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usaigi · 2 years

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Marc, Jake & Steven

Lunar sys au character cards | Read all chapters on ao3

Continuation of Birdy calling their dad, Marc finds out

CW: referencing past suicide attempts and past suicide idealization (does not go into detail), discussing mental illness, joking about mental illness

Birdy Spector Tuesday – 3:12 PM

Attachment: Fullhouse-Only-It’s-In-My-Head.ppt Lunar-sys.docx image_642.jpeg

I made the powerpoint when we first started seeing our therapist but some of the information has changed. At the time, I only knew about Marc, Steven, Jake, and myself.

Steven and I made another document with some info about the others

I know SMJ made another document that’s like a history/timeline of everything we’ve been through but they won’t show it to me 😒

Which is bs because I literally have all the trauma for trying to unalive ourselves but they think I can’t handle it

Elias Spector – Tuesday 5:26 PM

Thanks. Is it ok if I show this to my therapist? Also, I finished reading two books you recommended, we can talk about it next time you can call.

The cat is very cute.

Sorry to ask but

Since leaving home

Did you attempt again?

Birdy Spector – Wednesday 11:32 AM

Yeah, that's fine

Not me, just Marc I think. He’s doing better though.

Probably lol

Jake’s really good at keeping us safe

He;s funny, Jake made him a jar and now Marc has to drop a dollar every time he makes a joke about dying lmao

Also whenever Daniela is mean

or anyone says someone mean about themselves

Although

It’s less funny when he makes me do it 😒

Elias Spector – Wednesday 12:57 PM

I’m just glad you’ll are safe now

I understand you dislike labels but just for my comprehension, is it safe to say that you didn’t have BPD and/or Bipolar disorder? Was it just different alters fronting?

Birdy Spector - Wednesday 4:46 PM

Not sure 🤷🏼

What gets confusing is that while yes we are separate alters and all but we do all share the same brain, body, hormones, etc. And even when we’re not fronting/co-con, we can still have influence

So its hard to tell if we are acting a certain way because of another disorder or if its related to DID

Steven and I were reading about how childhood trauma shapes dna, brain development, how bodies react, etc it’s wild ngl

Maybe depression with mixed features? We’re testing out some new mood stabilizers to see if they help. Not everyone is good at logging the effects/side effects Steven and I are the only ones that are super consistent but I don’t actually front that often. It’s sooo exhausting trying to get everyone on the same page 😩

And it’s not that I don’t like labels, I justthink it was super frustrating how doctors would keep throwing whatever label at us and just hoped it’d stick

I felt like I was hoarding mental illnesses lmao like damn lunar sys leave some for everyone else

U know anyone who wants some? Currently got a buy one get one free special lmao

Elias Spector - Wednesday 4:48 PM

I imagine that’s difficult. How have you been doing otherwise?

Birdy Spector - Wednesday 4:50 PM

I joined Steven and Marc for some sessions this week. Three times a week is too much. since I was there we talked about the stuff that happened when we were younger. Jake was also there, but he only watched

EMDR is terrible, I hate it so much

But…

It’s easier to open up to the psychologist after talking to you about it first

But I’ve been fighting with Marc less so that’s probably good. Although he still won’t tell me about what he remembers and he even forbid Steven from telling me too. Jake has always been weird about it and Daniela is still pretty scary

Can you please tell me?

Elias Spector - Wednesday 5:05 PM

Be patient with Marc. I don’t want to overstep any boundaries, I think it’s best if you talk to the others about it.

Marc isn’t scooping, he’s totally fine with his alters having boundaries and privacy. He just happened to come across Birdy’s email account–which she stayed signed into–and stumbled across a chat thread with who else but Elias Spector.

His vision turns red, scrolling through dozens and dozens of messages, images, and call receipts. The earliest message is dated just over 6 weeks ago, although the first couple of messages imply that they were already in contact before then.

‘Steven. Steven! Steven!!’ Marc yells out internally, hoping to wake Steven up from wherever he is in the inner world.

‘What?’ He says grouchily, slowly stepping towards the front.

‘Look at this shit. What the hell was she thinking? Did you know she was in contact with our dad?’ Marc says as Steven takes control of the body to look at the screen.

‘Marc, you need to calm down,’ Steven says, still working his way through all the messages, he can feel Marc in the headspace making trenches from pacing around so much.

‘How dare you tell me to calm down? I can’t even trust my own fucking alters to not go behind my back. This is fucking Khonshu all over again!’

‘What’s going on, are you doing something dumb?’ Jake jumps in, suddenly appearing in the front conference room, as if he appearing out of thin air. He must have sensed their stress level rise.

‘Respectfully Jake, go fuck yourself. This isn’t about you.’ Marc snaps back, irritated he had the nerve to stick his head into this.

‘It looks like Birdy has been a messaging dad. Talking on the phone too, I think.’ Steven tells him, essentially ignoring all of Marc’s wishes.

‘She what? ’ Jake asks in disbelief, getting closer to the front to get a better look at the messages in question.

‘That sneaky little bra–’

‘Marc, stop it. I’m mad too but I won’t let you talk about her that way.’ Jake interrupts him in his tracks.

‘Oh of course you’re on her side. She’s always hiding behind you. And we all know you’re an expert at making decisions behind our backs, aren’t you? Tell me, what other secrets have you been hiding from us? Was it actually you that got me kicked out of the military?’ Marc rages with an exasperated outrage, arms wrapped around himself, taking careful steps backwards. Keeping his back against the wall.

Jakes glares at Marc over that comment, standing his ground, he shouts back, ‘Ok fine! Maybe this is my fault! Sorry I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about our childhood! You don’t think it hurt me when she talked about how nice and protective her dad was when my dad failed us?’

‘Maybe we all need to take some deep breaths, yeah? I can make us a cuppa–’

‘Steven, your endless optimism and desire to make everything ok is exhausting sometimes. Can you please just shut it?’ Marc says, in a low bitter voice.

In response, Steven shut the laptop close, dropping his head to his hands, ‘Fine! Then I guess I won’t share what I think!’

‘What do you think?’ Jake asks with a heavy sigh.

‘Maybe… we should reach out to dad, it’s obviously helping Birdy. Looking over at his messages he seems accepting. And it looks like he’s in therapy too.’

Marc's knees buckle as his breathing rises, ‘I can’t believe this. Steven, what happened to system cooperation? I can’t believe you’re siding with her.’

‘I’m not siding with anyone.’ Steven replies calmly.

‘Marc, stop it. You’re acting like our mother.’ Jake states sharply and it hits Marc like an asteroid. Marc's mouth opens in shock, his eyes glare, almost as if he's going to attack back but he doesn't. His eyes, rapidly flashing from betrayal to anger to disgust to shame to fear. He slides down to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knee, dropping his forehead onto his forearms.

Even Steven tenses up at that comment.

Exhausted, Jake pulls out his chair from the crescent conference table, pulls out a cigarette from his jacket, and places it between his lips. This is all fake– all of this is happening inside their head, but somehow, the smell of tobacco fills the body’s nostrils.

Jake lets Marc recollect himself for a bit before saying, ‘There are no sides, we are a system. If you yell at her, all the work we’ve done to get her to open up will be for nothing. Tell me, who does Birdy remind you of?’ Jake asks in a stern but calm voice. When Marc doesn’t reply, he says, ‘She acts like we did at that age. Time has always been fuzzy for me but I remember feeling like I had no control over anything. Like adults were quick to dismiss all my problems. I’m guilty of this shit too, I’ve fed into her delusions about how great our dad was and how our mom was too sick to visit her in the hospital. I kept telling myself I was protecting her innocence but maybe I fucked up.

‘I still do that shit with Kid. I know he’s confused but I can’t explain it to him. Maybe I am protecting him, or maybe I’m just trying to protect myself.’

The three of them let words seep, processing Jake's words and the situation. It feels like all the hard work that Marc has done to try to heal, not just suppress, has been for nothing, he still felt like a scared child, abandoned by his parents.

‘Maybe...' Steven says, once some of the initial tension calms down, 'we should think about how our alter didn’t feel comfortable talking to us first before sneaking off to talk to dad. Be honest Marc, how would you have reacted if she asked you for permission?’

‘I would have blown her off…’ Marc mumbles, still hiding his face in shame.

‘Yeah, and I wouldn’t have been any better…’ Jake sighs.

‘Steven, I know you want to talk to dad, I know you don’t see him like I do. But his…indifference almost killed us,’ Marc says softly.

Steven pauses, before warily saying, ‘I think… there’s no growth living in the past and maybe… closure would be good for us.’

#moon knight #moon knight fanfic #marc spector #steven grant #jake lockley #mk lunar sys #layla el faouly #moonscarab #lunar sys & dad arc

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buckys-black-dress · 3 years

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inked

a/n: here she is!!! while i work on afl, here is my crackfic on tattoo artist bucky!! if u haven’t caught on yet, most of my writing is au’s because of all the possibilites in terms of scenarios and storylines. anyways, i hope you enjoy, lovies!!! xoxo, ali <3

wc: 2.8k

[tattoo artist!bucky x fem!reader]

It was like an addiction.

Your first tattoo you got was simple. It was a dainty, small one on your wrist.

But now, it was slowly developing into a sleeve.

Not that you minded, though. Your forearm was slowly becoming filled with designs that you kept going back and getting here and there.

And at the tattoo parlor near your apartment in Brooklyn, you had become a regular at this point.

It was called B&R Tattoo Shop, and it was run by two of the kindest, but most attractive men you’ve ever met.

You’ve come to find out after getting to know the owners, that they opened the shop a bit after they returned from their second tour in the army and wanted to settle back in their hometown.

Steve and James were hospitable to you, especially when they first met you. Steve was the one to meet you and speak with you at first, but he handed you off to James, or Bucky as he asked you to call him, because he was the artist at their shop that specialized in more of what you were looking for in terms of style.

As far as first tattoo conversations go, you and Bucky got to know each other pretty well in one session. The tattoo itself took less than an hour, but it felt like Bucky was... prolonging it in a way, like he wanted to keep you there longer.

As you swung open the door of the shop, you were greeted by their piercer, Natasha.

“Hey, back for another already?” She smirks from her spot behind the desk. While she wasn’t piercing, she usually worked the front if there was no one else free.

Your first tattoo had been done by Bucky, and you instantly fell in love.

With the tattoo.

Well, Bucky too. Just a little bit.

He was extremely soothing and eased you into the process of tattooing you. He told you when something was going to happen, and as soon as you got used to the feeling of the needle against your skin.

The more he talked to you, the less pain you felt. It was already not that painful, but you almost forgot about it with him talking to you. When he looked up to you as he finished, you looked like a confused puppy.

“Okay, all done, doll.” Bucky looked up at you, moving to turn off his machine.

“Oh... that was fast.” You furrowed your brows.

“Well, yeah, we moved pretty fast since it was a pretty small piece.” He explains, grabbing a paper towel and the anti-bacterial spray.

“Do you mind if I take a quick picture of it? I usually do, for my portfolio.” Bucky asks, inspecting the tattoo closely once again.

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine.” You wait for him to pull out his camera, take the picture, and he comes back with a piece of plastic film in his hand.

“Okay, so this saniderm has to stay on for about three days. This is how it’ll heal, and when you take it off just wash it up with a gentle soap and use a cream without any fragrance or any of that crap. I can give you a little of that spray if you wanna use it to clean it up if you ever feel like it’s dirty.” Bucky explains, giving you a mini bottle of the antibacterial spray.

“Thank you,” you say, moving to sit up in the chair. “How much do I owe you?”

“Uh, just about $40.” Bucky says without eye contact, heading to the computer at the front counter.

“$40? That’s it? When I signed the waiver it said the shop minimum was $75...?” You wonder out loud.

“Let’s just say you get a special discount, doll.” He smirks, typing something into the computer and only sparing you a glance.

“O-Oh. Alright.” You say sheepishly, handing him your credit card.

“Okay, you’re all set. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon.” He tells you with a gentle smile. It really contrasted his aura; a big, beefy guy with a metal prosthetic arm, covered in probably hundreds of tattoos. But here he was, smiling like sunshine.

“I think I will be. Have a nice day, Bucky.”

“You too, sweetheart.” He gives you that smirk again, making you feel like you might actually pass out. And not because you just had a needle jabbed into your skin for almost an hour.

“Uh, I already talked to Bucky for my session today. I know I’m a bit early, I can wait if he’s still working on someone else.” You tell Natasha with a smile.

“Sure, let me get you your waiver.” She says, and you plop down into one of the chairs at the front and pulling out your book to pass time after filling out the form.

After a few minutes, Bucky emerges with a girl from his little tattooing corner.

You hear his voice first, looking up from the book while he talks to her.

“Okay, since this was your first piece and pretty small, I’ll only charge ya $55 for it, doll.” Bucky tells the girl with a smile, and you immediately feel a pang in your chest.

You didn’t want to say you were jealous, but goddamn it, your breathing became just a little more shallow at the sight you were currently witnessing.

Even Natasha and Steve turned their heads to him, confused looks on both of their faces.

“Oh! Y/N, you’re here! C’mon back, I’m sure Nat already set you up with your waiver.” You nod, not saying a word as you follow him to the familiar chair.

“So, are we still doing what we discussed on the phone?” Bucky asks, setting up his area to tattoo you.

“Actually, I was thinking something different.” You say sharply.

“Different?” The shock is evident on his features.

“Yeah. Different. Just want a little something on my collarbone.” You say, sitting down.

“O-Okay... what were you thinking of?” He asks, pulling out his sketchbook.

“I want an olive branch, going from here to here.” You show him where you want it to start and end. It was a bit of a stretch right across the left side of your chest. “Something simple and minimal. I’ve been thinking of starting the top of my sleeve, this might be a good way to transition into it.” You say nonchalantly.

“Uhm... alright. How does this look?” Bucky asks, showing you his sketch. “I would, of course, add more detail to your liking, just let me know.”

“Yeah, I want some more shading, please.” You say shortly. You honestly weren’t trying to be mean, but you were irritated.

But in the end, you really had no right to be.

After almost ten sessions with Bucky, he hasn’t made any indication that he likes you the way you like him.

Sure, he calls you pet names, but he does that to everyone. Even discounts. You weren’t special. He was just being nice and doing his job.

So honestly, you had to cut the act here.

“Are you sure this is what you want? Are you saving the other design for our next session?” Bucky asks, growing more and more concerned with your odd behavior. Usually you would talk to him about your day, how work was, really anything.

“I don’t know. I think I might ask Steve to do that one instead.” You say out of spite, more than anything. You would never take a design that Bucky made specially for you to another person to tattoo on you, even if it was his own business partner.

“Wha- Why? Did I do something? You’ve been acting really weird today...” Bucky questions you carefully. “Talk to me, doll. Did you have a bad day at work?”

But that, that right there, was your breaking point. Doll.

“No, I’m fine. Let’s just get this done.” You huff, laying down after nodding to the sketch that Bucky drew out.

Bucky’s brows furrowed even further, but didn’t ask any more questions. He laid down the stencil and asked if the placement was alright. You looked in the mirror he handed you and nodded briefly.

The entire time Bucky had the machine in his hand, neither of you spoke a word. He tried to make brief conversation, but you only responded with a hum or nod.

When he finally finished up, you got up and headed to the counter without a word after looking at the finished tattoo in the mirror.

Your face was blank, emotionless, and Bucky was truly lost.

After you paid the full price of your piece, you walked out of the shop, not even sparing anyone a glance.

Once you left, the shop was dead silent. Everyone either just finished up with a client or didn’t have any at the moment, and the shop was blanketed in an extremely uncomfortable silence.

“What the hell was that, man?” Sam’s voice broke the silence, making Bucky’s head snap towards him.

“I-I... I have no idea. She was acting so...so weird today.” Bucky looked more confused than ever.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Natasha’s voice cuts through the palpable silence.

“Wh- What the hell did I do? I asked her too, and she didn’t give me an answer...” Bucky mumbles.

“Do you like her?” She fires back with a fire in her eyes.

“W-Well, yeah. She’s a regular.” Bucky answers, looking at his fiddling hands.

“Not like that, you dunce. You know what I mean, don’t act dumb.” Natasha rolls her eyes.

Bucky sighs, not making eye contact yet again.

“I-... I do like her.” He says. “But I don’t think she feels the same.”

“Jesus fucking Christ... You really are a dumbass.” Sam sighs out.

Steve snorts at his words, nodding in agreement.

“Buck, she got jealous.” He explains, shaking his head at his best friend’s obliviousness.

“J-Jealous? Of what?” Bucky scoffs in shock.

“That girl you had right before her. Gave her a discount, called her pet names. The whole shabang.” Natasha points out to him. “Also, you gotta stop giving out discounts like that. You’ll lose more money than you’re makin’.” Natasha scoffs.

“Wh- But... She never said anything...?” Bucky thinks back to all the times you’ve sat in his chair. You never made any indication that you were outwardly interested in him.

“I think she said enough today without actually saying much.” Steve laughs. His friend was a real idiot.

“I... But, why didn’t she say anything before?” Bucky asked.

“Buck, you never said anything either. I guess that when she heard you talk to that girl like that, she thought you really didn’t like her like that at all. You treated that girl the same way you treat her.” Natasha explains to Bucky, who had a look of realization on his face.

“But... I was just... being nice...” He says with his head in his hands.

“Well, now she thinks you do that with all you clients, so...” Sam says, making the brunet’s head shoot up.

“Fuck. Fuck. I fucked up everything!” He exclaims. “I-I do like her!”

“Well, don’t tell us that, tell her!” Sam shouts back to him, and before Bucky can process, he’s pulling out his phone and dialing your phone number.

“C’mon, pick up, pick up,” He mumbles repeatedly, but the call goes to voicemail. “Fuck.”

“Not pickin’ up?” Steve questions, coming to the front and picking up the shop phone. “Gimme her number, she’s doesn’t have to shop saved to her phone, right?”

“No, I don’t think she does.” Bucky says, watching as Steve dials your number.

“Hello?” Your voice sounds annoyed as it filters through the phone. “Who’s this?”

“Uh, Y/N! Hi!” Steve speaks, looking at Bucky in a panic, his facial expression screaming, ‘talk to her!’

“Steve? What’s up?” You ask, wondering what he needed.

“You uhh... you forgot your book here!” He blurts out, trying to find an excuse, but quickly found one upon seeing your book resting on the seat where you were waiting.

“O-Oh... I guess I’ll just turn around. I’ll be there in a few. Thanks, Steve.” You say, ready to hang up.

“O-Okay. Bye, Y/N.” He clears his throat, hanging up. “You have like, ten minutes to get your shit together and talk to her when she gets here. Good luck.” Steve pats Bucky on the shoulder, ready to haul Natasha and Sam to the back to give you two some privacy.

Bucky thought that this was the longest ten minutes of his life, and he was trying to conjure up a speech in his head to confess to you.

Finally, when you did appear through the doors, you looked lost. You only saw Bucky, which made you even more aggravated from the fact that you had to turn back around.

You were ready to head home and wallow in peace, but alas, you wanted your book.

Bucky just watched as you picked up the book from his grasp across the desk, your eyes not meeting his while he kept his gaze on you very intently.

Just as you turned around to leave, Bucky’s voice cut through the unbearable silence.

“Y/N?” He simply asks, and you feel like the wind’s been knocked out of your lungs at the sound of his small voice. This wasn’t the Bucky you knew and... loved.

“Yes, James?” You simply respond, and Bucky cringes at the sound of his first name being used.

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

“...Why? Is everything alright?” And although your voice didn’t give it away, you felt your heart drop to your stomach. Any possible scenario popped into your head. He has a girlfriend. He’s gonna tell you he doesn’t wanna see you anymore. He-

“E-Everything’s fine, doll. Just wanted to tell you that... That I...” Bucky’s voice sounded strained, like there was something caught in his throat.

“Bucky, just spit it out.” You say, wanting to leave already.

“It’s just- I like you. A lot. And I’m so sorry for earlier with that other client. I was just trying to be nice, but I realized how that looked to you, and I never thought anything of it because I didn’t know if you liked me back or-” Bucky was rambling, and your eyes were wide as saucers.

“Bucky, Bucky stop. Let me talk before you drive your own head in with conclusions,” you say, resting your hand on top of his on the desk.

“I like you a lot, too. I didn’t think you like me either because of that girl before me. You just- you treated her the same way you treated me, and I got jealous. I know I didn’t have the right to be, but it just made me think that... that you didn’t feel the same way about me, that I was just another client to you. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, and also for being kind of a bitch to you...” Now you were the one rambling, your hands flying all over the place in explanation.

“D-Doll, I never wanted to make you feel that way. I’m sorry, too. I should’ve told you before, before I almost blew everything with you that we’ve been building these past months.” He says placing one large tattooed hand and one metal hand on the sides of your face. “But I’m not gonna miss my chance again. Y/N, would you like to go on a date with me?”

“I-I would love to, Bucky. Took you long enough to ask me.” You giggle, holding onto the hands on your face.

“Yeah, well, I’m kind of an idiot, if you haven’t already noticed.” He laughs, gazing into your eyes with a look that almost turned you to mush in his hands.

“Do... do ya wanna go now?” You ask, nodding your head to the door.

“Sure, let me go grab my jacket from the back.” He tells you, and you nod, watching as he keeps his eyes on you until he disappears to the back.

“My man, who would’ve thought you’d finally man up?” Sam ridicules him as soon as Bucky appears.

“Dude, shut up. I got a date to get to, see you losers later.” He rolls his eyes, moving back out where you’re smiling at him.

“Ready, angel?” Bucky asks, slipping his hand into yours.

“Ready, handsome.” You reply, and as soon as you step out into the fall air, you plant a kiss on his cheek. “Where to, lover boy?”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes #bucky imagine #bucky barnes fic #tattoo artist!bucky #tattoo artist!bucky barnes #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst

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fanfics4all · 3 years

Text

Arranged Marriage

Request: Yes / No

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Draco Malfoy x Fem!Parkinson!Reader

Word count: 2320

Warnings: Nothing I think?

Y/N: Your Name

A/N: Possibly making this into a short series. Bingo card made by @slyttherins

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

I had a free period and like most I spent it in the Great Hall reading a book. My slightly older sister was sitting with her friends at the other end of the table. They all hated me since I was the complete opposite of Pansy. She was mean, loud, had to be the center of attention, dramatic, and wasn’t incredibly bright. Despite all that I still loved her, even if I was one of her victims. The two of us only shared one thing, our crush on Draco Malfoy. Although she never knew about that and I would never tell her.

I was enjoying my book when a letter landed in front of me. I closed my book and glanced at it confused. My family’s owl sat on the table in front of me. I picked up the letter with my family’s crest stamped in emerald green wax and opened it.

‘Y/N,

Your Mother and I decided to arrange a marriage for you. We are concerned that if you make a decision like this on your own, you will make the wrong decision. It is no secret that we are disappointed in your association choices. Because of that, you are going to marry Draco Malfoy. Next time you return home, you will be engaged. Once you both graduate you will be married and produce heirs for both our households. This is to ensure the blood-line.

~Philip’

I stared at the letter with wide eyes. I glanced over at Draco, who was reading a letter of his own. I turned my attention back to my book and decided to ignore the letter until I returned home.

“What’s in the letter Drakie?” Pansy asked and I rolled my eyes at her horrid nickname for him.

“Nothing, just Father informing me of a dinner party we’ll be having next time I return home.” He answered her. I was surprised he didn’t tell her, or maybe his family didn’t tell him his fate yet…

Later that night, after all classes and dinner had been finished, I was sitting in the corner of the common room working on homework. It was really just me in here, besides a few first years. However, when the door opened and Draco walked in everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Everyone out.” He said and all the first years scurried off to who knows where. I simply stayed in my place, ignoring his command.

“Parkinson.” He said and I glanced up to find him standing in front of me now.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“I’m sure you got a letter telling you about our situations as well.” He said and I simply nodded. So he did just choose not to tell my sister. Interesting…

“You better not tell anyone about this.” He said and I looked back down at my homework.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” I said, simply.

“Because if you do- wait, what?” He asked, cutting himself off.

“I said I wasn’t planning on it. My Father didn’t tell my sister for a reason and honestly I’d rather her not know until it’s too late. I don’t need her bullying to get any worse, or yours for that matter. So, we can just pretend it isn’t happening until the dinner, then we’ll figure it out from there. I wouldn’t want to stain your reputation you’ve worked so hard to preserve.” I said, not even sparing him a glance. I wanted him to know I didn’t care, even though I was a bit excited to be marrying him.

“Um, right. Well then, till the dinner.” He said and left me to be.

The months leading up to the dinner felt like nothing had changed. I suppose nothing has changed yet. Draco was still a bully along with his friends and I was their helpless victim. My sister still clung to Draco any chance and he was still annoyed by her actions. A very small part of me wanted to rub it in her face that I was the one to be marrying him, but I wasn’t that type of person. When it was finally time to return home for a short time, I spent the whole train ride thinking about the dinner to come. When everyone stepped off the train, Pansy hugged Draco goodbye and then she made her way over to our parents.

“Girls! How has school been?” Mother asked with a smile.

“It’s been alright, that Potter boy is incredibly annoying. Just because he ‘survived’ the Dark Lord’s attack he’s special? He was a bloody baby.” Pansy said, rolling her eyes.

“He doesn’t want the fame.” I said.

“You would know, traitor!” She hissed.

