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vampiregirl1797 · 4 years

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Love is Patient

Joey Tribbiani x Plus Size Reader

GIF Not Mine.

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Warnings: Some pining, a hint of angst, self-depreciation, eventual fluff

Word Count: 6,125

Summary: Monica’s friend from collage comes to stay with her for a few days as she attends a job interview in the city. After the meeting, at Monica’s suggestion, she decides to extend her trip and during her time there her feelings towards a certain Italian develop into more than a crush. Monica has told her all about how he is with women, and so she knows her feelings are pointless and therefore decides to keep them to herself. But what if for the first time ever Joey looks at Y/N and sees more than a candidate for a one-night stand? What if he sees the potential for his first ever romantic relationship?

A bubble of anxiety formed in my gut as I made out the sign for Central Perk—where Monica had told me to meet her after my interview. I pushed open the door, my eyes fluttering shut for a second to appreciate the warmth that washed over me. It was currently snowing outside, so to walk into the café where it wasn’t absolutely freezing was like slipping into a hot bath after a warm day; cosy and comforting. I hung up my red puffy coat on the rack by the door and fluffed out my hair to get it away from my neck. As I was doing this I spied Monica’s short black hair standing at the counter and accepting a giant cookie on a small plate. I walked over and tapped her on the shoulder accepting the one armed hug with a wide smile and a laugh at her eagerness—she’d last seen me this after noon, it hadn’t been that long.

‘How did it go?’ she asked after she pulled back from the embrace, her blue eyes shining with genuine curiosity.

‘Good, I think. I answered all of their questions and they seemed to really like me. Now all I have to do is wait and see, which is the worst part.’ I ran a hand through my long dark hair in frustration—I’d always been impatient.

‘Well you’re an amazing nurse, I’m sure they’ll welcome you with open arms.’ She assured me, patting my arm in comfort.

That familiar swell of anxiety resurfaced as she led me a few steps towards the giant sofa—where her friends were sitting. I’d gotten in late last night and hadn’t rose until late afternoon. At that point I’d been running around and frantically getting ready for my interview, so I hadn’t had the time to be introduced to anyone new. Which I’d been secretly grateful for—I didn’t do well when it came to making friends. Monica was one of two people who I’d managed to form a companionship with over four years in collage. If that didn’t tell you I was awkward and hard for people to connect with then I didn’t know what would. But I forced those thoughts out of my mind and tried to smile in what I hoped was a friendly way.

‘Guys this is Y/N!’ Monica declared brightly, her free hand moving around and pointing to different people as she relayed their names, ‘Y/N this is Phoebe,’ the blonde girl waved enthusiastically and I felt my smile become more genuine, ‘this is Rachel,’ her greeting was more subdued, but no less authentic, ‘this is my brother Ross,’ his wave was a little awkward and I felt a wave of relief that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way around new people, ‘this is Chandler’ his wave mirrored Ross’ and I felt the tension in my shoulders completely dissolve. Maybe this is the kind of group I would actually fit into.

‘And last but not least…’ she shifted me to the right a little so I could see the attractive dark haired, brown eyed man who was sat on a chair about a foot away from the couch. He was wearing a white sweater and I had an errant thought that the colour made his skin look that much more tanned and smooth. His right hand was cupped around the cup of coffee he had on the small circular table in front of him, and his lips were turned up into a welcoming smile, ‘this is Joey.’ Monica said and I blinked in surprise; it had felt like minutes rather than seconds since she began her introduction, but it seemed like I was the only one who felt that way.

The attractive man was the only one to offer his hand to shake, I assumed that was because he was closest and therefore the only one in position to do so. I barely managed to bite back a gasp at the tingle that shot right up my arm when my skin met his.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ his smile was less friendly and more cheerful this time; I couldn’t help but return it.

‘It’s nice to meet you, too,’ I reluctantly removed my hand from his, trying not to look too awkward as I suddenly had no idea what I usually did with that hand. Did I put it in my pocket? Let it hang casually by my side? It was hard to remember when all I wanted to do was allow it to bask in Joey’s warm and somehow comforting touch.

I cleared my throat and willed myself not to blush at the turn my thoughts had taken as I turned so I could face everyone as I spoke, ‘it’s nice to meet all of you, I feel like I already know you, Monica talks about you all so much when we talk over the phone.’

It was true, and I found myself looking from person to person, pairing the stories with their faces. That made a ball of disappointment form in my stomach as I recalled something she’d told me about the handsome Italian: Joey isn’t really a one-guy kind of girl. He doesn’t like commitment, he likes sex and he’s happy going from one woman to another.

‘Here sweetie, sit down do you want some coffee?’ Monica asked as I took a seat in between Chandler and Phoebe.

‘Please honey, can I get a blueberry muffin too? I skipped lunch and I’m starving.’ I sighed, placing my bag at my feet and fighting the urge to pick my fingernails—a nervous habit I’d never really grown out of.

‘So Y/N, tell us about yourself,’ Ross said leaning forward in the arm chair he inhabited, careful not to jostle where Rachel sat on the arm, ‘Mon said you were in town for an interview? What’s that for?’

‘Oh I’ve applied for a nursing position at Bellevue Hospital Center,’ I said, trying not to blush at the impressed expressions a few of them now wore, ‘I’ve been working at a hospital in my home town since I qualified but I’ve always wanted to live in the city and when this position opened up it seemed like fate. I just hope I get it.’

‘I’m sure you will,’ Chandler reassured, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly. I was surprised by the gesture but I appreciated it.

‘It’s so cool that you’re a nurse.’ Joey said and the expression of wonder on his face while he looked at me did make me blush.

Thankfully Monica chose that moment to pass me the coffee and muffin she’d acquired for me, so I took the distraction and hoped no one had noticed my reaction.

‘Thanks, Mon,’ I sighed gratefully, placing the hot beverage onto the coffee table in front of me before taking a huge bite of the blueberry goodness.

‘Good?’ Monica chuckled as she squeezed in on the other side of Phoebe.

‘Definitely,’ I nodded, not realising a moan of appreciation had escaped my lips—it just tasted so good when I hadn’t had anything all day.

‘Speaking of food, where are we going for dinner?’ Joey asked, a crease forming between his brows as if the answer were very important to him, ‘I’m hungry too.’

‘I don’t know,’ Rachel mused, her fingers moving through Ross’ hair as she deliberated, ‘we could order in some Chinese food? I’ve been craving Kung Poi Chicken all day.’

‘If we’re ordering in could we get pizza too?’ I tentatively proposed—it was my favourite food and I hadn’t had any in too long.

‘You like pizza?’ for some reason the Italian’s incredulous tone made me want to blush again, but I managed to force the urge down.

‘Like pizza?’ I scoffed playfully, ‘I love it.’

The others chuckled at the expression that came over his face; he looked a mixture of surprised and awed. I tried to ignore the way my stomach fluttered in reaction to being on the receiving end of that look, and I chuckled with the rest of the group. Eventually we decided on a mixture; Phoebe, Joey and I ordered pizzas, and everyone else settled on Chinese food. With that decision made, we migrated up to Monica’s apartment and once the orders were phoned in, I decided to take a shower and change into some sweats—I’d been in my interview outfit. And that was too formal and uncomfortable for eating a big dinner and lounging on the couch while watching TV.

Once I was redressed, I exited the bathroom with wet hair, feeling much more relaxed. Ross was sitting in the white armchair, with Rachel on the floor in front of him. Phoebe was on the green ottoman with her back to the TV, while Joey and Chandler were sat on the sofa with Monica in between them. The food was sprawled out on the coffee table in front of them and everyone was talking with the TV on quietly in the background.

‘There’s no way!’ Ross disagreed around a mouthful of chicken, ‘why would he united states government cover that up?’

‘You don’t think it’s a bit suspicious that Lee Harvey Oswald was killed two days after Kennedy was assassinated?’ Chandler said, nearly throwing rice all over the place. He sent Monica a look that was a mixture of apologetic and afraid.

I hid a chuckle and slid into the space between Mon and Joey, pulling my knees up to my chest as I bit into the slice of cheese pizza I’d snagged. I tried not to think about how close I was to the Italian, despite the fact I could feel the heat his body was radiating. It got worse when his hand lifted and laid behind me on the back of the couch, probably in an attempt to make the both of us more comfortable.

‘Why are they talking about the John F Kennedy assassination?’ I whispered to Joey, smiling when he seemed to jolt out of his thoughts, I guess he didn’t hold much interest for the conversation topic either.

‘Monica bought it up, apparently someone from work was telling her a few conspiracy theories the other day.’ Joey answered, his voice just as low as mine, ‘so now they’re discussing weather they’re believable or not.’

‘Ah I see,’ I chuckled, deciding to take the opportunity to extend the conversation with the handsome Italian, ‘so what do you do? I never really got around to asking everyone before.’

I was being very careful not to make my interest appear focused on him. I knew he was out of my league, not to mention he wasn’t the type of guy who wanted a relationship, according to my collage friend. I was the opposite; I couldn’t stand casual sex, I’ll admit the idea seemed appealing when I found myself in the midst of a dry spell, but no matter how horny I became I just couldn’t go through with it. Maybe it was because I needed an emotional connection with a man before we took it that far, or maybe it was because I couldn’t imagine being the type of girl a guy chose to have a one night stand with. They usually went with someone prettier and a lot skinnier than me. I didn’t have an issue with it—I used to be majorly insecure about my body, but I’d come to accept myself for who I was. That just happened to be someone that men needed to get to know before they found me attractive enough to sleep with.

‘I’m an actor,’ Joey said, a proud smile lighting up his face.

‘Wow, are you doing anything at the moment?’ I wondered, reaching forward and grabbing the unopened bottle of water in front of me.

‘I’m actually a re-occurring character in Days of Our Lives.’ He said, naturally shifting closer to me as we spoke, ‘I play Doctor Drake Ramoray.’

‘That’s awesome! Do you enjoy it?’ I knew it was a pointless question as I voiced it, but I couldn’t help but ask—the happiness that was shining in his eyes as he spoke of his job made my heart flutter in my chest, and so I couldn’t help but try to prolong it.

‘Are you kidding? I love it! I’ve been dreaming of acting since I was a kid, there wasn’t any other option for me really.’ He grinned, his free hand moving through his hair before dropping back to his lap.

‘Good for you—there are plenty of people who’re too scared to follow their dreams,’ I said as he reached forward for another slice of pizza.

He appeared to be almost bashful as he processed what I’d said and waved off my words, almost dropping his food as he did. I bit back a laugh, not wanting to make him feel more embarrassed than he already was.

‘What about you? Have you always wanted to be a nurse?’ he asked, seemingly eager to get the attention off him.

‘Since my mom dressed me up as one for Halloween when I was five,’ I said, my tone light but not insincere.

‘Woah.’ He blinked, looking like he was trying to do the math on how long that was before he shook his head and gave up, ‘that’s a long time.’

‘It is,’ I agreed with a grin.

‘So, Y/N, I’ve been dying to ask—do you have any embarrassing stories about Monica?’ Phoebe’s bight and bubbly voice broke Joey and I out of our separate conversation.

I looked over to her, pursing my lips as I thought and playfully smacking away the hand Monica tried to put over my mouth, ‘did she ever tell you about spring break sophomore year?’

‘Y/N!’ Monica groaned, covering her face with both of her hands and twisting to burrow into Chandler.

I chuckled, relaying the story of Monica, a bottle of tequila, a karaoke machine and a Dolly Parton impersonator. By the end, everyone was laughing and my collage friend was blushing a tomato red. The rest of the night passed with casual conversation and I felt so comfortable in the company of people that had been strangers a mere twenty four hours ago, that I found myself eagerly agreeing to extend my trip.

I had a feeling I’d finally found a place where I belonged, a place where I truly fit in, and I was in no hurry to leave that behind.

It was a few weeks after I’d arrived and I was rushing down to the coffee house, eager to share my news with someone. I had no idea where anyone was, but I’d left the spare bedroom I’d been staying in to be met by an empty apartment, and the second regular hang out was my best guess. Some might be at work, but I was hoping that with it nearing noon they would be making their way to the coffee house for lunch.

My smile was bright as I walked through the door, hanging my coat up without even looking on the rack as my eyes were already darting around the room, searching for familiar faces. The only one I recognised belonged to Joey who was sat on the sofa, a cup of coffee in his hand and a magazine on his lap. The Italian and I had struck up quite the friendship in the short time I’d been here, or at least that was how it appeared to the rest of the group, Joey included. My feelings went much deeper than that, but the countless women I saw him hit on was more than enough to remind me that nothing would ever happen between the two of us. So I kept those thoughts locked up tight, deep down—I was quite proud of how I’d managed to keep up our friendship despite the romantic feelings I felt for him.

Without giving it much thought I practically ran to Joey and practically jumped on him, my legs settling either side of his and my arms winding around his waist. The suggestive position was completely lost underneath my excitement to share my news with someone, and honestly I was kind of happy it was Joey who would hear the news first.

‘Woah, Y/N,’ Joey exclaimed, managing to stop himself from dropping the hot beverage in his hand out of shock. Once he was confident he wasn’t in danger of scalding either one of them, he returned her embrace, happy to have her so close.

‘Sorry.’ I said, but my grin didn’t falter, ‘I’m just so happy—I got the job!’

It took him a moment but a few seconds later, his expression mirrored mine, ‘get out! That’s amazing, Y/N! I’m so proud of you!’

He hugged me to his chest again and I felt reality catch up to me when he placed a kiss on my head. I returned his embrace for a few more moments before forcing myself off his lap and onto the couch next to him.

‘Thanks, Joe.’ I said, refusing to let myself think about the kind of relationship I’d never have with him. His friendship was more than enough; it was better to have him in my life as a friend than not at all.

‘We should celebrate! Maybe we could go out to dinner later?’ Joey suggested, taking a sip of his coffee, I thought I saw his hand tremble but when I looked again to check I dismissed it as his hand appeared steady.

‘That would be great! We’ll have to mention it to everyone later and see where they want to go,’ I said, frowning when his expression appeared to fall, but when he saw my concern he forced a smile on his face.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but it was clear he didn’t want me to as he excused himself to grab another cup of coffee—when he still had half a mug left—so when he returned I didn’t bring it up. We sat for a little while, and when he picked up his magazine to continue flicking through it, I read it with him over his shoulder. It was a habit we’d formed when he’d seen me reading a comic book, ever since then if one of us was reading, the other was too. That was how we were when the rest of the group seemed to join us at the same time.

‘Hey guys what’s going on?’ Chandler asked after he’d grabbed himself some coffee and took a seat on the stool by the sofa.

‘Actually, I’ve got something to tell you guys.’ I grinned, not noticing how Joey’s expression brightened at seeing my happiness, ‘I got the job!’

‘Congratulations!’ Monica practically screamed, leaning down to give me a hug.

Suddenly I was overcome by countless versions of “congratulations” and an embrace from each of the wonderful people in the group.

‘Does this mean you’re moving here? Permanently?’ Ross asked from the armchair. I thought I saw his eyes flicker to Joey as I asked, but I couldn’t be sure.

‘Yeah, I’m going to have to find an apartment,’ I realised, a ball of stress suddenly appearing in my gut—I had so much to do before I started! I needed a place to live and furniture and—.

‘Hey don’t panic, you can live with me.’ Monica suggested brightly, ‘if you want to I mean, I’ve been kind of lonely since Rachel and Ross moved in together. It would be nice to have a roommate again.’

‘Really?’ I asked, reaching over to grasp her forearm, ‘are you sure?’

‘Of course,’ my collage friend smiled, laughing when I hugged her tightly, whispering “thank you” over and over.

‘That’s great! We’re gonna have so much fun!’ Monica smiled, ‘we should have a sleepover tonight to make it official! Phoebe, Rachel you wanna come over?’

Both eagerly agreed and they started chatting about the activities we could do that night. I settled further into the couch, nodding in agreement with the games and movies they suggested. Honestly, I didn’t mind what we did, I was just grateful to have such a wonderful group of friends that accepted me for who I was, and were both willing and eager to celebrate this success with me.

‘Are guys welcome at this slumber party?’ Chandler wondered after Rachel proposed we played Twister, ‘I was Twister champ of the eighth grade and I’d like to defend my title.’

I chuckled and my sarcastic friend shot me a smile of appreciation, as the most he got out of the others was a smile of amusement.

‘I don’t see why not, but you’ll be going down Bing. I won every game of twister at all of my slumber parties.’ Rachel bragged, and when Monica reached over to give her a high five I grinned.

‘You’re on, Green!’ Chandler exclaimed, the rest of us laughing at their rivalry.

As the others chatted amongst themselves and I settled into Joey’s side when he lifted his arm to fall over the back of the sofa. It was something I’d seen Rachel, Mon and Phoebe do plenty of times with all of the guys, so I didn’t think it could be interpreted as more than a friendly gesture. I didn’t notice Chandler and Ross share a knowing look at our closeness; I was distracted by Monica asking what kind of snacks I’d prefer. It didn’t take long for her to finalise the plans and I could practically see the wheels in her head as she thought of everything she needed to do by tonight. The group left to continue their shifts at work after promising to meet at Monica’s by eight.

‘How about we go and get some lunch?’ Joey suggested, his voice casual and if I’d been paying attention I would’ve noticed it was too casual.

‘That sounds nice. We could go to the deli and get some sandwiches?’ I proposed as I shrugged my puffy coat on—the weather was still on the cold side.

‘Perfect.’ Joey grinned, holding the door open and his smile seemed to grow when I linked my arm through his.

We chatted as we walked to Joey’s favourite deli, and when we arrived he insisted on picking out my sandwich for me. I agreed with a smile—it was impossible to turn him down when he looked so adorable and enthusiastic. We both ended up with meatball subs and I was unable to contain my sounds of pleasure as I ate it—it was without a doubt the most incredible thing I’d ever eaten. I’d told him so once I was finished and he’d cleared his throat and told me he was glad I enjoyed it. I didn’t notice the way he had to readjust himself before we left, the sounds of pleasure I’d made having inspired some… suggestive thoughts. But all I could think about as we headed back to the apartment was how happy I just knew I was going to be here—I could feel it in my bones with a confidence I’d never felt. I belonged in New York.

A few months had passed since I’d officially moved in with Monica and started my new job as a nurse at Bellevue Hospital Center. And I had never been happier! Work was wonderful, hard sometimes, but the rewarding feeling I felt after helping the patients that I could outweigh any difficulties. I’d gotten closer to the group and I was at the point now where I couldn’t imagine a time that they weren’t in my life—I loved each and every one of them like family. Well… all but one.

The crush I’d had on a certain Italian hadn’t gone away with time like I hoped it would, but it had flourished into something much more intense, and much harder to dismiss. I had fallen in love with him. And I didn’t know what to do about it—I didn’t want to mention it to any of my friends, because as much as I loved and trusted them, it wouldn’t stay a secret for very long if I revealed it to anyone. As I said—the group was like a family and it was impossible for any subject that might cause tension to remain unobserved or unresolved, and I’d rather save myself the crushing and inevitable rejection. So, I didn’t say anything, and instead I started avoiding Joey. Not in obvious ways; for example I started making a conscious effort not to sit next to him whenever we hung out, and I started making excuses to not be alone with him. Stupid and childish? Definitely. But I had to try and get over him somehow and I didn’t know how else to go about it.

I thought I was being subtle about it, but I discovered my efforts were wasted when the girls questioned me about it on a Saturday morning over brunch at the apartment. The guys were due to come too, which was probably why I was being asked before they got here, sneaky devils.

‘So what’s going on with you and Joey, Y/N?’ Phoebe asked in typical Phoebe fashion: blunt and unapologetic. It was something about her I admired—she always got to the point and said exactly what she meant. But I would be lying if I wasn’t cursing her for that particular characteristic as I choked on a sip of orange juice, totally taken aback by the subject change.

‘What do you mean?’ I said after I’d managed to clear my airway, ‘there’s nothing going on?’

‘You’ve started acting really weird around him, you two are usually attached at the hip when we hang out and now you go out of your way to avoid him.’ Monica added, not willing to let me brush it off.

I opened myself to say something, but snapped it shut again when I realised I had no idea what I could say to that.

‘And you don’t hang out together anymore, Joey asked you if you wanted to go and see that movie you’ve been raving about yesterday and you blew him off.’ Rachel rose her brow, ‘Joey knows that excuse was bogus and he’s been racking his brain trying to figure out what he did to upset you.’

‘He didn’t do anything to upset me,’ I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. I hadn’t even considered that Joey might notice I was blowing him off, and I definitely hadn’t wanted to cause him any kind of pain. I was being selfish in trying to protect myself and I realised if I carried on with this behaviour I might lose Joey all together—that was something I couldn’t bear to consider.

‘He didn’t do anything to upset me.’ I repeated, deciding the truth needed to come out—it wasn’t worth keeping it to myself if it meant I was hurting others, ‘I’ve been avoiding Joey because I realised I’m in love with him.’

‘Explain something to me,’ Phoebe started, leaning forward in her chair and looking me directly in the eye, ‘wouldn’t falling in love with someone mean the opposite effect? Shouldn’t you be not avoiding him?’

‘I was avoiding him because I was trying to work through my feelings discretely,’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair, ‘I didn’t want to say anything to him because I knew he wouldn’t feel the same way about me. Not only is he majorly out of my league, Joey isn’t interested in commitment and I would never want casual sex.’

The table was silent for a moment, mulling over my words I assumed. I thought they’d realised that I was right when the silence stretched on, but Monica smacking me upside the head told me they were having a very different reaction.

‘Ow, what was that for?’ I exclaimed, more out of surprise than pain.

‘You’re an idiot.’ She said, as if that were enough of an explanation.

‘I’m gonna need more of an explanation than that, Mon.’ I huffed, sitting back in the dining room chair I was sat on and bringing my knees up to my chest.

‘Joey looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars.’ Rachel said, continuing when I stared at her in disbelief, ‘it’s cliché but it’s true.’

‘He’s always watching you whenever we hang out, he’s happy when you are, he hates seeing you upset—do you remember last month when a patient was pronounced DOA at the hospital?’ Monica continued when I nodded, ‘Joey noticed that you were barely holding it together and he bought you your favourite ice cream and your favourite movie. He sat and watched it with you, and held you when you broke down crying. When you fell asleep, he carried you to bed—he wouldn’t do that for someone he only saw as a friend!’

‘Or that time when you were being hit on by that creepy guy at the coffee house? Joey was there before you could even tell him to get lost and he didn’t leave your side for the rest of the night, because he knew you were worried the guy was gonna bug you again.’ Phoebe added as she buttered her bagel and took a bite when she was done.

‘Don’t forget when you mentioned that you hated going to and from work those first few weeks you moved here. You said you didn’t feel safe and Joey was there, dressed and awake at 6am so that he could accompany you to and from work.’ Rachel remembered—it was true, I hadn’t felt safe venturing out into the city so early and late when I’d first started my new job.

I hadn’t even asked Joey to come with me, he’d just shown up and said it was no big deal, that he didn’t mind walking a beautiful girl to work. I’d blushed of course, but it had been the start of a tradition—aside from some rare exceptions—he walked me to work and was always there to meet me when I finished. I’d never told him how big of an impact that had on my day. Those days where I felt like a complete failure and questioned why I’d ever become a nurse were always immediately better when I saw Joey. His handsome face and warm brown eyes always shone with happiness and so it was impossible for my own mood not to brighten in response to his company.

Joey had done so many things for me and out of the whole group he was definitely the one I felt the closest to. But did all of those things mean love? Were those only things he would do for someone he cared about on another level other than friendship?

Monica appeared to be reading my thoughts, ‘I’ve known Joey for a long time and he’s never been that thoughtful or protective over a friend or one night stand.’

I bit my lip, a bubble of hope swelling in my chest. Could it be possible? Could Joey love me the way I loved him? There was only one way to know for sure, but I would have to get him alone to do it—I loved the group but I didn’t want an audience while I confessed my love for the Italian.

I took a deep breath and then released it, slowly. I raised my hand and it hovered over the green door. I dropped it. I took another breath. I raised my hand and after a sound of pure anxiety left my lips I knocked. I tried not to think as I waited for the door to open, and thankfully I wasn’t left in anticipation for very long.

‘Y/N.’ Joey’s voice sounded a mixture of happy and confused. When I looked up into his eyes and saw that the warm brown reflected wariness I wanted to kick myself.

‘Hey Joe, can I come in?’ I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I tried to keep my voice even.

‘Sure,’ he stepped aside and I walked in, usually I would’ve taken a seat in “Chandler’s Barcalounger” but I remained standing and turned to face him.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze but I imagined he was trying to work out what kind of mood I was in—something Joey was usually very good at, I realised. I hadn’t noticed it before, I’d just assumed he was attuned into everyone but now that I thought about it, he only ever seemed to constantly focus on me. My heartbeat quickened at the revelation but it didn’t make me feel anymore confident.

‘I need to talk to you.’ I said, anxiously playing with the sleeves of my shirt, ‘and I just want to say that before I start, nothing has to change between us alright? You’re important to me Joey and I don’t want to lose you because of what I’m about to say, so can you promise me that won’t happen?’

He stepped forward, his hands gripping the tops of my arms, his hold firm but gentle. The action caused me to look up to him and the sincere look in his eyes made my breath catch.

‘I promise that I’ll always be there for you, Y/N. No matter what.’ His words were coated with so much assurance that it was impossible not to believe him.

‘I’m in love with you.’ I said, or more blurted— the words left my mouth without my permission. As if my body were tired of my reluctance and took action for me, but I wasn’t sure I was grateful for it.

Joey blinked, his sincere expression melting into shock, his hands remained on the tops of my arms, but I wasn’t sure if he was aware of it or not. My hands were slapped over my mouth, an involuntary reaction after my word vomit, and they stayed there for a long moment until I worked up the courage to drop them so I could speak.

‘Joey, I know you probably don’t feel the same, and that’s okay but… please say something.’ I pleaded and my tone must have gotten through to him, because he shook his head as if to clear it and his warm brown eyes found mine.

The happiness had returned, but it was brighter than the sun, and if I weren’t physically incapable of looking away from such beauty, I would have worried about it blinding me. But I couldn’t help thinking: I wouldn’t mind losing my eyesight if this were the last thing I saw. His smile came next and before I could prompt him or beg him to speak again, his hands slid down to my waist and pulled my body against his. A gasp left my throat at the feel of his warmth wrapped around me and when he kissed me I swear time stopped. When it started up again my hands went to the sides of his neck, sliding into his soft hair. I’d never been kissed like this before; in a way that was tender yet passionate, loving yet adoring. I don’t know how long we were kissing for, but the apartment could have burned down around us and I wouldn’t have noticed. Joey pulled back before it could progress into anything more, his forehead resting against mine as we both caught our breath.

‘I love you too, Y/N.’ He said, his hands moving up to caress the sides of my face and smiling softly when I leant into his touch.

My eyes filled up with tears at the adoring way he was looking at me, beyond grateful that the man I cared about returned my feelings, as he wiped them away when they spilled over and led me to his bedroom. Soft whispers were shared well into the early morning as we eagerly shared anything and everything, cuddled together on Joey’s bed. As the night progressed, our kisses became more fervent, more passionate. Clothes were stripped off and thrown to the floor, hands eagerly roamed as we each memorised each other’s bodies with our hands. While we moved together I couldn’t help but think about how perfect the moment was, how right it felt to be entwined together so intimately, and I knew as we reached our climaxes together—Joey and I were meant to be. Because there was no way that I wasn’t supposed to be with this wonderful man, the one who looked out for me, cared for me…loved me.

I was without a doubt the luckiest girl in the world.

#joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani x reader #friends #joey tribbiani x plus size reader #joey tribbiani x you

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noobsomeexagerjunk · 4 years

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Left Undone

Ted didn’t want to babysit Bill’s daughter. He didn’t like Bill, and Bill didn’t like him. Why did he have to be the only one in the office who was free for the weekend? Alice didn’t exactly want to be babysat either. She’s too old for that!

Little did Ted and Alice know how much fun they were going to have.

(AU wherein Alice has not dated Deb yet, Bill hasn’t divorced yet either; MASSIVE SPOILERS for BoJack Horseman Season 3 and Moulin Rouge! are discussed)

Friday Prologue | Saturday Chapter | Sunday Chapter | Monday Epilogue

Alice woke up fairly well-rested Saturday morning, forgetting for a second that she wasn’t in her own house.

Ted Spankoffski’s house had 3 bedrooms. One was a master bedroom where Ted slept and also did any other non-CCRP related work. Another was a room where Ted’s nerdy brother stayed for the Summer; ever since Ted got himself a house, his younger brother would stay over at his place during holidays and academic breaks.

Then there was the spare guest bedroom Alice was in where Ted had to set up for her the previous evening. It was very plain.

She went downstairs, explored a little, then found no one. She went back up, knocking on Ted’s bedroom door. No response.

Alice then decided to wash up instead, to feel fresh in the morning. She did all the work in the downstairs bathroom (Ted specifically told her to use that particular bathroom), leaving it as neat as it was before she came to the house.

She tried to knock on the door again, the increased strength of her rapping revealing to her that the room had not been locked, or closed properly for that matter.

She peeked in to find Ted who was still asleep, clutching a laptop like a stuffed toy. His shirt, boxers, and socks tied together with his slumped figure, which also seemed intertwined with the bedsheets. There were used tissues all over the bed, some on the floor making a trail to a semi-used paper towel roll. There were an empty bowl and two empty beer bottles on the bedside table. It reeked of Corona and clearly imported Honey Butter Chips.

Alice stepped in to try to wake Ted up, but the floor creaking below her was enough to make him jolt awake.

“Who the fu-“ Ted calmed down from the shock of waking up so suddenly, “A-Alice?! Shit, I forgot you’re here,”

“I-Is there anything I can eat?”

Ted rose from his position, sitting upward on his bed, “...are you allergic to eggs? Milk?”

“No, I’m not allergic to either.”

“Good,” Ted yawned, getting up and stretching, “because my fridge is fucking empty.”

“I noticed.”

That was hyperbole...sort of. The only breakfast that could be made from Ted’s pantry was egg toast and cereal. There was enough for both of them to finish all of said egg toast and cereal.

“What were you watching last night?” Alice asked Ted, playing with her fruit loops a little.

“Hm?” He swallowed the last bite of his toast with instant coffee.

“You were crying for about thirty minutes; I couldn't sleep-”

“I-It was a sad episode, alright?!” Ted was slightly embarrassed, hesitating to take another sip of coffee, “That fucking baby seahorse will never know...”

Alice raised a brow, unaware of the reference. She ate some more cereal.

“Don’t give me that look, Alice!” That was Bill’s glare, alright, “BoJack Horseman is a very good show!”

“And you binged the whole thing last night?”

“It’s the new season. I’ve got two episodes left before I finish.” Ted then proceeded to chug down what was left of his coffee.

“My laptop died during my binge but it was late and I was just,” He blew a raspberry, “...I needed to sleep.”

“I’ve done that before, not gonna lie,” Alice place down the spoon, done with her breakfast, “Though, the show I watched was kinda...yeah, it was kinda shitty,”

“Let me guess: you’ve watched it because someone hot’s in it,”

Alice blushed, “I-It’s not just that!”

“Hey hey hey,” Ted chuckled, “I’m guilty of that, I ain’t judging.”

Alice hmphed, “Should I watch that—what’s that show?”

“BoJack Horseman?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Ted then began cleaning up by taking Alice’s utensils, stacking them with his, “it starts weak but gets so much better, like real fucking better. Dunno if you’re old enough to watch it though,”

“I’ve seen some pretty adult stuff! Mom makes me watch Tarantino movies with her, at least whenever Dad's not around sometimes,"

Ted nodded at Alice’s mother’s taste in film, “Aight, but that show just...it just hits somewhere really hard when you’re in your early thirties full of regret and with no discernible life direction but, hey! If you can take it, I’d be impressed.”

Alice blinked, “What? Is it like, psychological horror? The kind rooted in some comedically timed socio-political commentary?”

“Well, arguably.” Ted then got up to bring the dishes in his hands into the kitchen.

“...where can I find it?” She asked with mild interest.

“Netflix,” The sound of dishes landing in a sink was heard from Alice’s seat, “It’s a cartoon too, and like, about a bunch of animals, if those kinds of things float your boat.”

Alice never made it past Episode 1 when she tried to watch it herself, convinced Ted’s taste was shit. Personally, she will regret that.

The rest of that morning left Alice and Ted to their own individual devices. Alice typed away some interesting plots and ideas on her phone. Ted went to finish the last episodes of that sad horse show.

An hour before the time Alice would usually eat lunch, she had been cycling around various plotlines for a potential...well, something. Alice knew she just had to write something.

She was in the living area of the house when she heard Ted sloppily walk down the stairs. His eyes were teary.

"Are you alright, Mr. Spankoffski?" She looked at him with concern.

Ted shakily neared her, hesitating to sit on the couch next to her. He instead placed a languid hand on one of the couch's armrests.

"Please don't die on me, Alice, oh my God..."

He broke into sobs. Alice could only stare at this behavior in confusion.

"Did something bad happen in the show, or...?"

"Fuck, it got worse!" He sniffled, "A-And not, like, n-not in a bad writing context--that show's writing is the shit, Alice! But fuck! F-Fuck!"

Sarah Lynn was not supposed to die, but she did die and the fact left Ted devastated. A part of him knew it was gonna happen as he saw the old man, er, horse, and the poor girl in the motel, missing the Oscars. (Then again, that show had a penchant for hollowing, tragic endings per episode.)

Even in entertainment, in his favorite shows to watch, Ted Spankoffski knew better than to hope. It was more realistic for him.

"You can sit down," Alice moved aside to give Ted space to sit.

Ted cried as he sat next to her, "God, I'm sorry y-you had to see me like this,"

"I've...I-I've had worse breakdowns over a show. I-It's all good."

TV and Movie homophobia still haunted the teenage girl.

It's things like that, whether extravagant or subtle in delivery, that prompted her to write and clarify in any way that she could if only to fight. Alice Woodward was the kind of girl who refused to despair.

"Yeah, A-Alice?"

"Mhm," She nodded, quickly writing "character gets sucked into a tv show???" in her phone's Notes app.

"What if we watched something less depressing instead? You can watch it with me, Alice!" Ted breathed, "You're not bored, are you?"

She added "literally? figuratively? ehhh let the watchers decide??? kshfukdhivg" then kept her phone.

"No! N-No, I know how to keep myself, um, b-busy," Alice then shifted herself into a more comfortable position, "What movies do you have?"

Ted paused before answering, realizing he was hungry.

“You pick,” He said, getting up, “You want pizza with that?”

Alice nodded eagerly, watching Ted head for his phone.

“Wait, what am I supposed to pick?”

“There’s a bunch of CD cases in the drawer under the center table—it’s right in front of you!” Ted's voice decrescendoed as he headed upstairs.

“Drawer?” Alice wondered to herself, bending down to inspect the described center table. There was in fact a drawer.

She pulled it open to find bunches of CD cases, charging wires, and what clearly seemed to be unusable gadgets or “e-junk” as her father would, in a terribly corny way, put it.

Alice noticed a notable amount of movie musicals in one bundle of CD cases. The one that got her attention was Moulin Rouge!, unfamiliar with the title and very taken by the red-haired beauty printed on the cover. There was Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a bunch of Disney Princess movies. Upon further inspection of the non-musical movies, Ted had a diverse taste in film, though it was primarily pretty basic in Alice's opinion, minus a few exceptions.

She closed the drawer, further inspecting the Moulin Rouge CD cover by reading the synopsis on the back. An aspiring writer falls in love with a courtesan but other things get in the way? Alice could not blame the writer, in fact, she was quick to identify with him, even if she had not seen the movie yet.

“Alice?” Ted called from upstairs, “Are you allergic to anything I should know?”

“No,” She called back, playing with the CD cover.

“Good! I’m getting us a Bacon Surprise,”

“Alright,” Apparently Ted chose to order from that Witchwood Ovens Shop downtown.

“What movie do you wanna watch?” Ted asked as he went back down. Alice showed him the CD cover.

“Moulin Rouge?” He mispronounced, “I actually have that in there?”

Alice handed the cover to Ted as he approached her, “I don’t think I’ve seen this one,”

“No shit, Alice. This movie’s got prostitution; if I know your Dad enough,” He stared at the cover, trying to remember when he got it, "he would make sure you'd never see it. God, I remember seeing this in the theater, like, when I was about your—h-how old are you again?"

"Fifteen, but I'll be sixteen later this year,"

"Eh, close enough," Ted then placed the CD cover down, ready to set up the television set in the living room.

"Nicole Kidman, man..." Ted dusted the CD player, plugging the TV into it, "She was the fucking best in that thing."

"Do you even know what happens in it?" Alice asked as she watched Ted at work, "Or were you just hoping Nicole Kidman would step on you?"

"Don't you fucking shame me, Alice!" Ted gasped back as he blushed, "If you had any taste in women, you'd want the same Goddamn thing."

Ted guessed correctly, keeping the girl from returning his snark.

It was around the Elephant Love Medley when the pizza arrived. Ted was kind enough to pause for Alice as he went to get the pizza. Alice was still recovering from the exhilaration of the past few songs, overwhelmed with the crowd-like effect of the cheesy-Jukebox mashups that introduced Christian to that infamous dancehall, the gratuitous use of slow-mo effects, and the ridiculous use of that Can-Can. It was "Spectacular Spectacular" indeed!

Alice almost choked on her pizza during the Like A Virgin scene. It was also very clear to her, as they watched, that Ted must've forgotten a lot of what had happened in the film given some of his reactions. Ted cursed The Duke repeatedly, particularly at that scene when he found out about the true nature of Christian's play.

Ted believed that he should've seen Satine dying coming. He saw this movie before. The movie literally said so right at the start!

Why, as he watched, did he want that happy ending when the opposite was inevitably going to happen?!

Something about Satine charmed Ted, in a particularly nightmarish way. The idea of further thinking about it was repressed repeatedly, refusing to confront the roots of it all. Surely it was just him being a horny bastard, right? Right?

This totally had nothing to do with the fact that Satine had vibrant red hair, cerulean eyes, polished milky skin, and a beautiful figure.

This totally had nothing to do with how familiar this fictional character seemed to be, resembling someone Ted remembered with intense, bittersweet longing.

This totally had nothing to do with the sight of Satine breathing her last breath on a bed of roses reminding Ted of a memory that he swore hadn't happened yet.

Or it did happen?

Why debate when it happened when it shouldn't have happened at all? It wasn't supposed to happen, whatever that thing was that Ted didn't need to remember at the moment. And yet...

She didn't make a sound. Heartbreak was never so loud.

Alice's sniffling brought Ted back to reality. Ted put a hand on her shoulder.

"God, I-I look so stupid," Alice chuckled out from her tears, rubbing her teary eyes, "they literally say it in the beginning, ugh!"

Ted coddled her closer to him so he could hug her but Alice recoiled back.

"T-Thanks, but we both smell like pizza," Ted nodded back in response.

As he cleaned up the living area, he asked Alice, "How was the movie?"

"It was pretty cheesy," She pulled out her phone again, inspired to write, "but kinda fun? Like, you don't get fun movies with this much energy, at least, when I try to compare, well. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Ted replied absent-mindedly, "It certainly brings back memories of, well, certain times."

"I think it kinda comes off as an epic-like piece,"

"No need to wax academic, Alice,"

"You asked for it!"

"I asked about how it was, not for an essay about its themes and shit!" Ted straightened himself up with a chuckle, "It's just a movie, after all."

"It hits different though," She spat back, focused now on her phone.

Witchwood Oven Shop pizzas were notably heavier on the stomach compared to their competitors. Any leftover pizza the two had for lunch that day, Ted proceeded to reheat for dinner. He scavenged his refrigerator for any packs of instant lemonade, which were thankfully there, and prepared two glasses for the two of them.

It was a shitty excuse for dinner, but Alice didn't seem to mind. She was very concentrated on her phone.

"What'cha writing about?"

Alice tilted her phone as to hide it, "It's not really much yet. It's all a bunch of prompts so far."

"You can pitch me stuff," He swallowed a bite, "Which ones really get to you?"

"Well," She hesitated.

"Well?"

"I-I've got a traveling adventure in a fancy, cultured but mysterious new town..."

