#(and would drop by the local swimming center each day on her way from school to home)

[elliebarker]

you are absolutely insane. + ( e. williams )

category: lifeguard!ellie x competitive swimmer!female!reader oneshot

summary: since your school’s swim season has been let out you convince yourself to get off your couch and go to your local rec-center to get some practice in. ellie has just moved into an off-campus apartment and needs to get a night job in order to keep up with her rent. 

warnings: suggestive, implied smut, use of the word “baby”, mentions of alcohol usage, overall cringy

word count: 2.7k

author's note: as 68..1% of you requested,

“just…just give me a couple more weeks man.” ellie pinched the space in between her brows, very obviously annoyed.

“i’m not doing this again ellie,” a robotic voice came from the speaker of her phone, “i can’t keep covering for you. get a fucking job.”

“but– i’m in class all day! when the hell am i supposed to work?” ellie barked into her phone, dreading the noise complaints she’d get from her neighbors. maybe the size of her apartment was a glow-up from her dorm, but the people living around her sure weren’t. 

“i- i don’t fucking know. drop a class or something? work at night?”

that conversation is how she landed here. clocking in at 6 at a rec center not too far from campus to sit and watch senior citizens go back and forth in a pool and hope they don’t drown so she doesn’t actually have to do her job. decked out in red and white ellie propped herself up onto the towering “LIFEGUARD” chair and watched each of the seconds pass on the big red digital clock displayed on the wall. little did she know today was the day she’d meet you.

you walked, well, rather you were being pulled into the pool by your friend olivia. you guys had been on your school’s swim team together and after mopping around your dorm for almost 2 weeks after your final meet she decided you, and a couple other girls from the team, would meet up at the pool a couple days after school and just, “have fun,” as she had called it. and you decided to go along with it, you could use the excuse to get out of the house once in a while without getting absolutely hammered. you served the area of the pool: a couple lanes taken up, a brunette lifeguard scooping out the newcomers (you and your friends), a bunch of lockers scattering the west wall, holy shit that lifeguard was hot. 

you immediately turned your head back to take in the entirety of the brunette lifeguard, freckled and blush-dusted face with a set of emerald eyes. you noticed a crooked name tag that read “ellie'' before hearing your name being called by our team mates.

“coming!” you called to your friends and jogged over to grab your stuff before heading to lane 6 (the one closest to ellie) next to ashley and began your workout.

ellie was flabbergasted, astonished, she touched god. never in all her years of living had she been so…drawn…to a girl. okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but by the moon and the earth you were gorgeous. the way your hair fell on your shoulders, the way your smile shines in the echo-y pool’s fluorescent lights, the way your eyes lingered on her for the right amount of time. she was shamelessly gawking at you. i mean– she had too. it was her job!!! nevermind the lame-o senior citizens in lane 2 that were statistically more likely to drown…she just had to look at the way your arms cut through the water.

the hours lingered on, and to your surprise you had no idea what a couple weeks off would do to you. you were practically panting after each 100. and, obviously, olivia and ashley had finished before you.

“go home,” you said, “i’ve just got a cool down left.” your friends agreed and you turned around to face the flags again. a loud clash, the doors closing, made itself noted behind you before you began the last part of your set.

then, finally, after many flip turns and a few glances at the rec’s lifeguard you were done. you pulled your cap off and slipped out of the pool, gathering all your stuff and heading back. after you finished drying yourself off you looked back at the pool, all the lane lines stripped, holy fuck that was fast to see ellie rolling a cart of flippers back into the storage closet. 

“haven’t seen you around here before,” she smiled. ellie was walking toward you as you finished stuffing your (still soaking) kick-board in your bag.

“my school season is out so i’m just practicing here, when my schedule allows me, before short course starts up again.” you explain, tucking your hair behind your ear. and then realizing how fucking dorky and cheesy it was and how you totally embarrassed yourself in front of your very hot lifeguard.

“cool, cool, cool, cool” you hear her answer, and you could swear you felt her eyes scanning you. you finished zipping up your bag, its ziiip echoing throughout the large and empty pool, having been deserted by all your teammates. wait. all your teammates? like- even your-ride-home-olivia was gone. 

“shit.” you muttered.

“huh? oh, sorry!” ellie stuttered out, realizing how stupid and awkward and probably unprofessional her talking to you was. UGH! I’M SO STUPID she mentally slapped herself convincing herself that it was just her delusion that had pictured up any image of you actually acknowledging her existence.

“no–no, it's not,” you began, “i lost my ride– i– my ride left, i’m…stranded.”

“oh.”

“yeah,” you nervously chuckled

“i mean, this sounds weird, but,” she said, “i could drive you?”

“getting into a stranger's car late at night…” you questioned, like you were pondering it, “why not?”

“okay don’t put it like that,” she giggled.

“nah, man. that would actually be a lifesaver! and i’ve seen you around campus, you don’t give me any reason to suspect you’d axe murder me so…”

“alright,” she smirked, grabbing her keys from the knob of the storage closet door and heading out the door, with you not far behind.

you don’t know how it happened but what was going to a quick drop off at your place from your rec-center’s lifeguard turned into a dance party and the two of you screaming lyrics and hollering out of her window, having the time of your lives. earlier that night, when you first got in the car, ellie figured to blur any awkward silence she’d hand you the aux. turns out, you both had crazy similar music tastes and after that you guys clicked instantly. you were having so much fun and that's why when the bright familiar lights of home appeared in the rear-view mirror you kind of wished you lived somewhere else, farther away.

“thanks, again,” you looked at ellie.

“anytime,” she said, smiling at you. with regret that you didn’t say anything else you closed the car door and walked over to your front door and spent that whole night thinking over her.

unbeknownst to you, ellie would be thinking about you too, not only thinking about you but talking about you to the one person who would always lend an ear to all her girl problems: dina.

“she’s just so” “so what ellie? i need details.”

“pretty? beautiful? gorgeous? perfect?”

“did you at least get her number?”

“oh.”

“oh what ellie? oh my god you dumba–” her NUMBER! ellie thought of course! duh! i’m. so. stupid!!! 

that was her next mission. get your number, your instagram, your anything, hold onto anything to be able to get to know you better. luckily for her, it wasn’t that hard, your visit to the rec-center had not been a one-time thing, in fact you and your teammates had begun a routine. and ellie drank up every glance she got at you. she had gone over and over different scenarios in which she’d ask for your number, “if you ever need a ride again,” “thought you could use this,” and after surveying that they were all equally cringy and accepting the fact she’d never have the same confidence as she did the day she met you she realized, she didn’t have to get your number, she could just give you hers. so, it was a nice surprise to see a little yellow slip, a post-it note, atop your bag adorned with her number and a little “ellie :)” as soon as you were home, showered, and ready for bed you opened your phone, sending a quick, “hey!” and introducing yourself before plugging in your phone and dozing off. ellie would deny it to anyone she knew but she totally responded immediately after you texted her and were, to say the least, disappointed when you didn’t text back after 10 minutes, half an hour, 2 hours. ellie decided to not let her stupid crush affect her and let sleep consume her. needless to say, when she woke up to see a “new message” notification she nearly leapt out of bed.

after the whole olivia-leaving-you-alone situation ellie had offered to drive you home from practice and who wouldn’t take her up on that offer? not to mention that driving home with her was fucking awesome. you got to play anything you wanted on aux and she would always get food with you. it was like meeting your soulmate, you guys had almost everything in common you could talk about whatever you wanted. she was the yin to your yang. whatever foods or things disgusted you, she loved, and she would be happy to take them off your hands. there was no awkward stage, you guys were practically meant for each other.

it had been barely a month yet every time you walked into your rec-center you were greeted with the yelling of your name and ellie sloppily climbing off her lifeguard chair to come up and hug you. you had met dina and jesse, ellie’s best friends, and ellie had met yours. it seems that nearly every waking moment of your day was spent in her company, not that you were complaining. you were sitting on ellie’s bed while she was scrolling on her phone on the floor, back propped up against her bed’s frame.