“Enough girls!” Father said and I bowed my head.

“Sorry Father…” I said, even though I never truly did anything wrong I always felt like I needed to apologize constantly.

“There will be no fighting while you are home, is that understood?” He said.

“Yes Father.” We said in unison.

“Good, now let’s go home.” He said.

A few days had gone by and my parents hadn’t mentioned anything about the dinner to me. I was sitting in the den reading, while my Mother was having a cup of tea and my Father was reading the paper.

“Pansy, come down here please!” Father called her.

“Yes?” She asked, walking into the room.

“Aunt Paisley wanted to take you shopping tonight, would you like to go?” He asked.

“Is Y/N coming?” She asked.

“No, just you.” He answered and her eyes lit up.

“Really? Just me and Auntie?” She asked and Father nodded.

“Oh yes! I’d love to go!” She said and rushed upstairs to get ready.

“Hurry dear! Your Aunt is already waiting for you!” Mother called.

“I’ll be finished in a moment!” She called back. Sure enough after ten minus she was back downstairs, dressed to go out. It was the fastest I’ve ever seen her get ready.

“Right, take some floo powder and go to her house, she’s waiting for you there.” Father said and she nodded.

“She said you can stay the night if you’d like.” Mother mentioned.

“Oh yes please!” Pansy said, happily. She gave me a nasty smirk before taking some powder and saying our Aunt’s house. Off she went to have a nice night out with our Aunt.

“Now, you go upstairs and get ready, your Mother picked out a dress for you to wear tonight.” Father said and I looked at my parents confused.

“Ready for what?” I asked.

“The dinner, we’re going to Malfoy Manor.” He answered and I was even more confused.

“Why isn’t Pansy coming?” I asked.

“Because, as much as we love your sister, we don’t want to hear her complain about your engagement for the rest of our lives. So she’ll find out when we’ve already planned the wedding and you two are getting married.” He answered and I couldn’t hold back my smile.

“You’re lucky Draco didn’t tell her when he got his letter.” I said, placing my book on the table and went off to my room. Laying on my bed was a simple emerald green dress, with a slit down the side, and silver accents on both wrists. There were a pair of simple silver heels to match. I smiled at the outfit, it was really quite beautiful. Once I was dressed I did a simple spell to get my hair and makeup perfect.

I walked downstairs and my parents were both ready to go. My Mother offered me her hand which I accepted and the three of us apparated to Malfoy Manor. The sky was already starting to darken, but the sun still peaked out, giving the sky a beautiful painting of pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows. We walked up the steps and my Father knocked on the door. A house-elf answered and I smiled, earring a glare from my Father. I bowed my head, he never liked how well I treated them. He always said those creatures deserve no kindness. I thought differently, house-elves deserved plenty of kindness, after all they’re very helpful. I always snuck into the kitchen at night and had lovely conversations with our house-elves, being careful not to catch the attention of anyone else in the house.

“Mr. Parkinson, Mrs. Parkinson, Miss. Parkinson, please come in.” The little house-elf said.

“Wolkey will inform Master of your arrival.” He said and left to get the Malfoys.

“Ah, Philip, Oliva, Y/N, so glad you could make it.” Lucius said while shaking my Father’s hand.

“What a lovely dress Y/N, don’t you think so Draco.” Narcissa said, gently nudging her son.

“Yes, it’s a very lovely color on you.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

The dinner was normal, our parents discussing business relations while Draco and I simply ate. It wasn’t until dinner was cleared and dessert was being served that the atmosphere changed.

“I believe Draco has something to ask you Y/N.” Narcissa said with a smile. Draco cleared his throat and walked over to me on the other side of the table. He gently grabbed my hand and kept his other in his pocket.

“Y/N, we’ve known each other since we were children and you’ve always been such a beauty. We’ve been friends for a while, but now I feel we should be more. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” He asked. I could tell they weren’t his words, but they still made my heart flutter. Everyone looked at me expectantly, like I could say anything other than yes.

“Yes Draco, I’d love to.” I smiled. Draco smiled and took out a sliver snake ring with a small emerald, the Malfoy family crest engraved on the bottom.

Draco took my hand and placed the ring on my finger.

“Draco, why don’t you take Y/N into the garden, I’m sure she’ll love it.” Narcissa said and Draco nodded. He gently helped me up and led me outside to the porch, looking over the garden.

“That was all my Mother.” He stated as soon as we were away from our families.

“I know.” I smiled at him and he looked at me confused.

“How can you smile in a moment like this? You’re being forced into a marriage.” He asked confused.

“I can tell you Mother picked out all the flowers.” I said, changing the subject. Before he could say anything I walked down the steps into the garden.

“Hey! Wait!” He said and followed after me.

“Will you answer my question?” He said, slightly annoyed.

“Have you ever looked around here and really took notice of the beauty in your backyard?” I asked.

“I’ve looked around here plenty if that’s what you’re asking.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh look, you have some wilting flowers.” I frowned. I kneeled down and cupped the flowers gently.

“What are you doing? You’ll get your dress dirty.” He said, but I ignored him.

“Herbivicus” I whispered and the flowers grew to their original form. I stood up and smiled, glancing at Draco who had a shocked expression on his face.

“Where did you learn that?” He asked.

“A book I read.” I answered.

“You learned that just from a book?” He asked.

“Yes, I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything I’ve read or what people have said to me.” I answered and looked down at my dress. There were some dirt spots, my parents would be upset with me.

“Scourgify” I said and my dress was good as new.

“The reason I can smile about our situation is because I’ll be making my parents proud for the first time since they’ve heard I’m friends with people they call traitors. I love my family, even my sister, shocking as that is, family is important to me and I’d like to make them proud of me. So if marrying you is what it takes then so be it. Perhaps we could even fall in love with each other, or even just be friends.” I finally answered his question.

“You really are quite strange, aren’t you?” He said after a moment.

“I just think on the positive side.” I smiled at him.

“We can’t tell my sister until the very last minute, by the way, my parents don’t want to hear her complaints.” I mentioned and he gave a light chuckle.

“I suppose even they don’t enjoy her company.” He said and I shook my head.

“They love her, but yes, sometimes they don’t enjoy her complaining.” I answered.

“How are you going to explain the ring?” He asked.

“A surprise gift from my Aunt, that’s where Pansy is right now.” I answered and he gave another light chuckle.

“Smart.” He said.

“What if she tries to take it from you?” He asked.

“You know my sister well.” I giggled.

“My Father is going to spell the ring so only you or I can take it off. And if I need to take it off for whatever reason I have a spelled jewelry box, she’ll need my voice, DNA, and wand to get it open.” I answered with a smirk.

“Very smart.” He said, slightly shocked.

“I like to take caution when it comes to my sister. It’s a very beautiful ring, thank you.” I smiled.

“It’s tradition that the Malfoy proposing makes a special ring with the crest engraved on it. My Mother had it made, but asked for my opinion before it was finished.” He said and I smiled at him.

“Still think this is a bad thing?” I asked.

“Suppose there could be worse people to be forced to marry…” He said.

“I’ll take that as a complement.” I said and stared down at the ring that fit perfectly on my finger. This was really happening. I was going to marry Draco Malfoy.

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serene-victory-77 · 3 years

Text

Why The Crows Being Teenagers Is Actually Perfectly Realistic

There’s a TL;DR are the end because wow I like to rant.

I lightly discuss the general situations they’re all in to explore how they are frighteningly mature and competent, but it’s not particularly depressing or descriptive, it’s definitely lighter than the books

I thought about this post with a joke first: “People who think that Six of Crows is unrealistic because they’re so young clearly have not spent much time with traumatized honors students.”

It’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the point stands.

But I decided that, hm, actually, I could make a point about this. I totally agree with the aging up of the characters in the Shadow and Bone show, but when people straight up say that the books are wrong or unrealistic for having a young crew, I get annoyed, and here’s why (other than me reading the books for the first time when I was 13 and thinking ‘Huh okay, I see it’ and now being lowkey offended when people say they ignore it for being unrealistic):

On Inej

- At first I thought Inej’s wisdom and general demeanor was one of the most unrealistic things in the book

- When I thought about it longer, I was like “Actually, she’s 16, right? I’ve sent some of the most lyrical philosophy trying to help my friends while in high school. My friends have done the same. It’s valid.”

- Frankly, teenagers love hard-hitting philosophical truths. They love repeating what they’ve read or heard in movies and in books and from family stories. They love sharing little bits of wisdom they have come up with

- Inej’s ability to hear and understand philosophy and wisdom that she was surrounded by for 14 straight years and then sit on it and elaborate it for her friends to understand, or even just to piss them off in Kaz’s case?

- Teenagers have that. They do it. So, Inej’s Wisdom passes, to me. It’s valid.

As for her being calm

- You know how everyone jokes that Kaz seems calm on the outside but when you get to his POV he’s like “What the fuck” at the Van Eck house or just straight up “Huh, is this revenge for making tree jokes” at the Djel River thingy in the Ice Court?

- Inej is like that, too. And she gets angry, and she gets confused, or exhausted.

- AKA every quiet kid ever. Like, are you kidding? Have you ever been in a situation in which it’s literally chaos all around you, people are screaming and things are being destroyed (think middle school classroom with bitchy long term substitute and even worse students), and you’re just, calm? You pick up your things, you do what you need to do?

- That’s Inej. Like, what else is she gonna do? She’s smart enough to know that panicking won’t help anyone, and so she just rides it out. Internally she might be like “Why is this happening” but frankly, her being quiet and controlled in most situations is probably a coping mechanism and I respect that

- Pretty sure this is also based on the fact that the Suli have no land for their own and constantly have to keep moving. It might align with generational trauma, I’m sure someone could explain it better than me, but being able to keep your cool while constantly having to change and adapt to new situations, in, say, a country with hellfire politics and no land to call your own? Seems like a hereditary trait that could be useful in Ketterdam, although it’s sad.

On Inej’s abilities

- Simone Biles started training when she was 6 and went to the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when she was 16, where she qualified in all the events.

- There are videos of people walking over tightropes as young as three years old. We know Inej didn’t start that young, but not only was she naturally talented at it, but she spent a lot of time practicing. I think it’s valid. Plus, some of her family members do some pretty crazy things in her flashbacks, because that’s the whole point of what they do.

- Youngest person to beat American Ninja Warrior was 16 year old Vance Walker

- Inej has a variety of of tools that help her wall climb, and while it’s true that she started young and got good really fast, she already had a history of physical work that would help her, and from what we can gleam from the book, a surprising amount of free time in which she was actively encouraged to learn everything she could.

So that’s Inej! I think her skills are perfectly possible for someone with her history and situation. It’s true that she’s naturally skilled, but that’s not actually all that unusual. And her demeanor and wisdom do fit in with what a lot of teenagers are like and the circumstances she was brought up in

Onto Kaz!

- One thing I hear about is that Kaz is too smart for not having gone to school and also too young to know all that he does

- Do you all KNOW how many self-taught people there have been in this world? The word for people who are self-taught is autodidacts, and honestly a huge amount of famous people apply. Like many, many other people in history (there’s a whole list of them in Wikipedia), he had an vested interest in a field and he learned all he could. Sure, those fields were magic tricks and math, but still.

- Suddenly I have a lot of thoughts

- Okay, think, hyperfixations. That’s essentially what Kaz’s thing with magic tricks was, right? Have any of you ever spent time with an eight year old that clearly really, really loves dinosaurs? Those kids can spout names and facts and identify them by their skeletons and frankly know more than I ever will. Kaz’s was magic tricks. All kids are special.

- Kaz continued working on magic tricks and practicing them for years, so, I think that gets a pass.

- As for the math! Look, a Fact Of Life is that some kids are just Like That, whether it be possibly from neurodivergence or other factors:

- Flo and Kay Lyman are twins with Autism who basically have the calendar of EVER memorized. Kaz memorizing card decks is sensible, and these ladies don’t need to look up anything to figure it out, so Kaz doing sums inside his head seems plausible. His “photographic memory’ isn’t impossible, although the term itself might be incorrect.

- Katherine Johnson who worked at NASA (yes, the lady from Hidden Figures), was so good at math that she was in high school by age 10 and went to college at age 15. It’s true that she had some teaching, but 1. There’s no evidence Kaz had absolutely no schooling, even if it was just at home with books and 2. Kaz was 9 when he came to Ketterdam, and after Jordie died, when he wasn’t surviving, he was learning.

- Human calculator is a term that is applied to children a lot and there’s definitely plenty of videos showing how smart these kids are and them doing mental math easily, which he does in the books

- He had a LOT of pressure on him to figure out all he could, and if he wanted to move forward, he was going to have to learn a lot. He spent hours practicing magic tricks, for all we know he spent hours practicing math too. We know Jordie was a bit of a bookworm too, so Kaz from a young age probably already had a reason to learn. Personally, a lot of my love for books was inspired by my older sibling when I was younger

- Young people are adaptable. Kaz is incredibly adaptable. The term prodigy exists because of people like him through history.

- As for him being rational, there’s no other way to survive. Some of the greatest soldiers in history have been very, very young, and very, very smart. It’s true tacticians are generally considered to be older, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been very young ones.

- A lot of the generals I found were like, 19 years old, but Kaz is 1. not a general and 2. in a place where young people take up the mantle really, really quickly, and frankly it’s been like that for a long time. I still think this passes. This isn’t relevant but William the Conqueror was apparently called “The Bastard”?

- Frankly, underground communities of thieves probably don’t go around publishing their escapades so to me it makes sense that I can’t just look up “famous young thieves” and get anything that makes sense, but I did try

- Y’all I tried to do research on youngest escape artists since I think Kaz qualifies and I found myself in what I think is a magicians forum? It’s from 2002-ish and I feel like I’ve just found a relic. I can’t definitely prove they’re all saying the truth, but some of the people there talk about 10-11 year olds at magic camps, so, it’s not impossible for this to be a skill Kaz learned really young, particularly when he made a habit of following around magicians

- I think he passes the realism check overall

For the other Crows:

- Nina being so proficiently multilingual makes sense to me, because she’s been in the Little Palace almost her entire life with all the best teachers they could afford at her disposal. Some people just click with languages. One such would be Timothy Doner, who spoke 23 languages at 16.

- Nina is a child soldier. She of course can handle the battlefield, although I imagine there’s a degree of trauma that she has to deal with (although it’s true that most of her work was always meant to angle her towards being a spy).

- Jesper was taught to shoot from a young age by Aditi, who was likely incredibly proficient. Plus, there’s mentions of him and his father being on some sort of frontier at one point in the books, so, it’s likely that Jesper got his fair share of ‘being a child soldier” since he would’ve been 15 or younger. Plus, with being a Fabrikator, he gets a leg up

- Jesper’s smart y’all, he just also likes to have fun

- I am a little terrified by the fact that I looked up ‘youngest sharpshooter’ and found out about a 9 year old girl (Addysson “Addy” Soltau) who can indeed shoot guns, but uh, it does prove my point

- Matthias... I haven’t heard anyone really argue about Matthias. He’s the oldest at 18 and again, he’s essentially a religious child soldier. Of course he would be built af and know how to handle himself in a fight, and in a flashback about meeting Trassel, we’re told that he was actually distanced from the other boys and was the biggest and strongest/smartest of the group. Perhaps not compared to Kaz, but still

- We know how Wylan ended up how he is, so I don’t think i have to defend how he’s both a musical prodigy, good at math, and good at chemistry. Plenty of kids who can’t do one thing will immediately gravitate to a different field (think AP math students who can’t write essays, or those kids who could analyse a book and it’s metaphors in class but didn’t understand geometry).

- Granted he took it far but it’s kinda implied that his father ignored him eventually and what else was Wylan going to do

- I don’t really know how he did chemistry while not being able to read the symbols and stuff, but that’s likely because I’ve never had to learn the way he did and also I really suck at Chemistry, but I refuse to believe that it invalidates his capabilities

Final Thoughts:

- They’re Traumatized Honors Students

- People might say that “it’s unrealistic that all the smart ones somehow ended up together” but again they’re traumatized honors students and those gravitate to each other

- Of course the smart ones ended up together, they’re the ones in those crazy situations precisely because they are prodigies. Nina wouldn’t have met Matthias if she wasn’t skilled and a spy, Kaz wouldn’t have known Inej if she hadn’t been skilled at silence (I can’t explain that one but uh ninjas did/do exist and it IS still a fantasy world). Kaz would have never been a leader of the Dregs in a position to find Jesper if he hadn’t been so determined to rise to the top, and Jesper wouldn’t have been in Ketterdam if his father hadn’t thought that Jesper was smart enough to get that chance.

- You know how those fringe revolutionary artists for new eras end up knowing all knowing each other and even hanging out? That’s them.

- I have decided there is a strong basis for Autistic Kaz, someone who is more studied than me should feel free to explore this.

- I read this book a few years ago, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. It’s about this guy’s experiences as a boy soldier and it’s a painful read so I’m not sure I recommend it as a casual read, but he talked about these young kids being able to actually make competent military strategies and handle warfare. It’s an extreme example of what I’m trying to explain when it comes to them being able to handle the brutality of their situation, but it’s true, essentially

- They are definitely serious, but if you think they’re not teenagers I just, disagree so much. They have moments of lighthearted banter, they make light of their situation, they try to support each other Nina covers it so well in her farewell at the end of Crooked Kingdom: The little rescues of laughing at each others jokes or eating together and just supporting each other, is not only a very human thing, but a very teenager thing.

- Scary experiences that shape us happen all the time, and although for most it’s not the things that the Crows experience, picking each other up is a big part of why they do read as teenagers to me. I’ve seen kids be able to seriously converse about things like being questioned by the police, or being left to their own devices for days at a time, or the general impending doom they all feel, and it’s dark, but they’re also going to joke about silly puns 20 minutes later.

- Teenagers aren’t exempt from terrifying maturity and competence

- Finally: Despite all I said, it’s a fantasy story and doesn’t have to be realistic

In the end, everyone can believe what they want to believe, but this is my case for my opinion.

TL;DR The Crows are all prodigies and a lot of their achievements and capabilities are based in reality and there are real people who actually achieved things like what they’ve done. Messed up prodigies gravitate to messed up prodigies, hence how they all end up together. When it comes to their mental state, most of them have been brought up their entire lives in situations that required for them to problem solve and keep their cool even when things are going to hell.

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sfb123 · 3 years

Text

The Final Goodbye - Chapter 2

Book: The Royal Romance, Book 2

Pairing: Liam x Riley

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Description: In a slight canon divergence from book 2, Riley reaches her breaking point with the engagement tour and decides to restart her life when the court gets to NYC. Can the rest of the group clear her name, and convince her to come back before it’s too late?

Catch Up Here

Rating: PG (I think there are a few swear words in there, very angsty, but otherwise pretty mild)

Word Count: 1,299

A/N: I am so incredibly humbled by the response I got from chapter 1 last week. I don’t think it’s been much of a secret that I’ve been kind of down on my writing and myself in general the last couple of weeks, but the overwhelming love that you all have sent to me via your reblogs, comments, and messages this week has truly warmed my heart and meant the world to me. Thank you so, so much for your support.

Again, I have to mention my fandom soulmate (yea, I’m just going to start calling you that always now, because you are) @jessiembruno. Your support and encouragement has been monumental in getting me out of my funk, and I will forever be grateful and in your debt for all you have done for me. Even if it’s just keeping me company via zoom while I do my nails for 2 hours!

Shout out to @emkay512. This doll face reached out on Friday and is an absolute sweetheart. We got to talking, and she mentioned that today is her birthday, so I would like to dedicate today’s chapter to her! Happy birthday beautiful, and I apologize in advance for further breaking your heart on your special day.

Tags: Listed below. If you’d like to be added or removed, just let me know!

When Riley finished her song, the entire bar erupted into uproarious applause as she hurried off the stage, the entire bar minus one table. Riley’s group of friends were completely silent. Maxwell, Drake, and Hana shot each other concerned looks before turning to Liam. He was staring at a now empty stage, they could all see that he was trying to keep his expression neutral, but that proved to be difficult with a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Drake placed a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. “Li, are you alright buddy?”

Liam cleared his throat and shook his head, looking over at his friend. “Yes...yea, sorry. She has an amazing voice, doesn’t she?”

“The best. She’s our very own diva!” Maxwell said in an upbeat tone, trying to remind everyone that they were supposed to be having fun. “Where did our little Mariah run off to?” He started looking around the bar to find her.

“She probably just went to the bathroom. I’ll go check on her.” Hana got up from the table and headed toward the ladies room at the back of the bar.

Liam rested his elbows on the table and cradled his head in his hands. All he could think about was the hurt in her eyes as she looked at him from the stage, pouring her heart out to him. He couldn’t help but feel like that song was more than just a way to vent her frustrations at their current situation. He didn’t need to say a word for his friends to know exactly what he was thinking.

Drake was the first one to speak up. “Listen Liam, it was a really bad day for her. She had to pick up Madeleine’s wedding ring, it was kind of a mind fuck for her.”

His head snapped up at the information he had received. “She what?!”

“Yea, Madeleine sent her. She said she needed to do it as a thank you for letting Riley come on the tour and be in your life.” Maxwell added.

Liam’s expression immediately hardened as his hands clenched into fists. “I can’t believe Madeleine would…”

“Um...guys, she wasn’t there.” Hana interrupted. All three of them turned to look at her with wide eyes.

Liam felt his chest tighten as he jumped out of his seat. “What do you mean she wasn't there? Where did she go? We have to find her!”

As Liam turned to head for the door, Maxwell grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Liam, hold on. She probably just went back to the hotel. Letting that much emotion out in front of all of these people, in front of you, it had to have been exhausting.”

“Well I need to go talk to her then.”

“Liam, don’t. If she ran out of here like that, she wants to be alone. I know Brooks well enough to know that if she wants to talk, she’ll come to you. Showing up at her door isn’t going to fix anything right now.” Drake patted the seat next to him, encouraging Liam to sit back down.

“Fine, but I’m going to need another drink.” Liam slumped into the seat next to Drake and ran a hand through his hair.

The next morning, Drake was heading in the direction of Riley’s room when he heard Liam calling out to him. He turned to see his friend lightly jogging to catch up to him. “Hey Liam, how’d you sleep?”

“I didn’t. I spent all night convincing myself not to rush to Riley’s room to talk to her.”

They walked together as another voice filled the hallway. “Liam, darling.” They both cringed and turned around to see Madeleine at the other end of the hall with her hands on her hips. “We are needed for the final preparations.”

“Madeleine, I’m in the middle of something. I will meet you there.” He stood tall, and took a deep breath. He still hadn’t confronted her about the errand she had sent Riley on, but that conversation would be happening very soon.

Madeleine arched an eyebrow and walked quickly and confidently in their direction, stopping in front of Liam with her arms folded across her chest. “Sweetheart, you are needed to prepare for our wedding shower. What am I supposed to tell everyone when I arrive on my own? Do what you will with her in your free time. This is our time, I cannot have you missing important meetings for her. That’s not how this works.”

“She is more important than any meeting that will ever come across my calendar, especially any meeting involving you.” He sneered at her before turning to Drake. “Tell her I came by. And let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“Of course, man.” Drake clapped Liam on the shoulder and watched as Madeleine linked her arm through Liam’s and walked away.

As Liam and Madeleine headed to the elevator, they passed Maxwell, the friends exchanging sad looks.

“Hey Drake, how’s our girl holding up?”

“Don’t know, that interrupted us before we could get to her.”

“Well, let’s go cheer her up. I’ve got some great news!” He bounded toward Riley’s room.

“What do you mean? What kind of news?”

Maxwell turned to him as he began to knock on the door. “We found Tariq!” Drake’s jaw dropped and he stared at Maxwell in shock, as he continued to knock on the door, not getting a response from Riley. “Little Blossom, rise and shine. We’ve got a big day ahead of us!” He turned his attention back to Drake. “This is weird, she’s usually at least yelling at me to go away by now.”

That comment gave Drake an uneasy feeling in his stomach, he pushed Maxwell aside and began banging on the door. “Come on Brooks, let us in.” A couple of neighboring doors opened as angry heads popped out of them, glaring at the early morning intrusion.

“What is the meaning of this commotion? This is a nice hotel, not a frat house!” Maxwell stiffened at the sound of his brother’s voice. Drake continued his assault on the door.

“Bertrand! Um...hi. Riley’s not answering the door. She had a late night, she’s probably still asleep.” Maxwell stumbled through his words.

Bertrand closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maxwell, do you have the spare key to her room?”

“Oh, right! I forgot about that.” He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a key card for the room and handing it to Drake. “Here, use this.”

Drake shook his head and snatched the card out of his hands. “Brooks, we’re coming in. You’ve been warned. I don’t want to see anything I’m not supposed to.”

They opened the door and entered her room, walking through the sitting area, the bedroom, and then the bathroom. Riley was nowhere to be found. Her bed looked untouched, and it was too early for housekeeping to have come through.

The three men discussed how best to move forward from here. They were in New York, so Riley was already home, they knew she wouldn’t try to fly out anywhere. But they also knew that they needed to get to LA to track down Tariq and get him to make a statement before he found out they were on his trail and disappeared again. Drake and Maxwell hesitantly agreed to meet up with Hana and take Liam’s jet to LA to get Tariq, while Bertrand went in search of Riley, to talk her into returning. All three agreed it was best not to tell Liam that Riley was missing. He was already dealing with enough, and Riley’s performance the night before had taken quite a toll on him.