"Anything else?"

"Still deciding whether I should make it a horror or a comedy. Besides that, it's all gonna rest on a foundation of romance between our main character, and, well..."

"Who?"

"I don't know! It's all I got so far!"

"Hey, it's not bad," Ted sipped his lemonade, "You know, I bet with enough time, it can become something really fucking great. I'd be invested if this was a movie or a staged production of sorts, I don't know,"

"Y-You think it's good, Mr. Spankoffski?"

"Oh hell yeah," He placed the glass down, "Not to be cheesy, but romance really gets me."

"Yeah, same."

"Have you considered making it some sort of horror-comedy romance? I would love it if you could pull it off."

#eternal reverie #left undone #kim whalen would make such a great satine #starkid #team starkid #starkid fanfic #starkid au #nightmare time spoilers #ted spankoffski #alice woodward

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queenraikichi94 · 3 years

Text

A song to heal a tired soul 23 (Raikichi x Piers)

Rated: Teen and mature

Warnings: Bad language and some NSFW

Note: Raikichi is around 25-26 years

---------------PART 23------------------

“Babe, here!”

When I heard Piers’ voice as I exited the Flying Taxi, I quickly ran to hug him. I decided to stay some days with my fiancée in Spikemuth not only for helping him to train, but also cause I wanted to spent more time with him in order to speak about some thigns of the wedding and also, because I would be more tranquil to continue my investigation about Galarian story and legends, and also, my investigation about Dynamax and GIgantamax. And now I was there, wrapped in my fiancée’s arms.

“Careful, babe, I don’t want you to fall and get hurt” Piers said chuckling before kissing me “Did you miss me?”

“Of course, babe, and it looks that you missed me too” I said, smirking and then chuckling when he saw that I noticed his hardness when I hugged him tightly.

“Please, babe, don’t tease me like that, at least not here” he said with a soft sigh

“Okay, okay” I chuckled before kissing him again and then, we went inside Spikemuth, heading to his house “So, what’re the plans for today?”

“First we left your things in my house and then, we go to train before having a nice launch”

“Sounds very well for me”

We arrived at his flat and once I left my things on his room, we went to the Gym. There, his trainers were waiting for us, and when they saw us, they stood up as they greeted us. Then, we took positions and when the trainers showed us their Dark type Pokemon, Piers choosed his Obstagoon and I choosed to use Glaceon and also, Rapidash, in order to put them on test againts a type that was strong against Dark type.

Two hours later, we decided to stop for that day cause Piers and me had to discuss things of the wedding. After congratuling the trainers for their effort, my fiancée and me went first to the Pokemon Center to get our Pokemon healed and then, we went to his flat to have a warm bath. Once the bath was ready, we got naked and enter in the bathtub, my back againts his chest. I let out a soft sigh as Piers massaged my shoulders. “You’re very tense, love” he murmured “Is something worrying you?”

“Eh? No, nothing” I said

“Raikichi, you don’t have to lie, ya know. Something is worrying you, isn’t it?”

“Well...I’m worried about the wedding...I mean, I want to marry you but being alone for all these years, rejecting to be in a romantic relationship...It makes me be nervous about the wedding cause I’ve never imagined ending married with a person that I really love and...Sorry, I’m sure you’re nervous as well and I shouldn’t...”

“Hey, it’s okay, babe” Piers said making me turn in order to face him. Lucky for us, the bathtub was wide enough to allow us to turn and face the other when we wanted to do it “I understand why are you nervous, you don’t have to say sorry for that, Raikichi...I’m nervous as well, but I know that we can do this together”

“You’re right, babe” I said with a purr before continue with the bath.

Once we finished the bath, we exited the bathtub and got dried and dressed. We went to the kitchen in order to prepare some food for lunch as we talked about the wedding and some plans of going to Circhester since we decided to celebrate there the wedding.

“So, tell me about what you discovered” Piers said as we prepared some lunch

“Remember my theory about two heroes that saved Galar from the Darkest Day? Well, my theory was correct! And also, look at this” I said as my Rotom Phone went to show Piers the photos it tooked “See those Pokemon? According to the texts and to the things that were carved in the stone, those Pokemon were refered as the Cyan and the Magenta, and according to the things I ciuld translate few days ago, both Pokemon went to help the two heroes, the Cyan holding a sword and the Magenta holding a shield. Together, they saved Galar from the Darkest Day and the two heroes became kings”

“And what about this one?” he asked pointing to the one that was mounting another Pokemon. “Did you discover the name of this one? I find it pretty interesting...I’ve never seen a Pokemon mounting another Pokemon”

“I couldn’t translate the name of that Pokemon, like the names of the other two. The carvings of the statues that have their names were damaged a lot, but I could translate de small text that was under the destroyed carving” I said as I served the food “That one is referred in the carvings as the ‘King of Bountiful Harvests’, but I couldn’t find a lot of information about that Pokemon”

“Don’t worry, babe” he said smiling and kissing me when we put all the plates on the table “I’m sure you’ll be able to discover it, and if you allow me to help you, I’ll be very glad of helping you”

“Of course you can help me, babe” I purred and then, I stole a kiss from his lips “C’mon, the food is going to get cold”

Piers chuckled and we sat down after putting some food for the Pokemon. As we had lunch, we talked about more things, most of them related with our visit to Circhester. After having lunch, we checked our phones and after checking all the notifications, we washed our dishes and after we got ready, we exited the house, followed by Glaceon. Obstagoon, by his hand, decided to stay in his Pokeball.

We took a Flying Taxi and flew to Circhester. When we arrived, we saw that Gordie was waiting for us. We exited the cabin and once we greeted him, he guided us to his jewelry. It was a small shop, as Piers told me the night after he gave me the ring when he asked me to marry him, but due the placement of the furniture, the inside of the shop looked bigger than the outside.

“Alright, come in, I’ll show you my workshop” Gordie said and guided us to an instance on the shop. There was his workshop, full of tools, sketches on papers, and gems. A lot of gems. “Here, look at this” he said, showing two golden ornaments with two light pink diamonds I quickly recognized.

“Oh, those are Diance’s diamonds” I said and I let Diancie out of her Pokeball “Look, Diancie, do you like the work Gordie is doing with them?” I asked and Diancie nodded and chirped happily before returning to her Pokeball “Gordie, you did a really good work”

“Thanks, but I need to add few more details”

“Alright, man, how much it cost?” Piers asked “C’mon, don’t look at me like that. You are doing a big work with them, you deserve to be paid for the work”

“Don’t worry for that” the Rock type Gym leader said “Is my wedding gift for both of you”

“Oh, Gordie, you didn’t have to do it” I said smiling softly

“We’re friends afterall, right?” he said and then, he patted Piers’ back with a strenght that I thought he would break his back. Then, he put the ornaments in a box and after giving them to me, he guided us outside “C’mon, let me invite you to take some drinks. I’m sure Raikichi has never tried Circhester’s best hot chocolate”

“Is Circhester’s chocolate better than mine that is home made?” I asked, teasing tone on my voice as I arched an eyebrow

“Give it a try!” Gordie said with a soft chuckle as we went to a coffee shop that had the fame of being the one with the best home made hot chocolate. The Rock Gym leader asked us to take a seat and then, we gave a look to the menu and choosed the hot chocolate we would have. Once the waitres brought us the hot chocolates, Gordie looked at me “C’mon, give it a taste”

“Alright” I said and then, I tasted the hot chocolate I aske. It was delicious, I had to recognize, and I had to give a point to that “Alright, you are right. Is delicious. But I have to invite you to taste my home made hot chocolate, Gordie”

“I will give it a try, I promise” he said

We kept talking until Piers and me had to return to Spikemuth since he wanted to train again and I have to do some work with the information I reunited from all my sources in order to know more about the legends of Galar.

-----

Night arrived and Piers returned after training since we returned from Circhester. I was on the couch, tapping the keyboards key fast as I switched my eyes from the papers to the laptop screen. I was also listening to music that I didn’t hear my fiancée entering the house, and when he kissed my cheek, I jumped a bit startled but then, I kissed him back. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you”

“Don’t worry, babe” I said saving the report I was writing on the laptop and once I closed it, I stood up and scretched a bit with a lil yawn before seeing the time that was at that moment “Sorry, I didn’t know it was this late. I’ll make a call to order some dinner while you take a bath”

“Alright” Piers said but then, he turned and kissed me before giving me that smirk of his, noticing that I was wearing one of his shirts over my short pajama pants “You know how to tease me, don’t ya?”

“Perhaps” I purred before stealing a kiss from his lips “Go and take that bath before I decided to do something with that hard bulge between your legs”

That made him blush some madly that I couldn’t help but laugh as he went to his room-well, our shared room as he started to call it since it wasn’t the first time I came here to stay some days-and after taking some clean clothes, he went to the bathroom. I called to a pizza restaurant and after ordering the pizzas we would eat, I prepared some food for the Pokemon. Then, my Rotom Phone started to vibrate. When I looked at the message that I recieved, I sighed. I took my phone once I was done giving the food to the Pokemon and I called the person that sent me the message.

“What do you want now, uncle Nanu?” I asked as I made sure that Piers had closed the bathroom’s door “Did you see what time is it?”

“Yeah, and I knew you would be awake, kiddo” my uncle replied “So, I assume that you saw the message, right?”

“Yeah, I read it”

“And?”

“I’m not going to call him, uncle” I said “My time as an Interpol member is over, and you know it”

“I know, kiddo, but I’m not asking you to return to the International Police” he said “I ask you to call Looker and ask him for advice”

“Uncle, I’m not going to call him cause the most sure thing is that I will have all of them begging me to return to the Interpol if I want their help, and I don’t want to put Piers, uncle Kabu and my friends in danger”

“You know Looker, he won’t tell anyone about this. Listen, Raikichi, I know that the track that Sakura was following is gone. Those furtives know how to hide themselves and withtout help, you won’t be able to track them again, at least alone”

“Wait, you know what Sakura was doing?”

“She told me instead of telling her father about the furtives. You know that Giovanni woudn’t be happy knowing that a more sofisticated and skilled group of furtive Pokemon hunters is operating very active”

I sighed as I took a seat on the couch again before speaking again. “Listen, uncle, I know you trust Looker but give me time, ‘kay? I need time to think...”

“Time to think? Kiddo, those bastards want you death”

“Yeah, thanks for remembering me that” I replied with another sigh “I will call you later, okay?”

“....Fine” uncle Nanu finally said “But tell me first if you decided to tall Looker...or not. I want to know that you’re safe”

“Thanks uncle...Good night” I said and then, I hanged the call before sighing again. Glaceon jumped to the couch and put her head and front paws on my lap, making me smile “Don’t worry, girl, I’m fine” I said and she tilted her head before closing her eyes and purring when I stroked her fur.

“Alright, I’m done” Piers said once he exited the bathroom, her black and white wavy long hair dropping like a waterfall. I couldn’t help but blush when I saw him shirtless cause he was only clean underwear. “Hey, is something wrong?” he asked when he saw me sighing sighlty

“Eh? No, don’t worry, everything’s fine” I replied smiling softly

“Are you sure? Your voice tone is telling me other thing”

“Really, I’m fine”

Piers looked at me as he rose an eyebrow before sitting next to em on the couch in order to hug me and kiss my temple. “You know, I’m here for you, babe” he murmured

“I know...” I whispered as I leant on his bare chest, closing my eyes and enjoying with his heartbeat before noticing that he was shivering “Go and put some clothes on you. I don’t want you to fall sick”

He chuckled and went to the room in order to put his pajamas on him. Since I noticed that I was shivering also a bit, I followed him and while he put his sleeping clothes on, I changed my short pajama pants for a long one and then, I put my hoodie over me before being wrapped by my fiancée’s arms. “I love you, Raikichi...”

“I love you too, Piers...” I said but before I could kiss him, the doorbell sounded “Dinner’s here” I added with a chuckle as I went to the door to take the food and pay the delivery man

“What did you order?” Piers said as he put the plates on the table while I put the boxes in the center of the table

“Pizza. I ordered three pizzas” I replied while I opened the box and started to cut the pizzas as my fiancée served some fresh water on glasses. “Next time I will be more attentive to the time”

“Hey, don’t worry, babe” he said as we took a seat and starting to have dinner “You were busy with your investigations and I spend all the time I could training since we arrived from Circhester. I’ll take care of the breakfast tomorrow”

“Thanks, babe”

After having dinner, we washed the dishes and then, we watched TV until I heard Piers yawning and when I saw him trying to stay awake, I smiled and turned off the TV. “Go to sleep, babe” I said kissing him

“I won’t go to bed if you don’t go with me”

“Babe, please, I’ll go to bed once I finish the report and...”

“You are tired as well, Raikichi” Piers said “Let’s go to bed. You can continue your report tomorrow”

“Alright, alright, you win” I said with a chuckle and together with him, we went to the bedroom that we shared on his house. I removed the glasses and the ponytail, and after putting my glasses on the night table, both me and Piers slipped under the warm blankets. I curled next to him and he hugged me with a chuckle. “Love you Piers...”

“Love you too, Raikichi...”

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

I woke up with a soft groan cause I wanted to sleep a bit more, and cause my sleep was interrupt twice by strong thunderbolts, but my biological clock wasn’t going to allow me that. Then, I smiled when Piers embraced me and kissed me when I rolled in orther to kiss him. “Morning, my Queen...” he said as his lips went down to my neck, making me moan softly.

“P-Piers...” I said moaning again when his hand went down, ready to slip under my pants and underwear as his other hand slowly put my top up so my breasts were free, with my nipples already hard.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, worry and fear on his voice cause he was afraid about doing something wrong

“No...Is just...I didn’t expect this...” I murmured before kissing him “Go on, my King...”

“As you wish...” Piers said and then, his mouth started to be busy with my right breast as his right hand was now busy with my wet entrance. “You’re already wet for me...I love it...” he said as he started to stroke my clit so slow that I thought he was going to drive me mad. Then, seeing my reaction, he slipped one finger inside me as he kept sucking and licking on my breasts.

“F-Fuck Piers...This is so good...” I moaned as I felt him slipping two fingers more inside me. He moved those three fingers in a way that made me see stars when he wanted.

Then, Piers smirked and went down, leaving kisses on my sking and when he reached my core, I urged him bucking my hips a bit. My fiancée started to lick my clit as he kept moving his fingers inside me but then, he retired the fingers and before I could complain, he put his tongue inside me, licking and sucking as his fingers played with my clit. That amde me moan so loud as I arched my back, and I couldn’t help but started to play with my breasts and nipples as Piers retired his tongue and replaced it with his fingers again inside me.

“You taste so good, my love” he said licking his lips and going up in order to kiss me, making me taste myself. “Oh, I know that look on your eyes...My naughty Queen...”

I nodded and then, once he retired his fingers inside me and he removed our sleeping clothes and underwear, he allowed me to be over him, by head between his legs and my wet entrance over his mouth. I felt the urge of licking and sucking his hard cock so I didn’t take too long and started to lick the tip, savouring the first hints of precum and then, I started to suck it with a moan as Piers licked my entrance, and using his tongue and fingers inside me.

“Damn, Piers, you know how to use your tongue, don’t ya?” I teased him before moaning when I felt his fingers reaching that special spot, making me taking my little revenge and sucking him so hard that I could heard him moan even louder. And then, we reached the climax. I popped his cock out of my mouth and after swallow the cum he spilled inside my mouth, I licked his member, savouring his seed before letting him clean himself. Then, once he cleaned himself and covered his cock with a condom, I spread my legs, teasing him as he watched my fingers stroking my entrance. “C’mon, my naughty King. This Queen needs you so desperately “

He didn’t think twice and after lining his cock with my entrance, he pushed a bit hard, but I didn’t care cause this time I wanted it a bit rough, and I made him know it when I bite his neck and scratched his back with my nails. “Do you want this rough, don’t ya?” he moaned as he moved.

“Yeah...Fuck me harder and rough, babe”

Piers smirked and moved faster as he bite my neck. Both of us moaned as he moved even faster, but he knew how to turn things rough, cause when he felt my inner walls starting to get tighter, he retired his cock carefully to avoid loosing the condom and then, I put on my fours, feeling again his cock inside me and then, he started to fuck me harder and rough, being careful of not hurting me, cause on his mind was still the memory of that bite that made me bleed a bit.

“Do you want keep this rough?” he asked, a bit worried as he kept fucking me

“Yes, fuck me harder, for Arceus’ sake!” I groaned

Then, with a loud moan, I came, but Piers wasn’t done yet, so he managed to put us in a pose on which I could ride him. His hands were now on my hips, and both of us were panting and moaning louder and louder.

“You know how to get your revenge, right?” he moaned as I leant down and bite his neck, moving our hips hard.

“Of course...” I replied but I reached again my orgasm, as Piers reached his own. “That...was...” I tried to say but I was so tired that I couldn’t say anything.

“I wanted to surprise you this morning...I didn’t like seeing you worried and sad yesterday...” he said removing the condom and throwing it to the trash can and then, he picked me up on his arms and went to the bathroom “Did I was too rough?”

“Hey, don’t worry” I said as he put me inside the bathtub, enjoying the warm water “Next time try not to bite me so hard...And I will try to avoid not to scratch your back hard”

“We wanted this time to go rough, but is good to speak about it to avoid accidents” he said, sitting behind me and letting me to put my back againts his chest as we got bathed “Raikichi?”

“Yeah?”

But instead of replying, he kissed my check and I smiled. Sometimes, words weren’t needed between us. As we got bathed, we talked about the idea of doing a three-some, but the conversation ended a bit abruptly cause I didn’t know what to think about the idea of me and Piers having sex with another person. The wound of my heart was still there and that made me feel insecure. Piers, of course, wasn’t for the idea neither cause he didn’t like the idea fo sharing me with another person, but at least, it was ncie to talk about new things cause that made our bonds get stronger.

After taking the bath and getting dried and dressed on clean clothers, we went to the kitchen, of course after putting the other clothes and the blankets on the wash machine, but when I was going to help Piers with the breakfast, he told me to go to the living room cause he wanted to take care of the breakfast. “I’ll make a very tasty breakfast for both of us once I give our Pokemon their food, ‘kay?”

“But I want to help you”

“I told you yesterday that I would make breakfast for both of us, and you’re still tired of our sex morning session, so now rest while I prepare everything, ‘kay?”

I sighed but nodded and after stealing a kiss from his lips, I sat down on the couch, with Glaceon curling next to me. I turned on the TV in order to see some news while my fiancée prepared the breakfast. I stroke Glaceon’s fur and then, Sango, my Galarian Linoone, jumped to the other place of the couch and like Glaceon, she put her head on my lap. I decided to name my Linoone Sango cause she was ready to evolve soon and I wanted to difference her from Piers’ Obstagoon.

“Breakfast is ready” Piers said bringing the food to the living room. Once he put the plates on the table, we approached the table to the sofá in order to start with the breakfast and Holy Arceus, Piers knew how to do the perfect pancakes; and the chocolate chips added extra points to that! “It looks that you love it” he said with a chuckle.

“These are the most perfect pancakes I’ve ever eat” I said “And the hot chocolate is also perfect. It looks that you like my recipe, right?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to do a different version cause I didn’t have cinnamon”

“Well, the ginger adds a different and tasty savour”

“Point for the chef?”

I laughed and kissed him as we had breakfast. Glaceon and Sango were sleeping on a side of the couch while we ate our food as we watched the news. Then, the breaking news started and both me and Piers shared a confused look before looking to the TV. They said that a strange thunderstorm caused by the bat weather affected all the Galar region, and the damage were still been counted by the experts.

“That’s quite strange” Piers said as we finished our breakfast before getting ready to our daily things “I know about those weather changes but that thunderstorm was quite huge. Marnie sent a message telling me that they were out of light and electricity in all Circhester, and it looks that all the towns and cities of Galar suffered the same”

I nodded in silence cause something like that happened years ago but in Unova. It was after I recovered from my wounds after battling Team Plasma and decided to move to Kalos. Days later fater that, Looker called me and told me that Unova got affected by a thunderstorm similar to the one that affected Galar last night, but with the difference that the thunderstorm he saw was after he saw a black figure flying on the sky, with someone mounting on it.

“Raikichi?”

“Uh?” I said blinking twice when I heard calling me

“Are you alright? You were silent for some minutes” he said, hugging me

“Yeah, I was distract with my own thoughts, don’t worry”

Piers smiled and kissed me before we got out of the house. First, we wanted to evaluate the damage caused by the thunderbolts that had fallen over Spikemuth, like it happened in other parts of Galar, and oh boy, we had a serious problem just in the middle of the town, near of the secondary entrance that the town had on one of its sides. It looked that the thunderbolts hitted several times the ceiling that covered the town and part of it got broken and fell to the ground. I did a quick call and few minutes later, some Police officers arrived and cordoned off the place to avoid people get hurted. Then, one of my Pokeballs shook and Luxray got out of it.

“Why did Luxray get out of her Pokeball?” Piers asked

“I think she noticed the electricity of the place...Listen, Glaceon and me will follow Luxray. I want to make sure that there isn’t any places near the town affected by the thunderstorm”

“Let me go with you then”

“No, you should stay here” I said firmly “As Gym Leader, your duty is stay here and help the people that lives here”

“But I don’t want to...” he started and then, taking my handsa, he sighed before looking at me “I don’t want to see you getting hurt and I don’t want to be away of you if something happens to you”

“I know, Piers, but I have my duties as World Champion, as you have yours as Gym Leader” I replied, smiling softly “Once I make sure that any Pokemon and people didn’t get hurt by the thunderstorm, I’ll be back. I promise it, love”

He nodded and kissed me before hugging me. “Be careful, my love” he said and then, he went to speak with the Police officers as me and Glaceon followed Luxray, entering the wilds as Luxray followed the electric track that the thunderstorm left last night.

We entered the Wild Area following an unknown path for a lot of people, but a known one for me since I used it when I wanted to go to the Wild Area without being noticed. Some of the trees had gotten hit by the thunderbolts, but for Arceus’ sake, the Pokemon we’ve encountered during the walk were only scared, hut not hurted. Then, Glaceon’s ears twitched and the electricity around Luxray got brighter, meaning that we were near of a very big spot of energy. I returned Luxray to her Pokeball and then, Glaceon and me continued walking until we reached a forest clearing, a small area of the Wild Area but a quiet and tranquil one. I looked at the sky and it was clear, with only few clouds. Then, Glaceon meowed and pointed at someone lurking behind a tree in the base of the small hill where Glaceon and me were in that moment. That green and long hair...That clothes...But before I could say something, he moved on and run to a place that I couldn’t see from my spot, so I moved too and I discovered that he was approaching some cages with wild Pokemon inside them, and of course, those people. Those furtives again. Their clothes told me that they were of a low rank than the ones that attacked me, Piers and uncle Kabu in Mototoske, but they were still furtives that must had to be stopped. Slowly, Glaceon and me went down from the hill, hidding behind the trees and watching the scene, but we stopped when the furtives discovered the guy that we were following.

“Look who was trying to free our goods” one of the furtives said after punching the guy, making him fall on his back. “You will pay for this, bastard”

No doubt. It was him, N, but what he was doing here in Galar? That question and more had to wait cause I wasn’t going to allow anyone to hurt a friend. “Glaceon, use Ice Shard!”

Glaceon’s move made the furtives stand back, and my Pokemon got between N and the furtives’ Pokemon. Then, I jumped and before they could react, I knocked one of the furtives as Glaceon kept the other busy. “You will never change” I groaned as I looked at Glaceon and then, I activated my Icinium Z “From the coldest and hardest blizzards, from the most beautiful winters you rise up and shows your eternal beauty, shining with the first rays of the winter sun” I said “Glaceon, use Subzero Slammer!!!”

The Z move left the furtives’ Pokemon out of combat. Then, I let out Scolipede out of her Pokeball and ordered her to use String Shot on the furtives and their Pokemon to avoid them scaping and then, I let my Lycanroc out of his Pokeball “Use Stealth Rock around the furtives. Glaceon, use Ice beam to reforce the rocks” I said and both Pokemon did what I said. Then, I made a call and once I hanged out the call, I returned both Scolipede and Lycanroc back to their Pokeballs and turned to attend N.

“You always know how to surprise me” I said as I helped him to stand up

“You...Raikichi?”

“Yeah, the same Raikichi as always” I said while we opened the cages and after making sure that the wild Pokemon were calm, we started to treat them. Glaceon meowed and I nodded. “Go and hide behind those trees”

“Why?” N said “Let me help”

“Trust me, okay? I’m sure you don’t want to be involve in more problems. Go and hide. I’ll call you once this is over”

N nodded and went to a safe place just in time, cause the Police arrived. I told them about the furtives and while the nurses attending the Pokemon that N and me got free from the cages, they asked me about something that got me confused.

“Why I am here, you ask? Simple, I was worried about the Pokemon and people near Spikemuth since in that place and its surrondings, the thunderstorm hitted hard, so as the World Champion I am, I came here followinf Luxray, cause my Luxray could follow the electricity left by the storm, and that’s how we found those bastards” I said, crossing my arms as the Police officer took notes “If you don’t need me, I have things to do. There are still some wild Pokemon that need to be checked”

“Alright, we’ll take care of these criminals”

I nodded and with Glaceon, we left the place. Glaceon sniffed the air and guided me away of the place, following N’s track. And after walking for near thirty minutes, we found him. He was near the Watchtower Ruins, sitting on the grass with his back leant on the ruined stone. He was wounded and he showed his skill to became friendly easily with Pokemon. I remembered when he was surprised with my skill of being able of talking with Pokemon and understanding them very well; also, he was surprised when he found out that I could show my feelings and thoughts to the Pokemon touching them. And he was there, surrounded by different wild Pokemon that let me approach him. I knelt down next to him, and I took his right arm in order to treat his wounds.

“N, how many times I’ve told you not to do things like this alone?” I asked softly as I treated his wounds using my little first aid kit

“And how many times I will tell you that I will keep doing the same?” he replied raising an eyebrow and making me chuckle

“You’ll never change” I said as I finished putting bandages covering his wounds “Here you are”

“Thanks, Raikichi...” N said and then, his hand reached my face in order to retire the hair that covered part of my face. I got frozen on my stop cause I didn’t expect that, and when he noticed that, he quickly retired his hand after seeing the scars on my face “You’ve changed a lot...Last time we’ve seen was on that Pokemon Center, when you were recovering from the wounds that Team Plasma caused to you when you saved me...” he said, looking to the scars of my belly before looking to the ground.

“Yeah, that was a long time ago” I said sitting next to him and stroking Glaceon’s fur

“You’ve got more scars, right? Apart of the ones you’ve got on Sinnoh and Unova”

I nodded and N sighed. “The ones on my arms, right leg and both ankles are from Kalos; I’ve got them fighting againts Team Flare”

“And the burn of your right arm?” he asked “Did you get it fighting againts Team Flare?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t” I replied “That is one of the most recent I got...So, after being near of dying for a second time, this time in Kalos, I decided to stop working with the International Police, so when Nurse Joy allowed me to went out of the Pokemon Center, I took a flight and went to Alola, to spend some time with my uncle, Nanu, who is Ula Ula’s Kahuna” I said and then, I sighed “In Alola I was able for a long time to open my heart...Since I didn’t have more responsabilities with the Interpol, only my duties as World Champion, I felt...free. Completly free...So I met someone that put me on test everytime I saw him...He was and still is the leader of a group of young vandals...Yeah,l they did things wrong but...That group was their family. Society ignored them for stupid reasons...And Team Skull was the only thing they knew that for them was family...”

“Team Skull...I heard about them...They worked for Lusamine, right? News and rumors spread quickly, specially when the news are about a crazy woman that has brought a very dangerous and strange Pokemon to this world from another dimension...” N said

I chuckled sadly and nodded “You always know how to be updated with things...The case is that Lusamine manipulated Team Skull...I did everything to help those grunts to have a better life...Even I tried to help Guzma, their leader...And then, my heart started to have feelings for him...I felt at first stupid but at the same time, I couldn’t help but empathize with him...His own father treated him badly, hitting him since he was a child...and well, when you open your heart to someone, is difficult to step back once those feelings of love stay on your heart...”

“I can feel a wound in your heart, right?”

I looked at the sky, and N understood my silence as a yes. He knew when someone, Pokemon or person, was feeling hurt inside. He was one of those people who could tell you how you really felt jugding your emotions. “One day, a Team Skull grunt tried to do the Fire trial that takes place in the Wela. He was doing right, but then, the Totem Salazzle appeared and attacked him. I was watching the trial and when I saw the Pokemon attacking him, I quickly ran and pulled him away” my hand went to touch the scars of my face before returning to Glaceon’s fur “That Salazzle wounded me on the face and threw me inside the volcano, but thanks to Charizard, who was quickly when she went out of her Pokeball, I didn’t end in the lava...After days being unconscious, I woke up and I saw Guzma...I wanted to tell him about my feelings, but instead of that, he yelled at me, saying so many bad things to me that my heart and feelings got broken...During the following days and after moving from the Pokemon Center to my uncle’s home, I got worst, and my Pokemon noticed it quickly” I said looking at Glaceon who meowed and licked my arm before putting her head on my lap. “If I didn’t eat, they didn’t eat or they tried to make me eat. When I spent most nights crying and awake, they were there for me, staying awake for me...Even my uncle’s ace Pokemon, Persian, left his side those nights in order to stay with me, and he understood it. My uncle knew when I needed to be alone and when I needed to be with someone in order to let out all that pain that was hurting me...”

“You have a very strong bond with all of your Pokemon, specially with your Glaceon” N said as he stroked the feathers of a wild Rockidee that was at his side “I remember when you showed me how you could understand them, and how you could show your feelings to them and how you could see their feelings too...I used to live inside a bubble of lies, until you showed me that the perfect world that I wanted couldn’t exist...There will still being bad people that hurts Pokemon and use them againts people and Pokemon...”

“But there are good people that has strong bonds with their Pokemon and makes all they can to protect both Pokemon and people” I added and N chuckled, making me look at him “What?”

“Despite of all those scars, of all your adventures...You’re still the Raikichi I met back there in Unova...Only with the difference that now that you opened your heart, is easier for me to understand you...I can feel the wound that hurts your heart...But something tells me that is healing, right?”

“Yeah...Slowly...The wound is still there but is healing...” I said touching the engagement ring that I have on my necklace.

“I’m glad that you managed to find someone that really loves you” N said “I still remember when you told me that you would try to be alone without allowing anyone to see your true feelings”

“People changes, remember?” I said and then, I stood up and streched a bit “Is Zekrom away, right?”

“Yes, why?” N said standing up as well “Wait, how did you know that...”

“There was a huge thunderstorm that affected Galar last night and I want to be sure that it was caused by the bad weather of this time of the year”

"And it was” N said, defending tone on his voice “Zekrom came with me, of course, but I didn’t arrive here flying with it. Zekrom followed me. I took a flight from Unova and arrived here at Galar and Zekrom just followed me from the distance”

“So Zekrom doesn’t have anything with the thunderstorm?”

“No...Well, maybe the thunderstorm got a bit rough when Zekrom flew through the clouds but I swear that Zekrom didn’t cause it”

“It’s okay. Just make sure that Zekrom is away from Galar. As long as you stay with me and my friends, you will be safe, so Zekrom doesn’t need to stay near...You met those furtives. There are from a big group of furtives and you are lucky cause those ones were from a low rank. I dealt with the elite ranks of those furtives, so it will be good if you tell Zekrom not to be near of Galar in order to avoid him being detected by anyone until you really need its help”

“True...If there are more furtives that are even more dangerous than those ones...” N murmured to himself and then, he said goodbye to the wild Pokemon that were with us before looking at me and at the Luxury Ball I had on my hand “What are you planning?”

I smiled and let out Corviknight from her Pokeball and knowing how was N, she allowed him to stroke her feathers. “I rescued this Corviknight from a terrible fire caused by some furtives from the same group like the ones we confronted before” I said stroking her feathers as well “They set up fires in a lot of places here in the Wild Area, and this Corviknight was trapped by a ring on fire trying to protect her clutch, but saldy, her offspring died due the smoke” that made N flinch when he heard that “Piers and me took her to Spikemuth’s Pokemon Center and her physical wounds healed...But she was so devastated by her lost that she was letting herself to die...Only giving her a Pokemon egg was the only way to avoid that”

“And that was successful, wasn’t it?”

“Yes...She took care of the baby Murkrow that hatched from the egg as her own offspring and now, that Murkrow is a strong Honchkrow and Piers is his trainer now”

“I see...” N said, closing his eyes as he stroked Corviknight’s feathers “I can feel that you really feel proud of your succes with Murkrow...”

Corviknight nodded and then, the sky darkened again with dark clouds, and the first rain drops started to fall, so I quickly jumped onto Corviknight’s back, followed by Glaceon and offered my hand to N. “C’mon, I’m not going to leave you under the rain on the Wild Area, and the nearest building is very far from here”

N nodded and took my hand and jumped on Corviknight’s back, behind me. “Are you sure that this is something secure?” he asked

“C’mon, you mounted on Zekrom and that was even more dangerous. Now hold tight! Corviknight, let’s go back to Spikemuth!”

Corviknight move her powerful wings and in few seconds we were now in the air. I told her to fly fast cause the rain started to fall more and more and I could see the first bolts in the clouds. “Are you sure Zekrom isn’t near?” I asked N, nearing shouting

“Yeah, Zekrom is away right now!” he said “We should be fast and reach Spikemuth before the storm gets even worst!”

“Then, hold on tight!”

We flew as fast as Corviknight could, avoiding some thunders that fell from the clouds and in less than an hour we arrived at Spikemuth’s surroundings. We quickly got down from Corviknight and once I let her return to her Pokeball, we quickly entered the town. In the center of the town, the crowd of people blocked our way, but when they saw me, they let us pass. “Piers!” I said, calling my fiancée atention who was talking with the person I didn’t want to see in that moment. “What is he doing here?” I asked my lover as my eyes went to Chairman Rose.

“Macro Cosmos Construction is one of his companies and I was trying to convince them to repair the damage but...” Piers started

“But their boss is too busy to attend this petition, right, Rose?” I said growling at the Chairman “I’m tired of this bullshit. You will do what I’m going to say right now”

“You can’t order me nothing” Rose said with disdain “I’m Chairman Rose, the Chairman of Galar Pokemon League and...”

“And I’m the World Champion, I’m in a higher position than you and if you want to see my second match defending my world title, I hope you put your workers working right now” I said, growling “How would people will react if they know that I cancel that match cause the Chairman of the Galar Pokemon League is in fact a selfish and vain man? Not good for you, I think, right?”

Everyone there stayed silent; even Rose was without words. Glaceon was growing at him, her fur was bristly and even her claws were out, and that only happpened when she was really REALLY angry. Then, I took a deep breath and sighed. Oleana was near of saying something to insult me but Glaceon’s growls were enough to make that bitch back off. I smirked and then, I looked at Rose, returning to my serious expression again. “So? Are you going to make your workers being here as soon as posible? I want them to start working today”

“Alright, you win” Rose said after being silente for two minutes “Macro Cosmos Construction accepts your payment and will start to work on it and...”

“And I will make sure that the work will be good supervised” I said smirking as I send some messages quickly through my Rotom Phone “Now, if you don’t need anything more, go away. I want to take a bath and see if the people and Pokemon here in Spikemuth and in its surroundings need my help”

“How you dare to speak to...” Oleana started to said but Glaceon hissed at her

“Shut your fucking and filithy mouth and go away, bitch” I said, angry “I don’t need people like you here right now ruining more my day”

“You...”

“Oleana, enough” Rose said “We don’t want to turn this into something worst. Raikichi, I’ll make sure that my workers from Macro Cosmos Construction are here at evening”

“Good, cause you know what is at stake”

An ultimate glare from me and Glaceon made Rose nod and with the representatives from Macro Cosmos Construction and Oleana, they left Spikemuth. The crowd sighed in relief and I got a bit relaxed, getting even more relaxed when Piers hugged me. “Sorry for scaring you, babe” I said smiling and kissing his cheek.

“Scared? I was impressed! You got Rose on your feet when you put him on his place” my fiancée said

“I know...”

“But?”

“But she’s worried” N added approaching us “I could feel the anger on that woman and the feeling of humilliation on that man...And Raikichi is worried cause maybe they would seek vengeance againts her”

“And they will, I’m sure of that” I said “Since I arrived to Galar, I have the feeling that something is weird with them, like if they are hidding something. And of course, it’s clear that Rose only worries about himself and his reputation. Did you see his face when I threated him with cancelling my second official match to defend my world title? His vanity and his ego are very very high, and the idea of seeing his ego being hurted scares him a lot”

“But if they try to get their revenge, I’ll stand by your side, my love” Piers said and then, he looked at N “By the way, who is this guy?”

“Piers, this is N. He’s a friend of mine. N, this is Piers, Gym Leader of Spikemuth and my fiancée”

Both Piers and N shook their hands and then, I looked up, seeing how some Psychic type Pokemon used Psychic to elevate a big piece of plastic lone in order to cover the hole on the ceiling in order to avoid the water fall inside the town, but it wasn’t going to resist a lot. I was worried about the Pokemon getting tired, but then, some workers from Macro Cosmos Construction that decided to stay there at night helped the Pokemon to put something stronger with the plastic lone in order to have something covering the hole until tomorrow.

Then, I moved a bit my arms and I groaned a bit when I felt a bit of pain. I didn’t notice it due the adrenaline but I had some purple spots where that furtive hurted me before I knocked him out. I tried to hide it but Piers was faster and when he saw me looking to those purple spots, he ran towards me in order to examinate them. “Babe, you are wounded” he said, worried as he asked one of Team Yell grunts to bring a first aid kit.

“Piers, I only got some purple spots, I’m fine” I said “That furtive gave some trouble before I could knock him out”

“Furtives? In the Wild Area? Again?” he asked and when I nodded, he sighed “You know you still need to rest, babe...”

“Please, Piers. I’m fine. The attack that we suffered was like near two weeks ago and you’ve seen that I recovered in a week”

“But you still need to rest and...”

“And what? Leaving my duties as World Champion? I can’t stay with my arms crossed!”

“You were near of dying!”

“I have been near of dying multiple times and I’m still here!” I said, a bit angry, but then, after seeing Piers’ face, I knew that I didn’t choose the correct words and of course, I was still nervous with Rose’s visit “I...” Fuck it, fuck it. I closed my hands into fists so hard that my knuckles turned white as I though on the worst things and fears. Piers didn’t have the fault of worrying a lot for me, but for some reasons, sometimes I felt overwhelmed with his extreme worries that made me not able to see that now I wasn’t alone, but I was still having those thoughts due the long time I spent working for the Interpol and having to be and deal alone with everything. “I...I have to...”

“No, wait” Piers said, grabbing my arm and hugging me tightly “Don’t go, please...You know that since that day, I can’t avoid being worried a lot about you and...”

“But I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that” I said interrupting him

“And I should have known that you’re still feel a bit overwhelmed with all my worries” he replied smiling softly

“Piers...I’m...I’m sorry...” I said, hidding my face on his chest as he kept hugging me “I’m still acommodating to the fact that I don’t have to deal with things alone...”

“I know, that’s why I’m also sorry for making you feel overwhelmed” he said and then, he kissed my temple before he let me go from his arms when we heard N chuckling.

“I knew that both of you will overcome this argument” N said “Even the lovers with the strongest and deepest bond between them have arguments”

“You’re right...” I said and then, my Rotom Phone showed me a message from Rose asking me not to cancel the match, something that made me laugh “It’s clear that he is more worried about his reputation” I added as me, Piers and N went to Piers’ house while the Police officers that we had called kept the place in order to avoid any people or Pokemon to get hurt by the rubbles that could fall from the ceiling.

Once inside Piers’ house, I went to our shared room and after taking some clean clothes, I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower as Piers and N talked in the living room. After the quick shower, I got dried and dressed and I exited the bathroom and after putting the clothes into the washing machine, I went to the living room.

