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teamhappyme · 3 years

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a series of promising events (4/5)

aaron hotchner x female!reader

word count: 6.7k

a/n: happy new year!! we’ve made it to part 4! this part differs from the 3 previous ones, as it takes place all in one (and a half) days. But there are flashbacks, represented with italics. if anything is confusing with the timeline, or anything else is confusing you in general, please let me know! my brain is a weird place and does not connect the dots when i post for a public audience. i hope you guys enjoy this part, it was really fun for me to write!

get ready, let’s go friends!

here are the links to part 1, part 2, & part 3

****

October 2012

“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” - Winnie the Pooh

You’re known for your predictability. Yes, you’re overly kind, extremely perceptive, and a little bit of a literary genius. But those closest to you knew the predictability of your life.

You craved routine. You woke up at 5:30 every morning, had breakfast, watched the news, and caught up on some domestic things before heading into the office. You stopped at the same bagel cart every morning, an Asiago bagel with butter for you and a coffee for Spencer. Monday’s, you treated the whole team. You got to work at 7:12, second only to Hotch.

The team knew how you would react to every case. Missing or dead children would cause you to go silent, families being the target would choke you up, and anything including a scumbag with a signature kill made you nauseous.

So it was safe to say they were more than surprised to find out that you’d left for a month long european holiday, from an email, with Strauss cc'd on it. The team couldn’t remember the last time you went on vacation, because you hadn't gone further than two hours in one day.

In your travels through Europe, you stopped in countries that you’d only dreamt about visiting in your dreams. You saw Nyhavn, Denmark, the colorful canal right outside of Copenhagen. Hopped through Warsaw and Gdansk in Poland, before being silenced by your tour of Auschwitz. Next was France, the country you always said you would flee to once you aged out of the system. Besides hitting all the touristy attractions in Paris, you traveled through the alps, and made sure you stopped to see Giverny, the little village that inspired Claude Monet and his water lily paintings. The last true destination was Spain, jumping at the chance to flex your spanish minor muscles. You roamed Barcelona and Madrid, feeling a little like the Cheetah Girls as you stood in front of La Sagrada Familia.

The more you travelled, the more you’d thought about quitting. Thought about sending your resignation to Strauss through an email, leave your desk full of the mementos and picture frames, and continue falling in love with the continent you’d never been to before.

But then you made your final stop in London, to the sister who you missed immensely, and lost the nerve entirely.

“You’ll regret leaving them for the rest of your life,” Emily said to you, and you wondered for a second if she was projecting her decisions onto you.

“They don’t deserve me.” You’d mumbled out, just loud enough for her to hear. “I can’t continue on like this.”

You’d given the team everything you had for seven and a half years. The job demanded personal sacrifices you never thought you’d be capable of, until you met the people who signed on for this before you. The people who shared the same commitment to helping others, the responsibility to improve the world around them before the one that housed them. It was the first time you felt at home in your quarter century existence.

But the work never seized. The jet began to feel more like home than your apartment, hotel beds provided more comfort than your own pillow covered mattress. And no matter how many people you saved, no amount of gratification from loved ones could quell the loneliness building back inside you.

So you listened to Emily, and came back to the states on your original return flight, October 23, 2012. You returned to the real world in less than seventy-two hours and promised Garcia you would brush up on the next case before debriefing on Monday morning.

You were betting on the fact that the team wasn’t lingering around the office, considering it was seven thirty on a friday night as you headed up in the elevator, fresh off your flight from the UK. The last thing you wanted was someone to corner you, when all you wanted to do was sleep off the lingering memories of your last night here.

The glass doors leading into the BAU gave you a view of the bullpen; empty. Opening the door, you walked over to your desk, quickly glancing around the other spaces to see if anything had changed. It hadn’t.

Grabbing the files Garcia left on your desk and your car keys from the drawer, you tidied up the space the tiniest bit. You made sure everything was squared off to your monitor, updating the days passed on your desk calendar. You wrote a reminder on a yellow sticky to thank Reid for watering your small desk plant and stuck it to the screen for Monday. Everything looked like it was in its place, until you saw a blue stress ball sitting on your chair. Your head whipped up to the office at the top of the stairs, but the lights were off and the door shut. He wasn’t here.

But you could feel the stare of his eyes from four weeks ago on you just the same.

You guys were working a local case in the District.

The unsub had murdered three men, each with one shot to the head execution style. There were no signs of torture, and all three men were found with their eyes closed and arms crossed over their torsos; signs of remorse.

It took the team thirty hours to stick the profile and find the woman responsible. Her name was Kathryn Downey, a forty two year old mother of three, with a law degree that hadn’t been used in fifteen years. After digging into the victims personal lives and her own, the motive and stressor became clear to everyone; her husband had cheated on her.

You found Kathryn with a gun pointed to her husband’s head, his hands and feet duct taped, and a strip around his mouth keeping him silent.

Her hands were shaking, and you knew from the second you saw her that she didn’t want to kill him. She was angry, and full of rage, but she wouldn’t be able to follow through with this.

As long as you use the right language.

“Kathryn, put the gun down, we’re with the FBI.” Hotch started in a calm voice, but she shook her head, hands shaking faster.

“No. I have to do this. He,” She took a breath, pushing the hair out of her face with her free hand. “He has to pay.”

You glanced at Aaron before taking a step closer, slowly lowering your weapon. She needed to feel safe, and she needed to feel like an equal.

“Kathryn, my name is y/n l/n. I’m with the Behavioral Analysis Unit from the FBI. I really want to help you through this situation, so I’m going to put my gun down, alright?” You slowly lowered the gun to the ground, kicking it back gently to Hotch.

“Now Kathryn, I know your children are here. I don’t want anything to happen to them, and I know you don’t either, so could you tell me where they are so we can help them?”

“In the basement, I locked them in the basement. I didn’t want them to,” She let the thought end, not wanting to manifest it into the universe. She didn’t want them to see their mother kill their father.

Hotch spoke gently into the comms, getting Morgan and Rossi down to the kids.

“Kathryn, I want to know why we’re here in this situation. I’ve read the file, I profiled you and your family, but I want to know your side of the story. Why are you holding a gun to your husbands head?”

Her eyes widened in the slightest, and you were sure it was from the empathy in your voice. But this was your specialty, and you were determined to talk this woman down.

“He cheated on me,” She whispered, and for a split second, you thought this was going to be easy. But then she pressed the gun harder into his head, and let out a low laugh. “After everything I’ve done for this family, for him, he just takes his pants off for another woman?”

You heard the safety click off, and Hotch’s own in return. Please do not end in a shootout.

“Kathryn, don’t look at him. Don’t think about him kneeling in front of you. Just focus on me. Tell me how you got to this moment right now.”

“How did I get to this moment? I got here by following around this sad excuse for a man for the last twenty years. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn’t escape this life of mine.” Her eyes started to water, and you internally sighed. You were getting somewhere. “I have a law degree, you know. Fifth in my class at Columbia, and I only used it for a year. And it was in sleazy corporate law. Because I got married, and I got pregnant, and Sean wanted someone to stay home with the kids.

“I went from the intelligent corporate attorney with her eyes set on the attorney general’s office, to a cliche housewife who spends her days cleaning and dotting on her husband and kids. I never wanted to be this woman,” She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down her face freely. She looked so young in this vulnerable state, too young to have three children. Yet she looked so tired, and so defeated. “I gave up everything for this family. I gave up my career, friends, bucket list dreams, and a life that was waiting to be lived, for this man. I cater to his every need, I listen to him drone on about work, assure him when he’s feeling anxious, and give in when he needs a release. I am my children’s rock; when they need a shoulder to cry on I’m there in a second. They need help with their math homework, I’m the number one girl. But when it’s my turn to fall apart, when it’s my turn to be lifted up and supported, nobody is there for me. And he should be able to be there for me.”

If you hadn’t undergone intense training at Quantico, you would’ve been in tears by now. You empathized with this woman more than you should, and you were trying so desperately to help her out of this situation. So you continued to dig your fingernails into your palms, and spoke again.

“I know what you’re feeling, Kathryn.”

“You don’t know what I’m feeling!” Wrong move. She ripped the gun away from her husband and fixed the trigger on you. Hotch moved so that he was only one step behind you, trying to get her to lower the gun. “You have no idea what this is like!”

“I do, Kathryn. I promise you I do. I may not be a wife, or a mother, but I know what it’s like to give yourself completely to a person. I know what it’s like to hold onto the stress and fears of the people you love. I understand, because I’m this person too.

“People like you and me, we feel the need to be the emotional support for everyone we love. We never want to see them struggle, and we never want to see them in pain. So, we listen. We overcompensate to make them feel better, and we check in regularly to make sure they’re okay. Our happiness, as strange and sad as it may be, is directly linked to theirs. We can’t be happy unless they’re happy. But once they come out of their depression, once they thank us for being the light in their lives, they walk away, and take the happy rainbow with them. And they don’t leave any for us.” Tears continued to fall down her face, but you needed to go further. She was going to break if you kept going. “Kathryn, I was in your position not long ago. I remember what it feels like when you realize that the love you have for someone won’t be reciprocated. That after everything you’ve done for them, all the small moments that you succeeded in taking their grief away and bringing happiness back into their life, they still don’t appreciate you. And it’s heartbreaking.

“But I’m standing across from you today, on the other side of that pain, trying to tell you that it gets better. It doesn’t go away, but it gets a hell of a lot better, Kathryn. So please, do not let this one moment that you couldn’t take the pain away ruin all the times you did.”

You expected the tears. You expected an emotional end to this situation. You didn’t expect Kathryn Downey to drop her gun in the middle of the room, and collapse onto you. But that’s exactly what she did. And instead of letting go to untie her husband, instead of joining Hotch in cuffing her, you held her for a minute. You held her breaking heart in your hands, and tried your hardest to take away all her fears and pain for once in her life.

After a minute, you pulled away and grabbed a hold of her upper arm. She gave you a slight nod, knowing this is what was always going to happen. You led her down the stairs and into the back of a squad car, as Aaron helped the husband to his children once outside of the house.

You were leaning against the suburban that you came in, watching as the team debriefed with the local pd before being dismissed. But amongst the chaos, Hotch found your eyes, and gave you a knowing look. One that meant you were going to talk through the very personal negotiation you gave.

The team arrived back at the office just shy of ten o’clock, Penelope waiting for Derek at the elevator. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as you led the gang into the bullpen, everyone dropping their go bags at their desks.

You lingered for a moment as Hotch made his way up to his office, knowing you’d be joining him in a few seconds. You grabbed your blue stress ball, complimentary from the C.A.L.M. department meeting, as through the curtains you could see him drop his bag before checking his phone for any messages from Jack.

“L/n,” Here it comes. “Can I talk to you in my office please?”

You and Spencer shared a look, and he gave you a comforting smile in return. You took the steps two at a time to his office, and shut the door behind you once you arrived. He was standing behind his desk, so you didn’t feel the need to sit yourself.

You waited for him to speak, since he was the one that called you in. It was a little childish, but you weren’t the one who wanted the discussion.

“I want to talk about the negotiation.”

“I thought it was pretty successful. I empathised, I got her to drop her weapon, and no one was injured in the process.”

“Y/n, you know that’s not what I meant.” He uncrossed his arms, letting out a sigh. The two of you were too exhausted to have this conversation, but that wasn’t going to stop Hotch from going on. “I told you that you could lean on me when it all became too much.”

“That was six years ago, Hotch.” Defensive, but not rude. A fine line. “And this wasn’t about work, this was personal. You’re not obligated to listen to our personal issues that take place outside the office.”

“And you are?” Stop spinning my words, Hotchner. “I know you, y/n. This isn’t just something that can be brushed back under the rug.” You scoffed. “You don’t know me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t know me, Hotch. None of you do. You know my file. You know that I got a full ride to Bowdoin, that I was a social worker before transferring here, and that most of my life before eighteen was sealed away. I confided in you six years ago about my childhood and now you think you know me?”

“Why are you getting so defensive?”

“I’m not-” You paused, knowing that if you finished that statement it would, in fact, be defensive. “I’m just really tired and I don’t want to be having this conversation right now.”

“It’s not healthy for you to keep everything in while people spill their lives to you. And you know that.”

“Hotch,” You warned, your exhaustion quickly turning into rage.

“What, you really think I’m just going to drop this after hearing you confess to a serial killer that you have no joy in your life? And now you’re going to try and convince me that I don’t know anything about you? Bullshit, y/n. I know that you talk to your foster siblings every sunday to check in and make sure they’re all doing okay. I know that you volunteer with Garcia to help the families of victims cope with their loss. I know that you cling to Spencer like gum wherever you go to make him feel less insecure in a bar.”

“Stop it,”

“I know that your favorite color is purple, that you still write articles for CNN and The Times under a pseudonym. And I know, more than anything in the world, you want to be the mother that you never got to have.”

“Stop it!” You threw the blue ball into his builtins, hitting one of his stupid administrative awards in the process. He didn’t even flinch. “You don’t get to know me like that.”

“Why not?” You let out a low laugh as tears started to fill in your eyes. He was oblivious, and that's what made it hurt even more. You cracked your knuckles for a few seconds, waiting for him to connect the words you spoke at the Downey house and your frustration with him in this moment.

But his face softened, the wrinkles disappeared from his forehead, and you knew he figured it out. He didn’t need to say the words for you to know exactly what was going through his head. But he was with Beth, and you were not going to interfere. This wouldn’t change anything.

“It’s late, I should head home. I’ll get you my report before monday.”

You left his office without saying goodnight, and you tried to ignore the rest of your team huddled around Morgan’s desk, pretending not to be eavesdropping. But they totally were.

Instead you grabbed your bags, giving Spencer a reassuring smile as his gaze lingered on you for a second longer. You had no intentions of turning around to see Hotch’s face. But if you had, you would’ve seen the same heartbroken expression across his face, realizing he let you walk away.

You tore your eyes away from the office, not wanting to relive the memory any longer. You stashed the stress ball under your monitor before turning out the light, and making your way back to the elevator.

Once you were settled back in your apartment, you sent a text to Reid and JJ, letting them know you got in okay and that you’d see them at the office on Monday. After getting a thumbs up and a ‘glad you’re home’ in response, you turned in for the night, trying to dream of nights in Paris and Barcelona instead of at the BAU.

---

It was hard for you to get back in the routine of consulting and profiling. Garcia had left you copies of three cases the team was going to be working on when you returned, and you’d barely worked through the first one in two hours.

Three teenagers went missing from their small town in Idaho, and all were found in Seattle in the same week. Of course, your first case back included kids.

You resorted to calling Spencer when you really had no idea where to begin. You felt like a rookie all over again, asking for help when creating a geographical profile or running new negotiation tactics. But your best friend was quick to help, assuring you that once you got back to the office, you’d fall back into the routine.

“Did you have a good time?” He finally asked, albeit apprehensively. You didn’t leave on the best terms with anyone, and they all seemed to know what pushed you over the edge.

“I did. It’s amazing to know that there is a whole other world out there that we don’t even know about. It’s so different over there, Spence. It’s peaceful, and beautiful, and everything the place you call home should be.”

You could hear the intake of breath over the line. “Does that mean you’re moving to Spain?” A smile crossed your lips just thinking about Barcelona. But, it wasn’t home.

“This is my home, Spencer. I’m not leaving anytime soon.” You left out the part about contemplating a new life for the better part of three weeks, knowing it would only cause him more paranoia. You were staying in Quantico, continuing what you were born to do.

After drafting a rough profile and reviewing family statements, you took a break from the paperwork staring back at you all morning.

You made your way into the kitchen to find something for lunch, the afternoon approaching quick. All you really wanted to do was crash on the couch and watch old movies for hours, until monday morning inevitably rolled around. Selfishly you wanted your vacation to last forever. But your mind, and your bank account, thought differently.

After consuming a sandwich and some chips, you brought back the fresh mug of hot chocolate to the kitchen table, ready to take on the second file. Two women raped, tortured, and murdered outside of Miami. Why the fuck did it always have to be Florida.

Halfway through the family statements, there was a knock at your door. You grabbed your gun from the side table, just in case. Only three people had a key to your apartment. One of them was in England, one you just got off the phone with, and one… you didn’t exactly know where you stood with him.

After checking the peephole and seeing Hotch on the other side, you let out a sigh of relief. No one is coming to muder you. But it was quickly replaced with the memories of your last encounter, and the unspoken realization of feelings unrequited.

You placed your gun back on the table, and unlocked the door for him. He was wearing a navy blue quarter zip, jeans, and sneakers, the ultimate Aaron Hotchner not on duty look. It made your heart beat just a little faster noticing his hair was free of any gel, flopping naturally as he walked.

“Hi,” You greeted him, half of you hidden behind your front door.

A shadow of a smile crossed his lips, and he placed his hands in his pockets. “Hi. I’m sorry for stopping by unannounced. I know you must be tired and getting ready for Monday.”

“No, it’s okay. Did you want to come in?” You opened the door a little more, stepping out to show your sweatpants and sweatshirt look from behind the door.

“Thank you.” He murmured as he walked through the entrance, moving to take off his shoes. You told him a million times that you didn’t follow that rule, and that you hated it when people made their guests remove their shoes. But he told you once that it was a sign of comfort, that he felt at ease in someone else's home.

“Can I get you something to drink? I have some tea bags left over I think, or I can make you a cup of coffee.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? It’ll only take a second. Oh, are you hungry? I still have some sealed crackers from before I left, might have something in the freezer if-”

“Y/n,” He interrupted you and you stopped in the middle of your path to the kitchen. “I’m fine.”

“Okay,” You nodded, making your way back to the living room. “Oh, I um, got something for Jack while I was in England with Emily. I know it’ll probably keep him holed up in his room for a week, but I couldn’t resist.”

You pulled out the bag of souvenirs you got for the team, grabbing the London attractions lego set you bought for the young boy. Aaron smiled when you handed it to him, knowing the two of them would no doubt be starting this when he got home.

“You didn’t have to get this for him. But he’s gonna love it.”

“I know.” You reached in the bag once more, pulling out the gift you got for Aaron. “And I know you’ll probably never wear this, but I had to get it for you.”

He opened the box, a british flag tie on the inside. He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips, the tacky gift really meaning a lot to him. “Thank you. I can honestly say this is the most unique gift I’ve ever received.”

“Glad to hear it.” You tucked your foot underneath you as you settled onto the couch, letting Aaron set the gifts aside. You knew what conversation was coming next, but you didn’t have the courage to start it. Especially since he was the one to come to you.

He settled in on the couch, a cushion between the two of you, a clear boundary that he’d set.

“Did you enjoy your time over there?”

“I had a really great time. I can’t believe I’d gone thirty two years without leaving the country. You don’t realize how much of the world there is to see until you go and uncover a small fraction of it.”

He smiled while beginning to pick at his fingernails. This was a new tell of his, he was usually extremely reserved with his anxiety. “You sound like Emily.”

“I’m going to take that as a complement.” You said with a small laugh, adoring the woman across the ocean.

“It is. She called me a few days ago, told me you guys had a nice visit.”

“We did. Prentiss knows how to have a good time no matter the city. It was a little too much for me, though.”

“Nobody can quite keep up with Emily.” He added before letting out a breath.

“She also told me that you were contemplating leaving the BAU.” There goes the first shoe, dropping from the ceiling. “Are you still thinking of quitting?”

“No.” It was the truth. Em had spoken some sense into you, and you knew deep down, like you told Spencer, this was your home. “I just needed a break from everything. And Europe was an amazing distraction. But I’m back, and ready to get back into the swing of things.”

He nodded, some tension slowly released from his shoulders. He couldn’t lose another member. It was too soon.

“Was it because of me?”

“What?” Even though you were expecting this conversation, it still caught you off guard.

“I’m not conceited enough to think you fled to another continent because of a fight, but is that what pushed you over the edge? What led you to want to quit the BAU?”

In a word, yes. The argument was the last straw on the camel's back. You’d spent years with this unit, fulfilling a destiny that you made up for yourself so that you wouldn’t feel guilty for not having a family or friends to confide in. You spent the better part of the last three years pining for a man you couldn’t have, trying to fill the holes in your life by playing pretend. So yes, it was Hotch that pushed you over the edge. But you learned a hell of a lot about yourself in those four weeks.

“Hotch, did you know that this was the first time I went on an airplane for my own enjoyment? This was the first vacation I’ve been on in my life. I booked a flight on a Thursday night that left at six a.m. the next morning. I was spontaneous, and in control of all the moves I would make for the next thirty days. I’ve never felt more liberated in my life.

“But then I landed in Copenhagen, and had an anxiety attack. I can’t speak Danish, I have no idea how to get around a new country, and I only had thirty dollars in cash to my name. And the only thing I could think of to help me get through it, was calling you. I had your contact pulled up, ready to call you and tell you what a stupid fucking mistake I made. But then I could hear your voice in my head, saying ‘I know you’, and I’d never turned my phone off faster.”

“Y/n,” He sounded exhausted himself, but you weren’t going to give in to the apologies. Not yet.

“I had the time of my life there. I went to places that I never thought I’d get to see in my life. Places that my foster parents told me I’d never be important enough to go to. But I made it. I made it to Giverny, and I saw what inspired Claude Monet to paint the Water Lilies series with my own eyes. I went inside La Sagrada Familia and walked on the steps that Gaudi dreamt of. I saw everything I wanted to, and I wept every place I went to. Because I got myself there. I persevered and worked my ass off my whole life, to get there. I didn’t have any parents, I didn't have any siblings, a spouse, or children. I did it all by myself, and it felt pretty amazing to accomplish that.

“No one knows me like I do.” You finished. Your walls were back up starting to feel secure in your own skin again.

He stayed silent for a few minutes, maintaining eye contact with you the entire time. He was calculating his response, trying to formulate the perfect response to get the two of you back on track. It was exhausting watching his brain work, and you wondered how tired he must always be.

After another minute, he sighed and dropped his hands into his lap. “Beth and I broke up two weeks before you left.” The other shoe had dropped.

“What?” For the second time tonight, you were rendered speechless by Aaron Hotchner. This was not the response you were expecting, and not the news you expected to hear anytime soon. The two of them were obsessed with one another, how could they just end it?

“We ended it two weeks before your trip. She accepted a job in Kyoto, and didn’t want to string me along with long distance. But she also said she knew my heart wasn’t in it anymore.”

