeat performance. Had this for an entire two weeks with little variation... well sometimes the meetings were before class, sometimes the meetings were after. Variety is the spice of life! I began to look forward to classes, as they were a reason to escape "meetings."

Finally, someone must have decided I wasn't going to budge, and the contract was sent to the boss for approval. My demands had been shuffled, reworded, and buried in paragraphs--but the content was largely unchanged.

HRH immediately made a (6+ hour) trip to the school from Beijing for our meeting. Upon her arrival HRH stood for a photo session with me, I was given chocolates, wine, the (ceremonial) position of vice principal, and the promise of a raise. (I hadn't even considered a raise! I made way too much for the region as it was! But it'd been promised, so I added it into my next draft.) The meetings lasted 3 days on and off. (Although my time with her was less than 3 hours total, because we were constantly interrupted by investors, new students, parents, etc.)

On the third day, I left the meeting (for lunch) with the regretful promise that I would begin looking for work elsewhere. I already had four interviews scheduled for the afternoon.

No sorry, I couldn't possibly return to the meetings, I've already scheduled an interviews until 4. Yes, I know, it's important, but I've already scheduled the meeting. ... Okay... okay... No. I have a meeting. .... Yes. I understand. ... No, I still have a meeting... I'll come over immediately after. ... Oh, HRH wants to talk? ... Sorry, still have an interview. ... No, I won't cancel... Yes, HRH is very very busy... well, it's very kind of you to (finally) give me that promised raise, but I have promised to have these meetings, and I keep my promises. Buh-bye.

[Between interviews] I'm sorry. I have an interview now, and can't answer your direct messages, but yes, some sick days is reasonable... I've g2g... That'd be nice... The Wechat [Chinese skype/facebook] call is starting. Buh-bye.

I arrived to a very different meeting. My boss was sitting in a room of 6 police officers with a pile of money on the table bigger than a large suitcase. I was certain she was paying them to arrest me. 'Oh fuck,' I thought. 'HRH is real fucking hardcore. What the fuck was I doing?'

I was told that I wasn't allowed to leave the school, that my contract only allowed me to work for her. I agreed that might be the case, (suddenly, I was in a very agreeable mood) and asked if I could read that part in the contract I'd signed. She picked up the contract and began scanning. The contract said no such thing, but her face never changed as she scanned the substantially altered "standard" contract. Everyone in the room pretended we weren't paying attention to her.

She finished scanning. There was a glance at the FL.

"Yes, you will only work for me." She asked me what the other schools were offering, salary-wise. I told her. She rounded up the number and tossed two wads of cash to me, and turned to continue her conversation with the police. "Bring his contract. We're signing it now." A worker snatched the money from my hands and counted out my (very late) salary.

The poor staff. They were still unprepared. (They brought the combined version of the contract that I'd emailed... my first 'final draft'.) HRH didn't even glance at it before signing. I got everything I could have thought to ask for. I celebrated for two weeks--in Thailand.

Epilogue: FL has an easier job (same pay) in a different school now. We're still not friends, but she told me she's grateful to not work here anymore. She won't say it's my fault, (that's not Chinese culture), but I'm 99.99% sure it is. I've bought her gifts, (2) until she stopped accepting them.

This year I promised no new demands in my contract... I just wanted my salary... ... but there were still some changes...

First, since I've accumulated an additional 80% of my yearly salary in fines, (they failed to pay my three months holiday salary up front). I've had my contract reviewed by a Chinese lawyer. It may be not eloquent, (online translated) Chinese, but it would hold up in court. To be honest though, I still feel bad about them signing that insane contract, so I'm holding to the stated intention in the penalties... This year, as an addendum I added: "As the penalty is meant to be corrective, rather than punitive, so long as my wages, and the wages of my fellow employees, are paid on time, the missing fines from last year will not be assessed. All fines will become due, including all subsequent late fees, if any teacher can demonstrate that they have not been paid by the 15th." I calculate that weekly fines will have pushed my punitive figures to 200%+ of my yearly salary by that time. They asked for one change-- I was the only staff member with Christmas off, and it was breeding resentment. Instead of Christmas and Christmas Eve, could I accept instead holiday days in lieu? I wrote the addendum myself. I wrote "Upon request of Party A, instead of the Christmas holiday, Party B will receive an additional 12 paid holiday days." 12.

The addendum was returned signed. I can only assume HRH is still not reading my contracts before signing.

I'm now up to 4 months paid holidays, and yesterday I sent the excel spreadsheet with the complete calculations of all fines from last year. There was a panic, until I restated the reminder that the fines will not be assessed so long as I can't validate any complaints about myself or my friends/co-workers not being paid on time. I was assured (again) it wouldn't ever happen.

TLDR: Boss in China screws me out of three weeks vacation, creating special "summer school classes" just to make me work, only possible because of a bad contract translation/ambiguity. So, I rewrite my contract next year- give myself a raise, three weeks of paid vacation, free meals, and nearly extortionate fees for late payments. I could demand 80% of my salary extra this year in penalties alone. Instead, I wrote myself in an additional two weeks of paid vacation. Going to see how long I can keep this up.