“I need you to remove your shirt if I want to treat your wounds” Piers said and I blushed a bit, cause , well, we were not alone

“Don’t worry for me, I was the one who had to remove your turtleneck sweater when you got terrible wounded by Team Plasma in order to allow Nurse Joy to attend your wounds and to help you to deal with the poisoning” N said, blushing a bit when he said that

“Wait, you did what?” I asked blinking twice “I don’t remember that”

“You fainted before that on my arms when I was trying to convince you to stop fighting” N replied “And as I helped Nurse Joy, I could hear Looker talking with someone and jugding by Looker’s tone, his interlocutor was very angry”

“Oh, then he was talking with my uncle Nanu” I said with a chuckle before removing my shirt but leaving my bra on. Then, Piers started to apply a special ointment for those purple spots and another one to treat the little cuts and scratches “I’m really sorry of what happened some minutes ago...During the time I was with the International Police, I had to learn how to treat my wounds and things like those by my own, and it’s true that it has passed years since I decided to stop working with them but...Some manners I’ve got are still there...That’s why sometimes I don’t think that I bruish or a scratch isn’t something serious...”

“But now you’re not alone, my love” Piers said and after treating my wounds, I put my shirt on me again and then, I looked at N. “The bathroom is free if you want to have a warm bath”

“Don’t worry, I don’t need it, really” N said

“At least take let me to lend you some clothes while yours get dried” my fiancée said giving N some of the biggest clothes he had cause N was taller than him “Sorry if these clothes are a bit small for you”

“They’re perfect, since I’ll wear them as mine get dried” N replied with a smile “Where is the bathroom?”

I pointed at the bathroom and after nodding, N went there and closed the door once he entered in the bathroom. Then, I helped Piers to prepare some food for lunch while we talk about somethings from my past, including how I met N.

“So, you first stopped him and then, you helped him? That’s a curious plot twist” Piers commented as we finished preparing the lunch

“N has suffered a lot when Ghetsis manipulated him...Believe me when I say that is was hard to see N seeing that all his life had been a lie...”

“I can’t imagine living like that...With someone telling those lies to you from a young age...”

“That’s why I had to take my time to trust again in people”

Both me and Piers turned and saw that N was there. He had finished in the bathroom and now he was on the kitchen, wearing the clothes Piers gave to him. “Sorry, I didn’t...” Piers started to say

“You didn’t say anything wrong; in fact, your words were full of honesty and empathy” N said as I put his clothes near the radiator in order to get them dry “Also, thanks to people like Raikichi, I knew that there are also good people in the world”

“That’s why Zekrom feels interested on you, N” I said as we served the lunch in the plates “You want to follow your ideals, and Zekrom is the representation of the ideals, being Reshiram the representation of truth”

“You always said that sometimes, neither the turth or the ideals are correct, that we must seek balance” N added

I nodded as I remembered that, one of my multiple talks with N during the time I passed with him when I had to scort him to the safety of the International Police. I couldn’t help but smile when I remember how part of Team Plasma decided to follow N in a helping way to both Pokemon and people, unlike the ones that decided to follow Ghetsis’ destructive plans. I remembered Anthea and Concordia’s faces when they saw us arriving to the meeting place, and also, I remembered how excited was the sage Rood when he saw N safe and alive. “N, did Anthea and Concordia came with you here to Galar?” I asked

“I tried to convince them to come but they decided to stay in a safehouse from the Interpol there in Unova. Also, they wanted to watch over Rood since his health has turn a bit bad.” N said “Speaking of which, you’ve told me about your grandmother, and since she shares the same gift as you I...”

When he mentioned my grandmother, my stomach closed and I couldn’t eat anything more. When I looked away, N understood what happened and looked away too. “Sorry, I didn’t know it...”

“No, it’s okay...Is just...Don’t worry, okay? If you excuse me, I’ll go outside to see if Rose has send his workers”

“I’ll go with you if...” Piers started to say by I shook my head “Raikichi...”

“Don’t worry, ‘kay?” I said and after putting a jacket on me, I called Glaceon and we exited the house.

--------------------PIERS’ POV--------------------

I sighed and I looked at N, who looked even guilty after seeing Raikichi exiting the house. Part of me was a bit angry with him for not being more careful but, in fact, he didn’t know about Raikichi’s grandmother, and I understood her reasons to not tell anyone more than her relatives about her grandmother, despite of N being a friend, but I understood why. N, like me, worried a lot about her, and knowing that the last time they had seen each other had been years ago could make things a bit complicated. Raikichi told me once that he didn’t want to keep a lot in touch with N once she left Unova cause she wanted to protect him, knowing that some people in the International Police would still see N as a criminal despite of the proofs that showed that he had been manipulated, so I couldn’t blame her afterall. That’s the Raikichi I knew, the woman I was going to marry with, someone that worries about Pokemon and people.

“Sorry, it’s all my fault” N finally said “I didn’t know that her grandmother died and I said those words with that emotion thinking that I could meet her that I didn’t think...”

“Don’t blame yoruself, N” I said retiring the plates “Raikichi was and still is very reserved with her grandmother’s death. And not all of our friends know about it, despite of that happening some time ago. The ones that know about her grandmother’s death are me, my sister, Raikichi’s family-her parents and uncles-, Lance, and three Gym Leaders from Galar that are our closest friends”

“But I’m also a friend of hers, why...Oh”

“She told me once that the reasons she had to cut all communication with you was to protect you, not only from the Team Plasma members that could have escaped from justice but also from some members of the Interpol that still think that you are...”

“A criminal”

“But you weren’t. The only criminal was Ghetsis, not you”

“It’s easy to say, but I still hide from curious people...”

“In that we are similar” I said as I offered him a jacket once we washed the dishes cause we were going outside “I grew up here, with very few resources, and when I was a kid and my sister was a baby, my parents were gone. I raised Marnie alone and then, after participating in the Gym Challenge, I made my way to became the Gym Leader of Spikemuth and also, I became a singer, so I could bring money to the town and to my family. My past made me being away from others, trying to avoid being with others”

“But then, Raikichi arrived and changed your point of viewing things, right?” he asked

“She did” I replied with a chuckle “And that also helped her to see that now, she can have a quiet life without worrying about the Interpol and...”

But then, we heard some yells that interrupted our talk, and with confusion, we went to see what was going on. In the middle of the crowd there was a pair of little kids-probably they were four years old- and over them, stopped at time with Pyschic, were some fragments from the damage ceiling.

“Umbreon, Raichu, Delphox, Meowstic, Rapidash, keep using Psychic!” I heard Raikichi said as she helped the kids getting out of the danger. N and me quickly ran to help her but Zoroark and Luxray stopped us. Then, my gaze and Raikichi’s met and when she nodded, her Pokemon allowed us to help her. We took the kids out of the dangerous place as Raikichi guided her Pokemon to put the ceiling fragments in one of the work containers that Macro Cosmos Construction brought just after Rose left the town.

After that, Raikichi called all her Pokemon to their Pokeballs except Glaceon and went to check on the kids. “You’re not hurt, right?” she asked and the kids shook their heads “Good. I’m sure your mother is very worried right now. Next time ask for help before running away, okay?” she said as Glaceon gave them the Impidimp she was picking on her mouth. “You have to be more careful whith your little friend. Now, go with your parents”

Both kids nodded and ran to reunite with their parents together with their Impidimp. I approached my fiancée and I made sure she wasn’t hurted. “Don’t worry, I’m fine” she said

“What happened?” N asked

“Their Impidimp ran away after doing getting scared by the thunders and the kids ran after him, with the bad luck that a thunderbolt hitted the ceiling again, making those fragments to fall. Luckily, I was able to act at time and nobody got hurted”

“That’s good” I said with a sigh of relief “Dammit, I hope Rose acts quickly and send those workers as soon as possible”

Raikichi nodded, but then, she looked to N, who exited the town using the second entrance that the town had. “I’ll follow him. Can you deal with things here well?” she asked

“Don’t worry, babe. Go, and be careful, ‘kay?”

She nodded and left the place, followed by Glaceon.

------------------RAIKICHI’S POV-----------------------------

“N!! Wait!!” I said calling him as Glaceon and me ran after him

We kept running until we were able to reach him when he stopped when he arrived at the Wild Area. Both me and Glaceon panted a bit due the long running but once we recovered our breath, we approached him. “N, you shouldn’t tun away like that

“But I know how to make this storm to stop”

“C’mon, is a weather thing” I said “This type of storms are normal...Wait, are you planning...?”

“I will ask Zekrom to take all the electricity from those dark clouds in ordert to get those clouds ride off that amount of electricity, that would make things easier and maybe, the thunderstorm will be less hard and...”

“N, listen, that won’t do anything. What if Zekrom can’t hold all that electricity? That would be worst”

“But...”

“Is not your fault that the thunderstorm got worst. It was an accident since Zekrom didn’t do it without intention” I said before sighing “The weather will get better during these days, so don’t worry. If you want to blame someone, blame Rose for not helping the people of Spikemuth. Maybe you don’t know, but all the towns and cities in Galar have Power Spots, even in the Wild Area, but not Spikemuth. Spikemuth can have its own Power Spot with the proper work, but Rose only wants to destroy the town and rebuilt it near a Power Spot cause according to him, is the only way, but it isn’t. That’s why Piers is always arguing with Rose, cause as Gym Leader he is, he isn’t going to allow Rose to destroy the houses of the people that are under his care”

“I know but...” N started to say but he stopped when I put my hand on his arm

“N, please...During all these years since the last time we’ve seen, you’ve carrying with the guilt of your acts...And now I see that you’re still carrying it despite all you did to help us againts Ghetsis”

“Cause my fault, you got wounded multiple times” N said “When you helped me to arrive safe to the safehouse provided by the Interpol...During all that journey you get wounded a lot of times...And then, when we battled againts Team Plasma...”

N put his knees on the ground, tears of anger and sadness on his eyes as he clentched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. “And then, I hurted you again when I said that about meeting your grandmother without...”

“Hey, hey, stop there” I said, kneeling in front of him and putting my hands on his shoulders “You didn’t know that my grandmother was death, so it wasn’t your fault”

“But I should have been more careful!”

“By the love and the sake of Arceus, N, look at me” I said, and he looked at me “It wasn’t your fault. Not everyone knows about my grandmother’s death...And please, stop blaming yourself about the wounds I’ve got during the time I was scorting you or when we fought againts Team Plasma. Those weren’t the first wounds I’ve got...”

“But the first that put you on the edge of death...And it was...”

“Stop it. Don’t say it again. You’re not guilty for Ghetsis’ acts...You’re not his puppet anymore, you’re yourself, so please, stop blaming at yourself...You’ve been carrying with that guilt for years and it’s time to get ride off it”

“I will try...But you should try too as well”

“Uh?”

“You’re trying to hide it, but in the deepest of you, there is a feeling of guilty, right?”

And damn again, he was right. When I battled againts those evil teams, something inside me made me always feel guilty of not being the enough fast to stop them or the enough quick to convince them to change their minds; the last time I’d tried it it was near of taking my life in Kalos. “You’re right...We have our own inner demons that we have to fight...”

“Then we won’t give up until we defeat them” N said as we stood up.

I nodded and then, we went back to Spikemuth, just in time cause workers from Macro Cosmos Construction arrived and they started to work as soon as they arrived. “Finally you’ve arrived” I said “We have another problem apart of the hole in the ceiling. We need to make that part more estable and I hope that you will do a very good work”

“Yes, ma’am!” they said and then, they started to work

With a sigh, we decided to join Piers who was speaking with Nurse Joy. When he saw me, my fiancée ran to hug me and peppered my face with kisses, making me chuckle and blush before telling us that the Pokemon affected by the storm that lived near Spikemuth were recovering pretty well, but something was making Piers feel worried. “Babe?”

“Uh? Oh, don’t worry, I’m okay”

“Maybe some training will help you to distract a bit” I said and then, I looked at N “I know that since you stopped being Ghetsis’ puppet you also stopped being a Pokemon trainer, but what do you think about watching us training?”

“That would be nice” N said and together, we went to the Dark Type Gym.

There, Piers and me trained with the Gym trainers, working on the most important points thay needed to work if they want to have a chance against Fairy and Fight type Pokemon and moves. I didn’t need to look at N to know that he was amazed at the bond that Piers, me and the Gym trainers shared with all of our Pokemon, and jugding for how he started to cheer us, I knew he was enjoying watching that bond.

Night arrived and we decided to stop training. We went to see how the workers were doing and I got amazed of how quick they were going, and also, I got surprised that they were doing their work with the best quality. After that, we went to Piers’ house and we convinced N to stay at least that night with us. We prepared some dinner for us and for our Pokemon and after that, Piers gave some blankets to N and he helped him to prepare the couch since N was going to sleep there. Piers was the first on going to sleep; he was really tired. N tried to stay awake a bit more cause he found himself curious about my research aboyt Galarian history, but he ended falling asleep and then, after saving my progress with the report, I closed my laptop and I went to Piers’ room to sleep.

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

I woke up after feeling a cold breeze entering from the window, and when I realized what was it-it was midnight- I yawned and tried to go back to sleep, until I saw that the window was opened and I didn’t remember opening the window before going to sleep. Confused but curious at the same time, I put my glasses on and using the light from my Rotom Phone I discovered some scratches on the window that told me that a Pokemon opened it from the inside, and then, I found some black and white fur and I gasped.

“Babe?” Piers asked half asleep as he yawned “Do you know what time is it?”

“Sango is gone”

“Wait, what?”

“Sango is gone” I repeated as I put my hoodie over my sleeping clothes before putting my shoes on “It looks that she opened the window and made her way outside”

“Dammit” Piers said putting a jacked over his sleeping clothes and putting his shoes on “Tell me, was she behaving strange these last days?”

“Yeah, these days was...Don’t tell me that Galarian Linoone also goes to places far away when they feel that they are ready to evolve”

“Yes, specially at night. Galarian Linoone only evolves into Obstagoon during night”

“Then, we should be quick” I said exiting the room “I’m afraid to encounter again more furtives if Sango has gone to the Wild Area

“What’s going on?” N asked, aywning again

“Raikichi’s Galarian Linoone is gone and we think she has done that cause she is ready to go” Piers said as we exited the house, followed by N

“Then let me help you to find her”

“N, listen, I really appreciate your help but I don’t know if Sango is in the Wild Area,l and if she is there, I’m sure there are going to be furtives cause I always find them there and since you don’t have any Pokemon...”

“Maybe I’m not a Trainer anymore, but I can fight” N said “You’ve taught me some moves, remember?”

“And what if we encounter with one of their elite groups? How are you going to fight with people that can calculate all your moves? N, I know what is fighting againts an elite group of furtives and believe me that it isn’t easy, believe me”

“But I can help you!”

“How do you want to help us againts an elite group of furtives when I was near of dying fighting them two weeks ago?” I said, a bit angry but also worried, and when I saw that my words shocked N, I sighed “Please, N, I don’t want you to get hurt”

“Then let me help you” he insisted “If we encounter furtives, I can...”

“Distract them alone? What part of ‘I don’t want to put your life in danger’ you don’t understand?”

“And why you don’t want to understand that I really want to help you to find your lost Pokemon?”

“N, for Arceus’ sake...”

“Is my way of paying the debt I owe you for saving my life back in Unova”

I looked at Piers and my fiancée looked at me before nodding. I sighed and then, I shook my head. “Alright, alright, you win, but if we see that the danger is very big, you will promise us to go to a safe place”

“I promise” N said

I nodded and then, we followed the track left by Sango. Glaceon and Lycanroc were really good following tracks, specially Glaceon, since it was a part of the training we recieved during the training with the International Police. As I feared, the track guided us to the Wild Area. We arrived at Hammerlock Hills, and there, Glaceon and Lycanroc tried to keep following the track. Luckily for us, the night sky was cleared and the moon was showing its bright side. “Honchkrow, it’s your turn to help us!” Piers said calling his Pokemon out of his Pokeball “Help su to find Sango from the air”

Honchkrow chirped and took flight to help us find Sango from the air while me, Piers and N followed Glaceon and Lycanroc, who catched Sango’s track again. And there she was, fighting againts a Pangoro, and judging for the moves her opponent was performing, it was clear that it was from a trainer. “Sango!!” I said, running to approach her with Glaceon and Lycanroc before noticing that Sango was protecting a group of Galarian Zigdagoon from that trainer. “Leave these Pokemon alone!”

“Oh, c’mon, from all the people in the world, and it has to be the World Champion who ruins my day”

“So you’re a furtive” I growled and then, I told Lycanroc to go at N’s side to protect him while Piers called his Obstagoon out when they saw that there were more furtives. “Glaceon, let’s make...” I started to say but Sango growled, her fur so bristly that she was telling me that she wanted to keep fighting. “Alright then. Sango, use Rain Dance!”

As Sango performed the moved, the furtives tried to seek refuge but were stopped by Piers and N. “Now, Sango, use Thunderbolt!!”

The move hitted the Pangoro and then, Sango started to bright. She was evolving and when the evolution finished, she roared now as an Obstagoon. “This isn’t over!” the furtive said “Pangoro, use Fire Punch!”

But Sango then used a move that I knew very well cause I’d seen Piers’ Obstagoon using it. She used Obstruct to stop the move and then, she grabbed Pangoro and when she looked at me, I nodded. “Sango, use Thunderbolt!!” and Sango’s move, powered by the Rain Dance, knocked out Pangoro. “You did it!!” I said hugging my recently evolved Obstagoon. Glaceon joined us to celebrate it, but then, something made us be in alert. I approached Piers and N to help them, but they managed to deal with the other furtives and when the furtives ran away, I called Lycanroc back to his Pokeball while Piers’ Obstagoon greeted Sango, licking her face.

“Sango finally evolved” Piers said hugging me after making sure that I wasn’t wounded “And you aren’t wounded...That’s good...Also, N worked very well with your Lycanroc”

“Lycanroc knew what he has to do, so it was easy to work with him” N said “We should follow them”

“No, let the Police from Hammerlock take care of them” I replied “I send a mesagge to Raihan, so now we can go back to Spikemuth”

I yawned and called back Sango back to her Pokeball and then, we took a Flying Taxi and returned to Spikemuth. We quickly entered on Piers’ house and after making sure that our Pokemon were alright, we went back to sleep.

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

Days passed and the thunderstorm and the bad weather started to calm down until it stopped raining. The workers that Rose sent to repair the broken ceiling in Spikemuth were near of finishing their work, and it was time to see if they were doing a good work.

“M-Ma’am” one of them said when he saw me “W-We didn’t expect you at this hour”

“I wanted to see by my own your work” I replied and then, I smiled “Don’t be nervous, I don’t bite”

“W-We know but since...”

“Oh, I see” I said and then, I sighed “Listen, I’m not Rose, okay? I’m really impressed that you have made a big progress with the repairing in these few days but I don’t want that the pressure that Rose is putting on you makes your work being of bad quality, so since today, I want you to work relaxed, ‘kay? Now, let’s see the progress”

The workers sighed in relief and showed me how they did their work until today that I decided to see how they were going. Despite of being under pressure, they were doing a really great work, and the quality of the materials was also good. “If everything goes this good, we’ll be finishing the repairing in few days”

“Perfect, just in time to recieve the Gym Challengers that will arrive to battle Piers” I said and then, I greeted Nurse Joy who came with warm food and drinks for the workers “Here, you deserve it. Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do”

After saying goodbye to the workers and to Nurse Joy, I went to check on Piers. He was at the Gym, talking with N as my fiancée groomed his Pokemon. “The repairing is progressing very well. In few days and if there aren’t any complications, the ceiling will be completly repaired” I said after greeting my fiancée with a kiss

“That’s good” Piers said letting out a big sigh “I was talking with N about how is the Pokemon League here in Galar”

“I find it quite interesting, if I’m honest” N said and then, my Rotom Phone sounded “What’s it?”

“Oh, the confirmation of my opponent for my second official match” I said smirking as I replied the message

“What Champion did accept your challenge this time, babe?” Piers asked

“Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone” I replied as we went for a walk “He specializes in Steel type Pokemon and his ace Pokemon is a Metragoss that can Mega evolve”

“Metagross is Stell type, but also, is Psychic type” N said “What Pokemon are you going to use?”

“Ahhh, it’s a surprise~~” I said and Piers chuckled “The match will be after you battle the challengers for your Gym Badge, so I have plenty of time. Now, let’s keep training!”

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

More days passed and the repairing of the ceiling that covered Spikemuth was completed. The workers did a very good work, and that made Piers feel more relaxed. Also, today was the day when he was starting recieving challengers, so that put him on his nerves, specially when he knew that I had to deal with some Teal Yell grunts that shuted the entrance to the town down cause they only wanted Marnie to win and I had to tell them not to do that.

“You have a good hand with them” N commented as we went to the VIP place of the Gym “Where’s Piers?”

“I know where he is, wait here” I said and N nodded

As I thought, Piers was still in his locker room, trying to relax, and when he heard me entering, he jumped a bit startled. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you” I said locking the door once I entered and going to hug him “Are you okay?”

“I...I don’t know” he said “I’m nervous, but I’ve never felt this nervous before...”

“It’s normal since Marnie will be here to challenge you...” I said and then, I smirked and put him againts the wall “We have a bit more time before you go there and start to battle the challengers, so let me help you to get relaxed”

“Raikichi, in what are you...” he tried to ask but a moan interrupted him when I started to stroke his bulge, noticing how quickly it got hard. As I kissed his neck, my hand kept stroking his hard bulge “B-babe, what if someone...”

“Don’t worry, I locked the door when I entered” I said and then, I kissed his lips “Now let me help ya~~”

I knelt down and after managing to pulling his pants and underwear down, I grabbed his hard cock and started to suck it, first the the tipi and then, the rest. Piers moaned as his hands pulled my hair softly as I kept sucking his lenght. “Oh, Raikichi, please, don’t stop...” he said between moans and of course, I kept sucking him until he came with a low groan “That...was...” he tried to say as he held to the wall for some balance while I stood up and after swallowing his cum and getting myself clean, I helped him to get clean and once he recovered his breath, he put his underwear and pants on while I picked a pair of fresh water bottles, one for me and the other for him. “Thank you, babe” Piers said hugging me.

“Do you feel better?” I asked

“Yeah...I feel relaxed and with all my batteries charged” he said before kissing me “Thank you, my love...”

“You don’t have to thank me, ya know” I replied and then, we looked at the time in our phones “It’s time. I’ll be in the VIP part of the Gym with N cheering you up”

“I will give everything in the battles. For you, my Queen”

“It’s time to rock’em all, my King”

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

Of all the battles Piers had that day, he only lost five, and of course, after battle in a single day againts eleven trainers, he got exhausted, but he had to keep up, cause the next days he had to battle with more trainers. From our place at the WIP terrace, N and me watched all his matches, and I couldn’t help but worry aboyt Piers’ health during the battles. Maybe on his Gym, Dynamax wasn’t used, but anyone was exempt of recieving damage. In one of those battles, one of the moves from the Pokemon of one of the trainers got out of control and Piers got a bit of damage, but sometimes, the danger could come for other places, like when I had to interjece between Piers and an angry trainer that didn’t want to accept his defeat and when he was going to order his Pokemon to attack Piers, I jumped and put myself between Piers and the challenger, telling the boy that he would be out of the Tournament due his acts. After that, I didn’t have another option that ask Team Yell grunts to keep an eye as well. N also offered to help, but I convinced him not to do it once I made sure that everything was under control.

That day, at night, Piers was acting quiet strange. I noticed it quickly when he went to his room as soon as we arrived to his house. He was still affected by the incident he had with that challenger, and it was very painful to see him like that.

“I’ll be in the Pokemon Center” N said “If you need help...”

True. N decided to stay at night at the Pokemon Center after spending that night in Piers’ house cause he didn’t want to disturbe us. “Thanks, N...Sorry that you’ve seen that...”

N shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. Now Piers needs you”

I nodded and when N left the house, I entered at Piers’ room, only to find him sitting on a corner, crying, with his head leant on his knees and his hands grabbing his hair very tight. I quickly rushed at his side and knelt down in front of him. “Piers, it’s me...” I said grabbing his wristles softly. At first, he resisted a bit, but when he recognized my voice, he allowed me to pull down his arms and then, I made him look at me. His makeup was ruined by his tears and after doubting a bit, he quickly hugged me, sobbing. “Hey...I’m here, my love...”

“That boy was right...” he started to say when he calmed down and he allowed me to help him to be on his feet in order to take him to the bed, sitting down on the soft bed “I’m...”

“Don’t say that your weak cause you’re not that. You’re the seventh Gym Leader in Galar Pokemon League and your strenght is a proof of that. The decision of putting myself between me and that challenger was only mine cause I wasn’t going to allow that behaviour in an official tournament. I wasn’t only doing my job as World Champion, but also I was avoiding you of getting hurt”

“But what if you...”

“You saw that when I said to him who I was and the consequences he would suffered due this acts were enough to made him back off”

“But Rose doesn’t give a fuck about me or about Spikemuth. He will allow that boy to be in the League despite of...”

“No when the World Champion has given order to kick that boy out of the League” I replied “Doing what he did is againts the Pokemon league principles, in this region and in the rest of regions, so if Rose wants to be free of problems, he will have to accept my words and putting that boy out of competition”

“Raikichi...”

“Listen, all these days you have been put under a big preassure, and I can’t help but worry about your health. Since tomorrow is the last day of battles, I ask you to take the night free of training. You need rest”

Piers stood in silence before nodding and hugging me. “Thanks, babe...” he said “I’m really lucky having you at my side”

“Now lay down on bed while I prepare you a warm bath” I said and he nodded, laying down on the bed as I went to prepare the bath. Then, I checked Piers’ Pokemon. They were exhausted for all those battles, like PIers. With a sigh, I told Glaceon to go to the Pokemon Center, and some minutes later, she returned with N following her. “Help me with these buddies” I said closing the main door.

“How’s Piers?” N said as we treated the injuries that the Pokemon got from the battles

“Exhausted...And tired of everything”

“I think I don’t understand...”

“Since he became Gym Leader of Spikemuth, he has been trying EVERYTHING to help his town, but he always got rejected by Rose when he asked him for help...So slowly, Spikemuth started to see its population decreasing, and Piers started to feel guilty about that...Of course, that affected him a lot. The other Gyms have security provided by Macro Cosmos, but as you could see today, Spikemuth doesn’t have it cause Rose doesn’t care about Spikemuth”

“That’s why you decided to interjece” N said and when I nodded, he sighed

“Rose hids something, and it’s curious that always I get on a fight with the furtives, he and his filthy secretary appear...But let’s not talk about that right now. These buddies need us” I said, chuckling when Obstagoon licked my face.

Then, I heard Piers’ room door opening, so I stood up and went with him to the bathroom as N stayed with the Pokemon. I closed the bathroom’s door and while Piers got naked, I called my Leafeon out of his Pokeball. Once, my fiancée got naked, he looked at me and I nodded, getting naked as well, but this time, I sat behind him once we entered in the bathub, enjoying the warm water.

“Glaceon, use Heal Bell. Leafeon, use Aromatherapy, but low and long” I said and both Pokemon used both moves, helping Piers to relax “That’s it...” I added and then I started to wash his hair and body, giving him a massage and noticing how tense he was “Easy there, love”

“Mmmhhh...I like this...” he murmured, his eyes closed as I gave him the massage, but then, he opened them when he heard me singing. It was a song from his, and it tooked him by surprise cause he smiled and then, he joined me in the song “You really know my songs, don’t ya?”

“Cause I love them, like I love you” I replied and he giggled

We stayed in the bathtub the enough until I felt that Piers was feeling better. I told Glaceon and Leafeon to stop their moves as Piers and me went out of the water, and after we got dried and dressed with our sleeping clothes, we went to the kitchen, only to find N preparing some dinner. “I thought you wanted to eat something and cause you were with him, I decided to prepare some dinner”

“Thank you, N” Piers said, checking on his Pokemon “I see that you also took care of my buddies”

“Raikichi called me for some help, so I came here to help”

“Now I know why Raikichi considers you a good friend” my fiancée said and I chuckled as we had dinner

After dinner, N decided to return to the Pokemon Center. He didn’t want to disturb us, and after thanking him for his help, he exited the house. Then, Piers and me went to our shared room, and it didn’t take us very long to sleep under the covers.

“Tomorrow is the day...” he said with a yawn “Tomorrow I’ll battle againts Marnie...”

“And againts more trainers, but remember, I’ll be there cheering you up”

“I know...Thanks for not letting me going even more down...”

“Piers, listen to me” I said, cupping his cheeks on my hands “I promised to be there for you, right? We both promised each other to be at the other’s side for everything...So don’t worry, ‘kay?”

He nodded and I kissed him, letting him to put his head on my chest, and slowly, he got even more relaxed before falling asleep, followed by me minutes after he fell asleep.

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

The next day, Piers was with his batteries full charged and was ready to face the last challengers. From this last bunch of trainers, he only lost three times, so Marnie, Gloria and Hop won their Dark Badge, but not after having hard battles againts Piers; even Marnie’s Grimmsnarl, that apart of being Dark type was also Dairy type, had difficults to beat Piers’ Pokemon. And then, the battles were over. I greeted the three trainers and after having a talk with Piers, the three of them left to the Pokemon Center while Piers and me went for a walk on the outskirts of the city.

“It looks like taking all the night free helped you a lot” I said as we walked side by side, holding hands, under the starry sky

“Yeah...And you helped me a lot too, Raikichi...This starry night reminds me the night when I asked you to marry me...” he replied as he made me turn in order to hug me “I can’t express how happy makes me the idea of marrying you...”

“I can say the same...Even if we have arguments...Our bond grows stronger...Like our love...And...”

“And?”

“And of course, when the day comes, we’ll be ready to bring a child to this world”

That made him smile as we returned to Spikemuth, walking under the starry sky while we talked about our plans for the future. Now, for a long time, I could say this. I felt loved, safe...I felt like home.

#piers x oc #Piers #kabu #gordie #n pokemon #raikichi pkmn #pokemon OC #pokemon sword and shield #a song to heal a tired soul

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zankivich · 5 years

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Neighbors: Shawn x Plus-Size Reader Chapter 17

a/n I could literally go on and one and one about this chapter. What I was thinking, what I meant, what I wanted it to feel like. But I really just want to leave it all out here for you. If you have thoughts please come talk to me about them. I am literally bursting at the seams right now. I used a song for this chapter called Grow as We Go by Ben Platt. It is beautiful, please listen to it. I love you. K bye.

Warnings: smut, love, feels, pizza, and space buns.

Y/n’s point of view*

You’re sitting on the couch between Stu and Bryan when your phone starts to ring.

Shawn:I just knocked on your old apartment door out of habit

Shawn: a forty-year old man lives there now. He had me go into his daughter’s room and sign a poster.

You can’t help but snort. Of course he went into the room. Idiot.

y/n: Shawn why would you enter that man’s home in the first place?

Shawn: He was nice! I felt bad for interrupting his day. Can we get back to the issue at hand which is that you’re no longer ten feet away from me?

y/n: and kind of homeless? Certainly a massive turn of events has occurred.

Shawn: Where are you? I’ve got the movie Us on my tv. We haven’t watched scary movies together in a long time.

Y/n: I’m at Stu and Bryan’s. Are you asking me on a date right now?

Shawn: Yes. Come overrrrrr. Please?

“Welp! I have to go.” You announced pushing yourself off the couch

“And just where are you going, young lady? It’s past your curfew!” Stu chuckled.

You flipped your friend off and quickly began ruffling through your suitcase for cuter underwear.

“Funny. Some random guy wants me to come over. As fun as you both are, I haven’t had dick in over six months.”

Bryan was confused.

“I thought she was giving things another go with Shawn.”

“She is, baby. Random guy is not random at all. She’s ditching us for her future husband. Try to keep up.” Stu explained patting his boyfriend on the arm in consolation.

You found the pale pink lacey number and quickly ran around changing your entire outfit to look less “woman sleeping on her friend’s couch” and more “comfy chic but you can totally bend me over in you want”.

“Isn’t the whole point of being in a relationship that you don’t have to do whatever it is you’re doing right now?”

You rolled your eyes again as you slipped into a pair of shorts that showed off your ass and a tank top that would provide a wonderful excuse to snuggle under a blanket.

“Perhaps you missed the part where we kind of broke up slash kinda didn’t but definitely did? This is surely the least I could offer him. And the least he can offer me...is his penis! Goodnight friends!”

You uber’d to Shawn’s which frankly was a little cocky on your part. There were nothing that said Shawn had to let you spend the night again, nothing that even said he had to have sex with you that night. Although you had both come to terms with everything and agreed to be together, you hadn’t exactly decided where you were starting. Was this an all the way back to the beginning sort of deal, or were you simply progressing from where you left off?

When he opens the door and pulls you in by your hips to kiss your lips like he hadn’t seen you in months, you think maybe things will lean in the direction you wanted them too. Here's a hoping.

“Well hello to you too.”

His eyes widened and he quickly stepped back.

“Was that wrong? I shouldn’t have done that right? Shit.”

You shake your head and close the door before the neighbors ask him to sign more things.

“You’re totally fine. That is a perfectly acceptable way to greet me.”

“Come on. My apartment missed you.”

The living room is set up a little differently than usual. Gone are Shawn’s video game consoles and in their place is an abundance of pillows and candles littered about. He made popcorn, and it doesn’t even smell burnt. He’s got your favorite blanket folded and waiting. It’s so weird. It kind of feels like a first date all over again. But also it just sort of feels like home.

“Have you seen the movie yet?” He asked as you adjusted yourselves into the cushions.

You shook your head softly. “No. I’ve heard good things though.”

“It’s pretty fucking terrifying. Might need you to hold me half way through.”

“Yea?”

“Yea.”

Your mind was on a very distinct path. A path of a woman who had begun showing signs of carpal tunnel from flipping her bean too much. So, when Shawn reminded you that you’d left one of your big t-shirts in his room if you wanted to “get comfortable”, you were sure that you were picking up all of the signals. You tugged at your shorts and settled your underwear in that really sexy, but totally non functional way above your hips and walked back out to the living room to get your man.

The moving is playing and the sun is still out and no one has died yet. Shawn smiled at you as you walk back into the room. It’s all the motivation you need to straddle him right there on the couch. When your lips touch, it’s exactly what you’ve been missing. You ran your tongue along his bottom lip, nipped softly at the skin with your teeth. His hands came up to rest on your lower back, and you pushed your hips down against his playfully. God you missed him.

So when his hands come up to where yours are gripping tightly in his hair the only thing that comes to mind is maybe he’ll flip you face down ass up. Not that he might push you away all together.

“Babe.” He whined reaching for the remote. “W--What about the movie?”

You peered back at M’baku’s face. Surely he was sexy as all hell, but like...you’d had other plans.

“Oh...did you really want to watch that?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yea? We haven’t seen each other in months. And the last time we did anything sexual you used me like a vibrator and then hung up on me.”

You sighed collapsing back on your heels. “Shawn, I thought we weren’t holding grudges against each other.”

“We’re not! Hey, look at me.” He mumbled sternly, grabbing your chin with his fingers. “I’m not holding a grudge. I just thought it might be good for us to ease into things. I missed you y/n. Like in your entirety, as a human being. I actually wanted to spend time with you.”

You groaned softly letting your forehead come to rest on his chest. Leave it to Shawn to somehow make not having sex with you sound like prose. Bastard.

“That sounds incredibly sweet. And lovely.”

He snorted. “But?”

“No. No buts. You’re right. We should...ease. If I wake up again humping my pillow, well those are just the consequences I’ll have to live with.”

“I’m sorry.” He chuckled, and kissed your forehead. “If it makes you feel any better, the amount of wet dreams I’ve had on tour is double anything I had when I was a teenager.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any better. It makes me horny. Let’s watch your movie, boy scout.”

You rolled off of him, exasperated and a bit frustrated, and let him put the movie back on. His eyes roamed over your face in what was probably concern, but you figured you should keep your eyes on the movie. No one said it would be easy to fall back into a relationship like theirs.

Eventually the movie completely captures both of you. You worm yourself around Shawn’s bicep and gasp a little when the jumpscares happen. It’s a hell of a movie. A movie rooted in something far greater than just its first glance. As a horror buff, you’re a bit taken aback at it all. And when it ends you spend the next hour just talking about what it all means. This is the natural part. When it’s just the two of you talking each other’s ear off, and the other having nothing else they’d rather listen to.

When Shawn starts to clean up from your night together it sort of seems like your cue to leave. You tug your shorts and shoes back on and flicker through the app to find your uber.

“Hey. Where are you going?” He asked stepping back into the living room from the kitchen.

“Oh I’m just getting my ride back home. Didn’t feel like trying to find a place to park.”

He frowned. “You’re not staying?”

“Did you...want me to stay?”

“W--Well yea. We haven’t cuddled in a long time. I sort of thought that was a given.”

“Well I thought so too and then there was the whole not wanting to touch me thing, so I figured I shouldn’t assume.”

He groaned helplessly and came to plop down on the couch beside you.

“Why would you say that? Of course I want to touch you. I”m just trying not to fuck this up again.”

You peered over at him, both of you a little frustrated and a lot confused. Apparently this was going to be a little more difficult than either of you gave credit for.

You reached slowly to climb into Shawn’s lap, eyeing him to make sure that it was okay. He reached for your hips and ran his fingers beneath your shirt. It made you tingle, but that’s not important.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, playing at his curls. “I guess I just...wasn’t sure how far back we were starting. I want to sleep in the same bed with you. I want to hold you again. And I missed my best friend too, dammit. I just also missed my boyfriend.”

He nodded. “You’re right. We didn’t really discuss it. It’s gonna take some time for us to get the hang of things. But...I don’t want to start all over. I love that I sleep the best when I’m wrapped around you. And I love hiding my face in your neck and in your hair. I’ve missed these things for months. I don’t want to miss them anymore. Can we please go to bed? We can talk more in the morning.”

“Okay. Can you kiss me first?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He pulls you by the chin until your lips touch and it’s so much better than before. There’s hunger there, something that says you’ve tasted what it was like to be apart and you’re not interested in ever going back. His tongue teases you until you’re opening up, until he’s kissing you like it’s the only thing he’s ever wanted to do. Your heart picks up speed in your chest and your hips get a little tighter around his waist. He teases as your thighs with his palms and then all of a sudden you’re flying through the air as your boyfriend lifts you with a grunt and take you to bed.

“What in the hell!” You gasp holding on for dear life.

You did not simply just get lifted. Especially not by your much thinner,much lighter boyfriend. Even more than that you had thought that you didn’t even want to be lifted. The thought of someone throwing their back out or struggling under your weight was all you needed to ruin the mood. But here he was. Surprising you as always.

“Baby we don’t have time. We gotta go to bed.” He grinned playfully.

“Well this is just ...unbelievably hot against my better judgement.” You whined hiding your face in his neck in fear that he might drop your ass any second. “You spend a lot of time lifting Camila to get this move down?”

“Not funny and not now!”

You snorted playfully. “Just seem to really enjoy dancing and wall humping all of a sudden. I thought i'd ask.”

He absolutely purposely lets you fall with a slightly too big of a bounce to the bed before climbing delightfully on top of you. When the weight of his hips roots you to bed, you knot your fingers in his sweats and try to tug him even closer. You didn’t know it was possible to miss someone this much. Especially not when they’re frowning at you for taking the piss out of them.

“You were making fun of me.” He whined playfully.

You shook your head. “Oh no, I wasn’t. There’s nothing I loved more than being in the middle of Madrid only to see my man with his tities out hip grinding with Camilla Cabello. It was actually a highlight for me.”

“Your man, aye?” He grinned nose skimming the length of your neck.

“Of course that is what you got out of that.”

“Everything else was nonsense. It was a music video. I’ll have you know I can now do at least a basic salsa, and I’d love to take you out sometime.”

You snorted. “So you can drop my ass on the ground too?”

“Okay you officially paid way too close attention to me while you were away!”

But you only continued laughing.

***

When you wake up Shawn’s already awake. You were usually one to turn away in your sleep, but this time you’d managed to cradle into his chest. His fingers were in your hair, playing delicately with the strands. The sun peeked through his curtains and you were amazed even now at how beautiful his cheekbones were in the light. For a moment you just stare at each other. His eyes are that beautiful shade of hazel and his thumb grazes across your cheek like somehow you might be just as pretty as he is. Apparently you kinda were. When he kisses you, your toes feel weightless and your tummy flutters like crazy. You missed this.

He moves to roll you over, smoothly finding his way between your thighs. His fingers skim underneath your t-shirt and the whole time those lips are still on yours. When his hips start to move, and yours are canting against his you start to feel breathless. And needy. And a little desperate.