You stood up from the couch, not being able to sit still with this new information. Hotch and Beth were no longer together, he said all those things to you as a single man, understood what you felt for him, and still let you walk out of his office. For four weeks.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It was his turn to stand, still leaving enough distance between the two of you to continue your pacing.

“Don’t deflect to another conversation.”

“You’re the one that brought it up!”

He sighed, running a hand through his perfectly shaggy hair. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you again. So please, get it through your thick skull when I tell you that I know you. And I don’t mean that on a bureaucratic superior level. I know you, y/n. And just because you’ve been alone your whole life, doesn’t mean you deserve to be alone for the rest of it.”

Your eyes started to water, so you looked away, gluing your line of sight to the wall next to you.

“You give us all one hundred and ten percent of your attention when we need you. And when I say all of us, that includes Jack and Henry. I’ve never met someone so intune to another person's feelings, who exudes so much empathy with one look and a smile. And we’ve taken you for granted for seven and a half years. Me the most.” Your eyes found his brown ones, begging you to continue looking at him. “I couldn’t have gotten through Haley’s death without you. And that is the biggest understatement of the decade. I am eternally grateful for all that you’ve done for me and Jack. But at the same time, I’m so sorry that it pushed me further and further away from you.”

His own eyes started to water, and he choked out a laugh. “What you said to Kathryn Downey, about giving yourself completely to a person and not getting the love reciprocated. I felt like an absolute idiot for not realizing that you felt the same way I did.” You closed your eyes with his confession, letting the tears roll down your cheeks.

“There were so many times I wanted to tell you. But then Haley took Jack, and Foyet came, and the world got away from me. And I’m so sorry that you’ve felt the need to carry all our problems on your own.”

“Hotch, you don’t have to apologize.”

“Please, don’t call me Hotch right now.” He took a step toward you. “It’s Aaron, when I’m standing in front of you, begging you to just let me in.”

“I don’t,” Your voice cracked, and you rubbed your hands over your face in frustration. “I don’t know how to let someone love me.”

“I know,” He took another step closer. “You’re just going to have to trust me when I tell you I’ve been in love with you for years.”

He didn’t see the rest of your tears fall, because you threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face in his shoulder. His arms found their place around your waist, pulling you two impossibly close.

“I love you, Aaron.” You could feel him laughing with his chest pressed against your own, and he moved to kiss the side of your head.

“I love you.” He whispered back, causing the last of your tears to fall onto his sweatshirt.

He started to pull away, just enough to get a look at your face. His eyes were no longer filled with tears, but his cheeks still glistened when the light illuminated the damp spots on his face. He brushed a piece of hair behind your ear, letting his knuckles gently graze your temple. You caught his hand in the middle of his movement, lacing your fingers with his own. You’d been dying to know what it felt like to hold his hand like this for years, when you found yourself comforting him in his office one night, lightly holding his hand in yours. But this was so much better.

“You good?” He asked, and the corners of your mouth turned up the slightest.

“I’m good.” He traced the lightest check mark on your laced hands, causing a true smile to grace your face.

“You have a tally to see who can make me smile the most?”

“It’s just mine. Been keeping it for years. But I’m always in the lead.”

You laughed while letting go of his hand, wrapping your arms back around his neck. His eyes flickered to your lips for a second before looking back at you. You gave him a small nod, knowing he was asking for your permission.

When his lips met yours, you knew this was the feeling that all the fairytales sang about. He was gentle at first, slotting your upper lip between his own. It was slow, and full of love from the years of knowing one another inside and out. He bit your lower lip softly, barely there, and you slowly parted your lips, letting him trace your tongue with his own.

All you could think about was how warm he was, how his breath was actively leaving his lungs and entering your own as if you were one person. It was all consuming, and you were grateful that he took the lead, because you couldn’t focus on anything but him.

His hands slipped under your sweatshirt, resting on the skin just above your hips. You let out a small gasp as his cold fingers made contact with the sensitive skin, but it only made him laugh into the kiss.

After a few more moments of getting lost in the feel of one another, you reluctantly pulled away, needing air to fill up your lungs. But Aaron didn’t go far, gently resting his forehead against your own.

“I love you. And I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to stop telling you.” You closed your eyes and tilted your head up, slowly kissing him again.

“I’ll never get sick of hearing it.” You mumbled, your lips still grazing his own. He smiled into the kiss, which only made your heart glow brighter and brighter the more he showed you how he felt.

You pulled away first, tracing the outline of his jaw with your thumbs. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He tilted his head to the side, just enough to press a kiss to the palm of your hand.

The tenderness this man exudes is beyond belief. “I really love you, Aaron.”

He laughed while pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I’m glad to hear that.”

You let him hold you for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes. “I promised Jack I would take him out for ice cream to make up for missing his soccer game last night.”

“Okay,” You said and started to pull away, but his grip on your waist only tightened.

“Really? You’re just gonna let go without a goodbye?” You laughed at his fake hurt expression, so incredibly happy that you get to see Aaron in this light, enjoying his son, his life, and you.

“I’m not about to stand in the way of Jack Hotchner and a sugar rush. That guy loves his sugar.”

He let go of your waist, but not without a light squeeze to your sides. “I know we literally just started this, but I really would like to tell him. I don’t want to keep any more secrets from him than I have to.”

You smiled at the thought of Aaron telling Jack how in love the two of you were. It made you feel complete, in a way you never thought you’d get to experience in your life.

“Tell him. As long as he doesn’t blab about it to anyone on the team just yet.”

“You sure?” You nodded while passing him the souvenirs as he slipped his sneakers back on.

“Aaron, he’s your son. I’ve loved him as long as I’ve loved you, maybe even longer.”

He stood up once again, that stupid smile not willing to leave his face any time soon.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“Must’ve been something pretty good.” You said with a laugh, which he silenced by placing his lips on yours. You hoped the butterflies you felt now would be there every time he kissed you, no matter how many years have passed.

“Like that.” You said once he pulled away. His dimples were showing now, and you wished that you could take a picture of him in this happy moment and remember it for the rest of your lives.

“I’ll call you tonight.” He said and opened the front door.

“Okay. Have fun, tell Jack I said hi.”

“I will.” He kissed your cheek before starting the walk back down the hallway. He didn’t even make it halfway before turning around, and giving you one final kiss in the doorway.

“Love you,” He said and gave you one more peck, before you shoved his shoulder. “I love you too. Now get outta here, Hotchner.”

****

tags: @simplyprentiss @michaelahah @ssahotchner99 @svrgicalhands @hotchtopic @unionjackpillow @philcoolson @tommhollandzxhaz @kathleenjasmine @canimarrypizzaornah @reaperwalking @inlovewithaaronhotchner @shelbymm11 @mrshotchner23 @tropicalwrites @averyhotchner @dreamy-moments @softhxtch @crazymar15 @theinsanespaceship15 @wecouldbreakthedistance @jeor @funnycuteandannoying @andherestograce @thisisntjuliana @captwilson @kennedyblair @lovelysunflowerxoxo @rcompton @iifaequeenii @iwaizumiee @mrsaaronh0tchner @abbeyannsmith-blog @becausehello @rinacriedpower @ssa-raye @ephemeral-barnes @slxtherinchxser @baueoud @lieswithoutfairytales @hug-a-bug-boo @blogmythoughts @freebanditghostcalzone @sugarbutterbailey

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

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whattolearntoday · 3 years

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July 26 is...

All Or Nothing Day - We all have dreams we hold back, decisions left to make, or plans uncompleted. On this day, people break free of everything holding them back. Everyone has at least one thing that they would like to overcome, need to do or want to do but might be fearful or hesitant to do so. This is the day to go ahead and do it, take that first step and go for it.

Aunt And Uncle’s Day - This holiday provides an opportunity to spend time with our parents’ siblings. It would be an excellent time to get out the old photo albums. Look through the pictures, and relive the memories of earlier days around the Christmas tree or at the 4th of July picnic or the beach vacation including those special aunts and uncles in your life. Get together with your relatives and create new memories. Remind them of all the reasons you enjoy having them in your life. Celebrate the lessons they’ve taught you and share them with the next generation.

Bagelfest Day - North Americans love this crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle bread. Served with a variety of toppings, bagels also come in a diverse flavors. In most communities, bagel shops are a staple across the country. Polish-Jewish immigrants introduced the bagel to the United States. Throughout New York City and the surrounding boroughs, they grew thriving businesses.

Coffee Milkshake Day - While a milkshake sounds refreshing at the end of July, a coffee milkshake sounds even better. The combination of creamy ice cream blended with coffee perks up even the most extended workday.

Disability Independence Day - Commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26th, 1990.The ADA provides protection from employment discrimination as well as better access to goods, services, and communications for people with disabilities.

Holistic Therapy Day - The history of Holistic Therapy is quite ancient, stretching back to the medical and spiritual philosophies of Hippocrates, considered to be one of the most important figures in the world of medicine. Hippocrates put forth the idea that focusing purely on ailments of the body wasn’t a healthy or successful way of dealing with poor health. Instead, he felt it was important to treat every facet of the human experience in order to get a complete and sustainable recovery. Holistic Therapy is making strides to help bring the practice of whole body, whole person treatment into the modern medical practice. It’s making strides, but its designation as ‘alternative medicine’ means that it has difficulty gaining ground in the medical community, and is generally treated as a form of quackery.

One Voice Day - It is a global initiative to unite all countries of the world in the reading of the Universal Peace Covenant at exactly 6 p.m. UT on July 26 each year. The Universal Peace Covenant is a 577-word pledge and plea to bring families, countries and the world together in a peaceful co-existence despite our constantly changing world. During this time individuals and groups in all parts of the world unite spiritually to declare their commitment to global peace.

#all or nothing #aunts and uncles #bagels #coffee milkshake #disability #holistic therapy #one voice

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writingsfromstarfleet · 4 years

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A Problem Shared - Julian Bashir X Reader

A/N: To the lovely Anon who asked for this, I thank you, I adore writing for this lil doctor, he’s definitely one of my favourites, it’s any excuse at this point, haha! I sincerely hope you, and everyone else, enjoys! :)x

TW: Mentions of bad mental health, if this makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip this one!

Travelling space, seeing the stars, discovering new worlds. All of this to anyone would seem like a dream. And it was, it truly was. Never had you felt more grateful to have the opportunity to study and work in space. Seeking out new planets, carrying out new experiments; it was all in a days work for you, and you couldn't be happier.

Though, while it was truly a blessing to say that this was your job, there were days and weeks where the whole galaxy seemed like it was falling apart.

For years, you had struggled with some issues pertaining to mental health, and it took its toll on you more often than not. Before you enrolled in Starfleet, you had gone through many rough patches, and many unpleasant experiences. The results were lasting, and the damage never seemed to cease. You joined Starfleet, an attempt originally at distracting yourself from your problems, and fell in love with it. After being assigned to Deep Space Nine, you vowed that you would no longer let your internal issues affect you in ways that meant you couldn't do your job.

You'd been on the station for just under a year, and had met and worked with the best set of people this side of the universe. Every single one of them were friends to you, genuine and true friends. Some you were closer to than others, but every one of them meant the world to you. The doctor, Julian Bashir, was one such person who you connected with.

Originally, you found him to be very full on, very facetious. Alas, you realised quickly that you were more or less one in the same. You shared the same interests, had the same sense of humour, and the same palette when it came to food. Slowly but surely, the bond strengthened and before you knew it, you were walking round calling Julian your boyfriend.

That made your situation all the more awkward, and you felt guilty. In the recent days, you hadn't been feeling yourself, and you knew that it was another bad phase that was oncoming, one you had promised yourself you would let in no more. Still, it came. You became quiet, almost avoidant of your peers, which caused them to grow concerned. Not only that, you pushed Julian away, too, spending less time than normal with him. Your friends turned to the good doctor for answers, and were just as shocked to find he had none as he was that you had been avoiding everyone.

Julian didn't understand; you had always been such a happy and free spirit. It was very rare he would ever see you sad, though when he did it was usually a nightmare, or a past memory, or even a bad away mission. All things he helped fix with a good cuddle and words of reassurance. Though, this time, he felt there was something more underneath, he didn't need to be a doctor to see it. This wasn't an ordinary sad spell, and you'd be a fool to try and hide it from him.

All day you sat in your quarters, tears rolling free and fast. You were exhausted, however you weren't sure if it was from the lack of sleep, food, or the amount of crying you had done. Dragging yourself up, you traipsed over to the replicator and grabbed a glass of water and a bagel. Unable to force yourself to eat, you instead sipped on the water, standing against the wall and staring into space, as it were.

The ringing of your door took you out of the trance you were in, and you just stared at it. You couldn't say you were certain who it was, but you had a feeling it was Julian. And if you were honest with yourself, the last thing you needed was a lecture. Feeling bad for even keeping your issues from him, though, your heart decided it was probably best to open the door. Your brain said otherwise, and kept you stood on the spot instead.

"Please, Y/N, don't make me use the override." Hearing his voice sent a rush of calm through you, even in your drained state, and you picked up on the exasperation of his tone. He was stressed. You remembered when he had told you that he wouldn't ever use the override code on your door unless it was absolutely necessary; he saw it as invasion of your privacy. But, even if he did, you couldn't blame him, knowing he must be worried sick.

Silence fell again and the door still hadn't opened. Figuring he had left, you took yourself to your be and wrapped yourself entirely in your blankets, feeling the warmth as somewhat of a comfort. You were between sleep and consciousness, and the sound of the door opening this time caught your attention. You laid still.

"Y/N..." the familiar voice spoke in almost a whisper, and you were met with Julian's concerned face as he knelt before you. You stayed lay down, cocooned within your blanket, and he reached out to run a hand through your hair, concern lacing his face. "What's wrong?"

You sniffed, having no answer. You truly didn't know, you had nothing to say. Your thoughts ran away with themselves, and you felt like you were slipping into past mindsets, something that scared you.

Julian looked down, almost as though he was going to cry himself, and even in your current state, it broke your heart to see. He cared so much, and you still hadn't told him anything.

"Julian," you began, reaching a hand out of the blanket to cup his face. "Come here." It wasn't so much of a statement as a question, your voice hesitant and low. He looked at you with shimmering eyes, and you lifted the blanket up. Julian realised, and climbed in beside you, immediately encasing you in his arms. You buried your head into his chest, arms resting around his middle, and cried. You cried out everything you had left, every single thought and feeling you had running round, and he let you.

Julian knew you needed this, and he lay with you without question. Feeling your crying had ceased, he spoke ever so gently so as not to startle you.

"Y/N-" he began, but you looked up at him and cut him off, not impolitely.

"I should have told you a long time ago," you started, shifting so that Julian could hear your words. "I've struggled with mental health issues for almost ten years now, and I've had a troubled past. Every now and then, it get's bad, really bad. Some days, I can't even leave my bed, some days I can. It hasn't been this bad in over three years, and I got scared, which is why I shut myself off from everyone. I- I panicked, Juli, I didn't know what to do, I-"

You stopped as you felt your head twang in pain and you choked up. Having no tears left to cry, you laid your forehead on his chest again. He stroked the back of your head, running his hand through your hair once more.

"Y/N, listen to me. This, isn't an issue. This isn't something you ever have to deal with alone, it's not a nice experience. You have a great support unit around you, everyone was asking about you and if you were well, you know? They all care. And so do I, as well you know. This breaks my heart to see, the fact that you thought you had to go through this alone. You aren't ever alone."

"I know, but I just didn't want to push my issues on anyone else. I vowed to myself that when I finished at the academy, I wouldn't ever allow these kinds of mindsets to ruin my work ethic, and I guess that didn't work out well, did it?"

Your dry humour made him chuckle; he marvelled at how you handled situations with humour, even when the circumstances were dire.

"You are far too proud, Y/N, you astound me," he chuckled slightly, before returning to his previous seriousness. "In all honesty, you needn't ever have to worry about talking to me with things like this. Not only am I a doctor who's trained to deal with this, I'm your boyfriend, and I love you far too much to let you just suffer. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you com to me? I could have given you a prescription.."

"I- really, I don't know. I just panicked, I never wanted these feelings, these thoughts, to ever come back, and when they did, I didn't know how to react, I'm sorry, Julian."

He wrapped his arms around you again, burying his head into your hair. Kissing the top of your head, he spoke once more, the same softness his voice always carried with you.

"Never apologise, I understand. We are going to work through it, and we are going to be alright. I'll prescribe you something to help in the morning, alright? You have to promise me that this is the last time you struggle alone. Don't hesitate to call on me if you need me, it's why I'm here. I can't stand the thought of you keeping this battle to yourself. We'll win together, we'll get through it. Promise me?"

You managed a smile up at him, your mood already somewhat lifted.

"I promise, thank you, Julian. Somehow, you've always got the right thing to say."

"Anything for the person I love the most. You are never a burden, remember that. A problem shared is a problem halved."

You stayed like that for the night, cuddled into Julian's side as he told you stories of his past ventures to take your mind off things. It worked, and you couldn't have been more thankful. You promised yourself things once again, but this time, you had told yourself you weren't ever going to keep things from Julian. You couldn't break his heart like that.

"I love you, Julian." Your voice was heavy with tiredness, and you felt him smile into your hair.

"And I you, Y/N. I always have, and always will."

You slept that night in content, knowing that any battle you faced was won with Julian by your side. He was your rock, and with him, you were safe.

#tw: mental health #tw: depression #star trek #star trek imagine #star trek x reader #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #deep space nine #ds9 #julian bashir #julian bashir imagine #julian bashir x reader #x reader #imagine

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

CSI: Rogers and Barnes- The Serious Cereal Serial Killer

Episode 7- Damp Embers

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: Oh dear…following every drunken night there’s a morning after. Only on this one someone else turns up dead.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT (but who between?????Hmmmmmmmm)

NSFW or No Under 18s…

Episode Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark (Yeah, not sure anymore, even we’ve lost track of her hating him or not.)

Song for Episode: Demons At The Door by Sleeping Wolf

A/N: This entire series contains dark humour (CSI + Brooklyn 99=CSI Steeb) Avengers and Stark Spangled Banner Easter Eggs and jokes. You don’t need to have read the SSB series to understand or enjoy this, but we’ve used the Universe to spin this off from so somethings might puzzle a few of you if you ain’t, but feel free to ask. Also, our knowledge of American Policing and Brooklyn is limited, so bear with us if we slip up, but at the end of the day this is a fiction so we’ll claim any mistakes as creative license!!

As always we live for re-blogs and comments

CSI Rogers and Barnes Master List

Main Masterlist

“I never saw it coming to this, I never thought we could fall so far. Why do we always burn the bridges, and this is how we always, we always fall apart.”

To say he had a wicked hangover would be the understatement of the year. It was more than that, it was a textbook hangover with an extra of headache meets rage, self-flagellation and guilt. All-in-one pack and ready to go. That was Steve Rogers the morning after, or rather the afternoon after, as he looked at his own reflection in the en-suite mirror.

Was it afternoon? Steve thought as he absent-mindedly examined the bags under his ocean blue eyes and scratched the stubble on his face. He was looking forward to growing his full beard again. He would stop looking like he was barely legal at the bars and would regain his Captain stance. Besides Katie had always loved his beard.

Katie.

He winced at the memories of the previous night and decided to wipe them clean before they rotted his brain, or what was left of it. He peeled his boxers off and got into the shower unit trying to decide between soothing his aching muscles and heart with hot water or numb them with cold water.

Cold water it was. And fifteen minutes later Steve stood facing the curtains of his bedroom windows, dressed in washed blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. He hesitated for a second before throwing the curtains open wide with a swift movement followed by a groan as he closed his eyes, still too sensitive to sunlight. Damned hangover.

He took his phone from his night stand and placed it in his back pocket after checking he had no missed calls or messages. Nothing. Radio silence. Was that a good sign? Sure it was, right?

He sighed before leaving his bedroom. Facing Bucky would be as tough as opening those damned curtains, but he needed caffeine and some food. He poured some of the coffee Bucky must have brewed before into his breakfast mug and made himself a grilled cheese sandwich sided with an extra painkillers dose.

“Look who’s back from the dead” Steve heard Bucky yell from where he leaned on the kitchen doorframe.

“Shhh. Keep your volume low, will ya?” Steve practically begged in response.

“The Golden Boy of Brooklyn Police Department is hungover, ladies and gentlemen.” Bucky said after laughing loudly.

Steve groaned and sat on a stool at the breakfast bar to eat his food shooting daggers at him.

“How the mighty have fallen.” Bucky chuckled sitting on another stool facing him.

“Fuck off Bucky, I feel like crap.” Steve glared at him biting his sandwich.

“You sure look like crap.” Bucky shrugged.

Steve saw Bucky squint his eyes at him and open his mouth to speak, but he hesitated for a few seconds and closed it again.

“What? Spit it out.” Steve demanded as he sipped from his mug.

“I was just wondering… Is Wanda here or….?” Bucky asked.

“Bastard!” Steve shouted at Bucky, and he saw a playful cheeky smile on his friend’s face. Steve sighed and shook his head “I’m not with Wanda, nor planning on being with her. You know all too well I only want….” but he didn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t bring himself to pronounce Katie’s name. Let alone give Bucky any more ammo to continue teasing him on the subject.

“But you kissed Wanda.” Bucky said nonchalantly as he bit a plum he had retrieved from the fridge.

“I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me and I stopped it!” Steve raised his voice.

“Yet you made her believe she stood a chance to do it.” Bucky added. “You were practically all over her sat in that booth.”

“I wasn’t…” “Steve, you had your arm round her.” Bucky scoffed “You were leaning into her, laughing at her. Man, I know you’re an idiot when it comes to women but come on!”

Bucky saw Steve stiffen on his stool and for a moment almost took pity on him before he decided not to. Someone had to try and talk sense into the idiot and he was sick and tired of this stupid dance the pair of them were engaged in. “Look, pal. I’m only saying it’s your fault Wanda made a move on you. I warned you a thousand times and still last night you didn’t stop her until it was too late. So you fucked up and ran.” he said pointing at him with the plum.

“Go fuck yourself Bucky! You know full well I didn’t run anywhere. I sank almost a full bottle of Knob Creek at the bar.” Steve winced at the pounding headache increased at the tension of the conversation and raised voices.