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cant-think-of-anything · 3 years

Note

I think part of the reason that there’s such a dissonance between what kind of character Matthew is ~supposed~ to have and what kind of poor traits shine through, especially in his treatment of Alastair, is not just because of CC’s poor handling of alcoholism (and, in my opinion, mental health issues and depression) but also because: Our first introduction to these characters happened a long ways before some major changes to TLH.

Namely… Alastair and Cordelia were basically white in CC’s original planning. There’s just no way around that. Their flower cards, where they’re not just whitewashed but purely white, prove that (and they STILL haven’t been updated, by the way.)

Also, Alastair’s hair: in CoG it was dyed blond, and CC wrote it off implicitly as a racism thing when she decided he was Persian (which I guess happened after the short story where we met Alastair and before TLH) , which would have been fine it if it was an arc written better. Except, I don’t think she realized that it would make Matthew’s comments about Alastair inherently and obviously racist, being a white author. And I doubt that it will be dealt with and named or even acknowledged outright in the final TLH installment.

Kind of the same thing with Cordelia. I’m not saying POC can’t have like red hair because obviously POC don’t come in a prepackaged set of five or six traits that are all configured randomly, but something has always rubbed me the wrong way about the way that CC writes the majority of her POC and especially WOC as exotic. I mean, Kamala as a character is to me a special favorite (even though CC did her dirty and didn’t do a good job portraying her character or intersectional identity) but I rolled my eyes so hard when she had lighter brown or “amber” eyes in canon or officially commissioned art. With Cordelia, I know CC once said she uses henna to redden her hair which is great for her, and I guess I have less of a bone to pick with that because it’s semi(?) realistic, but still. Also the fact that so much of her description as a beautiful person comes from her hair. Again that’s cool, and women of color should be loved wholly including being loved for the parts of them that they freely change (such as Cordelia’s hair) but… the proportion of the fixation on her hair as what makes her lovely rubs me the wrong way sometimes. I feel like it’s sometimes an out from CC making the ~scandalous~ decision that a woman of color can be beautiful because of the traits she is born with. Idk it’s just for me I had this long standing repulsion towards my colorings and my facial structure and white girls would tell me I was whiny about it and then I finally began to piece together things like “Eurocentric beauty standards.”

Going on a tangent slightly, but something else that bothered me was when Anna insulted Cordelia after buying her those dresses and everyone kinda treating it as a compliment? And just cause Cordelia, a fictional teenager, didn’t get mad about it doesn’t mean readers of color can’t see the underlying racism behind “Cordelia looks MUCH better in these dresses which are SUITED for her skin tone.”

I think that narrative could have been handled much better: if it was Cordelia picking out her own clothes as an act of maturity and self-realization and ownership, if Cordelia herself said (in a different way lol) “Damn right I can wear lavender ruffles if I want to and crimp my hair but I’m not going to let white fashion prevent me from outshining everyone because dark skinned women INVENTED jewel tones.” And I think some people will argue that Cordelia’s context makes this too self aware of a development but I would say that it would have been a powerful part of her development outside of her relationships, especially considering that she’s supposed to be a main protagonist. Full arcs for the win baby!

But even aside from all that what bothered me about Anna’s dresses was the fact that it was a white woman showing the “truth” or the “right way” or “saving” a woman of color, a trope which I don’t think CC intended but committed nonetheless. I think from a white author POV the thinking was “Anna is such a free bohemian who lives true to herself and she’s going to help Cordelia become that way too,” which irks me because I feel like that just worked against CC in terms of POC rep and also because that same ideology is used in an attempt to make Anna’s treatment of Kamala justified even though Anna as an out person, with racial and economic privilege and the support of an extensive and powerful family network, pressured and tormented Kamala into coming out.

I have a lot of thoughts on that relationship, mainly: it shouldn’t have been dragged out this long because from the beginning, Every Exquisite Thing, it was clear they were looking for different things. And if CC had left it at that and let them go on their separate ways after a week of knowing each other that would have been fine: Kamala can’t do an out and proud relationship and Anna doesn’t want secrecy, so they’ll develop on their own. And then later Kamala’s pursuit of Anna in the actual TLH books was I think meant to be a thing about “the lengths you’ll go for true love” but it felt forced. Honestly… It just feels icky. like this woman of color is just so hung up on this white woman who abuses her repeatedly and can’t handle her own misogyny and internalizations. And I hate that because both had such awesome potential! To me it’s less that I dislike Anna ( I’d need a whole other post to explain that) and more that I dislike CC for wanting so bad to claim sapphic rep but not wanting to put in the effort to portray it effectively- and pretty much all that entails is writing the relationship without acting like it exists in a pseudo-vacuum where the history and realities of interracial relationships and queerphobia don’t exist in the way we obviously recognize and experience.

And characters like Cordelia and Alastair are amazing and have so much potential; I think the true origin of the problems with their portrayal is that they weren’t really intended as POC or even queer representation in the first place. I don’t know if Cassie would have taken a different approach to her characterization had she known Alastair would be a brown gay man when she first introduced him, but I hope it would have at least made her more conscientious of the inherent application of colonialism and racism in her storytelling from that point onward.

I want to finally add that I’m not saying any portrayal of racism is bad. I’m saying that the racism in the story is not part of a conscious framework that critiques racism appropriately. I think CC wrote the beginnings of the narrative, decided she was going to develop the diversity point content, and then either didn’t look back at the older content to analyze it and the other (white characters) through a new lens of race and outsiderness and queer personhood, or she looked at it and didn’t know what to do with it, or looked at it and didn’t care.

Sorry this got so long! Thanks for listening.

- A.

I feel like CC handled everything poorly in regards to characters who had a lot of potential.

The fact that Cordelia and Alastair are both originally white and it's so obvious in the way every bit of racism is handled by the characters. Matthew's comments in CLS are very important and they should've been handled with the same severity that Alastair's words were. CC changing the characters to POC was a big decision and when she did so she should've went back and actually read her own material. I can assure you that it will not be handled in CHOT, my expectations for CC recognizing the importance and gravity in the words she writes regarding racism or any of her "implied racism" bullshit have gone to the ground.

Because while golden eyes are obviously so easy to write when discussing discrimination obviously racism is out of the question /j

THAT'S EXACTLY IT, women of color in these books are so pathetically rare that on the rare occurrence that she does write them they should all be given these features that aren't as common in POC and written as more beautiful because of those features. I read CHOG after I became more appreciative of my ethnic features but if I had read this a year or so ago? Or even if I had read it after just feeling insecure in general? It would've been awful. The implication is that the lighter features in POC are the most beautiful, with Cordelia's red hair being put on a higher pedestal than her dark eyes and Kamala's eyes being focused on more than her hair (because I literally went back and counted the numbers to prove it and it's exactly what happens.)

I'm sure Cordelia's hair is stunning, but it's the way that when she's described (or more accurately being sexualized) it is just her hair and body that is shown, not the color of her skin or the color of her eyes.

God the pastel thing pisses me off so much. It's not even that Anna tells Cordelia that she would look better in darker colors it's that she says it suits her skin tone. Implying that anyone with brown skin should be barred from wearing pastels. And Kamala? In the few times she is described, she's wearing dark colors or champagne gold, never light blue or purple or pink WHICH HONESTLY SUITS HER PERSONALITY. It's also the way that the dresses Anna sent her are described to be more revealing- it's weird. Anna barely knew her when she started dictating everything that Cordelia could put on her body.

“Damn right I can wear lavender ruffles if I want to and crimp my hair but I’m not going to let white fashion prevent me from outshining everyone because dark skinned women INVENTED jewel tones.”

I literally would have loved that. It recognizes that she doesn't need to follow these "rules" on what to wear but still shows her choosing what she wants to wear without making all the darker skinned readers feel like they can't wear a certain color.

I think what some people fail to realize is that these books are also aimed at upper elementary and middle school and a middle schooler with dark skin reading something like that? In a book with characters they love? It's going to be so harmful

Someone else mentioned that CC said Kamanna's relationship was complicated because Kamala didn't defend Anna: Defend her FROM WHAT? Literally what is there to threaten Anna?

These books are filled with tokenism and then praised for it. The idea of Kamala X Anna has so much potential but they're portrayed in such a toxic way. Throughout the last through books Kamala puts herself through so much guilt and regret and turmoil just for Anna to literally use her, blame her, and cast her aside. And it's so fucking annoying because it pushes this idea that this woman of color who was terrified and in an extremely vulnerable position is in the wrong for choosing her safety and presents them as guilty and shameful for doing such a thing.

I would disagree, the portrayal of racism is bad, because it is used at random points in the story and never brought up again, if you interduce racism take it seriously it's not the kind of thing you're meant to half-ass in a book thousands of people will read

I agree on everything else though, so much of these books are incredibly harmful and they are presented to a young audience so it's overall just a gross situation

Thank you for the ask though! I loved answering this, if you ever have anything else you're more than welcome to come back <3

#kamala joshi #alastair carstairs #cordelia carstairs #tw racism #tw sexualization of minors #tw sexualization #anti anna lightwood #anon #asks #tw swearing #long post #tlh #anti cc #the last hours #let me know if i missed a tag #also let me know if i got anything wrong

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there-must-be-a-lock · 3 years

Text

Derailed (Director’s Cut)

Elle Greenaway x Spencer Reid

Word Count: ~1520

Warnings: Discussion of Spencer’s sex life, or lack thereof. Discussion of virginity as a social construct. Some suggestive dialogue, some snarky banter, and some sweetness to wash it down. It’s sexy, but also totally platonic, and it fades to black before anything actually happens.

A/N: You cannot convince me that this isn’t how Spencer lost his v-card.

For the “deleted scene” square on my @cmbingo card, written script-style and all. Picks up right where Derailed left off.

(I almost named this Railed. Then I almost named it Deflowered. So many tempting puns.)

[Around dusk. Hotch is driving an SUV. Morgan is in front, Elle and Spencer in back.]

Hotch: Elle, your interview has been rescheduled for tomorrow… and this time I’m driving you.

Elle: I can live with that.

Hotch: Local PD asked Gideon to consult on a case, and they wanted advice on media strategy, so he took JJ. The rest of us aren’t needed, so I got us checked into a motel.

Morgan: Lemme get this straight. We have an actual night off… and we’re spending it in B.F.E., West Texas?

Elle: They have bars in West Texas, right?

Spencer: We just passed one.

Elle: Then you won’t see me complaining. Drinks? Reid?

Spencer: Are you buying?

Elle: Hell yes I am. C’mon, Morgan, you gonna come celebrate the fact that I didn’t die today?

Morgan: When you put it that way, I don’t have much of a choice, do I? [They pull up in front of the motel and start piling out of the car.] Showers first, though.

Elle: We can head out in like an hour. How about you, boss?

Hotch: While I’m very glad nobody died, I am not passing up the opportunity to sleep for more than four consecutive hours. I don’t care what you do as long as I don’t get a call in the middle of the night.

—

[Inside a bar. Spencer and Elle are sitting at a high top, with a collection of empty glasses in front of them. Both of them are tipsy, not totally drunk but sort of giggly and loose-limbed. Spencer is using a penny to show Elle how he hid the microchip earlier. Nearby, the bartender is handing Morgan three fresh drinks, but he’s distracted, talking to a pretty woman, as he takes them.]

[Morgan brings their drinks over to the table and sets two of them down.]

Morgan: So —

Elle: We lost you, huh? [To Spencer] Told you so.

Morgan: How ‘bout you, pretty boy? She’s got friends.

Elle: Oh, come on, you really gonna make me drink alone?

Spencer: Yeah, no thanks.

Morgan: Suit yourself. Don’t wait up.

[Elle rolls her eyes as he walks away. Then she turns back to Spencer, who’s playing with the penny again.]

Elle: You know I’m joking, right? I’m almost ready to head back to the motel, anyway. You should go have some fun.

Spencer: I’m about ready to call it a night too. And honestly, that doesn’t really seem like fun for me.

[Elle watches him for a second, thinking.]

Elle: The flirting? Or the flirting with girls?

Spencer: Hmm?

Elle: I shouldn’t have assumed, sorry… are you even interested in women?”

Spencer: Theoretically, yes? But more to the point, women are rarely interested in me. I’m not… like that. [He gestures at Morgan, who’s showing his new friend how to hold a pool cue, saying something in her ear as she giggles.]

Elle: It’s about confidence, Doc. Gotta be a little cocky. Not too cocky, but —

Spencer: I don’t know how to be cocky.

Elle: Like hell you don’t. Remember earlier? When I said you probably saved my life, and —

Spencer: — I said I totally saved your life. I remember.

Elle: That. Cocky. It works for you.

Spencer: I did save your life, though. That’s a statement of fact, objectively speaking. Of course I’m confident when it comes to stating a fact.

[Spencer flips the penny between his fingers a few times, then makes it disappear and pulls it out from behind her ear.]

Elle: There’s something to get cocky about. You’re good with your hands, doctor.

[Spencer gets flustered and drops the penny, laughing at himself.]

Spencer: That’s different.

Elle: How so?

Spencer: I’m not going to take a girl home and show her my magic tricks, for starters. [He finishes his drink hurriedly.] Are you ready to go? I’m ready to go.

Elle: You’re not getting out of this that easily.

[They both slide off their stools and pull on jackets. Elle looks around for Morgan, but he’s way too focused on the girl to notice them. Spencer makes a face. They head for the door and start walking down the block.]

Elle: Look, objectively speaking? You’ve got cheekbones that could cut glass and you’re a goddamn genius. You know more than me about… well, almost everything, and as annoying as that can be — [She rolls her eyes and sighs, annoyed by her own sincerity.] — it’s impressive. Not to get all schmoopy about it, but… you’re pretty awesome, Doc.

Spencer: I know I’m awesome. This isn’t about my self-esteem.

Elle: So what’s the problem?

Spencer: A random girl in a bar isn’t interested in my IQ. And anyway, it’s not… I know how to talk to girls. But I’m not about to take one home.

Elle: Why not?

[Spencer sighs heavily, looking exasperated.]

Spencer: You want to know why I’m confident in my ability to make pennies disappear?

Elle: I mean… not really, but I’m guessing you have a point.

Spencer: It’s because I’ve been practicing my whole life. I’ve mastered the skill because I’ve had years to do so.

[Realization slowly dawns on Elle’s face.]

Elle: You’re a virgin, aren’t you?

Spencer: Virginity is a social construct based on inherently patriarchal values of purity and the commodification of the female body. [Elle looks sideways at him, raising an eyebrow.] Yes, I’m a virgin.

Elle: So, is it about romance? You want the first time to be special? [Spencer shrugs.] Hate to break it to you, but most first times are funny at best. The sooner you get it out of the way, the sooner it can be an embarrassing story for Morgan to laugh at.

Spencer: Yeah. Great. That’s exactly what I want.

Elle: No, really, what are you hung up on? [They’ve arrived back at the motel. Elle starts opening her door, but pauses.] You want to come in for a minute? Finish this conversation over another drink?

[Spencer shrugs and follows her inside. She starts pouring drinks from the minibar while he continues.]

Spencer: I guess part of the problem is the… learning curve. If I get to that point with someone I already have feelings for, that’s a lot of pressure, you know? But it would feel disingenuous to just pick up a random girl at a bar.

[Elle hands him a glass and they sit down.]

Elle: Disingenuous?

Spencer: False advertising. [He gives her a self-deprecating frog face.] That doesn’t seem fair to her.

Elle: You’re telling me you don’t want to pick up a girl in a bar because you’re a perfectionist?

Spencer: Well… yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it. I don’t like being bad at things!

[Elle laughs and then stares at her glass for a moment, rolling it between her hands thoughtfully.]

Elle: Which means you need someone who knows what to expect. Someone who’s okay with… the learning curve.

Spencer: I mean, I know the theory, but —

Elle: That’s something you can’t really learn from a book.

Spencer: Unfortunately. I need some practical experience.

Elle: You need someone you trust. [Spencer nods.] Somebody you’re comfortable with, but not so emotionally involved with that you feel like you need to impress them.

Spencer: I guess. Yeah.

[Elle raises her eyebrows and waits for him to get it. It takes a minute. His first instinct is to laugh, then he realizes she’s serious.]

Spencer: Really?

Elle: Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

Spencer: But… why?

Elle: You saved my life. Seems like the least I can do. I owe you one.

Spencer: I didn’t do that because I expected something in return! You’re my teammate, and my friend, and —

Elle: Because you know more than me about almost everything else in the world, and for once I’d like to be the one showing off.

Spencer: That’s not —

Elle: Haven’t you been listening? You’ve got cheekbones that could cut glass, and — objectively speaking — you’re pretty awesome. Besides, you’re my friend, and — [She hesitates, looking down at her glass, and the next part sounds almost painfully honest.] — my first time wasn’t great. It wasn’t with someone I trusted. And I guess if I can make sure it’s not like that for somebody else…

Spencer: Oh. [He smiles slightly, looking touched.] You really mean it?

[Elle rolls her eyes.]

Elle: One night only, no strings attached, and if you ever mention it to anyone on the team I will kill you in your sleep, but yeah. I mean it.

Spencer: Not a word.

[Elle drains her glass and straddles him matter-of-factly. He looks very overwhelmed.]

Spencer: Did you know —

[Elle puts a finger to his lips and shakes her head. He closes his mouth immediately, and she gives him an approving nod, teasing but also genuinely fond.]

Elle: You’re a fast learner, aren’t you? As long as you can follow directions and keep the statistics to yourself, I think we’re going to have some fun tonight. Now, shut up and kiss me.

[Spencer smiles. Cut to black.]

Smutty follow-up is now HERE!

If you enjoyed this, please reblog or leave a message! Feel free to send me an ask if you want to be tagged in future Criminal Minds fic.

#cmbingo21 #criminal minds #cm #criminal minds fic #spencer reid #elle greenaway #reidaway

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teamhappyme · 3 years

Text

my love will find you

aaron hotchner x female!reader

word count: 1.9k

a/n: another hurt/comfort fic because i’m incapable of righting pure fluff. this was inspired by the incredibly sad but beautiful children’s book ‘wherever you are, my love will find you’ by nancy tillman. i have quoted some parts of the book, and those are the quotes in italics. i first read this book to the toddlers i work with two weeks after my bestfriend, my grandmother died a few years ago. it brought me to tears, and is truly one of my favorite children’s books.

warnings: discussions of miscarriage, nothing graphic

****

You gently knocked on Jack’s door after seeing the light peek through the space where the door met the floor. It was nearing ten o’clock, the ten year old should be in bed by now.

Once you heard the quiet ‘come in’, you opened the door to find him tucked in, little lamp on with a few books on his bed.

“It’s getting late, bud. Why don’t you wrap up your last book for the night.” He nodded, closing the book in his hand. Sitting on the edge of his bed, you recognized the cover, and felt your heart drop in your chest.

“Is anything bothering you, honey?” He let out a sigh, and he reminded you so much of Aaron in that moment. Usually, you loved to see the resemblance in your husband and son. But this big sigh was too much for the little boy to go through.

“My art teacher had us make mother’s day cards at school today. All of my friends just stood up and grabbed a piece of paper, but I kind of froze for a second.” You would do anything to bring back Haley, to put this little boy out of the pain he’s gone through at such a young age. “I asked my teacher if I could make three. They were supposed to be a surprise, but I made one for mom, you, and aunt Jess.”

You couldn’t help the small smile on your face. He was such a sweet boy. He was the reason you and Aaron talked about having a baby of your own. Give Jack a sibling, maybe spread some more love in this family.

“I’m just missing my mom a lot today, that’s all. And this book makes me feel a little better about it.”

You took the book from his hands, tracing your fingers down the front cover.

“You know, I’m the one that gave you this book. When my nana died, this book really helped me stay connected to her. I’m glad it does the same for you too.” A smile crept across your face, and you stood up from his bed. “I know you may be a little too old for this, but would you mind if I read this to you? I’m feeling a little sad tonight too, and I think this book could make me feel better.”

He smiled, and scooched closer to the wall to give you some space in his bed. “What are you sad about y/n/n?” You shook your head, not wanting to hurt the little boy any more than he already was.

“I’m just missing daddy. But he’ll be home tomorrow.” You turned to the first page, getting ready to read the short little book.

“I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go.”

It had been a while since you read this to Jack, and you were already starting to tear up.

“It never gets lost, never fades, never ends… paint til you’re blue… there’s no place, not one, where my love can’t find you.”

You wanted Aaron to be here, needed Aaron to be here. Especially today.

“And if someday you’re lonely, or someday you’re sad, or you strike out at baseball, or think you’ve been bad… just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair. That’s me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.”

Your hand rested on your stomach, that was full of new life just a few weeks ago.

“If you’re still my small babe or you’re all the way grown, my promise to you is you’re never alone.”

As you flipped to the last page, you quickly wiped away the tears in your eyes. You just have to be strong for another few minutes.

“You are my angel, my darling, my star… and my love will find you wherever you are.”

It was an incredibly sad children’s book, but it was really for the parents more than the kids.

“Okay honey, do you feel a little better now? Do you want to read another book?” He shook his head.

“I’m okay now. I think I’ll just talk to mom for a minute, then go to sleep.” He turned his lantern on, it was what he used to talk to Haley when an adult wasn’t around with the special candle. “Thank you for reading to me, y/n/n.”

You smiled. “Anytime, Jack. Goodnight, I love you.” You leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“Love you too. ‘Night.”

You quietly closed his door and headed down the hall to your own bedroom. Once secure in your own closed room, you let your tears fall free.

It had been a long forty eight hours without Aaron. The team got called on a case in the middle of the night, but you were left behind due to your twelve week scan with your ob/gyn. You assured Aaron you would be okay on your own.

But you couldn’t have known what was going to be on that scan. Or, rather, what was missing.

It was strange to think that only eight hours ago you were still thinking of your baby. How you were going to tell everyone, tell Jack, start thinking of baby names. You should’ve known better than to get so excited so fast.

You don’t know how long you were staring at your laptop screen for, but when you heard the front door open, your heart dropped again.

You’d left a message when you couldn’t get a hold of him, figuring he was on the jet or wrapping up with the local PD. But it was cryptic, you couldn’t tell him in a voicemail.

Once he came into the bedroom, you stood up, meeting his gaze. His tie was already off, undershirt poking through from his slightly unbuttoned dress shirt. He was stressed out. And it didn’t take a genius to know why.

“Hi, how was the case?” He kicked his shoes off, slightly shaking his head before giving you a quick kiss.

“It was just another case. I, I got your message. Is everything alright?”

Just rip off the bandaid, y/n. Quick, as quick as they told you.

You stood in front of him, your husband, holding onto the news that would ruin your future in one second. Wringing your hands together, your eyes began to water again. God, why couldn’t he just have been there with you.

“I lost the baby, Aaron.”

He stopped his miniscule movements, his eyes falling open the slightest bit. Only you ever noticed the change in his eyes.

“They said it was probably right after the eight week scan, that I lost them. It wasn’t anything I did, they say it just… happens.” A tear fell down your face, and you moved to wipe it away. “I’m sorry, I should’ve called you right away.”

“Honey,” He walked over to me, holding my hands in his own. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to form a sentence with all the emotions running through his head. But he couldn’t. You couldn’t either when they first told you. Instead, you saw tears form in his eyes, as he choked back a sob. “Sorry,” He started, trying to be strong for you.

But you wouldn’t let him bury this. Not this pain. You wrapped your arms around his waist, and he buried his head in your shoulder. Your tears were staining his shirt, and you could hear him sniffle every few seconds. But you started to feel whole again with his arms wrapped around you.

He lifted his head after a minute, pressing a kiss to your head before tucking you under his chin. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you. You shouldn’t have had to be there alone.”

“It’s not your fault. We couldn’t have known.” Your eyes welled with tears again, and you held on tighter to your husband. “I know it was only a few months, but I really loved them Aaron.”

“I know, I do too.” You untangled yourself from him, wanting to see his face as you talked through another incredible loss in his life.

“They scheduled me for a d&c on monday, just to be sure everything is cleared out.” They had to make everything sound so clinical. As if this wasn’t a human, your human growing inside of you. “You’ll come with me, right?”

“Of course.” He noticed you wringing your hands again, fighting back the next wave of tears washing over you. “Y/n, talk to me.”

You sat at the end of your bed, resting your head in your hands, letting the tears slowly, evenly escape your eyes.

“My whole life, all I’ve wanted was to be a mom. I wanted to have babies running around my house, their toys filling up every room you walk in. It was the one thing I was always sure about. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited that my dream was coming true. That we could expand our family, we could give Jack a sibling. But now,” You lifted your head, Aaron leaning against the dresser. “I just can’t help but think this was a sign. That I’m not meant to have my own baby.”

He immediately pushed off the dresser, moving to kneel in front of you. “Y/n,”

You shook your head, wanting to finish before he started. “I love our life, Aaron. I was devastated this afternoon. I was crying in the parking lot of the doctor’s office for thirty minutes, before I went to pick up Jack. But once I saw him, I felt better.” You reached out to hold one of his hands. “He told me today that he made a mother’s day card for Haley, Jess, and me. We talked about Haley, and how he misses her. And then we read the book I gave him after she died,”

“Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You,” He interrupted you, and you smiled. The book seemed to have a lasting effect on everyone in the Hotchner house.