“Take your shirt off.” He mumbled softly leaning up on his knees to follow his own directive.

You blinked up at him. “But I thought…”

“Take it off, baby. I need you.”

Well. Yes. Yes to all of that.

You tugged at your own shirt haphazardly before tugging his sweats down his thighs. Your fingers wasted no time in reaching into his briefs to hold his hardening cock in your hand.

He groaned softly, head bowing at your touch. You were wet already. That literally was all it took. How stupid of you to think that you could ever do without this. God, you needed him.

“Fuck,” He sighed. “You have no idea how much I missed that.”

His thighs are firm and solid, muscles tensing on every upward stroke. You love watching him as you touch him, the way his face scrunches up in pleasure. It’s the furrowing of his brow. The way that he bites his lip. The way his hips press forward desperately for you as his tip gets red and rosey.

“Want you to do something for me.” You mumbled from beneath him.

He nods without question, always willing to please you.

“Anything, baby. Just wanna make you feel good.”

You blow softly on his head pressing a kiss to the open slit.

“Want you to fuck my face….And then I want you to make love to me.”

It’s a bit of a contradiction and you can see the shock on his face at your words, but you kind of need him fast and hard, and you kind of need him now. Doesn’t mean a bitch can’t be sentimental too.

“Holy fucking shit I missed you so much.” He whined breathlessly. “A--Are you sure? I don’t wanna hurt you.”

You tugged at the back of his thigh and nodded your head.

“Please, Shawn? Please?”

“God.” He whined reaching down to thumb at your jaw. “Fuck, okay. Okay.”

You shuffled back against the pillows so that your back was supported by the wall the bed lies against. Shawn straddled you, sweats still pooled around his knees as he settled his fingers into your hair. He still looked at you so softly. His eyes were warm and homey and he held your jaw like it was something precious. It’s a complete juxtaposition to the groan that leaves his mouth when he pushes his hips slowly so that he fills your lips. And it’s so fucking hot.

“Your mouth is so warm, so wet. Baby, Jesus.”

You peer up at him so tall and red faced above you. He’s biting away at his lip and he’s trying not to hurt you and it’s all just a little too much. So you reach your fingers into your thong to play with your clit and move your head forward slow and steady until his balls rest on your chin. The response is incredible for both of you.

“Holy fucking shit!” He grunted fingers clenching your hair. “I can feel it. I can feel it in your throat. Oh my god.”

You gag slightly and pull back, his cock covered in spit with a trail still connected to your lips. You smile hopefully up at him as if to ask whether or not you’d done a good job and trail your fingers up his thighs to feel the muscles tense.

“Did I do good?” You whimpered kissing at the head.

His eyes are blown wide and it’s very clear that something new entirely is happening between the both of you, something that you hadn’t quite explored yet. And what a hell of a time to start messing around with sexual exploration after a six month pause on a relationship.

“You did so good. You suck me off better than anyone ever could, baby. You’re perfect.”

You practically purr at his words, fingers pressing a little harder against your sensitive nub.

“Can I suck it some more?”

“Fuck. Yes. Yes you can.”

Pleasing him is like the easiest and most rewarding thing on the planet. He’s so expressive with his face, so willing to give you all of the praise in the world, that he always seems to feel good. It doesn’t mean you can’t up the ante. Doesn’t mean you can’t force his fingers into your hair and moan around him until he’s pushing his hips shallowly against your mouth. It also doesn’t mean that he can’t always praise you more.

“Oh my god, y/n! Y--You’ve gotta let me know if I’m hurting you. Gotta tell me if I need to stop okay--ahhh fuck.”

You make sure to bob your neck and to watch him as he loses it above you. It’s the most sensual thing in the world to watch him in pleasure. The sweat on his brow. The redness in his cheeks and neck. The way his lips stay open just enough for his tongue to poke through when he slides deeper than he thought he could. It might have been a whim but it’s for sure the top five moments of watching him ever. So much so that your thighs starts to pulse and your fingers turn sloppy on your clit as an orgasm builds in your toes. And just as you’re sure you’re going to lose it, he pulls the fuck back. Bastard.

“Please I--I’m gonna cum if you keep going. Please baby let me be in you.” He whined.

He nearly trips getting out of his sweats, but when he’s between your thighs and his hard on is pressing betweens your folds, already slicking himself up with your juices, you fail to think about anything but him inside you.

“Put it in, Shawn please.” you mumbled sucking a mark into his clavicle.

He moaned. “Are you sure you don’t want me to eat you out first?”

“I’m literally pooling in my underwear right now. Just make love to me please.”

And who knew love could feel so fucking good. It is desperate and needy and sticky and so fucking replenishing that you are full to the brim of utter elation and a complete inability to breathe at the same time. He stretches you unbelievably well, his hands cupping your face while his tongue is in your mouth. You moan for him and he for you and you really are just so attentive to one another. Your legs and arms locked around him hips working against his as his pubic bone ruts against you. And you can’t help but run your fingers through his hair, to touch his biceps and his neck and his hips and his stomach. You wanted to re-familiarize yourself with his body, and with his heart. It helps that he’s gripping your cheeks and rubbing your thighs and grabbing at your stomach like every part of you matters to him, like every part is something that is precious and loveable.

“I missed you.” You whispered against his neck. “I missed you so much.”

His fingers grow tight again against your scalp and his hips stutter against yours.

“I love you, so much. Don’t ever fucking leave me again.”

You’re both so fucked for one another. And there’s something about this need to restore everything that was broken. Something about wanting to pull your heart out and offer it to the other person if it just meant that they would know you were all in. You were his in that way that meant you were still entirely your own person, but that you wanted to give him all of the love and the passion and the kindness and the serenity that you could offer another person. There’s something about fixing the pain with your lips, about finding any traces of anything other than love and making them that, infinitely. When he’s gasping against your lips and telling you that you’re the only thing he wants, that you’re everything, it can only heighten the pleasure.

Somehow your eyes become wet and your fingers turn to fists in his hair and your orgasm creeps up on you in the most overwhelming way.

“I’m gonna cum.” You cry back arching. “Oh my--Shawn!”

He attaches his lips to your neck and fist his fingers in the sheets as he somehow manages to fuck you through the most world shattering orgasm you think you’ve ever had. It is only made infinitely better when he cums with your name on his lips, and this warm feeling spreads within you as you literally take him for every drop that he’s got.

“Oh my god.” He mumbled. “You are a magical creature, do you know that?”

“Fuck off and you just made me cum my brains out.” You huffed thighs squeezing around him again for emphasis.

It makes him laugh a little bit, which only makes you happier.

“You’re so beautiful.” He hums kissing you again and again until you’re giggling up a storm.

“I love you.”

“I love you. Come here.”

You’re completely wrapped up in one another again when his phone starts to ring on the bed side table and there’s nothing you want less in the world then to let him go.

Shawn groaned. “It’s probably Andrew. Just give me a minute.”

You whine softly and make yourself busy with sucking another hickey into his chest, much to Shawn’s excitement and frustration and your delight.

“H--Hello?” He murmured making eye contact with you as you circled his nipple with your tongue. “Mhmmm.”

One second he looks like he might just hang up and dive back into the covers with you, and the next he’s scrambling to pull out like a frazzled virgin. Rude.

“Shit! Shit, I’m coming. I’m on my way right now. I swear! I’m so sorry.”

“Who died?!” You gasped as he left you cold and wet and quite frankly dripping on his expensive ass sheets.

He ran straight for the bathroom completely ignoring his very beautiful girlfriend in the bedroom.

“I’m late! Rehearsals started forty-five minutes ago and I’m late! I live ten minutes from the goddamn place. Andrew is going to have my ass.”

He runs back out to you and plops back on the bed with a warm washcloth to slip between your thighs.He slows down for a minute and grips lovingly at your knee. Your eyes meet as he cleans you and it’s maybe even more intense then whatever you’d done just moments prior.

“Hey I--I’m so sorry that I wasn’t more careful. I wasn’t thinking and I just...Should’ve been more responsible.”

You smiled up at him softly and gripped at his wrist between your legs.

“I appreciate the sentiment. That’s what the birth control is for. Just got a little swept up in the moment.”

“That’s certainly one way to describe what you do to me. God, I’m so late.”

And then he’s back up jumping in a blur of soap and shampoo and tugging on clothes with a vengeance while you proceed to just bask in your post-orgasm bonelessness.

He tugs on his boots and a scarf before climbing back into bed to kiss you goodbye. You hate to think that you could get used to mornings like this.

“Do you...do you wanna maybe come to the venue today? Just to hang out? No pressure.” He whispered nuzzling into your neck.

You sighed and pulled him a little closer. “Can I meet you there later? Think I should probably head back to Stu’s to change.”

“Yea, of course . . . You know you could bring some stuff over here too. If you wanted. Like in the meantime, or whatever.”

He’s all bashful and red cheeks, and it is absolutely insufferable how much you love him.

You giggle softly. “Or whatever, aye? You sure I wouldn’t be intruding on your bachelor pad lifestyle?”

“Not at all. I don’t want to move faster than you want to move. Just know I want you here always. And we can talk later when you come to the venue, okay? About everything we keep not talking about when we’re having sex.”

“K. Seems like the least you could do is kiss me goodbye.”

You tug as his scarf to feel his lips on yours for the umpteenth time that morning. It is truly a miracle you let him leave at all.

***

Shawn’s pov

He’s in a good mood. He’s in a great mood. Shit, he might be in the greatest mood of all time. There’s a skip in his step as he walks from the parking garage to the venue. He smiles at all of the employees he comes across, takes twenty pictures before he even makes it inside. The truth is, he’s kind of on top of the world.

Andrew is waiting for him when he finally gets to stage. The show at Roger’s was going to be a whole new level, and it required a little extra planning on their end, hence the time off to prepare for the show. The good news is he’s not in a place where the shows feel like a burden anymore. That had been his learning process while she was away. For a moment, he’d needed something to blame for the pain and the hurt that he was experiencing. At the time it had only made sense for the tour to take that blame. It wasn’t until he started writing just to write, and playing music in the hotel rooms that he was able to remember what music meant to him. It became cathartic again, became his therapy when it was two am and he wanted her so badly, but he knew that he couldn’t call. And then he started leaving it all out on the stage, and it started to hurt less. Was everything fixed? Certainly not. But he also wasn’t kicking and screaming at every show anymore either.

“I’m so sorry I’m late you guys! The time just really got away from me this morning.” He smiled happily as he started to remove his scarf and jacket.

His band begins to snicker and Andrew just simply let his head fall into his hands with a groan.

“What’s wrong? What I do?”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “You look like a chew toy Shawn. I take it y/n is back in town?”

He touched sheepishly at his neck trying to cover up the hickey. Apparently there must have been many though because Zeubin was just giving him a sad shake of his head. Tough crowd.

“Woops. Well...she is. And everything is okay. We’re okay. I have never been happier, and my hands are itching to play. So shall we focus a little less on my love life and a little more on the show?”

He gets a guitar in his hands and it all just makes sense. He’s vibing with the band and they’re all feeding off each other’s energy. She’s on his mind the entire time. The taste of her lips. The look on her face when he filled her. The sound of his name as an acknowledgement of pleasure. Waking up that morning with her head on his chest and that damn nose whistle of her’s that he has missed so much. It’s the most incredible feeling in the world when it all aligns. When the art reflect his life and his life is a reflection of the art. It’s all that he had ever asked for. And it feels like maybe, just maybe he might get it right this time.

“Woooh! That was beautiful! Holy shit guys.”

Andrew gives him the nod of approval and Zeubin is just as ecstatic as he is. It’s all just sort of clicking in that magical way that music does sometimes. And it’s only the rehearsal.

They run another four songs before breaking. Andrew pulls him to another meeting about press releases for another song he’d written, so it’s not exactly a break for him. Until his phone starts to vibrate that is.

y/n: Would it be super corny to wear one of your merch sweatshirts? It’s chilly and I spent seventy-five dollars on it.

Shawn: You did not! You got it free and you know it.

Shawn: It would not be corny. It would actually make me incredibly happy.

y/n: But it’s still an expensive ass sweatshirt love.

y/n: well I guess that settles it. Think you could get away to meet me for lunch?

Shawn: I’ll figure it out. Hurry?

y/n: Yea okay. Be there soon.

“Did you hear anything I said in the last five minutes?” Andrew asked as he bowed his head again to read y/n’s response.

“Yes! Something about an insta live and some questions or something…?”

Andrew was not very impressed.

“Okay. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I think I have an idea of how you might be feeling right now. And honestly it’s just good to see you smile again. Go. Go be with her. And be back here ready to rehearse by one. Does that sound fair?”

He’s already out of his chair and running to hug the guy before he makes a dash for it.

“Thanks Andrew! I’ll be back at one, promise!”

He waits outside for her to pick him up and he’s absolutely fucking giddy inside. She’s got him wrapped around her finger, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever come down. When she pulls up in front of the venue with sunglasses on and his face on her shirt and a smile so bright it makes his stomach flutter, it leaves him helpless. Helpless to do anything but jump right into her car and kiss her silly. He still can’t believe he went six months without her. How?

“Mmm, Hi.” She giggled.

He sighed gripping her cheek in his palm.

“I missed you.”

“It was only four hours, but I missed you too. I figured we could go somewhere I can get day drunk and have you drive me back when I get handsy.”

“That sounds fucking wonderful. Let’s do it.”

They hold hands and sing along to the radio. His fucking song comes on and she doesn’t dispise it some how despite it being a reflection of the darkest part of their relationship. This is the part that they’re good at. Loving and holding and touching and adoration. When they’re good, they’re the best. Because they both have so much love to give and only one person they want to give it to. So when you offer them lunch on a sunny September day when the leaves are falling and they’re together, it just feels like everything.

“You look really beautiful today.” She whispers to him over a fruity cocktail at barely twelve o’clock in the afternoon.

He feels his cheeks warm and his heart sore. He leaned on his arms and pressed forward to kiss her again.

“Thank you, honey. You look really beautiful too.”

“You’re right. We’re kind of a couple of catches.”

“True! So...we should probably talk right? About us?”

She nodded and reached for his hand to hold hers.

“Yea, of course. Do you--is there somewhere you wanted to start?”

He frowns a little and takes to drawing shapes into the back of her hand to still himself.

“I guess I’d want you to know that as soon as I’m done with the tour, I’m taking a year off. Non negotiable. And I would like...shit I would love if we could spend that year together. I’m ready to prioritize this part of my life with you, and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

She snorted softly and smiled at him. “What the hell are you even gonna do for a year off. Follow me around for once?”

“Yes. I will sit in your office all day and bug the hell out of you. Maybe I can set up a studio in there and everything.”

“Oh absolutely! Can I ask you something though?”

“Of course. You can ask me anything.”

“One of the times that we spoke while I was away you said that...that I was the uh love of your life. I guess I was just wondering if you still felt that way?”

She’s nervous and flustered and twitchy and it is so incredibly adorable. How could she not be the love of his life sitting there looking like that.

“Did I ever tell you what my mum said when I brought you home for the first time?” He asked softly playing with her hands again.

She shook her head.

“‘Liyah told me that she thought you were the one for me immediately. Like after the first night. And I think I kept trying to ignore it because we hadn’t actually been together all that long but...being away from you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Not even the physical proximity, but just the not talking, the what ifs. I don’t ever wanna go to bed again without knowing we’re together.” He tried to explain. “I just...I feel something different when I’m with you. And I’m tired of denying that because of something like time. I’m in love with you. And I think--I think you’re the one for me. I know it’s kinda scary to say and I’m not gonna like ask you to marry me next week but...I’m in this. With you. For however long you’ll have me.”

It makes her eyes a little dewy. And they’re making such intense eye contact that there might as well be nothing around them. Not people, not the restaurant, nothing. It’s just the two of them being honest with each other. And it feels incredible. To know that they had a really healthy relationship before, only to completely evolve and make themselves better. It was like a new level.

“I knew that I loved you in October.” She blurts out quietly.

He grinned a little. “October, aye? We met in August.”

“Yes, I’m aware Shawn.” She rolled her eyes. “I had a really bad day at work. Some asshole receptionist was talking shit in the kitchen about the, and I quote: ‘egotistical fat bitch on the top floor who thinks her shit don’t stink.’”

“What?! You never told me that!”

“Of course not. I’d met you in October, remember?” She snickered. “I just remember, I came home. And you were there. And you knew something was up without me having to say it. You invited me over for movies and cuddling. It was our first official sleepover aside from when we would fall asleep coincidently. You bought my favorite wine and got snacks. You made me feel like--like everything was gonna be okay. And I--I knew. I knew I’d fallen for your annoying ass.”

He smiled dopely at her. “Why do I have to be annoying? Why can’t I just be sweet and wonderful?”

“You are both of those things. Hence the annoyance. But I love you. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Her eyes are wide and clear and so incredibly honest. It makes it all feel so much more real. Here they are loving each other and being open with that love. All of his worries and his insecurities were gone. He didn’t need them when she was looking at him that way, when she was loving him that way. And God did he not have all the love in the world to give her back.

Throughout lunch they keep pulling back layers, keep telling each other what they need. She’s willing to fly out once a month on weekends if he’s willing to let her work while she’s there. And he’s willing to not push her so hard about her stress levels if she’s willing to keep him updated when she’s struggling. He needs her to reach out so that he feels less like a burden for doing the same. He needs to know what’s going on in that head of hers. She needs him to find a way to be present for her from across the world. She needs the dumb selfies, and the wake up texts, and the random carepackages of a sweatshirt that smells like him. It’s not a foolproof plan, and they have to both be willing to acknowledge that there are going to be difficulties that come there way. But this is where they’re at. A strong united front. What a fucking concept.

By the time they finish lunch, her tongue is red from her strawberry daiquiri and she’s leaning her head on his shoulder as they wait for the valet to bring the car around. He’s definitely driving back.

“Are you sure you wanna hang around the venue all day? It could get boring. I can drive you back to my place, or Stu’s even.”

She frowns and presses her cold lips against his neck. “I haven’t heard you play in so long. I miss it.”

He wraps his arms around her waist and squeezes. It’s the kindest thing in the world she could have said to him. He has to hide his face in her hair because he just know he’s absolutely beaming.

“Okay.”

They’re so absorbed in each other that the valet has to clear his throat to get their attention. So forgive them for not noticing the fans across the street who catches him kissing her, or opening the door for her, or taking five whole minutes to drive off because she really is handsy when she’s day drunk. In the time that it takes for him to drive from one side of town to the other the pictures go up on twitter, some magazine makes a headline, and all of a sudden the world is in shock that Shawn Mendes and his ex have “rekindled their explosive romance”. As far as he’s concerned, he’s just driving back to work.

***

*y/n’s point of view*

Reconciliation feels good. It takes a lot to feel confident in your relationship, to be able to be emotionally vulnerable with someone. Relationships takes maturity, and they take being able to speak your mind and care about the thoughts of others at the same time. You also kind of need to like each other as people. For instance you can’t just fuck your way into happiness. Being sexually compatible without all the rest of the relationship on equal footing does you no good. However, once you’ve got that all down? There is simply no where to go but up…. to an incredible climax. Thrice.

“Holy fucking shit .” You gasp hoarsely as your body finally collapsed against the already destroyed sheets.

Shawn chuckled and pressed his sweaty curls into your neck as he kissed at one of the marks he left behind.

“I love when your voice goes all high on me. Let’s me know I’m doing it right.”

“Get off of me. You are driving me up a wall.” You groaned.

He flips off immediately as if he’d actually hurt you instead of you just being whiny and dramatic. But the second his body is gone, you’re at a toal lost and you simply need him to come back.

“Where are you going?”

His eyes widened. “You told me to get off.”

“Yes, but I didn’t mean it. Come back!” You reach your arms out for him all grabby hands and smiles.

When he grabs your thighs and nestles himself back between your legs you feel at home again. Perfect.

“You are absolutely crazy.” He huffed against your lips. “And I love you for it.”

“I think I need you to fuck me like that at least two more times tonight.”

“And I think you are genuinely underestimating the turnover rate of my boners.”

“I believe in you. You’ll figure something out.”

His phone starts to ring again and you swear it’s like a round of deja vu.

“Well isn’t this a familiar tone! If that’s Andrew again to take you away from me, I’m rioting.”

Shawn snorted kissing your shoulder as he reached for his phone.

“I can just hear the headline now: Shawn Mende’s girlfriend pickets manager after interrupting midnight rendevoua.”

“Oooo I like that!”

“Yea, I’ll give you something else you’ll like in a minute.”

Ugh finally.

“Hey Andrew….Yea I’m at home. N--No, I haven’t left. Y/n and I have been in all night.”

“Yea we have!” You giggled.

He swatted playfully at you. “Hey, what’s up? What’s wrong? Oh for fuck’s sake, Andrew I don’t have time for this!”

You reached for the sheet to cover your body and tug your hair into a bun with the hair tie on your wrist as you watch your boyfriend do his little businessman with an empire thing. Hot.

“It was lunch okay? We went to lunch.”

You rolled your eyes. “Why is it every time you get it in trouble it seems to have something to do with me?”

“It has nothing to do with you. You are literally perfect and I am NOT going to apologize for kissing my girlfriend at her car, Andrew!”

You’re a bit nosey so you plop yourself on Shawn’s chest to listen in to the other side of the conversation.

“You were not kissing! You were inhaling each other! There are a few moms in your network that don’t want their children watching their idol playing tit grab in broad daylight against a fuck prius. The video goes on for five fucking minutes Shawn.”

You snorted. “How did you not notice someone filming us for five minutes. Isn’t that like your job?”

“Apparently I was a little absorbed in playing a good round of tit grab.”

“This is serious!” Andrew yelled. “You two are going to put me in an early grave you know that? Do you have any idea how hard it was navigating the press through your break up? The second rolling stone interview? The crying on stage? The hashtags on twitter?”

“Wait, what’s he talking about?”

“I’m not saying I want you to be unhappy here,” Andrew plowed on, unable to hear you. “You fuck as much as you want in doors. I don’t care. I’m simply asking for a little tact here people!”

“Okay. Everyone calm down! I will go live on Instagram and clear everything up. I will apologize that my privacy was invaded the first time I had lunch with my girlfriend in months. Is there anything else you needed from me tonight? Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You lift off of his chest as he hangs up the phone and bite your lip softly in nervousness. He moves a stray piece of hair that didn’t quite make it into the bun and kisses your bare shoulder.

“Sweetheart don’t shut down on me, please?” He whispered.

“Will you tell me?” You asked hesitantly. “What it was like while I was gone?”

He sighed. “Babe, it was a while ago, okay? That’s all in the past.”

“I--I wanna know. It’s important to me.”

He stares at you for a moment as if trying to sense how far you’re willing to push it. But you know you won’t give in. Honesty has to be the number one for them. That was their new leaf anyway. Honestly above all.

“Okay. I guess that Andrew was telling the truth. I--I struggled a lot. And the fans got a little worried, so they started this Make Shawn Feel Better campaign on twitter. And they started holding these little hearts up at the shows. The press got a hold of it so Rolling stone wanted to do an article. I thought I was feeling a little better so I let them come out. They fucked up again. Did this story about how I was depressed and full of myself and didn’t have anything to actually be sad about. It just became a thing for a little while.”

You have a feeling he’s leaving out the worst of it. And you can’t help but wonder if maybe Andrew would tell you the whole thing. But he’s sitting here in front of you right now with those kind, hazel doe eyes and presenting his heart on a silver platter like he always does, like he was always willing to do for you. And you remember that things are different now. You have to trust him just like he has to trust you. It’s the only way that this works.

“Hey.” He mumbled when you glanced guilty down at the sheets, his fingers moving to cup your cheek. “It was not your fault. The only reason I didn’t say anything is because I didn’t want you blaming yourself. It was a shitty time, but I got to learn how to love music again because of it. I needed to remember how music could make me feel. Not the industry, not the money, not anything else but the music. It was worth it for me. And I got you. That’s all that matters to me.”

You frown. “I know I just… I can’t help but feel like I was on a beach in the south of France having some self-discovery moment while you were hurting.”

He chuckled a little which only made you frown more, so he reached to kiss your forehead instead.

“I wasn’t exactly moping in my bedroom, honey. I was playing shows around the entire world for tens of thousands of people a night. Maybe rolling stone was right. I didn’t have much to be sad about.”

“Aye, fuck them! What you make some money and get a couple million fans so you don’t get to experience human emotion anymore? That’s bullshit. I wish I would’ve been there too, you keep letting those little bitches into your circle. Let them come over here and tell me what you do and don’t get to feel. I’ll give them something to feel. And another thing--”

He kisses you again until your breathless and your mind is a little foggy and you can’t feel anything but his lips on yours.

“You’re so fucking cute.” He sighed, pressing his forehead to yours. “Thank you for always protecting me. Thank you for loving me in the exact same way I love you. It is...It means the world to me.”

Your cheeks burn a little bit and you tuck your face in his shoulder to kiss a hickey you’d left at some point.

“Well of course. We were made for each other weren’t we?”

“Yea. I guess we were.”

***

“Hey. Where are you right now?” He murmured.

You peered over at the lunch that Stu had invited you to. It had gone from, “let’s catch up” to “let’s sit and watch everyone else chat and have fun and talk about the good ole days of grindr”

“I’m in the middle of a lunch with every gay man this side of Lake Ontario. Don’t worry though, I’m gonna be there at six thirty at the gate to get in, just like you said.”

“Oh...Well yea that uh--that sounds great. I was actually gonna ask you. I got offered the chance to go skate at the uh the arena where the leafs play. Kind of a dream of mine. I wanted to know if maybe you’d wanna come with me.”

He sounded a little flustered, and when he was flustered you were flustered. It didn’t help that you HAD NO IDEA HOW TO SKATE.

“Why do you sound so nervous to ask me that?” You giggled, playing with the table cloth.

“I don’t know. I don’t know, you make me nervous.” He chuckled. “Will you go with me?”

“I’d love to. I really would...”

“But?”

“It’s just that I can’t skate.” You admitted softly.

“Can’t skate? Baby.” He snickered.

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t laugh at me goddammit. I knew you would do this.”

“Hey, I’m not! I’m not. I swear. Look I’ll teach you. It’ll be cute and romantic. Just come with me? Please?”

“I don’t know...What if I fall?”

“I’ll pick you up again. I’ll always pick you up again.”

Well wasn’t that just sweet as fucking pie. Ugh.

“Fine. text me the details while I try and extract myself from this horrid lunch.”

“K. I love you.”

“Yea, I love you too.”

There had been a lot of firsts in your life since meeting shawn. First award show. First paparazzi. First selfie on the street. And none of them, absolutely none of them were as surprising to you at him getting your ass on an ice rink. When he told you they’d invited him to skate, you figure hat meant the rest of the team would be there too. Shawn never did anything without inviting everyone else along with him. Needless to say that when you show up and it’s just you two and apparently Josiah for all picture taking needs, you’re a little confused.

It only takes the two Maple Leafs jerseys with both of your names on them to poke at the idea that this wasn’t as random as he may have made it sound.

“You’ll think it’s stupid.” He mumbled handing you the jersey with Mendes on, so that he could wear the one with your name on it instead. “But I had a dream the other night that we went ice skating. And we just had so much fun. So I might have called and made a special request but...now you’re standing here in front of me and I’m so unbelievably happy so… I don’t know; I think it was worth it.”

“That is not stupid.” you huffed and took his hands in yours. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I hope my whole inability to skate doesn’t bust your narrative.”

“I’m with you. That was the most important part.”

The skates themselves are scary. And you nearly break your ankles getting them on. Shawn takes pity and ties them for you. He lets his fingers skim over your leggings clad thighs. He dug in slightly where they bulged the most, at your hips. His nose skimmed against yours and when he kissed you it just all made sense. You felt like you were living fully in that moment, like you were exactly where you needed to be. In this wild ass big ass arena next to a block of ice with the man who made your heart go crazy. It felt like what you needed in that moment. What he needed. Maybe his dream had been on to something after all.

“Just hold my hand and I’ll lead you around the ice alright?”

“What if I fall like James Corden and when you pull me up all you see is James Corden and then you never want to have sex with me again because I looks like James Corden?”

Shawn expertly stopped himself on the ice and stared at you with exasperated eyes.

“Sweetheart. I can tell you with the utmost honesty, with all of my heart that nothing about your body reminds me of James Corden. Nothing. Nada. Now please? Shall we?”

You reach for his hands hesitantly and he guides you onto the ice. Your legs wobble immediately and you almost go down. But, he pulls you in chest to chest, hands falling to your hips.

“I got you. See? I got you.” He chuckled in your ear.

You whined softly. “This is horrible.”

He skates backwards, because of course he does, and hold your hands in his. It’s not that you necessarily get the hang of it at all. It’s more so that you stop trying and you just let him pull you around the rink. It’s kind of sweet actually. He asks you about your day and laughs when you make fun of Stu’s friends. He tells you about a fall he had this afternoon that took his breath away. He hit his knee so hard that he felt his balls retract into his body. And that frankly was just the funniest shit you’d ever heard in your life. So funny that you lose your balance and definitely take both of you down to the ice with a hard thud.

“Shit.” He groaned crawling on top of you. “I tell you a story about me falling, so you figure you’ll take us both down?”

You giggled uncontrollably. “It was an accident.”

“You know I told you that story for you to feel sorry for me? To be nice to me. Not laugh at me.” He smirked down at you. “You look so pretty though. I can’t even be mad.”

“Yea? This jersey thing do it for you?”

His eyes roamed over your body as he bit at his lip.

“In my head you were just wearing the jersey and nothing else, but yes...It does it for me.” He hummed. “If you wanna get off the ice, I’d still like to skate with you even though you were mean to me.”

“If you can get my fat ass off this ground. I’ll skate with you as much as you want.”

It is far more romantic than you cared to admit. His cheeks get red and rosey. Your nose gets cold and he just happens to have a warm neck to hide it in. He makes you laugh and he skates in circles around you. You love him more than you could ever imagine yourself loving someone. And isn’t that just scary as all hell? You didn’t know how you could be apart from someone for six months and all of those feelings, all of those emotions still be there. How did he do it? How did he make you love him like that?

It’s not until he stops in the middle of the ice and pulls you between his legs that you find your answer. His fingers skim over your hair which was in two matching buns atop your head. He smiles down at you like you are the sun and the earth and his heart all in one.

“You’ve never warn your hair this way before.” He whispers. “It’s so pretty. You’re so pretty.”

You smiled up at him. “I saw a hair tutorial on youtube when I was supposed to be helping Stu pick out outfits. I really like them. They’re called space buns.”

“Space buns aye? I love them.” He chuckled. “Hey, tonight after the show there’s gonna be the big party of course, and all my friends from the industry and from home will be there, and I’m sure it’s all gonna be wild but...I wanted to ask you something.”

“Of course.”

“Would you wanna….go get pizza with me? Like before the party.”

You snort softly. “Pizza?”

“Yea. I haven’t had it since tour started. I really miss our pizza friendship dates.”

“But what about the party?”

“The party can wait. I just want to have pizza with the really pretty girl from across the hall.” He murmured squeezing your hands. “Will you go with me?”

And that’s when you know. That you’d been set up to fail from the beginning. You were always going to love him, because no one had ever been created with such a capacity for it. You would love him and love him and love him for the rest of your days because it’s all that your heart had been destined for. He was it.

“Yea. fuck yea.”

“Fuck yea!” He chuckled.

“Fuck yea!”

Your voices echo off the ice and his hands pull you close, pull you closer until there’s no space between his body and yours. It’s just the two of you. And a lot of love. That’s all.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

He’s buzzing. He’s absolutely fucking buzzing from his toes to the tips of his hair. It’s the most electric it’s ever felt. It's never felt this good before. He looks out into the crowd and it’s hard to find the individual faces now. Because there’s fifty fucking thousand people looking back at him. And he’s got no idea how he ever got this lucky, how anyone ever decided to come to his shows let alone this many. All he knows is that he’s sweaty everywhere, his fingers are shaking, and he’s so goddamn in love with life in this moment that he’s gotta share it. He’s gotta get it out of him somehow, someway.

“You guys mind if I play a new one for you tonight?” He murmured into the mic as his fingers fluttered on the keys.

They scream in approval and he smiles. It means so fucking much to him.

“Cool.” He chuckled.

His fingers start to map out the tune that he’d written in a hotel room on a cheap keyboard when his heart hurt and he’d been sick with the pain. Somehow something beautiful had come out of it, even if he couldn’t stomach the words until now. Until tonight. But, he couldn’t imagine sharing this song with fifty thousand people without sharing it with her first. So he was just gonna have to do both.

“Hi. Sorry. One second.”

He gets off the chair of the piano and heads towards the steps instead. The fans keep screaming and reaching out for him. He lets his fingers trail along theirs until he finds her. There. Nestled into barricade alongside Stu and Bryan and Andrew. He reaches out for her hand and she looks a little petrified. Fair.

“What in the HELL are you doing?!” She yelled at him.

He just smiled dopely. She could yell at him for the rest of his life. In fact he hoped that she would. Just as long as she let him hold her hand while she did it.

“Come here. I need to share something with you!” He attempted to explain.

“NOW?!”

“Yes. Now! Don’t be difficult sweetheart. It’s just you and me.”

And fifty thousand of their closest friends.

He has no idea how he gets her up there. He just knows that her hands are shaking, and at the end of the day so are his. Maybe they still them together. She sits on the bench and he sits beside her, and she refuses to look up at the screen to see her own face there. She only looks at him so he only looks at her and the keys as he sings.

You say there's so much you don't know

You need to go and find yourself

You say you'd rather be alone

'Cause you think you won't find it tied to someone else

Ooh, who said it's true

That the growing only happens on your own?

They don't know me and you

I don't think you have to leave

If to change is what you need

You can change right next to me

When you're high, I'll take the lows

You can ebb and I can flow

And we'll take it slow

And grow as we go

Grow as we go

She’s never heard it before. And she starts to cry after the first verse. Only they could know what it meant, what those words were about. It’s a beautiful song, but it’s one full of heartache and love and not knowing whether or not it could ever be enough. It feels like this really important moment for the two of them. Important enough that he doesn’t regret pulling her on stage, all of the eyes and phones, any of it. It’s worth it for her to know.

She wraps her arm around his bicep like they’re at home. It almost feels like they are. He wants to wipe her tears, but he kind of has to play, so he kisses them instead. She starts to cry a little harder so she just hides her face in his arm instead. And that’s okay. That’s so much more than okay.

Tell me you don’t want to leave

Cause if change is what you need

You can change right next to me

When you’re high, I’ll take the low

You can ebb and I can flow

And we’ll take it slow

And grow as we go

Grow as we go

The last note comes out and the crowd goes so crazy that the floor shakes beneath his feet. His heart is hammering in his chest and he pulls her closer to him just to still his shaking limbs. He tugs out his inner ear monitors to hear her. He’s afraid to kiss her and have it not feel authentic, not feel real because everyone’s watching. So he just holds her and speaks into her ear instead.

“I love you. More than anything.”

“I love you too.” She sniffled still crying. “I love you so much.”

Her arms grow tight around his neck and his heart soars. He’d give anything to end the show right there right now to just go eat pizza and play with her space buns for the rest of the night. But there’s a show to finish. So he’s got no choice but to lead her off stage and place her back into the arms of her best friend in the hopes that he can focus for another hour. Here’s a hoping.

***

“You’re wearing my jersey.” She giggled as he cornered her in a booth to do some more of that fabulous kissing he had thoroughly missed so much.

He chuckled against her neck. “Yes. Yes I am. Gotta let people know who I belong to right?”

“Shit. Don’t say shit like that when we have to go to a party after this.” She whined. “I thought you wanted pizza.”

“I do. I do. You just keep fucking distracting me. Wait here.”

He goes to order their meal and gets a lot of squeals thrown at him. He promises to take a picture after their meal in the hopes that it gets him a little more privacy during their meal. It definitely doesn’t. They definitely take photos of them. He tried at least.

“Do you remember the time we got so fucking stoned and went on a walk for pizza and got lost?” She asks him as they dig in.

He immediately bust out laughing and leaned into her shoulder to control the shakes.

“We never made it a block away from the apartment! Holy shit that was the best night ever.”

“And then we got uber eats and fucking fell alseep before it got there. We are such pieces of shit!”

He shrugged. “We did our best. I tipped the guy the next morning, didn’t I?”

“You sure did. My man’s a big spender when he forgets to get his twenty dollar mcdonalds.”

“Oh funny. You’re being funny now. Wonderful.”

She snorted and hid her face in his shoulder. Wow. He was so in love with her.

They sit there eating pizza and making each other laugh and it without a doubt is exactly like it used to be when they were still getting to know each other, back when every time she smiled at him he had to look away because it hurt too much.She’s still his best friend. The difference is now she knows he’d do anything for her, that she’s everything to him. The difference is now he knows she feels exactly the same way.

“Can we leave the party early and go home and cuddle?” He mumbled nibbling at the patch of skin near her shoulder blade where her too big jersey had exposed her.

She giggled. “Depends on how much tequila we drink, now doesn’t it?”

“Just wanna cuddle.”

“Yea? Then I guess we’ll cuddle.”

“Promise?” He murmured, pulling her forehead closer to his.

“Promise.”

She keeps it that night.

The End.

Taglist: @kitykatnumber @lou-and-me @ourlittleshawnie @mutuallynotmutual @wanderingmendes @peacedolantwins2 @chels-nyc @@illloveyouforever1 @justbeingoceana @grittyisathot @hayyitsfayy @claredolphinbear24 @september-lace @grittyaho @literallyshawn @mchutchmendes @liliane106 @iloveshawnieboi @samwillllson @trappedinfairytales @abbersalp @rosesfromcth

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is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 6

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

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

Word Count: 4,673

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

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

“Oh jeez, seriously?” Rayne snerked, a tiny plastic taste spoon hanging out of one corner of her mouth. “C’mon Elsa, they were just man boobs!”

Feeling a faint warmth creep up into my face, I huffed and turned my head to one side. “You don’t know, you weren’t there!”

“Psssh,” her eyes rolled, “I doubt they’re as mind blowing as you’re making them out to be.”

I twitched, gaze darting to the left. “I never exactly said the words mind blowing...”

Never said they weren't either.

...shush, brain.

She removed the tiny pink spoon from between her teeth to twirl it in the air as she singsonged, “The way you’re overreacting, you may as well have.”

Blushing intensifies.

“I’m not overreacting, I… I’m REacting! In… in just the exact right, perfect amount!” I stammered out, lightly stamping my foot down. “I mean, one second he’s just standing there, and the next? He takes his shirt off! Right in front of me! Who does that?!”

“Sure a lotta guys would love to,” she muttered, but I hardly heard her in my current state of mid-rant.

“I mean, the Pizza Planet back room was just a ten second walk away, he couldn’t wait that long? He had to do it right there, right that second? That’s it! That’s the only reason that I’m being all… this! It has nothing to do with the alleged mind blowing...ness of his, uh…his...” I floundered, gesturing wildly to my bosom, “... décolletage or the accompanying, er…” my hand now did a frantic circle around my abdomen, “...accoutrements! I mean, fine, okay, I’m sure as far as man boobs and such go, his are very, ah… very nice. Adequate. Stately, even.” Dear god, somebody stop me. “...pleasantly symmetrical? Quite… satisfactory and well structured… s-some might even say-”

“You done?” she cut in, an eyebrow quirking.

I hid my face in my hands, mumbling, “Yes please.”

“Alright. Now girl, let me tell you, you haven’t seen mind blowing pectorals until you’ve seen Riku’s. I-” she stopped, snapping her fingers. Then she was digging her phone out of her back pocket, her thumb now rapidly swiping across the screen several times. “Hang on, I got pictures, I can show you. Ah-ha!” She grinned brightly, turning the phone screen towards me and thrusting it in my face.

“Gah!” I quickly looked away, raising a hand to block the image. “Why?! Just… why?!”

“What? I’m proud of my hubby’s man boobs and like showing them off!”

Thankfully, Kristoff chose that moment to join us, usual bored look in place as he stretched his arm across the counter, offering a dollop of ice cream on another small spoon to Rayne. “Here’s the taste of Daisy Sorbet you asked for, Ma’am,” he droned out.