“Yeah, I know. Typical of Captain Slow.”

“Captain Slow?” Steve looked at him.

“Yeah, Sam coined it but it serves you well. You’re the one to blame for Katie leaving with flash fire dude. You know that, right?” Bucky insisted.

“Bucky, just don’t” Steve warned him.

“Don’t what. You don’t want me to tell you to stop being a whiney bitch and go get your girl once and for all?” Bucky said sternly looking directly into Steve eyes before muttering "Or what fire dude has left of her that is…”

“Buck.” Steve said in a warning tone as he punched the table in sheer anger.

“Go ahead, take your frustration out on the furniture. But I’m telling you this, punk. If you don’t man up and do something about it, I don’t wanna hear you talk about Katie again.” Bucky spat at Steve before storming out of the kitchen.

“Jerk!” Steve hollered for Bucky to hear. He watched Bucky leave before he groaned and dropped his head, banging it against the breakfast bar. The problem was he had no argument against anything Buck had said. He had been an idiot. He had indulged Wanda, simply because seeing Katie with that overgrown frat jerk had stirred that green eyed monster and that stupid little kid from Brooklyn had reared his head. And just as he and Katie had been getting back on good terms too.

With another sigh he wrenched his head off the counter, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reaching for it, he took a sharp intake of breath when he saw a photo of him and Katie filling his screen. A photo he remembered taking at Coney Island some 2 years previously. He was pulling a ridiculous face as Katie was reaching up to grab his chin, laughing as she did so. Such an unadulterated moment of pure happiness….

“Hi…” he said softly, bracing himself for what was to come, but to his surprise there was no angry

words, no sarcasm, nothing but professionalism.

“Hey.” she said softly “Look, I’m sorry to bother you but we just got a call about another body.”

“Shit.” Steve sighed “Where?”

“The Baseball field in Sunset Park.” she said. “Found by a guy who was taking his 2 kids to play ball. Uniform went down to check it out and then called us. We’re on our way down there now and Tony’s gonna meet us. I’ve sent Thor’s to come get you. Figured you’d need a lift seeing as you’ve no car”

“Thanks.” he said, genuinely grateful she’d thought of him.

“No problem. See you in a bit.”

He stood up, dropping his plate into the sink before he headed into his room to grab his shoes.

“Bucky!” he yelled as he re-emerged from his bedroom.

“You leaving?” Bucky asked turning towards him from his spot on the couch.

“Yes, Katie called. We have another body. Sunset Park” Steve explained as he put his black leather jacket on.

“Shit. Want me to drive you down there?” Bucky offered.

“No. It’s your day off and Katie sent Thor to come get me.” Steve told him.

“Ok. That’s nice of her considering…” Bucky trailed but stopped seeing Steve shooting him a warning look. Right not the time, Bucky thought to himself, give the man a break, as he raised his palms.

“Are you going out tonight?” Steve asked as he grabbed his wallet and keys.

“Maybe. Who knows? I’ll go with the flow.” Bucky said settling back further on the couch putting his feet on the coffee table in front of him and taking the TV remote.

“Take your feet of the coffee table.” Steve ordered.

Bucky was about to mock salute him when Steve phone’s beeped.

“Gotta go. Thor’s waiting. Don’t do anything stupid till I get back.” he smiled at Bucky and walked away.

“How can I, you’re taking all the stupid with you.” Bucky yelled back and returned his feet to the coffee table when he heard the door of the flat close behind Steve.

******

“Good afternoon, Captain.” Thor greeted when Steve entered the patrol car.

“Good afternoon, Thor.” Steve greeted back buckling his seatbelt.

Steve saw Thor look at him with a frown before asking.

“Are you unwell, Captain?”

“Been better.” Steve just said, not wanting to discuss the events of the previous night with Thor.

“Rough night?” Thor insisted as he pulled away.

Rough last nine months Steve thought to himself.

“You could say that. Woke up with a terrible hangover but I’m feeling a bit better now.” Steve explained.

“Ha!” Thor laughed “Little Stark is also suffering I believe. She certainly had a wild night. Barfed up the remnants of her breakfast bagel before I came to collect you!” A wild night? Great, that’s all he needed to hear.

Steve took a deep breath and looked at Thor. “How come you are never hungover seeing as you drink like a fish?”

“Well, it’s been always like that. You see my father used to give us this mead he brewed himself when we were kids.” Thor explained, his eyes glinting at the reverie.

“Your father gave you alcohol?” Steve asked surprised.

“Yes, that he did. He was like a God to us. It was funny. We played hide and seek and my brother used to play dead.” Thor roared with laughter. “Deceitful bastard!” he added serious now.

“Were you guys close?” Steve asked Thor. His bizarre stories were proving a great distraction from his own drama.

“We had our moments. We grew up together, my sister though…” Thor trailed.

“Wait. You have a sister?” Steve enquired.

“Yeah. But she fled the nest when she turned 16. Father went mad at her and kicked her out. Living with her was hell. She liked to kill my snakes, I love snakes!” Thor said his voice sad now.

“What the…?” Steve was about to ask but let it go when he realized Thor was stopping the car not far from the baseball field in Sunset Park.

“We’re here, Captain.” Thor announced.

Steve nodded and unbuckled his belt. When he stepped out of the car he saw Tony perched by a body lying on the grass, Nat and Katie standing by his side. Steve sighed before beginning to walk towards them. Certainly, his guardian angel had to be mocking him or that was what he thought when he saw Katie was wearing a tan leather belted jacket with those damned matching knee high boots with the small heel. He’d be lying if he denied those boots did things to him.

“You look like crap” Tony said as they approached and for a moment the Captain thought he was talking to him until Katie spoke back.

“Eat shit”

“Mind you I’m not surprised.” Her brother folded his arms “Crawling in this morning at half 2.”

“Ok you’re talking and my hangover is getting worse, see the correlation?” Katie groaned.

“Happy told me he saw you outside the compound, eating Storm’s face…wait till I tell Reed.” Tony arched an eyebrow as Steve’s heart sank.

“Fuck off Tony, I was wasted” she shook her head and Steve could tell she was avoiding his gaze.

Not that she had any reason to, not really, they were both single after all.

“Ok, so what have we got?” Steve asked.

“Male, between 45 and 50” Tony spoke. “Initial examination shows cause of death was the same as the others, blunt force trauma, and there’s been further escalation in the violence as you can see…“

Steve glanced and winced. The victim’s face was covered in blood, so much so it was hard to make out any particular features.

"Just like one huge, red skull eh cap?” Tony said. “I’d estimate the fatal blow was the one to the back of the head but he took a few to the front too.”

“Cereal?”

“Yeah.” Tony held up a bag “I don’t know what kind but I’ll get it back to the lab. And before you ask, I estimate he has been dead approximately 10 to 12 hours.”

“Again no evidence he was dumped.” Nat offered.

“So he was killed here at…” Steve glanced at his watched “some point between 2 and 4 am?”

“Yeah, at a first pass. Sam will be able to narrow it down when he does the PM.” Tony nodded.

“Any identification?” Steve looked at Nat and Katie.

“Nothing on him.” Katie shook her head “but there’s a black sedan abandoned on 7th not for from the school. We ran a check and it’s registered to a Mr Johann Schmidt. Thor sent an officer round to establish whether he is at home or not”

“So like the others he drove here, presumably to meet his attacker.”

“Looks like it” she nodded.

“Any possible CCTV?”

“The school has cameras and we can check with traffic when we get back, see if they’ve got any active in the area” Nat replied.

“A few of my officers are talking to the morning staff at the all night convenience store on 7th” Thor offered “just in case”

“Alright” Steve nodded, but before he could go any further Thor’s radio crackled to life.

“This is officer Barker, 10-1…” “10-4 Barker” Thor spoke.

“Yeah, boss, there’s no answer at Schmidt’s.” the officer, known to them only as Barker spoke as they all listened “No sign of any disturbance or forced entry either.” “Understood. 10-6.” Thor instructed. He looked at Steve “Want me to send them in?” “No.” Steve shook his head “We’ll do the same as with the last 2 victims. Organise a search warrant. In the mean time we’ll need a formal identification. Thor, can you get one of your officers to identify his next of kin and locate them. In the meantime, keep the house secure, make sure no one enters. If anyone shows up I want to know about it. Then stay here, keep the scene clear whilst Tony’s team finish their investigation”

Thor nodded and turned away, issuing instructions into his radio. Steve looked at Nat and Katie “Ok, let’s get back to the station. Start doing some digging on Schmidt.” he then turned to Tony “You find anything suspicious in your search, call it in.” “Will do Cap but, if this is like the others I doubt we’ll find anything.”

“Yeah, I know.” he sighed “But I can remain hopeful, right.” “You know, I always admire your giddy optimism.” Tony quirked an eyebrow and Steve gave a huff of a laugh.

“Take it you need a lift back to the station.” Nat said and Steve nodded.

“Will you give me five minutes? I’ll catch up with you guys, need to sort something out with Tones.” Katie asked. And though the question was directed to both of them, Steve could clearly see she was still avoiding looking directly at him.

“Sure.” Nat said turning to walk towards her car. Instructing Steve, who had now hidden his fists in his jacket’s pockets, to follow her with a movement of her head.

“Sucks being called in like this, sorry.” Nat said giving him a side glance.

“Yeah well, it’s not like it’s your fault and I’m the Captain so it comes with the job.” Steve replied his sight never leaving the ground while walking.

“How are you holding up?” Natasha asked him once they reached the car.

“Woke up with this terrible hangover, not totally over it but I’m getting there.” he answered leaning on the hood of the car, arms crossed waiting for Katie.

“Not what I asked.” Nat insisted as she placed herself next to Steve.

Steve hesitated for a moment. He was pondering whether giving in to Romanoff’s questioning would result in a court martial or she would let him off the hook easily. And, as his mind was struggling to come to a decision, his eyes lingered on Katie who was now waving Tony goodbye and was beginning to walk towards them. When he turned to look at Nat he saw she was staring at him.

“She didn’t spend the night with him. She told me earlier.” Natasha said softly, not looking at him, as if they were making casual conversation.

“None of my business, Romanoff.” Steve said as sternly as he could, but knowing Romanoff he was sure she could read the glint of hope in his voice.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” she muttered as Katie was now close enough for her to hear them.

“Thanks guys.” Katie said once she had reached the car. “We can go now.”

Just as Natasha opened the driver’s side, Steve motioned to open the right back door for Katie to get in.

“Erm.. Steve… I know you’re taller and the Captain but I really need to ride shotgun or I’m gonna puke.” Katie pleaded.

“Sure sweetheart.” he conceded. God, was there anything in this world he would be able to deny that woman, he thought as he saw Nat raising an eyebrow at him.

“Thanks.” Katie almost whispered, opening the front door and getting in.

“You good?” Nat asked Katie as all three of them buckled their seatbelts and she adjusted the rear window mirror, positioning it so that she could watch Steve reactions or that was what Steve thought.

“You’ve already thrown up your breakfast. Are you pregnant?” Natasha asked Katie, who choked on her water, as Romanoff checked on Steve through the mirror.

“Chance would be a fine thing.” Katie said as she wiped the water she had spat over her chin and pink button down. “I haven’t had a fuck in that long I’m expecting my virginity back in the post.”

Steve didn’t say a word, didn’t bat an eyelid, didn’t move a muscle on his face. But his mind went there, that was the confirmation he needed. Nat had said they hadn’t spent the night together, which he already knew because Tony had said she had returned home earlier that morning, but now Katie was confirming they hadn’t had sex. Back to square one. Wait, what? What was he thinking? But then again Bucky’s words in his head Man up! Do something about it! Yeah, easier said than done, punk.

“It was only December… That’s not that long.” Natasha drawled.

Steve felt the heat crawling from his neck up to his cheeks at the mention of that December night. He must be bright red and he could sense Natasha’s stare on him, so he avoided it and looked through the window. He couldn’t help but look at the outside mirror on Katie’s side just to see she was ignoring him too.

“It’s long enough, trust me.” Katie shrugged.

And with that there was silence in the car for a few minutes. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. Until Natasha spoke up.

“Let’s do carpool karaoke!” Nat quipped as she motioned to switch the controls of the stereo. “Lighten up the mood a bit.”

“Fuck off, Romanoff.” both Katie and Steve said at the same time.

Steve heard Natasha laugh at them and groaned internally. Just what his head needed, two women singing along in the cabin of a car. But just as the voice of Carrie Underwood performing Before He Cheats filled the space he saw Katie still a little before she glanced at Romanoff who looked at her.

“Turn it over if you want…” “No, it’s ok….” Katie said with a shrug, as she began to hum the song. And Steve was thrown back to a karaoke night less than a year ago.

“I don’t believe it… Clint mumbled. Steve turned his head to see what his annoyance was and almost choked on his beer

"Seriously?” he mumbled, watching as Katie walked into the bar, hand in hand with Ward.

“What is she playing at?” Clint looked at Steve “Cap, we showed her the goddamned photos of him with that blonde broad wrapped around him, eating his face and she’s…”

Steve didn’t say anything as Clint trailed off, instead he simply observed Katie from afar as she walked across the room, stopping to say hi to Peralta and Santiago. She looked up, caught Steve’s eye and smiled at him. He smiled back and the smile slipped slightly as Ward dropped a kiss to her cheek and headed over to the bar.

Katie made her way over to him and Clint, holding her hand up in an instruction for them to keep quiet.

“I know what you’re gonna say…” she said, her voice dropping slightly as she cast an eye over to Grant, “And trust me, it’s taken me everything I have in me not to punch the cheating fucker in the face.”

“What are you still doing with him?” Clint practically exploded.

“You’ll see.” she said, and Steve arched an eyebrow as he saw the mischievous glint in her eye.

Steve looked at her and she shot him an innocent look and he snorted. She was anything but innocent.

“No Peggy?” she asked, looking round.

“No.” Steve said, shrugging. Truth be told they’d had an argument before, another one, this time about him leaving the milk out of the fridge. Ridiculous really, but over the last 6 months they’d been arguing constantly over stupid things like that. His last weekly email to Bucky had seen a reply telling him to finish it with her, but you don’t just walk out on the person you love when the going gets tough without trying to work it out. Certainly not in his books anyway, and especially not after 4 years. She was leaving for London in a few months to take up a 6 month placement with the force over there so maybe the time apart would do them some good. And when she came back…well, that’s when he was intending on popping the question. He looked at Katie who was eyeing him suspiciously and he hastily turned the attention back to her. Dropping his voice lower still he gently placed his arm on her shoulder “You ok?”

“Not at all?” she said, shaking her head and he could see she was fighting tears “I found out my boyfriend of 2 years, who moved in with me less than 4 months ago has been fucking someone else behind my back. Nothing about that is ok…”

“Come ‘ere… ” he said, opening his arms but she shook her head, wiping her eyes.

“I don’t want him thinking anything is wrong…gonna ruin my plan.” she said.

“What plan?” Clint pressed again.

“Like I said, you’ll see…”

They didn’t have to wait that long. The karaoke started and Peralta was first up with his rendition of 'Sweet Caroline’, then came Thor and 'Don’t Stop Believing’, which Steve was actually surprised was pretty good. It had them all dancing and cheering anyway. Then a few more, Steve all the time side eyeing Grant and Katie, the man pawing all over her. It was all the Captain could do to not lay him out. At one point he lost sight of Katie as she disappeared for about 10 minutes but the next time he looked for her, she was back, drink in hand, chatting to Natasha. And then to his surprise, Katie’s name was called. Steve and Clint shared a glance, they both knew Katie had a phenomenal voice but she NEVER did karaoke. The only time they ever heard it was in the car or when she was singing to something absentmindedly in a bar or a club. He saw Grant give her a surprised glance and she winked at him, leaning up to give him a kiss before she walked up to the small stage and took the mic.

And then Steve saw the title of the song on the screen and choked on his beer as his attention turned to Grant, whose smug grin had most certainly slipped. As she sang the words to the song, her eyes locked on Ward’s, Clint began to chuckle and Steve couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across his face as she sang. The song couldn’t have been more perfect, talks of cheating with a bleach blonde tramp…it was perfect, and the ultimate way to embarrass Ward, his smooth, composed front was fast ebbing away as the song went on, and as she launched into the final chorus, Steve realised she was changing the words as she sang.

“And I dug my keys into the side, of your pretty little silver Audi A5,

Carved my name into your leather seats…

I took a socket wrench to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tyres,

Maybe next time you’ll think before you cheat…”

Steve saw Ward slip his hand into his pocket, swallowing, and then he glared at the stage. Katie dug into the rear pocket of her jeans and waved his keys at him, tossing them carelessly to the dance floor. As Katie stopped singing, the room fell silent and Ward strode forward, picked his keys up and practically ran from the bar. Katie took a deep breath, raised her chin defiantly and stepped down off the stage as chatter broke out again. Steve strode towards her, the same time Peralta, Clint, Diaz and Nat did, and she waved them all away insisting she was ok. Steve, however, slipped his hand into hers and dragged her to the bar.

“Have you really done his car over?” he whispered as he ordered them a bourbon. She nodded.

“Don’t worry, there’s no CCTV.” she shrugged. “I’ll deny it. Plus, I have a feeling I could summon about 13 different alibis if I wanted. Surprising how many people I will have been with all night whilst here…”

She took her drink in a shaking hand and necked in in one, just in time to hear Ward yelling across the bar.

“Uh oh…” she shrugged, sliding her empty glass across the bar as she turned to face him. “Don’t even try to deny it, Grant. You were spotted. On camera no less.”

Ward spluttered a little, before he took a deep breath. “Katie, honey, listen…”

“No Grant, I won’t.” she said, shaking her head “I told you the last time I wouldn’t take you back a second time…and, well…” she shrugged and from behind her, Steve could see her shoulders start to shake. “How could you?”

“I know, I’ve been an idiot…” he said, gently stepping towards her. He reached to grab her arms but she jerked back and almost fell into Steve.

“I got you…” he said gently as she moved back to step besides him. His arm dropped protectively round her waist and he turned his eyes to Ward.

“i think you better leave.”

“This has nothing to do with you Rogers.” Ward spat “Might have known you’d be there ready to swoop in.” “Oh have you heard yourself?” Katie snapped “He’s my friend, my best friend.”

Ward looked at Steve again, the Captain holding his gaze before Ward turned to Katie. “Kay…”

“You know I hate that name.” she shrugged “But I never bothered about it until now. Go away Grant. I’ve nothing to say to you. Don’t bother coming home tonight either. Your shit will be in bags outside the apartment tomorrow.” she spoke, before her voice took on an almost amused tone “Although you’ll need to collect it in an Uber, obviously…or maybe your blonde tramp can help…” At that Steve saw the anger cross Wards face and he stepped forward again “Now listen to me you little bitch…” He didn’t get any further, Steve stepped in front of Katie and shoved him hard in the chest “Don’t you dare speak to her like that…” “Back off…” Ward said, shoving him back. “This is between me and her…” “And she told you she has nothing to say…” “He’s right.” Katie said from behind him

“So, like I said, I think you better leave.”

Ward drew himself up to full height and for a second Steve thought he was going to punch him, which, would suit him as it would give him an excuse. Instead, he looked round the Captain at Katie who was stood behind him, her shoulder brushing the back of his arm.

“Don’t’ think I won’t; be pressing charges over my car.” he snarled.

She shrugged. “Please feel free, I’ll even take the statement from you myself if you want.” Ward glared at her, than he glanced at Steve, who arched an eyebrow. Ward laughed, bitterly “lemme guess, she was with you the whole time…” Steve merely shrugged, a grin on his face. Ward scoffed, looked once more at Katie before he turned and walked off.

“Fuck you…” Katie called loudly, and Steve turned to see her raised the middle finger of her right hand in the air, not even looking at Ward. About 30 seconds later she broke down.

He’d taken her back to his that night, sat on the couch as she cried and cried, simply holding her, stroking her hair until she fell asleep. He’d then covered her with a blanket, left a glass of water on the coffee table for her and headed to bed. Where he’d had another blazing row with Peggy about the fact he’d brought her home…

“You seen him since?” Steve asked Katie cautiously when he returned to reality.

“You know I ain’t. You were there the last time, when you and Tony kicked him out of my flat and then you changed my locks.” Katie answered her eyes lost on the road her head against the head rest.

“You ok, doll?” Steve asked her softly. He knew Grant Ward was still a sensitive topic even if she denied it.

“I’m fine. It feels like it was a lifetime ago.” she replied pursing her lips, her eyes not leaving the road.

*******

“Cap?”

Steve looked up from where he had been re-reading some notes in his office to see Natasha beckoning him over.

“You got something?”

“You could say that.” she mused. “I just finished the background checks and it turns out our man worked at the German Embassy, something to do with visas, but that’s not important….”

“O-kay…” Steve said, waiting for her to finish, but it was Katie that spoke next.

“Sara Klein was a Translator…and guess where she worked out of?” Katie looked at him her eyebrow raised, excitement in her tone. Steve, understanding immediately looked at her, smiling slightly.

“Another link to the Rumlow case.” he said, folding his arms.

She nodded. “We just need to link Ross to it.”

Steve turned to Natasha “We got anything from Tech on the phone records?” “We won’t until Monday.” she shook her head.

The three of them both fell into silence, all pondering something before Katie stood up, grabbing a few pads of Post Its off her desk.

“I’m gonna go over the stuff in the incident room.” she said, “See if I can find anything…” Steve nodded and watched her go.

“You know Diaz was gonna stab you in the heart last night?” Natasha blurted out once Katie was out of sight. “But, I stopped her. You’re welcome.”

Steve turned, pouting and was about to ask Nat what for but he decided against it when his eyes met her warning stare, it had ‘don’t play dumb with me, Rogers’ written all over.

“I didn’t kiss Wanda, she kissed me.” Steve protested.

“Yeah, I know. But she doesn’t” she said pointing with her thumb to the corridor that led to the incident room. “That’s the only reason she left with Storm.”

Steve sighed, deep down he knew Nat was right and he knew better than to start an argument about his love life with her.

“I hate what you did to her. And I’m not talking about last night.” Natasha said.

“You know…” Steve looked at Natasha. It was more a statement than a question. He knew that she knew, he’d overheard the conversation between the two of them a few weeks ago but he was still surprised that Natasha was admitting to it.