“Aaron, I love being another mom to Jack. I love being your wife, I love my relationship with Jess, I loved our baby, and I love where we are right now.” You brought his hand to your lips, lightly kissing his knuckles before you finished. “Maybe I’m not meant to have my own baby. But I love our son, and our family. And once we grieve the one we almost got, that’s all I want to focus on. At least for right now.”

Once you finished, and he soaked in your words, he gave you a true Aaron Hotchner smile, dimples and all. A stray tear fell down his face, and you quickly moved to brush it away.

“I love you so much, you know that right?”

You smiled in return. “I love you too.”

He leaned in to kiss you, soft and slow. A few stray tears mixed together between the two of you, emotions all over the place right now. But it was going to be okay with Aaron by your side.

You slowly pulled away, giving him one final kiss before he wrapped his arms around your waist.

“We’ll get through this together.” You nodded, resting your forehead against his. “Allways.”

****

#aaron hotchner x female! reader #aaron hotchner x female!reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner fic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #jules writes shit ??

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nevenabadr · 3 years

Text

Sebastian Stan X Reader, Leather Love, Prologue

This is a prologue to Leather Love!

Note: English is not my first language.

Inspiration: this is inspired by:

· Bliss, a novel about a magical baker.

· A Dash of Magic, a novel about a magical family of bakers

Word count: 2003

Warnings: Romance, fluff, sweet words, and few explicit words

Enjoy reading and please comment with your feedback. 🖤

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You and Sebastian met at the Met Ball, an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan, and you were their choice for creating the patisserie masterpieces for the evening.

As for Sebastian, the gala was enjoyable till the moment he was running away from the press.

Also, you were running away from the pressure of catering for your foremost important event of the season.

At the calmest corner of the hotel. You sat calming yourself down speaking to yourself, "I am seven stars rated Baker. One of the best around the world."

Little did you know that someone was taking a few steps and heading to that same calming place.

You were so close when you noticed that man lighting a cigarette "want one?"

He smiled at you.

"You know, that could kill you." You frowned.

"Better than anxiety" he scrunched his nose.

Smocking was something you tried once or twice for fun but never thought of as a tool for calming your nerves.

"I am Y/N by the way."

"Sebastian" he extended a hand to shake yours

You did not rush to tell him you know him and his works. You are a fan, but you still respect that he is already anxious.

"Can I ask, what are you so anxious about?" You calmly asked.

"Too many cameras, I am used to them, but I needed a moment for myself too."

You smirked "A fellow introvert, are not you?"

"Maybe," he giggled and kept smocking, "I did not get your name?"

"Your/F&L/Name, please to meet you, Sebastian." You smiled softly and noticed stars in his eyes.

"Are not you the owner of Bliss, the antique-styled bakery café in New York?" His voice was jammed with excitement.

It surprised you to be personally recognised by a star. It is always the brand that gets the enthusiasm, not you.

"Yes, in the flesh," you shrugged.

He was excited as a child just found his favourite lost toy "I love your patisserie. I even treat myself from Bliss each Sunday."

You were excited that he likes what you serve. "Have you tried our coffee?"

He hesitated "I am a Starbucks guy, sorry."

You laugh "even I, a Starbucks girl, just don't tell my workers." You winked.

"Well, look, I should prepare my surprise for the evening."

The cigarette was almost finished, and the conversation was not over, so as you started walking away, he called you back "Y/A, can I ask you for a favour."

You turned, "anything, Sebastian,"

"Can I take a VIP tour? That special thing, for me, please." He asked with puppy eyes.

He seems to be still nervous about going into the crowd. He is in the sport because of his new PR company. Adding, his ex-girlfriend fame and breakup impact was hard, especially the buzz all over Tumblr. He could not be around the media at that moment.

"Alright, come along, but no cameras or sharing my secrets." You seriously ordered

Indeed, that VIP tour was in a crowded kitchen. Everyone is busy creating a piece of heaven.

"There you are," a young man ran to you. His face draws worrying emotions and anger.

"Frank, what's wrong?"

"It is 30 minutes to delivery."

Frank started walking by your side, describing something that was going wrong and you pointed "we have time"

It surprised Sebastian that Frank did not even notice him. There in the kitchen, you were the star to be followed and the boss to be obeyed.

"Sebastian, I need you to put on gloves and follow my lead"

It surprised him to take orders now

"Frank, you go being the rest of the cupcakes, I am preparing the icing myself."

As Frank left, you give Sebastian an explanation "my staff got something wrong, I have 30 minutes to icing 500 cupcakes."

"This is better than expected. I would love to help." His soothing voice calmed down your anxiety.

He took off his jacket. He looked stunning in everything, as you thought to yourself.

He was laughing and motivating everyone around him "coming people there is a Gala to conquer."

You were icing the side of the cupcake by side, forgetting how exhausting it was to do all of this work in a short time, yet the joy on his face made this worthwhile.

"I don't remember having this much fun in my life," he was icing a chocolate cupcake

"Are you sure this is your first time?" You said playfully

"I don't even know how to cook," he shrugged, "maybe, you can teach me."

The icing went well, but both of you stayed talking and he ignored the time

"Oh, look at the time, I have a to attend that dinner."

He was fixing his clothes and hair, running too fast out of the kitchen. "Thank you Y/A."

You wish for him to stay longer, as he made this chore easier for you, at least mentally.

As he was rushing out "can I book you for a private lesson? A date maybe?"

"I thought you would never ask." Giving him your private card and going back to your staff.

The next morning, he woke up thinking of how alive he felt around Y/A. He juggled her card between his fingers, thinking whether or not to call her. He settled on calling her after mid-day or at lunch.

He took a shower and got prepared for his morning run. It is never too late for one.

He took his usual route of running passing by the Bliss, something made him stop and look for her. Maybe you were tired from all her work, but it is Sunday and he deserves his weekly treat.

Behind the counter there you were, beautiful as he remembers her from the night before.

"May, I have a cupcake please,"

You were busy talking and giving instructions to one of her staff members, yet a familiar voice turned her head "Why not trying the Bakery choice of the day?"

"If the baker herself agrees, then I am sold." He flirted.

"On the house, sir,"

You served him English cake with coffee at his table.

He stood up when you approached "oh God! You brought it yourself!" he tried to give her a hand and serve himself at the table.

"Anything for my favourite guest." You smiled as did not sit.

He was puzzled and clueless "Y/A, wait."

"Anything else?" You smirked at him.

"Will you go out with me tonight, please?" He used the charm of his puppy eyes again.

"I would love to." You glowed.

Later that day, he texted

Sebastian: You did not take my number! 🧁

Y/A: Sebastian, hey, thank you! 🙏🏻

Sebastian: tonight, when and where?

Y/A: Sushi, maybe???

Sebastian: I was thinking of an Italian fancy restaurant, gotta impress the girl. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Y/A: Not this one lolz. Just anything you like. Surprise me.

Sebastian: Fancy, it will be!

Y/A: next time, I am choosing.

Sebastian: there will be next time, huh? 😉

Y/A: haha, I've got to go. Sunday means work.

Sebastian: see ya tonight.

At your house, you are confused about what to wear.

"It is a fancy date with a handsome man that happens to be a star" you were worried, every ex you had was not even close to Sebastian's sweetness. You know that there is always a catch. This time, it might be you and your busy schedule.

You texted him your address. He arrived before his time with ten minutes holding flowers at your door.

He was dressed in a slim fit navy suit without a tie.

"You look beautiful," he complimented your little black dress and heels.

The dinner went well. Both if shared stories from your past, trying to make a career, and how hard the world is becoming.

"Baking is great but applying for investment is hellish," you discussed the situation with coming at the top.

"Your food should be decorated with prizes. I believe you won many."

He teased, as he knew that you were part of a reality show for bakers.

"It was a phase, now this is the real world." You exhaled gloomily.

Your phone ringing cut off your conversation. You excused him for taking this call.

You left the table, yet, arriving with a miserable 10 minutes later.

"Is everything okay?" He nervously asked.

You looked down at your food "I am sorry, Sebastian, I have to go"

You were anxious and irritated

"What's wrong?" He tried to soothe you.

"My angel investor is having a party. He needs me to prepare the cakes and cookies by myself." You were about to cry.

"Okay, you are pressures." He smirked playfully, trying to change your mood.

"He needs them tomorrow by noon." You asserted upon the last word.

"See, I was going to ask you to teach me, so why not today,"

He called for the check.

Sebastian drove you back to your bakery. It was almost empty by that time. Just two workers and you took Sebastian to the kitchen.

You prepared the ingredients on the counters. Sebastian asked if he can help with getting the blenders and mixing bowls. You pointed at a higher shelf opposite to you.

"Thank you, Sebastian," you were about to leave his car.

"Not yet, doll, we have cookies to prepare," he said as the cute dork he is.

You were guiding him to which thing is to add to the blender first and he was a curious student.

"Exactly, why are you hand blending that?" Pointing at the chocolate mixture in front of you.

"Because we make these with a dash of magic and bliss," you spook magically and seriously.

He paused for a moment "and I am not magic"

You raised an eyebrow, "you are my apprentice, yet, hand blend the cookies."

You came by his side, your chest at his back, and guided his arm to hand to blend the cookies.

He was blazing with fire and excitement. Ultimately, he felt at peace.

“An excellent exercise to those guns.” He teased you.

"Not as a baker's," you guided his free hand to something, "now take a pinch of magic... chocolate chips and add them."

Both of you rounded up and finished everything was in the oven. You sat on the floor drinking wine and chatting further, till the alarm of the oven called it done.

"My cookies" Sebastian pulled them out of the over, "taste what the master baked."

"Apprentice," you asserted as you pulled your cakes out of the other oven.

You let everything rest. It was almost the morning.

"They will come I pick them at 9 am, no time for home." You yawned

"Can I drive you?" He yawned too, and his eyes were sleepy.

"Cookie, you looked exhausted." It was the first time to call him so, he was surprised and delighted.

"I have a coach in my office."

Both of you laid tired and exhausted from the long day. Spontaneously he put a kiss on your forehead, you whispered at his lips "I have a better one" you took his lips on your own and shared the sweetest romantic first kiss.

"Sweet dreams, apprentice Cookie." You laid to sleep in his arms.

"Sweet dreams Y/A." He smiled against your lips and laid a kiss goodnight on them.

Yet, Sebastian had to make the last thing before he sleeps.

Guys, I made cookies

That was his message to the group chat with his best friends.

Chris: cookies, is that's a new term for sex?

Anthony: WTH @Cheis. If Sebastian mentions cookies, then he really made cookies.

Sebastian: I baked cookies

Christ: good for you, pal.

Anthony: you are waking me up at 6 in the morning for cookies.

Sebastian: and a kiss.

Anthony: my man, you should have gone for the pussy 💪🏻

Chris: language!

Sebastian: Good night oldie issues and smarty pants. 🤣🤣🤣

Sebastian looked at your peaceful face, laid another kiss on your forehead, then departed into a deep sleep.

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Tag list:

@shafverani

@imsebastiansta-n

@brokenwitty

@221bshrlocked (awaiting your feedback)

@sinner-as-saint

@zemosimp05

@buckys-fairy

#sebastian stan #Marvel #bucky barnes #James Bucky Barnes #anthony mackie #Chris Evens #bucky barnes fanfiction #sebastian stan characters #the winter solider fanfiction #marvel #the falcon and the winter solider spoilers #steve rogers #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan x reader #captain america #sebastian stan x fluff #sebastian stan x you

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sentinelpri · 3 years

Text

Happier (Sentinel Prime x Optimus Prime)

Optimus was nervous as he sat in the cafeteria with Elita One next to him, a cube of energon in her strong servos. She listened to him rant about Sentinel, who was wanting to take Optimus on some escapade to sneak into the brigades’ locker rooms that night with no other explanation than ‘it’ll be fun’.

They were done with their training for that cycle and were given the next deca-phase to eat, get their things situated, and recharge in their cots before the next day of training... But of course, Sentinel wanted to sneak off and drag him into trouble- right before Elita’s birthday, no less!

But, as Optimus sat there mid-ramble, he realized just how much he missed the older bot. Sentinel had been preoccupied with one thing or another that kept him from making it to their lunch, and while Optimus was grateful for the opportunity to buy Elita fuel to celebrate her birthday early and have some quality time with her, he couldn’t help but crave that familiar strong arm over his shoulder like it usually was.

Still, he continued talking to Elita One like nothing was wrong, half-heartedly slamming his palms down onto the table. The bustle of other bots in training and commanders around them getting their energon and oil filled the large room with so much noise that no one else could drop in on their conversation, so he didn’t act embarrassed- after all, Elita knew his qualms with Sentinel as well as… Other things to do with him and Sentinel, those of which he wasn’t so proud to admit.

“I just don’t see why he has to take me with him!” Optimus exclaimed with a huff. It was true- Sentinel was constantly taking him on risky ventures for Primus-knows-what, sometimes with Elita One, and sometimes without her. While he enjoyed the time with Sentinel and felt special for being the one chosen to go with him, it often confused him.

“Oh, come on, don’t act like you don’t like the attention from him,” Elita quipped back and playfully pushed his shoulder-plating. Naturally, the femme forgot how much power she had and accidentally pushed him a little too far, but he managed to sit up and look at her with a sheepish grin. Her tone was accusatory, because of course it was- she knew about his crush on Sentinel, she was the only one Optimus could talk to about it. “You know why he does it, don’t you?”

“No idea,” The red and blue bot confessed.

“It’s because he wants an excuse to spend time with you but won’t ask you out on a date,” Elita One winked and slammed down the rest of her energon cube in one big gulp. Meanwhile, Optimus hadn’t touched his, too caught up in his thoughts to bother with it and even more caught up in what Elita had just said.

Yes, the blue and yellow femme had always supported him and listened to him vent about his hidden feelings for Sentinel, but she’d never once insinuated that it might’ve been mutual. Not able to believe it, Optimus gasped.

“W-What? No way!”

“Yes way,” Elita grinned and reached for the younger bot’s energon cube. He didn’t object, letting her chug that one down too. After she was done, she stacked the two empty cubes on top of each other and continued talking. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

Optimus tried to think back to how Sentinel had looked at him, and… Well, he assumed it was the same way Sentinel would gaze at any bot; a grin on his face, aquamarine optics filled with mischief and something soft and youthful, faceplates dusted the same light pink that typically adorned his sharp cheeks.

“I mean, it’s the same way he looks at every-“ Optimus had started to answer, though a bit unsure of himself, his friend cut him off with a groan.

“No it’s not, you dolt!” Elita One raised her voice enough to catch the attention of some of the others in the cafeteria, but when they had the nerve to look at her, she glared at them, effectively scaring them into looking away and returning to their previous activities. Then, she continued. “The way Sentinel looks at you… He looks at you like you put the stars in the sky, Optimus.”

She sounded genuine, so for once, Optimus knew it wasn’t some cruel prank from her and Sentinel’s end, but… It just felt so sudden! Since when did Sentinel return his feelings? Why did Elita know about it, and how did Sentinel look at him in such a way without him even noticing?

No- it had to have been a joke… Right? It was just too good to be true. Surely it was a cruel, messed up prank from Elita’s end.

“I, um… I think we’re just close friends,” Optimus murmured and moved to scratch the back of his neck with his digits. There was a moment of silence between him and Elita where he averted his gaze from hers. “Yes, that’s it, at least in his optics. You might be misreading things.”

“Have you ever noticed how much he touches you?” Elita asked with a tilt of her head, sounding ever so sure of herself. She did have a point, of course, but Optimus had always assumed Sentinel was just the touchy type- shoulders bumping shoulders, servos on servos, servos on shoulders and on thighs, legs tossed over legs, chin resting on top of his helm… The way Sentinel touched him was affectionate and friendly, or so he had assumed, but maybe it was something more? Still, just to be sure-

“I thought he was like that with everyone?”

“Nah,” Elita brushed him off with a giggle and a shake of her head… Now he was starting to feel plain stupid. The way she talked about it made it seem like Sentinel had blatantly obvious feelings for Optimus like he had for Sentinel, and he was wondering, if it was true, how much time had he wasted skirting around everything? “He might throw an arm over my shoulder when he goes to hug you so he doesn’t seem suspicious, but he doesn’t have servos on my servos, on my back, and on my thighs all the time. It’s not as normal as you think it is for him to treat you the way he does, Optimus, he’s just in love with you.”

The older bot blushed at the thought. It was true, everywhere they went together, Sentinel always had a protective servo resting on his lower back, and every time they sat together, there was a palm lingering over his thigh or one of his servos if there was a table to cover it.

He thought back to his earlier complaints and felt somewhat guilty. If what Elita was saying was true, and Sentinel loved him back and just wanted an excuse to spend time with him… Then he shouldn’t have been complaining about it.

“Then…”

“He always takes you to the riskier things because you make him feel less scared to do them, and he wants to spend time with you and impress you,” Elita’s tone grew softer as she gently placed a servo on his shoulder.

It was a lot to process. The charming, strong, mischievous bot he’d been in love with since the moment they met had the same feelings for him, and he’d been completely oblivious the whole time.

All Optimus could do was nod.

“I see.”

“Do you? Honestly?” Elita One asked, sounding skeptical of him.

“I’m not sure yet,” The red and blue bot admitted with a blush, earning a shake of Elita’s head in return.

“Oh, Optimus, you poor, sweet, innocent little mech… You’re a fool.”

Later that night, Optimus’s processor was racked with thoughts of the discussion from lunch as Sentinel held his servo and led him into the locker rooms. It was dark and empty with all of their commanders and fellow trainees recharging peacefully in their cots, and though he could have opted out of doing it, Optimus allowed himself to tag along- and he was currently hating himself for it.

One, he was nervous about what would happen if he and Sentinel got caught doing whatever the hell Sentinel was taking him to do. They could get in serious trouble, get kicked out of training or have to put up with some other severe, grueling punishment. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten fragged over because of Sentinel’s schemes.

And two, he was still unsure of what to do with the information that Elita One had given him earlier that day. Him acting like everything was fine and normal between them when he was slowly realizing what Sentinel’s feelings were was impossible as they entered the room, Sentinel’s headlights on his shoulders turned on to light their way.

“Sentinel! Out of all of the places we could’ve snuck into, why the locker rooms?” Optimus demanded and linked his digits with the older bot’s.

“That’s simple, Optimus,” Sentinel looked back at him with a cheshire grin and pulled him towards one specific locker. “While you were having lunch with Elita One today, I went through her bag and found her locker combination written in her password book.”

“W-What?” Optimus spat, dumbfounded. Their normal pranks consisted of dousing their commanders’ dormitories in oil and putting clear wrap on entryways in common areas, not going through their friends’ belongings and finding out personal information about them. “Harmless pranks on our superiors are one thing, but invading Elita’s privacy and-“

“Calm the cooling fans, buddy! You know what’s tomorrow, don’t you?” Sentinel knelt down in front of the locker he had gone to, still holding Optimus’s servo. The red and blue bot sat down on the floor next to Sentinel- close enough for their knees to knock together. “You bought her lunch today and everything-“

“Oh, yeah! Elita One’s birthday,” Optimus let out a sigh of relief and looked at Sentinel’s free servo, which held a small, heavy looking black gift-bag in it. It was rare that they got much of anything where they were at, so he wasn’t sure of how Sentinel got it, but then again… That bot had always been resourceful. “Is that what the bag’s for?”

“You know it,” Sentinel’s grin grew wider as he (unfortunately) let go of Optimus’s servo and turned to unlock Elita One’s locker.

“What is it?”

“A card and some high quality oil that I, uh, concocted under my cot.”

“You… You aged oil under your cot? Is that scientifically possible?” Optimus sputtered, optics wide.

“Who cares, it’s a fanfiction and the readers are more focused on the romance aspect than they are the specifics of oil drinking.”

“Anyway,” Optimus cleared his throat and sat there quietly. He managed to keep himself occupied by watching Sentinel put the gift bag in the locker and shut it back, but his nerves were getting the best of him. “That’s… Very nice of you. I’m glad this is actually something productive for once and not one of your usual schemes.”

“Oh, hey!” Sentinel laid back on the floor and moved to hold Optimus’s servo again. The younger mech laid down next to him, a bit unsure of his movements as he rested his helm against Sentinel’s shoulder. “Speaking of that, there’s this organic planet that I heard has a ton of energon, I think the three of us should go!”

“That sounds like an awful idea, but…” Optimus trailed off. He was unable to say no to Sentinel, which might’ve been his fatal flaw, so he gave a weak nod. “I suppose if you and Elita One are both there by my side, it couldn’t hurt- maybe. I’ll have to think on it some more.”

“That’s the spirit! Remember how you were when we first met?” Sentinel laughed and grabbed his servo again.

Optimus only sighed, thinking back to when he and Sentinel initially encountered each other. Though he’d been smitten from the start, Optimus had been reluctant to spend much time with Sentinel, as he was a strict rule-follower, terrified of getting himself into trouble. Somehow, though, Sentinel wiggled his way in, starting with eating lunch and training by Optimus’s side to now getting the younger bot to sneak out at night with him.

“I do recall,” The red and blue bot hummed and stared up. The ceiling was an indestructible glass that allowed them to see into the night sky, so while the locker room may not have been the most romantic place to be, it was a good view. Little did Optimus know that rather than staring at the stars like he was, Sentinel’s optics were glued to him instead. “You wore me down.”

“Nah, I’m just that great to be around.”

Usually at this point, Optimus would clap back, saying something about how stupid Sentinel was or how he himself was just too nice to put up with the older bot, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it this time.

“You truly are, dear friend.”

At that, Sentinel quickly sat up and offered a nervous laugh. He dropped Optimus’s servo, but seemingly unconsciously, rested a servo on Optimus’s thigh seconds later.

“We should probably leave since we’re done with that and all... I forged your signature on the card, too, so she thinks it’s a gift from both of us.”

They were about to leave, he figured, but Optimus couldn’t bring himself to just let everything go- he had to address what Elita had told him earlier while they were still alone or he was going to go insane.

“Why do you always take me with you, Sentinel?”

“Huh?” Sentinel started, but Optimus knew immediately that it was a facade, as Sentinel always made a certain face when he was lying or trying to put up a front; lips desperately twitching in an attempt to not smile, optics trained on the ground, face bright red. “What do you mean? We’re buddies, aren’t we?”

“No, I mean-“ Optimus cut himself off, quickly becoming flustered. “I don’t know if I can explain this in a way that makes sense to you, but there are plenty of other mechs who are more willing to do all of your crazy plans with you… I always need convincing. Even Elita One wants to go with you most of the time, but usually, you take me on these more intimate outings, I… Ah, forgive me, I lost track of what I was saying.”

“I’m not sure I’d call this intimate, the only reason Elita isn’t here is because it’s a surprise,” Sentinel defended, using his spare servo to scratch the back of his neck. “Plus, you being the tightaft you are, you keep me out of trouble. If I took any other mech or femme with me on my escapades I’d be dead by now.”

“Is that really it?” Optimus spat, now getting fed up with Sentinel’s dodging.

“There’s more, but… That’s all that’s important.”

“Then what about last quartex when you pulled me out of my cot in the middle of the night and snuck us off base so we could go watch the stars? Elita One sleeps right next to me, we could have taken her to that,” Optimus argued, and he could tell that Sentinel felt he was being backed into a corner just by the expression on his face. While the stargazing was a good memory that he didn’t regret by any means, it served his argument, so he didn’t mind bringing it up.

“She’d had a rough day at training, thought I’d let her rest…” Sentinel sighed and met Optimus’s gaze once again. “Is there something you wanna say to me, Optimus?”

“Is there something you wanna say to me, Sentinel?” Optimus challenged, which had the blue and gold bot letting out an indignant huff.

“I think you know what I mean, Optimus…” Sentinel finally cracked, a frown taking over his face and lubricant filling his optics- clearly, he was embarrassed, and it made Optimus feel guilty for beating around the bush and making the older bot anxious about it instead of just being direct about what was going on. “Why do you torture me like this?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the one touching my thigh right now.”

At that, Sentinel jerked his servo back, but Optimus stopped him. At that, the older bot hesitantly rested his servo back on the large expanse of heated metal, gently squeezing. Optimus could only lean into the touch as the other mech let out a sardonic laugh and shook his head.

“That glitch!” Sentinel cackled and rolled his optics. “She told you, didn’t she?”

“I figured it out, but me telling you didn’t mean that I want you to stop.”

Optimus felt Sentinel’s intake hitch, the room going dead silent. They met each other’s gaze, aquamarine pouring into aquamarine, and almost as if all at once, there was a mutual understanding between the two; they loved each other, and for once, everything was okay.

“Optimus…” Sentinel stopped and moved his servo from Optimus’s thigh, up to the red and blue bot’s cheek, settling there with a thumb running over his cheek’s apex. Optimus nuzzled into the warmth with a sigh. “Are you trying to say what I think you are?”

“I’ve always had feelings for you, Sentinel, and if you share the sentiments, I’d like to make something work.”

“Be mine,” The words from Sentinel were simple but clear, enough for Optimus to know what the older bot wanted, and enough to flood him with relief. Still, the two continued to stare at each other like they had no idea what to do.

“O-Okay, um…” Optimus trailed off again, wordless before Sentinel finally used the servo on his cheek to pull him in for a heated kiss. Lips molded into lips quickly, Optimus gently moving his in rhythm with his best friend’s and taking in the taste of energon, fine oil, and something uniquely Sentinel. After just a moment and a brief swipe of his glossa over Sentinel’s bottom lip, Optimus found himself pulling away, bashful.

