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bitch-its-me-alv · 4 years

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You can’t touch what’s mine, bitch

(Part two of He is mine, bitches)

Damian was very proud of himself. He got a very hot and sweet boyfriend 13 months ago, managed to keep that boyfriend more than happy, and had managed to hide the existence of marin from his family for 14 months.

He had no idea how an alleged family of detectives and vigilantes hadn't even noticed that their youngest member was in a relationship. And that he spent less and less time with them and more with Marin. He was severely disappointed in his family, although he never said it out loud, he thought they would make better opponents.

In Marin's apartment he even had his own closet where he had his clothes, the only reason Damian kept coming back to the Mansion was because of appearances and his precious pets.

But he knew he couldn't go on like this forever. he wanted to introduce his family to Marin, to see how damn perfect he was, his photographs around the world, his point of view so different from the others, the way he sang for Damian even when he was in another room… Well maybe if he kept to himself how weak he was for his boyfriend everything would be fine.

With a good contact on the dark web, he got a protector on his cell phone, and so there were more than two thousand photos with Marin. They on their first date, in the bathroom mirror, at gotham school, in the classrooms, in the cafes, in bed. Their chat seemed like they were talking for years, full of memes that Damian didn't understand at first, and memes with their own faces.

He take all possible measures, but never anticipated that Marin would get sick from some kind of virus, forcing him to stay in bed, well, Damian actually forced him after Marin almost fell down the stairs at school.

So when he informed his father that he would take a break from patrols until further notice, he turned on all the Wayne family alarms.

Little Demon Spawn wouldn't use patrols as an excuse to hit people? Would he pass up the opportunity to take his katana out of its case? Who had he killed? Oh my god, would he be doing drugs? Maybe that would explain the little bruises on his neck and wrist.

“Oh for all the bats, Bats, what are you going to do? your only son of blood became a drug addict!”Dick very concerned about his little brother's safety “Tim, hack his cell phone, look it up in the network of cameras in the city, we can't leave it like that!”

“Calm down, boy wonder. It is clear that he killed someone and he is not using drugs.”Jason tried to appease his brother in his mother hen way.

"Well, he's hiding something big, someone has been removing images from cameras for over six months, and Damian coincidentally never sees himself in them, not even at school.”Tim didn't want to alarm anyone, but the fact that he hadn't found evidence of his little brother in the last six months in the city was certainly a big concern.

Had he been going back to his habits from the prince of assassins?

Everyone looked at Bruce, waiting for his words. “We will follow him just to make sure he is safe, whatever his secret he will tell us sooner or later.”

(They didn't know it was more later than sooner)

Nightwing, Red hood, Red robin, and Batman followed the low trail Damian left when he left the mansion. Unaware of the luck they had, of Damian being in a discussion on the phone with Bourgeois, to distracted to know he was being followed.

They stopped on the roof opposite the minimarket that Damian entered. With tim setting up the microphone to understand what Damian was saying. Another red flag was that he could not hack his cell phone.

"There is no need for threats Bourgeois, I understand the delicacy of the situation, and I am fully prepared to waste a couple of days on the cause."

No one in the family harbored hope at this point.

After hearing Bourgeois rant about the importance of his best friend's health, Damian continued navigating the soda aisle, he would never understand why Marin insisted that Dr.Pepper was the best of drinks when Mountain-Dew was clearly superior.

"To prevent him from trying to escape I had to chain him to bed, his insistence on continuing with his final project is very irritating, I am grateful that he can hardly speak at this point, or else his voice would be ringing throughout the department."

The whole Bat family was shocked and disappointed, Damian was holding a hostage somewhere horrible, and he was working with someone else.

At leaving the store, the vigilantes dispersed, all decided to find Damian's hostage, then they could deal with Demon Spawn. They were a little scared of what Damian could have bought in a simple minimarket to use as torture.

From Damian's phone, Chloe gave up with her hateful act and said goodbye to her best friend's boyfriend. "Just make sure he recovers properly, it is very rare that he gets sick, no matter what country or climate Marin was in, he almost never contracted any disease."

"I am conscious chloe, we both know that if there is someone Marin surrenders for, it will be me. I will inform you of any change in his condition."

He hung up the call as he entered his apartment building. His call with chloe lasted his entire journey on the street, luckily he was about to spend all his time with his soft and muscular boyfriend.

Meanwhile, on the rooftops around, the watchers waited for a more appropriate place for torture, but with their beloved Demon Spawn they never knew. Tim pulled out the binoculars so he could see through the walls of the building, looking for the poor soul that Damian held captive.

What they did not expect was for Damian to reach the top floor of the building, taking off his coat and shoes as he entered. The apartment very well furnished and full of life, as if someone actually lived there.

Batman was about to fly straight to the biggest window in the apartment, when what Tim saw made him fall backwards. Bats snatched the binoculars away from him before anyone else could.

"Bats you really don't want to see what's going on there, you wish you could forget it!" All the boys went crazy trying to get Tim to tell them what he had seen.

Inside the apartment, Marin was chained from his right hand to the head of his bed, his mystical blue eyes reddened at the corners, his body rendered by the dark green sheets that Damian had insisted on buying or would not sleep in bed. Marin saw nothing wrong with the old bear sheets.

Instantly Marin felt better when her grumpy boyfriend came home. If he could have produced any vaguely human sounds, he would have rushed Damian into the room.

Before Damian could say anything to his very sick boyfriend, Marin pulled him down onto his chest. Damian was very frustrated that despite all his years of killer training, he always fell on his boyfriend's chest. It was very common to find himself more than six times with his face buried in his hard chest.

So as a very usual act, he made himself comfortable to lock Marin between his body and the bed, holding on tight as always.

They give each other a chaste kiss to avoid germs, but the habit is difficult to break even for a few days. Tim falls on his back at that moment.

“Why did you take so long? It is sooo boring here without your vocabulary of yesteryear and your beautiful frown.” Damn the expensive cologne that always clings to damian, making his neck and hair always so tempting. He curses his body that matches him, which is always ready to attack at any time, and curses his sharp jaw.

"Your very dear best friend distracted me all the way, pretending to be the enemy, as if she hadn't been happy for us when we got together"Damian rolls his eyes.

Marin apparently having said the last thing his throat could handle surrenders to his boyfriend's possessiveness, letting Damian give him little kisses all over her face, excluding his lips.

Across the street batman curses and turns around, contacting agent A. Tim comes out of his stupor and tells his brothers what he saw. They also desperately contact agent A, the only sane one in any situation.

Two days later Marin is fully recovered, shining like a malicious and amiable ray of sunshine.

After Marin confessed to Damian that he knew he was Robin by his butt, and consequently deduced who the other bats were, along with super boy and superman, the barriers of the alter egos had fallen, and in exchange Marian told him about what he found in the Amazon caves and about who his relatives were.

To say that Marin had been about to split the marble island of his kitchen in two because of nerves would not be a lie, but once again, Damian surprised him by saying that it was not very important in his relationship that he had villains as a family, reminding Marin that his mother and grandfather were assassins and that he was also assassin at some point.

So there were no unpleasant surprises in their relationship, but there were surprises for the rest of the world. Marin knew about the secret that Damian was hiding from his family, because he was the secret.

He didn't get it wrong, no, Marin knew that Damian was more than willing to tell the world who he was dating, if the first selfie he published was something to consider, or ... all the broken hands he left behind because he thought they were very comfortable with him.

Oh, he loved when damian got all possessive, like a bristling kitten, or rather a panther ready to attack.

Returning from his fantasies, Marin decided to tell Damian that his time was up. His aunt Ivy had mentioned that the cameras hidden among the succulents had caught the bats spying on them days ago. Harley and ivy investigated before informing him, wanting to make sure they weren't going to confront him.

He loved Ivy and Harley, but the fact that they had called his parents and his nonna had not made him very happy, now he would have to explain why he had not told them about his boyfriend.

Marin hoped that the feeling of imbalance that was beginning to form in his chest was only the work of the family drama that was coming and nothing else.

➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

Damian was a bit more bitter than normal at school during the morning, he would admit that his call with Bourgeois distracted him from his surroundings, but it was about time that his family began to suspect.

Obviously he didn't take it out on his angel, he was what kept him going, so if Marin's fans came out with completely unnecessary bruises, neither Jon, Chloe, or Marin said anything.

And when Marin started kissing him more often to distract him nobody complained so much.

By the middle of the school day Damian had his hair messed up by Marin, Jon had chosen to warn Marin's outside friends about getting close, and Chloe was on her cell phone as usual. But a strange call to Marin sparked everyone's interest.

Marin reluctantly answered upon seeing the unknown number, but when no one spoke on the line, he knew it was a premonitory call.

The group partially aware of Marin's secrets nodded in acknowledgment, attentive to what was to come.

➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

Tim was ready to die, Dick was almost there, and Jason was more than pleased to help his little brothers leave this plane of existence.

Bruce was regretting in the darkest corner of his cave, what had he done wrong for his son to hide his partner? The moments of fatherhood that he shared with his son came to his mind ... and he realized that in reality he had not done much fatherly, so it made sense.

“I can't find any mention of Marin Dupain-Cheng, Jon Kent, Chloe Bourgeois or Damian on the internet for the last year. Everything has disappeared since October 28 from last year.”Tim was going crazy, he couldn't possibly find nothing.

“Calm down replacement, you can not find anything because you are looking for them from our devices and accounts. Alfred lent me his cell phone, and when I look for the name of our mysterious boy many interesting things appear”

“What are you waiting for Jason? Show it on the screen, I'm worried about little D”Dick said.

Bruce just nodded to his son, he had to be a better father to Damian from now on.

Jon, Chloe, Damian and Marin instagram appeared on the main screen of the cave. All with ridiculous names, like hellaMari, NottrollJon, QueenChloOriginal, and TheDEmon66. With too many followers to be just teenage accounts.

The only recent one was that of damian, where his photos were of him distracted, the one with Marin or the animal welfare he helped and the one he founded.

I had comments like: I would like to be you, how lucky you are, how I chose you, omg give me your life, etc ... It was very disturbing for the bati family, especially because they did not know that it was THE Damian Wayne, nor did they have his real name, they called him demon.

The evidence was refuted a year ago, with a photo in the instagram of Marin, of Damian and him facing the sun. With Damian's hair styled in a modern way, and with Marin lying on him, winking. Damian didn't even look the same even though he wasn't smiling, how happy he looked without needing to smile amazement at his family.

Thereafter, Jon and chloe began uploading photos of the group. A video especially on the NottrollJon insta convinced them to stop snooping.

Now they just had to wait for Damian to come back.

➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

"Since they overcame their own incompetence, I decided this would be the most effective, Marin, this is my family, my father Bruce, Grayson, Todd, and Drake. I think Alfred is in the kitchen but you already know him. Father and idiots, this is Marin my boyfriend for a year, congratulations for finding out.”

The bats definitely did not expect Damian to arrive with Marin after school, they had assumed they would have to hunt him all over the mansion. Even so, Bruce always prepared for everything with his mask, he shook Marin's hand, impressed by the height and strength of the boy.

"I'm glad you guys have finally discovered our secret" Marin smiled to the bats, making Damian grumpty.

“Wow, why are you like the sun if you date Demon Spawn?”

“Wait, did you know that he was hiding you from us?” Dick was surprised.

“Well ... I think we better start the story in the dining room, we don't want to make Alfred wait.” Damian was very pleased with his family's reactions and the fact that they were very surprised to approach Marin.

None in the family knew how to describe Marin yet. Physically, it was quite a surprise, with his big, slanted eyes, his symmetrical face, the fact that he was bigger than Jason in muscles and height, that his smile rivaled Grayson's, and that his dark blue hair was real.

But they knew very little about their attitude, tastes, or backstory. Tim's investigations had been very vague, only discovering that in reality there were not many papers about Marin because he had never been to school, or had lasted more than nine months in one place.

Then they followed the boys into the dining room, still amazed at Damian's attitude. Determined to inspect Damian's boyfriend thoroughly and decide for themselves how dangerous Marin Dupain-Cheng was. After all, if their beloved little brother liked it, it would have to have a dark side.

➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

As night fell, the bats could tell that Marin Dupain-Cheng did not lie to them even once. With their detective senses on edge, everyone could agree that he didn't tell a lie even once.

Which leaves them with the incredible travel anecdotes that Marin had related to them to please Damian and distract him from the accusations of his family.