“Yes, she told me. She needed someone to pour her heart out.” she shrugged.

“If it had been me you had ran out on, I would have ripped your head off and used it as doormat.” she said between gritted teeth “But, I want you two together so…”

“Nat, look…” Steve began to say.

“Don’t Nat me, Rogers.” she said between gritted teeth “You two belong together, that I know. So, stop dancing around each other and do something about it. Oh, and not creating chaos while trying would be nice. I’m trying to wipe my ledger, Rogers, help a girl out, will ya?”

Steve nodded smiling softly at her and she nodded back patting his shoulder.

“Look, why don’t you get off.” he said. “It’s getting late and there’s nothing more we can do now.” Nat nodded “Sure thing Cap.”

Steve smiled at her and as he headed out of the office and strode down the corridor. As he walked he felt his phone go and he pulled it out to read a text from Bucky.

“I’m out for the night, Punk. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…or do do something I woud…read into that what you will…” With a roll of his eyes he slid his phone back into his pocket and opened the door to the Incident Room, Katie was sat on the desk, her legs swinging as she stared at the board he noticed was now littered with coloured post it notes.

“What am I missing?” she sighed “Steve, there has to be something here that links Ross to this, I can feel it I just…” she slammed her hand on the desk and sighed, rubbing at her temple. Steve remained silent for a moment as she frowned and then moved towards the board.

“Bucky and Clint followed up on the whole goat hair thing, right?” she said.

“Yeah…” “Well look at this.” she said, beckoning him over. He crossed the room and looked to where her finger was pointing. It was a line on one of Ross’ Bank Statements.

“Green Bale Animal Feeds…” he frowned.

“Yeah, why would he be buying stuff from there?”

“To feed animals.” Steve pondered, and then his brain suddenly clicked as he looked at her “But we didn’t’ find any evidence of Ross having a farm or animals of his own…”

“Could be a screen for something…” she shrugged.

Steve debated it for a moment before he grabbed a post it, wrote the letters FFI- For Further Investigation- and slapped it on the paper before he turned to Katie “Honey, its late, I just sent Natasha home and I think you should go too.” “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” she said, “Not much else we can do…” “Well get yourself home, I’ll be right behind you once I’ve sorted an Uber.” “Still no car?”

“Got a hire arriving Monday” he shrugged.

She took a deep breath, “Don’t call an Uber. I’ll drop you.” “You sure?”

“Course.” she nodded “What are friends for?”

“Ok, well gimme 5 and I’ll grab my jacket and shut everything down.” he smiled. She nodded and he turned to go, pausing slightly to look back at her before he headed to his office. This was a good sign, right? She’d been ok with him all day and was now offering him a lift home…

Closing his computer down, he turned off the lights to his office and smiled as he looked up and saw Katie at her desk, pulling on her jacket. She paused and rummaged in her drawer, her face frowning.

“Lose something?” he asked, shutting the door to his office. “Yeah my emergency chocolate.” she moaned “Just when I’m ready to tackle food I can’t find anything.” “Well…” Steve began “Bucky’s out tonight…if you want, I mean, only if you want, we could swing by the diner grab some hangover busting junk and slob out at mine…” “Been a while since we did that.” she said after a pause, with a small smile.

“That a yes?” he said, raising his eyebrow, grinning.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, the smile still on her face “Fine, but I’m picking the movie.” ******

After eating all the greasy food their system was able to process on one go and a couple of beers each, they were snuggled on Steve’s couch watching Seven. Katie’s pick, “For research purposes” she claimed, nothing to do with the fact she thought Brad Pitt was hot, at all.

“Tracy Mills looks an awful lot like Pepper.” Steve mused, his eyes on the screen while he rubbed Katie’s back as her head lay on his shoulder.

“Yes” Katie giggled “You know I’ve always thought if they made a film about our lives Morgan Freeman would be a good Fury.”

“Hah, Samuel L. Jackson would play Fury better.” Steve said wrinkling his nose.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Katie conceded with a snort.

“Who do you think would play your part?” Steve asked her kissing the top of her head.

“Kate Beckinsale.” she said totally convinced of her answer and Steve chuckled.

“Possibly, she’s pretty.”

“What about you, Captain?” she said, sitting up and stretching her hand up to scratch gently at the stubble on his face. “Any handsome bearded Hollywood hot actor come to mind?”

“Quite a few now that you mention it…” he said playfully.

Steve saw her looking at him intently while she continued tracing patterns in his stubble and leaned on her hand, considering kissing the hell out of her right then and there.

“Did Wanda like it? Your stubble?” Katie suddenly asked her glance hardening and Steve felt his heart skip a beat.

“What the fuck, Katie?” he asked annoyed.

“Just asking, some women find it a bit rough.” she shrugged.

“I don’t know about that. Did you? Not like it mattered much to you when you were eating Storm’s face outside the Compound” Steve bit back, fed up with Katie bratty outbursts.

“Don’t start Steve…” Katie looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly “You have no right to lecture me considering the fact you were sat at the bar eating Wanda’s face! Talk about keeping it in-house…”

She stood up off the couch and Steve sighed. “That wasn’t…” he shook his head as he too stood, needing to make her understand “That wasn’t what you think.” “I don’t think anything Steven.” she shot back.

Steven? What the fuck?

“Oh, so I’m Steven now?” he snorted, his hands falling to his belt buckle.

“Would you prefer Captain? Or Rogers? Or ass hole?” she glared back, folding her arms.

“I prefer it when you don’t behave like a fucking brat.” he stared back, and saw her face darken as her eyes flashed angrily.

“Me? I’m a fucking brat?” she scoffed “You’re the one kicking off about me kissing someone else when you fucked me and left me!”

Steve took a deep breath as she continued, her pace and volume increasing as her rant continued

“You had your chance and you blew it, so what is this?” she threw her arms out to the sides bringing them back down with a slap “You don’t want me but don’t want anyone else to have me either is that it? Fuck you Steve, fuck you!”

“Katie, just don’t…”he said, a little wearily. He was tired of going round in this circle. Truth be told she was so far off the mark it was ridiculous.

“What? Truth hurts?” she scoffed. “You’re such a…” she took a deep breath and stopped. She pressed her lips together, shaking her head as her shoulders sagged, almost in defeat “You know what, I can’t…I can’t be here right now. We can’t keep doing this. I need to go.”

She turned to leave but Steve quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Katie…” “Go fuck yourself…” she said, jerking her hand out of his hold “Actually, no, go fuck Wanda, sure she’ll be thrilled…”

“I don’t fucking want Wanda!” Steve exploded, before he could stop himself “I want you.” There was a pause, the room falling silent. Katie’s eyes widened slightly and she swallowed as she stood, frozen to the spot. Steve let out a loud breath and ran his hand through his hair.

“You’re right, we can’t keep doing this.” he said, his voice softer “And I can’t keep hiding the way I feel. I get it, I fucked up, but I’m done looking for forgiveness…”

He stepped towards her, as she remained watching him, her eyes not leaving his for a second. And then, it was like something in his brain took over. He was done, done waiting, done trying to push his feelings down and ignore them.

“And I’m way passed asking for permission…” he said, and with that he grabbed her hips and with a sharp pull he jerked her towards him, his lips crashing to hers. It took her a second but then she reciprocated, her arms sliding up round his neck as his hands wrapped around her back, pulling her closer, pouring every single bit of emotion and frustration he’d felt over the past few months into the kiss. It was urgent, it was desperate, and he had to bite back the growl of frustration when she put her hand on his chest and pushed him away.

“Steve…” she whispered, her eyes closing as his forehead dropped to rest against hers “Don’t…”

“Don’t what?” he asked softly.

“Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish.” she opened her eyes which were full of tears and looked at him “Because…damned it Steve! It’s you, it’s always been you…” at that she turned her head away slightly, “…and I can’t cope with another rejection and…” “Shhhhh” he said gently, his hands reaching up to cup her face “Look at me…” She turned back to him and he locked his eyes onto hers “Give me another chance, please.” “But work…” she looked at him, as he wiped away the tear that had fallen down her face with his thumb. “What about that? How do I know this is gonna end up any different to last time?”

“Fuck work.” he said earnestly, because he meant it. He damned well meant it. “As soon as this case is over I’ll talk to Fury and we’ll work it out…” “But…” “But nothing! Look…” he cut her off, his eyes boring into hers as he spoke, driving his words home, her face held gently in his large hands. “This is my choice. And I know that I’m like the world’s leading authority on waiting too long but, if you give me another chance, then I swear to God I’ll never let you go again sweetheart.” He paused as more tears fell from her beautiful green eyes and he once more wiped them away as he continued “I should never have let you go last time. Watching the woman I love walk away was… “What did you just say?” she whispered, her eyes widening slightly. He swallowed, as in all honestly he hadn’t meant to say that, but fuck was it true. He did love her, he’d loved her for years and wasted so much fucking time. Well not anymore.

“You heard.” he said, swallowing before pressed his forehead back to hers, “I love you.” Silence…and for a horrible moment Steve thought she was going to push him away. But her hands slid up and wrapped around his neck, pulling him back down to her, kissing him desperately.

“Fuck I missed you…” Steve all but growled in to her mouth as she reached down for the bottom of his t-shirt and yanked it upwards, almost desperately.

“We spent one night together…” she said back, breathlessly.

“Yeah but it was a damned good night…” he said, his lips back on hers as his hands flew to her baby pink button down. His fingers fumbled on the second button and he broke away to look down. “oh fuck it…” he muttered giving a harsh tug, ripping it open.

“Seriously?” she looked up at him, he shrugged as his hands gripped her face and he kissed her again, desperately, as his hands moved round to unhook her bra. Tossing it somewhere to the side he pressed hot kisses down the side of her neck, hissing against her skin as she undid his belt and dropped it to the floor. In a quick move that made her squeak slightly, he reached down and grabbed her ass, hauling her off the floor, her legs wrapping around his waist as he backed her up against the door which led to the hallway, her back hitting it a little harder than he had intended, drawing a soft grunt from her mouth as it rattled in the frame.

“Ow…” she said, grabbing a fist full of his hair and tugging harshly so he looked at her. He gave an apologetic grin before his lips gently latched one to her neck again, sucking at the pulse point. She gave a soft sigh as he nipped at the skin before his attention moved down and he traced the swell of her breast with his mouth, his tongue flicking at her nipple, one hand grasping at her hip, the other pressing against the door by her head. She gave a low moan and her hips pushed down against the bulge in his trousers and he pressed into her, giving her the friction she was asking for. Her hands skimmed down his back, fingers tracing his spine as he pushed up again and then he couldn’t take it anymore. He set her gently on her feet and his hands flew to her jeans, undoing the button before he slid them down and she stepped out of them. No sooner had he got rid of them he hooked one leg over his shoulder as he knelt before her, shifting her soaked panties to one side. At the first touch of his mouth she cried out, one hand falling to his head, the other palms slapping against the wooden surface behind her as she pressed further into it, keeping herself up-right as she writhed at his actions.

Her taste was just how he remembered, and he couldn’t get enough. His tongue and lips worked in tandem, un-doing her lap by lap all the time begging him not to stop, which he had no intention of doing anyway until she had come undone. It wasn’t long before her grip in his hair tightened and her leg trembled slightly and he felt her stiffen above him.

“Fuck, Steve…”she stuttered, as his tongue worked her over, and he glanced up as she gave a loud cry, her head falling forward before it fell back again against the wall with a hard thud. She grasped his shoulder as her leg gave way and Steve stood up, catching her easily, a grin on his face as she opened one eye and looked at him, her pupils blown with lust, her thighs once more locked round his waist. He kissed her again, the kiss absolutely filthy as he stepped back and opened the door and walked them down the hall to his bedroom.

She knelt upon the bed, her hair falling over her face as she hooked her fingers into the belt loops of his jeans and pulled him to her, undoing his flies before she slid his pants and boxers down in one full swoop, taking him in her mouth without so much as a warning.

“Shit…” he mumbled, his hands tangling into her hair, guiding her softly as she moved, her head bobbing back and forth before she pulled away to lick along the base of his shaft and he knew then if she carried on he was going to blow his load before he’d even gotten to the main event.

With a gentle shove he pushed her back on the bed, stepping out of his jeans, reaching down for his socks before he crawled over her, pulling her underwear down. He didn’t even give her a chance to say anything before he gave her ankles a soft tug, pulling her down further on the bed, crawling between her legs. He kissed her again, hands on either side of her face as he buried himself inside of her, with a loud groan.

“God you feel so good…”his mouth moved over her jaw to her ear as he praised her, nipping at the lobe, his pace set right from the off as fast, and desperate. Because he was, he was desperate for this woman. Desperate like he’d never been desperate before.

“Stevie…” she groaned, hands clawing at his back, clearly as needy for him as he was her. Releasing one of her hands, he reached down to hook a leg over his shoulder causing her to cry out loud at the change of angle and depth as he continued to drive into her like his life depended on it. He bent over to kiss her, swallowing another loud moan as he did, feeling her sweat soaked skin slick against his.

“Fuck, baby I’m close…” he stuttered, “You close, tell me you’re close…”

“Don’t stop…” she panted, her head falling back further onto his pillow as she grasped his arms whilst he continued to fuck her into the mattress before she gave a low, sultry whimper and her eyes fluttered shut, nails digging into his bicep as she shuddered underneath him, her back arching.

“Shit, doll…” he groaned before he surrendered to the utter bliss, tumbling over the edge of the precipice he had been teetering on. With a final, deep thrust he collapsed on top of her, the room silent bar the sounds of their deep, heavy breathing as they both came down, fighting for control. He felt her hands gently move round to tangle in his hair, nails scratching his scalp and he raised his head, eyes still closed, enjoying her touch.

“Hey…” she said, still slightly out of breath and he opened his eyes to see her looking up at him, her cheeks flushed, hair all over the place and fuck, he’d never seen anything so damned beautiful in his life.

“Hey…” he smiled back, before he leaned down to give her a soft kiss, this one tender, full of love, a stark contrast from the heated, desperate ones that had been shared before. He smoothed her hair back before he pressed his forehead to hers, his nose bumping hers and she gave a soft giggle as he kissed her again before rolling off and landing on his back, eyes closed, his hand rubbing his chest. He was starting to ache a little bit, the bruises from his accident still not completely healed, and if he was honest, he’d probably over done it a little, but did he give a shit? Not one.

“You ok?” Katie asked and he turned his head to look at her, giving her a smile.

“Never been better.” he said honestly, and she smiled, leaning over to give him a kiss. She pulled away and looked at him. “Is Bucky due back?”

“Fuck knows.” he shrugged “Why?”

“Because our clothes are thrown all over the living room.” Steve contemplated that for a moment before he nodded “Good point.”

With a soft groan he heaved himself up and shot into the living room, leaving her giggling in his bedroom as he quickly collected the items along with a bottle of water and headed back into the bedroom. He dropped their clothes in a pile on the floor and smiled as he saw Katie had worked her way under the covers.

“You should have just thrown that shirt out.” she said, taking the water off him with a thanks.

“Yeah, sorry about that…” he said, a little meekly as he slid into the bed next to her “I’ll buy you a new one.” “Damned right you will, that was Ralph Lauren.” she said, offering him the water bottle.

“Fuck…” he groaned “Trust me to ruin a hundred dollar shirt.” “You telling me it wasn’t worth it?” she pouted and he chuckled, laying back, placing the bottle on his bedside table.

“Sweetheart, I’d ruin a thousand of the damned things if it ended like that each time.”

With a soft laugh she snuggled closer to him, laying her head on his chest. With a soft, contented sigh he dropped a kiss to the top of her head, his hand rubbing at her back as her leg tangled with his.

As they lay in silence, Steve’s hand softly carding through Katie’s hair, a feeling of utter contentment spread across the Captain’s chest. The stress and angst of the last few months had completely ebbed away and as they lay there in their own little bubble, totally at peace, Steve knew he’d never be as happy as he was when she was in his arms.

Steve woke some time later, with her back pressed to his chest. He realised what had woken him when she gently untangled herself from him to head into the en-suite. It wasn’t long before she came back and snuggled into him, her face pressing into his chest, his hands gently rubbing her back.

“Did you mean it?” her voice broke the silence

“Hmm?” he mumbled, still drifting in that space between sleep and consciousness.

“What you said earlier, that you love me…” he felt pull back slightly “Did you mean it?””

Ok so that woke him up. He opened his eyes and glanced down at her to see her watching him. He took a deep breath and nodded “Of course I meant it.”

She studied him for a second, her eyes bright before she smiled and leaned up to give him a soft kiss.

“I kinda love you too…” she whispered against his mouth. At her words Steve felt the huge, shit eating grin spread across his face. His hand crept into the back of her hair as he kissed her again before she pulled away, her finger tracing shapes on his chest.

“You’re thinking about something.” Steve watched her, almost nervously “I can tell. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong…not really” she said, before she looked up at him, grinning “I just realised that we’ve had sex four times now…granted 3 of those times were on the same night but, that’s by the by…”

Steve chuckled as she continued to talk. “…we’ve admitted to each other that we love one another…and you’ve not taken me on a single date yet.”

Steve blinked before he let out a soft huff “Yeah, that’s…kinda shameful. And something I’ll rectify real soon…” “Oh will you?” She asked playfully as he moved, rolling her onto her back.

“Yep.” he nodded, his left leg parting both hers “Thought I could take you to dinner one evening next week.” he said, his lips gently brushing her neck before he placed a single kiss under her ear “we’ll head into Manhattan…” another kiss as he worked his way downwards “Grab somethin’ to eat…” a peck to her collar bone as she sighed, tipping her head backwards “a few drinks…” his nose traced a path up her neck and over her chin “sound good?”

She nodded as a soft sigh escaped her mouth.

“Now, you mentioned something about 3 times in one night?” he quipped cheekily. Her eyes flew open and she gave him a grin as his lips once more claimed hers before he whispered “I can do this all night.”

@momobaby227 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @jennmurawski13 @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @navispalace @patzammit @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @disneylovingal @madzmilllz @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan @charmed-asylum

#csi rogers and barnes #csi au #steve rogers #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers x original female character #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff #clint barton #tony stark #thor odinson

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Text

Strategic Management Paper for McDonald's Corporation

McDonald’s Restaurant Corporation

Presented to

Mr. Sofronio Dulay

Presented by

Cascante, Angelo Maria Paulo S.

Cocjin, Jan Ira L.

Dato, Maria Pauline Imee DC.

Matuguina, Patricia Anne S.

Mendoza, Robert Cyrell H.

Millena, Jhun Gilbert M.

Monis, Almira L.

Navarro, Ernestine Erich B.

Nicasio, Jericho Ivan T.

Santos, Aisle Patrice D.

May 7, 2021

DEDICATION

This research paper would have not been done if it was not a part of our final requirements in Strategic Management handled by Mr. Sofronio Dulay. We, therefore, thank him for his support and guidance along our journey in making this paper.

Our parents and friends who were there as our support system all throughout the semester. The ones who were there when we were trying to find our inspiration and motivation in completing this paper.

To all of us, who cooperated with one another by doing our best in making our part in this paper and helping each other to finish their parts.

To other students who might need the information provided in this paper in the near future. May you use this paper to expand your knowledge about McDonald’s or about Strategic Management and how it contributes to a company’s success.

Most important, to the God above us all, who gave us strength and knowledge in completing this paper and make it useful for anyone who might need it in the future.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6

Internal Assessment ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 - 17

Corporate Profile ---------------------------- --------------------------------------------7

Company Vision and Mission -------------------------------------------------------- 8

Corporate Officers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9

Product Line -----------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix ------------------------------------------------- 15

External Assessment -------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 - 27

Porter’s Model Analysis -------------------------------------------------------------- 18

External Factor Evaluation Matrix ------------------------------------------------ 21

Competitive Profile Matrix ------------------------------------------------------- ----25

Key External Factor ------------------------------------------------------------------ 27

Strategy Formulation --------------------------------------------------------------------28 - 38

Boston Consulting Group Matrix --------------------------------------------------- 28

Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix ------------------------------- 31

Grand Strategy Matrix ---------------------------------------------------------------- 33

Internal - External Matrix ------------------------------------------------------------ 34

Strength - Weaknesses- Opportunities - Threats Analysis ------------------ 35

Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix ------------------------------------------- 38

Strategy Recommendation ------------------------------------------------------------ 43 - 47

Action Plan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 - 47

Conclusion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48

Financial Projection ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49

References -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51

I. Executive Summary

Brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened the first ever McDonald’s Restaurant in 1948 at San Bernardino, California. They are originally focused on burgers, fries, and shakes and offered it half the price of their competitors. This eventually caught Ray Kroc’s attention. He was the one to supply the restaurant when it started. Because of his amusement, he then formed the McDonald’s Corporation and opened his first franchised restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois later on.

This paper aims to identify five important parts that contributed in the huge success of McDonald’s today:

Internal Assessment

External Assessment

Strategy Formulation

Strategy Recommendation

Action Plan

Align with the strategic management of McDonald’s, this paper also includes the reason why a company’s strategies and decisions are very crucial in maintaining the state of the company to be sustainable for its stakeholders in the long run.

II. Internal Assessment

A. Corporate profile

Raymond Albert Kroc was an American businessman. He joined the California company McDonald's in 1954, after the McDonald brothers had franchised nine locations out of their original 1948 operation in San Bernardino (Wikipedia).

McDonald's is the largest food service company in the world. They generate more than $40 billion in sales. We have over 30,000 restaurants across six continents in over 100 countries. We have the advantages of size and a good financial position. We own one of the most well-known and valued brands in the world. In restaurant operations, real estate, retailing, marketing, and franchising, we have an unrivaled global infrastructure and competencies. In terms of social responsibility, we are a market leader. In 1948, the brothers launched the "Speedee Service System," expanding on the ideals of the modern fast-food restaurant pioneered by their predecessor White Castle more than two decades before. The original McDonald's mascot was "Speedee," a chef hat on top of a hamburger. The Golden Arches took over as the universal mascot in 1962, replacing Speedee. Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot, was first unveiled in 1965. He featured in advertisements to appeal to the children's market.