“hey,” she began, “dina’s inviting me to a party, wanna go?” she asked, turning her head to look at you.

“sure, why not?”

“sick,” she smiled and turned back to her phone, texting back dina, you assumed. a couple hours passed and you were in the bathroom, adjusting your outfit and making sure everything looked good. ellie stepped into the door frame, keys giggling on her fingers.

“ready to go?” she asked, smirking at you. you nodded and followed her out the front door.

noise was blaring and people clambered all around some kid’s dorm. to say the party was full of life was an understatement. you and ellie made your way over to the party’s make-shift bar and poured yourself a cup of your designated drinks. you didn’t have to do much looking to find dina, who was dancing in the middle of the living room. she immediately spotted you guys, deserting the group of girls she was hanging out with, and ran over to you.

“hey guys!” she greeted. lets just say whatever-the-fuck you were drinking worked, fast, because next thing you knew you were dancing, laughing, and joking about things you never would sober. so was ellie. so much so, you don’t know how much time had passed, but you were having the time of your life on the dance floor with some random feel-good song in the background. and ellie pressed up against your back. and you sure as hell weren’t complaining.

you turned around and wrapped your arms around her neck and continued to dance (grind) into her lap. and somewhere though your drunken haze her arms were on your arms, hips, totally feeling you up. and then her lips were alternating between yours and your neck. you both stumbled from the middle of the dance floor, lips still connected, to some wall off to the side. from then on, ellie got more adventurous, for lack of a better word. hands moving every ten seconds. they were cupping your face, then your tits, hips, ass, and then your face again. you couldn’t say you weren’t, either, hands went from delicately perched on her shoulders to the back of her head to desperately grasping for handfuls of her hair. the two of you barely came up for air until–

“let’s move this,” she practically panted, “somewhere else,” pulling you in the nearest unoccupied room. and as suddenly as her hands and lips had left you, they were back on you again. she began wondering again, this time however, her hand pulled at your waistband, waiting for you to nod or acknowledge what she was trying to do. it was you who parted your guys’ lips this time.

“you.” you began, making sure to catch your breath, “are absolutely,” you continued, “insane,” you finally huffed out, before smashing your lips back together and pulling your own hands at your waistband.

(fade to black bc i can’t write smuttttttt)

ellie woke up, groaning, with an awful headache. then, when she finally regained consciousness, she surveyed the room she was in. definitely not hers. her clothes, party clothes, were scattered on the floor and the only thing that remained was her black sports bra. she didn’t even realize there was another living human being next to her until she felt the cool breeze of your peaceful sleepy breath. you were lying next to her, presumably naked under the covers. your hair was messy and knotted and taking up all of the pillow and your makeup had worn off. and you were utterly gorgeous. ellie couldn’t help but smile. bask in the moment. the little time she had left to admire before she realized you were literally sitting next to her, unconscious and topless.

“fuck.” that's all she said. that's all she could say. she was so ready to run, let her flight kick in. and she would’ve, had you not wrapped your arms around her and pulled her back down. you, unconsciously (totally), rested your head in between her shoulder and neck and sighed. yeah ellie thought i could get used to this. 

shoes squeaked and whistles blew. eveything was hectic. you were just trying to get into meet-mentality when a familiar, comforting, voice came from behind you.

“hey baby,” ellie, your girlfriend of 2 months, came up and hugged you. “came to wish you good luck,” she smiled as you turned to face her, catching a glimpse of dina and jesse waving from the corner of your eye.

“aww,” you leaned up to kiss her, “that's so sweet! thank you ellie. and i love you, but, i have to go warm up i’ll be right back.” you said.

“yeah, yeah, babe, don’t let me hold you back.” ellie chuckled and went back to find her seat next to jesse and dina. a couple hours had passed and your first event was coming up shortly. you stretched and made your way over to the blocks. and as soon as the microphone sounded, you were off, you were trying your absolute hardest. and it definitely paid off. when you looked up at the scoreboard next to your lane you checked your time. and you shaved 8 whole seconds. you could barely contain your excitement. once you were out of the water you ran to hug ellie, not caring if you got her wet. (in more ways than one iykwim lol) (im sorry) (that was uncalled for) 

“i’m so sorry baby,” ellie said.

“huh?”

“your 200? you added like, a minute.”

“what?” you were so utterly confused, “oh my god! no,” you laughed in realization, “ellie, that was my 100. it's long course season. i didn’t add anything, i literally went 8 seconds faster!”

“ohh!” ellie said, nodding, pretending she understood anything you just said but congratulated you anyway.

and for being a lifeguard, your girlfriend was a shit swimmer.

“how the fuck did you even get this job.”

“shut up.” ellie was only halfway in, red “LIFEGUARD” swimsuit and trunks on, and she was already turning a ghostly white. “i can… function… in the water perfectly fine.” she said, trying not to chatter her teeth. you reached for her hand to pull her into you.

“your hands are literally purple.”

“well maybe your just super-human and can’t feel how f-fucking cold it is.” that night after you guys drove home ellie was cuddled up by the fireplace, a little cold already forming. you had just exited your after-practice hot shower and were nice and cozy, there was just one thing– person– you were missing. you laid down facing ellie and snuggled up to her. it was the mundane nights like this that were the ones worth living for.

#lifeguard ellie #ellie williams x reader #ellie x reader #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x you #ellie tlou #ellie fic #ellie x fem reader #tlou fanfiction #ellie fluff #ellie oneshot #elliebarker #you are absolutely insane

[memento-mariii]

Like, I know I adore the "wholesome jock" as a character archetype, but in my heart of hearts I sadly know that I can never befriend one in real life.

Because while I truly admire their personality and the general vibes they've got going on, their idea of "fun" is usually some bull like "a casual jog through the woods", "making laps in the swimming pool" or heavens forbid, "playing sports", and they'd hate to leave any of their friends out of the fun all the while I would literally rather die than do any of the above in my "fun" time.