“Wow,” Sentinel gave an uncharacteristically soft smile before raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t think innocent little Optimus would be so good at that.”

“Shut up, you dolt!” Optimus scolded and stood up in a hurry. If he was being honest, it was to get Sentinel to his cot so they could kiss more, but did Sentinel need to know that? Absolutely not. “Let’s just get out of here before we get caught.”

With that, Optimus took Sentinel’s servo in his and stood up, pulling the older bot up and along with him as he walked. They quickly exited the locker room, nothing but a mess of giggles and roaming servos as they tumbled back into the dormitories, and oh-

Optimus had never been happier.

#tfa #transformers #transformers animated #fanfiction #fluff #sentop #sentinel prime x optimus prime #optimus prime x sentinel prime #optimus prime #tfa optimus prime #sentinel prime #tfa sentinel prime #set before canon when they're still in training obv #elita one #tfa elita one #they deserve to be happy and in love #wanted to write a piece of them w no angst so here it is #feel good and self indulgent as always

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peachtree-dish · 3 years

Text

Chapter 5: Acqua agitata

13 ottobre 1969

There were many things that Luca loved in Signora Mia’s casa, besides the woman herself. He had been fascinated for his first few weeks in Genoa exploring all her books, odds and ends, and souvenirs. When she had first separated from Massimo, Mia had traveled all over Europe spending time in Greece, France, and Whales. From each country, she’d brought home at least one object or decoration, each one holding a special story and memory. Being an artist meant that she had many paintings, most of which were created by her hand, and every wall had been hand-painted by her design. On one wall, in particular, she had painted a colorful homage to the coast of Porto Rosso, featuring Massimo’s house and a detailed view of the town square. This was Luca’s particular favorite, and often while both Mia and Giulia were sleeping at night, he’d sit in front of that mural and read, letting the bright colors wash away his homesickness.

While she was never to be seen without a paintbrush in hand, Mia was also meticulous about keeping her furniture and floors paint-free, any splotches or spills were lovingly restricted to her paint room. Said room opened as both Luca and Giulia walked down the hallway, shredding backpacks, and school jackets as they went.

“Already home, miei cari? The day went by fast!” Mia briskly wiped her paintbrush down and stuck it in the front pocket of her jumper. “Hey, you ragazzi know better than to leave your stuff in the hallway!” She danced around the dropped articles of clothing and made her way into the kitchen space, watching in amusement as both teens sheepishly put the cookie jar back on the counter, a large Amaretti stuffed in their mouths.

“Scusa,” they both mumbled. Luca was the first to return to the disorganized hallway, pressing a crumb-filled kiss to Mia’s cheek in greeting before running to take his things to his bedroom. Nerone yapped playfully at his feet, eagerly hoping for any sweet leftovers as the teen dashed into his room and threw his coat and book bag on the chair by the window. Unlike Giulia’s room in Porto Rosso, there was no direct view of the ocean, however, on clear days he could make out the familiar blue outline above the orange rooftops of Genoa. Today the skies promised rain and Luca briefly wondered if the storm had already hit Alberto and Massimo.

As he pulled the necessary work from his bag, a blue paper slipped out and fell gracefully to the floor. Picking it up, Luca was reminded of his gym teacher’s earlier announcement. The thought made him wince as he re-read the glaring title: Maturazione e salute sessuale. Luca had hoped that he had escaped such discussion from his family during the summer; apparently, he would not be so lucky at school. Deciding to leave the permission slip for later, he grabbed his schoolwork and left the paper on his bed. Luca and Nerone made their way back into the kitchen where Giulia was already sat and speaking animatedly to her mother.

“Signora Bianchi explained energy to us today in earth sciences and said that it can’t be destroyed, only transferred,” Mia nodded as she pulled out a large circular pan before lighting the oven. If his intuition was right, and it usually was when it came to food, that meant pizza.

“And in math, we’ve been adding l’alfabeto in our equations; I wish they wouldn’t do that, it makes everything more complicated,” Giulia groused, pulling out her own math assignments.

“It’s easy if you think about it as balancing the equation,” Luca suggested, unsurprised when Giulia responded by glaring at him across the table.

“But the equation doesn’t look unbalanced to me. Besides,” she rolled her eyes, “why do we care what x is? Maybe x doesn’t want to be found.” Luca snorted and returned to his writing assignment, absentmindedly scratching Nerone’s head as he thought.

“Ah, bambini, not to worry, in three short years you won’t have to worry so much, although,” Mia mused, pressing the dough onto the counter, “if you both study some form of science, I’m afraid math is a must.” She pressed a kiss to Giulia’s forehead when she groaned, laughing with mirth.

“Also, don’t forget that tomorrow is mail day, any letters you have, need to be ready to send and on the table before you go to school, si?”

“Grazie, Signora Mia,” Luca thanked, now thoroughly distracted from his assignment, and wondering how he was going to fit this week’s events into Alberto’s letter.

“How’s your painting, mama?” Giulia asked a few moments later, obviously avoiding the equations that remained blank on her page.

“Benissimo, amore mio, I think my customer will really like it, they wanted something unique, and I doubt they’ll be disappointed!” Signora Mia flipped her wooden spoon in hand and gently nudged her daughter’s shoulder with the handle. “However, I think your professore will indeed be disappointed if you turn in a blank assignment.” Well and truly defeated, Giulia glumly returned to her homework, her expression forlorn.

After trudging through homework and eating a delicious Margherita pizza, the small family of three gathered into the sitting room and played a few rounds of Scopa, Signora Mia’s favorite.

“Aha!” the artist crowed, slapping her cards down in victory, “I win, again!” Luca groaned in defeat, placing his cards next to Giulia’s he sat back and popped his neck. Giulia had resigned herself to fate long ago and simply accepted her loss with a sigh.

“I still think you have a secret strategy that you haven’t shown me yet, mama.” She grumbled good-naturedly. Her mother shrugged smugly as she cleaned up the cards.

“Or the divine simply has favorites,” Stretching her arms, Mia stood to diffuse the fire. “You both have everything you need for tomorrow, vero?” Giulia nodded while Luca paused.

“Actually, Signora, there’s a paper I need you to sign,” He tapered off, fingers twitching nervously. The woman stared blankly at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Ah, it’s part of my health class, I’ll go fetch it for you.” Ears burning, Luca quickly returned with the offending paper and placed it face down in Mia’s waiting hand. As her eyes alighted upon the title, sudden understanding filled her expression and she smiled sympathetically at the embarrassed teen. Giulia peered over her mother’s shoulder and frowned in confusion.

“How come I didn’t get one?”

“Your puberty course happened two years ago, tesoro, this is a continuation for everyone a few years older.” Mia patted Giulia’s face, which contorted into horror at the memory, “I imagine your sex education will start next year.” She mused, her eyes crinkling with unhidden amusement.

“No, grazie, that presentation was enough to last a lifetime, I don’t need to know more.” The small redhead made a face of disgust as she fled the room. “Good luck, Lu!” She called before closing her bedroom door with finality.

Luca and Signora Mia sat for a moment staring at each other, Luca growing redder with each passing second and Mia showing no inclination of saving him from embarrassment.

“So…” perhaps if he prayed hard enough, the ground would swallow him whole. Nerone snored unhelpfully at the side of his chair.

“So, cosa?” She was merciless. Luca’s head began to inch farther between his shoulders.

“Will you sign the slip for me?” he mumbled, eyes nailed to the colorful rug below him.

Mia broke the tension with a laugh, which startled Luca enough to look at her beaming expression.

“Well, the question is if you really want me to,” she motioned to the paper, “if we’re being honest, caro, they won’t teach you much. If you’d prefer, I can answer your questions along with Giulia, or you may go to the presentation with your classmates. The choice is yours, really.” She handed the slip back to him, and he bit his lip in thought as he scanned the dreadful title over with his eyes.

“I think I want to do a bit of both, but” he pressed his teeth harder into his bottom lip nervously, “I’d rather ask questions without Giulia if that’s all right?” Mia smiled warmly at him before nodding her consent.

“Molto bene, what would like to know? I’m not sure if things will be different for you because of your biology, but perhaps some things will cross over.” She sat back in thought and waited patiently for Luca to form his thoughts into words.

“Why don’t we start with what you know, hm?” She pressed gently. Ok, that shouldn’t be too hard, right? Luca felt his stomach drop as he thought.

“W-well, I know that eggs are formed from two mates and that males and females are physically different. That’s…that’s all I know I think.” His nerves started to fade as he thought about what information he had, his logical side pushing his emotions out of the way. “Oh, and I know that girls have their cycles every month to prepare their bodies for new eggs.” He had learned that particular lesson last year when Giulia’s cycle started for the first time. Luca remembered vividly how she had been in pain for nearly a week and often had to wash her clothes and sheets when the bleeding became too heavy. Giulia had learned over the year how to manage it better and be prepared, but Luca did not envy her one bit.

“Do female sea people experience cycles?” Mia interrupted. Luca screwed his face in thought; he couldn’t remember his mother or grandmother mentioning anything.

“I’m not sure, I think there has to be something similar, but I don’t think they have blood cycles.”

Mia hummed in thought. “Is that all you know?” She continued when Luca nodded.

“Well, that’s a good place to start. Maybe let’s talk about the basics, okay?”

They spoke for longer than expected and Luca surprised himself with how many questions he had the more Signora Mia explained.

By the time the first hand on the clock reached one, Luca’s eyelids had begun to grow unbearably heavy, and the fire had become a gentle glow of embers.

“Bene, I think it’s time we both head to bed, no?” Luca nodded his head gratefully. As he bid the older woman goodnight, he stopped short at his door and turned back to Giulia’s mother with renewed trepidation.

“Signora, one more thing?” The artist paused in turn, her bleary eyes focusing on the youth.

“Is it possible for two people of the same…well, the same gender to experience that kind of relationship?” His heart pounded as he waited for her response, and he felt as if his lungs had stopped working properly. The Signora’s eyes immediately sharpened into focus, her gaze appeared to see right through him, and Luca began to fear that she could read his mind.

Then, as if satisfied with what she found, the older woman’s gaze softened, and she smiled again. “Any form of love is a gift, Luca. And while some people may not accept such relations, it is not uncommon for men to find happiness with other men, nor for women to do so with other women. And” she smiled ruefully, “some prefer to not have any relations, sexual or romantic.”

Luca eased his grip on the doorframe and offered his thanks before he hurriedly closed the door. He pressed his back against the white wood, its coolness seeping through his shirt and into his flushed skin. He couldn’t quite admit why that specific question had tumbled out of his mouth, but throughout their conversation images of Alberto and him together had entered his mind and now refused to leave.

Groaning dejectedly into his hands, the brunette threw himself onto the bed and buried himself beneath the covers, begging his mind to stop.

22 Octubre 1969

Walking the hallways alongside Giulia often helped Luca feel grounded where he would otherwise feel distant and out of place. While those of his class were aware of his true form, other grades did not, and he preferred it that way. However, whether they knew or not, Luca often felt like the proverbial ‘fish out of water’, full pun intended. It wasn’t that anyone made him feel different or were unwelcoming, quite the contrary, but Luca couldn’t help but feel isolated at times. With Giulia being a grade younger, their only time shared was before school, during lunch break, and their time at home. The one person he did consider to be a friend and true ally, was Donte Castello, who was quite happy to accompany both him and Giulia in between classes. “Vero, but what was the point of tricking their families if they weren’t going to at least communicate the plan to each other? They could have easily lived and avoided the whole fiasco.” Dante pinched two thick fingers together in exasperation, his expression one of exaggerated disappointment.

“They had to be convincing! I’m not saying it was smart, but you have to admit that teenagers aren’t the best people to trust with secrets.” Giulia rolled her eyes as if this were the most obvious fact in the world. Dante dramatically slapped his hand across his forehead, pretending to faint.

“Are you calling me untrustworthy, Marcovaldo? I feel wounded,” He draped himself pathetically across Luca who stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden weight.

“Are you listening, Paguro? Will you not defend your favorite classmate?” Giulia snorted while Luca chuckled. He patted Dante’s back consolingly.

“I’m sure, you’ll make a quick recovery, Castello.” The taller boy pouted before returning to his upright position.

“Bene, now I know to not come to you when I need anything,” Dante grumbled. His pouting was cut short when a mass of black curls and dark skin ran right into his side. Being nearly the height of Massimo and on his way to being of the same build, Dante hardly budged from his spot. The torpedo that was unsuccessful in sinking his ship, however, had landed on the floor in a dazed heap.

Luca had never seen such curly hair in his life, which was saying something when one considered he knew both Alberto and Giulia. The girl blinked owlishly at the trio before her, her face panicked. She couldn’t have been much older than Giulia, with skin the color of rich coffee and eyes that shined like honey.

“Mi dispiace,” she squeaked, jumping to her feet, and flattening her clothes before ducking into a doorway next to them.

From down the hallway, students were ducking out of the way as a group of students made their way angrily through the corridors. Choruses of laughter followed them, and it soon became clear as to why. Two girls were drenched with water, their makeup creating colorful rivers down their cheeks and splotches on their shirts. The three boys next to them looked as if they had lost a fight with the school trash cans, their scowls just as terrifying as the smell. Luca and Giulia instantly stepped in front of the doorway, further shielding the mystery girl from sight. Once they passed, Dante turned around to face the quivering youth, his arms crossed.

“I don’t suppose that mess had anything to do with you, eh ragazza?” The girl winced when three pairs of eyes focused on her, and she shrank even more.

“They were trying to hurt me,” she mumbled.

“What would a bunch of upperclassmen want with you?” Dante narrowed his eyes disbelievingly. The young girl jutted her chin out defiantly and glared back. “Let’s just say I’m different and they didn’t like that. Are you going to be just like them?”

Luca raised his hands and placed himself between them, not wanting to start any more drama before lunch. “E abbastanza, ragazzi. No, we’re not like them,” he stared pointedly at Dante, who eventually relaxed and shrugged his shoulders in surrender. “I’m Luca Paguro, these are my friends, Giulia Marcovaldo and Dante Castello.” The teen offered his hand, and the girl reluctantly shook it, her expression of distrust clear.

“Luisa Corallina, piacere.”

“You’re new aren’t you? I thought I saw you in the first period.” Giulia asked, her head tilted in contemplation. Luisa nodded reluctantly, her gaze uneasy.

“I… my family just moved here from Sicily this week.”

“Woah, that’s a long way, it must’ve taken you forever to drive that far.”

Luisa merely lifted her shoulder in response, her anxiety only increasing. Luca nudged her empathetically, he knew what it was like to prefer privacy.

“Well, you’re welcome to hang with us-”

“There you are you little puttana!” A furious voice interrupted the group, and Luisa turned pale when she heard the screech.

The group of soaked and smelly teens had returned, their expressions were mutinous. The girl with shoulder-length blonde hair whipped her hand out, pushing Luca aside in the process, and snatched Luisa by the arm. Her soaked touch instantly turned Luca’s arm blue with scales, much to his chagrin.

“I’m going to make you pay for your little magic show stunt, witch.” Luisa bared her teeth, which suddenly appeared to be sharper. Before Luca could step in, Dante was already using his large stature to separate the two girls from one another.

“Calmati, Aurora. I’d hate to see this get ugly.” Dante stared down the furious teen, who scowled in return.

“Stay out of this, Castello,” One of the older boys spoke. He isn’t quite as big as Dante, but he stood at least a foot taller. “This little urchin needs to be taught a lesson.” He leaned over imposingly. Dante rolled his eyes and merely scoffed.

“If a puny freshman can cause that much damage to a bunch of upperclassmen, I think it’s you five who need a lesson. Get on your way before I tell my mother about this, I’m sure she’d be happy to discuss this and your future program applications in her office.” He raised an eyebrow at the unsettled group, his stance unmoving. They were saved by a response when the bell rang, signaling the start of classes. Auror stomped her foot angrily before pointing a finger at Dante.

“You keep that witch away from us. If I catch her alone, it’s over.” She sliced a finger across her neck menacingly before being pulled away by her shorter friend. When they finally disappeared for good, the group heaved a collective sigh of relief.

“I wonder if she’s related to Ercole. I had no idea there’d be two empires of evil to destroy.” Giulia mused.

“What is it with girls being so dramatic,” Dante asked, looking rather bewildered. Giulia slapped his arm indignantly with a shout of “hey!”.

“That just proves my point!”

Ignoring the bickering behind him, Luca turned back to Luisa, intent on checking she was okay, only to find her staring blankly at his arm. To his horror, his arm was still damp, and his scales glistened under the damp white fabric of his arm.

“I-it’s just a birthmark!” He squeaked, instantly wishing he could slap himself. What kind of sane person would believe that?! “You’re just like me,” Luisa whispered, her golden eyes turned hopeful.

“What?” Luisa pushed her own arm towards him, pink scales formed perfectly beneath a handprint.

“Mostro marino,” Luisa breathed.

“Ah, merda, here we go again.” Dante groaned.

#a te che sei il mio grande amore #my fic #luberto #luca and alberto #luca x alberto #alberto x luca #alberto scorfano #luca paguro #luca fanfiction #ocs #coming of age #mutual pining #idiots in love #queer romance #queer fanfiction #queer writers

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notebooknebula · 3 years

Video

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The Reality of Real Estate Investing with Dave Seymour & Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority

https://www.jayconner.com/the-reality-of-real-estate-investing-with-dave-seymour-jay-conner-the-private-money-authority/

Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority has a very special guest, Dave Seymour.

They discuss the reality of real estate investing. The nit and grit of the business. The struggles and lessons that need to be learned in order to achieve success in the real estate business.

Plus, Jay and Dave also talk about the best way how to grow capital!

All these and more in Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner.

After 16 years as a firefighter and paramedic, Dave Seymour launched his career, rapidly becoming one of the Nation’s top real estate investors. Within his first few years, Dave had transacted millions of dollars of real estate and had become one of the Nation’s leading experts in both residential and commercial transactions.

His unabridged passion for business and real estate put him on the radar of the A&E Television network as well as multiple television organizations like CBS, ABC, CNBC, Fox News, and CNN. New York Times reported that Dave Seymour’s series “Flipping Boston” posted the highest ratings ever for the A &E Network at the time of airing.

Dave has been sought after as a “tell like it is” mentor and motivator in the real estate world with a track record of unmatched success everywhere he reaches. Dave is well-known for doing business alongside investors on their very first real estate deal as well as guided some of the largest investment firms in the nation through complex transactions.

Timestamps:

0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money

1:06 – Jay’s New Book: “Where To Get The Money Now” –https://www.JayConner.com/Book

2:16 – Today’s guest: Dave Seymour

4:27 – The Secret Origin of Dave Seymour

8:10 – Dave talks about when he started his real estate business.

10:10 – Early struggles and best lesson learned by Dave Seymour.

14:18 – What niche in the real estate business that you focused on?

16:49 – The best way to grow capital.

21:07 – Dave talks about his reality tv show “Flipping Boston”

24:06 – What does the law of reciprocity means to Dave Seymour?

26:54 – How does the law of reciprocity apply in real estate investing?

28:22 – Books recommended by Dave

29:04 – Dave’s parting comments: “ You don’t have to know everything. Educate don’t speculate”

30:39 – Connect with Dave Seymour – https://www.FreedomVenture.com

Private Money Academy Conference:

https://jaysliveevent.com/live/?oprid=&ref=42135

Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book

Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference

https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner

iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/private-money-academy-real-estate-investing-jay-conner/id1377723034

Listen to our Podcast:

https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11213/the-reality-of-real-estate-investing-with-dave-seymour-jay-conner-the-private-money-authority

The Reality of Real Estate Investing with Dave Seymour & Jay Conner

Jay Conner (01:44):

After 16 years as a firefighter and a paramedic, my special guest launched his career, rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top real estate investors himself. So within his first few years as a real estate investor, he had transacted millions of dollars of real estate and had become one of the nation’s leading experts in both residential and commercial transactions.

Well, his unabridged passion for business and real estate put him on the radar very, very quickly in the A&E television network, and other multiple television stations and organizations like CBS, ABC, CNBC, Fox News, and CNN. Well, the New York Times reported that my guest’s series titled, “Flipping Boston,” posted the highest ratings ever for the A&E Network at the time of airing. Well, my guest has been sought after as the tell-it-like-it-is motivator. Well folks, my guest, friend, and fellow mastermind member is Mr. Dave Seymour. So welcome to the Private Money Academy Podcast, Dave!

Dave Seymour (03:39):

My Lord, I was looking around to find the guy that you were just describing.

And then I have one of those moments, “Oh, it’s me.” Yeah. I’ve kicked some butt and taken some names in my career. God bless you, man. It’s a pleasure to be with you, dude. It really is. Thanks for having me on.

Jay Conner (03:59):

Well, I’m excited to have you on Dave. I mean, you have got quite the story. I mean, there’s not many of us guys and gals out here that have had the trip and the journey that you had. So, yes, we want to hear all about “Flipping Boston” and being on the A&E Network. But before we get to that, you got your seatbelt on? You ready to go?

Dave Seymour (04:22):

I’m ready to rock and roll, brother. I’m ready. Let’s rock and roll. You got it.

Jay Conner (04:26):

Well, tell us, how did you get started in real estate?

Dave Seymour (04:29):

Yeah. Great question. It’s always a good opener. It’s like you said, I was a firefighter and a paramedic for many years. I’m actually an immigrant to the United States of America. Don’t tell anybody. It’s a secret. I came from London, England back in 1986. I became a naturalized citizen. Absolutely loved what I was doing, but the challenge was, I wasn’t very financially literate back then, Jay, and I suffered the consequences of financial illiteracy and I got hurt pretty badly during the crash of 2008-09. I was a firefighter paramedic. I was working construction. I was working retail security. I was working about 120 hours a week and I couldn’t make ends meet. And I very quickly realized that what I was doing wasn’t working. I was following the herd as I call it, 401-Ks, et cetera, et cetera. Debt was bad.

Saved money. I mean, all of the misnomers that I was given from years of education. But anyway, I found myself in 2008 losing my primary residence, a pre-foreclosure scenario cost me a marriage, Jay, and it was a serious side to all of this stuff, relationship-wise. It wasn’t easy to be a father to my son or a husband to my wife when I was working that many hours, I was out of the house. And it’s funny, man. I look back at it today and I have a bright smile. At my lowest, lowest point, I always kind of looked north for some help and guidance and I’m screaming and shouting at my God. And I’m like, “What did I do wrong?!” I didn’t lie. I didn’t cheat. Didn’t steal.

I worked hard. I was a man among men. Worker among workers, and yet everything had turned to crap. And I’m shouting at my God and I’m like, “Help, help!” Those that seek shall find, right? And in that moment of clarity or insanity, depending on how you want to look at it, a commercial came on the radio and it was, “Teach me foreclosure.” I was in my pickup truck. “Teach me foreclosure. Free one and a half hour seminar coming to your neck of the woods. Do you want to be a real estate investor? Do you want to learn how to do transactional deals with no money down, no credit?” And I’m like, well, I got no credit. My credit score is like 2. I’ve got no money. I’m losing my house. But I believe that it worked, Jay.

That was what was important. Like I had faith that real estate was a vehicle to wealth because I’d seen it, working on the construction sites, the investors showed up. They didn’t have any dirt on their boots. They were driving nicer cars. They got shiny white teeth. They were smiling. I wasn’t. So that was how it started, man. I went to a seminar. I’m a product of real estate education and training. And I took to it like a duck to water. I had no way to go but up really, was the answer to it. And I put one foot in front of the other. Worked with my now-wife, Mary Beth, for the 3-day class, and invested $27,000 on her credit cards. She was my first private lender, go figure, right? My wife. It’s the truth. I looked at her and I said, “What do you think?” It was $27,000 for like 5 classes.

I said, “What do you think, baby?” Then she goes, “I don’t know, what do you think?” I said, “I can’t keep doing what I’ve been doing. You know, the cost just keeps going up. The emotional costs, the physical costs.” She said, “Go get ’em!” She said, “I’m proud of you. I love you. I support you in anything you want to do.” And I looked at her, I said, “I’m so glad you said that. We’ve got to use your credit cards, mine are maxed out.” That was the truth and that’s how it all began. So yeah, kind of a long story, short, short story long, however you want to put it, but that was it.

Jay Conner (08:09):

So what year did you start your education and when did you go full-time real estate investing?

Dave Seymour (08:19):

Yeah, I started my first classes in late 2007 and 2008. Like the foreclosure crisis was just beginning to ramp up. And I started learning how to do short sales and distressed assets. And 18 months later, I quit the fire department and I say, “I quit.” I didn’t really quit. I retired. And the reason I retired was it got to a point where it cost me way too much money to go to work. It is as simple as that. I had made enough noise and grabbed enough attention in those 18 months that I was in the process of doing the TV show, “Flipping Boston.” I had surrounded myself with different people. I learned about internet marketers and the different ways of lead generation and attraction and execution and contracts and money. And I was like, all in man. I was like, where am I? Where has this been my whole life? You know, I’m like, I’m alive!

And that was it. That was how it started.