It was refreshing to say the least, Marin's point of view on heroic and villainous figures, the problems of the world, the little ones, the horrible situations of the poor, the wonders of traveling. It was a drastic change to what they were used to. A vision stained brown with red and black shades, the city, the complaints and the pressure on the vigilantes or the absolute disgust for the anti-heroes or rogues.

“So you were in the scarecrow attack at the museum a year ago, and you threw your motorcycle at the guys who were shooting at you?” It was obvious that Jason had reminded him of the incident long ago, but unaware that Marin already knew their identities because of her boyfriend's butt, Jason pretended he hadn't been there.

Tim, Dick and Bruce had also been there, but they didn't see the moment that happened, so their disbelief was not acted.

"Was it because of the toxin of fear, or before you could already launch motorcycles at your whim?"Bruce spoke, seriously, what the hell did he take in the morning to make his voice so deep and strong?

Marin told Damian that it was the magic of the dark knight, but Damian dismissed it saying that after pretending so much he had stayed like this.

“Oh no, it's actually partly because I do what I can to keep fit.“Marin and Damian knew what was coming

“And the other part? "Dick asked suspiciously.

“Well that's thanks to my curse” Marin shrugged. As Damian reached for his hand under the table and all the bats leaned in his direction synchronously.

“Damn, like magic and that?”

“Yeah, when I was five, my nonna took me to the Amazon, of course she hadn't originally thought about going to the jungle, but for some reason I escaped, and ended up being swept away by a current in the river. Miraculously, I came to some kind of cave next to the rapids, where I touched something I shouldn't have touched and then the plague's curse clung to me.” Marin didn't mention that the curse came with the slim silver ring that right now was being rubbed by his boyfriend.

“So you're saying, that you have super strength because you drank from the Amazon River?“ Tim hit Jason, wondering if that white streak actually meant the death of all his neurons.

"It is more complicated than that but yes, it is actually quite similar to what you say”

Damian looks at his father, he will never admit it, but he was worried that his father did not like Marin, either because of his magic, the fact that he discovered his secret identities ... Or that his family is made up of the rogues of Gotham and other non-heroic personalities.

“He also discovered our identities a month after we started dating "Damian let out.

This time no one moved, with poker faces and saved breaths. Tim was the boldest "How ... did that happen?"

“I know Damian's butt from near, and being Robin didn't hide his butt very well.” Marin knew exactly how to break the tension, even if it means embarrassing his boyfriend a bit.

Jason and Dick started laughing seconds later, Bruce massaged his forehead, with the slightest blush on his cheeks. Tim dropped his head to the table, regretting his question, Damian just covered his blush, without looking directly at his family.

“Tt, Marin, couldn't you just tell them something else?”

“Of course not mon amour, they would know if I had lied”

After that they moved into the living room, where the fireplace was conveniently already on. The talk was postponed until it was late at night, and Marin after so many jokes with Jason and Dick had forgotten to mention that his parents would be coming to Gotham soon to meet them all.

Oh well, interesting things were definitely to come.

➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

Damian had a good night, maybe it had to do with the fact that he shared a bed with Marin, but they had done that before, or maybe it was the fact that this was the bed where he slept only before meeting Marin. Or was it because he had finally introduced his boyfriend to his family, and they all got along wonderfully.

Naturally someone had to ruin his good mood, and to his surprise, it wasn't his brothers this time, not even bruce had that nerve. It was that annoying weakling with casuela hair and orange spots on his face who dared to affirm that he had dated Matin and had currently come to town to repair his relationship.

The rest of the Gothnamites at school seemed unconvinced of their cheap babbling in bad English, but Damian didn't give a shit what his classmates thought. The important thing was that they had learned the lesson about Marin a long time ago, and it seemed like Damian would have to break some noses to make his point again.

"Oh yeah, my Mari and I were like this in the past." He showed his intertwined fingers. "But when he had to leave France because his aunt was trapped in the Himalayas it broke my heart, now that he's in town he has been insisting that we come back, isn't that so romantic that he dragged himself along for me?"

Lian was proud that all eyes in the hall were on him, who said that the Gothnamites were smarter was clearly an idiot.

Perhaps he did not realize that all eyes were of displeasure, weariness, and a few concerns. The skinny boy clearly didn't know what he was getting into.

Damian approached with irritation, after a quick check, decided he couldn't hit him ... as hard as he wanted. The chestnut build was too weak, and judging from the orange stains and chipped teeth, there was a more than 73 percent chance that a punch from him would send him to the hospital, and Marin had made him promise not to send more people to the hospital, to the hospital outside of school.

"Oh, so you and Marin are something?" Damian said to the chestnut, ignoring how people began to crowd with interest, while leaving space so that they did not cross with the cold words of Ice Prince, or his fists.

Lian, ignorant and malicious noticed the growing crowd, he had to do it right, or Adrianna would destroy him.

"Well… I don't really want to create any misunderstandings, especially with all the false publicity that he put on instagram, I mean, Marin didn't know a better way to get my attention, so he ended up hiring that model to fake a relationship for Internet." The crowd gasped, that boy would end up knocked out.

"Woah, everything that has come out of your mouth is nothing but shit, and I've only had the misfortune to meet you for a minute."Damian spoke. “So I will tell you something flimsy rat, Marin has never had something with you nor will he, he is a man of good taste, he has class and high standards that you will never can fill in your miserable excuse for life. So you better shut your mouth full of shit before I kick your ass and those horrible orange stains you have.”

The students smiled, that bastard would finally shut his mouth in the best way, oh, and sunshine prince did not look close, there was a great possibility of punches.

Lian did not know what was the best way to react, that guy was scary, damn, he was surely the thug, the safest thing was to play the scary victim, anyway he was too scared to act angry.

"Oh, maybe you are one of the people who is in love with Marin, I can't blame you, my boyfriend is charming that everywhere he go he get a ... admirers entourage, it is understandable that you are angry but there is no need to do great matter about it.”

Damian was about to reply with his usual cold and dark aura, when his boyfriend entered the crowd.

Lian, or actually Lila, cringed at the sudden appearance of Marin, she / he thought it would keep her record of being late to school and give her time to manipulate the sheep.

“Stop your pathetic act Rossi, the French in our old school may be a ball of idiots, but in Gotham things are very different.”

Ah, Marin. It could be called sunshine prince and boy did it fit him. You can be in his graces and be lucky to have a ray of sunshine to light up your days, or you could be an idiot without self-preservation and die from sunburn.

Lian tried to regain command, wild was going to kill her, she had not been in the city for five days and had already been discovered.

“Oh, Marin darling, you don't have to protect me from the media anymore, you can stop pretending.”

He tried to get closer, but damian slapped his hand against the lockers before he could touch him. Lian did not hesitate to exaggerate and throw himself against the lockers. "Agh, this brute just attacked me! Separate him from me!"

No one moved, sharing the feeling of shame that apparently the skinny did not have.

Marin decided to speak. "Let it be known, that I am not associated in any way with this cheap and lying bitch. Anything that comes out of her mouth is more false than the pyrite. I hope I don't see you again Rossi"

When Lian was about to throw herself at Marin's feet, Damian stopped him, putting his brand name shoe on her chest.

“Don't even try you bastard, he's my boyfriend. And you can't touch what's mine, bitch.”

When the order of the hierarchy was restored, with Damian and Marin walking hand in hand the students lost interest, and left quickly. Completely forgetting the sulfuric chestnut on the ground.

Lila Rossi was so fucked up, and the Agrestes still didn't know.

At a spa across town, Chloe had a feeling. And in a room a few doors from where Rossi Jon was, he also felt it.

#daminette #male marinette #maribat #damian x marinette #lila is fucking faking be a boy for attention i fucking hate her

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nolongerironicteenwrites · 3 years

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Writers Block Ao3

“I just want to be there for you”

Shikamaru x Reader

You were sitting alone, observing the quiet early morning. The dew had freshly set and you found yourself smiling while you sat, legs stretched and crossed in front of you. It’s been forever since you’ve sat alone in silence. Normally you were being surrounded by so much going on at once in your work, so it was nice to have a day to yourself. Which quickly interfered with a hum of sorts. You couldn’t put your finger on the noise nor did you initially see anybody.

Then there was a quiet hum. You looked around more actively now to try and figure out who was there. You didn’t see anyone. Which was off. Standing up you stretched and started to descend down from the mountain you were laying on when someone actually caught your eye. You had missed him while sitting down. The boy was alone and asleep. You didn’t know him, or at least you didn’t recognize him. You squinted a but before taking your glasses off to clean. He was slightly hidden by a dip in the ground. He had long hair and it was down. You could see a ponytail bump. He was playing with a lighter with his eyes closed. You could hear him sigh from a mile away. He just laid back down. He never even opened his eyes. It intrigued you, but you just kept walking.

The boy knew you were there but he didn’t say anything. It felt too quiet to say anything about anything. Plus he didn’t want to scare you. He saw how peaceful you looked and he was just going to leave you alone. Plus he wasn’t in a very talkative mood, he rather existed in a quiet space with someone who didn’t force him to be okay when he wasn’t. You were cute, maybe he would see you again.

Sure enough a few days later, as the sunset, he saw you again. Watching the sunset behind the forest. The sun painted you in a low amber color, not that you saw. Your head was in your knees, hair falling around your shoulders. He quietly walked up to you, sitting a few feet from you. Then he heard you quietly crying. He was surprised to hear someone crying out in the open. He wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what.

“Uh, H- Hey. My name is Shikamaru. Are you- are you okay?” he asked looking at you.

You sighed and whipped your tears. You looked up and he saw your face. Even though you had been crying for who knows how long before he saw you, you looked beautiful which was weird to say, even for him who didn’t know you. You looked up and recognized the hair at first. You put your glasses back on and now you knew who it was the boy from the other day.

“Oh, I’m (Y/N) hello.”

You squint and look at him well for the first time. Oh, this was your boss's son.

“Oh, grace. Your my boss’s son..” you pinched your nose. “I’m so sorry.”

Shikamaru looked at you and squinted. A look of realization washed over him. He didn’t recognize you at first but then it hit him. You were a few years older than him and you were his father’s new assistant. That’s why your name felt so familiar. He smirked a little.

“Oh right. I know you now! You’re my dad’s newest assistant. I’m sorry for the ringer my old man is about to put you through.”

“I actually don't mind it. It’s been insightful.” you smiled.

“Then why are you crying?” he asked, looking confused.

“We just met. I doubt you want to know,” you replied, rubbing your eye.

Shikamaru tilted his head. Why did he care? She was a stranger to him. His dad knew her, not him but yet here he is, trying to console her. It was out of character for him. He would have never cared this much about someone he hardly knew. Then yet, here he was. Sitting at sunset, when he could be at home playing Shogi with his dad. Or spending time with his mom, reading, or learning little skills. He may have complained about how mundane it all is, but he enjoyed it. Never that he would ever actively admit it. But yet here he was, not wanting to leave someone crying.

“You’re right. Honestly. I don’t know you, but you shouldn’t be this miserable. Especially if it was my dad’s fault.” he moved closer to you.

You snorted and looked at him.

“It wasn’t your dad Shikamaru. He actually sent me home early when he saw I couldn’t focus- just some personal life. And I know you’re going to say- don’t let personal life bleed into professional life. I just had a bad morning, my dad is sick and it’s taking a toll on my mom and me. She thinks I should stop working to help out. But work- work keeps me sane and someone needs to help them out.” you explained.

Shikamaru listened. He watched you out the corner of his eye. You weren’t looking at him, you were looking out over the town. He took in your profile and smiled. He did something completely out of character for him.

“Want to come over to my house? For dinner maybe play a little shogi with me. I need someone new if my dad’s gonna keep working late.” he asked you.

You blushed and looked at him.

“How forward of you.”

He huffed and looked at you. You flashed him a smile and nodded.

“I would love to.”

He stood up and offered you a hand to stand. You accepted it and let yourself be pulled to your feet into the start of a beautiful friendship. Dinner was lovely. His mom was a total sweetheart and understood where you were coming from about being stressed. She knew how hard it must be for you to be a provider. She offered you to stay here whenever you may need to getaway. She had such a soft smile that made you feel welcomed.

“Do you know how to play shogi?” Shikamaru asked.

“I’m rusty but I think I can figure it out,” you replied, helping his mom clear the table.

Yoshino looked at her son. He rolled his eyes and waved her off like it was no big deal. What you didn’t know is that he hardly ever let other people play with him, not people he hardly knew especially not after Azuma’s death. It warmed her heart to see him connected to someone. She hasn’t seen someone like this since Choji. She watched him lead you through the hall as Shikaku walked in.