McDonald's began to really take off in the early 1960s. McDonald's popularity was boosted by the growth of automobile use in the United States, which combined with suburbanization. Ray Kroc the founder of McDonalds bought out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million in 1961, with the aim of making McDonald's the country's number one fast-food chain. McDonald's Corporation has not only grown to become the world's largest fast-food restaurant company since its launch in 1955, but it has also changed Americans' eating habits and, increasingly, the preferences of non-Americans. In any given day, over 46 million people feast at one of the company's 31,000 restaurants, which are distributed across 119 countries on six continents. Around 9,000 of the restaurants are owned and operated by the company; the rest are managed by franchisees or in joint ventures with local entrepreneurs. In 2003, systemwide sales (which include combined profits from all three categories of restaurants) exceeded $46 billion.

B. Company Mission and Vision

Vision

“To move with velocity, to drive profitable growth and become an even better McDonald’s serving more customers delicious food each day around the world.”

Mission

“To make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone.”

McDonald’s corporation provides concern to its community through serving high pleasant to the taste foods for people to enjoy eating with available convenient store hours and locations worldwide, budget-friendly prices but does not compromise the taste and service quality, and prioritize customers’ expectations. McDonald’s does not just simply provide foods, they serve great moments that allows consumers to feel good and lighthearted.

C. Corporate Officers

President and Chief Executive Officer - Chris Kempczinsk

Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Customer Engagement Officer - Lucy Brady

Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Officer - Heidi Capozzi

Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer - Francesca DeBiase

Executive Vice President and Chief Global Impact Officer - Katie Beirne Fallon

Executive Vice President, Global CIO - Daniel Henry

Senior Vice President, Global Restaurant Development & Restaurant Solutions Group - Piotr Jucha

Interim General Counsel and Secretary - Mahrukh Hussain

Senior Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer - Alistair Macrow

Senior Vice President, Global Finance - Brian Mullens

Vice President, Strategic Alignment and Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO - Mark Ostermann

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Kevin Ozan

D. Product Line

McDonald’s Corporation is a fast-food service business that offers a variety of food and beverages worldwide, mainly burgers, fries, chicken and sundaes. Since the company is established globally, there are differences in the menu offered depending on the countries, some restaurants have the specific product compared to the others. This is due to the distinction of consumer behaviors that affects the menu provided. However, the appearances, services, packaging and the consistency of McDonald’s remains the same in diverse countries that contributes in attracting loyal consumers. Also, the company provides limited products on a seasonal basis that effectively allure consumers due to its exclusive offers. The main product line of the company consists:

Burgers and sandwiches (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Fillet-O-Fish and other chicken sandwiches)

Chicken meals (McChicken, McNuggets, and fillets)

Breakfast meals (McMuffins, pancakes)

Snacks and sides (french fries, pies)

Desserts (McFlurry, soft-serve

Beverages (McFloats, soft drinks, shakes, coffee)

In the United States, McDonald’s offers a variety of full or limited breakfast meals such as biscuit and bagel sandwiches, Sausage McMuffins, and McGriddles. While in Asia, some restaurants provide meals including soups. Beef is replaced by lamb in India due to religious restrictions of consuming beef. Prawns or shrimps are offered in the countries of Indonesia and Singapore, while in Western Europe and Germany, products that contain high margins such as beer are offered. In New Zealand, meat pies are offered as it is a local favorite. McDonald’s have been able to adopt and innovate the products they offer to the market depending on the preferences of its consumers across the world. Despite the controversy in the products offered by McDonald’s as it is labeled as ‘unhealthy’, the company still aims to adjust its menu determined by consumer preferences in every country.

E. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix

IFE Analysis

The Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix is evaluated through the key internal factors of the McDonald’s Restaurant Corporation - the strengths and opportunities. The ratings that were provided in the company’s strengths are: the strength of the brand name and reputation weighted 0.12, with 4 as the rating, and a total weighted score of 0.48. The strength on the introduction of a new product weighted 0.06, with 4 ratings, and 0.24 as the weighted score. Next, the company strategy on attracting the customers, place, and their promotion weighted 0.12, with 4 as the rating, and weighted score of 0.48. The comprehensive training for the managers in the Hamburger University weighted 0.10, with 3 as the rating, and 0.30 for the weighted score. Next is the strength of global presence with 0.12 weight, 3 as the rating, and 0.36 as the weighted score. The customer’s focus was 0.06, 4 as the rating, and 0.24 as the total weighted score. Lastly, the strength in production in the marketplace with 0.12 as its weight, 4 as its rating, and 0.48 as its totality. On the other hand, the weaknesses of McDonald’s Corporation’s rating are: the undesirable images of foods with 0.08 weight, 1 rating, and weighted score of 0.08; the disregarding breakfast with weight of 0.06, 1 rating, and 0.06 total weighted score; the weak in examining the needs of their customers with 0.04 weight, 2 rating, and 0.08 weighted score; the customer service with the weight of 0.04, 1 as rating, and 0.04 as the total weighted score; the product innovation with 0.04 weight, 1 rating and weighted score of 0.04; lastly, the labor turnover with 0.04 weight, 2 rating, and 0.08 weighted score.

The overall weighted score of the McDonald’s Corporation’s key internal factor resulted in a 3.2, which indicates that the company has a strong position in addressing their internal factors that largely influence the current status of the business. Thus, the company has nothing to worry about but still can further develop what needs more improvement.

III. External Assesment

The figure portrays the five forces analysis of McDonald’s Corporation that assesses its external factors and its effects in order to determine a corporate strategy. Upon evaluating its competitive condition, the intensities established for McDonald’s Corporation’s analysis are the following:

Strong Force for Competitive Rivalry

Weak Force for Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Strong Force for Bargaining Power of Consumers

Strong Force for Threat of Substitution

Moderate Force for Threat of Entrants

Competitive Rivalry (Strong Force)

As several multinational and local food establishments offer almost similar variety of menus, the market situation leads to a more intensive rivalry. Due to this, a level of saturation has been developed and created a tougher competition within the market. Fast-food restaurants such as Jollibee, KFC, Burger King, Wendy’s and the other local restaurants in different countries are some of the competitors of McDonald’s and these firms placed a great emphasis on efficient advertisements, introducing of new deals, and widening of access for potential consumers through providing extensive franchises globally. The increasing number of competitors as well as its aggressiveness caused a strong consideration in the strategy of McDonald’s Corporation.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Weak Force)

The raw materials used by McDonald’s Corporation such as chicken meats, potatoes, and any other kitchen essentials are available in a relatively large scale of suppliers. Additionally, as the firm purchases a massive order on a regular basis, several suppliers would be much willing to coordinate with them. Negotiation of terms by suppliers is not applicable in McDonald’s strategic management as they can shift in ease with only minimal switching cost. Thus, there is a weak force in relation to bargaining power of suppliers for the corporation.

Bargaining Power of Consumers (Strong Force)

The consumers of the McDonald’s have several restaurant alternatives to choose over from the market. If the products or services offered by the corporation failed to meet the expectations of its consumers, no matter if they are loyal, new, or potential buyers, they can divert from any of the competitors with ease and largely affect their operations. As consumers may object to any price-related concerns such as price increase and shift from one restaurant to another, the customer loyalty of McDonald’s has a possibility to decrease. Therefore, developing strategies to retain consumers is crucial for the corporation that makes the bargaining power of the consumers strong.

Threat of Substitution (Strong Force)

Different varieties of products and services are readily available in the market and can affect the strategies of McDonald’s Corporation. Foods such as traditional or local, home-cooked meals, foods offered by other fast-food restaurants that are out of ordinaries, and even bakeries can be a potential alternative for what the firm has to provide to its consumers. With regards to quality and customer satisfaction, these substitutes equip competitiveness and focused emphasis that leads into a more intense rivalry and switching from alternatives does not require any cost to consumers. In addition, health concerns regarding the McDonald’s menu have been brought up as it was considered as “unhealthy meals” and later on cause health-related problems which was a factor consumers can consider to divert to the competitors. This external factor revealed that a strong force is evident in the threat of substitution.

Threat of Entrants (Moderate Force)

New competitors in the market have several barriers to break in order to threaten McDonald’s competitive advantages. As the corporation has already successfully built their brand name internationally, the entrants have a long journey to undergo to be on par with McDonald’s. These include investment in capital and in time, profitable economic scale establishment, developing an efficient supply chain, and a large-scale marketing approach in order to gain recognition from a wider range of potential consumers that plays an essential role in a firm’s success. The conditions in the market are one of the most challenging for newly established businesses as they have to excel and have an outstanding performance. Thus, it depicts that there is only a moderate force in the threat of entrants in McDonald’s strategic management.

B. External Factor Evaluation Matrix

EFE Analysis

Using the EFE matrix, we identify the main external opportunities and threats or potentially affecting an organization. For External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix. The key External Factors for Weight, Rating and Weighted Score for - Opportunities: Operates in a fast growing industry for weight of 0.10, rating of 4 and weighted score of 0.4. Capture market share globally for weight of 0.06, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.18. It can adapt to the needs of the societies and undergo an innovative product line for weight of 0.08, rating of 1 and weighted score of 0.08. Economies and competitors inspire brand loyalty and return customers for weight of 0.05, rating of 2 and weighted score 0.1. People’s attraction towards promotional offers for weight of 0.09, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.27. Demand for free-wifi versus competitive charges for weight 0.09, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.27. Introducing the new flavors and taste for health conscious people for weight of 0.11, rating of 4 and weighted score of 0.44. More US and Global Markets welcome McDonald’s for weight of 0.09, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.27. And for the key External Factors Weight, Rating and Weighted Score for - Threats: Price wars for weight of 0.03, rating of 2 and weighted score of 0.06. Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country’s health issue of high cholesterol , heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity for weight of 0.10, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.30. Healthy eating demands eroding sales for weight of 0.02, rating of 3 and weighted score of 0.06. Steady U.S. Unemployment for weight of 0.03, rating of 2 and weighted score of 0.06. Rising costs for weight of 0.06, rating of 2 and weighted score of 0.12. Lastly, Calorie counts and nutritional value posted for weight of 0.09, rating of 2 and weighted score of 0.18. For the total weighted score of 2.79. has shown that McDonald's is responding above average to its external factor. They are attempting to seize as many opportunities as possible while avoiding threats to their best.

Overall, the total weighted score of the EFE Matrix resulted in 2.79, which indicates that McDonald’s Corporation is responding to the external factors - opportunities and threats - above the average way to address these components outside the control of the company. This means that the current strategies used are enough to eliminate the potential threats that might influence every aspect of McDonald’s, also by taking the given opportunities as their advantage.

C. Competitive Profile Matrix

Competitive Profile Analysis

The overall competitiveness of a firm can be evaluated on the basis of its overall strength rating. Competitive profile matrix shows that the total weighted score of McDonald’s is higher than Jollibee, KFC and Mang-Inasal which means that McDonald’s enjoys the strongest competitive position. On the other hand, Jollibee has a net competitive disadvantage because of its lower total weighted score than McDonald’s and KFC.

D. Key External Factors

External factors are things that happen outside of a company that affect its performance. They can have a positive or negative effect. External influences are beyond the control of a company. It can only respond to them and make decisions to ensure its continued progress.

Opportunities

Operates in fast growing Industry

Capture market share globally

It can adapt to the needs of the societies and undergo an innovative product line

Economies and competitors inspire brand loyalty and return customers People’s attraction towards promotional offers

Demand For free-wifi versus competitive charges

Introducing the new flavors and taste for health conscious people

More US and Global Markets welcome McDonald’s

Threats

Price wars Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country’s health issue of high cholesterol, heart attacks, diabetes,and obesity

Healthy eating demands eroding sales

Steady U.S. Unemployment

Rising costs

Calorie counts and nutritional value posted

IV. Strategy Formulation

A. Boston Consulting Group Matrix

BCG Matrix Analysis

The need for strategy, in order to expand its existing product in a very promising market for McDonalds is very essential. McDonalds and other major fast food chains have dominated the American continent as well as elsewhere. Since 1940, McDonalds has been a largest fast food chain restaurant serving nearly 47 million customers daily and more than 31,000 customers in 199 countries worldwide. They sell various fast food items and soft drinks including burgers, chicken, salads, fries and ice creams. Especially in countries with large populations and high development rates, McDonalds uses BCG Matrix to analyze what is the current position of the company and identify that the company has the potential to grow in the fast food market.

Star

In the BCG Matrix of McDonalds, as we can see above the figure that according to the research, we came to know that McDonalds McFlurry is the star product of the company because of its high market share with the maximum market growth. The company makes money in that particular product with high investment in marketing, promotion and advertisement of the product. The company should invest more money in that product so that they can convert it into a cash cow product.

Cash Cow

In this quadrant, we can analyze that McDonalds McChicken, Fish-o-Fillet, Burgers, Sundae and Fries are the cash cows of the company because the company makes maximum profit in those products but with less cash consuming on its marketing and other departments. This product has already established its market growth, so that the company does not need to invest that much money but the company has to be alert if the cash cow products lose its appeal then it goes to the decline and might be wiped out from the market.

Dog

In this quadrant, we can observe that McDonald's Coffee is the dog product of the company with the less relieved market share and less market growth rate. Basically, this product is the charm product of the company because the company is not investing that much money to bring it into the market to increase their market share. The company is sustaining this product only on this hope that they can make it star otherwise if they are unable to do so they have to off shelf this product from the product life cycle and liquidate in the market.

Question Mark

In this phase of the BCG Matrix of McDonalds, there is a product which is named as McDonalds Chocodip Sundae is the breakeven product of the company because that product has minimum market share with the high market growth rate. Understanding that statement we can assume that this product has good market value but not generating that much revenue but if the company starts investing more and more money in that specific product, we can convert it into our star product and if the company does not do that then this product must also liquidate into the market and wipe out from the product life cycle.

Conclusion - BCG Matrix Analysis

The analysis of the BCG Matrix above depicts that newly launched McChocoDip is in the question mark quadrant because of its high growth but low market share. McDonald’s McFlurry will appear as a star due to their high market share and sales growth. Ice cream, fries and different deals are cash cows products due to their high market shares but low on sales growth. Tea, coffee and apple pie become dog due to its low market share and sales growth.

B. Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix (SPACE Matrix)

SPACE Matrix Analysis

Aggressive, Conservation, Defensive, Competitive are the four strategies belonging to the four quadrants of the Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix.

The SPACE Matrix analysis functions upon two internal and two external strategic dimensions in order to determine the organization’s strategic posture in the industry. The SPACE Matrix is based on four areas of analysis.

Internal strategic dimensions:

Financial Strength (FS)

Competitive Advantage (CA)

External strategic dimensions

Environmental Stability (ES)

Industry Strength (IS)

Every business is also affected by the environment in which it operates. SPACE Matrix factors related to business external strategic dimensions are for example overall economic condition, GDP growth, inflation, price elasticity, technology, barriers to entry, competitive pressures, industry growth potential and others.

McDonald’s focuses on the change of cash flow and income so that both of them will get the highest ranking in financial strength (FP). On the other hand, there were some troubles about the inflation rate in a few countries (SP). However, its strength in industry (IP) is very good at profit potential and growth potential because fast food became a trend in the modern world. It has to consider market share (CP).

McDonald’s should have aggressive strategy for its business:

Forward Integration

Product Development (set up more healthier food

C. Grand Strategy Matrix

Grand Strategy Matrix Analysis

McDonalds has a strong competitive position against their competitors but their market growth is slow so it is placed at Quadrant III in the Grand Strategy Matrix, it is suggested that McDonalds should have diversification strategies, unrelated diversification and joint ventures.

D. Internal - External Matrix

Internal-External Matrix Analysis

The Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix has a total weighted score of 2.8 and the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix has a total weighted score of 2.79. The outcome of the IFE and EFE total weighted scores shows that it falls on the Hold and Maintain and the company’s strategies are to be focused on market development and product development but other strategies should also be considered.

E. Strength - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats Analysis

F. Quantitative Strategies Planning Matrix

McDonalds' market share is slowly decreasing, and their production process is in reduction as a result of the fast food industry's many rivals. They can't obtain any more market share, so they'll have to develop a new plan for the market. To define key strategic considerations for the QSPM matrix, we use the EFE and IFE matrix.

(Attractiveness Score: 1 = not acceptable; 2 = possibly acceptable; 3 = probably acceptable; 4 = most acceptable; 0 = not relevant)

We point to a 5.75 score for a strong brand name, image, reputation, introduction of a new product, attracting customers, place, promotion and strength to the global presence because these factors will absolutely be related to successful expansion of the company. Moreover, expanding in new markets will be deeply relevant to the introduction of new flavors and tastes for health-conscious people and the price of its products. Demand for free-wifi will attract more customers so that support for the feasibility of the strategy.

V. Strategy Recommendation and Action Plan

Strategy & Financial Objects

Mcdonald's is one of the most prominent fast-food restaurants globally. It keeps up its commitment to giving reasonable food products, convenience, fast service, and satisfying the customers. Therefore, Mcdonald's came up with the strategy of expanding the cashless or paperless payment to all its consumers; the vibe ought to rouse a pleasant and inviting environment for consumers. It should develop a strategy of proceeding with its worldwide extension into two modern markets. These present new products will adjust the culture and conventions of the existing new markets and have better relations between the employees and consumers.

Strategic Objectives

Time Management

It is essential to manage time powerfully to guarantee that Mcdonald's runs smoothly and give the consumer a fast and better service; to prevent many consumers from waiting, each employee should have a specific job or work in the restaurant and should never mix up with other tasks and will have a lot of workload around the restaurant. Time management framework should be utilized in all exercises to supply our consumers' most excellent efficiency and viability; it not only achieves a goal but can make a consumer satisfied.

Maintain High-Quality Products

Mcdonald's should constantly have fresh, excellent, and high-quality products to give to its consumers. Furthermore, it should also have all products meet the standard of brilliance guidelines; it increases the restaurant's growth and lessens consumers to find new convenient food restaurants. Thus, making sure employees sanitize their workplace and themselves before putting all the products to their destined places. Packaging and appearance should always look elegant and applicable to the consumer's eyes.

Healthy and New Products

To increase the growth and profit of Mcdonald's, it should have not only non-healthy products or food but also healthy and beneficial to every consumer. Some consumers prepare to buy a budget-friendly prize and healthy food to maintain their shapes and maintain their diet, giving consumers healthy products like vegan foods can increase consumers loyalty. Not only that but Mcdonald's should also consider advertisements or collabs products that are in demand at the present moment; it should not only for kids but also for adults because many consumers have habits of collecting many products like toys and stuff.

Employees Growth

Engaging employees implies contributing within the most significant gaining potential accessible. Instruction and training are among the most grounded devices a proprietor can provide to staff individuals to assist them in succeeding and can be paired with the group gaining objectives to form a group culture inside the commerce. It could benefit not only the employees but also make the consumer have a satisfying service. These could help both Mcdonald's growth but also their employee's growth.

Financial Objectives

When it comes to the money-related angle, Mcdonald's primary purpose is to extend its revenue and legitimate allocation of its budgetary assets, better taste of their food products, and prioritize purchasers' expectations. Above all, one thing that ought to be acknowledged is the proper advancement of commerce when it comes to income. Appropriate promotion of the trade comes with enhancing deals since it'll pull in more customers, giving more advertisements and collaborations or eye-catching products to attract more customers. Whether a new product is introduced or old foods are recreated or reintroduced, the product must be one that consumers have been expecting and requiring. Thus, placing new products necessitates a suitable price, providing them high-quality products and a budget-friendly price.

Recommended Business Strategies

Mcdonald's has been quickly extending and growing for the last few years. During the pandemic, it must focus on the paperless payment method or strategy to ensure the quality of its service. Employees should also consider maintaining a positive atmosphere towards their customers; it will build up their characteristics and growth. They must recognize their shortcomings or the zones where they confront difficulties when working as a group—shifting their focus on making a new product and boosting advertisements that could catch the eye of its consumer. The business is also growing and benefits by having collaborations with other companies, and it could also help their revenue.

Since the beginning of 2020, McDonald's offers were up to about 4% in premarket exchange. The stock, which encompasses an advertising cap of about $167 billion, has risen about 10%. Still, Mcdonald's should also invest in their digital or modern way to serve customers, using mobile ordering and cashless payments to create more accessible, faster, and even better customer service. Moreover, they need to increase their advertising share by branching out to new undiscovered markets.

Due to the pandemic, many restaurants have no choice but to shut their door for losing revenue and consumers. However, Mcdonald's gains more opportunities with their interest; they could grab the chance to increase their sales by providing its consumers with the fastest and good service. They could also collaborate with celebrities to advertise their new or existing product; customers will be attracted to their products, affecting their income in a good way.

Mcdonald's growth and sales during 2020 up to this year are profoundly driven by the rise in value-conscious shoppers willing to use the fastest and easiest way to get food. Many customers don't have any time to cook or go outside because of loaded work, and they are working from their home cause of the ongoing pandemic. Therefore, it does increase the sales and growth of Mcdonald's.

Recommended Organizational Strategies

Mcdonald's expands its market share and franchise and provides a better way to improve its service and employees. It should have the efficiency of commerce and quality of assistance offered. Develop group aptitudes and rates, give legitimate preparation to workers, and recognize their qualities and shortcomings. In this manner, identifying qualities and shortcomings seems to offer assistance to progress their abilities and move forward their character advancement; they may greatly benefit their customers. Also, they need to understand that there are different cultures where their franchise is located. To address this kind of matter, they can train their employees on cross-cultural management. They must consider employees to have good time management and give them their specific objectives without over-burdening work and varied tasks.

Some customers are health-conscious, and they prefer the healthy and more effective way to maintain their diet. Since Mcdonald's is a fast-food restaurant, they mainly serve unhealthy and health risk food. With Mcdonald's goal to improve their customers' loyalty and to serve great moments that permit consumers to feel good and joyous, they could bring up new products such as vegan foods and diet foods that the customers prefer. Food delivery and drive-thru, especially during this pandemic, surprisingly increase because customers must stay at home. Therefore, improving their delivery and drive-thru using modern ways like cashless payment could make it easier and faster for their customers.

VI. Conclusion

This research paper identifies the story behind the success of McDonald’s and how its strategic management was built to contribute towards the uncountable achievements of McDonald’s.