Jay Conner (09:22):

I experienced the same exact thing when I got into real estate investing. It was like, “My lands, where has this been all my life?” And my very first real estate investing seminar that I went to, I had already been doing this business for 6 years. My lands, don’t start out that way, get your education first. But I was cut off and lost my lines of credit in January of 2009. And that’s what triggered me to go to my first educational seminar to learn about private money. And that’s what got me going, this world of private money. So you got in there 18 months after getting your education. You retired from the firefighting and paramedic world. What were some of your early struggles when you started out and what are the lessons you learned from them?

Dave Seymour (10:18):

Yeah, that’s a great question. The biggest struggle I ever had was with my own head. Growing up a blue-collar guy now moving into a white-collar world. It was very hard for me to believe early in my career that people would sell assets to me for a discount. It was about self-worth, like I did a ton of personal development as part of my business development. Believing that I was worthy, believing that I had something of value, which was my education, which was the way that I looked at a real estate transaction. And as you do it, here’s the key. I think Jay, and I don’t know if you agree with this, I anticipate that you do, but as long as I was always in motion, in forward motion, as long as I was putting, honestly, my very best effort with one foot in front of the other.

If I was removing the negativity around me, the people who said, “You can’t.” I loved it when somebody said I can’t because I’d immediately turn it to, “I can.” And I just execute. And I just somehow succeeded. So it was about working on my mind first. A guy said to me, “Dave, there’s 6 inches of detrimental thinking that lives between your ears.” He said, “Only you can control that. Only you can. Are you wealth? Are you confidence? Are you joy? Are you value?” He said, “Because if you believe you are, then that will resonate to the people around you.” And I started looking at opportunities where I could bring massive value. And it wasn’t money-driven, Jay. It wasn’t money. Money was the by-product of service first. Helping a distressed homeowner. Looking after your contractors and treating them like equals, not like they were lesser citizens or whatever. Leaving my pride and my ego and pocket it to one side. Stepping into every relationship with everybody being at a hundred. And losing points rather be at zero.

I’d always have to gain points. You know what I mean? I bought an attitude of gratitude to everything that I did. And I just kept going, man. There’s a book out there. It says, “Six inches short of gold, or six feet short of gold.” And the idea is, is it just that one more phone call? Is it just that one more author? Is it just that one more relationship? Are you gonna quit before it’s time to succeed? And what happens is, 90% of our competition, if not higher, quit. And that’s why guys like us succeed because we stay the course. We have the tenacity, we have the drive, we have the faith, the belief. And again, surrounding myself with like-minded people who wanted to do what I was doing and that overcame any hurdle. There aren’t any hurdles. They’re just little blips along the radar. It’s as simple as that.

Jay Conner (13:13):

Well, what you just said, Dave, is one of the reasons that you and I resonate so well with each other and that is, it’s never about the money for the long-term. Making a lot of money can be a motivation for somebody in their short term. But you know, it’s been my experience over all the years of being in business. Whenever I got involved in an activity or an opportunity, and the only interest that I had in that opportunity was to make money, I never succeeded. I never succeeded. And it all comes down to what you just said, having a servant’s heart. I know you gotta love Zig Ziglar like I love Zig Ziglar, right?

Dave Seymour (13:54):

Right on my wall, right there. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar, it’s right there on my wall, brother.

Jay Conner (14:07):

That’s it, that’s it.

Dave Seymour (14:13):

Look at that, I’m getting goosebumps on my arms.

Jay Conner (14:13):

Mine are standing up on my neck. So, as far as your real estate investing journey, what have you focused on? Fix and flips? Wholesaling? What niches of real estate have you really been involved in and like, just knocked it out of the park?

Dave Seymour (14:34):

“Yes” is the answer to all of them. Yeah. Look, here’s the thing. As you become more intelligent in your industry, you see more opportunities. So, the TV show, “Flipping Boston,” pigeon-holed me as the grumpy construction guy who just got it done, which is all BS, it’s reality TV, right? But the reality of it was, I really did buy houses with my partner, we really did renovate them, fix them, sell them, and make a profit. Wholesaling is easier money. It’s just great negotiation skills, understanding the mechanics. I think the biggest disservice in the education space is that people say, if you just learn how to be a wholesaler, then you’ll make quick money. Well, that’s garbage. You gotta know how to be a rehabber so that you can be a great wholesaler, right?

If you don’t understand the mechanics, the numbers, the time, the ARVs, et cetera, et cetera. So I’ve always been in that field. Always, always will be in that field. Although it’s not my focus so much today. Along the way, buy and hold, get some cash flow coming in, get some appreciation, let the tenant go to work and pay down your debt service for you, thank you very much. Treat them like the gold that they are. Don’t be a slum landlord, give them clean, decent, affordable housing, give them a response immediately when they need you, if you can, to make sure that you build that relationship with them. They’re the most valuable asset that you have as a real estate investor, is your tenant base. And then today, we level up. It’s always a case of levelling up. I can’t sit still. It’s my A.D.D. DNA. And today we’re in the commercial real estate space. I run a $100 million private equity fund that invests in multi-family assets in the Sunbelt. And we just started our build-for-rent strategies where we’ve got 6-acreage plots in Florida, another 8-acreage plots in South Carolina and Atlanta. And now we’re going to be building houses for the folks who want to rent and not own. So there’s a trajectory, Jay, which part of that do you want to address for us?

Jay Conner (16:44):

Well, you’ve done it all and it’s just part of ascending up the ladder. Now you just mentioned that you’ve got a pretty large fund for the commercial projects. So like myself, you know a whole lot about growing capital, attracting capital. I mean, both you and I could talk a long time about that, but let’s just stop here for a moment. Tell us from your experience, what’s the best way to grow capital?

Dave Seymour (17:14):

So look, there is an absolute learning curve, right? So when I was doing single-family buy fix and flip, attracting an investor, first of all, who understood the business, was critically important. So you could do that through show and tell. This is what we paid for it. This is what we did to it. This is how much we made. And this is what our private lender made on it. Protected, secured, and insured. 8% interest. Interest only, blah, blah, blah. You know the pitch, right? And that becomes word of mouth. So, my portfolio attracted that retail investor. I’m not going to lie, Jay. I’m going to be truly transparent. It can be hard work. It could be heavy lifting sometimes with the retail investor. We use the term, “If it feels like I’m pushing a donkey up a hill, then I got to stop doing it.”

Right? So how do I get attraction? How do I get motion? Repetitive actions? It’s by being successful. The very first private loan I took was $35,000 from a lieutenant at the fire department. And I said, “So, Mike, could you give me $35,000? I’m going to put you in a third lien position on this property. But I’m going to give you your $35,000 back in 3 weeks plus an additional $5,000.” I knew I could do it because the property was on the contract. We just needed this money to squeeze roots at the finish line. So I give him his money back in 2 weeks and he’s ecstatic. And he said to me that day, “Dude, that was a great deal!” I said, “Thanks, Lt. I appreciate it.” He said, “If you ever,” magic words, “if you ever need money again, you come to me first.”

“And if I don’t have it, I know somebody who does.” And what he was referring to was his father because his father was a retired chief. So, the first one is always the toughest one. But once you’ve got traction underneath that, it becomes a system. It becomes repetitive and it creates its own motion. Today, I’m in a different sandbox altogether. Today, I attract capital through the portfolio. I attract capital through family offices, institutional capital. How would you like this for a problem, Jay? You ready? I have 18 months to put together a half a billion dollar portfolio because I’ve got an arbitrage trust company that’s ready to take it out at a full cap on the buy-side and an 8.5, 9% cash on cash return. So, there’s a guy waving a half a billion dollar check in my face and he’s like, “Go find me the real estate. Let’s go!” So, it’s interesting because the first guy that I learned commercial from was a very, very cool gentleman. His name’s Dave Lindahl. He’s in Massachusetts.

Jay Conner (20:12):

Yeah, Dave’s a good friend of mine.

Dave Seymour (20:14):

Okay. So DL said to me, “Dave, it’s just zeroes. More zeroes on the way in, more zeros on the way out. Just run the deal the same way.” And I never forgot that. So yeah, that’s how we raise money today, man.

Jay Conner (20:30):

That’s awesome. Before I get to my next question, let me ask you this first. So everybody’s dying to hear the short story summary of your television stardom of the A&E show “Flipping Boston.” So take a moment and tell us about that. Well, before you tell us about reality TV, I tell people whenever the ask me, “Jay, tell me about all these flipping shows.” And I’ll say, “The only thing real about reality TV is none of it’s real, except Dave Seymour’s Flipping Boston because he actually did have to do all that.” But anyway, take a moment and tell me and the audience about that reality TV experience.

Dave Seymour (21:12):

Look, it’s a blessing and a curse, depending on how you want to look at it. The blessing was the national exposure. I don’t know about anybody else. I didn’t get rich off of a TV show. I think it was $15,000 an episode at the end of our career there. Here’s what the benefits are. The exposure. It put me on the Today Show multiple times. It put me on the Rachel Ray show multiple times. It allowed me to be recognized as a national expert and a pundit on CNBC and CBS and other networks. So that was the caveat to it. The nitty gritty of a real estate transaction being filmed for a TV show. If it’s a half an hour TV show like these fix and flippers, these shows on HGTV, you know what I mean?

If it’s a half hour show, look, man. Paint and carpet, paint and carpet. You’re not making 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, a hundred thousand dollars on paint and carpet, okay? So stop it. Be serious. They’re creating a TV show. You know, with us up here in New England, my inventory’s some old, old ladies, man. I mean, 1890, you know, 1880. The oldest lady I ever loved was 1892, I think she was born. And she was an old school in Newburyport that we turned into a couple of high-end condominiums. But we really did rip the houses apart and put them back together again. And the thing is, I will always give kudos to my ex-partner, Pete, on this, was he ran the numbers as if there was nothing special about the exposure or anything else. Like the numbers were real. The real numbers in, the real numbers out. The profit, whether it was a skinny margin or a better margin, he stayed true to the numbers.

Look, can you flip a house in 3 weeks and make 40, 50 grand? Maybe. You can flip a contract and make 40 grand. And you can do that in 24 hours if you know what I know, right? So, reality TV had to create a story, had to create a show. And I allowed a goofball like me to have some fun. I’d break the fourth wall all the time. The fourth wall is the camera. I got to break it all the time, just not talking to the camera. You know what I mean? They’re like, “You can’t do that.” And I’d say, “Keep it in there. It’s good.” So yeah, if you’re watching those shows, watch them for the show value, do not watch them for educational value because if you’re watching for educational value, you’re going to get your butt handed to you. We’ll watch them for show value and I’ll enjoy the pretty ladies. Enjoy the drama. Oh my God, the pipes burst! Let’s go to commercials. Right? You can play all of that as silly games if you’re hunting. It’s a show, come on now.

Jay Conner (23:58):

I love it. Thanks for telling it like it is, Dave. After all, you are known as the “tell it like it is guy.” So both you and I, Dave, are big believers in the law of reciprocity. So 2 questions. Tell everybody, what’s your definition of the law of reciprocity? And how does it apply to real estate investing?

Dave Seymour (24:20):

Yeah, that’s such a good question. Look, man reciprocity, they actually did, like the intelligence psychoanalyst kind of guys and girls looked at reciprocity, and it’s part of our DNA. And our DNA says as homo sapiens, that if I do something for you that is perceived to be valuable, you in return will do something back for me. But don’t bring value to someone with an expectation of value. Just give because giving is good, right? Start there. Our rewards are coming from high up above. They’re not always coming in the paycheck. You know what I mean? So reciprocity is just going out and being of service, I believe. I know a guy, who I see as the ultimate in reciprocity. I know a guy who’s financially stable. This guy has a couple of boys. They’re now 11 and 9 years old.

And what this man does is he takes his children to Walmart the last 2 weeks before Christmas every year. And he will put down $5,000 at the layaway counter and tell the lady behind the counter, “Pay down $5,000 worth of layaways, whatever comes up on your screen until those layaways are all paid off.” And he just shows his sons that. That’s reciprocity, this man. And I’ve had many, many, many conversations with him. And he says, “Reciprocity has put me in a position to be financially free.” And the Law of Reciprocity says if I want to keep something, I have to give it away. Say that again. If you have something of value, if you’re going to keep it, then you have to give it away. Pass it on, is what we use for terminology. So that’s my definition of reciprocity. And here’s the other thing, man, when it comes to charity and giving them philanthropy, don’t do it to get recognized, do something good for somebody else and then keep your mouth shut. Because that I believe is the definition of humility, which works side by side with reciprocity. So that’s just my own philosophy on it. And it’s served me pretty well.

Jay Conner (26:37):

It reminds me of what Jesus told the Pharisees when they’re out there praying in the public square, their arms lifted up and leg Jesus said, “Go pray in your closet and shut the door,” right? I love it. How does the law of reciprocity apply in real estate investing?

Dave Seymour (27:00):

Look, through coaching. Through passing it on. Through being humble. Okay? There’s a lot of ego in our industry, Jay. Let’s just be honest about it, right? “Look at me, I’m the best. I’ve got a private jet. I’ve got a big house,” you know, all of that stuff. I don’t believe that encompasses reciprocity. Reciprocity is an opportunity to give somebody a hand up, not give somebody a handout, right? When you’re in a position to share knowledge, knowledge is only powerful if implemented, right? So that’s what I like about real estate reciprocity. And then we get to pass that along to our clients. To a homeowner in distress with whatever that situation is and the reciprocity in there works along the way of, “You know what, that person knows somebody else.” And my reputation will always walk before me. Unfortunately, bad news travels faster than good news. We all know that. And if you make loud, good news with clients and let them speak your words afterwards, then reciprocity and momentum follows afterwards. So that’s how I look at it, brother, right or wrong. It’s certainly good.

Jay Conner (28:21):

I love it. Dave, what book have you gifted to other people more than any other book?

Dave Seymour (28:28):

It’s “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. Law of attraction. And then my good friend, Jack Canfield’s “Secrets of Success.”

Jay Conner (28:38):

Oh yes. My wife, Carol Joy, and I went to see him. I’m looking at the certificate up here. We went to Jack Canfield’s first event of his, that was The Breakthrough to Success. And I got so excited. I went back and paid the big bucks and got certified to teach Jack Canfield stuff because I just love it. Dave, I have just loved having you here on the podcast as we wind down. Do you have any parting comments or final advice that you would like to share with the audience and then be sure to tell the folks how they can get hold of you.

Dave Seymour (29:13):

Yeah, for sure. It’s always interesting how you wrap up a conversation. For me, I think about the people who listened to us, Jay. What do they want? What are their needs? How can we serve them best? And I know it sounds kind of kitschy, but I always say, “To thine own self, be true.” Is what you’ve been doing working? Be honest with yourself. And if it hasn’t, it’s okay to do something different. You don’t have to know everything before you do anything. Take the first step. Educate, don’t speculate. And find the people that are doing what you want to do at the highest level possible. Do your due diligence and then step into action. A lot of fantastic people sitting on couches, wishing and wanting and dreaming. But then there’s a smaller population of guys like us who are out there actually doing it, right?

Not just teaching it, but we’re actually out there doing it as well. So step into your own greatness. And if you want to connect with us, if you want to learn anything about what we do at Freedom Venture Investments, I know Jay’s got a website that he can send you to there. I’m old school, brother. You could pick up the phone and call us at (781) 922-4418. One of my team members will pick up the phone and connect to me if that’s possible. I try to be as available as I can. So I just want to keep it moving forward, brother. I’m the opposite of stale.

#Jay Conner #Private Money Lender #Real Estate Business #Real Estate #Real Estate Investing #Real Estate Investor #Real Estate Profit #The Private Money Authority #Flip Your House

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cassiaa · 3 years

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Metanoia part 2

Warnings posted in the first part.

This part lacks Namjoon and is mostly a filler, but he will be back soon. Deciding on an update schedule and whether or not to tag accounts or not. Until I’m more used to posting this way I won’t be tagging people, thank you for understanding! Roughly edited.

Ava sat, twirling the ring on her left hand.

It had been a week since she had told Namjoon of the baby. He took it well. Simply nodding and smiling softly. He had stood and taken her hand, leading her to what she assumed was his office where he unlocked a desk drawer and pulled out a small black velvet box. And with a 'this wasn't how I had planned to do this....' he had asked her to marry him. Of course she said yes. Then he spent the entire night worshipping her body. The next morning she was beyond exhausted and slept the entire day.

Her parents were less than pleased, though they didn't get a say in it. Ava had told her mother briefly over the phone after Namjoon had left to America to discuss it in person with her father. Her mother didn't say much, she wasn't in a position to, she only said that she would try to come early for the wedding to be with her.

Even with Namjoon being in a different country, most of the work was still done by him personally. A lot of the wedding preparations he had taken responsibility of to make sure they would be perfect, and only left a few specifics and special touches to be done by Ava.

"Gonna sit there all day?"

"Maybe." Ava glances away from the window, grinning at Yoongi, who didn't hesitate to drop on the free couch and throw an arm over his eyes.

"Your mom should be here soon." He offered up after a moment. "You should at least pretend to be busy."

Ava scoffs, "my mom knows I'm lazy. She will see right through it."

"Maybe," he shrugs, "but it will give you an excuse to make a run for it if she starts getting on your nerves."

"Thats what you're for. And why we're not meeting here but at a restaurant." Ava stands and starts placing all the books back into their correct positions on the wall, before collect all the papers with wedding details on them and locking them in a box before setting that next to the fire place to act as decoration.

"That's a stupid hiding spot." Yoongi remarks, still not even looking. "Lazy."

"Doesn't matter." It was Ava's turn to shrug, "I just need two people not to see it, and both of those people are banned from this room anyways."

"You're not including your parents in any of the wedding details?"

"No," Ava scoffs, "why would I? If it weren't for Namjoon they wouldn't have received invitations in the first place."

"Have you sent out the invites yet?" Yoongi asks, sounding half asleep at this point.

"Most of them. But Namjoon is talking to my father in person and I told my mother over the phone. They will still get a card though, probably after Namjoon is on his way back." Ava hums, playing with the flowers in a large vase that she moved from the mantle of the fire place to the window. They were a gift from Namjoon that had been delivered that morning, they weren't the first and she knew they wouldn't be the last.

"Shouldn't you go get ready?" Yoongi finally broke the silence twenty minutes later.

Ava's nose twitched, "do I have to though? I should just go like this." She gestured to her (Namjoon's) sweatpants (that she had raided his closet for despite her closet being filled to the brim with clothes) and white t shirt that was slightly see through depending on how you looked at it. Yoongi gave a very unimpressed look earning a huff from Ava before she stood and dusted herself off.

"Fine. I won't go out looking like trash today." She grumbles, "enjoy your nap."

"I will."

Ava threw one of the couch pillows at him on her way out, receiving a laugh and nothing more as she shut her parlor door behind her.

"Would you like help Miss Smith?" Imo-ssi offered gracefully falling into step just behind her, respectfully. Ava had learned from Yoongi that her name was HaeSoo and since then had taken to calling the woman by it, despite her objections. She did compromise by adding ssi to the end, to not be rude.

"Yes please, HaeSoo-ssi." Ava nods with a smile, "that would be lovely."

It wasn't long before Hae-soo had created a masterpiece of the young woman and was ushering her towards the doors.

"Who is going with us?" Ava asked Yoongi as the man stepped from the shadows against the wall and joined her in her car. It was the same car that Namjoon had gifted her in America, a white and black Range Rover that literally sparkled it was so shiny and new.

"JK's driving and Jimin is already at the restaurant. Hobi picked up your mother from the airport and is bringing her there now. We will be there before her but just barely." Yoongi gave her the run down, glancing from his tablet to the window before speaking in Korean to someone over an ear piece.

Ava nods slowly, the team was divided up, Jin, Taehyung had gone with Namjoon to close off American deals as well as be with Namjoon when he spoke to her father and Yoongi and Jungkook had been left with her for her protection. Yoongi had dragged Hobi and Jimin into the detail when the two had showed up after their latest mission and gala coincidentally at the same time.

"Hey Noona." Jungkook grinned, hopping into the front seat. "Thanks for giving me permission to drive your car."

Ava rolls her eyes, which was seen by him in the mirror. "I didn't, don't put a scratch on it." She warns, half serious. Even if he did mess it up in any way she'd have a new one by morning, maybe even by the time she was done with dinner.

"Let's just get there." Yoongi orders.

"Let's get it!" Jungkook mumbles under his breath, a little too excited compared to the two in the back seats.

Ava and Yoongi exchange glances, Ava biting back her sigh and Yoongi quickly going back to his tablet. It would be a long night.

Finally having separated from her overwhelming mother, Ava curled up on top of the covers, hugging a pillow close to her chest.

"At least get underneath and pretend to sleep." Hobi grins, standing in the doorway and crossing his arms.

"No." Ava murmurs into the pillow. "Don't want to."

"Namjoon's going to be upset that you're not sleeping." Yoongi said closing the balcony doors of the master bedroom and clicking the lock shut.

"Don't care." Ava sighs deeply, shutting her eyes and feigning sleep. "He shouldn't leave me alone for this long then. He knows I don't like sleeping alone."

"Sounds like a you problem." Yoongi smirks, gripping the edge of the bed spread and tossing it over her half way.

"Wanna snuggle?" She grins up at him, pulling the blanket up a little more.

"And get a bullet in the ass?" Yoongi scoffs. "I think not."

Ava looks up towards Hobi, "how about you? You a wuss too?"

"The biggest." His grin widens, pushing off the door frame he flicks a two finger salute as goodbye. "See you tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Yeah, go to sleep." Yoongi adds with a nod. "Call JK if you need anything he's probably the only one able to get away laying with you if you're man walks in tonight."

Ava's eyes brighten, "is he coming back early?"

Yoongi holds a sigh in, "probably not. But we don't need you getting anyone shot between now and then."

Ava repositions, hiding deeper in the blankets and imagining being anywhere else. Preferably not pregnant to be honest. "Ok. Goodnight."

Yoongi shuts the door behind him, leaving Ava in mostly darkness except for the pale moonlight coming from the glass doors.

It was an odd thing to crave. Wanting nothing more to be alone and nothing more than to not be alone. It was something she had grown accustomed to. Being surrounded by people around the clock but not truly having companions. She grew up in it. And since meeting Namjoon she had grown accustomed to his overwhelming presence. He drowned out her inner demons and made her feel safe again.

#Kim Namjoon #Namjoon #mafia #bts #Namjoon mafia #jungkook #Yoongi #yandere #bts yandere #jung hoseok #kim seokjin #kim taehyung #park jimin #metanoia

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peaches-writes · 4 years

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how to appease your asian aunties ch. 2 - new year

description: in the immortal words of blood-related aunts and aunts you’re not even related to but forced to call your aunt at reunion parties, “do you have a boyfriend?” member: jisung / han genre: fluff, fake dating au, implied rich kids au, eventual childhood / best friends to lovers au, college au, implied fem reader (but i still used they/them pronouns) word count: 7.8k chapter warning: food, drinking, explicit language note: this isn’t sponsored by mumuso i just miss mumuso + this is the part heavily insp by the meme!!!! lowkey my fave thing on the internet rn + what do u think should happen on the third part lmao

ch. 1 // ch. 3 // series masterlist

Though your mom always tells you that all of her sorority batchmates are her closest friends, you’ve observed over the years that there are particular people in such group who are simply a little extra special in her heart. No one can genuinely call each and every one of their friends as their best friends, after all. For different reasons, some people just weigh a little more than the rest in one’s heart.

It’s like how you would differentiate Jisung and Ryujin as your best friends; the former is your annoying childhood best friend while the latter is your college support best friend.

You’ve come to this conclusion through the ‘auntie activities’ as you would call it that your mom would participate in without fault with certain people. Said activities are usually one on one and with the purpose of either gossiping about one of their friends’ family life like when your mom and Mrs. Hwang would have your families go on a Saturday brunch once a month or discussing how their respective businesses are going like when your mom and Mrs. Kim would meet up either at either of your family’s nearest restaurant or bakery.

For your mom and Mrs. Han, their unique ‘auntie activity’ together is going to the mall together.

Of course, they still go on individual trips on regular shopping days but mall sales are specifically reserved for a joint trip. For some ten years or so now, they’ve never gone to a sale without the other and although that’s a genuine friendship goal in your book, you’re always on the suffering end of these trips, possibly even more than their black cards, because Jisung and his older brother usually bail on you to help carry the shopping bags.

Fortunately this year, however, as you (and you later find out, his dad as well) had made him promise last year, Jisung joins you on your respective moms’ first shopping spree together on the day after the New Year. It’s especially fortunate because it’s right after the first holiday of the year and as usual, your mom and Mrs. Han have an endless list to go through for the entire day.

“I’m telling you, we’re going to go through all the shops in the mall.” You exaggerate to him for the second time as the two of you walk behind your mom and his, your hands unclasped now that they’re not looking in favor of simply walking next to each other with your hands in your respective coat pockets. “The New Year’s Sale is no joke.”

After years of Jisung often running away from shopping duty, you feel like you have ten years worth of exaggerating this whole trip to taunt him.

But Jisung shakes his head, still unconvinced, “Nah, you’re messing with me, my mom doesn’t bring home that much bags after this.”

“But you were in Malaysia for a year,” You counter. “so your opinion’s quite outdated to a degree.”

Walking a little faster now that a crowd has formed in the large distance between you and your moms, Jisung walks closer and links his arms to yours. It’s not a show for other people this time; rather, it’s his natural response to being in crowds and public spaces, so you naturally pull him closer to your side in response which he sends you a genuinely grateful smile for.