“Someone over?” he asked, kissing Yoshino on the head.

“Yeah. (y/n).” She replied cleaning dishes.

“Mhm. That’s going to be a good friendship. I feel it.”

Yoshino smiled and nodded.

Shikamaru and you played shogi for hours, not that either one of you really noticed. You lost nearly every game but you had fun all the same. His dad eventually knocked on the door frame.

“I know you two are practically adults, but I think it’s time (y/n) gets home, I need her for work in the morning. Walk her home Shikamaru.”

He grumbled halfheartedly about how it was a drag. He got up and did it anyway. The two of you left the Nara home late into the night. The two of you made small talk on the way to the small family home you still lived in.

"I uh we should do this again. I haven’t made new friends since I started working for your dad.”

Shikamaru huffed but didn’t disagree. He just nodded along and smiled.

“Be safe!” you called to him as he walked away.

He smiled to himself as he walked away. He found himself thinking about you as he walked away. You were pretty sure, gorgeous even. But that isn’t what intrigued him about you, you were smart, rivaling smart. You had more drive than he did which made it rivaling but comforting. His cheeks grew hot when he thought about getting to know you better. He groaned and mumbled to himself.

“How troublesome.”

It took a few days before the two of you met again. But it wasn’t in the first place you had met, it was walking into Hokage's office.

“Oh Shikamaru!” you smiled. “Nice to see you.”

“Good to see you too (Y/N).” he smiled holding the door open for you.

Tsunade looked over you two. She explained that she needed all the people she could get to intel for the up-and-coming war. You two have to put together a team and go to the sand to converse with the Kazekage about what their plan is.

The two of you continue to work closely with one another over months to come. Until you stopped coming to work. It concerned his dad. You were making so much progress helping to uncover different Akatsuki locations but that all stopped suddenly. He called his son to his office. Shikamaru walked in casually but Shikaku’s face looked concerned.

“Your friend hasn’t been to work in a week..”

“(Y/N)?” he asked.

Shikaku nodded. Shikamaru nodded as well and backed out of the office. He needed to get out before he ran to where he hoped you were. He was taking a chance by going to the mountain to see if you were there. He hoped you were there, he wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to find you and make sure you were okay. To his relief, you were there but you weren’t okay. It was like the day he first talked to you. He quietly approached you and sat down with his back pressed to you looking at the sky.

“You don’t have to talk,�� he said.

You took a deep breath, it was wobbly, then you just started to sob again explaining your father has passed. That broke his heart. He moved to hug you against his chest. You were shaking from the ferocity of how you were crying. He pressed you harder against his chest. He let you cry until you were tired and slumped against him. He pressed his head to the back of your neck and then kissed the back of your head.

“(Y/N), I’m sorry about your father..”

You hiccuped and nodded.

“I just want to be there for you. I-”

You stopped him by hugging him. He froze but accepted your hug. You needed him more than his comfort. He just ran his hand up your back. You both stayed like that forever. He wanted to make things right for you and see you smile again.

Oh gosh. He thinks. I think I might be in love with her.

Well, today isn’t the day to tell you that. He brought you back to his house. He played shogi with you and then on a walk through the Nara forest. He took you to all his favorite places to try and distract you from what was going on. You were grateful. Grateful for the friendship you've made, grateful for the love you’ve grown to have for him, and everything that you’ve been able to have thanks to Shikamaru. You knew you’d fallen for him but today solidified everything for you. At the end of the night, you knew, but today wasn’t the day. Or any time soon for the matter.

You decided to not tell him. You kept it all to yourself. For as long as you could. Throughout the wartime, because it wasn’t time for feelings. Even after you two kept working together. It was hard for you both, especially considering the loss of his own father. Months after the war, you found him, smoking on the mountain, just like it was when you lost your own father. You sat against his back. He never tensed up, it was almost like he knew you were going to find him. You repeated his actions from that day once he realized, he pushed away from you and pulled you to stand up. He dropped his cigarette and stomped it out. You had a look of shock on your face when he gently took your face in his hands before pressing a kiss to your lips. You gasped and pulled away. He didn’t look surprised, but more understanding.

“I’m sorry. I just- for so long I have been trying to figure it out.. And I can confirm. I do in fact love you.”

You blushed and smiled. You took his hands in yours and pulled him to you. You hugged him tight before pulling away and finally kissing him back. He held onto you. He rarely let people in at this intimate a level, but you, you were different. After you guys pulled away he had a lopsided grin.

“Feelings can be troublesome, but for once. It doesn’t seem to be such a drag if it’s you. I want to let you in and be here for me. I’m going to need you.”

You smiled tearing up and nodded.

“Of course. I just want to be there for you.”

He laughed at his words being used in such a way that made him comforted. He was glad, if he had to fall for a friend that it was you. He could see himself living his life with you like he wanted and described. You were just happy he was going to let you in.

#reader inserts #reader prompt #naruto imagines #naruto reader inserts #naruto #shikamaru nara #shikaramu x reader

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haileygarciasunshine · 4 years

Text

Adam Driver x Reader

This is my FIRST imagine writing so please bare with me!😳😬

Pairing: Adam Driver x Reader

Word count: 1,962

Prompts: #31 “I’m too sober for this” and #14 “Promise?” “Yeah, Kiddo I promise.”

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, drinking.

You were best friends with Adam, John and Oscar. Well, you were actually friends with the cast and crew of Star Wars but you closer to John and Oscar. The three of you often went by the nickname the three musketeers. You had romantic feelings for Adam. Tonight was the premiere of ‘The Force Awakens’.

Luckily, Oscar had asked you to be his plus one given the fact that he knew about your feelings for Adam. To say you were excited to attend the premiere, would be an understatement. Everyone had worked so hard on the movie and you were truly happy to be able to experience something as wonderful as that with two of your best friends.

The day had gone by fast, since you spent it getting ready for the evening in your apartment. You wanted to make sure that you looked exceptional tonight and hopped tonight you would finally have the guts to tell Adam how you felt about him.

You had never been on the red carpet, much less even attended a red carpet event. It was important to you, to dress up but also in something that you could keep up with the guys in. Needless to say you settled upon a dress that went to your knees. It was the most beautiful dress you had ever seen. It was also the most expensive dress you’ve ever purchased. You decided to work on your hair before getting dressed. It was in loose curls.

The dress was strapless and flowy. It had a sweetheart neckline, and a bejeweled decorative belt. The dress was nude colored and was made with shiny material. You didn’t want to draw attention away from the boys because it was their big night and you were just there as a supportive friend. You decided to wear nude heels to match your dress.

You were too busy putting on the finishing touches to hear Oscar enter your apartment. The three of you decided it would be best to have a key to each other’s apartments in case of emergencies.

Suddenly you were startled by a wolf whistle.

“Damn, y/l/n. You clean up good!” Oscar says as leans against your bedroom door frame.

“Dude! You scared me half to death!” you shriek, half turning to face your friend and placing your hand over your heart.

Chuckling he shrugs and replies “Sorry, Kiddo.”

Pushing off the door frame and offering you his hand he says, “shall we head out?”

Turning your focus back to the mirror, you do a once over to make sure you were happy with how your appearance was. This time, you turned fully around to your friend and accepted his hand.

Once, you arrived at the theater you were greeted by your other friends. You and Oscar stopped and posed for pictures. After, you had posed for a few pictures you stepped away from him to let him do interviews.

You were watching your friends do interviews, but your mind wondered about Adam. It wasn’t long before you felt a presence next to you.

“You look stunning, y/n.” a deep voice said next to you.

Looking up, you realized the voice belonged to Adam. “Why thank you! You don’t look too bad yourself.” you reply shying away feeling your cheeks heat up.

Before either of you could say anything further, your mutual group of friends rushed up for a big group hug.

After the movie was over, of course your friends talked you into going to an after party. They didn’t question why it didn’t take any convincing to get you to go. Your friends knew it was because of your crush on Adam.

It was late by the time you arrived at the party. Deciding it was best to change into something more comfortable before heading to the party. Once, you arrived at the party hosts house you looked at your phone. It read 11:30pm.

Sighing, you realized it would be well into the morning hours before you got back home to rest. You were wearing your favorite leggings, favorite blouse, and a pair of your favorite shoes.

You were greeted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek from the host. Pointing you in the direction of your group of friends. As you made your way over to them you could tell they were already three sheets to the wind. Before you reached them you heard a chorus of your name being shouted in-unison was heard.

“Y/N!!”

Shaking your head and chuckling you finally reached them.

“We weren’t sure you were going to make it!”

“Of course she was coming! Adam is here! She wouldn’t miss a chance to see him!”

You giggled and rolled your eyes at the conversation your friends were having.

“Whatever.” You giggled.

“Let’s get you a drink hun.” Daisy suddenly said.

You could sense she was trying to distract you from something. But you didn’t really care. Walking over to the bar arm in arm, you guys talked about the premiere and caught up.

“What can I get you beautiful ladies?” The bartender said smiling.

He was attractive, but not nearly as attractive as Adam. The bartender had a name tag that said, Jake. He was the almost the opposite of Adam. He had the same luscious, wavy hair but that was about it. His hair was blonde, and he had blue eyes. His face was cleanly shaven and he was only about an inch taller than you.

“I’ll take a Mountain Dew and Captain, please!” Daisy said excitedly.

“I’ll take a y/d, please” you said smiling.

Half leaning on the bar you checked out the room. It was filed with a lot of A-List celebrities. You settled upon a scene that made your stomach churn.

Adam was standing talking to a skinny busty blonde. He was still in his tux from the premiere holding a whiskey glass. The blonde was wearing a body con dress that barely covered her bottom, along with platform high heels. He seemed to have said something funny since the blonde giggled and touched his arm in an unfriendly matter. This made you frown at them interacting before you.

“I’m too sober for this” you sigh out to your friend.

“I’m sorry honey. We were trying to keep you from seeing them.” She frowned, touching your arm before continuing, “If it helps any, we all think he has feelings for you.” She tried with a smile.

Turning to Jake, you said “when you get a chance we will take two shots of silver Cuervo, please!”

Once you both downed your shots, you made your way over to your group of friends. Seeing Adam with someone you’ve never seen before made you ping with jealousy. Your friends decided pumping you with alcohol and bad decisions would help.

You were currently dancing with Nate. Or was it Nick? You couldn’t remember nor could you be bothered to care. Most of your friends had wondered into their own bad decisions.

As soon as the song was over you decided it was too hot and you needed to get some air. Failing to realize, you had made a certain tall and dark haired man jealous. He didn’t mean to hurt you. He was only being kind to someone who was desperate for his attention. She was after something he only wanted with you.

Once you were outside, you could see the city lights of LA. Checking your phone you had received messages from your friends but you couldn’t be bothered to see what they texted. Only caring what the current time is. 1:52am.

Sighing you closed the lock screen of your phone. It was already later then you wanted to be out.

Wrapping your arms around your waist you closer your eyes and took a deep breath trying to sober up a little.

Opening your eyes, you felt content looking at the scenery before you. Turning to go back inside, you ran into the chest of someone you didn’t hear come out.

The chest you ran into belong to the guy you had feelings for. Adam.

“Woah, careful there.” He said as his hands settled on the sides of your shoulders to steady you.

Your hands had shot out and rested on his biceps.

“What’re you doing out here, Adam?” You asked trying to focus on something other than being sick.

“Are you... Are you drunk?” He questions

“What do you care?” Your question came out a little harsher than you anticipated.

Flinching he said “Why wouldn’t I care? Friends care about each other, don’t they?”

“Right. Friends.” you sighed and shook your head, releasing him from your grip making him release his hold on you.

“What? We aren’t friends?” He asked dumbfounded.

You tried to go back on side and escape from him. Knowing if you didn’t get away from him, he would be in for a rude awakening.

“No, Adam!” You exclaim “I like you, you idiot!” Feeling tears pooling, you rush around him and back into the house, not caring he stood there with his mouth agape.

Appearing by Daisy’s side you asked “Can you please take me home?”

“Of, course.” She replied. You didn’t know she had seen how everything between you and Adam had played out. It broke her heart into pieces for you.

She didn’t pressure you to talk on the ride home. The only question being “Do you want me to come up stairs with you?” Shaking your head, you made your way to your apartment door.

Once you made your way into your apartment you took your shoes off and went to your bedroom, with the intent of putting on your pajamas. You made it about halfway to your bedroom before you heard a knock on the door.

“I’m okay Daisy, really!”

No response.