#like..... #it's not like I don't excercise #but for me it's purely for....... survival purposes y'know??? #like I exercise for a set amount per day to keep my body functioning #but I don't think I can endure being in the vicinity of someone who genuinely enjoys the process #it's unsettling #it's like that guy at work who enjoys his work way too much when his job is literally just making spreadsheets #like technically I guess that's the healthier attitude to have #but just because they're right doesn't make them normal #like I do take time to excercise but in my head that's more like having a time set apart for cleaning or doing the dishes #time for chores I'd rather not do but need to in order to survive #and once I've done that I would like to not do any more of that for the day please and thank you #'free time' is for watching netflix or daydreaming about my OCs or somesuch #I say can't make wholesome jock friends but one of my best friends is a wholesome jock #she used to swim competitively and was on the regionals in middle school #(In my defense I didn't know any of that when I first became friends with her) #(she was really petite and seemed to hate PE as much as I did so I had???? no idea?????????????) #(by the time I realized she always had her swimming supplies in her bag) #(and would drop by the local swimming center each day on her way from school to home) #(and not even for a fun little dip where you just float around and have fun in the water----) #(---her idea of 'destressing' was swimming laps full speed over and over again for 45 minutes or so) #(it was too late we were already friends) #(and so I just bobbed up and down in the water while she just. really went at it like some sort of a sugar-high dolphin) #(it wasn't actually too bad because swimming is one of the few physical activitues I sort of enjoy) #(but I don't think I'll be able to survive making friends with someone who enjoys more landlocked (and generally sweatier) sports) #mmari rambles #JYJ if for some freak chance of circumstance you're seeing this #this is not a dig at you ily💖

[earnestly-endlessly]

hey!! Your fic recommendations are always elite–I was wondering if you had any kid fics, thank you <3

Hi anon. I have plenty of kid fics for you. Since you didn't quite specify what kind of kid fic you wanted I decided to divide it into fics where Charles and Erik are kids or get deaged and fics that involve kids. This is kind of a long list so I hope that there are plenty of new fics for you to read.

Cherik Kid Fic

--They are kids or get deaged--

Conspiracy of Kisses - Alaceron

Summary: Seven-year-old Erik needs to keep his telepathic best friend Charles from finding out that he wants to kiss him. But that's okay, because he has a plan - he'll put on a tinfoil hat.

Chasing After You - Alaceron

Summary: Charles isn't very good at tag. Erik helps

We’ll be the sum - afrocurl, ninemoons42

Summary: In between bouts of blanket burrito-ing and vegging out on movies, Charles and Erik figure out how they currently feel about each other.

Of course, they're schoolboys and they're on a sleepover and also Edie dotes on them both excessively, so things work out just fine.

Growing pains - ikeracity

Summary: Twelve-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is an angry, closed-off foster kid with trust issues and a bad temper. Ten-year-old Charles Xavier is a lonely kid in boarding school who just wants a friend.

Logan pretends he doesn't think they're both fucking adorable.

Valentine’s day – ikeracity

Summary: Kid fic! Erik waits impatiently all day at school to give Charles a card for Valentine's Day. Maybe Charles has something for him too...?

Now You Know You Know it Now – luninosity

Summary: Erik’s not sure why he keeps glancing at the other boy. Not as if Erik likes other kids, or other people in general, for that matter. But still—he finds himself looking. Again.

This Family Comes with Batteries - Fishwrites, lynneh

Summary: An orphaned Charles Xavier goes to live with his Godfather: Tony Stark. This story is a tale of what would have happened to the events of MCU, if Tony was raising a six year old telepath in Stark Tower. There is also the matter of Charles' robot AI manny/bodyguard/tutor/only-friend, David.

You’re Not Doing This Alone – flightinflame, Lynds

Summary: What's meant to be a simple recruitment mission leads to both Erik and Charles being de-aged back to thirteen years old. Terrified and out of their depth, the boys try to hide their situation and help each other until they can work out what is going on.

Charles Xavier, A Retelling – Extra_fried_noodles

Summary: An attempt to reverse his paralysis goes wrong, and Charles is de-aged into a 2 year old toddler. While Hank scrambles to fix the situation, the whole gang is here to help. Through a mix of selective memory, they watch Charles relive his childhood, revealing some deeply hidden and painful truths.

Protective Instinct – Groovyhornbill

Summary: Charles and Erik were testing Cerebro’s new prototype when things went very wrong.

Divergence – Lynds

Summary: Universes and timelines collide, dropping two younger versions of Charles Xavier into the midst of the hunt for Sebastian Shaw. Now the newly formed X-men have to deal with a strangely quiet and self-reliant six year old, and a sixteen year old covered in bruises.

Erik, in particular, has to accept that the man he loves hasn't had the kind, happy upbringing he wished for him. But these children are here now, and Erik's not going to let anyone hurt them this time.

--Where they have kids--

Sink or Swim – endingthemes

Summary: Erik is a struggling single dad of three kids with a burning hatred for Sebastian Shaw, the man who wronged him years ago. He’s tried to move on with his life, but a run-in with Shaw’s rude, spoiled omega, Charles, drags up old anger. When Charles ends up in the hospital after an accident, Erik goes to confront him only to find that Charles has amnesia. In the confusion, Charles mistakenly assumes that Erik is his mate.

Erik knows he should clear up the misunderstanding, but how can he pass up this perfect chance for a little revenge?

(An Overboard AU)

Rumor Has It - blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Words and Pictures – pocky_slash

Summary: When Lorna's powers manifest early, Charles Xavier's mutant picture books are the perfect teaching tool. Erik just hadn't expected the author to be so young. Or attractive. Or available.

Write this number down (you can call it anytime) – pocky_slash

Summary: When Erik upsets his children, they have a habit of running away from home--and straight to Charles' school for cookies and consolation. Charles doesn't mind the visitors, but as they appear more and more frequently, he realizes that sooner or later, he and Erik are going to have to talk about what happened on the beach and what it means for their future and the future of Erik's children.

Dress Your Family in Plaid and Skinny Jeans – cygnaut

Summary: Erik and Charles meet at the mutant playgroup/parenting support circle and they instantly hit it off. And so do their kids, Lorna and David.

Not What I was Expecting (So Much Better) – lazulisong

Summary: Erik, the single father, hires Charles, the grad student with the slightly shady past, to be his manny.

Heli Cases – Black_Betty

Summary: "Heli Cases" is a program on PBS whose aim is to educate on the rapidly increasing occurrence of genetic mutation in the general populous by breaking the complex science down into palatable, easy to digest pieces.

It is also the only thing that helps Erik get his fussy daughter to fall asleep.

(Featuring Dadneto, baby Lorna and the struggles of single fatherhood, and Charles as the host of a late night show about genetics.)

Doing Something for Yourself – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik is a hard working engineer and single dad, Charles runs a local Community Center where Wanda and Pietro spend their time after school. Erik accidentally makes Charles' acquaintance one Wednesday evening when he's running late from work. Erik has no idea if he stands a chance with his new acquaintance, but that isn't going to keep him from falling for the guy.

A Good Dad – listerinezero

Summary: Ten years later, Magneto has left the Brotherhood and Raven asks Charles to help her find him. Charles discovers that Erik is the single father of five year old twins Wanda and Pietro, and he is doing everything he can to keep them safe from his former enemies.

Take a Chance (On Me) – Ook

Summary: In which Charles, terrorised by his abusive ex, takes his young son to a small town in America, where they both settle down and make friends with their neighbours. Particularly the town mechanic, Erik, and his foster son, Alex. Requester stated they wanted to "drown in H/C. "

Can’t Buy Me Love – niniblack

Summary: Erik's a single dad struggling to make it work and nab the promotion he's been waiting for. The last thing he needs is to get involved with politician and notorious playboy Charles Xavier.

(The Maid in Manhattan pastiche that no one asked for.)

Ohana – royal_chandler

Summary: Erik's children are absolute hellions. If by hellions, one means children who are incredibly protective of their new family unit and won't let a few household mishaps get in the way of keeping it together.

One Second and a Million Miles – magneto

Summary: Between being a parent to the best baby in the history of man-kind and co-running a Mutant Center in Hell's Kitchen, Erik Lehnsherr has his hands pretty full. Too full, certainly for romance; something that has never really been on his radar to begin with.