“I still don’t think we’re going to have that much of a hard time.” He repeats unfazed, leaning down next to your ear so you can hear him clearly against the loud chatter of the people around you. When he almost trips from not looking ahead, you catch him with a chuckle. “Anyway, yeah, that!”

You only shake your head at him at him, prompting him to walk faster with you now as you see your moms walking in a shop ahead of you. “Tell that to me again when we end up in a furniture shop later.”

If your exaggerations weren’t enough a while ago to convince him, your nonchalant comment quickly made up for it as you see him looking at you in disbelief from the corner of your eye. “Seriously?” He asks after a moment, blinking twice and slowly.

But you only pull him in the same retail store you find your mom and his in, dragging him to the empty seats and making him sit. “We’ll see later.” You smile tauntingly at him this time before joining your moms to do some shopping yourself. Turning around before you disappear into a nearby clothes rack, you manage a wink at Jisung and conclude, “I hope you worked out well while in Malaysia, Sung.”

Your lunch ends up getting pushed back to some time around 3:30 PM fourteen shops later, much to Jisung’s displeasure as he hauls his mom’s shopping bags inside the mall’s branch of your family’s restaurant chain with difficulty. You carry your own mom’s shopping bags which are relatively the same in amount and weight as well but without any complains, showing the clear difference between you and your best friend who’s only done this for a total amount of twenty sporadic times in the span of ten years.

“Sungie, put them under the table not on the chair!” Mrs. Han scolds her son when she notices some of her shopping bags on your table’s extra chair to Jisung’s left. She sits across him and next to your mom on the rectangular table while you sit on Jisung’s right, receiving the menus for the whole table when a waiter approaches.

With a pout, Jisung quietly obliges, pushing his chair back and transferring all the shopping bags under the table (where your mom’s shopping bags have already been placed) and pushing them to the glass pane so they’re out of everyone’s way. Though this makes you chuckle, you pass the menus in your hands to your mom anyway and proceed to help Jisung, briefly seating yourself on the now empty chair and helping him arrange the bags so they don’t mix.

“Are you still good, baby?” You tease Jisung with a nudge as you finish your task, moving back to your original seat after. Your mom then hands you a menu for you and Jisung to share, having slyly returned the fourth menu book while you had your attention elsewhere.

“Please tell me we’re not going to more shops after this.” Jisung pleads, taking the other end of the menu and holding it up to your faces, obstructing your respective moms’ views of the two of you. You’re forced to hold up your end of the menu because of this, beating him to turning the pages in return. “My arms are going to fall off.”

You glance over to his now exposed arms, teasingly much like he did checking you out last Christmas. As long-time best friends do, you briefly relish in the fact that it’s your turn teasing him now. “They look fine.” You half-shrug nonchalantly, chuckling when he doesn’t stop whining in protest. “Anyway, I think my mom’s too tired to go to another shop already. Surprisingly, that might just be all for today.”

“I’m so tired, I don’t think I can even walk back to the parking lot.” Jisung leans back in the soft cushions lining his wooden chair with a sigh, skimming through the menu while you patiently have your hand bookmarked to the next page. “Can I order the entire menu?”

“Only if you pay, of course.” You answer, flipping to the next page when you’ve sensed that he’s finished.

“What should I get?” Jisung hums next to you, scooting his chair closer now and leaning his head on your shoulder when his hand holding the menu starts cramping and he’s forced to set his half of the menu down on the table. “After buying fries with you a while back, I don’t think I’m in the mood for anything savory right now.”

You push him away with a finger to his forehead until your mom looks pointedly at you, making Jisung chuckle on your shoulder after as he puts your hand down. Sighing, you suggest, “Our pastry chef that you like so much, Chef Moon, relocated here from the branch on our subdivision, so—how about blueberry cheesecake?”

“Ah, okay.” Tilting your head to him, you see him nod with a smile before lifting his head up from your shoulder and leaning over the table to tell his mom that he’ll get cheesecake and iced Americano, not passing up an opportunity to eat a slice of your family business’ infamous cheesecake recipe. With your shoulder now free once again, you flip to a few more pages before telling your own order to your mom, settling on ordering Cola and pizza good for two in case Jisung changes his mind.

“You’re not ordering dessert, Y/N?” Your mom asks curiously when the waiter approaches for the second time, pen and paper in hand this time to take your orders.

You shake your head but Jisung contradicts you by saying, “We’ll just share.” which only makes your mom and Mrs. Han giggle.

“Okay!” Your mom grins at Jisung before turning to the waiter and reciting back everyone’s orders. She specifically makes sure to request having Jisung’s cheesecake plate to have two slices instead of one, winking up at the waiter.

Hearing that, Jisung initiates playing footsies under the table and you purposely step on his favorite black boots in response. “You’re getting one less pizza slice because of that.” You scold at him, briefly placing a hand on his knee after to stop his leg from moving.

“Then you get only half of the second cheesecake slice.” He shoots back, nudging your thigh with his knee before stopping completely. “Come on, I’m trying to get on your mom’s good graces here.”

“It’s not like you haven’t been this entire time.” You mumble under your breath as the waiter finishes taking your orders and leaves.

It’s a relatively known fact that best friend or fake boyfriend, Jisung is your mom’s favorite friend of yours. You don’t want to admit it in front of his face but he really has that kind of aura as he’s always claimed—the one moms like for their children.

“I know but we’re ‘dating’ now so I need to earn extra points here and there.” He points out cheekily, grinning wider when he catches his mom trying to eavesdrop on the two of you while pretending to browse through your mom’s phone with her. “You don’t have to do the same for my mom, though, she actually likes you better than me.”

The last comment makes you sigh in relief and relax in your seat.

After a moment, the waiter then briefly returns for the second time and serves glasses of water to your whole table this time, informing your mom after that Chef Moon in the kitchen has approved of her special request regarding Jisung’s cheesecake.

“Your order will be served in 15 to 20 minutes.” The waiter concludes, eyes darting between your mom and Mrs Han. “Would that be okay, Mrs. Y/L/N?”

“Yes, definitely.” Your mom smiles, the waiter bowing respectfully before leaving.

Once the waiter is out of earshot, your mom and Mrs. Han turn to you and Jisung across the table with an all-too familiar look on their faces—the same look they gave Chan and Miyoung the first time they attended the Christmas reunion party together which is definitely not good.

Now that there’s no menu acting as a shield between the four on you on the table, you mentally prepare yourself for the next natural topic that would follow: questions on ‘who confessed?’, ‘what do you like about each other?’, and some invasive and probably even NSFW questions you’re not sure if you can handle hearing firsthand from your mom in front of Jisung right now.

You seriously hope you don’t tackle the last part.

“So, Jisung, Y/N.” Your mom starts, clasping her hands on top of the table intimidatingly. “You two have been seeing each other for a month now, right?”

You cough awkwardly, as if signalling Jisung to follow along, “Almost a month now, I think.”

Next to you, Jisung hurriedly nods in agreement, “We just started going out a week before I came home.”

Mrs. Han hums in thought, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she alternates glancing between you and Jisung. Eventually, she lands her eyes last to her son, asking, “Sungie, dear, you know your mom really gets confused about these kinds of modern things, right? And Mrs. Y/L/N too! Can you tell us again how the you two actually started dating in long-distance? It just baffles us, really!”

Now, it’s Jisung’s turn to cough and shuffle in his seat awkwardly. “Oh, um...” His arm behind your chair naturally falls on your shoulder as he sits up, his hands squeezing your shoulder nervously once that convinces you to refrain from swatting his hand away. “You know, texts and calls. We FaceTimed a lot like what you, me, and dad used to do after my classes.”

“And you confessed first?” Your mom asks next, an endearing smile on her face as she to the table in anticipation.

“N—“ Jisung stammers before you nudge his leg, making him change his answer, “Y-Yeah! It just...it just happened, like that, Mrs. Y/L/N.”

You purse your lips nervously, glancing to Jisung as you do so. Luckily, your worries quickly fade when, instead of asking you for more specifics, your mom only gushes to Mrs. Han, “Time’s really changing a lot, don’t you think, Mrs. Han? In our days, men would court women and everything!”

You relax under Jisung’s touch and he instinctively rubs circles on your shoulder blades, sighing in relief.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Han twists her body to the side so she’s facing your mom more now, “I know right, sis! We used to have pagers and send letters and go to payphones in our time too! The only time you’d see your date would be when you go on actual dates!”

“Right, dates!” Your mom exclaims, turning to you and Jisung. “I’m sure you guys haven’t gone on a physical date yet since we went to Japan for Christmas, right?”

You nod slowly, carefully processing this entire conversation. “Well, yeah, but we’re not—we’re just taking things slow now.” You clarify sheepishly, cringing internally at referring to you and Jisung as a couple. “We did start this—dating, I mean!—while...apart, so—“

“—Oh, but you should go on dates soon!” Your mom interjects, waving her hand frantically in the air now. Mrs. Han nods along. “Call me and Jisung’s mom old-fashioned but quality time is very important, especially with you kids always dependent on talking through your phones and gadgets now! What if you liked going on dates through your phones but you don’t enjoy each other’s company? That’d be really troublesome!”

“And besides, you only have a few weeks of classes before you get another break, that’s a lot of time to actually date!” Mrs. Han adds. “You two can hang out at one of our hotels or here on your restaurants.”

Though the offer is tempting (the Han family’s hotels do have great facilities), Jisung grins bashfully and declines the offer. “It’s fine, mom. Y/N and I are chill, seriously. We see each other at campus, anyway.” He assures.

“He drives me home too,” You add, just to be a little helpful. “you know, pre-Malaysia.”

Jisung nods at this, making sure to discreetly send a grateful smile your way.

“Think about it, anyway.” Mrs. Han insists, just as you see the waiter from a distance approaching with two trays of your meals. “Dating in college is really the sweetest time but if you two ever get bored of snacking at kiosks and going to the smaller cafes, just call me or Mrs. Y/L/N and we can definitely make arrangements anywhere!”

You then see your mom’s eyes widen before you can even speak, turning to Mrs. Han and asking, “Right, Mrs. Han, don’t you have a new hotel in Jeju?” which makes you choke on your spit and Jisung to sit up straighter in his seat, his free hand going up to his neck awkwardly. “That would be a cute Spring break getaway, don’t you think?”

“Right, right!” Mrs. Han agrees enthusiastically, momentarily stopping when the waiter now arrives and arranges your meals on the table. “We just opened last summer and our Sungie hasn’t been there yet.”

“That’s perfect!” Your mom clasps her hands again in satisfaction. “My husband and I haven’t been there yet too but sending Y/N in for us for a Spring break trip sounds good to me!”

“Oh my God, mom.” You place a hand to your forehead in embarrassment, begrudgingly sliding yours and Jisung’s plates towards you with your free hand Next to you, Jisung dramatically whines to his mom about how embarrassing she’s making him feel.

The two of you unconsciously agree that your respective moms are being a little too much.

“Ay, what are you two being so dramatic about?” Mrs. Han dismisses with a laugh. “Your grandparents were the same when your mom and I were dating other people in college, too. We’re just a little excited like them!”

“Yes, plus, Jisung’s the first guy you’ve dated that you’ve introduced to me and your dad!” Your mom points out.

“It’s not like I’ve seriously dated anyone else.” You grumble, making Jisung chuckle. You then smack his arm, now back to his side as he digs in his cheesecake, in response.

“Still, Mrs. Han and I are just more than happy that it’s the two of you dating.” Your mom concludes as she prepares to eat. “You two are just so adorable!”

“Very, very adorable.” Mrs. Han emphasizes before taking a bite of her own meal. “Now, let’s eat before the food gets cold!”

You sigh, carefully dividing the pizza slices for you and Jisung. “Thank you for the food.” Next to you, Jisung cuts you a spoonful of cheesecake, holding it up to your lips and mumbling, “Take this one. Congrats on surviving your first interrogation, I guess.”

You can’t help but chuckle, relaxing your shoulders. This time, you let him feed you cheesecake.

Your half a day spent walking around the mall and shopping mostly for clothes finally catches up to your mom and Mrs. Han towards the end of your meal, enough to keep them seated longer than usual but not enough to stop them from talking. Checking the time on your phone, you see that it’s almost 5 PM but neither your mom nor Mrs. Han make any initiative to part ways and call it a day, endlessly chatting along across from you about the most trivial of things you’re quite sure they’ve talked about at least three times this whole break already.

It doesn’t bother you nor Jisung, of course (him especially since he immediately leaned all of his body weight onto you and took a quick nap after eating), but from what you can remember, your parents have scheduled the yearly New Year’s company party at home for later at 7 PM.

“Mom,” You call for your mom’s attention after a while, your Twitter and Instagram feeds getting boring now after almost twenty minutes of mindless scrolling. Next to you, Jisung has long awakened from his nap and has settled to passing the time on his phone as well, albeit spamming a groupchat that seems to have Seungmin and Hyunjin in it. “Sorry, but, um, it’s almost five. I told the helpers that we’d be home by 6:30 to help prepare for the party later.”

Your mom and Mrs. Han briefly exchange knowing looks to each other before your mom turns to you again and smiles, “Oh, of course, dear, we won’t take long now. I already texted the driver too.”

“Oh,” You muse in relief, leaning back in your seat. “okay, then.”

Jisung, having closed his phone now, then turns to you and suggests, “How about we walk outside?”

You immediately turn to him, “Hm?”

He pouts, frowning. “Let’s take a walk, it’s getting boring sitting around.”

Your mom, upon hearing this, quickly backs Jisung up, “You two can walk around for now, we’ll just be here. You spent most of the day following us, anyway.”

You look back across the table to your mom as you remove your coat from behind you on the chair and gather your pouch from the hooks under the table, “Are you sure?”

She nods reassuringly, shooing you with her free hand, “Yes, go! I’ll text you when the driver gets here.”

Jisung stands up after you, taking his own coat from his chair then joining you in bidding your mom and his own goodbye. With that, the two of you then head to the exit, reemerging into the mall’s main corridors whose crowd has reduced significantly now.

“Okay, so, where do you want to go?” You ask as the two of you put on your coats and randomly agree on turning right. You offer your arm in between the two of you as you walk, out of concern for him just like when you were walking a while back, and he links his arms with yours in response, pulling you closer as you walk.

You look up to him after to see him quickly scanning the shops ahead of you, head turning around in different directions until they land back to you. “I don’t really have any shop in mind.” He shrugs. “You?”

You shrug back, concluding, “Let’s just walk around?” which he nods in agreement to.

With that, the two of you then walk mindlessly with the flow of the crowd, occasionally stopping by a couple of windows to look at displays of products you don’t actually need right now. Jisung stands close to you the entire time as he always naturally does whenever the two of you are together but without much pressure of your moms looking this time and you let him without teasing or complains, leading the two of you and navigating around the mall.

Eventually, you reach a branch of Mumuso on the rightmost end of the main building’s second floor, deciding on entering the shop when you spot a hamster stuff toy inside.

“I don’t look like that!” Jisung puffs his cheeks out as you pull him inside by the wrist, the gesture completely unhelpful to his case when you glance back at him from your shoulder and laugh which only makes him groan. “You’re so mean!”

“But you do!” You insist, carefully weaving in through the aisles, display shelves, and other people until you reach the other side of the glass pane you were observing the stuff toys from a while ago. Picking up a hamster stuff toy and holding it up to his pouting face, you chuckle, “Look, hamster one and hamster two!”

He gently swats the stuffed toy away, whining, “Y/N!”

“What?” You whine back teasingly, hugging the stuff toy to your chest. “It really looks like you! So cute.”

“I thought we agreed before that quokkas are better?” He points out before attempting to return the stuffed toy back on the shelves but to no avail.

“But they don’t sell quokka stuffed toys, not even Tickles sells those.” You pout teasingly this time, twisting your upper body away so the hamster’s out of Jisung’s reach. When he easily gives up trying to steal the hamster from you, you then then to the shelves behind you. “Anyway, what should we get with this little guy?”

Behind you, Jisung’s eyes widen and his mouth falls slightly agape, “You’re seriously buying?”

Glancing back to him again as he follows you scanning the shelves, you reply, “Mom and auntie let us walk around the mall before we go—they never do that, even when you’d tag along before, remember? I’m sure they’re expecting us to buy something.”

“I doubt it.” He dismisses, humoring you by picking up a stuff bear anyway. “Besides, stuff toys are too expensive when you can get quality hugs from me.”

You scoff, gently shoving him away when he takes a step forward to you and holds the stuff bear in front of his face. This only makes the two of you laugh, holding your respective stuff toys in front of your laughing faces.

“But it’s on sale.” You point out when you catch your breath, showing him the tags on the toys you picked up. “Buy 1 take 1.”

Jisung hums in thought, squishing the bear in his hands before sighing in defeat, “Okay, fine—but you buy and I take.”

You scowl up at him but he only holds the bear up to his face in an attempt to look cute. “What?” He continues with a smug smile. “You suggested we buy stuff toys, so stop scowling, ugly.”

You groan, frowning down at your hamster stuff toy that seems to plead you with its beady eyes. “Okay, okay.” You surrender quite easily, hugging the stuff toy again much to Jisung’s amusement, the toys undeniably too cute to pass up.

Jisung grins happily, grabbing hold of your wrist this time and leading you to check out, “Let’s go, then, before you change your mind!”

You roll your eyes but let him pull you along behind him, anyway, taking you to the fairly long line of customers at check-out.

“We’ll be back in your restaurant just in time.” Jisung assures, taking your plush hamster courteously. “Here, let me take that.”

“Thanks.” You smile appreciatively, replacing the plush toy with your phone now as the two of you wait.

A few people behind you, you initially fail to notice Mrs. Park on the adjacent check-out’s lane with her two daughters and one of her nephews, , immediately recognizing you and Jisung. Having missed the opportunity to talk to the two of you during the reunion party, she approaches the two of you, calling your names just as you and Jisung conclude your last conversation, “Jisung! Y/N! Hello!”

You instinctively freeze while Jisung turns around curiously, eyes widening at seeing Mrs. Park. “Mrs. Park! Hi!” He greets with an equally awkward bow to her, turning you to face your mom’s best friend in setting you up on blind dates after when he sees how tense you’ve become. Looking behind her shoulders, he catches Mrs. Park’s three companions and waves politely at them. “Happy New Year!”

Mrs. Park smiles sweetly, “Happy New Year to the two of you too!” She then adjusts her shawl on her shoulders, gesturing over to her daughters and nephew, especially to Jaemin who waves at you with a warm smile. “Soyeon, Soojung, Jaemin, and I were just finished shopping around as well when I saw you so I thought I’d come and say hi. How are you two?”

“We’re, uh, we’re good!” Jisung grins, showing her your plush toys. “We were just shopping too.”

“Was I interrupting a date here?” She asks curiously, dramatically gesturing to you and Jisung. “Are your moms around? Mrs. Han? Mrs. Y/L/N?”

“T-They’re at our restaurant.” You stammer out this time, eyes glancing over to Jaemin just a few feet away. He doesn’t look back at you, having gone back to scrolling through his phone, but your eyes unconsciously drift over to him while Mrs. Park’s not looking, anyway, suddenly feeling awkward. “We’re leaving after this, actually for my parents’ company dinner.”

After bumping into your mom, Mrs. Han, and Mrs. Hwang together at the reunion party, your next natural fear is seeing Mrs. Park and your most recent almost blind date from last year, her nephew Jaemin—though he’s the only nice one among everyone who’s been set up with you, you eventually ended up evading him and his offer of free movie tickets to any movie house in Seoul until his aunt stopped asking you for updates because you just didn’t feel like seeing him romantically.

You didn’t think it’d be this soon, especially since Jisung practically missed this entire mini drama in person last year, only hearing a few mentions of it in your personal chat.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Park’s eyes widen at your previous statement, moving along with you when your line moves forward. “Really? We had lunch there at 11! Pity we didn’t bump into you.” She gestures a lot with her hands and sighs before glancing over her shoulder to her children and Jaemin. “Anyway, you should say hello to Jaemin. He’s been asking about you and he couldn’t believe that you and Jisung are dating!”

“Oh, um,” Your eyes glance back and forth between Mrs. Park and Jisung now, the latter looking back at you with a raised eyebrow in clear confusion. “It’s okay, we’re—”

But, as if your last comment flew past Mrs. Park, she hurriedly gestures for Jaemin to approach you. With her back momentarily turned to you, Jisung shakes your upper arm once and asks, “Hey, didn’t you message me before that—”

“Yeah, Jaemin was Mrs. Park’s last blind date offer.” Simultaneously, you hurriedly explain to him just before Mrs. Park returns her gaze to you once again and Jaemin joins your group, waving hello to you and Jisung. “Hi, J-Jaemin!”

Next to you, realization dawns on Jisung and he slowly mimics your greeting, “Hi...Jaemin, long time no see, bro.”

“Hey, how are you?” Jaemin asks with a small smile, more to you than Jisung whose offer for a high-five he unintentionally misses. “Y/N, you stopped messaging me last summer before we could go on that movie; then the next thing I hear you’re dating Han Jisung!”

You smile back, equally as awkward as Jisung putting his free hand back to his side. “I got really busy last summer working at one of our restaurants so I couldn’t take you up on that movie offer.” You explain, chuckling along when Mrs. Park laughs. “Jisung and I just started dating last month, though, so it’s not because of him.”

“Oh,” Jaemin muses, finally acknowledging Jisung after by turning to him. “Weren’t you in Malaysia the entirety of last year though, Jisung?”

This time, it’s Jisung nodding. “Yeah but we started dating long distance.” He explains almost proudly, slinging an arm over your shoulder now.

You feel Jisung’s grip on your shoulder blades too tightly, making you nudge him with the same shoulder once for him to loosen up a bit but he doesn’t hold his guard down one bit.

In front of you, Jaemin nods, completely oblivious to the way he’s making Jisung react. “Yeah, so I’ve heard! Anyway, congrats to you two, you both look cute together!” He grins in genuine happiness while Mrs. Park nods along, making you sigh in relief and Jisung to finally loosen up next to you. “Jisung, my movie tickets offer to Y/N still stands but you can totally use it together now, it’s cool.”

“Thank you but—” You begin to kindly reject until Jisung butts in.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind!” Your best friend beams back with a contrasting tensed figure next to you before glancing over your shoulders and shifting the conversation, “Oh, Y/N, babe, we’re next in line.”

You follow his line of vision and, indeed, the man at check-out is already motioning for you to approach the counter. “Right...right.” You mumble in agreement before turning to Mrs. Park. “Um, I’m sorry Mrs. Park, Jaemin, we have to go now.”

“Well, we can’t keep this long line waiting now, right?” Mrs. Park concludes while Jaemin nods along sheepishly. “We’ll be on our way now, then! It was nice seeing you.”

“Yeah, it was nice seeing you.” Jaemin repeats to you and Jisung, waving goodbye this time. “See you around, okay?”

“See you!” Jisung replies courteously for the two of you. “Happy New Year again!”

“Happy New Year, too, dears! See you around!” Mrs. Park then concludes your conversation.

With that, your small crowd then parts ways with Jaemin and Mrs. Park going back in their lane while Jisung gently directs you to the check-out counter with his hand on your shoulder, the other handing your plush toys to the check-out once you’ve reached it.

“Cash or card?” The man at check-out asks politely, swiping your purchase across the scanner. The lady next to him then carefully places your plush toys inside decorative paper bags for New Year’s before returning it to Jisung.

“Card, please.” You cough awkwardly before giving your card to the man with slightly shaky hands, Jisung’s arm on your shoulder not leaving your side even when he reaches over the counter to get your plush toys.

Looking up at Jisung, you find him looking back at you with a curious expression after. “What now?” He asks with a pout, as if expecting you to react similarly to last Christmas. “What did I say this time?”

“What?” You shoot the question back at him as your card is returned to you and the two of you now leave the store. “I just looked at you.”

You actually wanted to ask him why he was holding you in front of Jaemin like that a while ago but quickly dismissed the thought, cringing internally.

Walking outside Mumuso now and out of Mrs. Park’s sight, Jisung only pulls you closer to him as you now walk back to your restaurant, swinging your paper bag on his other side. “You’re thinking of something.” He points out, leaning close to your ear once again when you find yourself in the middle of a big crowd. “Did Jaemin do something you didn’t mention to me on chat last year?”

"I’m not? And no, he didn’t do anything” You snicker in amusement, elbowing him gently. “It’s nothing, I swear. You’re delusional, dummy.”

“So why didn’t you go to the movies with him?” He smoothly changes the topic after a moment, glancing at you expectantly as you walk. “Jaemin’s nice, unlike Mrs. Park’s other nephews, and his parents invest in really cool stuff so you can always get movie tickets and backstage passes from him.”

“I really was busy last summer.” You reason out, leading the two of you carefully at noticing how Jisung’s only paying half attention to your path ahead.

“Ya, but not busy enough to stop bothering me on chat while I was touring.” He points out. “You know, with or without Mrs. Park, you can still go out with him as friends, you know, the movie ticket’s still going to be free, anyway.”

“Yeah, but,” You sigh, hesitantly sharing after a moment, “it just...it felt weird since he asked me under the impression of his aunt setting us up—and I’ve always known he liked Lee Jeno.”

Jisung hums in thought before a thought crosses his mind, “So, if he asked you on his own, as a serious date and without thinking about Jeno, would you have said yes?”

You think about this for a moment, just as you arrive back in the restaurant where your mom is now parting ways with Mrs. Han.