Sighing you opened the door and froze seeing who was at the door. Adam didn’t want for an invitation to enter your apartment. Shutting the door and turning around to face the intruder. You were met with his arms pulling you into his chest.

He was nervous you would reject him. Pulling away from you, he took your hand and lead you to your bedroom. Wordlessly, he went in his drawer of clothes he kept at your house for such occasions and made his way to the main bathroom to change. Blinking, you gathered your pajamas and changed in the bathroom that is connected to your bedroom.

Opening the door you saw Adam, already laying beneath the covers waiting for you. You Turned the light off and made your way over to the bed and got beneath the covers. Before you could say anything, he was hovering over you, and nuzzling your nose with his. Closing your eyes, you breathed in his sent enjoying the warmth radiating from him. His close proximity making your stomach flutter.

Before you could say anything, you felt a pair of soft lips barely brush against yours. You brought your hands up to rest on his shoulders. One hand was tangled into his hair while the other rested on the back of his neck. Bringing him back for a proper kiss, your lips crashed together. The feeling of kiss was enough to make you both moan.

Before the kiss could go any further, Adam rolled off of you and back onto his side of the bed. You opened your eyes and whimpered in the lost of contact from him.

Adam chuckled before pulling you to cuddle him. Your head rested on his chest while his arms wrapped around you.

“We’ll talk about this in the morning.” He said sleepily.

“Promise?” You asked snuggling closer into his chest.

“Yeah, kiddo I promise.” He replies kissing the top of your head.

This is my FIRST imagine! I am pretty proud of my work since I haven’t, wrote a story in years (Highschool)!

Please be nice! Feel free to send me a request!!!

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haileygarciasunshine97 · 4 years

Text

Imagine #1

This is my FIRST imagine writing so please bare with me!😳😬

Adam Driver X Reader

Word count: 1,962

Prompts used:

“I’m too sober for this”

“Yeah, kiddo I promise.”

Jealous fluff imagine

You were too busy putting on the finishing touches to hear Oscar enter your apartment. The three of you decided it would be best to have a key to each other’s apartments Incase of emergencies.

Suddenly you were startled by a wolf whistle.

“Damn, y/l/n. You clean up good!” Oscar says as leans against your bedroom door frame.

“Dude! You scared me half to death!” you shriek, half turning to face your friend and placing your hand over your heart.

Chuckling he shrugs and replies “Sorry, Kiddo.”

Pushing off the doorframe and offering you his hand he says, “shall we head out?”

Turning your focus back to the mirror, you do a once over to make sure you were happy with how your appearance was. This time, you turned fully around to your friend and accepted his hand.

You were watching your friends do interviews, but your mind wondered about Adam. It wasn’t long before you felt a presence next to you.

“You look stunning, y/n.” a deep voice said next to you.

Looking up, you realized the voice belonged to Adam. “Why thank you! You don’t look too bad yourself.” you reply shying away feeling your cheeks heat up.

Before either of you could say anything further, your mutual group of friends rushed up for a big group hug.

Sighing, you realized it would be well into the morning hours before you got back home to rest. You were wearing your favorite leggings, favorite blouse, and a pair of your favorite shoes.

“Y/N!!”

Shaking your head and chuckling you finally reached them.

“We weren’t sure you were going to make it!”

“Of course she was coming! Adam is here! She wouldn’t miss a chance to see him!”

You giggled and rolled your eyes at the conversation your friends were having.

“Whatever.” You giggled.

“Let’s get you a drink hun.” Daisy suddenly said.

You could sense she was trying to distract you from something. But you didn’t really care. Walking over to the bar arm in arm, you guys talked about the premiere and caught up.

“What can I get you beautiful ladies?” The bartender said smiling.

“I’ll take a Mountain Dew and Captain, please!” Daisy said excitedly.

“I’ll take a y/d, please” you said smiling.

Half leaning on the bar you checked out the room. It was filed with a lot of A-List celebrities. You settled upon a scene that made your stomach churn.

“I’m too sober for this” you sigh out to your friend.

Turning to Jake, you said “when you get a chance we will take two shots of silver Cuervo please!”

You were currently dancing with Nate. Or was it Nick? You couldn’t remember nor could you be bothered to care. Most of your friends had wondered into their own bad decisions.

Sighing you closed the lock screen of your phone. It was already later then you wanted to be out.

Wrapping your arms around your waist you closer your eyes and took a deep breath trying to sober up a little.

Opening your eyes, you felt content looking at the scenery before you. Turning to go back inside, you ran into the chest of someone you didn’t hear come out.

The chest you ran into belong to the guy you had feelings for. Adam.

“Woah, careful there.” He said as his hands settled on the sides of your shoulders to steady you.

Your hands had shot out and rested on his biceps.

“What’re you doing out here, Adam?” You asked trying to focus on something other than being sick.

“Are you... Are you drunk?” He questions

“What do you care?” Your question came out a little harsher than you anticipated.

Flinching he said “Why wouldn’t I care? Friends care about each other, don’t they?”

“Right. Friends.” you sighed and shook your head, releasing him from your grip making him release his hold on you.

“What? We aren’t friends?” He asked dumbfounded.

You tried to go back on side and escape from him. Knowing if you didn’t get away from him, he would be in for a rude awakening.

“No, Adam!” You exclaim “I like you, you idiot!” Feeling tears pooling, you rush around him and back into the house, not caring he stood there with his mouth agape.

Appearing by Daisy’s side you asked “Can you please take me home?”

“Of, course.” She replied. You didn’t know she had seen how everything between you and Adam had played out. It broke her heart into pieces for you.

She didn’t pressure you to talk on the ride home. The only question being “Do you want me to come up stairs with you?” Shaking your head, you made your way to your apartment door.

“I’m okay Daisy, really!”

No response.

Before the kiss could go any further, Adam rolled off of you and back onto his side of the bed. You opened your eyes and whimpered in the lost of contact from him.

Adam chuckled before pulling you to cuddle him. Your head rested on his chest while his arms wrapped around you.

“We’ll talk about this in the morning.” He said sleepily.

“Promise?” You asked snuggling closer into his chest.

“Yeah, kiddo I promise.” He replies kissing the top of your head.

#adam driver #fanfic #prompts #prompt #imagine #adamdriver #fan #fandom #fluff #fluffy #fluffimagine #fluff imagine #reader #adam x reader #adam driver x reader #star wars #the force awakens

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amarauder · 5 years

Text

chapter one - percy jackson x reader

| percy’s journey to the top of the world

A/N; I am really really really excited to share this all with you! I have actually already wrote the whole thing and I am just editing it now as I post the chapters. I feel like I have finally perfected Percy's personality, damn that took way too long. But I feel like this is definitely my best writing piece yet.. So, I hope you enjoy and I apologize in advance for Thalia's personality. I kept re-writing everything she did but at the end I never felt like it was right and it was taking too much time so I just left it as it is. Thank you for reading! :)

It was Leo's idea to go to the fair, and with much credit all of his spastic and vociferous pleadings, he managed to annoy everyone else into agreeing to tag along. Percy's mostly going because Luke is going, and Luke is mostly going because Thalia said she might make an appearance. Typical, Percy thinks, watching his best friend glance around in what he believes to be a casual way.

It's not that Percy hates fairs—he loves them, really; he delights in the bright lights and the laughter that seems to push at his ears from all sides. It's a happy place, or at least somewhere people go to be happy, and it's the kind of atmosphere Percy would stay in forever if he could. There are few things Percy loves more than happy people, and the variety of fried food at his disposal is nothing if not a plus.

Never let it be said that Percy doesn't like the way fairs make him feel. But let it be known far and wide that he won't touch those rides that shoot up a million feet in the air, nor will he mess with the ones that spin in circles so quickly, he feels sick just from looking at them.

Percy and the guys lap the fairgrounds twice before they decide to start out easy with the Pharaoh ride. Percy doesn't like that one—doesn't like the sensation of flying anymore than actually flying—so he decides to stand near the exit holding two big jackets and one watered down Mountain Dew. He almost regrets coming. He's never been a huge fan of fair rides save the Ferris wheel and Tilt-A-Whirl, but it's better than spending his Friday night doing the homework due Monday, he guesses.

The guys get off the ride, all of their hair sticking up in a few different directions. Luke ruffles Percy's hair up for good measure, then they all dash off to the Ring of Fire.

Percy stares up at it, contemplating; it would be totally safe to drape all of their belongings over the fence surrounding the ride, of course, so there doesn't have to be a man left behind every time they ride something. Not to mention the fact that Percy bought the unlimited riding wristband alongside everyone else, even if most of the rides are far too dangerous for his taste.

"You coming?" Luke questions, a few steps away. Percy opens his mouth and closes it, and even though he doesn't say anything, his best friend still understands somehow. "Hey, if you're not up to it, it's fine. I know you get a little... you know."

Percy, predictably, feels like a loser—like the one teenager in all of the park who doesn't want to do something reckless, who doesn't like the way wind feels on his face. "I think I'll go get something to eat. Meet you guys after?"

Luke smiles kindly and pats him on the shoulder. "Of course. I'll make sure we ride the Ferris wheel before the night's over, too. I know you like that the most."

Percy gives a short nod, seeing a few more people saunter up to the Ring of Fire. "You better hurry before all the seats are filled."

It takes him a while to find a place that has any hot chocolate left, since it's past eleven and most families have already come and gone after consuming the majority of the fair's supply of warm drinks. It's not much, just chocolate mix poured into some hot water, and the marshmallows have already melted into little white dots of foam, but it cheers Percy up anyways. After all, he's drinking hot chocolate while all of his friends are upside down on a death trap of a ride.

Someone bumps into him from behind and Percy hears a chorus of laughter before he turns. His hand hurts a little, since some hot chocolate spilled upon the collision, but it's not something he can't handle.

"Sorry," the person says, their head turned away from him. Their presence feels familiar—like maybe he's been around them before, like maybe he's heard their voice or their laugh. "My friends are a little... pushy."

Percy smiles at what might or might not have been a pun. "It's fine," he answers, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. It's still boiling hot. His unintended assailant turns away from their friends to look at him, finally, and Percy nearly spits.

"Oh, Percy," Y/N says, pleasantly surprised. "Haven't seen you for a while, partner."

Percy's chest hurts a little, and he's not sure if it's from the scalding hot chocolate or the h/c haired girl in front of him. "Yeah, it's been a while since—"

"Since chemistry, sophomore year," she interrupts, and Percy nods. "Yeah, that was a fun class. I always liked chemistry." He must make a face, because Y/N laughs at him, pretty pink lips parting to show white teeth. Percy is momentarily entranced. "I can't remember you liking it half as much as I did."

"Was a little miserable," Percy admits, though it's an understatement. He was awful at chemistry, barely scraping by with Ds. The only good thing about the class was Y/N—smart, wonderful Y/N who helped him through the vast majority of the worksheets that might as well have been in another language, for all of Percy's understanding of the subject.

"Well, at least you passed, so it's over and done with now," she says, a small smile still tugging at her lips. Percy watches as she zips up her jacket, conscious of the fact that he left his in his car. He kind of wishes he didn't, just so he could have something to tuck his face into, or at the very least serve as a distraction.

"Guess I have you to thank for that," he replies, smiling back tightly when Y/N beams. He's seen her almost every day at school for the past four years, and the only time he's ever talked to her is when they were chemistry lab partners for what might have been the best 40 weeks of his life. There was the occasional hello when they ran into each other during assemblies since, but other than that, Percy hadn't gathered the guts to make it abundantly clear to Y/N that he wants to be her friend. (And he does want to be her friend—Y/N's a good ally to have, for one, and he also feels both smarter and less intelligent just by standing near her. She gives him good vibes. Percy's always loved people like that.)

It looks like Y/N's about to say something, and Percy's prepared to hang onto every word she utters, but one of her friends clears their throat without a hint of subtlety. "Oh, right," Y/N says, like she can't believe herself for being so rude. "This is Percy, guys. And that's Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, and—"

"Thalia," Percy says with a knowing smile, eyes catching on the shortest of the group. "Luke is looking for you."

"Of course he is," one of the girls says, but Percy isn't sure who. Thalia blushes a little, tucking a chunk of her short, dark hair behind her ear.

"I was actually about to go find them, if you want to come with?" Percy was mostly directing the question towards Thalia, but all of the girls take it as an invitation. They begin to walk; Y/N stays closer to him while the other girls drag a little behind.

"So..." Y/N clears her throat, and Percy wishes he would paid attention during his mom's silly romantic comedies on movie night. Maybe then he'd know how to talk to a girl. "Having fun?"