All that changes, however, when he meets Dr. Charles Xavier. Handsome, intelligent, capable, kind, an Omega level telepath, and one of the best pediatricians in the state, he's everything Erik didn't know he was looking for. But he's also Lorna's pediatrician which means, of course, he's off-limits. Except how is Erik supposed to try and forget his crush when he and Charles keep running into each other as if fate is trying to tell them something? When, as Charles says, they seem to want the same thing?

Her Only Mutations Were Her Blue Eyes and Her Auburn Hair – Pookaseraph

Summary: While sneaking back out of Russia, Erik and Charles stumble across Anya, Erik's presumed dead daughter, and it changes quite a few little things along the way. Fluffy, self-indulgent, fix-it.

Despicably Yours – Cesare, veryorangecat

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr, AKA Magneto, is a supervillain without equal... except maybe one: Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, AKA Erik's next door neighbor. When their competition heats up, Erik decides the only way to get ahead is to adopt four mutant orphans to infiltrate Charles's mansion.

Things don't go as planned.

The Wrong Impression – Rosawyn

Summary: Charles is trying to balance the responsibilities of his career with his responsibilities as a single father to a tiny baby. It's not something he ever thought he'd have to do, and it's not as easy as those women on the internet make it look! He does't have much of a social life (unless talking to his sister on the phone and attending a parents' class where he's the only guy count), and he doesn't even have time to think of dating. He's just trying to keep his job - and keep his son fed and healthy.

Marrying a Mob – Ook

Summary: Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster".

Erik is grateful to Charles for saving his children's lives at the cost of his kneecap. So very grateful.

Naturally he tries to reward Charles for his actions. Equally naturally, Charles will be having none of that.

Azazel finds the whole thing unspeakably hilarious. Naturally.

#cherik #cherik fic recs #fic recs #asks #earnestly answers #kid fic #long post

[yuta-nakamots]

the christmas song - m.ti

Pairing - Taeil x Reader

Genre - Fluff, Single Parent!AU

Warnings - None (lmk if I should add any)

Summary - It wasn’t uncommon for when the weather grows colder, many hearts do as well. Though you hoped this was not true in the case of yours and Taeil’s, that the warmth of each other’s hearts would be enough to break the ice.

Word Count - 4.7k

Taglist - @ahgase55g7 @notnctu @yutacrush @pastelsicheng @puppywritings @neonun-au @dreamieofu

A/N - Inspiration: The Christmas Song by Michael Bublé. Special appearance by: @astroboy-lele​. This fic was also supposed to be released two days ago but finals has not been kind to me :’)

Written for the Taste of Winter Collab hosted by @dearyongs and @pastelsicheng. Also part of the Neowinter Festival hosted by @czennienet and the Neoholiday Festival hosted by @nct-writers.

When you had told your best friend, Furou, that you’d pick up her son from preschool, you thought that you’d just pop in and get the kid, that’s it. You didn’t know that you had signed yourself up to be the referee at a mini MMA fight.

“Xiaolong put the toy down.” You commanded the four-year-old you were supposed to be signing out. He was currently fighting over a little dragon figurine with a young girl who appeared to be his age or somewhere around there.

“No! I had it first!” He cried out. “Get your own dragon!” He yelled towards the girl.

“Xiao, give her the dragon, we’re going home.” You stated firmly.

He refused to give up the toy and started whining even louder, prompting you to pull the toy out of his grasp. “You need to learn how to share, young man,” you scolded before turning to the little girl he was fighting with, “I’m sorry about that sweetie, what’s your name?”

“Jaeha.” You were surprised when you heard two voices, one from the girl in front of you and another from behind you. Turning around, you were greeted by a handsome young man who you assumed was Jaeha’s father from the resemblance she bore to him. “Her name is Jaeha. Sorry about her, she’s a bit much to handle when she sees something she wants.”

“Oh, it’s alright, Xiaolong here needs to learn how to share things properly,” you motioned over to the said boy who still had his eyes on the little dragon in your hands, “I can’t believe he’s nearly five years old and doesn’t know what sharing is.”

“Jaeha’s the same way. It must be an age thing,” the man said with a chuckle, “Is he yours?”

Your eyes widened as you hurried to explain your relation to Xiaolong. “He’s not mine, I’m just here picking him up for my best friend. She has her hands full being a med student and all.”

“Ah, I see,” He remarked as he picked up Jaeha, “this little rascal is mine, though I wouldn’t trade her for anything else in the world.”

You felt a tug on your shirt and looked down to see Xiaolong still eyeing the toy. “No, Xiao, mommy is waiting for you at home. I can buy you a little dinosaur of your own if you want one so badly, how about that?” The boy broke into a smile at your offer.

“Oh, can you recommend some good kid’s stores in the area? I just moved here so I’m not too familiar with everything just yet.” The man informed you.

“At least you had the sense to come at the beginning of the school year, I pity the kids who are just thrown in during the middle of the school year,” you commented, “but the toy store I normally take this little guy to is the one near the end of this street, it’s in the little shopping center.”

“I’ll try taking Jaeha there once we get a little more settled in, thank you. My name is Taeil by the way. You are?”

“Y/n,” you said with a smile, “would you like my number? Like in case you ever need anything?”

“Yeah, sure! That’s very kind of you.” His voice was very sweet and kind of calming, you noticed.

When you were dropping Xiaolong of at Furou’s apartment, you couldn’t help but let her in on your encounter from just a little earlier. “Is he cute?” She asked, excited to hear you talk about a new man after your last relationship didn’t go so well.

“He is, but he Furou, I just told you that he has a daughter. He probably has a wife or at least a girlfriend if anything.” You didn’t want to get your hopes up in case this was true.

Furou hummed out in thought, “yeah well, you never know.”

You shrugged your shoulders, indifferent to the whole situation. “If you ever need me to pick him up again, feel free to call.” You said, nodding over to Xiaolong who was busying himself in front of the TV with his collection of toys.

A week later and you find yourself in a similar situation from the daycare, except this time it’s at the local swim center where you were supposed to be picking Xiaolong up from.

The only difference was that this time Taeil had gotten to the two fighting kids before you did. “Jaeha, no, Xiaolong had the goggles before you did. You can’t just take them from him when he’s clearly using them.”

Xiaolong made a face at her, seeing as how her own father sided with him. Jaeha made the same mocking face back at him. “But Daddy, he’s being mean.” She whined.

“That doesn’t mean that you have to act the same back to him.” Taeil explained calmly to the irritated four-year-old.

“Jaeha, how about you apologize to Xiaolong so he knows you’re sorry.” You proposed, joining Taeil where he stood in front of the two kids, both still dripping from being in the pool.

Jaeha let out a sigh before turning to Xiaolong. “I’m sorry for taking your goggles.” She admitted plainly.

“And?” Taeil prompted.

“And I won’t do it again.” Jaeha concluded.

You turned to Xiaolong, “do you accept her apology?”

“Do I have to?” He questioned.

“No, but it would be nice if you did.” You replied.

“Okay, then I guess I will.” You made a mental note to tell Furou that her son was getting increasingly sassier by the day so she better watch her mouth around him.

After both kids were sent off to go wash up and change, Taeil spoke up as you both waited for them to return. “Sorry about that again. If you don’t mind, how about I take you to lunch sometime as an apology.”

“No apology necessary but I like the sound of that. Are you free this week?” You inquired.

“Yes, actually. Does Friday work for you?” He appealed.

“It sure does,” you informed him with a smile, “we can talk about the details over text, the kids are coming back.”