McDonald’s success is achieved through its detailed strategic management. Although its market share currently decreases because of the pandemic and arising rivalries, it can still be dragged up by improvements considering the results of matrix and SWOT analysis. Developments shall be based on surveys and researches results to successfully point out details to be improved for the further achievements of McDonald’s.

This research paper shows how McDonald’s restaurant started from the bottom and reached the top through determination and continuous implementation of strategies built to make McDonald’s rage towards success. This also shows how every part of a strategy is crucial in developing a decision that will affect the state of the company and how its going to operate for the consumers and employees in a way that positively benefits the company and its stakeholders.

VII. Financial Projection

Over the years, the company of McDonald’s has been progressing to a full growth, their plan to get more customers to buy at Mcdonalds and back to the restaurant has been very successful and improving the customer's full and complete experiences when dining in and out. McDonalds is a great company to invest in stock markets, but it would not be considered a great investment for a short term. Mcdonalds has been improving these past few years with their different strategies for every branch, until Mcdonalds has a plan to change the experience of the consumer it's net sales have gone down.

In the table shown above is the McDonald’s Financial Projection, their Total Revenue in September 2020 was 5418.1% and decreased in December 2020 with 5313.8%.

Their Gross Profit in September 2020 was 2904.7% and in December 2020 was 2780.2%.

Their Total Operating Expenses in September 2020 was 2891.7% and increased in December 2020 with 3170.9%.

Their Total Income in September 2020 was 2142.9% and in December 2020 was 2526.4%.

Their Net Income in September 2020 1762.6% and in December 2020 was 1377.2%.

References

David, F. R. & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases. (16th ed.). Harlow, England. Pearson.

Gregory, L. (2018). McDonald’s Five Forces of Analysis (Porter’s Model) & Recommendations. Retrieved April 20, 2021 from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-five-forces-analysis-porters-model.

MBA Skool Team. (2021). McDonald’s SWOT Analysis, Competitors, STP & USP. Retrieved April 15, 2021 from https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/food-and-beverages/584-mcdonalds.html

Mbalectures. (2010). Competitive Profile Matrix for Mcdonald’s. Retrieved April 16, 2021 from https://mba-lectures.com/management/strategic-management/974/competitive-profile-matrix-for-mcdonalds.html

Meyer, P. (2019). McDonald’s Mission Statement and Vision Statement (An Analysis). Retrieved April 14, 2021 from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-vision-statement-mission-statement-analysis.

Nair, Smita. (2013, December 28). McDonald’s product mix: Introducing healthy items or still a death trap for consumers?. Retrieved April 14, 2021 from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-product-mix-introducing-healthy-170007512.html#:~:text=McDonald's%20menu%20includes%20hamburgers%20and,coffee%2C%20McCaf%C3%A9%20beverages%2C%20and%20other

Our Leadership, corporate mcdonalds. Retrieved April 18, 2021 from https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-company/who-we-are/our-leadership.html#top

Our Mission and Vision. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-company/who-we-are/our-values.html

Reed, E. (2020). History of McDonald’s: Timeline and Facts. Retrieved April 18, 2021 from https://www.thestreet.com/markets/history-of-mcdonalds-15128096s

Singh, K. (2019). SWOT Analysis of McDonald’s. Retrieved April 20, 2021 from https://www.marketingark.com/mcdonalds-swot-analysis.html

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rhetoricalrogue · 4 years

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31 Days of Wayhaven, Day 17

Prompt: AU Rating: PG for Nicky’s language Words: 2,222 Characters: Unit Charlie, brief mention of Units Alpha and Bravo, as well as Detective Aubrey Miller. Summary: What happens when the coffee shop co-worker and the University co-worker get tired of their partners sighing over the other and decide to take matters into their own hands.

For the @31daysofwayhaven event.

Penny rolled her eyes as she came into work, hanging her coat on the nearby staff coat rack. Nicky had gotten there earlier than she had, which meant that he got to pick the music for the day, which also meant that she was going to be in for a day of listening to him sing along with Dean Martin. Not that it was a bad thing, but they’d done an entire shift of the Rat Pack the other day already.

“You’re late.”

She grimaced as she pulled on a dark brown apron and quickly pulled the strings around her waist to make a tidy bow at her hip. “Yeah, car trouble.”

Nicky shook his head. “You really ought to sell that thing, get you a new one.”

“With what money? No, the car trouble was because my brother decided to borrow it without asking me. I woke up to a note and had to grab the bus. Then the bus wasn’t on time, so I walked the rest of the way.”

He poured her a drink, a smooth hazelnut latte with a dusting of chocolate on top that he made perfectly to her tastes. At least that was something to cheer her up on a rainy morning, especially since he was practicing his foam art and made her a graceful looking swan on top. She caught a glimpse of herself in the stainless steel overhead countertops and winced. The soft, drizzling rain wasn’t enough to soak her or anything, but it had played hell with her long, silvery blonde hair. The sleek braided bun she had put it in earlier was now a frizzed out mess and her cheeks were unnaturally red from practically running to the cafe in order to be there on time.

Penny hated being late to anything.

“You’re too soft on Lars,” Nicky told her, pushing half a toasted bagel loaded with cream cheese her way while eating the other half. “He needs to have some responsibility, especially if he’s couch surfing at your place.”

Penny chewed on her bagel. “You don’t understand, he’s my baby brother. It’s my job to look out for him. Besides,” she took a sip of her drink. “He was going out for a job interview. Hopefully this one takes.” She adored her youngest brother to pieces, and she understood that he was in a rough patch, but at the same time, she was quietly frustrated that he showed up at her doorstep without calling first, ate all her food without shopping for replacements, and left his dirty laundry on the bathroom floor. She was going to have to have a talk with him once they were home to set some boundaries down. If not, then she would happily call their eldest brother Andreas to see if he could help out before calling the big guns in and contacting their mother.

She hated to jump around in the family pecking order, but enough was enough.

“I can relate, seeing as I have a little sister, but I still say you’re being too soft on him. There’s a fine line between older sibling responsibility and being a doormat.”

“I know, and you’re right. Taking my car without my permission and making me late for work is definitely something I’m going to talk with him about.”

Nicky made a mmhm noise as if he didn’t quite believe her. “Don’t worry, Pen.” Nicky told her, changing the subject as he made his own cortado and leaned against the counter to sip on it. “You didn’t miss him.”

She was glad that her red cheeks could hide the sudden blush that she felt rush up from her throat to her face. “Miss who?”

“Oh, don’t play coy with me, donna forte!” He elbowed her in the side. “The Tall London Fog with the soft Scottish accent. The one who looks like a golden retriever if a golden retriever was over six feet tall and had dimples when he smiled.”

“Careful, you make me think you’re the one with the crush on him,” Penny muttered as she sipped on her drink.

“Please, I know I’m handsome and charming, but I’m not an asshole. I wouldn’t steal anyone from my dearest friend and co-worker.”

“You’re not stealing anyone from anybody,” she grumped.

“Maybe if you actually got off your ass and asked him out.”

“He’s a customer!”

“Like that’s ever stopped anyone that works here! I mean, have you seen what the Bravo shift is up to lately? There’s good money on when Adam’ll get the courage up to ask Miss Grande Half-Caff Nonfat Latte with Caramel Drizzle out before the end of the month.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “Adam? Admitting he has feelings for anyone? I give him a year, minimum.”

“Hello, Pot. I’d like to introduce you to Kettle.” He turned to wash out the things he’d used to make their drinks and kicked at her calf. “Speaking of not admitting feelings, here comes London Fog and Dirty Chai.”

Penny masked the sudden lurch in her pulse by twirling around and grabbing the loose leaf tea from an overhead shelf and measured enough into a French Press, adding a spice mix and a little bit of fresh ginger before pouring in hot water to steep. She grabbed the canister of lavender Earl Grey she knew he liked and did the same in a separate French Press while Nicky called out a greeting, confirming that they both wanted their usuals.

“Actually,” London Fog said, coming up to the counter. “Could I add something a little more substantial? Perhaps one of those sausage rolls and a slice of pumpkin loaf? I fear today is going to be a long one, seeing as it’s grading season.”

“Oh? You’re a teacher then?”

“He’s a professor,” Dirty Chai interjected, already setting up her laptop. She’d moved from their usual two-person table to a larger four-person one so the both of them could spread out. “Don’t let him get modest; he’s brilliant in his field.”

Penny looked over her shoulder as she brewed a double shot espresso to add to the chai. “Where do you lecture at?”

The soft question had him looking up at her with an equally soft smile before he quickly looked down, suddenly very interested in the counter’s bakery display. “Wayhaven University. I’m one of the Professors in the Folklore and Ethnomusicology department.”

Nicky took over building their order when another person came in and distracted Penny. “What a coincidence,” he all but purred. “Our dearest Penelope is studying on that campus!” He caught the sudden interest London Fog gave and leaned conspiratorially against the counter. “She’s going back for her master’s degree, if I remember correctly.”

“Oh? What study?”

“You know, for the life of me, I can’t recall. Sounds like an interesting question to ask her though, Professor…?” Nicky trailed off, realizing that neither he or Penny knew their regulars by name, only by order.

“Buchanan. Cameron.”

“Call him Cam,” Dirty Chai said, taking her order and sipping with a happy sigh. “I’m Winona.”

“Nice to finally meet you both. I’ll go warm up that sausage roll for you.” On his way to the back kitchen, Nicky nudged Penny with his shoulder, silently winking at her. She turned her face so Cam and Winona wouldn’t be able to see her expression and narrowed her eyes at her partner before going back to helping the short line of customers that had already started to form for the morning, shaking her head as the first heartfelt strings of Come Back to Sorrento could be heard coming out of the kitchen, Nicky’s smooth baritone making one of the ladies in line sigh dreamily.

Penny transitioned from building orders to taking payment while Nicky bustled in behind her on cleanup and prep duty, the two of them working well. Every so often, her eyes would stray to Cameron and Winona’s table, the two of them with their heads down and fingers clacking over their laptops. Two hours later, Cameron was looking at his watch and cursing under his breath while quickly packing his things away.

“Thanks for letting us stay so long,” he said, sticking money in the tip jar.

“It was nothing,” she told him, fiercely hoping he didn’t catch the way the tips of her ears were a bright pink. “I’m glad you could stay with me - us long enough to get some grading done.”

He smiled and she couldn’t help but mirror the same smile back. “I’d have loved to spend more time, but my office hours are going to be starting soon and I usually have a few students wanting to talk around this time of the year.”

“We’re always here in the mornings!” Oh, smooth one, Fisher, she thought, mentally kicking herself for forgetting how to talk to people when the person in question was one she had a silly crush on. Don’t flirt with customers, it’s just an awkward experience for everyone involved!

Cameron nodded. “And stopping by is always a great start to my day. Your partner mentioned you were studying at the university?”

“I am.”

Cameron shouldered his laptop bag and smiled again. “Maybe we’ll run into the other on campus then.”

“I’d like that.”

“I would too.” He blinked, as if he had been reluctant to break eye contact. “Well, I’d better get going, or else I’m going to miss some student appointments. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early!” Or so she hoped. She really was going to have to speak with Lars about him getting his own transportation. Penny sighed as the bell over the door chimed and tried - and failed - to not watch as Cameron walked down the street.

“He’s not that old.”

Penny jumped at the sudden appearance of Winona at the counter. “Pardon?”

“Cam. He’s not that old, just in case you were worried he was some stuffy professor with a really good skin regimen.”

She let out a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t…” Penny nervously tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear. “I mean, I didn’t want to presume…”

“Like I said, Cam’s brilliant in his field and made career moves way before the usual timeline. I’m guessing he’s around your age.” She put more money in the tip jar. “You know, if that was a deal-breaker for you.” Before Penny could say anything in response, Winona waved and left.

Penny ran a hand down her face before frowning. There was something other than money in the tip jar. Curiosity getting the best of her, she fished it out, finding it was a business card with all of Cameron’s information on it.

FYI, a woman’s loopy handwriting in bright red ink read at the bottom, your partner wrote down your phone number on a napkin when he gave Cam his order. Thought I should even the playing field and give you his too.

Penny’s eyes widened as she flipped the card over. And BTW, he thinks you’re cute too.

“Whatcha got?” Penny all but jumped out of her skin at the sound of Nicky’s voice unexpectedly at her ear as he tried to look at the card in her hands.

“Nothing!” she yelped, clutching it close to her chest before sticking it into her apron’s pocket. Turning around, she grabbed Nicky by the ear. “And what are you doing, giving strange men my phone number!”

Nicky winced, leaning down as he tried to wiggle away from her grasp. “He’s not strange, Pen! He’s a regular! Practically family! Ow, fuck!”

She let his ear go. “You could have asked me if it was okay first!”

Nicky rubbed at his ear and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and at the glacier pace that either of you were moving, you may have gone out for drinks when you were both eighty.”

She washed her hands at the prep sink and started making sure that everything they’d used was washed and ready for a new order. Lunchtime was a sort of quiet lull, they got a few regular orders in, but it wasn’t anywhere near the morning rush. She checked the schedule. The Alpha shift was coming in for the afternoon to evening times, which meant that she needed to come in a little earlier tomorrow morning to make sure that things had been properly cleaned and organized and that the morning breakfast items were fully stocked. She loved them to pieces, but Tane and Maaka weren’t the most organized of duos. She made a mental note to check the to-go cups as well: Tane had a habit of using a marker to black out the Warning, your contents are extremely hot and make it read Warning, you are extremely hot instead.

The good thing is that on dead nights, the brothers would come up with some interesting off the menu recipes and leave notes for her and Nicky to try in the morning. Maaka was more organized than his brother and the notes were always fun to read, especially when he added his own commentary.

“You never know,” she told Nicky, the business card in her pocket weighing far heavier than it ought to. “I just may surprise you.”

Cha cha cha d'amour

Take this song to my lover

Shoo shoo little bird

Go and find my love

#31daysofwayhaven #Unit Charlie #fell into a hole today regarding my writing #AU #when coffeeshop au meets college au

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nthnstrky007 · 3 years

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Unit Alias #1: “The Flow of Water Breaks the Dame!”

As the bullets whizzed passed my head, only one thought stood out from all the noise and panic around me: I know I should have eaten toast instead of that bagel this morning. It’s just, I get so tired of the same old whole wheat toast and almond butter; it’s not my fault the fabric of reality starts to fold in on itself everytime I choose something new for breakfast. After another twenty seconds of some mindless brutes trying to turn my apartment into a modern artist’s tribute to swiss cheese, a voice of remote reason finally speaks up:

“Leonardo Crews, please step away from the bean bag chair”.

I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s her: Sharon Winstead. The woman who would surely be my handler if the US government had their way and I became a secret agent or lab rat or whatever the heck they’d want me to do with these powers. I stand up and make a couple steps to the right as I put my hands on my head. At least the government sent a nice pair of legs to yell at me.

One of the armed boneheads she brought with her speaks up, ‘Why would you hide behind a froggy bean bag chair?”

“Cause who the hell would ever shoot a froggy bean bag chair?” I challenge him and the two other armored doofuses.

They all mumble and meet eyes until one of them sheepishly says: “he’s right…”

Sharon, the not so love-able stick in the mud that she is, won’t let me have fun for too long. “Your work here is done unit Alias. Go downstairs and do the usual routine with the landlord; come back, as I planned, when you’re done”.

A couple ‘yes ma’ams’ and military mumbo jumbo is thrown around as they leave. I can’t help but feel sorry for guys who would willingly join an organization that has the loyalty of a teenage boy after a positive pregnancy test.

“Real smart fellas you have there.”

Sharon looks at me, I guess with a hint of disappointment. “You know as well as I that if they were going for the kill, you’d be dead”.

“Along with a couple billion realtites and, knowing how much the universe seems to adore me, time itself. And what’s up with ‘your plan’ anyway? The military never came in guns blazing before. Don’t you geniuses know how important I am?”

“Are you threatening us now Leonardo?”

I relax my arms at my side as I walk into the pantry. The universe is on my team, as always, when I see one of the only undamaged things is what I’m looking for. I walk out in a sufficiently better mood with my packet of poptarts. “I’m just asking questions that pertain to the continuation of existence itself”.

Sharon scoffs and continues on: “Do you understand the magnitude of such threats, Leonardo?”

I wave her off with my free hand after opening my second breakfast. “ What threats? And please, it’s Leo; I’m not an award winning actor, just a potential destroyer of the timestream” I see the red emerge in her face and can’t help but chuckle. It's a mystery to me how she was able to secure one of the most secretive and ‘important’ jobs in the world with such a short fuse. Despite the fact that she is totally unlikable, the babe has grown on me over the years so I give her restless mind a break: “Y’know I’m not gonna go awol, especially when you pay for all my streaming service. And, uh, time wouldn’t be destroyed, just altered in some terrible heinous way. Such as your occupation being changed to stripper.”

She gives me one more uneasy look before moving on. “You have a place I can sit?”

“You mean a place you geniuses haven’t shot up yet? Don’t make me say it.”

“The frog chair?” She groans.

“I do believe it's pronounced froggy bean bag chair.”

She gives her eyes another roll as she sits down in the thing. “Can you sit with me?”

Sharon likes to remind me that in some ways I’m still a normal human. An example of

this being a woman with a face and a body like hers asking me to sit down with a voice like hers using a tone like that, regardless of if she is a facist pig or not, I’m probably gonna sit with her.

“What’s the prob Bob?” I sit criss-cross applesauce a yard or so across from her.

To my disappointment, not exactly my surprise, she grows serious as soon as I sit down.

“We can’t keep doing this dance Leonardo.”

“Doing what dance?” I let out the question with a bit of playful innocence.

“That.” She takes a moment to think before she begins her spill. “The U.W.O is not going to remain patient. The fate of existence potentially depends on what you have for lunch and you refuse to follow the guidelines that we give you. You probably can’t count how many times you’ve been told this, but you’re an anomaly. The only thing we have to go off of is my father’s theories: the regular flow of time is completely dependent on you. Every decision you make can drastically change our world’s past and half the time we can’t even detect those changes. Not to mention, if certain parts of that theory are true, the effects you can be having on our future. Leo, history is a book that you can rip up on an unknowing whim and the future is more uncertain that it has any right to be”.

“And yet we keep dancing…”

“Excuse me?”

I look at her for a second thinking that she for sures knows where I’m going, but it becomes clear to me she doesn’t. “You’re coming here to warn me. The U.W.O knows that you’re the only person I can stand getting yelled at by so they send you here every time I decide to live my life so you can flutter your eyes and tell me not to. How many times have you been here this month? I admit the whole shoot-em-up bit is new, but other than that this is the same old routine we’ve done for the past year. The only difference is I’ve been doing it my whole goddamn life and you’ve been doing it for a fraction of yours”.

The woman actually cracks a smile as she comprehends what I’m saying. I don’t know if it’s mocking or understanding me, but, seeing as I have nothing else to do, I let her spill. “You call this living Leo? I don’t know what you do to mess up the timestream, but, judging by the hours of footage that features you exclusively watching ‘He-man’ reruns, I sure as hell know it’s not living. What, you played a new video game? Flushed the toilet too fast? You’re not living; the life you’re leading is not worth risking history for”. The sarcasm and aggression starts to leave her eyes as she looks at my face. I begin to open my mouth in defense when she shushes me with a new, almost maternal, attitude. “But I didn’t come here to play our twisted game of house. I’ve been in contact with my father”.

The news strikes a rare chord of hope in me. Sharon’s father was the closest thing I had to a dad when I grew up in the compound. He was also the one who convinced the board of directors to let me out when I turned eighteen. “Let out” is an odd way of saying letting me live in a heavily guarded cell that just happens to be in an apartment building. He ended up deciding he didn’t want to be a mindless puppet and left the U.W.O along with all his research. Last I heard, which was a very long time ago, he was up to a more scholarly pursuit. “How is he?”

She smiles as she thinks of her father. “He’s getting philosophical in his old age. After he left, he started living like a hermit in some remote island in the Atlantic. A place they’d have trouble finding if they ever were to look; he’s getting into some rebellious stuff there Leo. He wants you to leave and come see him. He wants to end this dance.”

“By ‘rebellious’, do you mean some dooms-day shit?” the words come out as the hope comes out of me. “We don’t know what the reaction will be if I get in a boat or plane. We barely know what’s gonna happen if I leave this building again. Make fun of me all you want, but, you basically said it yourself, 80s tv is the only life I can safely lead”.

“He told me to trust him. If he’s wrong, the situation will be no worse than it was before”. I could easily read the doubt in her face. “Or at least to him.”

“So what? The world ending is the same as the world not ending? Existence is all a lie and it doesn’t matter anyway? Don’t tell me he’s become some quasi-intellectual pothead who posts on psychedelic-themed online forums.”

She rolls her eyes in response to my joke. “He’s disillusioned with our current world authority. He lived his whole thinking a plantery world order would be a good thing, so much so he helped to achieve it. Apparently after all those years and work, he thinks their practices are going to end us all. The way he sees it, the world may just end tomorrow; it’s any day now to him. In a certain manner of words, he’s desperate.”

“And you?”

She gives me another genuine look. “I trust my father as a leader and I care about you. He believes it's the right thing to do and you can’t keep up like this. Some of the things I’ve had to do this past year is enough for me to give up on doing the right thing through the government. Your problem is a problem that we might be able to fix on our own and trying is a lot better than you just rotting here waiting to die. Any ‘director’ who doesn’t like that can screw off.”

I let my eyes widen. “No one’s in on this? Why’d you bring the unit with you? Surely the bigwigs wire you up before you take their dogs for a walk?”

“Watch your words; dogs we are no more, unit Alias, at least, is on this. No wires or strings attached. The general consensus is the current plan of keeping the world safe from you is eventually going to collapse without change; I can’t say they have the personal stake that my father has with the way he views us as siblings”.

“Can’t really blame them for being worried or not particularly liking me, but they’re not here because of what happened because of my bagel?”

“What?”

“You came here to break me out, not to punish me for eating a bagel instead of toast?”

Sharon pulls a phone out of her pocket and scrolls through. “Oh…”

“What?”

“The ephilfel tower was built in Germany”.

#comedy #superhero #hero #comic books #action #adventure #ya #young adult #smart

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The United States of TV High Schools

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The 2020 back-to-school season is a particularly complicated and emotionally fraught one. Students, teachers, and parents across the country and the world have to alter their usual education routines in the interest of social distancing and public health. It’s certainly a difficult, stressful time for many. But thankfully, that’s why the pop culture gods created television.