(source) story by (/u/StillAdamRoots)

#prorevenge #by /u/StillAdamRoots #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #last10

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prettywordsyouleft · 5 years

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Through His Eyes - Part 4

Summary: Losing your sight after your accident was traumatic, and Jaebum’s guilt of knowing it should have been him instead creates an intricate bond between you both, as you overcome adversity and try to find your way in life again.

Genre: angst / romance

Characters: Im Jaebum x female reader

A/N: This story is emotional and raw compared to some of the content on my blog. It is in no way an attempt to glamourise or undervalue the lives of those who suffer from something similar. This story is purely fictional.

Through His Eyes will be posted every Tuesday at 10am NZST.

Index: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 [M] | 13 - FINAL

“I’m not sure I want to agree to this.”

“Mum, honestly I’ll be fine. You’re letting me attend university again next week, so this will be like a test run!” You grabbed onto her hand as if it would help her agree.

“How is going to JYP Entertainment for the day going to help you with your studies? You can’t even play a recorder, let alone sing.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” You pouted and felt your Mum pat your hand a moment later. You grinned and bounced a little in your chair. “JYP himself suggested it. That means they’ll take really good care of me. Just like Jaebum did when-”

“I’m still very unhappy he took you out without my permission that day. Lord knows what could have happened to you!”

“And we both said sorry for not letting you know, it was irresponsible of us. But this is official and planned and you know where I’ll be and-”

“Breathe Y/N, you sound like you’re going to hyperventilate. Is it really that important for you to go there?” You nodded your head up and down so fast that you felt a little faint when you stopped. The older woman sighed in defeat. “You’ll be home by eight tonight.”

“Eight?!”

“Eight,” she repeated firmly and you inwardly groaned, feeling twelve again. But knowing that still meant you would spend several hours out and with Jaebum brightened you back up again.

“Okay, I’ll promise I’ll be home before it turns seven fifty-nine!”

“Child, you still can twist me around your finger so well.”

“Thanks Mum!” You hugged her tightly and then pulled her up with you. Pressing a button on your watch and hearing the time was already getting closer to ten in the morning, you gasped and dragged her into your room.

“What is all this?!” She pulled away from you when you stopped and you turned to face her, hoping your expression would show your desperation. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to hang out with idols today!” You almost squealed, but refrained from setting off your disapproving Mother to your celebrity worshipping ways again. “I can’t just wear anything. I want to look pretty. Please help me.”

“Pretty for who?” she asked with a hint of amusement and you blushed, swatting at the air in embarrassment. “Let me find the ugliest dress you own then. Not one of them will need to eye my daughter in delight!”

“MUM!”

It was nerve-wracking riding in the car to JYP Entertainment, wishing Jaebum had been the one to pick you up. Mum was the same, and almost changed her mind, until Yong informed her of being the personal manager of GOT7. You knew him from several fan meetings and this eased some of your concerns, though he seemed awkward in your company. You should have been used to it by now; most people you came into contact with didn’t know how to treat someone so different as yourself. Even your friends had started to act as if your blindness changed you into something foreign and not relatable. You held onto the hope of being in Jaebum’s company quickly, knowing he was the only other one who treated you the same each time you were with him.

Yong signalled it was time to get out of the car once the vehicle stopped and he opened the door as you fumbled to get out, feeling instantly anxious as you couldn’t decipher where you were. You started to dread coming out today, and almost dove back into the vehicle. Instead, you flinched at the sudden touch of the manager, who apologised and then led you quietly into the building. The air changed and the greyscale world you lived in dulled once you were out of the sun. You could hear multiple voices, bustling around doing their duties within the company. Your hands broke out into a sweat as you entered an elevator.

“Where are we heading?” you asked quietly and Yong cleared his throat.

“Park Jinyoung CEO-nim wants to welcome your visit today. The members of GOT7 will be in their practice room, and our CEO-nim will take you to them himself.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Is that fine? Are you feeling alright?”

“It’s just a little confusing because I don’t know where I am. I’m fine though, thank you.”

“Not much further to go.”

Yong didn’t speak to you again until he knocked on a door and led you into what you presumed to be the office of the head of JYP Entertainment.

“Ah, you’re here. Hello Y/N!”

You bowed in greeting and hoped you were facing the right way. “Thank you for this opportunity.”

“It is my pleasure. We have spoken to your Mother in the past, but I have yet to meet you in person, which is rude of me. Knowing that you now play an influential part in Jaebummie’s life, it’s important that I get to know you too. Shall I take you to their practice room now?”

You nodded lightly and held out your arm to signal needing assistance. The older man chuckled and then placed your hand on his lower arm, leading you to the next destination. Unlike Yong’s awkward behaviour, Park Jinyoung made a point to tell you of each place as you passed it on the journey and explained a little about what was happening around you. You relaxed in his care, feeling warm from the man’s active approach in chaperoning you.