Taeil’s smile mirrored yours as he agreed with you, “sounds like a plan.”

As you were dropping Xiaolong off at Furou’s once again, you told her about the new development in your relationship with Taeil. “Okay but no taken man would ask out a woman to lunch.” She commented.

“It could just be in a friendly manner because he said ‘as an apology’ for the kids fighting at swim class.” You reasoned.

“Check his ring finger,” Furou sighed out, “you need to check it next time you see him or else I really will strangle you.”

Your eyes widen at her statement. “Not every married or taken person wears a ring these days.”

Furou put her head in her hands. “You’re really frustrating to work with, you know,” she pauses as she looks back at you, “I’m rooting for you, I really am, so stop making excuses and actually try, will you?”

“Fine, fine, but if, and only if, he is single and is ready to be in a relationship.” You decided.

“Fair enough.” Furou agreed.

It was currently Wednesday and you had told your coworkers Xiaojun and Hendery about your upcoming dating on Friday. The three of you were hired around the same time under the marketing branch of Neo Corp. and quickly grew close to each other after finding out you were all the same age.

Part of your job as being part of the marketing team was to come up with possible marketing strategies for the company, which Hendery excelled at. Though sometimes, he got a little too extreme and that’s where Xiaojun comes in to moderate him. You did a little bit of both, coming up with the ‘Gen Z’ type of ideas with Hendery but also keeping things realistic and reasoning with Xiaojun why some ideas are better than others. Such was the case with your situation with Taeil.

“Do you know where he plans on going for lunch then?” Xiaojun asks, excited to hear about an actual possible relationship as opposed to Hendery’s weekly hook-ups.

You shook your head, “he said he would text me but he hasn’t yet.”

“Are you sure he even has your number?” Hendery chimed in.

“Yes, I’m sure. I told you that we traded numbers after the preschool incident.” You breathed out, wondering just how Hendery got himself hired.

He held his hands up in defense, “just double-checking.”

At that moment, your phone vibrated and you picked it up without much thought.

Unknown > y/n

11:46pm: Hi y/n, this is Taeil. I thought about this for a bit, and it’s actually quite embarrassing to admit, but I don’t really know where would be a good place to go for Friday. I’m open to any suggestions you have though, I trust your taste.

“Oh my gosh, guys he just texted me,” you exclaimed, “he said that he doesn’t know where to go and wants me to suggest somewhere to go.”

“How would he not know where to go?” Hendery wondered in disbelief.

“Hey, not everyone is level 100 at dating like you are.” Xiaojun teased though Hendery took it as a compliment and winked at him while laughing. “Anyways,” Xiaojun continued, “maybe you could go to that little coffee shop down the street. The one we ordered the sandwiches from last week.”

“Those were some pretty good sandwiches” Hendery interjected.

“Hmm, I actually like the sound of that. I’ll send him the address for it, thanks guys.” You told them appreciatively.

Xiaojun spun around in his chair, “wow, I can’t believe our y/n is finally going on a date for the first time in over a whole year.”

You looked up to shoot him a look. “It doesn’t help when all you men are so weird.”

“She’s not wrong.” Hendery commented in agreement.

When Friday came around, you couldn’t help but be excited for your little date with Taeil. You had even somehow managed to sneak out ten minutes before your lunch break began, though you probably should have just left then instead.

There was the familiar ding of the elevator when you hit the button and you hoped it wouldn’t take long since the indicator above the door showed it was coming down from one of the higher floors. You also hoped it would be empty since that was the floor the executives were on and you didn’t really want to be caught leaving for lunch earlier than you should be.

Luck clearly was not on your side when the door opened, revealing your director, Taeyong along with none other than Taeil. “...yeah she’s really nice and pretty cute too. I met her when I was picking up Jaeha from swim-” He barely managed to stop himself mid-sentence when he realized your presence.

“Good afternoon, Ms. y/n.” Taeyong greeted you as you stepped into the elevator next to him.

“Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Lee.” You replied, not missing the pout he made when you referred to him so formally.

“I told you to just call me Taeyong, we’ve worked together for almost five years now.” He whined, childishly stomping his foot to help get his point across.

You shook your head with a laugh. “I can’t help it, you’re my boss and we’re at work. When we’re not on the clock then maybe I’ll call you Taeyong,” you couldn’t hide your smile at the way his eyes filled with hope because of your words, “but right now you’re Mr. Lee, chief marketing officer of Neo Corp. and my head director, so let’s keep things professional.”

Taeyong let out another grumble, causing Taeil to chuckle, inadvertently reminding Taeyong of his presence. “Oh, right! Ms. y/n, this is Taeil, chief information officer. He just transferred over from our branch in Korea.”

You looked over at Taeil, unsure of how to react in case he wanted to keep your relationship on the low. “Ah, I actually met y/n last week.” He informed Taeyong, the two of them sharing a knowing look.

The elevator chimed once again as it slowed to a stop at a different floor. “Well it’s nice to know that you’re making friends here, Taeil,” Taeyong remarked as he stepped out of the elevator, “but I’ll see the two of you around, no funny business in the elevator!”

You laughed as the doors shut and the elevator continued on to the ground floor. “So, chief information officer? Really?” You asked in disbelief, turning to Taeil.

“Yeah, really.” He replied, a hand behind his neck as he looked away shyly. “I wasn’t planning on saying much about my job but since you’re in the company anyway, I guess there’s nothing to hide.”

“If anything, I have more to hide.” You joked, immediately stopping to explain when you see Taeil’s worried expression. “I mean like, with me leaving early for lunch right now and the other stuff that goes on in the marketing department since you’re an executive and all.”

“Oh, you can still talk to me, I promise I won’t tell Taeyong.” He said as you shot him a look while the elevator dinged once again, signaling its arrival.

Continuing your conversation on the walk to the cafe, you asked Taeil “why did you move here, especially since Jaeha is so young?”

“I was actually just recently promoted after the former head director retired,” he explained, “the branch in Korea isn’t as developed as the one here so the company asked me to move out to this one just to make things easier.” You nodded your head to let him know you were listening. “As for Jaeha, the timing worked out with school just starting up.”

“Don’t you have a wife or girlfriend that you could have left her with?” You question, hoping the question wasn’t too invasive.

Taeil hesitates a bit before responding. “Her mother...she passed away two years ago. I’ve spent so long mourning her loss and only recently did I decide that it was time for a change and the promotion came just like that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No it’s totally fine, I understand where the curiosity came from.” Taeil interrupted, which you weren’t upset about at all.

Speaking with Taeil was surprisingly easy considering the fact that you’ve only known him for a little over a week. Even as the two of you ate, it wasn’t awkward like you thought it would be. You were able to connect with him as you spoke about the best places to shop or go to hang out. You even had enough confidence to ask him out on a date to one of the latter places, which he agrees to.

This first date turned into a second, then a third, and even up to a sixth. Xiaojun and Hendery are always asking for the latest details, wanting to be kept up to date with your budding relationship. You made sure to keep Furou in the loop too since she was the one who helped to start this relationship by asking you to pick up her son from preschool. Though again, she had called you to pick him up from his swim lessons since it was finals season and she forgot she had a paper due at midnight.

It was already November and the fall weather was changing to winter, even the heated indoor pool was not enough to keep the chill out of the room, causing you to shiver just a bit as you waited for Xiaolong’s class to end. You distracted yourself by watching the kids swim back and forth with their instructors and got so caught up in it that you nearly jumped out of your skin when Taeil sat down next to you.