American high schools on television are much more consistent, comfortable places that the real ones, even when they’re being terrorized by monsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Satan himself (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), or worst of all: Samuel “Screech” Powers (Saved by the Bell). The landscape of fictional TV high schools is a rich and diverse one. But there are quite a few of them. And that raises the question: where are all these places anyway?

Here we have researched and gathered the location of every notable TV high school we can find. Some are set in real cities in real states, some are set in fictional cities in real states, and some are just off the grid entirely. So without further ado, here are the high school settings of some of TV’s most popular young adult shows.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Sunnydale California

Sunnydale High School

Sunnydale is a peaceful California town. It has all your usual features – nice people, great restaurants, a gateway known as the Hellmouth that connects our dimension to demons. Buffy and the rest of her Scooby gang attended Sunnydale High before moving on to University of California at Sunnydale. Sunnydale is fictional but is very likely analogous to the real-life Sunnyvale, California.

Saved by the Bell – Pacific Palisades, California

Bayside High School

Bayside High School is one of the most enduring concepts from Saved by the Bell’s four seasons. Some TV shows take place in high schools. Saved by the Bell is a high school show. The city in which Bayside resides is never revealed but filming occurred in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The O.C. – Newport Beach, California

Harbor High School

The grandiose Harbor High School was enough to give many a young millennial in the mid-2000s supreme high school envy. Imagine walking around in the beautiful Orange County weather as Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) and Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) reminisce about that morning’s perfect bagel breakfast. Newport Beach is a real city in California. Harbor High School is semi-fictional in that the new high school in Newport Beach is known as Newport Harbor High School. Private Catholic college Mount Saint Mary’s stands in for Harbor High on the show.

Teen Wolf – Beacon Hills, California

Beacon Hills High School

The fictional town of Beacon Hills, California is the main setting of MTV’s beloved 2011 Teen Wolf reboot. The town is supposedly named as such due to its “beacon” effect in attracting supernatural creatures. Many of those teenage supernatural creatures prowl the halls of Beacon Hills High School.

Veronica Mars – Neptune, California

Neptune High School

Neptune, California is one of the most well thought-out fictional cities in the high school drama canon. It has some detailed geographical features, a thriving local government, and even its own 90909 zip code! Neptune High has a similarly lived-in feel. Don’t forget to get those Pirate points, everyone! The real city of Oceanside, California stood in for much of Neptune and Neptune High.

13 Reasons Why – Crestmont, California

Liberty High School

Due to ease of filming, many fictional California high schools reside in the southern part of the state. Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why switches things up a bit by taking place in NoCal. Crestmont is the town named in the books the TV series is based on. In the show, the characters hail from the Evergreen County that surrounds it. Liberty High School is where the youth of 13 Reasons Why go to learn…and also learn devastating truths about one another.

Community – Greendale, Colorado

Greendale Community College

Greendale Community College isn’t technically a high school, but many within the show’s universe would argue that a degree from Greendale is basically on par with a high school education. Greendale has a rich fictional history dating back to the 1970s and including real life actor Luis Guzman as an alum. Community creator Dan Harmon based Greendale on his own experiences at Glendale Community College in California.

Gilmore Girls – Stars Hollow, Connecticut

Stars Hollow High School

Stars Hollow is crucial to the mythology and success of Gilmore Girls. The town is a fictional hamlet 30 miles outside of Hartford, Connecticut and was loosely based on the real life towns of Washington Depot, West Hartford, and New Millford. Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is originally from Los Angeles and was inspired to set her new series in Connecticut following a vacation to the Mayflower Grace hotel in Washington, Connecticut. Stars Hollow High is where Rory Gilmore gets her education. The school’s sports teams are the Minutemen.

Stranger Things – Hawkins, Indiana

Hawkins High School

The Internet is flooded with queries as to whether Hawkins, Indiana of Stranger Things is a real place. It is not, and that is certainly for the best otherwise our own world would be teeming with monsters from the Upside-Down. Hawkins High School is the location of some truly traumatic events in Stranger Things from the Demogorgon’s destruction to the Snowball Dance.

Dawson’s Creek – Capeside, Massachusetts

Capeside High School

Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson intended for this ‘90s teen show to take place in his native North Carolina. WB executives had other plans, however, and wanted the show set in Boston. Williamson came up with a compromise by creating the fictional Cape Cod hamlet, Capeside, Massachusetts. The show was mostly filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Capeside High School is where Dawson, Pacey, Joey, Jen, and the rest of the crew got their education…when they weren’t hanging out at that darn creek.

Freaks and Geeks – Chippewa, Michigan

William McKinley High School

Though many things in Michigan are named after the Chippewa tribe, including Chippewa County, there actually isn’t a city bearing that name. That makes this Detroit suburb on Freaks and Geeks entirely fictional. Chippewa is named after Chippewa Valley High School that creator Paul Feig attended. The school is named after 25th U.S. President William McKinley. For some reason, he’s a pretty popular choice for fictional school names…perhaps because his tenure in office was short and he doesn’t have a lot of real high schools named after him.

Gossip Girl – New York, New York

Constance Billard School for Girls

Well, this is a first for our list. Gossip Girl is set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and its depiction of a gaudy all-girls high school is in keeping with that community’s ostentatious displays of wealth. Serena van der Wooden, Blair Waldorf and friends all attend Constance Billard School for Girls where many alumni go on to attend prestigious colleges. Constance Billard’s “sister” school is St. Jude’s School for Boys.

Roswell – Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell High School

This one is a bit of a layup as The WB’s (later CW’s) supernatural teenage series Roswell is adapted from the Roswell High book series. Of course, Roswell High School was always going to play a big role in this one. The 2018 reboot continues to take place in Roswell High School in Roswell, New Mexico.

One Tree Hill – Tree Hill, North Carolina

Tree Hill High School

One Tree Hill takes its name from a U2 song off of Joshua Tree…and also from the fact that it’s set in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Tree Hill is fictional but the show was chiefly filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Tree Hill High School is a big factor on One Tree Hill, especially since the town is so fond of the Tree Hill Ravens boys basketball team.

Glee – Lima, Ohio

William McKinley High School

For many of the kids on Glee, their biggest fear in life is never amounting to anything after high school and becoming a “Lima Loser.” This is because Glee is set in the (real) Ohio city, Lima, which is about 80 miles south of Toledo. Of course, as Glee went on, the Lima setting came to be quite ridiculous as more and more famous people just happened to be traipsing through town but that’s a topic for another time. The high school from which the titular glee club operates out of is once again William McKinley High School (like Freaks and Geeks and The Wonder Years).

A.P. Bio – Toledo, Ohio

Whitlock High School

Northwest Ohio turns out to be surprisingly fertile territory for fictional high schools. A.P. Bio is set in Toledo (which is a real place obviously) as a nod from the show’s creator Mike O’Brien to his hometown. It’s unclear why the high school that Jack Griffin teaches at is known as Whitlock but it’s got a pretty strong color scheme with gold and blue and a cool Ram mascot.

My So-Called Life – Three Rivers, Pennsylvania

Liberty High School

Three Rivers is a fictional suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And that’s fitting given that Pittsburgh sits on three rivers – the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the Ohio. “Three Rivers” is often used in many brands from the city. Within Three Rivers is Liberty High School, which was attended by Angela Chase and friends. The My So-Called Life Wiki actually has a class schedule for each character if that’s something you might be interested in. Exterior shots of the school are of University High School in Los Angeles.

Pretty Little Liars – Rosewood, Pennsylvania

Rosewood High School

From one side of Pennsylvania to the other. Freeform’s pulpy teenage mystery series is set in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, which is a fictional suburb of Philadelphia. The setting might be loosely based on the real Rosemont, Pennsylvania. The Liars spend much of their time at Rosewood High School before matriculating to nearby Hollis College.

Boy Meets World – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

John Adams High School

Boy Meets World takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its suburbs. The characters don’t frequently make mention of their surroundings and current city, but the show does confirm it…as if all the Flyers, Phillies, ‘76ers, and Eagles paraphernalia didn’t make it obvious. Boy Meets World starts with Cory Matthews in Jefferson Elementary before moving onto John Adams High School and eventually Pennbrook University.

Friday Night Lights – Dillon, Texas

Dillon High School

Once more with feeling: Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. Friday Night Lights, both the brilliant NBC series and multimedia franchise around it, has deep ties to Texas. The show is set in the fictional western Texas town of Dillon (and eventually East Dillon). But Buzz Bissinger’s original book and the movie it was adapted into take place in the real western Texas town of Odessa. Both Odessa and Dillon’s respective football teams are known as the Panthers. Friday Night Lights, the show, did the majority of its filming in and around Austin, Texas for all five seasons. It’s a miracle the actors were able to stay in shape with all that barbecue floating around.

The Vampire Diaries – Mystic Falls, Virginia

Mystic Falls High School

A lot of these small towns have a “dark secret,” huh? Mystic Falls, Virginia’s dark secret is that it has a long history of vampires, werewolves, and witches dating back to its founding in the 1800s. Mystic Falls High School is where many of those attractive young vampires, werewolves, and witches get their education. Mystic Falls is a fictional town in Virginia located between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. It’s name in the Vampire Diaries book series was “Fell’s Church” but the TV show had to change that due to it being too similar to the real city of Fall’s Church, Virginia.

That ‘70s Show – Point Place, Wisconsin

Point Place High School

Point Place, Wisconsin and its accompanying Point Place High School are both fictional locations where Eric Foreman, Jackie Burkhart, Michael Kelso, Steven Hyde, Donna Pinciotti, and Fez all live and attend school. What’s interesting about Point Place, Wisconsin is that it does not seem to have a consistent location within the state. At times it is described as a suburb of Green Bay in the north. Other times, however, the characters are able to make it to Kenosha in the south in no time at all. Point Place High School is located at 2120 South Michigan Ave., which is a reference to a Rolling Stones instrumental track recorded at the same address in Chicago.

Riverdale – Riverdale, ???

Riverdale High School

Where is gritty Archieverse teen drama, Riverdale, set? Uh…well, Riverdale. Where is Riverdale? Your guess is as good as ours. Many fans have selected New York state as the most likely location. The series describes Riverdale as being in Rockland County. The only Rockland County in the U.S. is in New York, close to Archie Comics’ headquarters in Pelham, New York. Wherever Riverdale may be, the school that Archie and friends attend is Riverdale High School. Its colors are blue and gold and its teams are called the Bulldogs.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Greendale, ???

Baxter High School

In the Archieverse canon that contains Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Greendale is a neighboring town to Riverdale, on the opposite side of the Sweetwater River. Greendale, like a shocking amount of fictional U.S. towns, is built over a mouth to hell. Baxter High School is Greendale’s local public high school, attended by Sabrina Spellman and her friends. Its sports teams are known as the Ravens and they are Riverdale’s archrivals.

Daria – Lawndale, ???

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Lawndale High School

What name could better capture the bland suburban ennui of MTV’s Daria than “Lawndale?” Lawndale is not a real place and Daria’s co-creator, Glenn Eichler, won’t even commit to setting it in a particular state, noting only that it is probably a mid-Atlantic suburb of a city like Baltimore. Lawndale High School is one of the most frequently occurring settings within Lawndale and where Daria and Jane go to stand around lockers and be cynical.

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jlalafics · 5 years

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Rent Control-Part Two

Happy Friday y’all! Just leaving this here...also, it gets slightly steamy...

If you haven’t read Part One, here’s the link.

Summary: Katniss Everdeen has found the perfect home in San Francisco—great neighborhood, an easy commute and, best of all, it’s rent controlled. There’s only one problem; the landlord will only rent to a married couple.

Enter Peeta Mellark.

_______

Rent Control

Part Two

It was stupid that they didn’t think about this earlier.

Katniss and Peeta stood in the bedroom, eyes on the mattress in front of them. It was covered with a plush comforter—soft blue with grey tones—purchased by Katniss in all her excitement. The dresser adjacent to it was whitewood and atop was a flat screen television, brought from Peeta’s former apartment.

“Why did we never talk about sleeping arrangements?” she asked.

“Maybe because we’ve been so busy concocting a fake marriage that it slipped our minds?” Peeta responded.

“There’s always the couch,” Katniss said. “I can bring my blankets there.”

“No, I can sleep on the couch,” Peeta told her. “Only…”

She turned to him. “Only what?”

“Do you have a couch?” he asked. “Cinna is taking ours.”

“Shit!” Katniss smacked her palm to her forehead. “My couch didn’t belong to me…it was part of my apartment. Just another thing that we forgot.” She crawled onto the bed and laid back. “Let’s get a sofa next Saturday. We’ll rent a van and go to IKEA.”

“And, until then?” Peeta questioned from where he stood in front of her.

“The bed is big enough,” she told him. “If you promise to not sleep naked, fart, or snore—you can just sleep here. It’s not a big deal. I used to share a bed with my little sister, Prim.”

“Yeah…Prim doesn’t get morning erections.” Peeta scooted himself into bed and laid back next to her. “But damn, this is comfortable.” Their eyes met and he flicked her chin. “Are you sure? I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, we’re a team now.” Katniss twisted to meet his eyes. “We have to take care of each other as all fake couples do. Also, beautiful as this place is, sleeping on the floor sucks.”

“Okay, as long as you’re not weirded out,” he relented. “So, out of curiosity and because I should probably know this, why did you come to San Francisco?”

“Don’t laugh at me,” Katniss warned. “I followed a boy here. He went to San Francisco State while I went to University of San Francisco. I thought I was in love and, for a while, so did he.”

“USF, huh?” Peeta mused, his eyes on her laid out form. “Then, what happened?”

“Gale realized that there was more out there than the girlfriend that followed him all the way from their little Connecticut town. He told me he needed to find himself…aka date other girls.”

“Was this recent?” Peeta asked.

“No. That was years ago during my Freshmen year.” She sighed; it had been a long time since she thought of Gale. “Thank goodness there are so many crevices in this city to avoid your ex in.” Her eyes met his and Katniss smiled ruefully. “And, what’s your story?”

“My family owns a pretty prominent bakery in D.C., and I wanted to expand the business here,” Peeta explained. “I have a business degree from State and I’m still trying to convince my mother that opening a Mellark Bakery in San Francisco will be profitable.”

“Any nightmare exes that I should know about?” she questioned.

“I dated Delly,” he said.

“Delly from the bagel shop down the block from Johanna’s?” Katniss frowned. “Their bagels are shit! I don’t know if I’m more bothered by you dating her or by the bagels.”

Peeta guffawed. “Why would you be bothered?”

“I literally got the runs from there and Delly was not very nice when I told her about my bagel poisoning.” She grimaced, remembering her frequent trips to her not-so-clean commode. “I’m only telling you this because every husband should know about his wife’s one-time food poisoning.”

“Yeah, I think she was very insecure about you,” he explained. “You know Delly didn’t get that job at Johanna’s and then you swooped in. Me and you were…are pretty tight and she didn’t appreciate me giving you coffee for free.”

“I’m guessing that she thought ‘coffee’ was code for your penis,” Katniss said. “Can’t imagine what she thought cream was code for.”

Peeta snorted. “That’s been over for a long time. However, I’d avoid the bagel place now that we’re ‘united’ as man and wife.”

++++++

It had been a long time since Katniss had slept so comfortably.

The morning light was still low, just barely shining threw the bamboo curtains, and the room was still comfortably warm. In her last apartment, her nights were usually stuffy and warm while her mornings were frigidly cold.

Here in her new apartment, Katniss felt like the Goldilocks of San Francisco—this place was just right.

There was a shift and her gaze went to Sleeping Handsome, peacefully dozing next to her. Peeta shifted, an arm going over his eyes, and her own wandering eyes went to the small expanse of skin that had been exposed in his stretch.

Right above his belly button and just above his hips was smooth skin except for one bit—the happy trail leading down…

This arrangement was going to be harder than she thought.

It had also been way too long since anyone, including herself, had touched her lady bits.

Katniss, against her better judgement, lifted the comforter for a quick glance. “Huh.”

True to his word, Peeta did indeed have morning erections.

“Keep looking at it and I’ll have to charge you.” Her eyes met his sleepy smirk. “Good morning, wife.”

“Good morning…you,” she managed to stammer. “Just wanted to see if you were just bluffing about the morning wood.”

“Nope,” he responded. “Just a little factoid; it’s a bitch to pee with.”

Katniss rolled her eyes. “You’re making my mouth water.”

Peeta sat up and growled. “It likes your voice.”

She chuckled and ruffled his already mussed locks. “I’ll turn around so you can go to the bathroom first.” There was a shuffle and quick steps heading to the bathroom. Katniss turned back around when she heard the bathroom door close. “Any plans for today?”

“I took two days off for the move so pretty much opening up the rest of the boxes,” Peeta called out from behind the door. “Can’t wait to get all my baking stuff into the kitchen.”

“Does this mean that I can expect breakfast pastries every day?” she asked.

“Maybe if you’re a good girl,” he told her.

Katniss laughed. “Ohh…kinky.”

Peeta suddenly let out a shout. “Damnit!”

“What happened?”

“I told you,” he replied. “It likes you.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she might be getting fond of it herself.

++++++

“So, this is your sister?” Peeta stared at the teenager with the sunny hair and even sunnier smile, hugging a newly graduated Katniss in the photo. “You two look like you’re close.”

“Yes.” Katniss placed the freshly cleaned frame to the side before reaching into the box for another framed photo. “These are my parents when they first met in the 70s.”

She handed the frame to Peeta, who sat next to her on their newly placed living room rug.

“Your dad had a killer moustache…and those bell-bottoms!” He peered at the photo before looking to her. “You look a lot like your mom, except for the coloring.”

“I have that crochet halter top that she’s wearing,” she told him. “It’s kind of how I got into fashion. My mom kept all these great pieces from when she was a teenager. I used to rework them for me to wear. That halter I kept the same because it was the top that she wore when she met my dad.”

Peeta smiled, his blue eyes warm.

“The more I hear about your life, the more fascinated I am with you,” he said. “Why haven’t we really talked the whole time we’ve known each other?”

Katniss shrugged. “We’ve been so busy trying to survive that I guess we just never thought to.” She went back to organizing her photos. “I like getting to know these little bits of you.” Her hands reached for the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon to her side. “I like that you spent a whole summer with your dad trying to make the perfect scrambled eggs…and that you go to the deli to get your bacon.” Then, her gaze went to the beautiful watercolor hanging on the wall adjacent to the fireplace. “I like that you learned to paint to impress a girl but ended up just loving to paint.”

“Just one of my many quirks.” Peeta stood up, taking her frames, and going to the mantle to place them. “I have a box with some photos of my family, too.” He paused for a moment. “My mom and I…well, we’re not exactly as close as you are with your parents.”

She joined him at the mantle. “Why not?”

He placed the photo of her parents on the mantle distractedly, his gaze somewhere else.

“I’ve always been trying to prove myself to her,” Peeta explained. “I’m not the smart one. That title belongs to my oldest brother, Bran and I’m not as successful as my lawyer brother, Alex. I’m just…me—and that doesn’t seem to be good enough for her.”

Her hand reached for his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “You, Peeta Mellark, are the good one.” He turned to her. “You offer free coffees to a girl because you know she can barely afford bread and you pretend to be her husband so she won’t sleep on the streets. Those are all the qualities of a good heart…and a good husband, even if it’s not real. You’ve saved me in so many ways.”

Suddenly, Katniss found herself in his arms.

Peeta pressed his nose into her hair. “Thank you, Katniss.” He took a deep breath and she shivered at the sensation. “You saved me, too.”

“How exactly did I do that?”

Peeta sighed into her skin. “I’m not sure yet…but I can’t wait to find out.”

++++++

“Katniss! We have to get going!” Peeta buttoned his lightweight flannel before suddenly stopping halfway up. It was a bit warm for a San Francisco afternoon which was fortunate for this welcome party, but annoying on the clothing front. “Do you think I should button this?”

“No, just leave it open,” Katniss replied as she entered the room. “I love the V-necks on guys nowadays. The manbun however—what?”

“You’re wearing that top?” he managed to sputter.

Katniss twirled, allowing him to enjoy the sexiness of the top on his pseudo-wife. The burnt-orange linen skirt she wore danced around her ankles, and on her feet were a pair of camel-colored sandals.

“We were talking about it and how it really got me into fashion, so I pulled it out of my closet,” she replied. Katniss caught his wide eyes and her smile fell from her lips. “What?”

“It’s just…wow.” Peeta circled her closely, taking in the cream crochet top that covered everything that needed to be covered quite strategically. “You just look beautiful. Shit—I really can’t stop looking at what that top is covering! I’m really sorry I’m such a perv—”

Katniss chuckled. “No, this top is just made to be looked at. How do you think my mom got my dad?” She grinned wickedly. “Thank goodness for the NuBra…because my mom didn’t wear anything under this—”

“Way too much information on my fake mother-in-law,” he told her. “And what the hell is a NuBra?”

“It’s basically like bra cups with some stick.” Katniss held her hand up like cups to demonstrate. “And you’d just lean over—”

Peeta put his palm up. “Okay, stop. I’ll never be able walk down there comfortably.” He let out a breath. “Just give me a minute.”

“It’s not horrible for us to look like we’re sexually into each other,” she informed him carefully. “It’s human nature to be attracted…to feel heat when people are so close together. Trust me—we’re going to have a lot of these moments.”

His hand went to her shoulder and a shock of electricity rushed through her.

Then, she felt that telltale twist in her pelvis and her knees suddenly felt weak.

Her throat felt dry. “Peeta…” Her voice came out low, that last syllable trembling as it escaped her lips.

His mouth suddenly replaced that spot on her shoulder, that roughness of his lips exciting her to the tips of her toes. “Katniss, you’re making this really hard on me.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m trying not to.”

Fingers played with the strings tied at the nape of her neck.

Just one tug and it would all fall down…

There was a knock on the door.

“Katniss! Peeta!” It was Effie. “We’re just about ready. Come down soon!”

It was Peeta who found his voice first. “We’ll be right down!” His eyes went to Katniss’. “This isn’t over.”

She found a smirk rising on her lips.

“God, I hope not.”

++++++

They stepped into the backyard and Peeta’s hand reached to clasp hers. “Whoa.”