You entered through another door, the music you had heard nearby now playing loudly around the room. It suddenly stopped and you tried turning your head in hopes it would point you in the right direction to Jaebum. You soon smelt one of his colognes and shifted, his arm extended out for you to grab onto. It was as if you both had your own little routine that you executed with ease and you relaxed completely once you had a hold of him.

“Wow hyung, that was crazy! How did you know to grab onto him Y/N, he hadn’t even said anything?!” Jackson uttered in amazement and you blushed lightly, not realising it might seem weird to others.

You heard the elder Jinyoung chuckle behind you and then felt him move closer. “They say people gain extra senses when another weakens off, Jackson. Y/N, I will leave you in the care of these boys. They are to work though, so I hope to hear of some progress on your upcoming comeback, understood?”

A chorus of voices replied positively and you bowed lightly in agreement. You heard the door close and then stood there awkwardly. After realising you were gripping onto Jaebum’s sleeve of his hoodie, you jumped off it, trying to ease yourself back to being calm.

“They won’t bite, come on let’s go sit down with them.” Jaebum led you over to a sofa and you sat down slowly, sensing the other members were all in front of you as well. Jaebum confirmed it as he kicked out a moment later. “Don’t crowd Y/N, it will unsettle her. She’s not an exhibition in a zoo!”

“Like we’d think that. Besides, we all know Y/N from being a fan for so long.”

You nodded at Mark’s statement and smiled shyly. This was harder than you had anticipated. You smoothed down your dress absent-mindedly and prayed Mum had been only joking when she helped you change earlier on.

“You look really pretty in blue, Y/N,” BamBam complimented from watching your actions, and you let out a breath in relief, knowing you only had one blue dress and it was one of your favourites. You were aware of Jaebum pressing against your side a little more than he had been, and you took up his invitation, leaning into him a little and trying to not sit so stiffly.

“So today we’re working on practising our new title track for our comeback. Jaebum actually wrote it,” Youngjae mentioned to break the silence again.

You giggled. “When doesn’t he write the title, he proudly told me about all his efforts on this album the other day on the phone. I personally like it when you all have a part in the song-making process too!”

“Y/N, I feel like we are meant to be friends.” You felt someone sit down beside you and tried to decipher if it was Jinyoung who had just spoken or not. Although they all had distinctive talking voices, you were overwhelmed and it was getting difficult not to feel insecure.

“Okay, this is going to sound really stupid but I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” you admitted, reaching deep inside yourself for confidence to assist your current situation. You took a shaky breath. “I need to feel your hands, is that okay?”

Suddenly the arm to the left of you was in your grasp and you jumped a little at the forwardness. “I’m first, but why our hands?”

“Because the one thing we use the most with our fans is our hands in fan meetings,” Jaebum explained and you nodded, gently feeling the hand within your grip.

You smiled lightly. “Yugyeom.”

“You knew that was him though, it was obvious,” Jinyoung mentioned and you smiled as another hand was given to you. “That’s not me.”

“I know, it’s Mark-oppa.”

“Ha, I’m oppa!” The man proudly declared. You blushed as you reached out for the next hand.

Jaebum sighed. “Y/N is a year younger than Jinyoung, Jackson and I.”

“Not going to lie, but this is really cool,” Jackson mentioned after you correctly guessed the other member’s hands. “I don’t want to be insensitive. Let’s address the elephant in the room though. We’re all aware you’re blind. But we didn’t quite know what to expect or how to treat you.”

“I’m still nervously excited around you all, I’m still a big fan of your music, and I’m still normal. I just need a little help.”

“Well you’ve got it for the rest of the day, how does that sound?” Jinyoung gripped your hand a little and you nodded, feeling another blush rise to the surface. The group became a little animated and you used your free hand to find Jaebum. It wasn’t long until his hand was in yours again and you silently thanked him for not even saying anything to your random need to keep checking he was there when you knew he was.

“I have a question before we go sing though,” BamBam mentioned above the noise and you angled your head towards where his voice came from. “We never have asked you this, even when we were last together.”

“We don’t need to go there,” Jaebum warned, gripping your hand more than he had been.

“What? All I wanted to know was who Y/N’s bias is out of us all.”

“Why ask her something like that?!” Jackson chided the boy and you heard a playful slap happen. “It’s obvious we don’t need to establish that, I’m her favourite!”

“Hang on, where on earth did you come to that conclusion?”

“Easily Mark, Y/N held my hand longer.”

Yugyeom snorted. “Maybe Y/N couldn’t decipher who’s chubby digits she was holding!”

“Hey!”

You laughed along with the others as the two playful members started to whiz around the room and realised that your love for GOT7 truly extended passed their music. They were welcoming and still seemed to be their dorky selves in front of you too. You appreciated it more than they probably realised.

The fan within you rejoiced to be in such great company again.

_________________

[Part 5]

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