Both of you laughed at the situation and began talking about anything that came to mind whether it be about work, Jaeha’s antics at home, a new recipe you tried out, you really felt like you could talk to Taeil about anything. It was quite disappointing when you heard the chatter from the kids as they all began getting out of the pool and going to change out of their swimwear.

You said goodbye to Taeil when Xiaolong and Jaeha came out, bickering as usual, though it seemed to be more friendly since it was about which superhero would win in a fight though neither side really wanted to admit defeat. As much as you wanted to watch them continue their debate, you knew Furou would be waiting for you so you helped Taeil end it and take the kids out of the building.

As you were getting into your car, you hear an engine struggling to start from nearby though you pay it no mind since the cold weather can cause cars to act up. You looked around, trying to figure out which car it was when you realized that the engine really wasn’t starting and found a very frustrated looking Taeil getting out of his car and opening the hood of it.

You told Xiaolong you’d be back in a bit before leaving to offer Taeil help in any way possible. You didn’t really know much about cars so it just ended up being you offering him a ride home, which he gratefully accepted since the sun was starting to set and the temperature continued dropping.

Taeil smiled at you once both of the kids were secured in the backseat and resumed their previous argument. “Thanks for being so nice and helping me out like this. You really didn’t have to.”

“I didn’t have to,” you agree, “but I wanted to.” You saw Taeil make a face out of the corner of your eye. “I’m sorry, was that too cheesy?”

“It was cheesy but I like it.” He chuckled, which was not a surprise to you after hearing the jokes he often makes.

The ride to Taeil’s apartment was rather peaceful aside from the kids in the back and it ended a little too soon for your liking but it seemed that Taeil was thinking the same was since he graciously invited you inside for a bit to thank you.

Jaeha was getting tired and cranky and started actually arguing with Xiaolong though Taeil quickly put it to rest when he turned on the TV and put on a show that he claims Jaeha has been really into these days. As soon as the kids are successfully distracted, the two of you decide to move your conversation to the kitchen where you won’t disturb them.

“Taeyong has been asking about you a lot these days.” He informs you.

You raise an eyebrow at this. “Really? What does he say about me?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just telling me to take good care of you and how he’ll send me back to Korea if I hurt one of his favorite employees.” He shakes his head at the playfulness of his fellow executive. “I didn’t know you were one of his favorites though.”

“You’d never believe this but he hired me on the spot after seeing a few of the ads I had put together for other companies.” You pulled out your phone to see if you still had pictures of them that you could show to Taeil. “Mr. Suh even said that he thinks Taeyong may or may not have had a crush on me, though he was leaning strongly towards the ‘may have’ side.”

“Ah, that’s Johnny alright. Always getting up in other people’s business. I’m surprised he’s not on me the way Taeyong is though.” Taeil laughed.

“Isn’t he busy with the foreign expansion project? Or is that not under his watch?” You ask.

Taeil shook his head, “it’s under him but he’s working with HR and finances as well so things are taking a while.”

“It’s HR, what do you expect?” You joke, drawing a chuckle from Taeil too.

“But anyway, I’m glad Taeyong didn’t act on his possible crush on you.” He states.

“Oh? And why is that?” You questioned.

“Well, you see, I actually really-” He was cut off by the sound of your phone ringing.

You pick it up, checking the caller ID, and let out a gasp when you see it was Furou and just how late it had gotten. “Hold on, I have to take this. Hello?”

You’re answered by the audio of Marlin from Nemo going “have you seen my son? Have you seen my son?” and nearly snort from how ironic it was.

“Sorry, I stopped by somewhere else for a bit. I’ll bring Xiao back in a bit, I promise.” You told Furou.

“Okay, but hurry up, his dinner's getting cold.” She grumbled.

You rolled your eyes, forgetting that she couldn’t see you. “You have a microw-” the beeping over the line interrupted you and you pulled the phone away from your ear only to see that she hung up on you. “That bitch, I swear-”

“Xiaolong’s mom?” Taeil guessed.

You nodded your head and let out a sigh. “I should get going before she gets any more pressed on where her son is. I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Alright, please drive safely.” He tells you as he goes to get Xiaolong from the living room.

The first snow had fallen in the second week of December, indicating that it was time for the annual marketing department’s holiday party. Most, if not all, of the people in the department, looked forward to the party since Taeyong had declared it to be totally informal, no treating people as superiors in the workplace, no formal mentions of names, nothing.

You knew a fairly large amount of people in the marketing department and most of them knew each other as well so it was easy to pinpoint an unfamiliar face in the crowd. “Who’s that guy in the corner over there?” Hendery asks you as you both stood in line for the buffet.

You looked over, finding the person in question, only to realize it was Taeil. Next to him was Taeyong who had caught you staring and waved at you. Taeil turned as well, smiling as you waved over at them before sending you a little finger heart. “Okay, now I really want to know who he is. What was all that about?” Hendery pressed.

“Can’t you see? That’s clearly Taeil,” Xiaojun butted in, “who else would she be giggling about when they send her a heart like that? You’re so dense sometimes.”

“Hey! That’s only sometimes though.” Hendery defends, emphasizing the word ‘sometimes’. “Let’s go sit at the table next to them. Xiaojun go sit down before someone else does.”

Xiaojun let out a whine. “That means I have to get out of line and get back in line once you guys already have your food though.”

“We won’t start eating without you, I promise.” You tell him.

Xiaojun caves at that and goes “ugh, fine” as he walks over to the table next to Taeyong, Taeil, and the other higher-ups.

“That promise only extends to you right? You didn’t say ‘we promise’, right?” Hendery whispers into your ear.

Scoffing, you hit his shoulder, “Be nice.” He rubs the spot where you hit him and mocks your expression.

Hendery’s teasing continues throughout all the games like ‘pin the tail on Taeyong’ when he insisted that you do it on Taeil, which Taeyong even supported and allowed to happen. This paired with when Hendery screamed out yours and Taeil’s names for the pocky challenge was really pushing your buttons but you couldn’t deny the fact that you enjoyed being with Taeil and getting to feel the slightest brush of his lips against yours.

“So, do you have any plans for the holidays?” You ask him as you take the seat next to him, seeing as how Hendery was actively talking to Taeyong who was currently in yours.

Taeil lightly hummed “mmm, no, not really. Why?”

“I was just gonna say that if you don’t have anywhere else better to be, I’d like it a lot if you were to come over to my apartment sometime.” You say shyly.

“I like that too,” he admits with a smile, “how about Christmas Eve? That way we don’t get in your way in case you have any plans for Christmas?”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me.” Laughter erupted from the table next to you and you looked over to see Taeyong all but choking down your glass of water with a half-eaten pepper in front of him while Hendery films him with his phone. “Thank god we’re off for the rest of the week.” Taeil nods in agreement.

It was Taeil’s idea to cook dinner together since he didn’t want you to go through the hassle of making a large meal on your own. You were thankful though since you didn’t really trust your own cooking abilities, especially since you were fine with just eating whatever since it was usually just you eating the food you made.

Taeil was, by far, a much more skilled cook than you though he never once made you feel bad about it, instead of teaching you and giving you tips every so often. Being able to cook with him made the time go by so much faster and it made you wish that cooking was like this all the time.

The two of you took your servings of food to the living room and ate on the couch, Jaeha seated on the floor in front of both of you, the Hallmark movie on TV illuminating your living room. The movie was barely even halfway through when you hear the slightest of snores from Jaeha.