“It’s like we’re in a secret garden!” Katniss practically squealed as they walked under the flowered archway. The scent of roses immediately danced on her nostrils. “This is gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you like it.” They turned and found a dark-haired man with tortoise-shell glasses at the grill. He walked towards them and Katniss couldn’t help but admire his elegant gait. “I’m Beetee Latier. I tend to this garden and I also live right above you.”

Peeta reached to shake his hand. “I’m Peeta Mellark and this is my wife, Katniss.”

Beetee looked to her, a small smile on his lips. “Katniss…interesting name.”

“You know your plants, obviously.” She turned to Peeta. “In case you forgot, my name comes from an edible plant in wetlands.”

“So, I can eat you,” he responded bluntly.

Katniss had the good grace to blush.

“Ah, young love,” Beetee interrupted with a light laugh. “I’ve known Effie and Haymitch even before they bought this building and you both remind me of them—spunky.”

“And we love spunk.” Haymitch walked over, meat patties on a plate. “Here you go.” He handed them to Beetee. “I see you’ve met our resident genius horticulturist. Don’t let his soft-spoken nature fool you. He’s done a lot for the city of San Francisco.”

Katniss looked to him in interest. “Really?”

“Nothing illegal and also I’m not at liberty to say. What Haymitch didn’t mention is that I’m retired now,” Beetee added, taking the plate and placing some of the patties on the grill.

Haymitch grinned. “Yes. Now, he sings Motown to the flowers to make them grow.”

“Hello, hello!” Effie rushed over to them giving them each a kiss on the cheek. “Finnick, Annie, and Jack are on their way down. Annie’s just walking a little slower these days.” She looked to Katniss and Peeta. “They’re having twins.”

“Sorry we’re late!” A handsome man with a shock of red hair entered the archway, a bowl in one hand and a dark-haired toddler under his opposite arm. “Here’s some potato salad, Effie.” Their landlord rushed over, taking the bowl. The man then went over to Katniss. “Here’s Jack.”

He held out the little one and instinctively Katniss took him into her arms.

The man chuckled. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that. Now he’ll never let you go,” he told her. “I’m Finnick Odair and the craziness in your arms is Jack.”

“Katniss…Mellark.” She nodded over at Peeta. “Peeta, my husband.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Peeta said, shaking Finnick’s hand and waving at Jack, who had now settled in Katniss’ arms, playing with the delicate design of her top. “Careful with that, Jack. One tug and that thing will dissolve into dust.”

“So, you’ve had experience with that top,” a light voice said. A pretty brunette in a cerulean maternity dress waddled over, a bright smile on her face. “I’m Annie Odair—and this is my huge stomach.”

Jack pointed at his mother’s tummy. “Twinsies.”

Finnick went to his wife, helping her into a lawn chair.

“Careful, love. One move and you might jostle them out.”

“Sometimes, I wonder how they even happened,” Annie groaned before looking to Effie.

The older woman was suddenly very interested in the buffet setup at the far end of the yard.

“What did Effie do?” Katniss asked as she settled into the seat next to Annie, Jack in her lap.

“We moved in seven months ago,” Annie explained. “Effie offered to watch Jack so we could unpack…and christen the apartment.” She waved her hand over her belly. “And, here we are.”

++++++

“So, Effie and Haymitch told us how you got engaged,” Finnick said, a sleeping Jack in his arms. “How did you guys meet?”

It was later in the day and they had just finished eating. Beetee was a whiz at the grill, explaining that he once worked at a Mel’s Drive-In. Annie, who owned her own restaurant, had been the one to make the potato salad, which was delicious, and Katniss had her fill. Effie and Haymitch were currently preparing dessert—homemade sorbet with assorted fruits.

“Well, I work at a boutique nearby and Peeta works at the coffee shop next door,” Katniss said. She turned to Peeta. “But for some reason, I can’t recall…”

Peeta grinned at her. “She was so distracted since she was training. I just kind of waltzed into her life,” he told her, taking her hand. “I do remember the first time I saw her.”

Katniss shifted in her seat. “You do?”

“Of course. How could I not remember the day my world turned right side up?” he replied, not quite meeting her eyes. Peeta turned back to their neighbors. “I was heading to my shift and my eyes caught the display window of her store…and there she was. Katniss was, of course, distracted because she was changing the mannequin into these really wide pants—”

“Gauchos,” Katniss supplied. “My first window display.”

That was nearly two years ago—had it been that long?

“Oh right—and I just thought to myself that if I could get this beautiful girl to just look at me—maybe even smile at me—then life would be nothing less than perfect,” he told them.

Katniss remembered that day; she had been setting up the display when the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up. Her eyes went to the street only to find no one, just the backside of a blond heading into the coffee shop next door. She brushed it off, thinking that she was nervous about what Johanna would think.

Later that night, Katniss headed into the coffee shop for her 15-minute break. Peeta had been at the counter to take her order.

And, she remembered—that same electricity happened, her hairs stood on their ends at the sight of him.

“Thank you for telling me that,” she murmured, her eyes feeling misty.

Peeta blushed. “My pleasure.”

“I love that,” Annie said, her green eyes glazed at the romantic tale. “It was meant to be.” She nodded at Finnick. “I met old what’s-his-face because he was one of my waiters.”

“I was a horrible one,” Finnick explained. “It was only because Annie as a chef is really scary…but sexy. I just got so nervous around her.”

“Finally, I had to fire him,” she told them.

“And, when she did, I asked her out.”

They all chuckled at Finnick’s words as Effie and Haymitch approached, trays on their hands.

“Everyone seems to be getting along,” Effie said as she placed dessert on the table in front of them. She looked between the group as Haymitch and Beetee settled into their own chairs. “I’m just so happy that we all found each other…that Katniss and Peeta have completed our little family.” Her eyes shone and Effie wiped her eyes hastily. “So, before Haymitch tells me to quit with the waterworks, I’m just going to say welcome home, Katniss and Peeta. We hope one day you’ll think of this place as your own and us as your family.”

++++++

“I feel like the shittiest person alive,” Katniss said, later that night. She shifted in bed, turning to Peeta. “Are we the worst?”

Peeta sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe? The thing is that I do like it here. I like everyone.”

“You know that Annie and Finnick offered their old couch to us?” she told him. “They’re getting a sectional so that Jack and the twins will have somewhere to lounge around. Finnick even offered to help you bring it down here. Beetee said that he’ll help when the cable-and-internet guy comes over next week.” Her head went to his chest. “I like them, too.”

He put an arm around her, pulling her close. “Worst of all, lying to Effie and Haymitch…”

“They’re like our cool Aunt and Uncle,” she added. “Maybe we should move. I can beg Johanna to let me stay at her house—”

“No,” Peeta interrupted. He suddenly looked to her; his expression anxious. “Katniss, everything I said out there…it was real.”

“What do you mean?”

He reached, brushing a tendril of her hair away to tuck it behind her ear. The sudden gesture was so familiar yet so tender.

“Seeing you look at me—even smile at me that first time we met—it made me feel like life was nothing less than perfect,” he told her thickly. “And, it’s been that way ever since. Life is perfect when you’re with me, Katniss.”

Her hand found his cheek, her thumb grazing the stubble on his chin. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of her caress.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Peeta shrugged. “I was afraid. Afraid you would reject me…afraid to lose your friendship. I would have rather had you as a friend than not have you at all.”

Katniss let out a breath. “Peeta, why don’t we just admit that there is something here?”

His lips found home against her temple. “Because we don’t want to break…us.”

“We should give us a chance,” she admitted quietly.

Pushing up on his elbow, Peeta looked down at her, his eyes glowing in the dim light of the room. He leaned forward before suddenly stopping and chuckling softly.

“What?”

“I was just thinking about that crochet top,” he told her.

Katniss raised her a brow. “What about it?”

“Just wondering if I’ll get a chance to see it on you without that damn NuBra.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Of course! Now, get over here!”

Without another word, Katniss pulled him down so their lips could finally meet.

End of Part Two

So, this seems pretty fast…but this was almost two years in the making for them.

Not like I’m going to make this easy on them, though.

Just an FYI—the boutique is based on one that I worked at many years ago. I loved the store and the product, but I hated the whole cutthroat aspect of trying to earn commission.

Mel’s Drive-In is a diner created in San Francisco that was originally a car hop. It’s mostly associated with the movie American Graffiti. Or, if you love older movies as I do, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn visit one in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Anyway, I digress.

I’m not sure, but there might be a small time jump.

Also, I bet you’re wondering how this will end. I have three scenarios in my head and I’m not quite sure which it will be.

Till I decide, LaLa

P.S. They did end up “christening” the apartment.

#Rent Control #Part Two #Everlark #Everlark Fanfiction #fakemarriage!au

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xoexoxhoe · 5 years

Text

On The Hill

A/N: This is LITERALLY one of the most interesting things i’ve ever read. My Co wrote this based off of her love for political angst/dramas, and honestly, it’s really good guys, TOTALLY WORTH THE READ. We hope you enjoy this little piece by Momo (@sailor-baek )

Characters: Park Seonghwa (ATEEZ) & Reader (Y/N), featuring another ATEEZ member!

Theme: Political AU, angst, love affair, political drama

Nothing comes easy when you work for the President of the United States. Especially when it involves Park Seonghwa.

💥Warning: Angst💥

The processional march was colorful noise in your ears as you followed closely behind the big man. It got older every time you heard it, which was, quite regrettably, every first Friday of the month. Really, anything would be better than the obnoxious blaring of-what was it? An oboe? You had no idea but it sure didn’t sound like the Chopin Nocturne op.9 no.2 you had to turn on every night to sleep.

“You’re doing it again.”

You didn’t even remember getting on the floor, a communications intern behind the press caucus chuckled. Carrie Ann. George Washington University undergrad and poli-sci masters at the good ‘ole Harvard. You made a mental note to fire the little shit as soon as this thing was over. Your attention turned to the man, still waiting for a complete introduction at the podium.

“Doing what, sir?”

“That frown thing with your eyebrows. You’re gonna get wrinkles, Y/N. What was that cream thing you use? You better stock up before Big Pharma gets their hands on the patent or I’ll have to call you...what is that new movie with Oprah?”

“A Wrinkle In Time, sir.”

“Yes, that one! A wrinkle-”

“It’s a childrens movie; nothing to do with premature aging, sir.”

A little huff escaped his lips and a slight tug appeared on yours. The press secretary was clapping now signaling for your boss to give his address.

“I’m sure your daughter will be happy to watch it with you tonight. Mr. President, you’re up.”

“Ah yes, it appears so.”

You watched as he made his way up to the center; flurries of camera flashes turning the west wing corridor into a light show. This is the time when you would check out. His speech was solid, you had looked it over yourself the hour prior. Today, however, there was a particular bump in your paved smooth travel down the hill. A rather large bump, by the name of Park Seonghwa. He was standing to the right behind his Prime Minister with the cheekiest smile plastered across his face. Bilateral economic relations didn’t warrant this kind of happiness, it oozed off of him like fucking honey. You had heard your greenies gushing over him earlier that day. The hot speech writer from the embassy. Why was he even here? Stupid question, you knew it was because he was Prime Minister Cho’s nephew. Nepotism at its finest. You had to use that one later. It would definitely sting. When clapping resumed again you made your way to the podium to rally the cameras back into the hall.

“Coverage of the reception will be permitted. I’ll have the details sent over via secure line. Until then please wait in the briefing room for further instruction. Thank you, everyone.”

You turned the corner still trying to shake that stupid smile from your mind when Carrie Ann caught your eye at the coffee corner. Before you could stalk all the way over, someone called your name.

“Ms. Chief of Staff...sir?”

God, you had forgotten your interns had project due today. “One sec, hun.”

You pivoted straight into a paper cup of coffee. “You look like you wanted to, um, talk to me.”

“Carrie Ann, do I amuse you.” The cup was warm in your hand now; sickly sweet aromas filling your nose. A little sip of the searing liquid confirmed your suspicion, too much liquid sugar. The poor girl had gone white.

“More specifically, my face-does it...does it make you want to laugh in a room of every major news outlet in the Pacific?”

“No ma’am, I didn’t mean to-”

“But you did.” You took a longer sip and gave her one last canvas before turning back to the little crowd that had gathered. “This coffee is wonderful by the way. Just a little suggestion, though; go easy on sweetener. You’ll need to remember that when you start at the local Starbucks.” You relished the gasps all the way to your office. It wasn’t until someone cleared their throat that you remembered you weren’t alone.

“Shitty morning, my greenies. Tell me something that won’t make me want to throw you off of the east wing balcony.” A lazy finger point at the intern that had tapped your shoulder earlier opened a flood of updates.

“The KORUS coverage just hit air and it’s already trending on Twitter and Facebook.”

“Washington Governor Townsend has agreed to the state park expansion plans in Olympia; we should have the contractors’ bids on your desk no later than noon.”

“The writer guy is waiting in your blue room, ma’am. Said he has an appointment.”

Messy papers were strewn all over your desk; draft bills for POTUS to look over and countless testimony from the bane of your existence that was the municipal aide fund. You didn’t even look up. “I know plenty of writers, Joshua, you need to be more specific.”

“The hot one, ma’am. Tall, Korean, windswept hair look-”

“You need not go on, dear, this is the White House, not a middle school cafeteria. Send him in.”

The group trudged to the door. “Wait. I want all of you to finish up those Arbor Day submissions from the kindergartners. Pick a winner too.”

“The criteria, ma’am?”

“I don’t know, pick one that colored the trees unrealistic colors. I support impressionism and nothing says ‘Happy Tree Day! Thank you for the oxygen!’ more than a purple ficus.”

“Got it, ma’am, purple ficus.” You shoo-ed them off with the hope that the president would get a chuckle from handing a five-year-old artist a certificate for a periwinkle disaster on national television.

“That girl from earlier. I passed her crying on the way here; such a harsh way to be let go.”

You scoffed, “I might just call secret service to drag her out. Why are you here, Mr. Park? You didn’t have an appointment.”

Seonghwa sauntered to your desk, unbuttoning his suit jacket while easing onto the varnished oak and cocking his head to the side, “Hm…” he grabbed the bow cascading down your blouse, rolling the silk in his fingers, “I never imagined something so frilly on someone so…”

“So what?”

He glared down at you, dropping the bow and retracting his fingers, grabbing the pocket square out of his suit, “So… disdainful.”

You smiled unevenly, “Sometimes I wonder where you learn words like this, but then I remember you went to college here and I can’t one up you with pretentious vocabulary.”

A smile spread across his face, “Do you want it in Korean? 경멸적인.”

“Why should I respect you, Seonghwa? I’m the White House Chief of Staff; not the eager college girl that gets you a cream cheese bagel in the morning.”

The way he got under your skin was criminal. Bad enough that he still hadn’t answered your initial question. What was the question? You were getting too old for this. “Your speech on NATO was cute; Prime Minister Cho did well for the press.”

“Did you like it?”

“Oh, I did. In fact I have a particular word in mind to describe it.”

“What would that be?”

“쓰레기.”

“Ah! She knows Korean now; such a dynamic personality.” His index finger tapped against his palm, “First off, we have a condescending Chief of Staff, who, with no mercy or remorse, loves to fire her perky college interns. Second, she must be achingly smart because she dragged my Korean speech-”

“I’ll stop you right there. Perky? Not exactly the word I’d use to-”

Seonghwa stood, readjusting his suit, “Let me finish, Y/N. Finally, for someone so beautiful, you sure do have a terrible temper.”

“You came here to be an asshole; is that it?”

“Takes one to know one, ma’am.”

“You’re the one that called it a dynamic personality.”

He paused, clasping his hands together, “I simply came to ask if I’d be seeing you at the party tonight.”

“To gawk at your latest arm candy? Don’t count on it.”

◎

The Secretary of Commerce had always rubbed you the wrong way. From the beginning of the appointment, green shadows in his hollow eyes had made his motive clear. Sure, the trade renewal was beneficial to everyone. It was especially so to one certain senior official that had poured half the budget into the Korean subsidiary of a Chinese chemical manufacturer. You weren’t a god, neither was the president. The things that were sacrificed in the name of universal well being wouldn’t keep you up at night. Besides, the geezer talking your ear off had to pay for his estate in Great Barrington somehow. You felt a hand slip around your waist.

“It was a pleasure, Mr. Secretary. Congratulations on the agreement.”

Pulled away without much more than a nod in his direction you turned your attention to your companion. “How did you know I was dying of boredom?”

“Y/N, dear, you wear your heart on your sleeve. It couldn’t have been more obvious if you had screamed ‘insolent plutocrat’ in his face.”

You gravitated towards the bar and took the cucumber vodka Yunho held out. He was every bit the man your parents had expected; fitting the description a 9 year old you had mapped out and stuck to the fridge. Doctor Jeong Yunho; Chief of surgery at Georgetown, specializing in neurology. How else could you describe Yunho but simply strapping. Heels didn’t challenge his height. His goofy smile never faltered and his bright eyes followed you like a puppy. Walking into any function with him felt like a cold drink laced with ecstasy; only mildly dangerous and the biggest ego booster. He made you feel powerful.

You leaned in to begin a whisper into his ear.

“My my my, what do we have here?” If Yunho was ecstasy, Seonghwa was the dirtiest mephedrone on the black market. That hand found your waist again. The woody scent on Yunho’s lapel invaded your senses. There came a time every woman had to face the music; you hadn’t wanted it to be tonight.

“Mr. Park, I don’t believe you’ve met my fiancé.”

“Park Seonghwa, right? I’m Yunho, nice to meet you, man.”

The newest patron took his hand, giving it a firm shake. “Likewise, Doctor. I assume congratulations are in order.” You cast a sidewards glance to Yunho who was playing idly with the silver band on his finger. The whole ordeal was suffocating.

“So when’s the big day?” Seonghwa’s eyes were on you now, still full of the morning’s mischief.

“End of June; we’ll make sure to send you an invitation.” You scooted a little closer to Yunho, letting his guarding presence hold you upright. A shrill beep sounded from his breast pocket; one that you had heard many times. He cleared his throat a little and reached for the pager. Duty always called. It didn’t matter even if you had just helped to divert a nuclear crisis. If someone had their head cracked open on an operating table, Dr. Jeong would be there to patch them up. You took a long swig of the sweating cocktail and set it down.

“You should go, honey. It sounds urgent.”

He offered you a sheepish smile. Seonghwa just turned to face the bar, sloshing a drink in his hand.

“Multiple trauma crash on the 95. Baby, I’m sorry.” Yunho lightly grabbed out your hands that re-did the buttons of his suit.

“I of all people know that work is work. Don’t sweat it kid. I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

“You’re not coming home?”He met your lips in a chaste kiss.

“I fly to Mumbai first thing in the morning and I still have lots of stuff to do before then.”

Yunho just nodded with understanding and bent down to peck your cheek one last time. “Text me when you land.”

“Will do. Drive safe.” When he was far you heard a snicker come from the side. Rolling your eyes you motioned the bartender over for a refill. It was Bruno tonight. Thank god. He always kept the good stuff on the side for you.

“Work is work, huh?”

“Precisely.”

The brooding man eased towards you slightly, still looking forward. “Are you working me?”

“For what reason would I do that? I have nothing to gain.”

He downed his dark liquid. “We both know that isn’t true.” and with that, he was gone into the crowd of tipsy politicians. Dim chandeliers and the gaudy presentation was suddenly becoming too much. With swift steps you made your way to the president’s table, a pleasant smile plastered on your face.

“Sir, I’m going to head out for the night; lots to do for tomorrow.”

“Of course, Y/N! Send my regards to Yunho on his surgeries. I saw that he left earlier.”

It was that obvious, huh? “I will. Thank you, Mr. President. Congratulations again on the agreement.” With a quick side hug to the misses and last goodbyes, you walked to the back entrance. Your night detail was waiting at the door, purse and coat in hand.

“Evening, ma’am.” You took your purse and got into the car.

“Hello, boys. I’m so ready to sleep.”

“Home, ma’am?”

“Not tonight, Sarge.”

“Of course.”

The ride to the Regis was short. Without much thought you were in your suite; draped in silk and nursing a vintage malt the adorable concierge had given you. And you had tried so hard to not come off as an alcoholic. How disappointing. The door clicked open but you didn’t pay it any attention as you were still enthralled by the itinerary in front of you. A hand pulled the pin out of your makeshift bun sending hair cascading over your shoulders.

“You work too hard, Y/N.”

“I am my work. It runs my life” The humming in your ear made a familiar heat rush to your chest. It flared out down your arms in little tingles.

“This here isn’t work. I think this is something you’re doing all for yourself.”

You reached behind you, bringing lips hard against your own. There was a little cut on the bottom one from a consistent bite the owner was likely not aware of. Sucking on the spot elicited the deepest moan you’d ever heard. Music on par with Nocturne op.9.

“Add selfishness to the qualities of my dynamic personality.”

You turned around in your seat and found a firm grip on your ass pulling you flush against a rattling chest. “He seems like a great guy.”

“Don’t talk about him, Seonghwa.” Stepping off the chair you pushed him towards the bed. He fell onto the plush surface without a sound of protest.

“You definitely have a type. The press would have a field day.”

Settling over the cocky speech writer that had been tugging on the edges of your mind all day was satisfying to say the least. You fit there perfectly; taking everything that was Park Seonghwa in until it made you dizzy. Though not as dizzy as he became when you abused his neck with abandon. You always adored his icy veins threatening to pop in restraint. His hands fumbled at your hip, willing you to move against him. He was too busy getting off to shameless moans of his name in his ear to feel your knee press down hard on his clothed dick.

“If anything gets out to the media, prepare to have this handed over to your uncle on a silver fucking platter.” His breath hitched and you swore the bulge in his pants only grew. You replaced the knee with your hand and used the other to rip open his now wrinkled button down. Your favorite surface. Not as broad as Yunho, but Seonghwa would say the filthiest things to get you to paint trails down his chest until he couldn’t breathe. That’s the difference between your choice of drugs. The most dangerous ones were the most addictive. So when he captured your mouth again, a fresh whimper on his lips, you had no intention of backing up the threat. Seonghwa. Seonghwa. Seonghwa. Pure honey to taste.

“Please, just fucking ruin me, Y/N.”

“I serve at the pleasure.”

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