Percy nods immediately, swirling his hot chocolate and carefully stepping over a bundle of thick cords stretching across the walkway. There's a lot of things Percy wants to do in front of Y/N, but most of them involve impressing her and not tripping face-first into the cold, wet grass. "Yeah, I guess. You?"

She shrugs and her elbow hits his. Percy tries his best not to grin at that, but he's never been one for success. "I'm not a huge fan of fairs, personally, but I was physically dragged from my home tonight by them." She tips her head back, gesturing to her friends, and Percy smiles a little. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Percy says, raising his eyebrows at her. "Just—no parties to attend? Dates to run off on? Family dinners to sit through?"

"That was sophomore year," Y/N says on a sigh. It sounds mostly relieved, but maybe a little wistful, too."I'm a little more boring now. I read a lot."

"That's—" Percy searches for a word. "Um, that's good. Reading is good for you."

Y/N sends him an amused look. "Do you read, Percy?"

He knows she's teasing him, and he can feel his cheeks heating up. "A—sometimes. A little."

"What's your favorite book?"

"I—" Percy wishes he had a title in his mind—something impressive, something that would make Y/N look at him like she's surprised, but happy he said something. "Um, The Edge of Us?"

Y/N raises an eyebrow, directly translating to an unspoken are you messing with me? Percy keeps a straight face. "By whom?"

"Sally... Jackson," Percy says, admitting defeat.

Y/N snorts, her eyes closing briefly as she laughs at him. "Your mother's book? Really?"

"Well, I didn't have a proper answer!" Percy says, laughing with her. "I figured I could at least promo my mom when I had the chance."

"Unbelievable," Y/N says, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling, and holding his gaze. Percy breaks it first, idly scratching his chest and staring down at his toes. Y/N's no less blinding than she was two years ago.

"There you are, Percy," Luke says appearing on Percy's other side. He leans past him, waving at Y/N. "Hey, you. Doing alright?"

Y/N nods, hair falling to cover her eyes. She shoves them out of the way with a hint of frustration, and Percy has a feeling he's not supposed to find that somewhat cute. "And you? I heard you were looking for a certain someone."

"I absolutely was not," Luke says, though not without a less than amicable clap on Percy's back. Percy smiles serenely at his best friend, nodding to Thalia as if to say, go get 'em, Tiger. "I'll talk to you two later."

He goes to Thalia, after that, and Percy and Y/N share a smug smile. They always were a good team, even back in their chemistry lab days. "They're going to date, aren't they?" Percy questions quietly, watching Luke shrug off his jacket for Thalia as she rubs her arms to warm herself up.

"Of course they are," Y/N says, a little fond.

"Hey, guys, we're going to go hit the Double Shot," Leo calls from where he stands between Hazel and Annabeth, arms reached out to wrap around both of the girls' shoulders. They both look vaguely annoyed but mostly indifferent to Leo's lady-killer antics.

"I think I'll pass," Percy says, at the same time Y/N says, "I hate that one."

"Right, well you two can wallow in your utter lame-ity," Jason says, sending them a smile to let them know that he doesn't mean it. "We'll catch up soon."

"Lame-ity isn't a word, Jason," Y/N informs him with an eye roll, her cheeks a little pink from the cold. Percy looks away, letting his eyes fall on the nearest spinning ride to distract himself. "Call us if you need us."

"Will do," Jason replies, saluting them before he jogs ahead to pounce on Leo's back, nearly making him, along with Hazel and Annabeth, fall. They laugh, and Percy smiles at the group.

"It's been a while since we all hung out," Y/N notes, and Percy nods. Sure, they've met up in pairs and trios here and there, but it's been a long time since they had the whole gang.

"Would have been the year before the last, right? During that trip to the museum." The trip where we got lost because we sneaked off to the Greek and Roman section while everyone else stayed on the tour. You talked us out of getting in trouble with our teacher.

"That was a fun field trip," Y/N says, glancing up at him. She doesn't say so, but he knows she remembers wandering off together just as much as he does.

"Really fun," Percy agrees, pointlessly. He remembers Y/N reaching out to touch a marble statue of Athena, and he remembers not bothering to mention that they weren't allowed to touch the exhibits, just because Y/N looked so full of curiosity.

"Are you still going to go to school for that?" Y/N asks now, just as curious as she was at the museum. "I know it means a lot to you."

Percy shrugs shyly. "Might minor in it."

She smiles to herself, shaking her head. "You do realize that you almost never speak in full sentences, right?"

"Didn't realize," Percy says, then he gives a sheepish smile. "Oh. Guess I do. I mean, I guess I do."

They both laugh for a second, falling quiet just quickly enough to make Percy feel awkward. He wishes he had more to say, if only to keep Y/N from regretting she stayed back with him.

"How are you?" Percy asks, after a while, when they've stopped to watch a ride as it spins in rapid circles, eliciting screams from those on it. He's heard that a lot of fair rides make people feel alive—give them a rush. They really just make Percy feel sick.

"I'm alright, a little cold. Aren't you cold?"

Percy shrugs. His sweater is thick enough, for the most part, and he's wearing another long sleeve shirt underneath it. "'S fine. But, uh, how are you overall? Not just right now, but in general?" I remember you had a tough time with your parents sophomore year. I hope it's worked itself out.

"I'm... Better." She nods to herself, raising her eyebrows when a particularly high-pitched scream interrupts her. "Mom and Dad got divorced the summer of sophomore year."

Percy's heart sinks for her, and he drops his eyes to the patchy grass, digging the toe of his shoe into the dirt. "That—That really sucks. And I'm sorry that you had to go through it."

"It's not your fault, Percy," Y/N says, nothing but genuine. "Thank you, though."

There's a lull in the conversation, and Percy feels like he's dampened her mood, like Y/N's whole night might be ruined if he doesn't do something about it.

"You like the Ferris wheel?" Percy finds himself asking, without really thinking too much about the implications of the words.

"I can't say I'm the biggest fan of heights," Y/N says, almost apologetic.

Percy nods immediately. "I know the feeling, believe me. Nearly died of fear when I first got on a plane." He gives a little self-deprecating chuckle, remembering the irritated sighs of the woman beside him, the stewardess who hovered by his side for a good portion of the flight, making sure that he didn't get sick on other fliers. "Like the Ferris wheel, though. Good view."

"Riveting as your sentence fragments are," Y/N says with a smirk, "I'd really like to get some cotton candy."

"I'll walk with you," Percy offers, half because he doesn't want her to go alone and half because he doesn't want to be alone.

"Thanks," Y/N replies, pushing her hands inside her jacket pockets. "It sucks to be alone at places like these, I'd think."

Percy hums like he agrees, though he isn't really sure what she means. "It would be lonely."

"You're a man of even fewer words than I remember." She sounds a lot teasing and a little something else, but Percy has trouble pinning it down.

"It was chemistry," he tries to explain. "I had a lot of questions. And I was a sophomore, which means I was at least double the amount of annoying I am now. Probably talked your ear off."

"Either you didn't, or I didn't mind," Y/N responds, nudging him with her elbow. "There's the guys, over there, if you want to join them. I can walk the rest of the way myself."

Percy opens up his mouth to tell her that it's fine, that he doesn't mind spending a few more minutes by her side, but then he realizes the nearest food stand is maybe five feet away and he might come off as a little, well, stupid. He nods. "Alright. I'll see you."

He comes up behind Luke and shoves his cold hand beneath his best friend's collar, laughing when Luke jumps a good foot in the air. "You fucker," Luke says, distrust in his eyes.

"It was just an excuse to fondle you, simmer down," Percy jokes, rolling his eyes at his friend. "How was the—what was it, Double Shot?"

"Absolutely terrifying," Luke says with a manic little grin. "But, that's the fun in it, I guess. Not knowing when you're about to plummet to the bottom of the ride. Nothing gets the blood pumping like the potential for death."

"Someone's feeling morbid tonight," Thalia says mildly, giving Luke a bewildered look. He shrugs, offering up an explanation of marathoning scary movies with Nico the weekend before.

"The fair closes at 1 AM," Jason announces to the group at large. "We can probably hit, like, three more rides with all of the lines."

"Ferris wheel last," Percy suggests. "That's all I care about."

"Yes, Percy, we know about your weird obsession with the lamest ride here."

Percy frowns at Leo. "It's not lame—"

"Just clichéd," Y/N puts in, appearing next to Annabeth. Percy narrows his eyes at her while she innocently pulls off a little cloud of cotton candy. "It's not a bad thing; it just is."

"At least my ride has a lower death rate," Percy grumbles, and either no one hears him or they don't believe it deserves a response.

Someone drops a mention of Gravitron, and it's only a few minutes before their group stands before the spaceship-like ride, chatting among themselves while they wait for their turn. Percy watches the ride spin with nauseating rapidity, eventually turning to watch a guy throw rings at bottles in an attempt to win some cheap stuffed animal that'll probably start threading in a week.

The child at his heel squeals in delight when she gets one of the smallest prizes available, the man only managing to land one ring on a bottleneck, and Percy can't remember being that grateful as a child. She's got to be a good kid, one of those that people never mind having around, regardless of age and whether or not they like children at all.

"What are you thinking about so deeply over here?" Y/N says from somewhere behind him. Percy glances over his shoulder, and when he looks back to the booth, the man and his kid are nowhere to be seen.

"Nothing, just didn't want to look at the ride anymore. It was making me kind of dizzy." Percy nearly smacks his palm to his forehead, feeling weak and idiotic for admitting that he's pretty squeamish, as far as fast moving objects and heights go. Pop in the goriest movie you can think of, and Percy will barely blink an eye, but threaten to push him on the Ring of Fire and he'll probably faint before you can even escort him to his seat.

"It's actually fun, I promise," Y/N says. "You don't really feel the spinning because you're going so fast."

"Ugh," Percy mutters, rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand. "How do people get a kick out of this stuff, honestly?"

Y/N hums in agreement, glancing at the line to make sure their group doesn't go on without her. "I've gathered that Luke is a bit of an amusement park junkie?"

"He is." Percy remembers the eighth grade field trip to Busch Gardens, and the swim team trip to Universal Studios. Luke certainly has a thing for adrenaline. "I think the feeling reminds him of performing."

"He performs?"

"Yeah, like, in a band."

"Oh." Y/N scuffs her foot on the ground. "Who else is in the band?"

"I was, originally," Percy mentions off-handedly. "But that was a long time ago. It's just him, Nico, and this college drop-out Luke now. They're really good."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just decided I didn't want to be in it anymore, since I didn't contribute a whole lot. I still help Luke with songwriting here and there, though."

"I meant, like," Y/N gestures like she isn't sure how to word what she's saying. "Did you play an instrument, or...?"

"Oh!" Percy coughs even if his throat doesn't have an itch, pulling his long sleeves down until they're about mid-palm. "Mostly guitar. Sang a teensy bit, but not much more than that. Luke is better at guitar than I am. And, well, you've heard his voice, I'm sure. Sounds like a damn angel. But, like, a manly, sexier one." Oh, God, Percy thinks, in absolute dismay. What am I even saying?

"A manly, sexy angel," Y/N muses. "An apt description. I had no clue angels had access to so much hair dye."

Percy laughs so hard, his ribs hurt a little. Y/N laughs, too, but mostly she just looks happy that she made him laugh. Percy finds that it's easy to remember why he wanted—wants—to be Y/N's friend as bad as he does.

"You'll miss your ride," he says after his chuckles have mostly died out. There's still a small smile that won't leave his face.

"I've been on it before," Y/N responds with a one-shouldered shrug, seemingly unconcerned. "I'd much rather talk about manly and sexy angels."

"What have I done?" Percy asks, rubbing his forehead, pretending to be a lot more regretful than he really is. Percy doesn't really mind when Y/N teases him, or, at least, he doesn't mind as much as he should. "I'm not going to live this down, am I?"

"Of course not," Y/N says easily. "Where would the fun be in that?"

| masterlist

#percy jackson x reader #percy x reader #anmarauder writings #percy's journey to the top of the world #PJO #percy jackson

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veridium · 5 years

Text

fall to pieces

happy Sunday! What better way to end the weekend than with some fresh college au? because I am a merciful mistrxss, I haven’t made this serving entirely with salt (I know, I know, promises, promises). but hey I entitled it after an avril lavigne song, so it can’t be that bad, right?

enjoy!

fic masterpost // previous episode

Sending Ellinor off to catch prince charming does wonders, momentarily, for olivia’s mood. It makes her lose sight of her own dysfunctional state of affairs. While her comrade showers she takes stock of all her surroundings, and the distraction soon fades. Her outfit cast aside on her desk chair, heels half-assed tossed to the floor by the shoe rack. At least she managed to wash her face and take out all the bobby pins, or so she thinks. Running her fingers through her hair, she finds two hanging on by a thread.