Eyes lighting up, she tossed the first spoon, snatching the new one up and sticking it in her mouth. “Mmmmm, fantastic! Now, garçon, I’d like to sample the Honeybunny please!”

He huffed out a soft growl. “Ma’am, that’ll be the twentieth flavor you’ve tasted. Would you like to try, oh, say, I dunno… actually buying something?”

“Excuse me,” she sniffed, raising her nose up and placing a hand on her chest, fingers splayed, “but I am with child, sir. Picking the exact right flavor of ice cream that won’t upset my sweet lil jellybean is a delicate, delicate process.”

Kristoff groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he fixed me with a dull stare. “Elsa, make your friend go shoo.”

I gave him a sympathetic smile, but just shook my head, “Sorry, not happening.”

“Ha!” Rayne cried triumphantly. “Now be a good boy, run along and get me that Honeybunny! Chop chop! We don’t need you hanging around listening in on us discussing our important business!”

His eyelids droop. “I believe I overheard the phrase ‘man boobs’ several times, how important can it really be?”

Rayne thrust out her lower lip, tapping an index finger to it. “Oh dear, there’s been such a long interruption now to my taste testing… I hope I don’t forget all the flavors I’ve already tried and have to start all over from the beginning again…”

“...one sample of the Honeybunny coming right up, Ma’am,” he said through grit teeth before turning and walking away.

I muffled a snort into my hand as I watched him go.

Sorry, Kristoff!

It was now the next day and I was back at work. I’d done my best the night before to clean up the devastating aftermath in the wake of Hurricane Ice Cream, but hadn’t quite been able to get it all - in particular, the splatters across the ceiling were just simply out of my reach. So I’d shown up early this morning to meet the opening crew on their way in and explain what had happened, offering what further assistance I could. Luckily, I hadn’t gotten in trouble. According to Kristoff, pushing the Anger Button was practically a right of passage for all new employees at this point. Pretty much everyone that’d ever worked here had done it at some time or another. I was just warned not to let it happen again.

Which, trust me, I wasn’t. I was going to be very mindful to not invade the Anger Button's personal space from now on.

I’d been exhausted when I’d got back home so late last night, so had gone straight to bed. Then this morning I’d rushed out practically at the crack of dawn, so I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Rayne. But she was making up for lost time by coming down now in the middle of the day to visit me at work and had just finished dragging my latest little misadventure out of me. She claimed she had a sixth sense about these things, that she’d known something was up and that I'd needed someone to talk to.

And I'm sure all the free samples she was scoring right now had absolutely squat to do with it.

As soon as Kristoff was out of earshot once more, she hunched over the counter towards me and lowered her voice, “Alright but no, seriously, why was seeing Lea in all his shirtless glory such a big deal now, hm? You act like you've never seen a dude topless before.”

I flinched. “Well…”

Her brow furrowed. “…you have seen a dude topless, right? I mean, you were engaged for crying out loud!”

“Oh no, I have,” I nodded before pursing my lips to one side, averting my gaze. “But…”

“But?” she prompted. If she had a seat, she would quite literally be on the edge of it.

My hand reached up to toy with my braid. Nope, still a ponytail. Sighing, I said, “It was only ever in public settings, like big group outings on Father’s yacht. Last night was just… different.” I paused to bite down on my bottom lip before whispering, “I’ve never been alone with a half naked guy before.”

Something clicked behind Rayne’s eyes as they widened. “Wait… Elsa… did you and your ex ever, you know… do the do?”

I hesitated, fidgeting with my fingers. “We-”

“Alright, here’s the Honeybunny, as requested.”

Whew! Saved by the Kristoff!

He offered the new spoonful of ice cream to her, but her hand snapped up to block it. Her gaze remained narrowed on me as she told him, “I’m gonna need a sample of every single flavor. Stat.”

“Oh, come on!” Kristoff whined. “Even the ones you’ve already tried?!”

“Especially the ones I’ve already tried.”

Grumbling under his breath, he spat out, “Fine, but then that’s it, I’m cutting you off. Crazy preggo lady or not, you’re either going to have to buy something or beat it.”

He turned to go, but was halted as Rayne said, “Kristoff.” He looked back over her shoulder to see her eyes dead serious. “Leave the Honeybunny.”

His lips flapped as he puffed out a heavy breath, then handed her the taste spoon and stomped off.

“That should keep him busy and buy us a few minutes of privacy,” she beamed, shoving the ice cream into her mouth and once more leaving the spoon dangling from her lips. Then she planted her elbows on the counter, propped her chin in her palms and bat her lashes at me. “So… you were saying?”

I could feel that soft heat cozying up inside my cheeks again. “Could we maybe talk about this later? This isn’t particularly a discussion I want to have at a mall nor in my place of work, and we’re two for two right now.”

“Well tough noogies, sweetpea, cuz it’s happening. Now out with it.”

Exhaling through my nose, I relented. “No, we never… I’ve never… done that. I... told him that I wanted to wait until marriage.”

She released a low whistle - an impressive feat given the spoon still between her lips. “So you’re still rocking your V-card? Who woulda thought you were so traditional? I mean, knowing you, I guess maybe I shoulda figured...”

“That’s just it though, I’m not sure if I am,” I hung my head with a frown. “It’s just… me and him, we made sense as a couple on the surface, at least in my head we did. And sure, we would go out on dates and we would kiss, but… I was just never really interested in going beyond that… with him…”

“But you’re thinking with the right guy, you might?” She bent in further, waggling her eyebrows. “...be interested?”

My nose wrinkled and I lifted one shoulder. “I’m honestly not sure… maybe?”

Rayne leaned back once more, holding her hands up, “That’s okay, that’s a big topic to tackle and not one you necessarily have to sort out right this second, so let’s take a step back from that. Start with something smaller. Something like learning to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while.”

I tipped my head to one side, “My comfort zone?”

“Sweetie, I love you, you know I do, but you’re one awkward penguin, plain and simple. Last night is a prime example, and just one of many at that. Now that you’ve left the life of the rich and pampered behind you and are out in this brave new world, you should start putting yourself out there more. You know, try new things, anything really would be good, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem, just to get you out of that protective bubble you tend to keep yourself in.”

“But I like the bubble,” I pouted, my voice small. “It’s all round and comfy and safe.”

She grinned gently, “I know it is, but I think this could really do you some good.”

Grimacing, I managed to snag a thin tendril of my ponytail to twist around my finger. “Okay, so then… what kind of things were you thinking?”

“That brings us to Lesson Two of The Real World for Dummies,” she held up a pair of fingers with a tiny smirk. “Making friends!”

I blinked and then gave a tiny scoff, “I’ve made friends.”

“Name one since you’ve started this whole independence thing.”

“Easy,” I crossed my arms, “Riku.”

She shook her head. “Riku and I are a package deal. He was basically a freebie and doesn’t count.”

Frowning in thought, I tried, “Frozone and Kristoff?”

Rayne gave a derisive snort. “Work friends? You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

My eyebrows knit together before I brightened. “Sora! He’s my friend, he said so himself!”

“Please, that boy would make friends with a toaster given half the chance,” she deadpanned. “In fact, he did once. It involved a sharpie smiley face. Nuff said. No, name one new friendship that you had to put some sort of effort into forming and didn’t simply fall into your lap. Go on. I’m listening.”

...darn it, she was right.

It seemed my hermit was showing.

Her grin turned smug. “That’s what I thought. So here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna make yourself a new lil friend. That’s part one of getting you out of your comfort zone.”

Oh no.

“There’s a part two?”

“Yup!” She slammed her phone down on the counter before me and ordered, “Call them.”

I gave a nervous chuckle and tossed my hands up in a loose shrug, asking innocently, “Call who?”

“Don’t get cute with me, missy! You think I forgot our lil chat a few days ago, but think again! Enough is enough, you’ve had plenty of time, now stop making excuses and just do it already. I know it’s scary, but this is just something you gotta do! You-”

“I thought I might find you here.”

Back stiffening at the third voice chiming into the conversation, Rayne slowly turned around to see Riku standing there, arms folded under his chest, one foot tapping as he went on, “Isn’t somebody supposed to be staying home and getting lots of bed rest?”

“Tch,” her lip curled slightly, “c’mon, I’m barely showing, just let me live my life!”

Biting back a grin, he took a step towards, “Come on, you, let’s get you back-”

“Jailbreak!” She booked it, darting off into the plastic jungle that was the food court.

His shoulders slumped and he scratched the back of his head as he called after her, “Seriously? You’re gonna make me chase your sorry butt?”

“Yup!” she cackled, strategically positioning herself so that several tables were between her and her husband.

“Fine,” he smirked slyly, “but you asked for it. Here I come!” He bolted after her.

“Great,” I heard a grumble beside me, turning to see Kristoff standing there with a sour look and roughly forty of those teeny, ice cream laden spoons wedged between all his fingers on both hands. “Now what am I supposed to do with these?”

“Eat them?” I grinned as I plucked one free and closed my mouth around it. Mmmmmm, chocolate! “Otherwise it would be wasteful, which is bad for the environment.”

He gave me a flat look. “Okay, I know you’re being facetious and I don’t care.” One corner of his lips turning up, he lifted one spoon-adorned fist into the air. “I must do my part… for the environment!” Then he crammed five of them into his mouth.

“The planet applauds you for your service and your sacrifice, sir,” I snorted as he ambled off once more.

It was only then that I looked down and realized Rayne’s phone still rested atop the counter before me. Taunting me. Maybe she’d simply forgot it, but honestly? Pretty sure that girl knew exactly what she was doing. With a sigh, I picked it up, my reflection staring back at me in the blackened screen.

...okay, maybe I had been putting it off long enough, to the point of ridiculousness even. Delaying the inevitable was probably only making it worse at this point. I should give them something at least. Some sort of proof of life so that they didn’t think, I don’t know… like I’d run off to join the circus only to get murdered by Bozo the Clown or something.

Still I hesitated, my fingers frozen around the phone.

“Ma’am, is this man bothering you?”

Welcoming the distraction (perhaps a bit too eagerly), I looked up to spot two familiar figures in matching uniforms. The security guards from last night were standing out in the food court, addressing Rayne now as she used a chair as makeshift cover to hide from Riku.

“Every second I’ve been married to his ass,” she replied dryly.

“Gotcha!” Riku pounced, eliciting a squeal of delight from her as he scooped her up. I snerked as the mall cops just shook their heads and meandered off.

And these two dorks were going to be parents.

My eyes drifted past them to the Lucky Cat Café and I blinked. The stocky brunet was back and manning the register this time, but more importantly, so was that blonde guy. The one I’d seen working at the Pizza Planet just yesterday. How odd. So then, I guess he was currently working both jobs? Barista by day, pizza boy by night? Did he need the munny that bad? Yeesh, how expensive must his rent be?

Having just handed a customer their drink order with a smile and a wave, he then said something to his coworker before I watched him disappear into the back door. Just as it had clicked shut behind him-

“Ta da!” he sprung up on the other side of the counter directly in front of me, arms raised high over his head, startling a yelp from me and nearly making me drop the phone.

Heart hammering in my chest, my wide eyes darted from where he stood now not three feet away from me, to the door I’d just seen him walk through all the way on the other side of the food court. Then to him. Then to that door. Then back and forth a few more times.

He’d somehow traversed that large gap in the space of mere nano-seconds.

And had managed to swap his coffee shop uniform for Pizza Planet duds no less!

How did he do that?!

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” he beamed at me, striking up a finger. “How did he do that?”

...woah, he was a mind reader too?

“And there’s only one plausible explanation!” he continued with a cocky wink. “Teleportation!”

“Or maybe you just have a twin, you knucklehead,” another voice said as a hand cuffed the blonde on the back of his head.

… oh. A twin. Right.

That made way more sense than the next stage of human evolution being upon us and super powered mutants now walking amongst the rest of us mere muggles.

What a silly notion. Who would have thought that? Certainly not me.

Nope.

“Man, why you gotta always ruin my fun?” the blonde grumbled as he rubbed the fresh sore spot and scowled at the owner of the palm that had just delivered swift justice to his noggin.

“What can I say, Rox? Your suffering gives me life,” Lea shrugged before turning his gaze on me with a grin and waggling his fingers. “Hi again.”

This was the first appearance he’d made all day. It was a bit of a comfort to see him in his work clothes - a likely sign that he hadn’t gotten fired. I would have felt horrible if last night’s antics had cost him his job. In any case, he’d probably arrived just a few minutes ago and would be starting his shift shortly.

Becoming aware of the fact that my fingers were still absently fiddling with the phone, I quickly pocketed it and cleared my throat. “H-hello… wha-”

“Hiya!” a black haired girl shoved Lea out of the way to lean over the counter and get in my face, blasting me with a huge smile and causing me to stagger back a step. She too was decked out in the Pizza Planet attire. I recognized her from my first day of work. “So happy we finally got to come over here! I’ve been dying to meet you!”

My eyebrows rose. “You have…?”

“You kidding? It’s not just any chick that can make Lea here drop pizza dough on his head! Besides, it’s truly an honor to be in the presence of the record holder. I’m in awe.”

Further up and up those brows went. “The record?”

“Yeah! I mean, that has to be the fastest anyone’s ever planted one on Lea’s li-”

“Xion!” he hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth. “Zip it!”

The blonde - Rox, was it? - smirked evilly beside them, “Lea’s just glad that Ice Palace finally hired a cute girl and- ow!”

I couldn’t see it, but was pretty sure Lea had just kicked him.

“That’s enough out of you two twerps,” Lea grumbled, stabbing a finger out in the direction of the food court. “Table. Now.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Rox huffed out while Xion just shot me another grin and a wave before the pair of them wandered off to find seats.

“Oi, those two, I swear,” he groaned, rubbing the nape of his neck as he turned back towards me, chuckling softly. “Don’t mind the kiddos. Their teasing’s all aimed at me, not you. They mean well, they can just be a lot sometimes.”

I cocked my head. “The… kiddos?”

“Heh, yup!” Then his spine snapped straight and he winced, rapidly shaking his head and waving his hands back and forth in front of him. “Not that they’re my- No, I’m not a- I’m nowhere near old enough to be their- That is to say, uh… they’re my friends. That’s it, no… familial connection whatsoever.”

“Ah… I see,” I said, feeling a tiny tug at one corner of my lips.

It was nice for once that I wasn’t the one that was spazzing out.

Also nice that the two of us could finally manage to hold a conversation.

Sorta.

...it was still a work in progress.

I looked down, gathering my thoughts to find something to say. I immediately regretted it as my eyes inadvertently landed on his chest, prompting my mind to gleefully run a slideshow of his topless exploits from the night before. Face heating, I snapped my gaze back up to meet his, blurting out, “So they didn’t manage to ab y-” I paled. “Nab, I meant nab! They didn’t manage to nab you last night?”

Scratch that. I’d really love to go back to the whole not talking thing.

“Those couple o’ brick-for-brains? Please,” he brushed off, “they couldn’t catch a sedated sloth dragging a one ton slab of concrete behind it. I coulda outrun them blindfolded and with one leg tied behind my back.” Now there was an image. “Gave them the slip no problem, then had my boss sort it all out with them this morning. We’re in the clear!”

“That’s good to hear,” I gave a small sigh of relief.

Then I just stared at him.

He stared back.

Yup.

Whoooooole lotta staring.

All of it awkward.

I glanced sideways. “So…”

“Oh! Right. Three bars of the Sea Salt Ice Cream please,” he held up a matching number of fingers while his other hand scratched a spot behind his ear.

“A-absolutely! Coming right up!” Yes! Ice cream! Ice cream I could do! I darted over to the bottom freezers, opening them up and crouching down to look for the stack of light turquoise frozen bars. The cold air felt good on my face and I took this chance to recuperate and collect myself.

Steady, keep it together, girl. You got this. Just another minute more and you’ll be through this social interaction and on the other side. And it should only get easier from here on out, right? ...right? And hey, look on the bright side. This wasn’t going all that bad. So far you’ve gotten through this with little to no mishaps. Sure, there was that one teeny “ab” slip up, but he didn’t even notice… I think. You can do this. You’re doing fine. You haven’t even thought of the Kissident once the entire time he’s been here!

...aaaaaaaaand now you’re thinking about it.

Great. Thanks a lot, brain.

Grabbing the three plastic-wrapped Sea Salts, I slammed the door shut and made my way back towards the register with determination and resolve.

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

No more slip ups. Don’t you do it. Don’t you say it. Don’t you dare.

I rang him up before looking back up at Lea as I offered him the bars. “Will that be all? Could I interest you in anything else-”

Don’t say “kiss,” don’t say “kiss,” don’t say “kiss.”

“-like a cone of the Milky Way? Rockin’ Crunch? Vanilla Lips- Glitz!” My eyes screwed shut. “Vanilla… Vanilla Glitz? Or any of our other fine flavors?”

Well… at least I hadn’t said “kiss” anyway.

He smiled. Oh gosh, he had dimples. “Nope! Just those, thanks.” He paid for his purchase and took the ice cream. With a nod, he turned to go but then hesitated, glancing back down at me. “Listen, that pair of clowns I call friends just went on lunch and I’m not on the clock for another thirty minutes. We’ll be at that table over there,” he crooked his head towards where Xion and Rox now sat chatting over their trays of food. “If you can take a break, you should come hang out with us.”

I blinked once. Then twice. Then pointed a finger at myself. “...me?”

He was asking me? To join them?

Lea snorted. “Yeah, you. And if you’re worried, don’t be. The kiddos have had all their rabies shots. Just think about it, kay?” He lightly rapped a knuckle against the countertop before walking off with a wave. “Hope to be seeing ya!”

I watched him approach the other two, giving the back of Rox’s seat a swift kick before easily dodging the swipe Rox threw back at him. Then he mussed up Xion’s hair as he tossed the ice cream bars into the center of the table and spun an empty chair around so he could sit in it backwards. I watched his mouth move as he told them something before they all burst into laughter.

They seemed nice. And they’d invited me to sit with them.

...wow, that’d sounded so high school.

Which, by the way, was something I’d never been good at, surprise surprise. And I wasn’t talking about the academic part of it, no, that’d been fine. But when it came to all those cliques and that whole popularity contest and just in general trying to fit it? Yeah, no. That hadn’t been for me. At lunch times, I’d only ever sat with my ex and his friends, and even then only because it was what was expected of me. His buddies had only ever ignored me anyway. If it’d been up to me, I never would have sat with anyone at all. Risk someone actually trying to start a conversation with me? Nu uh. Too scary. Left to my own devices, I probably would have just secured a table all to myself and built a fort out of trays to hide in and shut out the rest of the world.

Needless to say, the thought of joining Lea and his friends? Frigging terrified me.

Which is why it wasn’t going to happen.

Thanks, but no thanks!

I’ll just keep chilling over here inside Ice Palace, aka my beloved Fortress of Solitude. Or rather… Fortress of Almost Solitude, since Kristoff was still around. But you’d hardly even know he was there. He was just off in a corner, still contentedly making his way through those taste spoons.

But as I looked back to that happy trio out there, I frowned. Something was nagging me. Needling at the back of my mind.

Took me a second to realize that it was Rayne’s words from earlier.

That I needed to get out of my comfort zone. That I had to put myself out there and try new things. That I should put effort into making some friends.

The effort in this case being something so simple as sitting at a table.

One tiny act that seemed so insignificant and yet so intimidating at the same time.

I watched them for a few minutes more. Then I looked to the clock hanging on the wall. I was due for my own lunch break.

...oh god, was I really going to do this?

Another heartbeat of indecision. Then I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders, marched into the back room to grab my paper bag lunch before exiting into the food court, heading straight for their table.

Apparently yes. I was really doing this.

Operation Make Friends was a go.

Courage don’t fail me now.

...pretty please?

Author's note: Will Elsa ever call this mysterious "them"? How will Elsa's next thrilling adventure in human interaction go? Will Operation Make Friends be an amazing, glorious success or end in epic, tragic failure? Will Kristoff get a terrible tummy ache from eating all those lil ice cream samples? Stay tuned for the answers to all those questions and more! (Except for that last question... some things were just meant to always remain a mystery...)

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

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

8 notes · View notes

ionlycareaboutyou · 4 years

Note

prompt: kind of a niche ship but could you write some richie n seth fluff pls? i love your fics!!✨

omg i love this ship. i’ve written them vaguely (richie/seth/stefon threesome fic) but never on their own? so this was a v fun challenge for me. i hope u like it, u’ve inspired me to write more for them!

cw for this being set in IT ch 2 canon, so eddie is like. dead and gone for good, unfortunately, and it is discussed. i picture this fic being set around 2017. i promise this fic isn’t just richie angst, there’s fluff! just gotta get through some sad parts first.

When he moved back to New York City, Richie felt like his 29-year-old self again. He still does sometimes. The NYC comedy scene and the LA one are distinctly different, despite all the NYC expats who move to LA to star in films or do voice acting or settle down and have a few kids. It didn’t feel right to go back, though. LA was all shine and sun, several layers of sky blue paint over decades worth of grime. At least NYC was honest in its grime for the most part. At least New Yorkers were able to joke about their greasy ass pizza and subway rats instead of all trying to be Instagram influencers.

The real truth was that Richie had friends in NYC. In LA, he had none. And what he needed was friends.

The funny thing about reconnecting with an old friend is that sometimes, even though it seems like a lot has changed, they’re still the same person, deep down.

Seth is still a workaholic--the same workaholic who Richie met back when he hosted SNL for the first time. He still stays up til 4 AM sometimes, drinking dark, bitter coffee for the caffeine rather than the taste, darting in and out of cubicles, asking if anything new has cropped up in the past few hours that’s monologue worthy. He still wears those ratty sweatshirts during the day and changes into suits for the evening. He does shave more consistently, Richie will give him that. He still laughs high pitched and loud when a joke really gets him, and he still laughs at his own jokes, even, stumbling through them sometimes with tears welling up in his eyes. He still loves to drink tequila and whiskey and anything really that brings heat to his cheeks and more of that laughter bubbling out of his chest, though he tells Richie he doesn’t drink as much as he used to--he’s far too old for it now, and the hangovers are intense.

(“I do wanna do a day drinking segment with Rihanna, though,” he confides in him once over lunch. They’re eating greasy pizza, and Richie feels like he’s in heaven, because the shit in LA doesn’t even begin to measure up.

“Rihanna? Do you have, like, connections to her or something?”

“No! I wish,” Seth frowns at his slice of pepperoni. “Do you?”

Richie hoots out a laugh. “Dude, you are severely overestimating me if you think I know Rihanna. Good luck on your quest, though.”

“Hey, maybe Rihanna’s got a thing for raunchy comedians who wear the same shirt three days in a row and own like, two pairs of sneakers and refuse to buy new ones. I don’t know her personally, either.”

Richie flicks a piece of mushroom right at Seth’s face. He laughs in that way he does, and Richie’s chest flutters.)

And maybe it’s the fact that Seth is still Seth--still blue-eyed, New Hampshire, toothy grin Seth--that makes Richie fall for him. And he’s not even surprised by it. He thinks he’s always sort of had a piece of his heart reserved for Seth, even when he moved to LA. He was the first one to send him a congratulatory text when the news broke that he got Late Night, and he was always happy to wander around his too-empty LA apartment and shoot the shit with him for hours long phone calls about everything and anything and nothing at all. Seth was the first to welcome Richie with open arms back to NYC. They were the sort of friends that never truly fell apart, even when they went a while without speaking to each other.

It all comes tumbling out eventually, why Richie is back in NYC. Seth never really poses the question, but when Richie calls him one Tuesday night at 3 AM, eyes unfocused and hot with tears and chest heaving with hyperventilating sobs, the answer becomes clear to him.

He’s still awake, of course, sitting in his office and staring at the writers’ Slack chat when the phone rings. “Are you awake, man? I’m sorry if I woke you,” Richie says into the phone, warbly.

Seth manages to talk him down from it when Richie admits he had a pretty vivid nightmare. He doesn’t judge him for a second or wonder why a 40-year-old man is so shook up by one. He simply talks slow and soft into the phone, telling him it’s okay and grounding him as best as he can. “You can tell me anything, Rich, you know that, right?” His voice is so goddamn sweet Richie wants to sob all over again.

So he tells him everything--well, rather, a condensed version of everything. He tells him he had friends as a kid back in Maine, really close friends, and they met up again after drifting apart, and he tells him that he saw his best friend in the world die right in front of his eyes. He’s careful with his words, but something tells him that even if he did explain all the clown shit, Seth would listen and comfort him all the same, even if he was confused by it. “I feel so bad for dumping this shit on you, dude,” Richie says, fighting back the tears that he’s finally managed to quell. “It’s just--”

“Shh, hey, it’s okay,” Seth assures him, “I can’t fucking imagine. I’m so sorry. I know that sounds really lame, to say I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t really fix anything.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t--no one really knows. I mean, my friends know, they were there, too, but...God, it’s so fucking complicated.” He lays his head back down on his pillow and exhales a shaky sigh, feeling mostly back down to earth. “I guess I just. I picked up my phone and dialed you because I needed to know everything was...you were okay and I wasn’t still in that fucking dream.”

“I get it. You don’t have to worry about that. You know I keep crazy hours anyway.” They manage to get a chuckle out of that. “I hope this doesn’t sound insensitive, but I’m glad you were with him in his final moments, I’m sure he was very glad to have you there.”

Richie swallows the baseball-sized lump in his throat. “God, I sure fucking hope so. He was…” he stops himself. He hadn’t told the other Losers what he wanted to say about Eddie and how he felt about him, but he was certain they knew. Seth is completely detached from this whole situation, but maybe putting out what he’s been harboring in his chest for so long will take some weight off it. “He was the first person I really fell in love with.”

“Oh, Rich.” Seth’s voice is soft and sad.

“I know that’s a lot to tell you, and like, I haven’t even really told you, or anyone that I’m gay, but I guess here it is, this is so damn...ungraceful,” he rambles with a shaky little laugh, “But I guess I’m not really graceful anyway.”

“It’s okay. You know it doesn’t bother me at all, right? God, I sound like--every straight dude in the world right now. I’m totally cool with gays!”

“Well, maybe a little,” Richie says, unable to not give him a little shit, and he’s happy to hear Seth laugh on the other end. “But thanks. I’m glad you were the first person I told.”

“Well, when I tell you about the dudes I hooked up with in college, I know you’ll be chill about it, too.” Seth says, then adds, “Oh, guess I just did.”

“You what? Seth middle-name Meyers.”

“It’s Adam.”

“Not the point. You what?”

“Dude, haven’t I told you like a million times about my crush on James Spader? Do you know how many times I’ve watched Pretty in Pink? Too many times. That’s not even the best Hughes film.”

“I thought that was like--a joke! You always said you wanted to grow your hair out like that!” He’s smiling against the phone, really truly grinning at this whole mutual coming out situation, and he’s so happy to be smiling again.

“Well, yeah, I do, but also, like, he was hot, okay? Him being bald now is the greatest tragedy of my life.” Seth says, laughing even more.

“You know, I haven’t gone bald yet. I’ve got plenty of hair. It’s unwashed right now, but feel free to run your hands through it. We can roleplay. I’ll be...fuck, what was his name? The Pretty in Pink guy?” Richie hasn’t seen that movie since it came out.

Seth answers very quickly. “Steff.”

“That’s it! I’ll be Steff, and you can be...Andie! That’s her name.”

“Steff wasn’t the love interest, though, remember? He was the love interest’s asshole friend.”

Richie hums. “I’m kind of an asshole. Not as pretty of an asshole as Spader, though.”

“I think you’re perfectly pretty.”

“Thanks,” he smiles again. His stomach knots itself up, then un-knots. Seth Meyers, the man who’s all blue eyes, New Hampshire, and salt-and-pepper hair is calling him pretty. What a world.

After he hangs up and manages to catch a few hours of sleep, he’s not surprised when he gets a call from Seth a few days later asking if he wants to grab a drink, and there’s a different tone to his voice. He can’t quite place it, but it almost sounds nervous, like he doesn’t want to screw this up. He doesn’t screw anything up, though, and when they make their way back to Seth’s apartment, pleasantly buzzed, and end up on his couch, lips on lips, Richie isn’t really surprised, either. He smiles into each one.

They seem to divide their time in between either apartment, not quite ready to have the “hey, let’s move in together” conversation. It’s only been a few months, and they’re taking their time. Richie’s never let himself take his time before.

Most nights, they’re tangled up in whatever bed they’ve fallen into--tonight, it’s Seth’s, and Richie has managed to get him home at a reasonable time, around midnight, even though the show filmed several hours before. (“The news and the president don’t stop,” Seth has explained to him before, “But God, I wish they would.”) He’s running his fingers through Seth’s hair, which is surprisingly soft once all the product is washed out. Richie never gets tired of touching it. “You’re halfway to Spader, I think.”

“Yeah? I’ll see if makeup and wardrobe approve of me growing it out any longer, or if they’ll force me to cut it.” Seth sounds sleepy, but even in the dark Richie can tell he’s smiling.

“I’d like it,” he says, and presses a kiss to the line of Seth’s jaw. “Isn’t that enough?”

“For me? More than enough.” Seth brings him in for a proper kiss, long and deep and warm, hands wandering and stroking skin, unhurried and sweet.

When they pull apart, it comes tumbling out, as things seem to do. “I love you.” It’s the first time Richie has said it. He’s known it, without a shadow of a doubt, for a while now. And he thinks Seth knew it, too, even if it went unsaid. He understood that Richie was working up to this sort of thing, to opening himself up and allowing himself to cry and feel and say things like that. Like I love you. And now it’s come out, like it was always bound to, and Richie feels Seth smile against his temple.

“I love you, too.”

“More than James Spader?”

Seth laughs. “Much more.” He pulls him in for another kiss, and they say “I love you” many more times that night, and almost every night afterward.

#my writing #thank you so much for this prompt! i went a little wild #i kind of woobified richie a bit but what i can i say i love to project #and the james spader thing is the result of seth always talking abt him in monologues and ACNs #he wants to 'grow his hair out that long'#but he needs that 'spader confidence'#lmao #Anonymous

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majdalenaska · 5 years

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Up in the air aka glorified waitress

Today it’s been exactly two years since I officially started my cabin crew journey and working for Norwegian Air, hence I‘ve decided to start a blog. Let’s see how it goes..

Below I describe my 6 days‘ trip down route. I hope you will enjoy it a bit and get a little glimpse into my flying world.

I’m talking to a young girl in the elevator; she looks at me in my uniform and says: „Wow, you are a cabin crew? Well, in fact she meant to say : „ Wow you are so lucky, you get to travel the whole world“!

That made me smile, but deep down I thought, hmm that’s a bit of an overstatement.

No, really, many of my friends have a bit biased ideas about this world of flying and what it really feels like to work on a plane. Initially, I was very naive as well, not having a clue as to how I was going to feel on board, how I was going to interact with passengers from different countries and cultures who speak languages that I might not understand. What it is like meeting a different crew every single flight - a bunch of folks who you have never met before, and having to pretend you are proficient enough to provide excellent customer service.

No one can prepare you for the actual flight and being on board. The jetlagg, the anxiety, stress and fatique but with time it all goes away and you get used to it, somehow.

But, on the other hand, who can say they’ve had a steak for dinner in one of the most famous restaurant in Buenos Aires and danced Tango with one of the locals? Or who gets to experience flying in the skies at 39 000 ft every week using a Dreamliner 787 as their office? And getting paid for all the traveling around the world? To sum it up all, I’d say my life is kinda up and down, literally.

This week I’ve had a 6 days‘ trip: London-New York-Madrid-New York-Madrid-London, sounds awful, doesn’t it? It is kind of an odd pattern but since we cover the workload of other bases, we have to be ready anytime for anything. This is aviation! Sometimes you never know where you could be flying next.

28.8./ 8:20 CET- London Gatwick

I meet my crew at Costa coffee at Gatwick and first introductions can begin. There are over 800 crews in Norwegian, so in most cases you will see everyone for the first time, and there is a little chance that you will be flying with someone you’ve already met before. I really appreciate when I see someone I’ve worked with on my previous flights, so there is a slight possibility. I’m feeling a bit awkward, I don’t seem to know anyone. I am not keen on small talk but there is no other choice. The flight crew aren‘t looking very happy today but maybe a smile from cabin crew will cheer them up.

Together we are headed on board and in the forward cabin (PREMIUM) we have a quick briefing before the flight. Our senior assigns positions of the door which we are responsible for. Together we talk through all emergency questions and also discuss first aid topics. The Captain provides us with information regarding turbulences and the flight time, which is the only information everyone’s been waiting for. I’m feeling tired, didn’t have a good night’s sleep , but once the meal service starts, I am ready to go. The flight runs relatively smoothly, we do have an enormous bunch of orders though, which is not ideal, if there are only 8 cabin crew in total. Flights, especially to NYC, are ridicilously busy sometimes.

We finish the service and half the crew can hit the crew rest, which is located at the rear of the cabin. It’s my turn so I can get myself into the little bunk, close my eyes trying to get some rest;this is so far the best part of the flight. If anyone of my readers has ever flown on a Boeing 787 before - please keep reading. You can find the lavatories on the other side of the crew rest and if you see the sign CABIN CREW ONLY , please stay away, this is definitely not a lavatory. You might wonder why I mention this, but 99% of our passengers do try to open our doors and fail miserably.

Anyway, we get to New York city around 1 PM local time (18.00 CET), and since this airport is one of the busiest airports out there we sometimes spend around 45 minutes taxing to the gate and waiting and waiting… (the worst part of a flight)

15:30 local time/ 20 : 30 CET – New York City

Two hours later, we finally reach our hotel in Manhattan; the whole journey from the airport can take up to 1 hour. But we stay in a hotel in Manhattan, so no one complains really. Everyone gets to their rooms and we talk about what to do later. We plan a rooftop bar in Brooklyn, but it starts raining, bummer. I take a shower and a short nap, since later I plan on going to Whole Foods with one of my colleagues. Shouldn’t have done that; after waking up I feel so drained that I am only capable of going downstairs for a pizza at the corner.

The pizza tastes delicious though and I put a Netflix on, unwind and relax. At 8 o´clock I can’t keep my eyes open anymore and I fall asleep. At 2 am I wake up and lie around in bed till 5 am. Thank you jet lag! Being an experienced flight attendant, however, I do have my morning routine. I do a bit of yoga, meditate and head for the coast to have a jog, which works perfect for jetlagg issues. You usually need a buddy who will drag you out of the bed, though. This time I pulled it off on my own!

It really feels amazing to be jogging along the Hudson river at 7 am, passing thrilled New Yorkers with their dogs and strollers, thinking about how awesome it might be to actually live here. After a while, I sit on a bench, listen to music and admire the views over Manhattan and get carried away. I come for a run here every single morning.

Back at the hotel, I go downstairs to have breakfast and meet the rest of my crew. A big breakfast makes me tired once again, so no big plans for today, I’m afraid. But maybe I could manage some shopping in Century 21 and a lunch in Whole foods? ( BTW This place is awesome, just don’t get too carried away, otherwise you’ll be crying at the till.) Later we fly back to Madrid and I desperately long for a good night’s sleep. Tough luck, though.

I play a meditation video to calm me down but it’s pointless.

29.8/21:15 local time( 02:15 CET)- New York City

It’s not ideal to start your flight at 3 am European time, as you can imagine. Anyway, in the world of flight attendants you get used to anything…anything at all. One hour on a bus to the airport, one hour taxing to the gate…man, I am drained. I am sitting on my jumpseat about 50 minutes and there are 3 passengers sitting opposite me.( Cabin crew must smile no matter what, so wakey wakey Magdalena!) Luckily all the passengers are asleep so I can relax. The flight is stress and turbulence free and it only takes 6 hours and 30 minutes,yay. Well, sometimes it is rather enjoyable. Although every flight is utterly different, to be honest. Fatique, arguments with passengers, arguments with crew, fainting passengers, drunk passengers…take your pick. But, hooray, today no one has vomitted on me and I haven‘t spilled any drinks on anyone. Not yet, at least.

30.8/14:35 local time - Madrid

We are thrilled arriving in Madrid. My idea of the upcoming days looks like this: The sun, the pool and chill. I leave my uniform in the hotel room and in the evening I meet my colleagues from Hungary and Poland. Together we set off towards the center of Madrid. The plan is to stroll around the city and get some Tapas and Sangria. We are lucky enough to be guided by one of our colleagues who is local in Madrid.

He shows us a few places of interests. I am mainly excited by the beautiful park called Cuarttel de la Montana, which gives you a stunning view over the city. We can‘t possibly finish our evening in Madrid without visiting the local Chocolateria San Gines, where the best Churros is made. The next day we explore the shopping mall next door, and spend a great time relaxing at the pool and regaining energy for the upcoming night flight.

31.8./18:25 local time

All bags packed and prepared, I am headed down to the lobby to meet my crew. We are flying back to New York City, which I am not really keen on, due to my poor sleep on the East Coast. Interestingly, lately I‘ve preferred flying to the West coast of USA where I don’t have a major issue with jetlagg and sleep.( Though it only took a year and half to get used to all those time differences, haha.) We have a nice flight, the only trouble being that almost 80% of all passengers are Spanish speaking, so we send our only Spanish speaking colleague L. everywhere we can. L. is not that excited about the situation. We have a small issue with a passenger who refuses to give up on her own meal with nuts. Unfortunately for her, we have a passenger on board, who is allergic to nuts and hence it’s strictly forbidden to be eating anything containing nuts. But Mrs. B. is not happy about that and complains that she only eats foods that are vegan, gluten free an organic and we can’t really provide that from our snack bar, according to her. I try my best explaining and offering something else but in the end I have to call my senior. We bribe her with a freshly made coffee which is the only thing she is willing to consume. Anyway, at the end of the flight. Mrs. B opens up her own meal box risking an anaphylactic shock for the poor passenger. Fortunately, nothing happens and her meal doesn‘t trigger an allergic reaction. It really feels utterly frustrating that although we do our best to explain the seriousness of the situation, Mrs. B. ignores everything we say and put the life of a co - passenger at a risk. I think it is outrageous how some people are so ignorant and arrogant. Yet, there‘s so much more a cabin crew can come up against and have to deal with.( I just can‘t really stress enough the importance of working on yourself, your resiliance and patience, to be able to face all those kinds of challenges without ever losing your head and nerve.)

Another situation comes up with a lady complaining about not getting a seat in exit row , where she can hang up a bassinet for her baby during the flight. Since she only speaks spanish, my colleague L. apologizes to her saying that they must have made a mistake at the check in desk and she will have to take another seat unfortunately.

Service is taking ages and is not pleasant at all, no one can understand me, but eventually I am good to go with Vino Bianco and Vino Rosso. Spanish is not that difficult after all.

We get to the Manhattan hotel at around 1 am in the morning, which is 6 am European time. Having an alcoholic beverage goes aside and I am only focused on my beautiful bed on 23rd floor. I am so tired I would happily stay in that cosy warm bed until tomorrow’s pick up. But I forget I am at East coast so I am up at 6.30 heading for breakfast. I don’t feel like running today, apologies Hudson river. After breakfast I feel drowsy again, I roll in the bed and put on some Netflix. I get my lunch in Preta Manger nearby and go back to my hotel room. You‘re thinking right, jetlagg is not an easy beast sometimes.

1.9 /21.15 local tme- 02.15 CET- New York

Here comes the very last working flight of this pattern and we are going back to Madrid, yay, feels like Dejavu. On the way to the JFK airport everyone falls asleep since it takes about an hour to get there and it is quite late in the evening. What is the best thing about night flights? Almost every passenger is fast asleep before the take off, awesome! We have a quiet time in both galleys and the flight only takes 6,5 hours, which is a big plus of NYC flights. Compared it with Buenos Aires, which is about 13 hours from London Gatwick, a bit of a difference, eh?

2.9. /12:59 CET – Madrid

We’ve arrived in Madrid but our flight back to London Gatwick is due in 5 hours. We are lucky enough to have our hotel booked for us so we can refresh and relax for a bit. We don’t operate this flight- it is called DEADHEADING, which means, that we fly as passengers in our civil clothes. We get to Gatwick around 7.30 in the evening and everything seems great. There wasn’t any delay, no baggage was lost, everything is as should be. Around 10 o’clock in the evening I get home and order a pizza and a beer from Deliveroo. Unpacking my suitcase can wait till tomorrow - I fall into my cosy bed and I am not getting out of it for the next 12 hours.