“Y/N!” Your mom calls for you as you and Jisung approach and thus initially preventing you from answering Jisung’s question, some of your shared shopping bags in her arms. Only then do you notice the presence of your driver, Mr. Yoon, who carries the others for her. “Say goodbye to Jisung and Mrs. Han now, dear, we’re going home.”

“And, Jisung, we’re stopping by the tailor to get the jeans I left there a while back.” Mrs. Han reminds her son before turning to you and extending her arms out for a hug. “Come here, dear, let me say goodbye to you properly!”

You look at Jisung who only rubs the nape of his neck sheepishly, wordlessly gesturing for you to accept his mom’s hug with a tilt of his head. With that, you then take a step forward, turning your back to him briefly to give Mrs. Han a hug.

“Thank you for today, Mrs. Han.” You hug her briefly, until she pulls away to affectionately smile up at you. “See you again soon!”

“You have fun at your company dinner tonight, okay? And please, just call me auntie!” Mrs. Han pats your hair delightfully before letting you go, turning to Jisung after. “Okay, Sungie, let’s go so we can go home quickly too.”

Over your shoulder, you see Jisung nod at his mom before gesturing over to you. “Yeah, let me just give Y/N something.” He says, holding up the paper bag he holds in one hand and making his mom gush.

“Okay, then!” Mrs. Han says, taking a step back now to help your mom and Mrs. Yoon to collect your things. “How adorable!”

Only then do you turn back around to Jisung, receiving your stuff hamster from him. “Thanks.” You smile at him, squeezing the plush toy once in your hand before looking up at him again. “And about a while ago—”

Jisung’s eyes immediately perk up in curiosity, “Yeah?”

“I doubt Jaemin would ask as a serious date but either way,” You shrug nonchalantly, “I’d probably turn him down, still. We’re not that close, anyway, and I’m dating you so it’d be weird.”

The last statement catches Jisung off-guard, even though you said it with no underlying meaning or whatsoever, too long that by the time he’s already gathered his thoughts, you, your mom, and Mr. Yoon are already on your way out of the restaurant.

“See you on campus, ugly.” You playfully elbow him by his side as you pass by him on your way out, mumbling the nickname so only the two of you can hear.

“Y-Yeah,” Jisung blinks twice in a daze, watching you until you disappear outside. “see you on campus...huh.”

You find yourself at your first party of the year hours later as scheduled, this time in your own house with extended family and key people in your family’s company. Instinctively, you cling onto your cousins Jeongin and Lia as the three of you try your best evading your actual blood relative aunts and uncles while they’re still sober and can still ask invasive questions.

As the time on your phone nears 9 PM, the three of you take refuge in your bedroom with two liters of Cola and snacks you stole from the buffet table and random YouTube videos playing from your laptop that serves more as background noise while you gossip than actual entertainment.

“I can’t believe you just went along with Han Jisung telling your mom and his that you’re dating.” Jeongin shakes his head in disbelief as he sips on his Cola. “That’s crazy, so unlike you, cousin.”

“It was that or Mrs. Park’s nephews, I’m telling you!” You insist for the third time, chewing on gummy worms. “Anyway, at least it’s him and not someone I’m not that close too so I don’t have to adjust much. Don’t you like Jisung?”

In front of you, Lia shrugs hesitantly, “I mean I like him, I guess: he’s your other other best friend and he’s cool with everyone.”

“So why do you two sound like you don’t like him?” You point accusingly, leaning back nervously on your bed frame.

“It’s not him! We’re just processing this whole fake dating thing since it’s not really something you’d most likely be into doing willingly.” Lia answers honestly. “Personally, I didn’t know that the sorority aunties bothered you this bad to agree with such a thing.”

“You’re not going to be so showy and affectionate with it, right?” Jeongin asks. “‘Cause that would be weird and gross.”

You roll your eyes, kicking him by his crossed legs in annoyance, “Of course not, just when necessary; by that, I mean until everyone lays of all the blind dates for a long while or when there’s another event then naturally we have to be seen together.”

Jeongin smacks your foot with a pillow in response. “So when are you breaking up? Are you two going to Chan’s wedding together as dates?”

“I don’t know yet,” You shrug at the first question, taking a sip of your own Cola before continuing, “and either way, we’re going to Chan’s wedding together.”

“Hm,” Lia muses this time, reaching in between the two of you for a packet of chocolate candies. “Then don’t break up before, during, or a little while after the wedding because it’d be weird for everyone, especially us as your mutual friends.”

“Definitely not.” You agree with a nod. “So, how about you, Jeongin? Are you and Seungmin going together?”

Looking up at Jeongin, you see him pouting, “Probably but I haven’t asked him about that yet.”

“Why do you need to ask him? It’s not like you haven’t gone to other events together before.”

“Yeah but Seungmin started seeing someone lately so I don’t know if I can still tag along with him on the wedding.” Jeongin pouts at you as he opens a small candy for himself. “And I don’t want to go with you and Jisung this time since you’re ‘dating.’“

“Then go with Hyunjin and Minho if you don’t want to hang out with me.” You pout. “You know Yeji, Lia, and Ryujin are going to stick together the whole time and, hopefully, Ryujin finally asks out that girl from one of our lab classes so just stick with Hyunjin and Minho—unless, of course, you want to hang out with your brothers or the younger kids at the wedding.”

You see Jeongin silently contemplating on this idea for a moment, chewing on his candy then taking a sip of his Cola once he manages to break it with his teeth. “Hm, I guess that’s okay now—Hyunjin and Minho, I mean: chaotic but better than third wheeling the whole ceremony and reception.” He muses out loud. “I think I’ll pass hanging out with the sort of adults group my older brother and Jisung’s older brother have unofficially formed and I’m definitely not joining the younger kids!”

“Perks of having close-knit families, I guess.” You chuckle between more sips of Cola. “How come your mom allows you and your brothers to skip the sorority reunion parties whenever you want to, by the way? It’s not like you’re studying abroad or something.”

At that, Jeongin grins mischievously at you before taking a longer sip of his Cola. “Unlike auntie, my mom’s a cool mom.” He giggles. “She understands that my brothers and I prioritize finishing video games at home over having to face her college friends and endure really weird questions.”

The last thought makes you sigh, “I’m seriously jealous, I want to stay at home whenever the reunion parties come up, too. It’s not like I have anything much to show off to the sorority aunties, anyway.”

But Lia waves her hand dismissively at you in disagreement this time, “Yeah but you met and grew closer with your best friend over the years because of such parties, right? He might be your ‘annoying best friend’ as you always call him by but I can see you enjoy his company the most.”

You don’t respond immediately this time, getting caught off guard by the thought.

When you don’t speak, Lia chews her sour worms quickly and adds, “Maybe you’ve just been blinded by being annoyed over the toxic questions the aunties would ask that you don’t appreciate much the fact that you met most of your closest friends now—not to mention your ‘boyfriend,’ too—because your mom is so strict with you attending these parties.”

“So you’re saying I should just put up with the invasive aunties because I met good friends through them?” You feign a scowl, though you know that’s not what he means. “That’s not really a healthy mindset.”

And as expected, your cousin quickly shakes her head. “No, I mean it’s better that you focus more on the friends aspect than on the aunties aspect.” She explains more clearer now. “especially now that almost everyone in your group’s graduating this semester and you guys are probably going to be busy with your respective businesses after. Not to mention, Chan’s getting married and will probably take over their family business soon! That’s soon serious adulting stuff!”

“...huh,” You trail of contemplatively after a while, sipping your Cola once. “I never thought of it that way.”

Jeongin grins cheekily, “That’s because you don’t think at all.”

“Ya!” You smack him again playfully with a pillow, making him laugh. “Shut up.”

The three of you laugh lightheartedly over his witty comeback anyway, catching your breath only when you hear your mom’s footsteps nearing the hallway, probably trying to find you.

“Shit.” You mutter under your breath, a hand to your mouth as you stifle in your laughs and carefully watch your mom’s shadow pass over your door. “Do you think she’s looking for us?”

“For what? Another one of the non-family partners trying to meet you and Lia and set you up on a date with one of their children again like my older brother?” Jeongin teases, moving in between you and Lia nervously when your mom’s shadow hovers by the door from your view of its gaps.

You silently smack his arm with your hand this time, exhaling in relief when your mom finally leaves, most likely to pick something up from her room. “What are you talking about? You heard my mom bragging about Jisung a while back.” You retort. “If anything, maybe she’s looking for you and Lia and setting you up.”

Jeongin sits up straighter now, transferring your laptop where he sat a while back then leaning against your bed frame too. “But you know how they can be, always on our tails and getting on the parents’ good graces.” He shrugs. “That’s just business, I guess.”

“Right, because you’re minoring in business.” You roll your eyes with a chuckle, twisting your upper body so you’re facing Jeongin on your left. “But that’s not my problem right now since I’m dating. I’d look out for you, if you ask me.”

“Yes but you’re ‘fake dating’ not actually dating.” He points out teasingly. “You eventually have to ‘break up’ like most relationships, too. What will you do then?”

Deep inside, you answer the question with a ‘no.’ Outwards, you shrug, seemingly unconvinced, “Still, not my problem right now.”

Then, as if on dramatic cue, your mom knocks on the door. “Y/N, Jeongin, Lia are you in there? Some of the new investors and partners want to meet you!” She yells from the other side, her voice coming out muffled from where you sit. “And Grandma and Grandpa just arrived so say hello to them!”

You groan and Jeongin laughs while Lia only sighs, Jeongin downing what remains of his Cola. “That’s our cue.” He says, standing up first before helping Lia up then you. “Told you.”

“I’m going to laugh if you end up getting trapped by any of our moms.” You hiss at him, picking up your trash and taking it with you as the three of you leave the room.

“We’ll see,” Lia shrugs. “I’m sticking straight to Grandma!”

ch. 1 // ch. 3 // series masterlist

tags: @t-toodumbtocare @sandaigdigan-reads @pwarkhans @ruellelix @malai-barfi @mahalau @milkywayfelix @qweens-stuff @tenclouds @crscendoforsung @verobibble

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skyholders · 3 years

Text

Lucien: Art Gallery Date [Translation]

Translations under the cut!

This date contains spoilers for S2 of MLQC!

To explain some parts of this date: In S2, Lucien works in the Special Task Force as a consultant / former Black Swan member while MC is a part of Black Swan.

[Section One]

When we arrived back in downtown, it was already late into the night.

I stepped into the bright, white lights of the lift. Leaning against the wall, I let out an exhausted sigh.

“So tired..”

Due to a recent project in the company, I’ve been overworking and staying back for weeks, I’ve even spent a few nights in my office. However, it’s finally came to an end. The lift came to a stop on my floor, and ‘dinged!’ open.

As I stepped out of the lift, I was stunned.

“..Lucien?”

The lights of the corridor were quietly garish, showing me the awfully familiar silhouette at the end of the corridor. Lucien was leaning against the corridor, a book in his hands. As he heard the noises, he looked up towards me.

Upon seeing him, the lethargic bug in me instantly scrambled away to the back of my brain

.“Are you waiting for me?”

“Mmhm.”

“You seem busy these days, always coming back in this hour.”

“Has work been troubling you? I wonder if you need the help of this certain show consultant.”

His questioning in the once soundless hall had a lace of care in them.

“There aren’t any problems, just a new project. It’s almost at its end.”

“Since it is coming to an end, how about this weekend, you stay for me?”

His eyes were soft along with his smile, as if he knew I will never say no.

“Not this weekend.”

His smile’s died down for a fleeting moment, and he looked at me puzzled.

“I have a project meeting with our collaborators this weekend, we have to discuss the last bits of the project.”

“So sorry, but I can’t accept your invite.”

I gave Lucien an apologetic look. Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he nodded understandingly.

“I see.” He turned around to open the door, and walked into his apartment.

“....”

I quickly stepped towards the door, and used my hand to block the door from closing. Lucien’s gaze shifted from my hand to my face, his eyes held a certain deepness to them.

“Stopping at a neighbour’s door in the middle of the night, this action usually hides a certain warmth to it, does it not?”

“I just want to tell you, that I’ve been busy these days, but I’ll be free in a while.”

Lucien held the door open, and a moment later, his lips spilled a hint of a grin.

“Since you’ll have to work during the weekends, you must sleep well tonight, no?”

His speech was gentle, and in the silent night, it spun circles and landed onto my heart. I looked up at him, and gave him a smile.

“Alright.”

(Time-skip to the weekend)

The next morning, I held the ticket in my hands tightly as I stepped in front of the artistic building on front of me, noticing the signboard on the entrance before I enter.

“Sculpture Art Exhibition..”

“..This is the first time I’ve met with someone who’d insisted on meeting up in an art gallery.. Maybe they’re someone who’s passionate with art?”

Upon entering the gallery hall, I asked for the person’s location, and found the man in a suit not far away.

“Hello sir, are you the consultant for Nagaya’s Film Studio?”

“Hello, I’m the consultant, yes,”

He said as he handed me his name card.

“We’ve been in contact digitally, I’ve actually been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time now.”

I shook his hand as a form of politeness,

“I’m very honoured to be working with your company as well. The problematic areas have all been solved previously, so here’s to hoping that we can finish the last bits of the project by today.”

I took out the folders from my bag, but he said nothing.

“Is this location not to your satisfaction? The Art Gallery has a rich atmosphere; it’s quiet, and we can enjoy the works while having a chat.”

“It is pretty good..”

“Sir, please look at this section,”

I opened the file, passed it to the man, and attempted to shift the conversation to the right track. But he wasn’t in a rush to go through the files, and he smiled instead.

“Miss MC, no rush at all. Please take your time to stroll around, the files can wait.”

“But let us talk about the collaboration first..”

Before I’ve finished speaking, I was already speechless.

Past the crowded room, an ever-so-familiar figure walked past the glass door. Lucien gave the staff a polite smile as he took the directory map, and walked inside. Maybe it was because of my blazing stare, but Lucien looked up, and looked towards my direction.

And as our eyes met, his eyes curved along with his relaxed smile.

[Section Two]

“Miss MC?”

The collaborator tried calling my name, and as I came back to my senses, I apologetically smiled at him.

“Sorry, I’ve lost my focus just now.”

“Sir, this current project is very important to both parties, so let’s go through it together, and other things can wait. What do you think?”

I gave a determined look as I passed him the files, and he couldn’t do anything but accept them.

“There are generally no problems now. I’ll be signing it when I go back. Should we go tour the exhibition now?”

I unconsciously stepped half a step back.

“I’m very sorry, but I’ll have to pass the final version of this to my colleagues, so I might not be able to enjoy the exhibition with you today.”

My eyes darted to the side, but Lucien wasn’t there anymore. The man in front of me gave out a disappointed “oh,” but quickly started speaking once more.

“Since we’re already here, let’s take a few photos in the photo-taking area.”

“..Let’s not.”

I looked around once more, wanting to find Lucien, and yet I couldn’t see him anymore.

“That man over there, mind if you help us take a picture?”

“Sure.”

Lucien’s voice rang behind me, I turned around. He stood by not far away, his gaze landing onto me.

“....”

“Then I hope it won’t be a bother for you, sir..”

“-Oh, Professor Lucien? Can’t believe you’ll be here for the exhibition as well! What a coincidence.”

I cut through the collaborator’s words, pretend to look at Lucien with surprise, and hurriedly tried to wink, hinting at him to not help him. Lucien, however, said nothing and looked at me amused, his smile growing wide.

“Yes, a coincidence indeed.”

“You know each other? That’s great.”

He excitedly handed his phone to Lucien and stood by me as he posed like your standard tourist. I looked at Lucien, forcing a crooked smile out of me. Lucien amusedly held the phone, and clicked the photo-capturing button.

As soon as the picture was taken, I quickly stepped one step away.

The collaborator took the phone from Lucien, his eyebrows furrowing as he let out a puzzled noise.

“Eh? Why does this s picture only showed the sculpture behind us?”

“Although we can freely take picture of whatever that pleases us here, I believe the art itself is more worthy of the attention.”

The collaborator was stunned at Lucien’s words. Lucien turned around to look at me, and it’s almost as if it wasn’t there, but his eyes were almost as if he’s trying to tell me that he’s feeling guilty.

“MC, I’ve reminded you last night to take a good rest, why do you still seem so lethargic today?”

“Ah?”

He held out his hand, his slim finger coming to the dark circles under my eyes, and he rubbed it gently.

“Why are you always not taking care of yourself, making me worry?”

I was absolutely stunned frozen by Lucien’s sweet gestures and the collaborator’s shocked look in his face. After gaining my consciousness once more, I tried to step back, but was pulled back by him.

He sighed lightly, held my hand, and looked at the collaborator beside me.

“Sorry to have ridiculed you.”

“As you’ve seen, she’s been spending too much of her time and effort in this project. So much so that I can only “bump into her” here.”

“However, since the project’s come to an end, for the rest of this, would you mind giving her back to me?”

The collaborator’s stare landed on our intertwining hands, and a moment later, he face became rather awkward.

“Um, of course. I’ll send over the files right after I’ve signed them. Miss MC, it’s been an honour collaborating with you, I’ll take my leave now.”

After waiting for the collaborator to disappear, Lucien let go of my hand.

“That – thanks for getting me out of that..”

“So the work you’ve mentioned, is to actually come to the gallery with someone else..”

He looked at me, his words calm and collected.

“This is the meeting location, I couldn’t possibly reject them..”

I tried to explain, but Lucien’s gaze remained unfazed, and so I could only try to change the topic.

“Why did you come here? The exhibition today isn’t exactly popular.”

“Well-known or not, it isn’t a reliable factor to determine the value of things, is it not?”

“But are you truly here for the exhibition? This is too much of a coincidence..”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, but I’m truly here for the exhibition.”

I sent a suspicious look towards Lucien, and he looked at me once more.

“However, you said you still have certain things to address in your company. Are you not going to handle them?”

He smiled gently as he reminded me, his tone light and slow.

My heart skipped a beat, and it felt kind of strange. Lucien was almost like he was trying to push me away, but why was that so? I felt an unsettling feeling setting roots in my heart, so I tried to say it.

“I was just looking for an excuse just now. I don’t have anything else to do later, so since we’ve bumped into each other, why not tour the exhibition together?”

Lucien did not look at me, and instead pulled open the directory map, his eyes casted down as he focused on the landmarks marked on the map.

“You wishing to be with me, are those words truthful, or just an excuse t search for some kinds of information on me?”

I was wordless by then, and, following his gaze towards the map, I instead noticed the insignia of STF hidden and held tightly in the tips of his fingers.

“What about you? You said you’re here for the exhibition, were those words actually true, or was it an excuse to not make me feel suspicious?”

I looked at Lucien, and his dark-coloured eyes spun a circle around me.

“Seems like you’ve already found your answer. So a confession or not, it doesn’t seem to matter much.”

“But I wonder what happened, to have made you come and deal with it?”

Lucien tucked the map away, looking at me with interest.

“If I’ve already answered your suspicions, for me, is there truly an advantage?”

He asked sternly, as if he did not want to easily reveal the true reason why he’s there.

“If we share information on both parties now, I won’t be stingy with BS’ whereabouts the next time I get a hold of anything.”

Lucien’s smile widened just a little.

“Sounds good.”

[Section Three]

“Some sculptures in the Art Gallery have been used by a few Evolvers to trade illegal information.. I’ve heard that if we can find the point of trading between these people, it’ll benefit the both of us.”

Lucien gave a nod, and bent down slightly to whisper into my ear, making me flustered.

He chuckled lightly, and said-

“Then I’ll have to trouble Miss Nox to search through the gallery with me.”

In the soft rays of light and its brightness, and between the statues of exaggerated expressions and their less dramatic counterparts, Lucien’s steady breathing enveloped me, and I find myself wanting to hold onto this fleeting moment.

The colours of the sky gradually became darker, and we’ve almost I sorted every single sculpture in the exhibition, but have found nothing at all.

“Is it possible that they’ve already destroyed all the evidence?”

Lucien did not answer my question, and so I couldn’t help but to look at him.

In the pure white of the sculptures, he stood in the corners of their shadows, his eyes casted downwards as he observed the statue, intricately protected on its stand. The lines of the statues were sculpted with a sense of profoundness, and with Lucien standing quietly by its side, it’s like a serene painting.

I stopped myself from walking further, captured by the sight in front of me.

It reminded me of the many times I’ve turned to look back in the past, and how I can still always feel the touch of his gentle gaze.

“Are you looking at me?”

Noticing it, he turned to look at me. Though I still cannot truly tell the emotions swimming in his eyes each time he smiles, I’ve gotten used to smiling back in return.

“Yep, I was looking at you.”

I admitted truthfully, and turned by focus back to Lucien. A dash of surprise swam past his eyes, and then they quieted away into a languid silence.

“Then can you tell me what you’ve seen?”

“Mm.. I see a general show consultant lazing around, not seriously looking for any clues at all.”

Lucien smiled.

“If that’s so, then it seems like I’ll have to work a little harder.”

“You called me just now, did you find anything?”

I nodded, opening my mouth hesitantly.

“I’m wondering if there are already people changing the locations of the clues you’ve been searching for.”

“Perhaps.”

He didn’t seem surprised, his gaze still focused on the statue.

“Is there anything special about this statue?”

“There isn’t.”

His voice was prosaic, as if he hadn’t been staring at the statue a while ago.

“The sculptor’s skills isn’t as polished, and the facial expression is a bit unnatural as well.”

“Then why are you so drawn to it?”

“Haven’t you noticed?”

“This statue is the most well-protected in all of the exhibition. Compared to the occasional scratches and damages appearing in the other ones, this statue looks as if it’s just been made.”

Lucien’s eyes scanned through the carefully-protected statue, his gaze brimmed with complexity.

“Seems like its owner didn’t have the heart to let it endure even the slightest bit of harm at all.”

“It’s natural, isn’t it?”

I looked at the sculpture in it’s perfect condition, and I almost felt the love it’s received from its owner.

“To have thrown so much of their time and effort into this piece, they can’t help but to protect it with their all.”

Lucien shook his head.

“I don’t think so.”

“If it’s only for the sake of protection, the sculpture is, in the end, still just a typical novice-level sculpture.”

“Only with the sculpture enduring the test of time and its surrounding environment, can it truly become what one may call a masterpiece.”

His voice was low, with a hint of softness, as if he was talking about the sculpture, and something else as well.

[Section Four]

Evening arrived, and Lucien and I have unconsciously spent the whole afternoon in the art exhibition.

“We didn’t find any clues, not even any suspicious looking places. Lucien, why do you think this is so?”

I tried to piece together the puzzle in front of my eyes, but when my eyes met with Lucien, I suddenly realised one thing.

From the beginning till the very end, it was me who was trying to find the clues Lucien said there would be. And Lucien was the one who was relaxingly enjoying the statues one by one.

“As you’ve said, perhaps there are already people here before us.”

He seemed to not care about the results at all, his tone languid.

In my heart appeared a thought that was quite far-fetched.

To prove my theory, I walked to the side of a sculpture, pretending to search it thoroughly. Then, I quietly gestured Lucien to come over.

“Lucien, come, I think I’ve found a clue!”

“Is that so?”

I held some papers in my chest, pretending they were the information discovered, and looked at Lucien for his response. He slowly walked towards me, looking at the sculpture beside me.

“Do you know?”

“In my eyes, your actions are easily readable.”

Lucien leaned towards me, trapping me between the sculpture, and him.

“Eh? What are you doing?!”

Lucien looked at me directly, paused, and let out a light sigh. He took out the documents I held in my hands.

“Not bad. Indeed, there were no clues at all.”

“I was just trying to find an excuse, to spend an undisturbed afternoon with you.”

The crowds have lessened significantly in the exhibition hall, the motion-sensoring lights dimming out due to the lack of visitors.

The back of Lucien was a blurry darkness, which creeped to the sides of his trench coat, making him appear to be both lonely, and dangerous.

But he looked at me silently, as if he wanted me to hold his hand, and pull him to stand right by me. I thought back to when he pretended to be serious as he discussed of the happenings, and then fooling me into touring the entire exhibition hall with him.

“Lucien, you’ve ran in such a big circle, just because you want me to spend time with you?”

“Can’t I?”

His tone was plain and light, yet he added a bit of exaggerations in some of the syllabi.

“You seem to be very busy lately. So busy that you do not have the time to share a cup of tea with me, speak with me.”

His voice seemed to be laced with a hint of remorse, his eyes downcast as he looked at me.

For a moment, I was stunned wordless.

Because we did not move for a long while, the motion detecting light above is clicked off and away as well. And in the darkness, Lucien chuckled lightly.

“Looks like it’s already the closing hour. It’s time to end this tour now.”

Outside of the art gallery was a sinking twilight.

I followed Lucien along the sunset-bathed roads, and hesitated for a moment. I quickly walked to his side, and reached out my hand to the hem of his jacket.

Lucien halted his steps, and turned to look at me a little surprised.

“I remember the Special Task Force’s secretive research department do not have to have overtime for the weekends, and coincidentally, I’m free next weekend.”

I gave him a smile,

“So, Professor Lucien, can you borrow me your time next week?”

Lucien looked at me gently, and smiled. His voice and the surrounding clutter of other noises as clear as crystal in my ears,

“Of course.”

[END]

#mlqc spoilers #mlqc lucien #mlqc #mlqc xumo #mlqc translation #mr love queens choice #mr love dream date

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