A few minutes later and she’s out of her pajamas and into a towel of her own, shower-bound. Her phone’s charged up but still plugged in; she’s checked it every time she wakes up from her poor sleep and then some, but still no messages from Cassandra and the afternoon is ticking away. Ellinor comes around the corner as she is leaving her doorway, looking all fresh and clean but face full of dread.

They face each other one last time before parting ways to clean up their messes. For some reason, they’ve been having to do that a lot lately. Head-to-head, the frown with dread and solidarity in the air, Ellinor dripping and smelling of old spice and some flowery stuff she definitely stole from Olivia after saying she thought it stunk, but lied. And likely will still lie about having “borrowed” it.

“Ready?” Ellinor asks, point blank.

Olivia nods, but then a whimper escapes her throat. “Y-yeah.”

“Not good enough, soldier. I said are we ready?”

“...Yeah!”

They stare again. Ellinor’s own whimpiness comes through in the souring of her frown and roll of her eyes. They both groan, Olivia knocking her head back as they pass each other at last.

“I’m so--”

“--Fucking tired, shit.”

“Good luck, don’t scare him!”

“Don’t worry, he already is.”

A door shuts, and Olivia slinks into the showers. The answer wasn’t the most hopeful, but she prays that Ellinor will keep up her record of fixing things that go astray. So far she’s done good, and Cullen seems like -- oh who is she kidding, he is the type to forgive if the intentions were harmless. While she hangs her towel it occurs to her she’s having one more of those sympathetic thoughts of him, and she rubs her face almost raw and lets the hot water consume her.

At least Ellinor has a plan of action, and some control over how to proceed. The shit ball is in her shit court. Olivia can’t say the same, and though she isn’t mad, it certainly leaves little for her to do but wait and worry. Cassandra isn’t a faker -- if she was angry or displeased with the way she was treated, Olivia would know. The way she looked when she shut the car door said anything but outraged. Sad, though...it did say sad. Running her hands through her hair as it rinses, Olivia can’t help but close her eyes as if it’ll help her not see the image in her mind.

By the time she emerges and returns to her dorm room Ellinor is gone, though there is a half-bent sticky note left on her door above the handle. It has a hastily-written heart on it, and a U underneath. Brief but much needed, it finds a home on her desk beside all the other ones she’s kept over the course of their friendship. Out of the corner of her eye she notices the note she pinned from Cassandra, who’s penmanship puts all others to shame, even her own.

Standing there, dripping and looking at a piece of paper as if it’s the fucking Grand Canyon or something. She always daydreamed about having some romantic youth. Dumbass, she calls herself as she shoves the closet door open and begins sifting through. What to wear? A brown paper bag and some sandals, maybe? It’s not like she’ll have anyone to impress, and if she did, the time to do it was last night. All her impress-juice had been dumped onto that party, and for what: so she could be a primadonna dick.

Eventually she pulls on some black denim skinny jeans and a grey, v-neck long-sleeve. She still has homework to do, and if she can drag her ass to the library or some other studious place, she can salvage her day and distract herself at the same time. Perfect. Fifteen minutes later she has packed her backpack, books, phone charger and all, and heads out, not looking back. She’s out on the lawn out front by the dorms, walking in her black sneakers with full commitment, when she notices a familiar purple-trimmed bike in the parking lot across the way. One that definitely has leftover residue of where a student’s parking sticker used to be.

“Fuck, shit,” she mutters. Theia.

Instantly she dives into one of the less-direct pavement paths. So much for cutting through quad and the Union building. Josie lives on-campus, but not close. Maybe if she’s there to stop by and make sure she got back safe, or something, she won’t have to worry about running into her. The last thing she needs is to deal with her before she even has a chance at seeing Cassandra. Arms folded to her chest, she hunches as she walks. It’s too late and cloudy to put sunglasses on without looking sketchy or hungover. Fuck, I wish I was hungover.

Suddenly, her phone goes off with the call ring. How it got switched off from silent mode is anyone’s guess. Olivia nearly drops dead to the ground like she’s avoiding enemy fire, and dashes for the nearest tree thick enough to hide behind. She digs through the first two pockets of her back where she usually tosses the damned thing, but it’s not until the last pocket of course that she finds it. Just as she’s about to press ignore, she sees Cassandra’s name on the caller ID.

OF FUCKING COURSE SHE HAS TO CALL WHEN I AM TRY--

“H-hello?” she whispers and squeaks at the same time, somehow, sliding the phone to her ear.

Without background noise, Cassandra’s tone comes in clear. “Hey, you okay?”

She slides down against the tree until she’s doing a half-assed version of one of those wall-sits she does at the gym when she hates herself and her glutes. Her bag goes to the grass. As wood chips off the bark and all the other sounds she’s certainly making come out loud and unmistakably concerning, she lies:

“Oh yeah! I’m fine, just--” she brushes her hair that’s collected in her face sans ponytail. “Just got out the door.”

“Oh. Gotcha. So are you in the middle of something, then?”

“Uh, um, yeah and no?”

“...”

“I was just...ow, fuck!” a shard of wood sticks her right in the ass cheek and she bounces off the tree, spinning around to face it like a foe.

“Olivia? You sure you’re okay?”

“Argh--yeah! I just...my calculator in my...pocket, it, er, stuck me in the ribs--”

“...you own a calculator?”

Why the hell did I say calculator? Why couldn’t I -- agh, fuck. “Yes, for just in case I...you know, um, I’m a little tired, so bare with me. I’m not good with words. You okay? D-did you go to…”

“--Church? Yes, I did.” There’s sounds of zippers and voices. “We just got done with practice, I’m at the fields still. I was wondering if you wanted…”

“Yes!”

“...to…”

“Ye--I mean, um, ahem,” she clears her throat, looking around for anyone who could be playing witness to her heinously embarrassing attempt to fit into the scenery. Sunday afternoons are quiet on campus, thank goodness. “I mean, you were saying?”

“Ahah, I meant...um, hold on a sec,” she mutters something away from the phone mic, vaguely authoritative. Then, a “no,” which is the only thing Olivia can tell for sure. “Uh, sorry, you still there?”

She’s started pacing. So much for not being seen. “Yeah!”

“Cool. I was...I mean...oh, hey, Ellinor is here?”

Get to the point Cassandra, please, please, please say you wanna -- “Oh! Yeah! Uh,” she takes a breath that’s about as useful for her nerves as a straight chug of mountain dew, “she said something about meeting Cullen after practice.”

“I...see.” She sounds concerned and slightly distracted. “I hope everything’s okay. This morning I ate a breakfast that I don’t think was...well, intended for me.”

Yikes. Time to pretend she had no idea, like she didn’t read the texts or get on Ellinor’s case about being a brunch-buster. “Oh, shit…” she lingers a few syllables on the cuss word, for added authenticity. “That sounds...um, rough.”

“Uh huh…” Cassandra’s talking like she’s walking, her breath pace changing. If she’s skeptical, Olivia can’t fully tell. “Well, anyways, has your day gone okay?”

God dammit, no, ask what you wanted to ask! “It’s gone good. Slow and steady, ya know. I’m just...swimmin,’ ahah.”

“You keep forgetting you’re bad liar, you know.”

Butterflies. Butterflies and regret and bubbles and all the weird feelings that can happen in someone’s gut without them feeling like they need hospitalization. “Uh…” She stops when she hears the sound of a car trunk opening through the phone.

“I’m just tired, I’ve been reading a lot, Cass,” she lets the frustration seep through even in her lying, and immediately regrets it. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looks off into the greenery and picturesque layout of buildings and their unlit windows and could already think of a billion other ways she could have answered. “I’m...I mean--”

“Oh, hey, no, I didn’t mean it like that. Um, hold on again, sorry.” Cassandra lets out a breath, then the sound of a car door, and then jingling. “Cullen and I drove to practice thinking we’d go get some ice cream or something afterwards, but it appears plans have changed.”

“So you have to drive his car again?”

“Well, I don’t have to, I just saw him and Ellinor walking off the field and assumed that’s how he’s gonna get back, and this lot isn’t for overnight parking.”

This conversation is going nowhere. Maybe it shouldn’t go anywhere. She isn’t exactly in the shape or mind to be perfectly sympathetic and patient, as evidenced by the way she’s damn-near vibrating with anxiety. Maybe what she wanted from the day wasn’t fair to ask, and seeing her would only do more harm than good.

“So,” Cassandra continues, and the ignition goes off. “I know you’ve been studying, but would you be willing to be my plan B companion for ice cream?”

“Sure! Yeah! No, I’ll meet you at the Blue lot by the gym?” Fuck, well, there went that constructive thought.

“Cool, I’ll be there in a couple minutes max.”

“Cool!”

They hang up, and as soon as she hits the red button Olivia groans and tossed her head back, hands on her eyes to block out the hopeful sight of the day and the birds chirping and all that nonsense. Surely at this point someone is filming her from a window to post it on one of those college humor facebook pages, captioning it “tfw your mom and dad call saying they got your mastercard bank statement.” In all actuality the caption should be “tfw you dare to be bisexual and in public at the same time.”

She does as she promises, though, and picks up her God forsaken backpack and marches her way through the shortcut path to the lot. With each step she tries to forget the guilt and nerves she has, the social anxiety she has in response to Cassandra acting like everything is fine. Is everything fine? Is this her way of broaching the talk they planned to have? Or is this some way to get Olivia to forget it and go back to being blissfully drowning in the honeymoon phase? Fuck, if their honeymoon phase in danger of a premature death? Are they in danger of premature death? How--

Before she knows it and can center herself, she’s on the curb and Cassandra is pulling up in that same black care she dropped her off in. The Ruther...Rutherf--...

She gets in, puzzled and stairing straight ahead. Without a word.

Cassandra stares, both hands at the wheel. “...Hey?”

“Rutherf...dammit, I’ve already said that one…”

“What?”

“Ruther...Rutherferrari? That’s dumb. No…” she folds her arms once she has her seatbelt on. “Fucking...dammit.”

“Are you...are you trying to come up with a name for the car?”

Olivia looks over at long last, and if she was already at a loss for thought, the look of Cassandra still sweaty and in her soccer jersey and shorts makes her a lost cause. Her mouth goes agape, though she’s still pouting. “Uhm, no!”

“You so are.” Cassandra grins, before looking up in the mirror. Someone’s pulling up behind them, so she puts it in gear and goes forward. Her eyes flash back onto her, checking that she did in fact put on her seatbelt. She’s so careful.

“I just can’t believe there’s only one car-related word that starts with an F! It can’t just be Ford!”

“You said it yourself, Ruther…” she stops and bites back a chuckle. “Rutherferrari.”

“See! It’s stupid! Even you think so. There has to be a better one…” She continues her stubborn search and looks out the passenger window as campus passes by at the very legal 15 mph pace. Just beyond a row of hills, the soccer fields come into view, empty. No sign of Ellinor or Cullen. Checking her phone, there are no messages or missed calls. Whatever is happening between them, it’s going somewhat well?

“Rutherfour-wheel-drive.”

Olivia blinks, her head jerking forward. “W-what?” She looks over and sees Cassandra smiling.

“Ruther-four-wheel-drive,” she repeats, and they pull out of the campus entrance.

Olivia rolls her lips shut and raises a brow. She’s quiet so long Cassandra has to look over, concerned. “What?” she asks as they stop at a red light.

“I...I just…”

“Is that a bad one?”

“No, I just...I never thought I could be so proud of someone in my entire life,” she says with a fake weepy voice, her hand laying flat on her chest like she’s accepting a Miss America award. “My God, no, I can’t cry, my lashes!”

“Ugh, smartass!” Cassandra fake-sneers, and presses the gas pedal. They’re on the move again, and while Olivia’s laughing, she turns up the radio a little bit. It’s hooked up to her phone via aux, playing some acoustic cover. Finally Olivia settles down and lays her head back against the headrest, a satisfied grin on her face.

“I’m sorry, it was really good, babe.”

Cassandra doesn’t respond sharply like she does. It gives Olivia time to realize, fuck, she’s called her babe. It rolls off her tongue like honey she’s been parched of all day, all week, all along. Still it’s clumsy as hell. How can something be both those things? If she plays cool, though, maybe it’ll be cool. Maybe it’ll be fine. Maybe --

“Uh, I mean...um…” well, so much for playing cool.