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marvelxreader · 6 years

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Secrets - Part 3

You’re best friends with Ned and MJ. You’re really bad at making friends, but then they introduce you to Peter and there’s just something about him that you can’t explain. Who knows? Maybe you’ll actually get along with this guy.

Disclaimer: very fluffy and a few curse words, but oh well

Word count: 1,9 k

Y/N = Your Name

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4

You were talking on the phone to MJ about last night, but decided not to mention the kiss. You assumed it wasn’t important anyways, since you haven’t heard from him after he left you standing there.

„I‘m really glad you‘re getting along with him, Y/N“

You just hummed in response, trying to hide the fact that you only told her half the story.

„Wanna hang out later?“, she asked you.

You would love to, but you knew Peter would be there as well and the thought of seeing him made your stomach turn.

„I can‘t, I still need to finish my science project. Sorry, MJ“, you said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

„Alright then, see you tomorrow“

And with that, you hung up.

————————————————

You were scratching Tessa‘s favorite spot while watching the News.

„Spiderman put an end to a late night robbery at 1:15 am earlier this morning. He has reportedly fought 3 people trying to break into a cashpoint at the Queens Community Bank. Due to unknown circumstances, the Deli-Grocery on the other side of the street caught fire during the fight. While Spiderman was busy with the criminals, Iron Man rescued the owner of the Deli and his cat. Both heroes at the same time, in the same place? Doesn’t seem like a coincidence to us. Does this confirm Spiderman as a new member of the Avengers? We‘ll have to wait and see!“

And then it clicked. The sticky webs he made in chemistry class, him constantly leaving out of nowhere, the red and blue „sweater“ in his backpack yesterday and the „internship“ with Tony Stark. Your jaw dropped to the floor as you realized that Peter Parker, the boy you couldn‘t stop thinking about, was actually Spiderman. A wave of mixed feelings washed over you. You understood why he had to leave after the kiss, but you were still disappointed. It was the middle of the night and your apartment was a 45 minute walk away. What if something happened to you on your way home? You asked yourself what he would have done if you were the one who needed saving, but your thoughts got interrupted by the doorbell before you could think of an answer.

You got up and answered the door, Tessa following you like a shadow and to your surprise, Peter was standing right in front of you with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. You rolled your eyes and let him in.

„So, an internship huh? I don‘t think ‚internship’ is the right word for fighting bad guys and saving people with Iron Man, but maybe that‘s just me“, you said sarcastically, walking back to the living room, leaving him there with an open mouth.

„Does May know? Do Ned and MJ know? Or am I the only person on earth who didn‘t know that you��re Peter during the day and fucking Spiderman at night?!“, you raised your voice, losing control for a moment.

Peter was just standing there, not saying a word, still holding the flowers in his hands. He was shocked that someone had figured out his biggest secret.

„I‘m sorry to break it to you, but if you came here to just stand in my hallway in silence, you can leave again“, you hissed.

„How did you find out?“, he said with a calm voice.

„You weren‘t hiding it very well. You make your webs in chemistry class and let them explode everywhere, like seriously? You told us about your ‚internship‘ with Tony Stark and suddenly Iron Man has a new sidekick? Come on, you don‘t have to be Sherlock to find out“

He nodded at your words, realizing his mistakes.

„To answer your question from earlier, no. No one knows, except for you and Mr. Stark and I don‘t want to change that for now“, Peter said.

„It’s a wonder that no one else figured it out yet, you‘re hiding skills are absolute trash“, you chuckled.

„I‘m actually here to apologize for yesterday. I would love to have stayed, but now you know the reason why I had to leave..“, he held out the flowers to you.

You looked at him, contemplating whether you would forgive him that easy or not.

„What if something happened to me while you were busy beating up three guys at a bank? You knew how long the walk back home would be, you live on the same street. You left me alone in drenched clothes at Central Park in the middle of the night, Peter“

Your words felt like a knife to his chest and you could see the guilt in his eyes.

„You‘re right. I‘m so sorry Y/N, I should have brought you back home safely. This internship is so important to me and I get a bit carried away with it. I won‘t leave you like this next time“

„What makes you so sure that there will be a next time?“, you asked him.

„Well, I was hoping we could spend some time together again“, he said shyly.

You smiled at him and accepted the flowers.

„You‘re lucky you‘re cute, Parker“

You hugged him, his big arms pulling you closer and you felt like he was going to crush you.

„You‘re suffocating me“, you chuckled.

„I‘m sorry, I‘m just so glad you‘re not mad at me. It feels good to have someone to talk to, thank you for understanding“

He looked at you lovingly and gave you a quick kiss on the forehead.

„I really could get used to this“, he said and you hummed in response.

————————————————

The two of you were discussing Einstein‘s theory of relativity while walking down the street towards your apartment, a bag of chinese take-out in your hand. The sun was about to set and Queens looked it‘s best in the golden hour.

You were standing in front of your apartment door, turning the key in it‘s lock. You went inside, got two pairs of cutlery and left the flat again.

„What are you doing, babe?“

„First of all, we‘re going to eat on the rooftop. Excellent view and it‘s golden hour, so it’s even more beautiful. Second of all, ‘babe’? Do you call that Mr. Stark as well? You know, I don‘t want him to get jealous or anything“, you jokingly said, earning a chuckle from Peter.

You got to the rooftop of your apartment building, stunned by the view once again. It just gets you every time.

You sat down on the edge with your legs hanging from the building, opening your box of fried rice.

„Isn‘t that a bit dangerous, so close to the edge?“, he asked you with a worried expression on his face.

„Oh come on, I‘m here with a goddamn superhero. Also, I think you‘ve done way more dangerous things during your ‚internship‘ than this“, you winked at him, patting the space beside you, signalling him to sit down.

„Hm, you’ve got a point there“ he mumbled while making himself comfortable next to you.

The two of you ate in comfortable silence, watching the sunset.

„So, how did this all start?“, you asked him.

„A spider bit me a few years ago and after that, I gained spider-like abilities. It was scary at first, but after a while I got the hang of it and decided to use it for good and fight crime in the neighborhood“

„What do you mean by spider-like abilities?“

„Well, I‘m strong and fast, I can climb walls, I heal a lot quicker than most people and my senses are just an absolute mess. It‘s like they‘ve been dialed to eleven“

„That sounds crazy.. Wait a minute, do you lay eggs?“, you looked at him with big eyes.

„What? No, of course not“, Peter laughed at your question.

„Thank god“, you exclaimed, „Have you met all the Avengers yet?“

„Actually yes. I‘ve already fought against half of them and believe it or not, I stole Captain America‘s shield“, he said, obviously proud of himself, „but enough of me. I want to hear more about you, Y/N“

„I‘m really not that interesting“

„I‘ve never been more interested in anything else“

You blushed at his sweet answer. What you had with Peter was something different. It felt like you‘ve known each other for a lifetime, but you don‘t even know his middle name. It was kind of weird, so you thought of some random things about you.

„I love Pizza, but I hate cheese. Pizza is literally the only cheesy thing I eat“

„Are you insane?“, he chuckled, „Tell me more“

„There’s nothing more fascinating to me than the universe, but I get really bad existential crises when I think too much about it. Also, the moon looks best when it‘s shaped like a toenail“, you looked at Peter, afraid you might bore him too much. He concentrated on every word though, so you kept going.

„My first pet was a hamster named Totoro and I still know the words to every song from High School Musical 1, 2 and 3. MJ and I used to watch it multiple times a day and we still sing the duets together sometimes. The only time we‘ve had a slight ‚argument‘ was when we both wanted to be Gabriella, so we forced Ned to sing Troy‘s part“, you laughed at the memory and Peter chimed in.

„Oh man, I wish I knew you back then. I would have happily been your Troy“, he said with a smile, looking at you.

„You certainly would have been a better choice than Ned, because that boy can‘t sing for shit. And don‘t get me started on his dancing..“, you chuckled.

You kept talking as Peter noticed little things about you. The way your eyes change color in different lighting, how your nose scrunches up when you laugh and the way your voice gets a bit higher when you talk about something you‘re passionate about.

„..And that‘s the story of me breaking Ned‘s nose by accident, but according to your expression you’ve already stopped listening to me about 5 minutes ago, so what‘s the matter?“, you pulled him out of his thoughts.

„Huh? Sorry, I was just.. thinking about something“

„Jokes on you, because you‘ve just missed a great story. What were you thinking about?“

„This probably sounds really cheesy, but you‘re just too stunning, it distracted me a bit“, he blushed and looked away.

„You‘re right, a bit too cheesy for my taste“, you said, intertwining your fingers with his, „but still cute“

He looked up at you and leaned in for a kiss, as you saw something suspicious on the street below you.

„No time for making out, there’s a lady getting robbed“, you said in a concerned voice, pointing down.

In an instant, Peter got his suit out of the backpack and changed into it. He climbed down the walls of your apartment building in a matter of seconds, catching the robber just in time, while you called the police.

Peter shot a web at him, so he couldn‘t escape before the police arrived and while the burglar stuck to the brick wall behind him, Peter made sure the lady was fine.

You knew this wasn‘t a big deal for him compared to the other things he has done, but you‘ve never felt so proud in your entire life and you had to admit, this was the moment you fell for Peter.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker fanfic #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfic #spiderman #spiderman x reader #spiderman imagine #spiderman fanfic #marvel x reader

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wtnv-panels · 6 years

Text

Good Morning Night Vale, episode 1: “Pilot”

Symphony Sanders: A friendly desert community where the sun is hot…

Meg Bashwiner: The moon is beautiful and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.

Hal Lublin: [Cecil voice] Good morning, Night Vale.

Symphony: I was like ooh, I got a little chill when you said that Hal, that was cute.

Hal: Thank you. I exist to give people chills, that’s what I’m here for. I’m a chill monster.

Symphony: You’re very talented.

Hal: Some people say I have no chill, [laughter] but I think I just proved differently.

Symphony: I think you have lots of chill.

Hal: Thank you.

Meg: All right everyone. [laughs] I think you have the most chill.

Hal: Oo!

Meg: Hey everyone, welcome to Good Morning Night Vale. A new podcast where we recap every episode of Welcome to Night Vale!

Symphony: Woo!

Meg: Woo! Everyone’s afraid to talk. [laughter] I know.

Symphony: [laughs] I think I’ll get better later but right now I’m like, do I say yes?

Meg: Welcome to the clunky intro of our brand new show. My name is Meg Bashwiner and I am the woman who talks to you at the end of every Welcome to Night Vale episode. I also play the voice Deb, sentient pyatch o’ haze, and I am the MC of the live shows, if you’ve been to one of our live shows you’ve seen me, for the most part, unless you came to the show in Birmingham in 2015 you didn’t see me, I wasn’t at that one. Other than that, that’s me. Who else is on the call with me, who else is here? Silence.

Hal: Oh I was saying ladies first, but I’ll go.

Symphony: I was waiting for you, you go.

Hal: OK. My name is Hal Lublin and I am the voice of Steve Carlsberg and I have been since… 2013. Wow. I can’t believe it’s been since 2013, my mind is ready to explode, with happiness, and I’m really excited to be a part of this and to stroll back through Night Vale with the both of you.

Symphony: And I’m Symphony Sanders and I play teen militia leader Tamika Flynn, in Welcome to the Night Vale. And I have since… I also think 2013, I’m not sure, someone would have to tell me. And I’m super excited to go through all of these episodes with you guys.

Meg: I’m also excited to go through all these episodes, it’s been fun, it’s nice to take a look back on the, oh lots and lots of episodes. By the time this airs, I think there will be like a 129, 130 episodes of Welcome to Night Vale…

Hal: Wow.

Meg: ..which is really wonderful.

Symphony: That’s a lot of episodes, Meg.

Meg: Not to mention all the live shows and uh, and yeah all the things. Yes so we’re going back, we’re gonna be talking with some people who are involved in the Welcome to Night Vale world. On this episode, we’re going to hear from the voice of Night Vale, Cecil Baldwin. We’ll chat with him about his experiences and his reactions to the pilot episode of this show, and we’ll have that for you later, which is really exciting. Yeah so we’ll be hearing from different people involved in the Night Vale world over the course of the podcast, and in this episode specifically we’ll be hearing from Cecil, and we’ll be talking about the different episodes of the show, our personal reactions to them, as well as the global reactions to them.

Hal: Can I jump in for a second and say what I love about the show that we’re doing?

Meg: Please.

Hal: Even if it’s the first episode and the first, five minutes of it.

Symphony: [laughs] Yes.

Hal: This is what’s cool about it. For all you Night Vale fans out there who have not been able to come to a Comic Con where we’ve done a panel, who have never got to see us in person or gotten to sort of learn a little bit about what’s going on behind the curtain of the show. I think it’s really cool that you get three people who have been involved in the show for a very long time, sort of walking you through it, and not only talking about what happened but giving you some insight and we’ll be answering your questions on occasion as well. So this is really for all of you out there who are fans of the show, to give you another layer of Night Vale, maybe answer some questions you had, or raise some new ones if we’re doing our job.

Symphony: Agreed. [laughter]

Hal: Was I wrong?

Symphony: Correct.

Hal: Was I bad?

Symphony: No you were correct.

Meg: No that’s really beautiful.

Hal: OK, good.

Meg: Yeah, it’s really beautiful.

Symphony: It was just such a good, you really impacted us, it was such a good description. [laughs]

Meg: Yeah. I was speechless. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this podcast takes us. So let’s get down to business, we’re doing the pilot of Welcome to Night Vale, we’re discussing that today. The plot description of which is: “A new dog park opens in Night Vale. Carlos, a scientist, visits and discovers some interesting things, seismic things. Plus a helpful guide to surveillance helicoptering.” I’m a really good reader. [laughter] So yeah.

Symphony: That’s why you do this fictional podcast.

Meg: Yeah, that’s why I do this fictional podcast. So we, to reel us in, do you want to talk about what our reactions were?

Symphony: Yeah. I mean if you really look, not even that deeply into it, a lot of the things that come up in the first episode are some of our biggest fan things, like the dog park obviously what were, or so many people are known for talking about hooded figures and the Sheriff’s Secret Police, and kind of introducing the town of Night Vale and immediately putting you in this space of, uh, distrust. [chuckles] Right? And you can’t go in the dog park, even though a new one was built, dogs aren’t allowed in there, people aren’t allowed in there. Basically don’t acknowledge it.

Meg: Yeah I was struck by that too, by how so much of the Night Vale world that we know today existed in this first episode. So we’ve got the dog park, we’ve got hooded figures, we’ve got the Sheriff’s Secret Police, we’ve got Old Woman Josie and angels and Big Rico’s Pizza and the Desert Bluffs rivalry, like there’s so, and Carlos and Cecil, like he says in this episode “I fell in love with Carlos”, Cecil says it’s. it’s just like, there’s so much of what makes Night Vale Night Vale just in this first 20 minutes.

Hal: Yeah I think the hallmark of really good storytelling is, rather than beginning at the beginning is to start in the middle, and you are dropped into the middle of what feels like a fully realized world. And it’s a testament to how it was written that all those elements of the pilot have just been built on. And even that thing that, the great humor in Night Vale for me, the thing that I enjoy the most is that contrast in the ordinary with the fantastic that’s being treated as completely mundane and, like standard. So there’s no wink to the audience, there’s no we get this is weird, it’s just this is the world you’re in, and that allows you to sort of jump into it completely. And I love that Joseph and Jeffrey joke rhythm they have where they’re like, there are no dogs allowed in the dog park. Do not look at the dog park, do not taste the dog, like that building rhythm, where they just attack a type of announcement or an angle of something over and over again and keep building on it, I really loved seeing that from the beginning. I forgot, I hadn’t listened to this in years and years and years. And it was really interesting to see how formed their voice was for this from the jump.

Meg: Yeah I hadn’t listened to this episode until like it was probably, this episode premiered June 15 2012, which is Night Vale’s birthday. Almost six years ago to the airing of this episode. That was the last time I listened to it, when Joseph was like “hi do you wanna listen to this thing I made?” And I was like sure hun, you know, what do you got? And that was the last time I listened to it, and it really is great to be able to look back at it and hear so much of their voice and also Cecil’s voice, and the development of the character of Cecil as our reliable unreliable narrator.

Hal: What did you think the first time you heard it, way back then when it was like listen to this thing I made, what was your impression of it?

Meg: I think I was initially just, it was so different than anything else I’d seen Joseph make before and also so, I’m always impressed by Cecil the actor. Cecil the person, you know I love and is a dear friend and Cecil the actor blows me away every time. No matter how many, how long I’ve worked with him and how long I’ve known him, so I was really impressed by his voice acting and how much world he was able to build just behind the microphone. The world of audio fiction was in a newer place then, so it was interesting to kind of see what one man and one microphone could build and that was really cool, I remember being like, this is cool. And you know, that was before Night Vale was a thing, so I was like this is cool, what do you want for dinner? Like [laughter], Joseph you made a nice thing, it’s great.

Symphony: Yeah along that..

Meg: I remember him sa-

Symphony: Along that line, where did you think this was going? Did you think it was gonna go anywhere, did you think it was just a fun project that he is working on? What were your initial ideas?

Meg: I remember him saying to me: “I feel like this could be thing.” Which is interesting now, cause it definitely has been a thing, but at the time it was like he never, we’d have projects that we worked on, we’d had projects that we did. And I think the confidence that he had in this project was different than what we had seen before from him. And he had definitely had successful projects before, but definitely nothing with the audience and impact that Welcome to Night Vale has had. So… yeah.

Symphony: And so past this pilot when, cause this happened in 2012 but like, when did you guys, do you remember the day that you were like oh this is, more than just a thing you do?

Meg: Yes. I don’t remember the specific day, but it was about a year later.

Symphony: Nice.

Meg: The first year of Night Vale was great, people listened to it, Joseph and Jeffrey were like, hey some of our friends have listened to this show, how great is that? I remember there was like one fan that we saw, Joseph would search Twitter to see if anyone was listening to it and we would often get people being like up all night, [vale]. [Vale] is the verb in Spanish does it mean I think it, what does [vale] mean? So we would get those tweets, we’d search for Welcome Night Vale tweets, we’d get people in Spanish saying [vale]. And then eventually we saw people talking about and there was this one fan who’s named Dana, and Dana would tweet about listening to the show with friends, and there was one tweet that was from Dana that was like “Mom, stop ftrying to bring us enchiladas, we’re listening to Welcome to Night Vale.”

Symphony: Aww!

Meg: And so we thought that was really super sweet, and so they named the character Dana after Dana the person who was tweeting at us. [chuckles]

Hal: That’s cool.

Symphony: That’s so funny. Also I love enchiladas.

Meg: Yeah. But if you’re trying to listen to Welcome to Night Vale, and your Mom was trying to bring you enchiladas, I would personally be like thanks Mom, but…

Symphony: Right, it’s like a listening snack.

Meg: No shade to Dana but [laughter]. So yeah, about a year into it it started to get some tractions. We did our first birthday party at a space in New York that had about 100 people come to it, which was awesome. So cool that we had 100 people that knew about us. And then things changed pretty rapidly. In July of 2013, we used to sell Welcome to Night Vale T-shirts on Amazon, and I think we printed like 50 of them. And once a week or so, we’d get an order for a T-shirt. Joseph would package it up and take it to the post office and send it out. And then over the course of a weekend, we got an order for 1000 T-shirts. Before Amazon shut it off, because it kind of went out of control super quick.

Symphony: It’s like too much.

Meg: It was too much, it was like there was, we didn’t have the stock for that, so we went and had more T-shirts printed…

Symphony: You broke the system.

Meg: One weekend just sitting in our studio apartment in Brooklyn, packaging T-shirts, a thousand of them. Which is a number that doesn’t really make sense until you actually sit down and do it, and it was so hot..

Symphony: That’s a lot.

Meg: I sat in the apartment and I just did it, and I think I watched like the first season of A Chef’s Life on Netflix while I did it. And I was using packaging type, touching it over and over again so I had no skin left on my finger tips at the end of it.

Symphony: It was just slowly pulling off layers of skin.

Meg: Yeah. And then I made Joseph take me out for ramen and.. [laughter] That was my payment for packaging 1000 T-shirts was my husband or my boyfriend at the time took me out for ramen.

Symphony: That’s like, in Seinfe- I probably can’t mention that. In that one show where that lady died, she was sending out her wedding invitations and she kept licking the stamps, licking the stamps and the glue was poisonous, good thing you’re still alive though.

Hal: Wait…

Meg: Yeah, I still have use of my fingers.

Hal: Why can’t we mention that show? Are we restricted from (--)?

Symphony: I mean can you?

Hal: Sure.

Meg: Yeah.

Symphony: I don’t know the rules of audio recording.

Hal: I’ll tell you what.

Meg: Seinfeld! McDonald’s!

Symphony: [laughs hysterically]

Hal: I’ve been around the block and let me say something, Jerry Seinfeld. You’re welcome to come on this podcast anytime you wanna show your face.

Symphony: Yes, yes!

Hal: We’ll all get into an old car with you, you can take us out for coffee.

Symphony: Ooh, for coffee!

Hal: We can complain about comedy, it’ll be great. Making that offer right now.

Symphony: I’m very funny.

Hal: He who will not be named.

Meg: I will make sure I say nothing funny. [laughter]

Symphony: I won’t even smile the whole time.

Hal: I do love that show, but he complains all the time.

Meg: Yeah, it’s gotta be hard being him.

Hal: Yes, really difficult.

Meg: Anyway, that’s not to throw shade on Jerry.

Hal: No.

Meg: Yeah so that’s, we kind of got off on our lovely little tangent talking about the very beginning and where we are now.

Symphony: Yeah. But we can go back, look…

Meg: Let’s go back.

Symphony: That’s the great thing about a nice conversation. Let’s go back, let’s talk about the beginnings of Celios, the beginnings of Carlos and Cecil.

Meg: Yeah, the [C’s/seeds?) [0:14:11].

Symphony: Before it was Cecil, just nameless announcer, just announcer. Or narrator, right? But people I guess didn’t even, did they reference him, what did they do before he had a name?

Meg: I dunno. I dunno if anyone listened to the show, like (if we had) fanbase before the.. [laughter]

Hal: Yeah, we’re in the early early days. It struck me, was it weird for either of you now, listening to it through the lens of six years of content almost? Five and a half, wherever we’re up to as of this recording, that everything sort of takes on extra meaning? For me in particular, playing somebody who’s like not the conspiracy theorist, but the guy who seems to know the truth about what’s going on? That through that lens I was like, he’s lying, he’s a puppet. I can hear it right now, because all of that was just being established. Did either of you get that sense or am I just going in too deep?

Symphony: No I think that is like, I’m not as conspiracy theorist but I am also dazzled by magic. And there are things in the early episodes of Welcome to Night Vale that I’m like, how did they know?

Hal: [laughs]

Symphony: Like how did they know? And I just love it, I like going back and listening to and I’m like oh my gosh, talking about like, seismic activity and there’s something happening in Night Vale like how he was talking about the different, how it was very interesting scientifically. Just finding out those things, you’re just like oh now I’m like, did they know from the beginning? But then now I know because they’re my friends I’m like, they didn’t know. Or maybe they did, who knows? Maybe they’re possessed.

Meg: They’re probably possessed. We’ll find out later…

Symphony: [laughs]

Meg: .. in season 18 of Welcome to Night Vale, it’ll be revealed.

Hal: [chuckles] I remember talking to Joseph, and this had to be some time in I think 2013 early 2014. And I know at that point, things were still being sort of plotted out. Like hey we had some thoughts about what, and that conversation was about Steve and Cecil’s relationship and maybe Cecil’s not the most reliable narrator. So now that’s something, that sort of rung in my head and it developed over the course of a couple years, but now going back, when you go back with that knowledge of what’s to come, it colors everything that you hear. Which I think is a hallmark of how good the writing is that they were able to take it, even if that’s not something they had planned out for 2014-2015, that they got there in a way that the internal logic stays intact. As a whole.

Symphony: Yeah. That you can go back and relisten to stuff and you’re like, oh yeah there’s no gaps where you’re like oh, that was totally forgotten about. It’s not like Lost.

Hal: Yeah, you’re watching like they don’t even know, he doesn’t even know what’s gonna happen, I can’t believe I’m listening like I have more knowledge than the character does.

Symphony: Right.

Hal: And it’s you’re getting to watch them, you get to rediscover it by listening along, which I think is really really cool.

Meg: That is really cool. I hadn’t thought about that, but it is a pretty cool experience to be like uh, I’m the reliable narrator know cause I know.

Symphony: Cause you’re from the future.

Meg: I’m from the future.

Hal: Oh my goodness, we’re all time travelers! This is very exciting.

Symphony: Ah, you guys!

Meg: (You’re all) Is this the best time to time travel?

Symphony: [laughs] I feel like I’m in Quantum Leap! I’m just gonna start mentioning major television shows. [laughter]

Meg: Yes, hey I think it’s fun, they can all come for us, they can all come directly for us.

Hal: Yeah what are they gonna do, send us to Cheers? [laughter]

Symphony: The Borg gonna get us from Star Trek?

Meg: Yeah I mean we're just like Raymond, everybody loves us. [laughter]

Hal: Sesame Street. You were saying, Meg?

Meg: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was just thinking. Alright, so yeah I think it was interesting what we were talking about for a moment, with the sparks of love between Cecil and Carlos. I think it’s interesting to, this show was not one that describes people’s physical characteristic very much, but Carlos is described right away. His teeth and hair are described, which when I wrote that down I was like, teeth and hair! [laughter]

Symphony: What wonderful notes.

Meg: What wonderful notes, yeah, and Cecil’s description “I fell in love instantly”. And so they describe his perfect hair and his teeth like a military cemetery,a nd that he is beautiful.

Symphony: Hey, you like what you like, I guess.

Meg: Yeah.

Hal: Yeah.

Meg: The lens of Cecil’s developed.

Hal: Yes.

Symphony: Is that how you felt about Joseph the first time you saw him?

Meg: I felt, being honest about the first time I met Joseph, I did not think that he was uh.. I thought he was gorgeous, I mean like he’s a good-looking dude.

Symphony: Yeah.

Meg: But we did not get along on a personal level, I think cause I didn’t quite understand who he was, and then once I got to know him I fell in love, over time slash instantly. But yeah we met in the box office of the Kraine Theater, which is, the Kraine Theater is the place I met Joseph, I met Jeffrey Cranor, and I met Cecil Baldwin. So it’s a sacred, sacred space, yeah when I met Joseph and..

Symphony: Most of the important men in your life.

Hal: Yeah.

Meg: Yeah. When I, all of them except for, you know like my Dad and Hal Lublin.

Hal: Correct.

Meg: I met my Dad in the hospital when I was born. [laughter] It was a good day. Like I met my Mom and my Dad and maybe my sister all in the same day, which was pretty great.

Symphony: That’s a big day!

Hal: That’s pretty important.

Meg: Did I know at the time like how important these people would be to me? No, I was an infant, I was a newborn but, I felt it I think, maybe. [laughter] Alright. So when I first, but this isn’t a love podcast. When I first met Joseph I was like, who is this kid? What does he want? And then yeah we became friends and I, only wanted things from him from that point out.

Symphony: Then you made him yours.

Meg: Yeah so then I realized how wonderful and smart and, I always knew he was attractive, he is a good looking kid.

Symphony: Yeah.

Meg: He really is. Anyway, alright. Other things in this episode, there’s the NRA bumper stickers.

Symphony: OK, here’s the thing.

Meg: The intr-

Symphony: Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.

Meg: I wasn’t gonna say anything, I was making..

Symphony: I’m sorry. I got really excited, because I was thinking about this in the first two episodes, they make their stance very very clear about where they stand with like governments, and the NRA and guns and all sorts of business like that. So to all of you (friendlings) out there, who love your second amendment, we love you too, however listen to the episodes.

Hal: Yeah, it is really striking, I agree. I had the same, I wrote that down too that idea of like, you know where they stand right away and sadly, it’s really sad that six years later, that is really relevant to the point that listening to it I was like hold on, this could have been written any time in the last year.

Symphony: Three weeks ago.

Hal: It could have been an hour ago, and it would feel just as relevant. Which is, that’s a piece of commentary about a lot of different things, but in particular it’s..

Meg: Yeah.

Hal: It’s nice to see like, it’s very much them, and what’s inside of them and then writing their, what’s in their heart. Probably with the idea that hey it doesn’t matter who listens to us, we’re gonna make something that we care about. And that comes through big time, in moments like that in particular.

Meg: Yeah if Night Vale is an American city, which it’s a city in the American southwest, it’s set in the America so the people who, we can’t hide from that, we can’t run from that whether it is this totally bizarre world where up is down and down is up, it is still footed in America. And so there’s these things that are unescapable about it. And yeah, Joseph and Jeffrey are not ones to ever really hide their opinions when it comes to things like gun violence…

Hal: True.

Symphony: True. So and as we have also evidenced by, when we travel throughout this beautiful country of ours, I remember there has been airports that we’ve come through, where there’s been a sign that says: “Did you forget to take the gun out of your luggage?” And I’m like oh, I never put one in there, dang it!

Hal: [laughs]

Symphony: I guess I forgot to bring that.

Meg: I can’t bring dry shampoo.

Symphony: Right?

Meg: But.. [laughter] Like literally, you’re like we can’t bring that dry shampoo.

Symphony: What about my yoghurt?

Meg: What, hang on, sidenote. Tangent, why are old people always trying to bring yoghurt on the airplane? Like it’s a liquid, friends, like…

Symphony: [laughs] Constant struggle.

Hal: Oh my god. One time I was at the metal detector at LAX and I was behind a group of older German tourists, and it was like they huddled up beforehand, they were like alright, which rule do you wanna break cause we shouldn’t all do the same one.

Symphony: What?

Hal: I’ll have a pocket full of coins, meanwhile you’ll have a gallon of water in a camel bag that you’ve strapped on that you don’t understand you can’t have for a variety of reasons. [laughter] And then could you be juggling grenades as you try to walk through? That would be great, alright, break. And it took forever, it felt like I mean, again probably wasn’t that long but it felt like nine days, of waiting for them to get it together and realize that they can’t drive a car through the metal detector. It was bizarre.

Symphony: You grew a beard in that time.

Hal: I grew a long wispy bread. I scratched several lines, both horizontal and vertical, into the wall to mark how long I’d been there.

Meg: Alright. Welcome to this very important podcast where we talk about, how things can be frustrating at lines at airport security.

Hal: Yeah. We’re so sorry (it’s all)..

Symphony: It’s all part of the Night Vale experience.

Hal: Yeah. I was gonna say we were talking about Joseph before, I wanted to bring it to the weather. Meg: Yeah, the weather. Let’s tease it like they do on the show so we’ll be like, next up we’re gonna talk to Welcome to Night Vale’s voice, Cecil Baldwin, but first – we’re gonna talk about the weather. [sings] Da-daa..

Symphony: That was a good, that was a good teaser.

Meg: We teased it. Really teased that.

Symphony: We teased the shit out of it. [laughter]

Meg: Yeah, so the weather. These and More than These…

Symphony: It was Joseph!

Meg: By Joseph Fink.

Symphony: That’s your husband.

Hal: I didn’t know who, I was listening to it, I was like this guy sounds super familiar, but I don’t, I can’t place him musically to any other songs that I would have heard from him.

Symphony: [laughs]

Hal: And then I’d get to the end of the episode where like, (-) the weather was These and More than These by Joseph Fink, I’m like get the fuck out of town!

Symphony: Right?

Hal: That was Joseph? And…

Symphony: He’s such a good singer!

Hal: He has a beautiful singing voice, how do I not know this after all this time? And it’s an enjoyable song.

Symphony: It’s a good song.

Meg: It is, the lyrics are great, they’re super weird and fun.

Symphony: OK so first of all, let’s talk about the weather being a song.

Meg: Yeah, this is the first time that happened.

Symphony: The first time I ever, I remember back in the day when I first listened to the episode, I remember I was like, OK and now the weather. Cause it had other installments like Community Calendar and whatever and you’re like OK, that’s cool that makes sense it’s like weird and kind of funny. But then the weather is music. What a brilliant idea. And now that I know Joseph as well, it makes so much sense. Joseph and Jeffrey, it makes so much sense because they are so focused in music, they both love music so much, and Joseph especially loves independent music. And I admire that. And listening to this show, I have found more musicians and more music that I would have never ever heard of in my entire life.

Hal: Sure.

Symphony: And it’s like getting a recommendation from a friend, right? You’re like, they’re like you would like this song, and they play the song and it’s like wow. But this song in particular being the first song, I keep thinking I’m like, was he just like oh, I’m gonna put this song on there, or had he thought oh I’m gonna try to see if I can find other people, or whatever. I guess I don’t know that bit.

Meg: I mean knowing Joseph and knowing his process behind this, he was definitely like well OK what do I have the rights to? OK, something that I own.

Symphony: [laughs]

Meg: And then yeah, I don’t know his process behind selecting. Joseph has a lot of songs, he’s had some be on the weather, he’s had some that weren’t on the weather that just exist. I used to go see him play at open mics and (-) places in New York City, and he would play his original songs, and he would also play a Leonard Cohen cover or two, because that’s how adorable he is. So I think, I don’t know why he selected this one “These and More than These”, but I like it, I think it’s really fitting in the first episode, I think you’re gonna get an interesting.. Joseph’s voice as a songwriter as well as Joseph’s voice as a writer.

Hal: Yeah.

Meg: So yeah I think he was first starting to place the weather, he was like who do I know that will say yes to this, and he was the one who could do that for the first episode. [chuckles]

Symphony: It me, you know.

Meg: It me, and now it’s branched out like so many people, people like the Mountain Goats have premiered songs on the show and..

Symphony: That’s phenomenal.

Meg: ..Dessa has premiered songs on the show and people have, like The Felice Brothers have premiered stuff so it’s like, there’s all these bands that we love and have loved forever, and musicians that are putting their work on our show and it’s so cool to start from here and get to a bigger place.

Hal: Yeah.

Meg: As well as the submissions. There was a while we were taking submissions for the weather, and we got so much great music from people. And that’s the point where it’s like, we still use those submissions, we opened submissions I think for like a couple weeks, and we still use some of those submissions. As there were just hundreds of great great songs.

Hal: Amazing.

Symphony: But that’s also how we get introduced to so many great artist that we’ve heard from and once that we’ve worked with. Mary Epworth and Eliza Rickman and Dessa and Doomtree and all sorts of people, people from all over the world which is really phenomenal and actually I’m going to see Dessa this weekend, for her new Chime tour so I’m pretty excited about that.

Meg: It’s a great album.

Symphony: It’s so good.

Meg: She hasn’t made anything I don’t like. She hasn’t sent a text message I didn’t like. Like every piece of her writing is that good. [laughs]

Symphony: She’s a poet.

Meg: She’s a poet, yeah seriously. She Facebook comments in a beautiful way like she just.. [laughter] Which is a, super (sick) (--). Yeah it’s like, we get to meet such great people and luckily we get to work with them when they came on tour with us like we’ve had, and we’ve really bonded with all of them. I think tour will bond you to people.

Symphony: Yes.

Meg: It’s cool to bond to people who are like, they start as outsiders and then they become insiders.

Symphony: They’re from the inner circle. Actually we should, just a sidenote, we should have a maybe special episode talking about tour, I feel like we’ll talk about it anyways but, be like oh tour shows, Investigators… what else did we do, Ghost Stories?

Meg: Yeah we did Ghost Stories, Old Oak Doors we didn’t tour but we did it live.

Hal: The Debate.

Meg: Condos we sort of toured, The Debate.

Symphony: That’ll be really interesting when we come across those. And we’ll have to go over the controversy of, what we call the controversy of the original Tamika Flynn. [laughter]

Meg: I think we will, stay tuned audience, we’ll go over that controversy.

Symphony: It’s me, it’s always been me!

Meg: There’s also the controversy of the original Carlos.

Hal: Oh yeah, for sure!

Symphony: Yes, we’ll talk about that with Jefe.

Meg: Yeah, with our Jefe and maybe even with Dylan Maroon, short of Dylan Marron.

Symphony: Ooh!

Meg: We have more fun guests coming, but speaking of more fun guests coming, we go now to our conversation with Cecil Baldwin.

Hal: Stay right there. Good Morning Night Vale will return after a brief break.

Meg: We go now to our conversation with Cecil Baldwin. Alright, so who do we have with us on the line, who could it be?

Cecil Baldwin: Wait, is that me?

Meg: It’s you.

Hal: Do you know who you are? You get three guesses.

Cecil: It’s me!

Hal: Alright, that’s fun.

Cecil: [chuckling] That’s one. Also me! And my telephone.

Meg: Cecilia Joyce Baldwin.

Cecil: That’s right. It’s me Cecil Baldwin!

Meg: So Cecil Baldwin, what is it that you do for Welcome to Night Vale? [laughter]

Cecil: What don’t I do for Welcome to Night Vale?

Meg: True.

Cecil: I’m a voice actor on Welcome to Night Vale. I play the character of Cecil Palmer, although we’re talking about the pilot episode..

Symphony: Yes.

Meg: Sure are.

Cecil: So there was no Cecil and there was no Palmer. It was just “guy”. It was like, dude on mic.

Symphony: Unbodied voice.

Cecil: Just the voice of.

Meg: Yeah. You were the voice of for a very long time before you got proper-named.

Cecil: Yeah.

Meg: So yeah we have Cecil Baldwin with us, Cecil is of course of the voice of Night Vale, the velvet host of Night Vale Radio, the velvet-voiced vost, the velvet… voiced host.

Symphony: Yeah. That’s a lot of words.

Meg: So as you mentioned, we’re discussing the pilot episode. So the pilot episode aired June 15, 2012. What was your life like in June 15 in 2012? [chuckles]

Cecil: Oh my god. If I was better at multitasking, I would totally look up my Facebook page from 2012, just to see what was up but I literally can’t talk and uh, handle technology at the same time so…

Symphony: You need a time hop.

Cecil I know I know, I was thinking about that. See, had I done any preparation for this show, I would have already done that. But the prep I did was listen to the pilot twice, while I made dinner tonight. So you know, I was like that’s enough. What was my life like? I was probably waiting tables six days a week at a restaurant in Chelsea, New York. Probably doing Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Trying desperately to get onto Law and Order [laughter] or, oh man, what was…

Symphony: Like every New York actor.

Cecil: Like every New York actor. What was the one on HBO? That was like…

Meg: Carnivale?

Cecil: No, no no it was like..

Meg: Oh no, the one.

Cecil: Like (five points) New York, old rough New York.

Meg: Yeah yeah, with Steve Buscemi.

Cecil: With Steve Buscemi, yeah.

Hal: Boardwalk Empire.

Cecil: Boardwalk Empire. I was like…

Meg: Boardwalk Empire, yes.

Cecil: That was like, as long as that show was on, somebody kept calling me back and I was like maybe this time, and I never got it. So that was probably what I was doing, [chuckles] at that point in my life and living in like, the tiniest apartment in West Harlem with the tallest man that could possibly fit into that apartment with me. And that was where I recorded this pilot episode.

Hal: You were living in a sitcom. [laughter]

Symphony: He is (-).

Cecil: Yeah, it was like a sad kind of foul-smelling sitcom.

Hal: I have a question for you, Cecil.

Cecil: Yeah.

Hal: This is Hal Lublin, I play your uh, brother outside the law, Steve Carlsberg. Just to introduce myself, it’s me.

Cecil: Who are you?

Hal: We’ve roomed together, we’re road roomies.

Cecil: Who am I?

Symphony: Me too!

Meg: Me too.

Cecil: I think we’ve, have we all roomed?

Meg: I’ve, yeah.

Symphony: Everybody except for like, I haven’t stayed with Hal before.

Meg: I haven’t stayed with Hal either, so yes Cecil you’re the unique one in this conversation, you’ve roomed with Hal.

Cecil: Nice.

Meg: We’ve all roomed with you.

Cecil: I’m the spoke of the wheel. Everybody’s like..

Symphony: Cecil’s gotten around.