The little girl had cleaned off her plate and was now dozing off, the tiniest bit of drool forming at the corner of her lip. “I think that’s a sign that I should get going soon.” Taeil whispers, careful not to wake his daughter.

“You can stay if you want.” You tell him.

He shakes his head, “no, I really should get going. I’d rather wake her up now and get her home sooner than have her get a weird sleeping schedule going.”

“No, I mean like, you can stay the night if you’d like.”

“A-are you sure?” Taeil asks, eyes growing wide.

“Of course.”

“In that case, there’s something I want to do first.” He pulled out his phone and began typing before holding it above both of your heads.

You look up at his phone at back at him in confusion, “what are you-”

“It’s mistletoe, look!” He showed you his phone screen and sure enough, it was an image of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

Rolling your eyes, you tell him, “if you want me to kiss you, you could have just asked.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then can I just ask you to be my girlfriend?”

You froze with your mouth slightly open. “Moon Taeil, that is like, the smoothest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Sooooo is that a yes?”

“Definitely a yes,” you set your plate down on the side and leaned over from where you were sitting, closing the distance between you and Taeil, “now how about that kiss?”

Taeil’s lips met yours and couldn’t believe how soft they were. You felt his hand come up to caress your cheek as your lips slowly began moving together. His lips parted ever so slightly but before either of you could do anything, “Dear Santa, my wish is to never see this happen ever again.”

You and Taeil broke apart from each other, looking down to see Jaeha with her hands over her eyes. Taeil picked her up and settled her in between both of you. “Well, sweetie, you’re going to have to get used to it because you’re going to be seeing y/n a lot more often now.”

#NCT-WRITERS #neoholiday #neowritingsnet #cznnet #neowinter #unfortunatus: paradiso #kwritersworldnet #nct #NCT 2020 #NCT 127 #taeil #NCT imagines #NCT fanfic #NCT scenarios #NCT fluff #NCT 127 imagines #NCT 127 fanfic #NCT 127 scenarios #NCT 127 fluff #moon Taeil #NCT taeil #NCT moon taeil #NCT 127 taeil #Taeil imagines #Taeil scenarios #taeil fanfic #Taeil fluff #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fanfic

[fatehbaz]

Had a conversation about spiders today. Triggered some memories.

At the time, hadn’t really ever known what it was like to live in one place for longer than a year or two. People came and went. You lived somewhere, and then you were lost. Everything was transient and passing. Slowly I attracted friends while trying to show them the colorful millipedes that lived along the edges of the “empty” lot, where native grasses extended beyond the lawns and playground architecture. I was 9-and-a-half years old. I don’t know if I was ready to watch things die.

“Weird Girl Bug Club” is not a make-believe internet joke. Some of the soil was sandy, some black and wet, and some rich with decaying leaf litter and mycorrhizal fungi. It was an amalgamation. Was this the remnant of the shortgrass prairie? Was it influenced by naturally-occurring sagebrush steppe in the area? Instead, was it actually full of non-native pasture plants, left over from cattle ranges or farms, which only appeared to be “native” in comparison to the obviously non-native green crab grasses of the adjacent school lawn? Unclear. Maybe all of the partially damaged environments were blending together. The empty lot was Frankenstein’s monster. (At the time, I was already in love with both Gothic monsters and unnecessary over-the-top accessorizing, so I had a keychain, hitched to a belt loop, from which dangled a cheap plastic model of Frankenstein’s mosnter and the Hollywood version of the Wolfman.) Along the edges of that grassy expanse? Oak, alder, maple, even aspen. I knew bugs but didn’t know trees, so which of those were native? I didn’t know.

The crew: Like 9 girls and a boy, I guess. During recess: Bug Time. Late March: Leopard frogs in the flooded lawn. April: Toads along the base of the oak. May: Three species of gartersnake, attracted to tiny little patches of differing microhabitat. Wandering gartersnakes preferred the leaf litter at dry spots beneath the trees. Red-sided gartersnakes preferred the vernal pools, always half-submerged in water. Plains gartersnakes seemed better able to tolerate the concrete-lined irrigation canal and the fertilizer-poisoned soils of the flooded lawns. I saw a bullsnake in the lot once. A schoolteacher was watching me, she yelled at me, told me to get away immediately, speaking bullshit about bullsnakes “are dangerous.” I picked up the snake, brought it to the edge of the woodland, skipped the beginning of after-lunch classes.

And everywhere in this lot, a multitude of spiders. A lot of jumping spiders, some massive, some very colorful. I folded some pages of blank white “printer paper” in half and drew my own “Jumping Spider field guide” and made photocopies. I used colored pencils, tried to draw each kind of jumping spiders. I had no idea which species most of them were. I think it was my second stupid homemade field guide after a “snakes of the Rocky Mountains” booklet.

Why jumping spiders? That year, settling into a residential neighborhood nearby, I went into the shed for the first time, off in a shaded corner of the shared yard. No one ever went in there. For any reason. Don’t know why. I opened the door:

Scene from a nightmare. Indeed, in years since, I did have dreams about that shed. (Not really nightmares, but more like auspicious and ominous dreams, you know?) It was late summer, but the shed was dark, almost unbelievably shaded from the sun. Like it was enchanted, meant to be dark. I of course loved spiders but I wasn’t prepared for this.

It was like a curiosity cabinet, like a museum. Like some animate sentient curator had purposefully decided to showcase as many different kinds of spiders as possible, to showcase the largest spiders possible. There were black widows, but I loved them, and understood them to be pleasant and unthreatening. But the size of these wolf spiders? Intimidating. There were orb-weavers, too. Big brown spiders retreated from the light, across the floorboards, they were physically reminiscent of tarantulas. (Maybe they were related to tarantulas, which were not unknown in the region.) But what shocked me most were the jumping spiders. The jumping spiders drew your attention most. I didn’t know they could be that large. And their dazzling colors? Bright red juxtaposed with black banding. Bright orange with black spots. Bright blues, glittering purples. Your eye was drawn simultaneously in every direction. Spiders in every corner.

It was a treasure chest. This is going to sound silly but: It was a treasure chest of spiders, some literally sparkling with iridescence.

--

Later. I was about 11 years old, different region, different landscape, and the city was gentrifying my neighborhood. There was an “empty lot” that was actually more like remnant prairie. Prickly-pear, rattlesnakes, toads, meadowlarks. It was being turned into cookie-cutter prefashioned homes.

The most ubiquitous species? Ground squirrels. “Whistle-pigs.” People would bludgeon them, fire BB guns from lawn chairs, laughing as they dropped explosive fireworks into the burrows. Casual violence. Like a sport. Adults encouraged children to take lives as if it were akin to skipping stones or playing board games.

The whistle-pigs slowly dwindled. The local human residents, and their children, were slowly doing the work of the developers: Killing. Paving the way.

As the rodents died, every single abandoned ground squirrel burrow had a web stretched across the entrance. All of them: Black widows.

My impression of black widows had always been: Graceful. Dignified.

When the bulldozers came, I tried to save them. A parental figure was passively supportive. My bedroom was adorned with 25 or so glass jars. Black widows in each. A terrarium: a small toad, rescued from the manicured lawns and developers. (I don’t like moving or keeping wild amphibians, but the toad had nowhere to go and was being eyed threateningly by neighborhood boys who “toyed” with animals.)