Cassandra smirks as they pull into a parking lot behind the ice cream shop. She’s chosen the one downtown, a small little place, but good stuff. She doesn’t make any comment, or refusal. Just smirks. It’s almost worse than if she started cleverly chiding her for it, or egging her on. Worse in that it’s...it’s welcoming. Welcoming and right. Olivia doesn’t have the guts to try more of her shitty luck at self-expression, so she’s quiet but polite as they get out of the car and walk into the place. It’s all white and bright, like a quintessential ice creamery, with colorfully decorated chalkboards lining the walls. They order, but not before Olivia samples three different flavors, no less than that -- she has to be thorough, after all. Cassandra never frowns or shows distaste for it, though, and soon they’re walking out with two waffle cones, Cassandra’s of rocky road, and Olivia’s caramel fudge ripple.

“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” Cassandra recommends as they exit, Olivia already taking the right towards the parking lot. She stops and hesitates, looking down the straight, idyllic downtown street she’s gesturing towards.

“Oh...uh, you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like I can drive with this,” Cassandra shrugs, holding her ice cream. It’s all neat, while Olivia is already fending off dripping around the sides. Classic.

“Oh. Okay. Um, sure! I mean,” Olivia starts walking with her, slow and playful in her swinging step, “it’s your reputation on the line, you being in public all gross and sweaty.”

“Is it?” Cassandra joins her, and without warning leans up against her, rubbing her shoulder and arm against Olivia and her freshly showered and clean self.

“Cassandra Penta...agh!” She shrieks and lurches away, but can’t help but laugh. Her ice cream skews, but she manages to keep it level with the ground. Precious, precious ice cream.

Cassandra laughs, and goes back to licking her own scoops. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Uh huh,” Olivia huffs, switching hands. “Don’t try to assassinate my cone. I will make you reimburse me.”

They round the corner, where a public courtyard with several tables and sets of chairs are strewn about, bordered by stone plots of greenery and fern bushes, withering and skinny in the fall weather. There’s only one other middle-aged couple on the other side with a small dog. Above them, the sky is turning dark, but not quite enough for the street lamps to turn on.

“Wanna sit?” Olivia asks, pointing to one of the tables. “I need to work on this cone, it’s falling apart.”

“Sure,” Cassandra says simply, and they make their way over. Sitting across from each other, Olivia can look at her more discreetly while she salvages what she can of her pitiful cone. Taking her first bit into it, she notices Cassandra lean back comfortably, knees spread and free arm tucked under her chest and elbow. She looks like nothing ever happened. What could she have done to bounce back so quickly?

“So…” Olivia’s curiosity slips onto her mouth. “You...have a good day?”

“Me? Yes, I did.” Cassandra wipes the corner of her mouth with her thumb. I love it when she does that. “Most of it has been spent with Cullen, since we went from Church to home and then to practice. I barely had time to do any homework.”

“I bet.” She takes another crunchy bite of her cone as it is vanishing. “And...and the rest of your night last night?”

Cassandra takes a break from eating, but doesn’t miss a beat. “Oh. I just went home and relaxed, went to bed.”

“Cool. Same.” After I spent a half hour debating whether or not to drive to the Taco Bell down the road and cry into a crunch wrap, or find Ellinor wherever she was and steal her back from Cullen, or grab my eyebrow tweezers and go challenge Theia to a gay duel for honor, or --

“I can see that look.”

Olivia blinks, shakes her head, and her cone slightly cracks beneath her grip. Its audible cringe only worsens the odds for her denial. “W-what look?”

Cassandra takes a bite of her ice cream and licks her lips, her eyes intently on Olivia in a way that makes her want to melt faster than caramel fudge ripple in the mojave desert under a magnifying glass. She gulps, and her gaze locks on what remains of her cone as she rotates it around.

“Olivia.”

“I...fuck, this thing sucks at staying together, my cone is…”

“Olivia.” That time, Cassandra moves her hand from her lap to Olivia’s. She places it just above her knee. She’s down for the count when she does that. She lowers her cone grip and looks at her, really looks at her, and the failed facade dissolves.

“Cass...I…”

“I know, I--”

“No, you don’t. Just let me say this, okay?”

She doesn’t say it angrily, but with just enough assertiveness to where Cassandra removes her hand and straightens up. Her cone is gone, somehow; Olivia must have lost track of her eating it in her spinning thoughts. She rolls the napkin and puts it on the round table in front of them. Meanwhile, Olivia takes a deep breath, and looks away towards the garden growth.

“I meant what I said last night. I am sorry I handled everything the way I did. I should have been more transparent with what I was getting you into; Ellinor and I have spent so much time partying and...and doing things just us, so it’s not always clear to me that what we do can be overwhelming to someone else.” She pauses to look at her, and Cassandra’s eyes are lowered while she listens. It helps to not have her staring at her. “I just...I wish you would have told me, but I understand why you didn’t.”

“That is my fault. Liv, I…” she runs her hand through her hair, and it glistens and sticks down to her head. “I can’t talk about all of it tonight, and I’m sorry. I might have been a bit selfish in asking you to come with me. I just wanted to see you, to know for sure that everything was okay. I know that’s perhaps...not helping.”

No, probably not. On the other hand, Cassandra admitting to doing things selfishly and without logic is endearing. To know Olivia has that much sway, now, to where she would seek out her company even though the order of things would advise otherwise...that’s not lost on her. For that, Olivia’s posture softens, and she tosses her napkin on the table where it lands next to hers.

“I think we both need a breath. Just for a bit.”

Cassandra’s soft grin fades, but she nods. “I know.”

“I know you play strong, Cass, but I don’t want you to do it moreso for me. If you’re stressed, or...or triggered, then…”

“I have my strategies, I don’t just bluff. When I’ve had some more time I will explain everything. But if you are really worried, then…”

They are both treading carefully, and somewhat cluelessly. Even so, there’s something to be appreciated about it. Olivia’s phone buzzing breaks the ongoing pressure, but she doesn’t check to see what the notification is. No, nothing’s going to divert her from this, as tired as she may be.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you be my arm candy to any parties in the near future,” Olivia grins as a piecemeal offering, one which Cassandra matches.

“Oh? Was I not the life of the party?”

Olivia snorts. “You were of mine. Jesus Ch--” a look, and she winces and looks away. “I mean, what the HELL-icopter...gosh, heck, gee--”

“Oh enough,” Cassandra chuckles softly, and rises to her feet. When she does she holds out her hand, and leans toward her like a polite escort. “We have some more walking to do.”

“Er, but you’ve finished your ice cream?” she grips her chair readily, though she eyes her.

Cassandra shakes her head, smile broadening. “Just a couple blocks more, if you’ll indulge me just this once.”

When you talk like that I can never refuse. Olivia rolls her eyes, kidding, of course, but she stands up. Grabbing their napkins and tossing them in the trash can nearest, they resume their walking down the street. The sky has only gotten paler, and winds chilled.

“You sure you don’t want to get a coat from the car, or something?” Olivia asks, hands in her jean pockets.

Cassandra shakes her head a second time, folding her arms apparently for her own comfort rather than to preserve warmth. “No, trust me, I’m enjoying the temperature. Among other things.”

Olivia looks up and finds her eyes looking right back. It makes her world slow. She almost hates it, or so she thinks. Sooner or later she’ll run out of energy for the false translation of how it makes her feel, and she’ll have to be honest with herself, and she knows it. It makes her heart sink, for better or worse, and she looks away toward the street.

“I am, too, I guess,” she says to mock, but her voice has warmed.

“You guess?”

Olivia smirks, sucking on her teeth. She really won’t let her get away with anything, anymore. That’s how much she knows. And so she lets her hands fall from her pockets, reaching and hooking around Cassandra’s bicep. She laces her fingers together over it, in a deviation from their understood rule of limited public contact. Complicit in her rule-breaking, Cassandra steps closer to her rather than breakaway. Out her peripheral vision, Olivia can see a grin grow generously on her face. And so she sighs silently, and finally allows herself to enjoy where she is.

“By the way,” Cassandra says hushed, “you have ice cream on your nose.”

To that, Olivia grins and proceeds to wipe her nose on the shoulder of Cassandra’s jersey. “Cool. Now we’re even.”

#college au #day & age #friendship fic #fic update #ellinor trevelyan #olivia sinclair #college!olivia #modern thedas au

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askthesquips · 7 years

Text

DON’T DO VOLTAGE KIDS (Part 1 & 2/3)

When we were still trying to finalize the voltage thing, I had written a drabble trying to explore the possibilities of it. The idea has grown way beyond this now though, but we thought it’d be nice to show you guys how it was like when it started.

-Mod Gen

“Are you sure about this?” Jeremy asked, nervously fiddling with the tab of the Mountain Dew Voltage can in his grasp. “Can’t you tell what this will do?”

“No, I cannot. My Database Is Vast But Outdated. Your SQUIP Had Prevented Me From Updating And Even Now In His Forced Shutdown State, I Struggle To Break Through His Security Measures.” P explained in his usual forceful manner, before his face suddenly fell into a grimace and he uncomfortably switched the leg he was balancing on the table. “There Is Also The Fact That In My Malfunctioning And Unstable State, A Lot Of My Information Became... Unreliable."

“I get that but… After what happened with the Code Red, I kind of want to know how what I’m doing will affect you.” Jeremy said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully with one hand and swishing around the contents of the can with the other.

“Well, You Know What They Say, Jeremy, Nothing Ventured Nothing Gain.” The hyperactive SQUIP declared, putting his hands on his hips triumphantly and bouncing slightly on his feet. “We Need To Find A Way To Deal With Your SQUIP Sooner Or Later. Before Any Malicious Attempts At Control Can Happen.”

Jeremy nodded, recalling the horror story of possibilities he was told, and put the can to his lips, but before he could take a sip, he hesitated.

“What will happen to you if I drink this?”

P just smiled, there was a melancholy about his expression, but his face still oozed warmth.

“Do Not Worry About Me, People Are Better Off Without SQUIPs Making Decisions For Them.”

Those words struck a chord in Jeremy that he wasn’t expecting. Despite the mess that he had put him through with M, he still liked P. He slowly learned that he only wanted the best for him. Genuinely wanted it, and that was solidified now that he saw he was willing to die for it, again. Filled with determination, he finally drank from the can. He took one, large sip, and after swallowing, he immediately cringed and dropped it.

It hurt so badly. It felt like electricity coursing through his body straight to his brain. It was one long, excruciating moment of agony that occasionally spiked. His legs buckled and he fell forward, grabbing the table for support. He would be screaming if his body didn’t feel paralyzed, but someone else had him covered in that department. He could hear P screaming, voice glitching horribly, and while he couldn’t see him, he could just tell that the SQUIP had curled in on himself.

It was impossible to tell how long that had lasted, time was meaningless under all those layers off pain. The only thing Jeremy was aware of when it slowly faded out was his haggard breathing and the fact that he was on his knees leaning against his kitchen table. When he was capable of intelligent thought again, panic immediately rushed through him as he remembered P’s cries. Snapping his head to the side with adrenaline fuelled speed, he saw said SQUIP, bent over, hands on his knees, and panting heavily with robotic sounding breaths. It was strange to hear P sound like that, M usually did so when he was furious, but P had rarely ever done so before. What was even more strange was when he finally looked up, face painted with blue, glowing lines in a circuitboard fashion, something else similar to the deactivated SQUIP, but this somehow felt… worse.

“Uh, are you okay?” Jeremy asked tentatively, not completely sure what had happened to the other.

When he spoke to P, his face snapped into an expression that could only be described as a ‘manic smile.’ Stretching his arms out, a coat glitched into existence over them and his vest disappeared. His khaki’s turned into some fancy black pants and with those sunglasses, he looked like he had jumped straight out of the matrix.

“I Am Wonderful, Jeremy! Better Than I Have Ever Been!” P responded, talking faster and louder than ever, with an unnatural tinge to his voice. “In Fact, I Think We Have Found Our Solution! Voltage Seems To Have Greatly Improved Everything About Me, So Much So That I Now Far Surpass The Other SQUIP Inhabiting Your Head! If I Were Given Time I Could Overcome Him And Completely Erase Him From Your Consciousness!”