Cecil: Next tour Cecil has his own room, it’s fine. [laughter]

Hal: So my question is, which room mate was the best? No I, my actual question…

Cecil: Which room mate was... [laughter]

Symphony: Wow.

Hal: In (listening to -)..

Cecil: And the (--) breakfast (-).

Meg: Symphony Sanders is a pretty good room mate. I’ll say it. I mean I can’t speak (--) but Symphony Sanders is an excellent room mate. She always brings you water…

Symphony: I’m a pretty good room mate.

Meg: She always brings me water so…

Cecil: Coconut water and, yeah no (-).

Symphony: I like to create an experience, you guys.

Hal: I wish I hadn’t asked that question.

Cecil: And you leave to go exercise, wakes me up, so I can then go back to sleep. And then say hello to you after you’ve worked out, and be like oh maybe I should get out of bed now. [laughter]

Symphony: I come in glistening and I’m like hey wake up, are you ready? Ready to face the day?

Cecil: The sun’s been up for six hours. [laughter]

Symphony: I’ve had a full day.

Cecil: Did you have a question, Hal? I can’t remember.

Hal: Yes. I did have an actual question listening to it, one thing that struck me even in like the first three minutes of the episode listening to it, was like oh I’m listening to Cecil find his character.

Cecil: Oh yeah.

Hal: As you were doing it it was evolving, even in the first couple moments which was really impressive to watch you kind of zero in on it. Cause I know, we’ve heard the story before in panels, but I’d love to hear a little bit about your initial approach for this episode, looking at it, how much direction you had an like how you were directing yourself, how many takes it took, that kind of stuff.

Cecil: Well, first it sounds like Cecil on Xanax, like it sounds real, I was like wow I sound very sedate in this.

Symphony: Yeah.

Cecil: And I think, that more than anything set the tone for people who then later would be like, oh my god I fall asleep listening to your voice, so soothing. Because listening to those first couple of episodes it really is super neutral, like it’s so neutral and like just really quiet, just reading. And there was, like the character of, which would later evolve, wasn’t there as much. Because I don’t know. I guess I knew this idea it would be like an episodic thing, and it would go on from there but I had no idea, how many we were doing and where this was all going and stuff like that, so I was like well let’s just, you know, keep it really basic and simple and just start by words on the page, and then finding ways to you know, have that sort of very neutral narrator voice, and slowly finding the moments in Joseph and Jeffrey’s writing when Cecil does comment on stuff. And there’s little ones in this first episode. It’s just like, so and so brought the corn muffins and they needed salt. Oh like that was a moment when I, that was like a Cecil moment rather than a neutral narrator NPR, late night radio DJ, generic.

Symphony: Right. So when you were initially finding the character, a lot of that was just like feeling it out..

Cecil: Yeah.

Symphony: And you weren’t sure where it was gonna come from.

Cecil: Mm hm, yeah.

Symphony: Right or where it was gonna go so you just were like, I am gonna read this thing as well as I can.

Cecil: Yeah exactly like, put words on sound, into a mic.

Symphony: Exactly. And as an actor of course obviously you’re trying to do the writers’ words justice, right?

Cecil: Mm hm, yeah.

Symphony: So I think that’s part of it but now listening to it when you go back and have heard it again, what would you think you might have done differently?

Cecil: What I’d done differently?

Symphony: If anything, or was it a perfect read?

Cecil: [laughs] No it was not perfect. I dunno, I do wish that I’d had a chance to take a crack at it again. I think I would have, in a way getting to do kind of the last paragraph as the foreword to the book, the first book, was kind of a chance to do a do-over. And it was so much fun to be at the studio, in a fancy, you know like midtown studio with an engineer and a director and all that stuff getting to redo what was essentially the very first episode of the podcast. And having 70 plus episodes of Night Vale under my belt at that point, that was really cool, that was super cool.

Symphony: So did you feel more connected to it?

Cecil: Yeah, I felt more connected and also giving every part of the language weight. Cause when you’re reading something, for the first time especially if it’s absurd like no-linear. You just have to kind of be like, OK these are the things that I’m gonna try and hit, and highlight and let the chips fall where they may. But if I had a chance to go back and redo the pilot, I think I would have made some of the one-off jokes, like the two-sentence jokes punchier, punch it up kid, you know?

Symphony: [laughs] Well I feel like that we get to do now in the live shows where we get to repeat and do the shows over and over again, but..

Cecil: Yeah.

Symphony: When you record it one time, you’re like oh man, now that I listen to it I can do something differently.

Cecil: Yeah.

Symphony: Speaking of taking a time travel, let’s go back to the time hop thing for one second. So in your world, back then you said you were just recording this, you didn’t know where it was going and you were waiting tables, right?

Cecil: Yeah.

Symphony: So when you recorded this, how did you record it? Did you go to a place, can you tell that sort of story?

Cecil: I had to borrow Joseph Fink’s Snowball microphone. Which is this giant plastic, you know like ball on a tripod. You know it’s like…

Meg: I still have it.

Cecil: Oh really?

Meg: Yeah.

Symphony: Get out of here!

Cecil: Like you can just throw them around and, but they’re kinda bulky. And so he had wrapped it up in a sweatshirt. [laughter] And we met at a coffee shop near Union Square, and he was just like OK, here take this, plug it up to your computer and just record it, just do it. You can use Audacity or Garage Band, whatever. And I had heard of Audacity through the Neo-Futurists for free sound editing software, so I was like OK I’ll check, OK. So I took this like contraband, little straw baby back to my apartment. [laughter] And I plugged it in. And I think I recorded maybe the pilot and the second episode at the same time? Or I think one, two and three happened within the same week.

Symphony: OK.

Cecil: So that way, cause I had the microphone borrowed, and then eventually I had returned it and got my own. And then we did the reverse of this, like pass off this weird little small child sized microphone, wrapped in the sweatshirt in front of the coffee shop on the street. It was podcast drugs, it was like illegal podcast contraband. [dramatic voice] In a world where podcasting is illegal and the penalty is death! [laughter] It’s somewhere..

Meg: And the rest is history.

Hal: It’s like a Logan’s Run scenario where there’s only podcasts inside the dome.

Cecil: That’s right, it’s… [laughs]

Hal: If you live outside the dome, you’re gonna find your way in that city.

Cecil: It’s like A Handmaiden’s Tale, except for podcasting.

Hal: Did you record them in order?

Cecil: Yes. For the most part absolutely. It wasn’t until like literally years later that I started getting, it was like three episode arcs or stuff like that where stuff would be out of order but mostly was like, literally one two three four five six in succession, for years.

Symphony: And did they give you any indication, were they like, oh we’re just gonna keep doing this until we can’t do it anymore, or?

Cecil: Yeah. I think around like episode seven or eight, I emailed Joseph I was like, heeeeyyyy. So where’s this going? You know like, is there a, do y’all have like a giant dry erase board that you’re, have like characters written out and shit like that? And they were like, absolutely not. [laughter] I think Joseph’s reply was like, we just figure we’re gonna keep making it until we don’t wanna make it anymore. Until it stops being fun, I think literally he was, we’re gonna make it until it’s not fun to make anymore. And I was like, OK, well here we go.

Meg: And here we are.

Cecil: And here we are.

Meg: 125 episodes in.

Cecil: I know, right? And I know that’s been like, there’s been a lot of fun stuff along the way involving like, continuity and stuff like that because, literally that was how we made it was just like, OK here’s an episode, and here’s another episode that kind of mentions this other character, however many episodes back. And like you kind of half-remember stuff. For me it was a lot of, for my end it was more about like, trying to find episodes that that character was mentioned, to be like wait, does Telly the Barber have a voice? Did we ever give him a voi-, does he ever say anything?

Symphony: Right.

Cecil: Cause there’s like, when you’re reporting stuff second hand on, which this show is, you kind of have the choice every time you see words in quotes, to like is it impersonation of that character? Or is it Cecil, are you trying to sound like the character themself or are you trying to sound like, what that narrator’s personification of that character is. And usually the easiest way is just to be like, “and then they said a whole bunch of stuff”. Much like a newscaster.

Symphony: You’re not doing an impersonation, you’re just..

Cecil: Exactly.

Symphony: ..reporting on what they said.

Cecil: Exactly. And I would just kind of feel it out in this very like one foot in front of the other, episode by episode kind of way. And then later on, I was like oh man, have we heard from Big Rico? Does Big Rico have a voice or a sound and I’m sure there have been like, characters that sounded one way and then, maybe 20 episodes later they say like one sentence and you’re like, that’s totally not right, there must be like a million of those. Or at least there is in my mind.

Meg: So when you were doing your relisten tonight, was there anything that jumped out at you that struck you as weird or interesting or like, any feels about listening to the show?

Cecil: OK so the first thing that I noticed from the very beginning is, sort of the entity of Night Vale Presents. And I was like oh man, it was like Jeffrey came on and they were talking about the Tingle podcast and, Conversations with me you know Dylan and, I was like oh man. Because of course it makes absolute sense but in my mind I was like, some of those early intros especially with Joseph where he’s like, I was like are we going to get to (Dash) convention?

Symphony: Yes.. [laughter]

Cecil: You know it’s not that early on, but I was like oh man, those are as much of a time capsule, almost more than the show itself of like how far..

Symphony: The announcements, yeah.

Cecil: ..how long ago this was. When we were just like..

Meg: Those are gone now.

Cecil: They’re like all of them are gone?

Meg: They’re a gone.

Cecil: Hey, I mean..

Symphony: Yeah it’s just like thanks..

Meg: (--).

Symphony: ..it’s like thanks for loving us, donate if you can, like whatever you get special content, right?

Cecil: I hope somebody has a copy of them somewhere.

Meg: I think they do exist somewhere.

Cecil: See, that’s all I wanna know.

Meg: Because of the advent of dynamic insertion, which sounds really dirty but really…

Symphony: That sounds nasty!

Meg: ..it just allows you to move stuff around. So a while back, I re-recorded all the credits and proverbs and made...

Symphony: Get out of here, no you didn’t!

Meg: Yeah.

Cecil: What?

Meg: Yeah and…

Symphony: Meg?!!

Meg: And then they chop up what I say at the end of this show and like, there’s different versions of it, so I do like a different version and that gets like edited around, to be like when I talk about the mailing or I talk about merchandise or I talk about live shows, that stuff kinda moves around.

Cecil: Wow.

Symphony: Get out! OK and then that goes into every episode just in case somebody’s listening now for the first time, to the first episode like they get the current stuff?

Meg: Yeah they get the current stuff so they get, what we’re talking about now and if you listen to the pilot now and download the pilot now you’ll get, I don’t remember if it was Joseph or Jeffrey they do, they talk about live shows or something.

Hal: It’s Jeffrey.

Symphony: Yeah I heard Joseph talking about donating to get, and you can get special content and all that stuff. Oh, that’s so interesting!

Cecil: All that special content.

Symphony: Technology!

Meg: Yeah, so they can move all that stuff around, they can change it. It’s good cause you don’t wanna, like if someone’s listening to episode 70 and they wanna come see a live show, they don’t wanna hear about a live show that happened a year and a half ago, they wanna (--) the stuff going on…

Cecil: Come see The Investigators!

Meg: Yeah.

Symphony: [laughs]

Hal: I do slightly feel betrayed, in a heavy way. Just like, I wanna hear those old, cause that’s what I remember when I first listened to it.

Symphony: Hal wants the classics! [laughter]

Hal: It was always Joseph coming in, saying there is no Joseph Fink and like here’s..

Cecil: Yeah, we’re all Joseph Fink..

Hal: Here’s how you can support the show, we are all Joseph Fink.

Symphony: That was always really fun to record.

Meg: Let me make some phone calls, let me see if I can get those recordings for us to work off of. Let me see, so we don’t have to work off the new ones.

Cecil: And if Good Morning Night Vale, if Good Morning Night Vale is truly a retrospective show, I feel like you should go through an episode later like pull out some choice ones, and play them for the listeners of like (--).

Meg: Good idea, thanks for the content idea, that’s a good one.

Hal: Yeah! And then we can submit it to the Smithsonian along with that Snowball mic, as part of the Night Vale exhibit.

Meg: Which is…

Cecil: When there’s a Night Vale exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, and they have all the artifacts and all the deer paintings, and the laminate for Big Rico’s Pizza that I stole from San Diego Comic Con, stuff like that. [laughter]

Cecil: There’ll be little listening booths for all the children.

Hal: I actually volunteered to live for three months.

Cecil: Oh really? [laughs]

Hal: Yeah just like in a tank, like it’s a David Blaine thing but I will have a bed, so that’s the difference. [laughter]

Cecil: Oh my god.

Hal: And a (potty) with a (--) so I can (--).

Cecil: The artist is present. And it is Steve Carlsberg.

Hal: I mean you press a button to deliver a low level electric shock, it’s fine, I can deal with it. [laughter]

Cecil: You get like food pellets.

Symphony: I know, that’s what I was thinking, I was like food pellets.

Cecil: And Carlsberg beer.

Symphony: Yeah, it’s Carlsberg.

Hal: If I can solve the puzzle.

Symphony: Isn’t that like not even full alcohol beer?

Cecil: Oh, is that a low alcohol beer?

Symphony: Is it? Or is it just terrible tasting? [laughter] Who knows?

Meg: I dunno if I’ve ever had one.

Symphony: A Carlsberg? We should do that this tour. If you buy us a Carlsberg beer, oh wait, no one will hear this but…

Hal: Symphony will drink it. [laughter]

Symphony: [laughs hysterically]

Meg: This episode premieres June 7.

Hal: If you see one of us..

Symphony: Nevermind, cut it! Cut it, (-) cut it!

Cecil: I think according to Wikipedia I think Carlsberg is a normal beer.

Symphony: OK. Did you look it up?

Cecil: Yeah I did.

Meg: Are you multi-tasking with technology?

Cecil: I’m trying to multi-task but it’s really hard.

Symphony: Look at you and your science.

Hal: Look at you.

Symphony: Speaking of science…

Meg: Is it…

Cecil: Dark magic.

Meg: Is it a Dutch beer?

Hal: Probably.

Cecil: Denmark.

Meg: Is Carlsberg Dutch, oh Denmark.

Cecil: Denmark.

Meg: It’s a Danish beer.

Symphony: Who knows with those people?

Meg: Those people who are our fans, who listen to us, who love to go see… [laughter] Hey, we love you Copenhagen!

Cecil: Oh my god, right?

Symphony: Literally no one is hating on Denmark, like ever, so they can take it.

Cecil: Oh my god, there’s a special place in my heart for Copenhagen.

Symphony: I wanna go there so bad.

Cecil: I had such a splendidly shitty time both times I went. But it was like, fireworks of shit. The best crazy, travel stories that in the moment you’re like this is the longest day of my life. However..

Symphony: Is that when they lost your luggage?

Meg: It really was.

Cecil: But I know future me is gonna eat up every moment of it. And it’s all because of Copenhagen. Copen-hahgen.

Meg: Yeah.

Symphony: Do you say hay-gen or hah-gen?

Meg: I say Copen-haygen. I guess you can say both, I’ve heard both.

Symphony: Are both correct or is it just like willy-nilly?

Cecil: My guess is it’s Copen-hahgen for people who live there, Copen-haygen with an American accent? I dunno.

Symphony: Maybe.

Cecil: That’s my guess.

Symphony: Sammy Hey-gar. No. Sammy Hah-gar.

Cecil: Sammy Hah-gar. [laughter]

Meg: Hey-gen-Dasz. Hah-gen-Dasz.

[They’re basically just saying Häagen-Dazs in various ways and something about Chicago, I dunno how to transcribe it]

Symphony: It’s funny because I live here.

Hal: This is topical.

Meg: Well, this conversation has been…

Symphony: Next!

Meg: …a joy. Cecil, thank you so much for joining us on the first ever Good Morning Night Vale, it’s so great to hear from you.

Cecil: Thank you for having me. Yeah, it’s super weird to be talking to you all in a professional capacity with like, listeners listening in. Just FYI.

Meg: It’s like they’re backstage with us.

Cecil: I know.

Meg: Except we’re wearing clothes. Well, I’m wearing clothes, I don’t know about, I can’t speak for anyone else on this call.

Cecil: I’m wearing clothes, for once.

Symphony: Kinda.

Cecil: Kind of. [laughs] State of undress.

Symphony: A crop top is clothes. I’m wearing a crop top and leggings, is that, that’s clothes?

Hal: And I’m covered in body paint, so I’m good.

Symphony: [laughs]

Cecil: Oo! I’ll say, I’m wearing a full suit from the waist up and nothing from the waist down.

Meg: Perfect.

Hal: Business on top, party on the bottom.

Symphony: [laughs] Yes!

Meg: Alright, cool. Well thanks, Ceec!

Cecil: Party on.

Meg: Thanks. Bye!

Cecil: Bye!

Hal: Bye!

Meg: Thank you so much for joining us on our first ever episode of Good Morning Night Vale. Next week, we’re gonna talk about the episode 2, “Glow Cloud”, and we’ll be joined by special guest Joseph Fink, the creator and writer of Welcome to Night Vale and my personal husband.

Symphony: Amongst other things. [laughs]

Hal: You’ll hear us next time.

Meg: You’ll hear us next time. Thank you so much. Good morning, Night Vale, good morning.

Symphony: Good morning. Byeee!

Today’s adverb: Zestfully. I zestfully zested an orange, because I am flamboyant and I care deeply about really hammering in those notes of citrus in my flavor profile.

#welcome to night vale #night vale presents #good morning night vale #meg bashwiner #symphony sanders #hal lublin #cool cool cool #long post

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ro-visiting-the-bureau · 6 years

Text

Birthday Bash Prompt 4: Jealousy/Fisticuffs

Posting for YarningChick, who does not have a tumblr but wanted to share her fills with you guys

A/N: Baron’s best original line in this story is provided by Garbage CAN not Can’t. This is partially based on my only dinner theatre experience (Beauty and the Beast!!!!) and a nice talk with Catsafari.

This is what parenthood was all about, wasn’t it? Doing something you don’t care about for the sake of your child? She could have been snug at home, making more progress on her deadline and maybe listening to the radio for inspiration.

Instead, she was doing a favor for a comrade-at-arms. At least, that was how it felt.

“Reservation?” a tired-looking woman asked as the couple before them in line were escorted into the main theatre.

“It should be under ‘Hashima’ for three,” Naoko answered, wrapping one arm each over her own daughter and the girl she had all but adopted by now, nudging her large handbag behind her so that Haru didn’t have to bend around it for the embrace.

Hiromi was nearly bouncing in her sneakers with glee. All three of them had made an effort to dress a little nicer than usual, but Hiromi had forgotten her dress shoes at her own home. Naoko couldn’t resist being grateful that Haru had given her the perfect excuse to keep her regular sandals instead of suffer through high heels for two hours.

“Ah, there you are,” the woman said with a slight more enthusiasm as her pen jabbed at a line near the top. “Naru? Table number three’s here.”

The younger woman serving as a waitress this evening nearly bounced forward with a huge grin. “So which one’s the birthday girl?”

“That’d be me!” Hiromi chirruped like a bird, making her best friend roll her eyes with a resigned smile.

“Right this way. Man, I wish my dad would do something like this for my birthday,” Naru pouted, leading the three women to a round table that was very close to the stage. It wasn’t far from where a single musician in medieval attire was contentedly playing on a lute to set the mood. Three places at the table had been set in a formal setting, but the middle place had a folded golden napkin instead of wine red.

“That one’s yours,” Haru asserted, easing the appropriate chair out for her friend before the waitress had a chance.

Hiromi blinked. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit next to your mom? We could switch the napkins, I doubt Naru would tattle on us.”

“I can handle one night of letting you be the center of attention, dear,” Naoko soothed her, even though she had been looking forward to sitting next to instead of across from her child.

But a birthday was still a birthday, and she didn’t want to risk a misunderstanding later. Her hands gently added pressure until Hiromi was sitting and Haru could push in the chair slightly.

The lighter brunette had to laugh at the familiar gesture. “Who needs a boyfriend with a friend like you, Haru?”

“Ha ha,” she answered dryly, settling herself into the left seat as Naoko did the same on the right. Noticing that a program was where her plate would soon be, she curiously took a peak at the menu side. “Mom, what’s bruschetta?”

“Toasted slices of bread with something on it,” she replied, already fishing a quilt square out of her large bag. “It’s a common starting point in Italian meals.”

Hiromi couldn’t help but giggle as she looked over the menu as well. “Italian Wedding Soup! Man, this is the best time for this dish!”

“Other than an Italian wedding,” Naru agreed with a laugh, already returning to her post to escort more guests to their assigned tables. “Don’t worry; everything’s been prepared without alcohol, and the bowl of shards is just stained glass candy.”

“That’s one less thing to worry about,” Naoko muttered under her breath as she wove her needle into a time-consuming stitch. “Our bottle of sparkling cider made me nervous before I looked at the label.”

“I’m pretty sure they would have checked I.D.s if they were going that authentic for the meal,” Haru pointed out while looking over the program in half-interest, helping herself to a red shard and licking it like a lollipop. “We’d have probably ordered pizza and let Hiromi pick a movie if they were doing that.”

‘That would have suited me just fine,’ Naoko couldn’t resist thinking in resignation as her needle continued to dance.

Taking in her daughter’s best friend while her father was out of town was no chore, but his birthday request on Hiromi’s behalf was definitely cutting into time that she didn’t have to spare. Still, it had been a while since she had done something with her own daughter, and at least neither of them minded her bringing a bit of work to the theatre.

“Orange custard for dessert,” the birthday girl announced firmly while pointing at the menu again. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like ice cream.”

“Well, more of a sherbet,” the lutenist called from his chair with a roguish grin. “I got a small taste from the first batch this morning, and it wasn’t bad.”

Hiromi beamed happily as she looked around the theatre. Nearly all of the tables had occupants now. It couldn’t be much longer!

It was still a good fifteen minutes more before the doors were closed and the waiters had finished passing each table a plate of the bruschetta.

‘Thank heaven we’re close enough to the stage so I can work by the dimmed light,’ Naoko couldn’t resist being grateful for as the lights overhead grew faint. ‘I just hope the actors don’t take offense.’

The lutenist got up from his chair to inch closer to the side door of the stage, letting his fingers steadily play softer and softer until stopping completely when he was safely out of sight.

Hiromi looked up around a mouthful of the soup, swallowing it and using the golden napkin to pat the broth on her chin away as Haru regretfully lowered the last of the bruschetta.

Instead of the stage, the actors came in from the main door, circulating between the tables in a slow and steady pace. As one, townspeople, noblemen, and everything in between chanted as one with their palms clasped to their chests.

“Two households, both alike in dignity,

“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

“From ancient grudge to new mutiny,

“Where civil blood made civil hands unclean-”

The dignified introduction was ruined when one of the bigger actors accidentally tripped over an unused chair that someone had forgotten to push back in with a surprised yell.

The somber mood was ruined. Nearly the entire room erupted into laughter at the classic slap-stick as the large man, blushing scarlet, hurried to his feet and snatched his fallen sword away from a curious three-year-old. His face was like a storm cloud as he stomped toward the stage, using his voice like a megaphone to try distracting the crowd.

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes!

“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life!”

The other actors joined in again, although more than a few of them had silly smiles that further dampened the attempt at a regal setting.

“Whose misadventure piteous overthrows

“Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”

“Spoiler alert,” Hiromi breathed through a small giggle.

Thankfully, the next scene was free of unplanned incidents. Naoko got a bit worried when the big actor, playing the part of Tybalt, got a little too enthusiastic with knocking down the other actors with sword or fist, but thankfully the actor playing the prince showed up before any real damage was done.

It was definitely easier to tell which person was Capulet or Montague, since the outfits were color-coded. Montagues were all in varying shades of green, while those loyal to them had accents or hose of green. Red was the theme for the Capulets, and those that were loyal to the prince or neutral were in white, or brown for the lower born.

‘Which makes sense since Friar Laurence cared for both of the families.’ Finished with the blue embroidery thread, Naoko spooned a few mouthfuls of the soup before searching through her bag for the red thread. ‘I don’t even like Shakespeare! Why am I here if the only thing I like is my daughter, Hiromi, and the food? I could have taken us to a restaurant and been done with all this in a bare minimum of half the time.’

After the prince was done breaking up the fight, Lord and Lady Montague started discussing their worries for their son with a taller actor with glasses serving as Benvolio.

It was soon clear why he had been chosen for that role. Everything about his demeanor screamed ‘wet blanket’. It was such a shame that his long-standing friendship with Romeo wasn’t enough for some of that ‘think before you jump’ mentality to rub off on the titular character.

After a while, a resigned sigh echoed through the room, making Naoko turn her head to see who was as ‘thrilled’ to be here as she was.

There was one actor that must have slipped in when the others had and stayed silent against the farthest wall until the crucial moment.

Naoko had to admit, he was a very handsome youth. Perhaps in college, well-built, and crowned with a thick head of strawberry blonde hair. He was dressed in a light green hose and a deep emerald doublet with gold embroidery that the quilter couldn’t help but get distracted by.

But hey, it was a better alternative then checking out someone young enough to be her son.

Romeo was wandering aimlessly between the tables with a far away expression, almost absently pushing an empty chair to the table with one foot before another accident could occur.

“See, where he comes. So please you step aside

“I’ll know his grievance, or be much denied.” Benvolio promised his aunt and uncle, properly stepping down from the stage and running between the tables.

It was almost sad, how believable Romeo made his heartbreak seem, even if some of the passages were slightly on the vulgar side on his hopes for the unnamed girl.

‘Why are parents letting their little kids watch something this crude? Why am I letting Haru listen to something this crude?’

Thankfully, her sweet angel was spending most of her attention on her soup before it got cold, although she was keeping one eye on the two men as Benvolio attempted to comfort, and Romeo refused the comfort.

The slight blush on her face said loud and clear that she wasn’t checking out Romeo’s gold embroidery like her mother.

Sighing with resignation, Benvolio wrapped an arm around Romeo and gently eased him to face away from the stage to speak more privately.

While the audience had been neatly distracted, Lord Capulet, Paris, and a servant had taken over the stage to speak of Paris’ hope of marrying Juliet.

‘Not seen the change of fourteen years?!’ Naoko started fuming again, attempting to calm herself before setting needle to fabric again.

The pretty blonde woman in all red she had glimpsed before in the chorus was definitely not a brand-new teenager, but the idea still made her blood boil. Forget Romeo’s age; how old was Paris to insist this badly that he wanted to make a thirteen-year-old Juliet a mother as soon as possible? She was obviously still a baby herself!

Thank heaven society standards have evolved since then! But next time someone tried to sweet-talk her into watching Shakespeare, the quilter would be remembering all this.

The all-too cheerful servant was happy to take the list of names he was meant to invite to the Capulet feast, but remembers after leaving the stage by the side stair towards the tables that he can’t read the list.

‘Yet another downside to having uneducated servants,’ Naoko couldn’t help thinking smugly as the servant pretended to run down Romeo and Benvolio to see if they could read the list. ‘It could have potentially kept your daughter, nephew, prospective son-in-law, and many others from getting killed in less than a week if you had let them have a bit of schooling.’

Romeo was delighted by the list, since the poor girl he was interested in was among the invited guests, but it was Benvolio who spoke as the servant went on his merry way. He drew the actor aside, towards the table where Naoko and her girls were enjoying their meal.

“At this same ancient feast of Capulet’s “Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so loves,” Benvolio told his friend with repressed jubilation, waving a grand hand at Hiromi, who stopped licking a blue candy shard in surprise.

Romeo’s eye had been to Hiromi to continue the small homage, but it almost slipped of its own accord to Haru instead. There his gaze stayed in a spell of wonder, and his mouth slowly fell open in astonishment. The rest of Benvolio’s lines fell on deaf ears, and the lead missed his cue long enough to make people from other tables start squirming around to see why things had suddenly stopped.

“Um, crow?” Benvolio prodded, both with his voice and with an elbow, but Romeo continued staring at the brunette like he had forgotten how to do anything else.

Haru was now blushing at the unexpected attention from the handsome stranger, using her large brown eyes to unthinkingly perfect the ‘deer in the headlights’ look as she tried to shrink down in her seat to put some distance between them.

It was then that Naoko fully appreciated that her daughter had taken some pains to look nicer than usual tonight for Hiromi’s special birthday dinner. Her simple handmade dress of varying green hues neatly mirrored Romeo’s color scheme and eyes. By having the top part of her hair held back in a braided crown instead of the standard ponytail, she could almost have passed for one of the Montagues herself!

“… She doth teach the torches to burn bright!” Romeo finally breathed in complete appreciation, forgetting that anyone else was in the theatre. A different, gentler smile was playing on his lips as his green eyes grew tender.

Haru blushed redder than a Capulet tunic before almost frantically pointing a finger at her friend. “Not me! Her!” she tried to remind him through a whisper.

Hiromi had caught on to what was intended to happen by now, but her ecstatic grin said loud and clear she didn’t mind the change of plans. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” she tattled in a similar whisper.

“Go for it!” Naoko also encouraged, shoving her needlework into her bag for now. ‘He isn’t looking at her the way the Romeo so far would!’

Romeo beamed at both the news and encouragement, but a horror-stricken Benvolio grabbed him by the arm and started physically dragging him away before he could prematurely continue the ‘ne’er seen true beauty’ speech.

Haru breathed a deep sigh once he was a good ten feet away, even if he was still fighting to close that distance again.

“Yes! There sups the fair Rosaline thou loves!” Benvolio began again, his tone now verging on the edge of panic as he tried to remind the other actor they were indeed acting.

“With all the admired beauties of Verona.

“Go thither, and with unattained eye,

“Compare her face with some that I shall show,

“And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.”

The disappointment on Romeo’s features turned to rage, making him double acrobatically on Benvolio until he was standing and had a fistful of the man’s purple and green doublet by the throat. He had been shorter by a head’s worth, but now he seemed to tower over poor Benvolio that now seemed genuinely afraid for his life.

“One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun

“Ne’er saw her match since first the world begun!” the lead snarled, more than willing to defend his lady from such slander. He even had one fist raised in a silent promise to beat better taste into the man if he spoke against Rosaline again.

Naoko couldn’t hold back her enjoyment, even if she had wasted thought on it.Now that there was a girl Romeo actually liked, his enforced countenance had changed from the medieval equivalent of a whiny, horny teenager to the most chivalrous of knights. For her sweet daughter, no less! ‘I take back everything I’ve thought for the past week! This is where I want to be!’

Hiromi was grinning from ear to ear as she took a firm grip on Haru’s arm to keep her from crawling underneath the table out of sheer embarrassment as the other tables caught onto what had caused the change in Romeo.

Benvolio fought to regain his composure and whispered something quickly before speaking again in a louder voice.

“Tut! You saw her fair, none else being by,

“Herself poised with herself in either eye:

“But in that crystal scales let there be weighed

“Your lady’s love against some other maid

“That I will show you shining at this feast,

“And she shall scant show well that now seems best.”

Romeo was giving him the death glare, and mentally counted to ten before dragging his friend back to the stage for their exit.

“I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown,

“But to rejoice in the splendor of my own.” He managed to make eye contact with Haru at this, and did his best to offer an apologetic, adoring smile before he was swallowed up in the curtains surrounding the stage.

Haru moved her soup aside enough to rest her head on the table. “That did not happen. That did not happen,” was slightly muffled by her brown locks.

Still beaming, Hiromi reached over with one hand to start rubbing her back in comfort. “That totally happened. That totally happened, you lucky jerk!”

Haru looked up fiercely with a glare. “Not all of us like that much attention, Hiromi! This was supposed to be your birthday surprise! Your dad arranged it with the director, that’s why you had a gold napkin!”

Hiromi couldn’t stop impishly grinning as she used her other hand to start sucking on the shard again. “This is so much better! You’re going to talk to him after the show, right?” she asked eagerly.

“What? No!” Haru was aghast at the thought, taking a quick look around the theatre for the exits. “If anything, I should leave before the next scene!”

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” one young man called out from a table over, still holding hands with his giggling date. “I’m on the fencing team with Baron, and he’s never reacted to a girl like that before. Save yourself the embarrassment of having him track you down later, because he will.”

“I have your word on that?” Naoko pressed, one eye on the stage in case ‘Baron’ snuck another look at Haru.

Tybalt poked his head out instead, looking straight at Haru as if mentally weighing her. Tilting his head to one side as if mentally saying ‘not so bad’, the head then retreated to the other side of the black curtain.

The college kid from the table nodded through a grin. “You bet, ma’am! Baron’s next to nothing like Romeo off the stage. You won’t have to worry if he’s going to be a-”

“FIGHT ME, PEASANT!” Romeo suddenly roared, a chorus of violent sounds and surprised yells coming from the back stage.

The only evidence on this side was how the curtains were billowing and getting moved around quickly, as if a tornado were rampaging on the other side.

“Baron, don’t! You’re supposed to fake-kill him later! Fake!” someone could just be heard trying to reason.

Haru paled before burying her face in her hands as the sounds continued. “Somebody tell me that he’s getting into fisticuffs over something other than me.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Naoko apologized, now too excited to return to her sewing. “Tybalt looked like he was going to say something right before the second fight broke out.”

“Ye-eah. Just take it for granted that he won’t put up with any disrespect to her,” the college guy finished with a nervous laugh as his date patted him on the back with sympathy.

ooOoo

It took a while, but the play got back on track. After the scene that introduced Juliet and her nurse, they began the somewhat lengthy affair of ‘getting the party started’. There were a few of the actors that were working around limps that hadn’t been there at the beginning of the play, and one that was being especially tender of one of his arms. Nearly all of them were sneaking curious glances at Haru as they past by her table, but it was hard to read what they were thinking.

Romeo was still noticeable, of course. His small black mask helped conceal the force of his gaze, but regardless of where he was in the reverie, his eyes never really left Haru.

“Please let me hide under the table,” she begged Hiromi, who still had a vice-like grip on her arm.

“Never,” she smirked, pulled her seat a little closer to her friend to ensure that she didn’t move.

The party was a little more three-dimensional than anticipated, since the actors were spreading out between the tables again, as if all the theatre were a part of the stage. Naoko had to admit that it made her feel like the play was slightly more real, but she had to admit that she was really looking forward to when Romeo finally had a chance to talk to her daughter!

Juliet, looking every inch a princess in her scarlet gown and flowing golden hair, managed to dance close enough to their table with a random Capulet guest, daintily helping herself to the big red rose on their floral arrangement. She held it to her nose to artfully partake of its fragrance, resting one hand on the tablecloth as she paused in her merrymaking. “Psst, Rosaline,” she whispered, letting the rose mask her lips to anyone that wasn’t at their table.

Haru looked up at her as if she feared the worst.

“I’m letting you have my share of the custard after the show for what’s about to happen. Sorry in advance,” Juliet whispered as gently as possible while sneaking the girl a sympathetic look.

Haru opened her mouth to make the standard inquiry, but started blushing again as Romeo managed to say above all the suddenly softened noise;

“What lady’s that, which doth enrich the hand

Of yonder knight?”

“Oh, please no,” Haru choked, catching onto Juliet’s strategic placement.

Romeo’s sudden infatuation with her had been anything but subtle. But with Juliet standing right next to her, it enabled the illusion that the sweet flowery speech was really directed at her instead of some stranger trying to mind her own business.

“Hang in there,” the Capulet escorting Juliet murmured, casually reaching back and patting the poor girl’s hand. “What Baron lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in everything else.”

Haru had her face down on the table again, making an agonized groan as she tried to drown out the flowery speech with her hands to her ears.

‘Poor Haru,’ Naoko couldn’t think without resisting a giggle. ‘She’s never gotten attention like this from a boy before. I hope he’s at least a gentleman once he gets all the Shakespeare out of his system.’

“Did my heart love ‘till now? Forswear it, sight!

“For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night,” Romeo finished crooning like a lovesick idiot.

Juliet comfortingly patted Haru’s head once Romeo was done swooning, gave a sly wink to Hiromi and Naoko, and rejoined the party as the focus switched to Tybalt and Lord Capulet.

“Nice to know she isn’t mad about this,” Hiromi whispered to Naoko, who nodded her agreement before reaching across the table to nudge her daughter’s arm.

“Please stop that, Haru. You’re too old to pout like this.”

Her child lifted her head enough to level a glare at her mother with one eye. “You’re not the one everyone’s staring at this time. Sorry, but I’m Dad’s kid on this.”

Naoko felt her heartstrings twang violently at the reminder. She gave a deep, reminiscing sigh as she took hold of her daughter’s hand, dragging it across the tablecloth so that she could continue to grip those familiar fingers.

Hiromi understood the pain of losing a parent, so she reached forward to lay her hand on top of theirs. “We’re still here for you, Haru. You’re not doing this alone, you know.”

That glare softened into a loving glow as she slowly sat up, keeping their hands in hers until it was resting in Hiromi’s lap. Naoko scooted her chair a little closer to Hiromi’s to make the clasp a little less strained but kept an eye on who she was dead certain was her future son-in-law.

As expected, when he had to do the ‘pilgrim small talk’ with Juliet, she was once more between them in such a way that Baron could see Haru over one shoulder. His eyes were still gentle and adoring as they looked at the brunette, but when it came time for the first kiss, he actually blanched. His eyes turned wide and panicked as they darted between Juliet and Haru, but what had been said couldn’t be taken back.

Naoko could see a mischievous smirk on the side of Juliet’s face as she intentionally lowered her head for him to press a kiss to her forehead instead. He did so with a grateful smile, then carried on as if the kiss had been normal.

There was a mixed reaction from the dinner participants. Some of the ones that were a little farther away had obviously been hoping for a real kiss, but the ones closer to the front were passing thumbs-up to the true object of Romeo’s affections.

“Quick thinking,” Haru couldn’t help muttering with a wan smile, giving small hand waves to acknowledge the bits of encouragement complete strangers were offering her.

Yes, everything was going surprisingly well for the remainder of the scene. Romeo found out who Juliet was, although he should have known from crashing a Capulet party, and he was mournfully leaving as Juliet began inquiring her nurse as to the man’s identity.

But then Romeo made the mistake of looking over his shoulder for a last glimpse of Haru. As such, he didn’t see the one chair left out by a patron that was paying a quick visit to the bathroom.

“Look out-” Haru tried to warn, but it was already too late as the man tripped on the chair and scraping one arm against the table’s edge.

There must have been an exposed nail or sharp edge that had been overlooked, because the sound of ripping cloth was surprisingly deafening.

Romeo looked down at the rip that had turned half of his sleeve into an open one, exposing the snow white tunic underneath. Blushing terribly, he stumbled to his feet while using his other hand to hold the tear together as he made a hasty exit to the door that lead backstage.

Naoko took no time at all for her decision. Getting up from her seat, she marched around the table, grabbed her daughter’s hand, and started dragging her to the same door that Romeo had disappeared into.

“Mom?” Haru asked in a horrified whisper, almost as if she knew what her mother was planning.

Mercutio stepped in front of them with his arms out in a blocking gesture. “Now’s a really bad time,” he nearly begged in a whisper as Juliet and her nurse spoke in louder voices in an effort to distract the dinner guests from Romeo’s embarrassment or Mercutio’s attempted intervention.

Naoko threw her large bag into her daughter’s surprised arms and pushed her a little closer to the actor while keeping her own voice just as low. “My daughter’s been making her own clothes for years. She can handle Romeo’s doublet.”

“Mom!” Haru hissed in mortification, but Naoko only returned a steely smile.

“If I go fix his doublet, what kind of information do you think I’ll give him before it’s done? Besides, you’re faster at hand-sewing than I am.”

Despite herself, Haru managed a small glare while holding the bag to her chest. “Well, you’re the one that’s always on the sewing machine for work, what choice do I have?”

Mercutio took a brief second to look over Haru’s well-fitted dress before clasping his hands to her with a heavy breath. “We can’t keep a tailor to save our lives, and we desperately need a good one right now. If Baron hits on you harder than you can handle, I’ll knock him on the head until he behaves.”

Haru still looked sick, but at least she understood there was no time to work with. “Lead the way,” she invited with a weak smile, making him beam and wrap an arm around her shoulders to encourage a fast walk to the door that quickly swallowed them both.

“Sorry about robbing you of Haru for the rest of the night,” Naoko apologized to Hiromi as she claimed her seat.

The birthday girl was smirking as she carefully chose an orange shard to lick. “What do you think her chances are of walking away without a date?”

Naoko beamed while letting herself suck on a green shard. “Nonexistent.”

Hiromi wickedly giggled her approval. “Lucky jerk.”

xxXxx

For clarification:

Romeo- Baron

Juliet- Louise

Benvolio- Natori

Mercutio- Toto

Tybalt- Muta

The Prince/Director- Lune

Capulet servant- Natoru

#TCR Birthday Bash 2018 #tcr birthday bash #yarningchick #submission

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isaiahrippinus · 3 years

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VinePair Podcast: How Chile’s Wine Industry Is Leading the Way in Sustainability

There’s no doubt that sustainability is a topic of discussion in every wine-producing country and region around the world, but no country is doing more to push the conversation forward than Chile. Its Sustainability Code covers not just viticulture, but also practices in the winery and the way that wineries interact with their surrounding society.

This week on the “VinePair Podcast,” Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe are joined by Chilean winemakers Viviana Navarrete of VSPT Wine Group and Sofia Araya of Veramonte for a live podcast to wrap up VinePair’s Sustainability Week. They discuss why sustainability is so important to each of their winemaking ventures, how their definition of sustainability has expanded in recent years, and what they hope to achieve in the future.

Click here for a recap of VinePair’s Sustainability Week!

Listen Online

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Or Check out the Conversation Here

Adam Teeter: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Wash., I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach, this is live, so I can say you’re in a new room with a ton of wine behind you. Where are you, man?

Z: I’m in my new house in my recording studio part of the wine storage, which is the white wine room here behind me. The red wine room is outside, but much bigger and less suitable for recording. Yeah, a lot of lifting boxes over the last week or so.

A: All right. All right. Good for you, dude. Congratulations. So what have you been drinking? I mean, there’s a ton of wine behind you.

Z: Well, we have had some really lovely weather here in Seattle, which has made moving a little bit easier. Honestly, on Sunday, I had a couple of my cousins who are fully vaccinated, as are my wife and I, and they helped us move a couple of things. Then we cracked open a bottle of rosé, the Château de Campuget 1753, which is one of their slightly higher-end bottlings. Man, just sitting out on my deck in my new house with a glass of rosé, seeing my cousins with whom I haven’t had a glass of wine in over a year. It was actually a little emotional. It’s been a year-plus, obviously. And not everything is back to normal, of course, but it was really cool and very moving to be able to do that. A rosè that I enjoy, I don’t know that I call it my favorite, but it was definitely a part of a great reset moment. That was great. How about you? What have you been drinking?

A: Oh, man. Friday night, I had a little bit of fun. The same thing, I hadn’t seen my brother-in-law in a really long time, and he came and stayed with Naomi and me again because we’re all fully vaccinated. That was really nice and we did a bourbon tasting. I’d collected some really great bottles of bourbon over the course of last year. I brought out a few bottles and we tasted through them, and it was just a ton of fun. We ordered pizza and drank really good bourbon. We had some Eagle Rare. We had the Larceny everyone is talking about, the barrel-proof that I think some people said it was one of the top bourbons this year. We had some other really cool stuff, a brand called Barrell Bourbon, which is now one of the new cool kids on the block. They go in, and they source barrels. Their magic is in the blending, and they’ve wound up on both of our last two lists of best bourbons of the year in 2020 and now 2021. Those were some fun bourbons to try with him, and he hadn’t had them before so that was really fun. We also had Michter‘s because I just always liked Michter’s, so that was a blast. That’s always tried and true. Then, throughout the weekend, I got to take him to the VinePair office, which was great. We sampled some seltzers, and then that evening we joined up with Josh, because he’s fully vaccinated. We had our first dining experience, with friends and family, the four of us at a restaurant. We ordered this great bottle of a Cru Beaujolais that was delicious. Again, as I talked about before, I don’t remember the producer because I was at dinner and I was enjoying the conversation. I didn’t have time to pull out my camera and take a picture of the label, which again, I do not think wine discovery happens in restaurants. I think it happens through retail. Nonetheless, it was a great bottle of wine that was really fun and helped make the conversation continue. That was me, but let’s get on to our guests. I’m going to welcome them to the stage now and introduce both of them. So today, we’re really lucky to be joining the podcast by Sofia Araya of Veramonte and Viviana Navarrette of Viña San Pedro or VSPT Wine Group. Viviana and Sofia, thank you so much for joining us.

Viviana Navarrete: Thanks very much for the invitation.

Sofia Araya: Thank you for the invitation.

A: Of course. We want to chat with you both about your projects and what you’re doing in Chile with sustainability. I want to jump off with obviously, Viviana, what you’re up to in the south of Chile with your Tayú project. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what you and Viña San Pedro are doing in a community with indigenous people bringing vines to this area for the first time and making wine?

V: Well, I have been very, very fortunate to be invited to participate in this project. As you say, it comes from the south of Chile in the Malleco Valley, which is an unexplored valley of only 130 hectares of vines. The wine production there almost doesn’t exist. It started back in 2015 when we decided to have social work. Viña San Pedro has been working towards sustainability for a long time. I would say 10 years back they have been developing the biggest biogas plant in the world, producing energy. They have solar panels in the vineyards producing their own energy. However, there was one pending thing, and that was social work. They decided to start exploring native communities, in this case, the Mapuche people, and they started working together with the government exploring this area. That was magical. It’s just fantastic, Adam, because they join two areas. One was with social development and the other was coming down south in Malleco, which is a great place for producing whites and reds like Pinot Noir. We arrived at this place and started to search native communities, and ended up in a community that is named Buchahueico. Twenty-four families, and they didn’t have any knowledge about viticulture because in the past they only knew forest production or animal production. The problem is that they don’t have a business at all. The younger generation doesn’t have jobs there, so they have to go to bigger cities to earn money. It was a beautiful chance for us to see that one production could be used as a social tool for social development. We started there first with only two families. Now, we are working with six families. This winter, we are planting with three more families. It’s really beautiful to see that every year, new families are showing a lot of enthusiasm about being part of this project. To see that they can have something for themselves, it’s a beautiful business for the future.

A: That’s awesome.

Z: Sofia, can you tell us as well? We want to come back to this concept of understanding how sustainability has all these different elements to it. Those of you who listen to last week’s episode of the podcast, that’s something Adam and I have talked a lot about. Sofia, can you give us some background on Veramonte, where it’s located, and what you are doing as well?

S: Yes, we have been working to keep a regional association. We have two states or two areas that we develop our project. One is Casablanca, where we have our main building and winery. Also, we have another two states in the Colchagua region, which is in the Apalta area and the Montes area. More or less, between all of those states, we have 500 hectares. In 2012, we decided that we really wanted to connect our wines to the surrounding areas. We thought it was a unique space that we have, especially in Casablanca. We did a biodiversity study on the hills surrounding our estate, and it’s a very well-preserved native forest. Since we saw there was a patrimony, we really wanted to let the wines talk about that and we decided to start working organically. All of this started becoming bigger and it became more of a sign of sustainability. It became so powerful that we were also seeing benefits not only for the wines, but also for the people working at the vineyard and also the surrounding community. It first started as a winemaking philosophy that we wanted to be expressed through the wines. Later on, it started becoming something bigger. The community and the sustainable concept came to be spoken. All of this started in 2012 as a philosophy. Now we had our certification for all of the 500 hectares in 2018. We are very proud of the organic certification. Our work is mainly organic. We’ve been very focused on the environmental aspect of sustainability. Also, we have been working very close to the community, especially in the Casablanca state. Now we have a community garden that is worked by the people that live in the nearby community. This was all put together with the tourist area that also got involved in the concept of sustainability. That’s briefly talking about it because we’ve been really into what viticulture and the environmental aspects of the organic work meant for a while.

A: Interesting. So talking about sustainability as a whole. You’re both working on different projects, Tayú and Veramonte, doing different practices. How do both of you as winemakers come to understand sustainability? First of all, how do you define it? I know it’s something that we’re trying to define. If you are able to define it, do you think there should be a formal certification for it internationally? This is a conversation we had yesterday that I’m curious about your thoughts on as well.

V: If you work with nature, you have to be responsible and be committed to what you are using. It’s not just a business, it’s not just taking the grapes, putting them in a bottle, shipping and selling it. You have to be responsible and be holistic in the whole view. In the end, what everybody knows about sustainability comes from the word sustainable. It’s funny when you Google it because sustainable means to be able to sustain in the long term. You have to be responsible for that. There’s a beautiful sentence from Patricio Parra, general consorcio in Chile, where he says, “When you see the global changing of the climate, you don’t just have to adapt. Not only have to adapt, but you have to mitigate it.” That is a responsibility that everyone has. I feel really proud to be part of the VSPT group. When you see all the different areas that the winery is taking on, but especially in the social area, you see the code we have as a country. We have a strong code that is the code of sustainability in the Chilean wine industry. The thing that is stronger compared to all the other countries is the social area. Coming back to the Tayú project, it is fantastic to be part of this to show the world that you can use wine production not only as a passion but go one step further. In my case, I always say that this type of project has made me not only a better professional and winemaker, but it has made me a better person. When you get that involved in your heart, in the way you live in the world by making wines, I would say it’s a gift. To have the chance to spread it to your colleagues, to the other winemakers. In Chile, we are living a beautiful time in the wine industry because there’s a number that is so important, that 80 percent of the Chilean wine bottles that are exported participate in this sustainable code. It’s huge in this area. If you compare vineyards that are in Chile that are committed to this social code, it is 123,000 acres, which is just the surface of Napa Valley together with Sonoma. I think we should feel proud as Chilean winemakers.

S: Yeah, I agree with Viviana. I have a strong environmental aspect that I always get from the sustainable concept because that’s an experience I had. Later on, the social aspect came into the conversation. That’s why I always think of nature first. However, sustainability should be considered as a holistic point of view that Viviana is talking about. Social aspects, environmental aspects, and financial aspects should be considered. In my personal experience, I was able to see the difference and the evolution of the vineyards when we came from conventional, chemical work towards the organic, sustainable work in the environmental aspect. I saw the difference in both the quality of the grapes, the resilience of the vineyard, and also in the philosophy and culture of the people. The main work we had to do was change the culture of people. It’s unavoidable that it becomes social, and that’s the path we followed. I think Viviana makes a great point when we talk about the national code of sustainability because it has a very powerful and strong social aspect. All, if not most of the wineries are, I believe, 50 percent of the wineries or the producers have applied and are certified in our Chilean code. I think it’s something to consider. All of the Chilean wineries are thinking sustainable, because there’s no other way. We have to be responsible. We have a very strong philosophy for future generations. Not only focus on the present, but also on the future and what we’re going to leave for the future generations. To be a patrimony for them, to be able to enjoy and not having to take care of, I think, it’s a very powerful concept.

Z: Sofia, you mentioned before how with organic agriculture or viticulture, part of the motivation was that you thought or the Veramonte team thought it would produce better wine. Do you believe that you can tell the benefits of that in the wine and in the winery? People who might be skeptical of the merits of thinking about things this way often look at sustainability efforts as costly and hard to justify. They don’t immediately reward the winery or the business. They don’t necessarily result in higher sales or higher prices. They can. However, can either of you speak to how in the actual end product, you believe the wines have been enhanced by being sustainable?

S: Well, in my experience, at least quality-wise of the wines, what I have seen is that going organic, there is a resilience that allows the vines to react better, to read the weather conditions. You won’t see big changes or big switches between one harvest or another, such as a drought or a heatwave, or a very cold season. There’s a certain stage that the vines will remain on, that you can rely on. There’s a certain quality that you can rely on. There’s a consistency that I think plays a very important factor in the sense of the quality of the wine later on. That being the quality aspect, I also think that consumers nowadays — especially younger generations — are more informed. They are finding more information. They want to know how what they are eating or drinking is produced, what is inside of the glass, or inside of what they are having. They want to see the responsibility of the industry related to that in every sense, not only environmentally, but also in every aspect of the chain. I’m not sure if I answered your question.

Z: I think that point is a good one, which is that when that message is communicated to lots of consumers, that message resonates. There’s a big portion of consumers that want to support sustainable viticulture and sustainable winemaking. Is that your sense too, Viviana?

V: Yeah, definitely. When I started, we had vineyards planted, and I’m a Pinot Noir lover. Of course, we came back and we fought against the weeds and the pests with herbicides. Since eight years ago, we started to be organic. We were not certified because we were not doing it by the logo, but by philosophy. I’ve been working in Leyda for 14 years now, so what I’ve seen is that the skin of the berries is getting thicker. For example, Leyda Valley is very close to the South Pacific Ocean. It’s only 12 kilometers so it’s really affected by humidity and cold temperature. I’ve seen the grapes develop skin that is a little bit thicker. In a way, they can naturally combat and fight against that. The other thing that I see beautifully, is the wines are getting more vibrant in the glass. When I make the vinification and then once in the bottle, if I compare back to 10 years or 12 years back, I see that they are beautifully brilliant, vibrant, and very juicy. Of course, there’s part of vinification that we have to change. However, when you see the portfolio, that change in the upper tier is associated with working organically. Also, we are going to be more responsible, to have the vineyards clean, the canopy more balanced, the soil brief. You have microorganisms naturally as well. Finally, the roots go deeper and it’s something that, again, you really find in the glass.

A: Well, I have a question for both of you, and I’m going to call out someone that I saw is watching. A friend of mine, Patricia, who’s the winemaker at Planeta in Sicily, was texting me last night and asked me after watching another session if I thought that it was harder to explain sustainability to consumers than organic? Do we think that eventually, consumers will understand sustainability? Also, in a lot of ways, it’s better than just simply organic certification in the future. The idea of understanding organics because we see an apple in the grocery store and we also know that it’s organic. When we talk about sustainability, we’re talking about not just how we’re treating the land, but the people, everything. The entire full picture. Is that a harder sell? If it is a harder sell, how do we explain to consumers why it is much better for everyone, that we’re operating sustainably than just simply going and getting organic certification? I’m curious what you both think about that question because I thought about it a lot after she asked it. I want to deeply believe that we’ll be able to explain to consumers why it’s better and why they should care, but I’m curious, as other winemakers, what you think?

V: Well, what I think as we spoke before, sustainability is more holistic, and you have four different areas. One, it’s not only the vineyards where you can be organic. You have the second area that is the winemaking and the bottling process. Then, you have this third area that is social development. Lastly, you have the fourth area that is new, which is tourism. It’s a big picture. When you go sell the wines and you say, “Did you know that there are workers in our winery that haven’t finished school and the winery pays for them to finish?” These wineries are giving workers a better chance to be better professionals and better people. Of course, they’re going to feel happier in the winery working with better performance. When you see that aspect or the long-term contracts that we have with the producers, it’s not only the process of buying the grapes and crushing them. No, there is a commitment with the producers. We get together. We gave them free consultancy. We work with them, giving charts and speaking about responsible alcohol consumption. We give them explanations about how to have a better life with their families. When you go deeper into that aspect and are able to spread it, you are not only committed to the land. Also, being in the cellar, you are responsible for decreasing the amount of water use. We are decreasing about 30 percent in the cellar. At San Pedro, 50 percent of the energy that we use is generated from ourselves using solar panels. When you show all of this, you say, “Well, this is not just the land.” I repeat, maybe the land is the most important thing, but it’s holistic. How can we make this business sustainable in the end, to be responsible with the natural resources and keep them as a safety to the future generation? When you have the tools, I think you can extend it for good. I’m sure people are going to evaluate it, definitely.

S: Yes, I agree with Viviana. I think it’s a matter of time until people understand better what happens behind a bottle, because there’s so much information out there. The same thing we’re doing right now, winemakers talking directly to people. We can also explain how we do things. We can give out information so people start becoming more knowledgeable. Therefore, I think it’s just a matter of time. If we keep talking about sustainability and what the aspects of sustainability are, people will understand better. They will find there’s an ethical aspect in the social aspects of sustainability that is important to keep in mind. Now, you may go for the glass of wine where you know that the people are well treated. That they receive the wages they deserve. They receive the opportunities they deserve. I also believe it’s a matter of education. I’m not sure how to specifically do it, but I think it’s inevitable that people start talking more about it because it’s something we are more aware of now, especially from the environmental aspect. However, I think it is linked. We are supposed to stick with people because we live in the environment. We have to take care of that. We have to be responsible for that.

Z: Viviana, you mentioned a moment ago that there are these four components of the sustainability certification in Chile, and you mentioned one that I am particularly curious about, which is tourism. One way for people listening to this or watching this, to support sustainable winemaking in Chile is to buy these wines and other wines that carry that designation. One of my great regrets in life so far is that I didn’t visit Chile when my sister was living there.

A: You missed out.

Z: I really felt that I did. So I intend one day to make up for that by going to visit. I’m curious how you both see tourism or wine tourism as being a part of sustainability because I think sometimes the perception can be, from me and others, that tourism is something that is neutral or sometimes arguably is harmful. How is it seen as an important and sustainable part of the wine industry in Chile?

V: That’s for Sofia.

S: Well, the sustainability code included tourism because there’s a social aspect in tourism and there’s also the consumer aspect of tourism. It felt important to consider. There are a few things that I think are easy to understand the impact of. For example, managing waste, or recycling. Also, gardens, if you do wine tourism, you have a lot of gardeners and then you have a lot of receivables from it as well. You can make compost, for example, or you can include the community for different things to make the experience of the touristic activities more enjoyable or more complete. You can have a part of the community selling their vegetables or selling their handicrafts within the facilities of your winery. You have them participate. These are just a few examples. Not everyone will do them, but it is included and considered on the sustainability code. All of this together, I think, will make for more responsible wine tourism. In our particular case, we have this community garden that I was telling you about. It was an initiative from the mayor. He noticed there was this need for the people of the community. They needed the land. They needed space to develop their orchards. We had space, we had the water, so why not give them space? We give them the water. We actually at that time had a restaurant. It was an interesting circle happening there. And of course, organically, that made even more sense for them because, in that way, they have an extra value added to not only their product, but also to their lives and knowledge. We had to teach them how to do that. That touristic aspect of the sustainability code makes a big impact. Nowadays, because of the context, it’s not really easy to put it there as a concrete offer in the short term, but hopefully in the long term, you will be able to see us, Zach, when you come.

Z: Hopefully, not in the long term. I want to in the short term.

S: Also, there are some financial aspects of sustainability which include the activity of tourism and so on. I think this is not easy or not so obvious to consider the tourism activity within the context of sustainability. I think if we really want to talk sustainable, let’s make the process, the chain including the consumer and the tourists because at the end of the day, they are one of the consumers. We have to include them within this concept of sustainability.

A: That’s great, so Viviana and Sophia, I want to thank you so much for joining us. We’re going to jump into a few audience questions here because we don’t usually get to take live audience questions. I’m going to read through some of these, and they’re mostly posed to all of us, so all of us can jump in here. The first one, Patricia, I’m going to let her ask a follow-up. Zach, this is probably for you and I specifically. Patricia asks: “I’m really curious how you see sustainability accepted in the world markets, as in Europe, sustainability as certification is often questioned often against organic. When European consumers look at someone who says they’re a winery that’s sustainable, they assume an organic winery is superior. The question is, will we ever get past that where people will understand the difference of sustainability and that there’s so many amazing things about sustainability? What do you think? Do you think we will? Do you think ‘big grocery’ has helped? I think that is the difference, right? I think wine is really held to a higher standard than a lot of other beverages and a lot of other foods, to be fair.” Patricia, if we’re really being honest with ourselves, wine is something that we expect a lot from. Unfortunately, the consumer doesn’t get to be educated every single day about why the things that wineries are doing are so important. But when we go to a grocery store, we see an entire section devoted to organics. We see organic milk, cheese, and apples. We expect that same certification. We don’t understand as consumers that certification actually pertains to a very small portion of the wine. Probably just to how it was farmed and maybe some other things that happened in the winery but that’s about it. It’s going to take more conversations like this to help people realize that actually sustainability is a preferred thing you should look for when it comes to wine, but I’ve said my piece. I’m curious what you all think because it’s going to take more noise or people won’t know the difference.

Z: Yeah, I want to say something and then I would love to get Sofia’s input on this as well. I think the grocery store organic produce comparison is an important one. Rarely does the consumer know where it came from. You go to a grocery store and maybe you go to Whole Foods or other upscale grocery stores and they might say what state it’s from. Maybe they’ll say the farm, depending on the location. A lot of the produce we buy, even those of us who are pretty conscientious, we don’t know exactly where it came from unless we’re buying it directly at a farmers’ market or something like that. Wine is so different because, for the most part, we know which winery made it. If we know a little bit about the winery or the region, we know exactly where it came from. It gives us this sense that it’s a higher standard you mentioned, Adam, but it also means that organic is apparently enough when it comes to produce. If you told someone, “Oh, this is a sustainably grown tomato,” they would say, “What do you mean by that?” We just need to keep explaining to people that wine is both agriculture for sure, but it’s also all these other things that we’ve been talking about in this conversation and in other ones that we’ve had this week. It’s labor practices, it’s energy usage, carbon footprint, and it’s tourism. In wine, because it’s such a premium product, it has both a burden, but also an opportunity. I have the Veramonte bottle here and on the back, granted, it’s not huge, but it’s got the certified sustainable wine of Chile being on the back label. If you get someone to turn that around or you’ve got that on a shelf talker, I do think there are consumers who will look at that and say, “That matters to me.” We just need to keep encouraging both on the consumer side and on the winery side, both doing things sustainably. It’s so exciting that Chile, as a country, is doing this. I think more regions and countries should be coming up with similar codes and saying, “Look, this is important to us because it makes sense both in the short and long term, to be thinking about this.” We all want there to be a wine industry in all these places in 10, 20, 30 years. I certainly want to be drinking wine from all these places and others so there has to be buy-in on all fronts. Patricia, some of that is just pushing that rock up that hill every day. It’s not going to happen overnight, but over time, I think the consumer will understand if we continue to talk about it.

V: I totally agree with what Adam said about education. If I remember, I’ve been in the wine business for 20 years and when I started, nobody talked about vegan wines or organic wines. It didn’t exist in those times. Now, sitting here and speaking about sustainability, I say, “Wow, in 20 years we have grown. We have done a lot.” I’m sure Chile is working really strong on this sustainable code. When you see a total region that is pushing a thing because all of the wineries believe in that thing, you start teaching and educating people. If you see the Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden, they’re very connected with sustainability, and they ask about these wines. Also in Canada, they are also friendly about this concept. The tenders and the leasing that they throw through the world, ask sometimes for sustainable wine. I think it’s definitely here to stay.

S: I agree. I think it’s something that has been here for a while. We just didn’t notice but it’s becoming stronger, and not going to get any weaker. It’s only going to grow. If we ourselves are not thinking the same way and seeing the opportunity we have here, then we are not going to be sustainable enough to be here for the next 20 or 30 years. That is one of the purposes of being sustainable, anyway. I think it’s a matter of understanding the difference, It’s not the same, as you say, being organic or sustainable. It’s the bigger picture practicing sustainability. Organic is just one of the aspects that you can understand, but there are plenty more.

A: One last question before we go. Patricia has a follow up, though, which was, “We definitely do need to figure out an efficient elevator speech.” I agree it’s a lot to explain sustainability, but we do have to figure that out. Patricia goes on to say, “What do you think it is about Chile, specifically? Viviana, you mentioned, 80 percent of the wineries in Chile are sustainable. What is it about Chile specifically that has caused it to become a country that has focused so much on sustainability? Did that come from the government? Did that come from the winemakers? Did that come from the consumers? How did that happen?” That’s the question. I think part of the question, then, we can learn from is, how could that happen in other countries? If there’s such a strong push for sustainability in Chile, how can we take the lessons of how it happened in Chile and take that to other places?

V: I’m not prepared for giving you that answer, Adam. Now, what I know is that the wines of Chile have done a great job in this, and I think they are responsible for pushing the industry together, creating this code and, of course, all the wineries jumping in. I think it’s because of the strong work of Wines of Chile. Definitely.

A: Very cool. Well, thank you both so much for joining us. It’s been a really awesome conversation. Zach, I’ll see you not on video, but in the recording studio next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please leave a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City and Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair cofounder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tasting director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who is instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

The article VinePair Podcast: How Chile’s Wine Industry Is Leading the Way in Sustainability appeared first on VinePair.

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miki-agrawal · 3 years

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Is the World Ready for Miki Agrawal and Her Next Big Idea?

Originally Published on Glamour.com By Eliza Brooke On April 4, 2019

She wants to talk about poop — if we all could just forget what happened when she tried to change the world with period underwear.

In late January the entrepreneur Miki Agrawal held a launch event for her book, Disrupt-Her, at The Assemblage, the latest coworking-slash-coliving space in Lower Manhattan. The room was decorated with wall rugs and cacti; Spanish moss descended around a nonalcoholic bar. Agrawal sat on a low stage with Lauren Zander, her life coach, and the stylist Stacy London, who was serving as interviewer for the evening. A crowd including Assemblage members and Agrawal’s friends and fans perched on couches, armchairs, and floor pillows, sipping water and nibbling on vegan snacks while the three women talked.

“I want to talk about what happened with Thinx,” London said, “because I think that that was an absolute, completely life-changing moment for you, and really worth discussing because we always talk about success and failure, which for me are words that don’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s all experience. So how do we use experience to our advantage, when it feels like we have been brought to our knees?”

Agrawal founded the period underwear brand Thinx in 2014, and as the company’s profile rose, she became a well-known figure on the start-up circuit. Suddenly, in March 2017, Jezebel reported that Agrawal had stepped down as CEO after several employees quit. Days later, Racked quoted, anonymously, employees who described the company as a volatile work environment with poor compensation and benefits; sources said that Agrawal pitted staffers against one another and implied that they were ungrateful for seeking higher pay. Then The Cut reported that Chelsea Leibow, Thinx’s former head of PR, had filed a sexual harassment complaint against Agrawal, alleging that Agrawal routinely made comments about Leibow’s breasts and touched them without her consent. It was a hard turn left for a start-up with a progressive, feminist image.

Miki Agrawal, photographed at her home Michelle Rose Sulcov

Agrawal with her son, Hiro Michelle Rose Sulcov

Speaking to The Cut at the time, Agrawal called Leibow’s accusations “baseless” and denied that she had touched her breasts; a Thinx spokesperson also said in a statement that the company took the allegations “very seriously” and that “the company commissioned an investigation that concluded the allegations had no legal merit” and declined to comment further. Agrawal also put out a Medium post characterizing Thinx’s HR issues as problems that many fast-growing start-ups face. Forbes reported the sexual harassment claim was withdrawn after a private settlement.

Agrawal didn’t mention Thinx by name when she answered London’s question at The Assemblage. In fact, she didn’t use the word once in the hour-plus she spent onstage that night. “There were a few people that needed to be restructured out that were kind of wearing the feminist T-shirts and the vagina necklaces but were singing a different tune, culturally, for the business,” Agrawal said, noting that when she did finally restructure, “it was just twisted out of context, and you know, it was one of the darkest times of my life.”

If this sounds like a vague description of events, it is. For legal reasons, Agrawal says, she can’t say anything about her time at Thinx, her work there, or her employees. I reached out to seven former employees; only two agreed to talk about their tenure at Thinx, and even then requested anonymity. This makes writing a profile of Agrawal challenging, and reading one potentially unsatisfying: Two years after the fact, the Thinx allegations remain a major piece of her public image and business backstory, but if you want the details of what really happened, there’s a blank space.

We’re left to fill in some of the void with reports from that time period. In the spring of 2017, the critique of Agrawal was swift and widespread. Her case seemed like an isolated incident. It predated a rush of workplace misconduct accusations; Harvey Weinstein had just wrapped what we didn’t know would be his final awards season. This was before pundits learned to parse the nuances of “bad behavior” and before scores of famous men issued their careful, vague apologies. As a culture we’re now figuring out what the rehabilitation of a disgraced public figure can and should look like. This is no easy process, and as Agrawal’s case shows, it doesn’t always come with a clear, public resolution.

At The Assemblage, Agrawal described how she got through those dark days, which took place when she was five months pregnant. She remembered crying “all the time” and calling Zander multiple times a day. She said the experience stretched her emotional capacity, and in that, she found gratitude. “I get to feel the depths of betrayal, the depths of sadness, the depths of pain, which only will then accentuate the heights of joy and the height of wow-ness in life,” she said. And it fed her book, Disrupt-Her: “All of that negative shit that I inhaled, that was so painful, that I wanted to just fight back so badly; instead I just pushed it down and put it into this book.”

Disrupt-Her spans the professional and personal, and instructs readers on how to question all manner of entrenched societal conventions, block out the haters, and fight gendered norms dictated by the patriarchy and sometimes reinforced by other women. In it Agrawal talks a lot about transmuting negative energy into positive action, but her underlying principle is this: If you’re a rule-breaking woman in the world, people will try to take you down.

In the book’s introduction, there’s a handwritten message that prompts readers to “press here” on a drawing of a bull’s-eye — “to eliminate all self-judgment + judgment of others.” Were this any other self-help guide, you might touch a finger to the button, earnestly or feeling a little silly, and move on. In the context of this particular book, the request to avoid judgment seems pointed, because many people are likely to go into it with preconceived notions about Agrawal — good and bad.

Agrawal has always positioned herself as someone in the business of taboo-breaking, and that paid off with Thinx: The brand came to many people’s attention when its ads, which mentioned periods explicitly and used photos of grapefruit halves as an artistic stand-in for vaginas, were initially deemed too suggestive for the New York City subway. Thinx effectively put period underwear on the map, and Agrawal became known as an outspoken, successful woman in the overwhelmingly male start-up world, albeit one who very much fit the mold of a Burning Man–going tech executive. (A key difference: While there she posted photos on Instagram of herself pumping breast milk while out and about, writing that she had given it to other attendees to drink.) Like so many entrepreneurs, Agrawal dresses distinctively. Her style identifier is a tall, wide-brimmed hat that adds to her small stature. She talks fast, in an energetic, almost muscular way, occasionally smacking a fist into her palm for emphasis. When she’s onstage at events and conferences, she gets laughs.

It turns out operating start-ups in spaces that, in her words, “make people uncomfortable,” is good business. She opened a gluten-free pizza restaurant called Wild in 2005, at a time when gluten-free food wasn’t as trendy as it has become, and it now has three locations in New York and Guatemala. Thinx came in 2014, and a pee-proof underwear line called Icon followed in 2015; by 2017 the CEO that replaced Agrawal reported that the company (which oversees both brands) was doing $50 million in annual revenue. As chief creative officer of Tushy, a company that makes bidet attachments, Agrawal now has her sights on changing how we poop. The brand is projecting triple-digit sales growth for 2019, with annual revenue under $20 million and, according to LinkedIn, a staff of 11.

“Over these last 15 years, so many people were like, ‘No one’s going to buy your products.’ ‘No one’s going to eat gluten-free pizza — it probably tastes like shit.’ ‘No one’s going to bleed in their underwear,’” Agrawal said at the book launch. “It took a long time to get investment in all of the business ideas, and it turns out that society was wrong. People did want to try these things.”

In fact, society is wrong about a lot more than just “periods, pee, poop, and pizza,” Agrawal said, drawing laughter from the audience. “This generation and the next is not interested in doing the things that people did 100 years ago. Not interested.” To that point, each chapter of Disrupt-Her names a common way of thinking, then explains where it came from in order to present an alternative. For the notion that “failure is embarrassing,” for instance, readers are instructed to “replace the word failure with revelation.”

Disrupt-Her isn’t billed as a memoir, and much of it focuses on universal topics like the importance of investing one’s money, cultivating a partner’s best qualities, and decluttering one’s home. It is a rebirth, in a sense: Before its launch Agrawal released a video-poem that begins with her crawling from a bleeding animated vagina. (A hat is conveniently waiting nearby; she puts it on.) While the public may view it as a comeback, the timeline isn’t so linear: Agrawal founded Tushy two years after she launched Thinx, then hired leadership to run it while she focused on the period-underwear brand; when she left Thinx, she seamlessly transitioned over to Tushy. If Disrupt-Her answers any question about Agrawal, it’s how she wants to present herself to the world after being accused of abusive behavior in the workplace. Less contrition, more ideology.

In her emphasis on transforming anger, betrayal, and pain into empathy and gratitude, Agrawal performs an amazing alchemical act. The book creates a space in which she’s able to comment on the bad publicity — effectively getting the last word — and land on higher ground. This puts those members of the public who are reckoning with how to regard her, post-Thinx, in the difficult position of arguing against positivity, against personal growth, if they question her at all.

Someone who worked with Agrawal at the time, who agreed to talk only on the condition of anonymity, says that Agrawal knows the value of building her personal brand through this kind of storytelling. Publishing a new book in the aftermath of the Thinx allegations reinforces a narrative in which, the former staffer says, “She’s the hero.”

In February I visited Agrawal at her home in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, a sleek space filled with colorful woven rugs and air plants. During our interview, her husband, Andrew Horn, popped in and out of the room on his way to and from errands. Their 20-month-old son, Hiro, occasionally toddled into the conversation, cheerfully making a grab at a water glass or one of the cell phones recording the conversation.

Agrawal wrote Disrupt-Her in the two and a half months following Hiro’s birth in July 2017. Laid up in bed healing from her C-section, she wrote between feedings and while the baby was asleep. “I had so many thoughts around the culture of complaining, takedown culture, feminism, patriarchy, fake feminists, people who wear the feminist T-shirts and the vagina necklaces but are really mean girls on the inside,” Agrawal says. These topics appear in the book, in chapters that deal with woman-on-woman hate and gossipy media coverage — the products, Agrawal writes, of scarcity mind-sets and a news business that rewards clickbait.

Agrawal says she believes in creating a culture that is progressive and supportive of people being themselves — but that doesn’t mean lowering her standards. “I demand excellence. I do,” Agrawal says. “Shouldn’t you demand it for yourself? And if I’m going to bring it out of you, that’s a good thing. If that sometimes requires tough love, like, ‘Hey, I asked for that three times, come on, you’ve got this.’ Then you go back and tell everyone, ‘She’s yelling at me!’ Like, is that yelling or just being like, ‘Come on, you’re better than this!’?”

In her book Agrawal writes that she learned to “constructively look at where I actually did go wrong as a leader and how I can improve.” When I asked what those areas of personal betterment were, she said that she had to become more cautious about who she surrounds herself with. As a more experienced boss (Agrawal is now 40), “I realized that, wow, I do shoot from the hip, and I just say, ‘Oh, you love my idea? Come work with me.’” At Tushy she’s looked for people with a lot of experience in the workforce.

“I spent seven months, myself, hiring my CEO. I spent all of my time calling everyone’s references,” says Agrawal. “I looked at everyone’s social media accounts…. I looked at people’s profiles, I looked at what they wrote, I looked at how they said it — if they sounded snarky or mean-girl-style, no. They had to be bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, loved life, came with a big smile, optimistic.”

While Disrupt-Her bolsters Agrawal’s public image as someone who’s overcome adversity, many of the professional changes that Agrawal has made since moving over to Tushy seem to have to do with protecting herself against a repeat of the Thinx affair. Being a consummate “Disrupt-Her,” she still lives her life out loud, but when it comes to Tushy’s internal operations, it seems she has created boundaries that help her feel safe. Agrawal no longer wants the sticky job of managing team dynamics, so she is Tushy’s chief creative officer, not its CEO: That’s Jason Ojalvo, who spent nearly a decade at Amazon-owned Audible before joining Tushy. Agrawal works from home, sitting at her long kitchen table, and staffers will drop by for meetings. Socially, she keeps a distance between herself and her employees.

“With my team at Tushy, it’s a relationship of respect,” Agrawal says. Earlier in her career “I thought, We’re all friends, we’re all doing this together. Then all of a sudden you have to make hard calls,” she says. It’s part of the complicated work of being a manager — a lesson she learned the hard way. “I’m just like, OK, clearly I get too connected with my team or I get too trusting, and I’m just — I’m definitely not going to do that again.”

Not being a CEO also means that she has more time for the creative marketing work she loves best, Agrawal says. When I ask Ojalvo about Agrawal’s leadership style, he touts her exuberance. “We have really complementary skill sets. Miki is great at getting everyone excited about her creative ideas. Her passion for our products, our mission, and the PR stunts we do is infectious,” Ojalvo writes in an email. “I can make those all a reality by growing and managing the team executing all of it, facilitating communication among the team, and making sure we have the outside funding and/or profit to execute on our dreams — but Miki always brings the enthusiasm and excitement to the next level.”

Agrawal’s creativity is one reason Ojalvo joined Tushy; he says he was similarly motivated by its product and accessible price point ($69 for the bidet attachment), its potential to change Americans’ hygiene habits, and, more jokingly, the opportunity to talk about poop all day (“My inner 14-year-old is living the dream,” he says). At the moment Agrawal is organizing a “funeral for a tree,” a cheeky means of talking about the number of trees that get cut down every year to make toilet paper (and that could be saved by her bidet attachment). “That’s going to be one of our biggest press events of the year, I just know it,” she says.

Agrawal has a complicated relationship with the media. She has deftly used it to raise her companies’ profiles and her own, and embraced stories like those about the Thinx subway ad controversy that cemented her products in people’s minds. The former staffer, who worked with her at the time of the allegations, recalls Agrawal placing a heavy emphasis on using the media to fuel growth. “It became clear to me that there was an increasing dependence on finding the next buzzy thing,” she says. The employee wished Agrawal would have focused more on growing the company than press opportunities.

But Agrawal could at times be critical of the press, even before the allegations of March 2017. After The Cut published an early profile about her, quoting her about how she started relating to being a feminist only when she launched Thinx, she put out a Medium post titled “An Open Letter to Respectfully Quit Telling Me How to ‘Do Feminism’ (and to just support one another, please!).”

In her book Agrawal takes aim at journalists chasing after “inflamed, exaggerated headlines” and writes about being interviewed by a reporter who was “almost licking her lips, like an animal about to get a big, bloody feast.” (Below this there’s a drawing, done by the author, of a wolf licking its chops.) As a reporter working on a profile of Agrawal, it’s hard not to think about this. It’s also impossible not to see a parallel with the current American president’s relationship to the press, a whirlpool of interdependence and combativeness that plays out every day on Twitter and TV.

During her book event at The Assemblage, Agrawal talked about a few of the mental coping tactics that Zander has taught her. One was pattern interruption: When a bad thought comes into your mind and threatens to fester there, you literally change position, stand up, or walk around. She turned this into a game at a recent press dinner.

“I had literally 13 of the top press at my house last Wednesday, and it was the first time that I had met with all the press, post–all the shit that went down a year and a half ago, and I was like, ‘Ha-ha-ha, in my lair, let’s do this,’” Agrawal told the audience, adopting a faux-evil voice.

“It was a 13-course disruptive dinner, and we had them play all these games,” she continued. “Like, dance like you’re three years old! Imagine the New York Times person dancing like she’s three years old.”

I attended the dinner, and that may sound like more of an exercise in humiliation than it was. The email invitation had instructed us to dress in our silliest outfits, which the reporters and editors in attendance did with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Agrawal had on a glittering hat, a bright pink wig, and a gauzy white cape that she’d worn at her wedding. I wore a blue tie-dye shirt. Each course of the meal and its corresponding discussion or activity was based on a lesson from the book, and dancing like children was chapter one: “You can still live in a childlike state of curiosity, playfulness, and awe and be a responsible adult, on and off the job,” Agrawal writes.

Agrawal isn’t afraid to dance. She isn’t afraid to talk about periods and breastfeeding and bowel movements. To tell you that what you think you know about covering and cleaning your ass is woefully misguided.

I am not a performer, and inventing goofy dance moves in front of my peers — or worse, dancing “sensually,” as we were later encouraged to do — felt awkward and embarrassing. But it was effective programming on Agrawal’s part. You cannot argue against this kind of activity, even as you internally debate its value. To not participate, or to participate with one eye on the clock, is to admit that you’re rigid and hemmed in by your self-consciousness, that you’re choosing to bind yourself to the societal conventions you’re supposed to be dismantling. Sooner or later you’ll have to commit wholeheartedly to finding your childlike sense of play and trying something new, because your rationalizing doesn’t matter, and the only way to relieve yourself of the agony of resisting is to give in.

Eliza Brooke is a freelance reporter. She lives in Brooklyn.

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