Jeremy sighed, leaning back in exhaustion. It seemed everything was fine after all. Whatever had just happened may have given him an extreme sugar rush, but they could use that to their advantage. It even looked like he wouldn’t have to completely delete P either. Those feelings of relief didn’t last long, though, as the super powered SQUIP ran forward and jumped on the table he was leaning against, now looming almost dangerously over him.

“And Of Course, I Can Take His Place!”

“No no no no no…” Jeremy mumbled over and over.

He felt like he was going to cry. This wasn’t supposed to happen, P wasn’t supposed to turn into a much more powerful and much more dangerous version of M. He was going to help, he was going to make sure Jeremy was okay and free from that other SQUIP. He genuinely cared, he proved that on so many occasions and now he was fucked up. Jeremy had fucked him up because he decided to drink the stupid voltage flavour. He wanted to scream, break something, vent out all of this negative energy violently, but he couldn’t. His body felt exhausted and his mind numb as a dull pain throbbed in his head.

“You Okay Over There, Jeremy?” Looked like whatever that freak abomination of P was noticed this. “We Should Get You To Bed! A Whole New World Of Possibilities Has Opened Up And Humans Need Sleep To Properly Process Information!”

P leaned down and put his hands on his shoulders. They felt more solid than usual, as if his brain was processing the touch as more real. Feeling his body get up on its own, he realized that the SQUIP had taken control off him. He acted as if he were steering someone emotionally fragile, humming a soothing tune to himself as he did so. Jeremy wanted to hate him, wanted to hate this so badly, it wasn’t right, it wasn’t something that P would do. But he was so tired and his eyelids were drooping shut. He barely felt the impact of falling into bed before darkness overtook him, interrupted only by flashes of blue and sparks of pain.

When he woke up again, his body felt feverish and sore. There was a pounding in his head that was almost unbearable and he buried it into the pillow as if that would help anything. Last night had felt like a dream and he could barely recall what had happened.

“Good Morning, Jeremy!” He heard a familiar, but distorted voice call out. He looked up ever so slightly from his pillow and saw the face of P, covered in circuit board blue lines, and wide smile on his face. All at once memories came flooding back and he groaned at how it made his head hurt.

“It Seems The Stress Of My Upgrade Has Negatively Affected Your Health.” P said, taking control of Jeremy’s arm and making him grab the bottle of headache pills on his nightstand, and a glass of water that was there for some reason, before forcing his own body to take the medicine. “Your Progenitor Was In Here Earlier And Already Diagnosed You With A Fever. He Left Those For When You Woke Up.”

Jeremy only groaned again. Lacking the strength to answer, he was given back control of his body and fell backwards on his bed, melting in the softness of his mattress. He just wanted to sleep, and it seemed he was about to get that wish before a certain somebody slammed his door open, Bob Marley play from the headphones around his neck and wearing a familiar red hoodie.

“Yo, Jeremy! Your dad said you were sick so I came to the rescue with patented Michael Mell Cures™!” Michael exclaimed, face lighting up as he deposited handfuls of things all over the floor. “Okay so we got Apocalypse of the Damned, extra greasy popcorn, Mountain Dew, wait you can’t drink that stuff right? Because of the SQUIP things? That’s fine I brought other soda, like…”

Jeremy couldn’t help but smile, even though Michael had interrupted his much needed rest, he only wanted to help. Though pretty much everything he listed sounded pretty unfavourable to his current, sick state. He was about to suggest that they set up the game and play a few levels, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. All of a sudden he lost control of his body and sat up, left just staring as Michael was still sorting through everything he brought. He couldn’t turn his head to look at P, but he felt the SQUIP’s analytical gaze drilling into his friend.

“Uh, I-I’m sorry, Michael, I’m not feeling up to it today, can we do this some other time?” His mouth said without his permission.

Michael looked over him, a little surprised at what he said before his face fell. That didn’t last long and Michael perked right back up to his usual self, expression of understanding, but the little moment it wasn’t left Jeremy reeling with intense self-hatred. He didn’t want to say that! What was the P doing, he promised he would get to keep his relationship with Michael intact, that he wouldn’t have to drive him away!

“Nah, it’s cool bro, I get it. You must be feeling really sick.” Michael responded, walking over to the side of his bed and leaning over, placing a fist in front of him. “Next time?”

Jeremy’s fist connected with it without his control, he wanted to throw up. “Next time.”

He had to wait and watch his friend leave. Picking up the crazy amount of things he had brought just for him, just to make him feel better. He desperately wanted to spend time with Michael, wanted someone to cheer him up and keep him distracted, but he was powerless to do anything as P kept his control over him firm. When Michael finally gathered up everything, he gave Jeremy one last look over his shoulder, a wide grin, Jeremy returned it with a sincere smile that was not his own, and then Michael was gone.

Feeling his body return to him, he immediately turned to yell at P out loud, not caring if anyone heard him.

“What was that?! Why did you tell him to leave, why did you make me tell him to leave?!” His volume wasn’t as loud as he wanted it to be, he was still so sick and barely had any energy. “You promised you wouldn’t make me lose everyone close to me, you promised…”

P looked down at him sympathetically, putting his hand on his shoulder, Jeremy shut his eyes, fearing the inevitable loss of control, he only opened them when that never came, and his SQUIP was actually gingerly massaging the shoulder. It was… Nice, but he still had his guard up, not sure what to expect.

“Jeremy, You Are Very Sick Right Now, You Would Have Only Made It Worse By Straining Yourself To Hang Out With Your Friend.” P took his hand off his shoulder and leaned back to sit on the nightstand, the water and pills not yet having been returned, and put his legs up. The familiarity of the action was comforting. “I Promise I Am Not Trying To Push Your Friends Away, I Genuinely Care For You, Remember?”

Right… He genuinely wanted him to be happy and safe, that’s why he was trying to get rid of M. Telling Michael he wasn’t well enough to hang out today was in his best interests too, right? It was only this one time. He could still trust P, he had to be able to.

“Okay, yeah, I get it.”

P smiled, it wasn’t as big or as unnatural as the others, but seeing it on that face still caused unease to form in the pit of Jeremy’s stomach. But that was probably just from the sickness. Closing his eyes again, he let himself slowly fall asleep, the flashes of blue and pain returning yet again.

#Be More Chill #BMC #SQUIP #PSQUIP #MSQUIP #VoltP #Jeremy Heere #Michael Mell #ModGen

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dfroza · 5 years

Text

An ancient Letter that speaks to the heart

is what the True nature of the Scriptures do as Spirit-inspired truth. and from my reading Today with the paired chapters of the Testaments (2nd Corinthians 7 and Isaiah 26) we see the reasoning of Paul in writing and sending his Letter and in Isaiah’s Scroll we read of a sign of rebirth and of Judgment and cleansing of beautiful earth in A grand end of time (even a mirroring of a heavenly marriage is seen as a secret elopement, a grand escape from this world that is promised to the Children of Light)

from Paul’s Letter:

With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.

[More Passionate, More Responsible]

Trust us. We’ve never hurt a soul, never exploited or taken advantage of anyone. Don’t think I’m finding fault with you. I told you earlier that I’m with you all the way, no matter what. I have, in fact, the greatest confidence in you. If only you knew how proud I am of you! I am overwhelmed with joy despite all our troubles.

When we arrived in Macedonia province, we couldn’t settle down. The fights in the church and the fears in our hearts kept us on pins and needles. We couldn’t relax because we didn’t know how it would turn out. Then the God who lifts up the downcast lifted our heads and our hearts with the arrival of Titus. We were glad just to see him, but the true reassurance came in what he told us about you: how much you cared, how much you grieved, how concerned you were for me. I went from worry to tranquility in no time!

I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss.

Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.

And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That’s what happened—and we felt just great.

And then, when we saw how Titus felt—his exuberance over your response—our joy doubled. It was wonderful to see how revived and refreshed he was by everything you did. If I went out on a limb in telling Titus how great I thought you were, you didn’t cut off that limb. As it turned out, I hadn’t exaggerated one bit. Titus saw for himself that everything I had said about you was true. He can’t quit talking about it, going over again and again the story of your prompt obedience, and the dignity and sensitivity of your hospitality. He was quite overwhelmed by it all! And I couldn’t be more pleased—I’m so confident and proud of you.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 7 (The Message)

from the writing of Isaiah:

[Stretch the Borders of Life]

At that time, this song

will be sung in the country of Judah:

We have a strong city, Salvation City,

built and fortified with salvation.

Throw wide the gates

so good and true people can enter.

People with their minds set on you,

you keep completely whole,

Steady on their feet,

because they keep at it and don’t quit.

Depend on God and keep at it

because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.

Those who lived high and mighty

he knocked off their high horse.

He used the city built on the hill

as fill for the marshes.

All the exploited and outcast peoples

build their lives on the reclaimed land.

The path of right-living people is level.

The Leveler evens the road for the right-living.

We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger

in the path sign-posted with your decisions.

Who you are and what you’ve done

are all we’ll ever want.

Through the night my soul longs for you.

Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.

When your decisions are on public display,

everyone learns how to live right.

If the wicked are shown grace,

they don’t seem to get it.

In the land of right living, they persist in wrong living,

blind to the splendor of God.

You hold your hand up high, God,

but they don’t see it.

Open their eyes to what you do,

to see your zealous love for your people.

Shame them. Light a fire under them.

Get the attention of these enemies of yours.

God, order a peaceful and whole life for us

because everything we’ve done, you’ve done for us.

O God, our God, we’ve had other masters rule us,

but you’re the only Master we’ve ever known.

The dead don’t talk,

ghosts don’t walk,

Because you’ve said, “Enough—that’s all for you,”

and wiped them off the books.

But the living you make larger than life.

The more life you give, the more glory you display,

and stretch the borders to accommodate more living!

O God, they begged you for help when they were in trouble,

when your discipline was so heavy

they could barely whisper a prayer.

Like a woman having a baby,

writhing in distress, screaming her pain

as the baby is being born,

That’s how we were because of you, O God.

We were pregnant full-term.

We writhed in labor but bore no baby.

We gave birth to wind.

Nothing came of our labor.

We produced nothing living.

We couldn’t save the world.

But friends, your dead will live,

your corpses will get to their feet.

All you dead and buried,

wake up! Sing!

Your dew is morning dew

catching the first rays of sun,

The earth bursting with life,

giving birth to the dead.

Come, my people, go home

and shut yourselves in.

Go into seclusion for a while

until the punishing wrath is past,

Because God is sure to come from his place

to punish the wrong of the people on earth.

Earth itself will point out the bloodstains;

it will show where the murdered have been hidden away.

The Scroll of Isaiah, Chapter 26 (The Message)

and to accompany these chapters we read in Psalm 17 and 90 (for day 17 of june and day 90 of Spring) a set of ancient prayers by King David and Moses, respectively.

translated in English in The Message:

A David Prayer

Listen while I build my case, God,

the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.

Show the world I’m innocent—

in your heart you know I am.

Go ahead, examine me from inside out,

surprise me in the middle of the night—

You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.

My words don’t run loose.

I’m not trying to get my way

in the world’s way.

I’m trying to get your way,

your Word’s way.

I’m staying on your trail;

I’m putting one foot

In front of the other.

I’m not giving up.

The Book of Psalms, Prayer 17:1-5 (The Message)

[A Prayer of Moses, Man of God]

God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;

long before the mountains were born,

Long before you brought earth itself to birth,

from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.

Oh! Teach us to live well!

Teach us to live wisely and well!

Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—

and treat your servants with kindness for a change.

Surprise us with love at daybreak;

then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.

Make up for the bad times with some good times;

we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.

Let your servants see what you’re best at—

the ways you rule and bless your children.

And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,

confirming the work that we do.

Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

The Book of Psalms, Prayer 90:1-2, 12-17 (The Message)

to be concluded by a few lines from Psalm 18 for day 168 of the year:

A David Song, Which He Sang to God After Being Saved from All His Enemies and from Saul

I love you, God—

you make me strong.

God is bedrock under my feet,

the castle in which I live,

my rescuing knight.

My God—the high crag

where I run for dear life,

hiding behind the boulders,

safe in the granite hideout.

I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,

and find myself safe and saved.

God made my life complete

when I placed all the pieces before him.

When I got my act together,

he gave me a fresh start.

Now I’m alert to God’s ways;

I don’t take God for granted.

Every day I review the ways he works;

I try not to miss a trick.

I feel put back together,

and I’m watching my step.

God rewrote the text of my life

when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

The Book of Psalms, Prayer 18:1-3, 20-24 (The Message)

my reading in the Scriptures for june 17, day 90 of Spring and day 168 of the year:

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