One day, dozens of tiny pale black widow babies were pouring out of the lid of one of the jars, a mass of fragile spider bodies pulsating on the desk. And I realized the spiders should probably be set loose. And they were, in the backyard. I don’t know how many of them lived, or for how long. The toad was released back into the neighborhood. (No fertilizers, not an entirely inhospitable habitat.) I saw her again only once.

I don’t know what happened to any of them.

----

The next spring, a community center a couple of blocks away, on the edge of town, was trying to drain a “bog” next to their building. The last place in the neighborhood where you heard the frogs and toads singing. It was a vernal pool that regularly collected water in the spring. Reliably, every year. Gartersnakes used the pool. But the real star, the real center of attention: the chorus frogs. I spoke with the people who owned the building. Later, I tried arguing with one of the owners or managers or whatever, the week that the contractors and the heavy equipment showed up. They laughed at me and threatened to call the cops. I kicked a rock at their building and took a cattail as a keepsake.

On one of the last days that the vernal pool existed, I was riding my bike over there. I found a gartersnake, dead, flattened on the road. One of my parents died later that year.

Before the apocalypse at the vernal pool, when I felt empty, in the evening, I would get on a bike, and go there. I’d sit in the mud in the reeds on the edge of the pool and watch the chorus frog tadpoles swimming. Dragonflies disappeared as the evening darkened. On some very special days, late in the spring, when the water was almost gone and the days were longer, you might be lucky enough to see a spadefoot toad. The insects and frogs and snakes were fleeting, they had habits and picky preferences. But there was one constant presence, always there, until the redevelopment, even after the frogs sang for the last time.

Fisher spiders, everywhere, navigating through the reeds, walking on the water. Always the spiders, until the end.

#navel gazing #overwrought nonsense

[hectabdr]

Dragon Raja IV - Chapters 3 & 4 (Abridged)

Hi everyone, continuing with today's chapters, these are centered around Nono and Caesar and their lives after he returned from Japan.

Previous chapters

Chapter 3

Mediterranean Sea, Republic of Malta.

The Island of Frefra is mostly an ecological reserve, there is a white building on top of a natural harbor with luxury yachts and sailing boats. Tourists and locals have always been interested in knowing more about its residents, but the government is very secretive about it. It is well protected against binoculars and often, music can be heard coming from the inside. Girls in white dresses walk around it and they're known as the "Iris girls".

At 5:45 am, a rotating alarm clock started playing a terrible heavy metal song, making its way through fashion magazines and snacks, it ran around the bedroom of Chen Motong, who finally trapped it and took its batteries out.

She slept for another 20 minutes and woke up in a hurry. She had classes to attend. Cooking lessons, Japanese tea ceremonies, British literature and music appreciation, amongst other things. This was the Golden Iris Shuyuan Academy. It was meant to educate Nono on how to live among nobility.

She arrived late at the breakfast table only to realize the other girls were betting on her punctuality. After she accepted Caesar's proposal, he took her to Rome to meet his relatives, some of which were more than 300 years old, they left their cryogenic beds and unexpectedly blessed their marriage (after evaluating her from head to toes). Nono's own family was rich and powerful, known as the Black Prince Group. After both families signed the marriage contract, they agreed to make Nono drop out of Cassell to take a years-long bridal training in the Shuyuan Academy.

During her dancing lessons, a yawning Nono was the only one who couldn't keep up with the rhythm, prompting her teacher to whip her foot.

At her cooking class, she kept eating bits off her dish, leaving almost nothing for the teacher to evaluate.

She managed to succeed on her tea ceremony while her boredom made her toes fight each other behind her back. She was distracted during literature and used her profiling skill to cheat on her analysis of classical music.

She unwillingly started regretting the moment she accepted the marriage proposal, but not because of Caesar, it was all about the life that awaited her. The lessons were relentless and the academy was isolated from the outside world. She didn't sleep enough because she used her Cassell training to sneak out at 10:00 pm to swim by the beach, that was the only time in her day when she felt truly free.

She toyed frequently with her obnoxious alarm clock, it was a gift from her old classmate, Luminous. On her last birthday, he casually carried a backpack with him all day, it was pretty obvious that he was preparing to give her a gift, which he nervously did, and he was the only person who dared to do so, as everyone else felt intimidated by Caesar.

She knew about Luminous's feelings for her. All of the male classmates who liked her could easily fill the whole cafeteria. Luminous was just one of them. She considered herself a passer-by in his life, thinking some girls of his age (like Zero) would be a better match for him. One day he'd mention it as a thing of the past and they would both laugh about it.

She hoped to finish the bridal course in months, but it had already been a year. She brought mostly books but she quickly ran out of things to read.

Suddenly, she realized someone was hiding in her bedroom, right after the cleaning lady left. The intruder took one of her books and a bag from her secret stash of potato chips. She turned off the lights and grabbed a knife, more excited than scared, she searched for the thief.

After finding nothing, she remembered her bathtub, and there he was, asleep with the missing book on his face and a bag of chips in his belly. She punched him in the stomach. A patrolling Nun showed up, concerned, Nono hid the intruder in the tub and pretended to take a bath. If someone found Luminous in her room, they would accuse Nono of having an affair.

The nun searched the whole place with a revolver but couldn't find anyone, before leaving, she had a conversation with Nono about her situation in the academy, specifically her wish to leave. In the lady's words, "Her soul seemed to lag behind her body". Luminous finally understood that she was there to become the perfect bride. When the nun left, Nono scolded him for his presence, she realized he looked different, he was clearly taking care of himself, better dressed, he definitely had a better haircut. He also thought she looked somehow different, more elegant, but exhausted.

His stomach roared, breaking a long awkward silence and she took him out to steal some food for him. They took wine from the cellar, along with some ham and cheese.

-Sister, do you know Johann Chu? -Maybe, was he your boyfriend or did he just owe you money?

Luminous explained his situation to her: he decided to go with the school's psychologist, professor Toyama, who diagnosed him as schizophrenic. Toyama attempted to erase Johann off his memory, but Luminous responded by making a scene and drawing out his desert eagles. He tried to track Johann in everyone else's memories but his missing classmate didn't have many friends.

Anjou couldn't remember him either. Back during Luminous's second year, there was no trial against a Blood Rage user, Frost Gattuso only accused the principal for his terrible administration. The rollercoaster incident happened way after they finished their ride with Shavee. Anjou gave Luminous the location of Chen Motong, telling him to use her profiling ability to find some clues.

However, Nono also believed Luminous had schizophrenia and convinced him to stop his search and look for treatment instead. Luminous lamented his condition and how he couldn't trust the world he lived in anymore, however, despite how enticing it was to forget Johann and go back to the real world, he felt his brother was still out there, waiting to be saved, but everyone forgot about him. Nono couldn't do much for him in his situation.

-Years ago, you were not the president of the Student Union, but a scared boy that I rescued from a theater. Now that you don't trust the world anymore, you came back to me. How many more times do you think I'll be here to save you?

Suddenly, a security guard noticed the candle they lit in the cellar. Nono didn't know how to react, but someone broke a bottle of wine on the guard's head and knocked him down. It was Finger, who informed Luminous that now he was wanted by Cassell, as they thought he was an undercover agent sent by the Dragon Raja.

Apparently, on the same night that Luminous left the college, someone entered the Ice cellar and stole Constantine's skeleton, severely injuring principal Anjou in the process. The only student with such clearance and power was the S-Rank himself.

Agents of the Execution Bureau went looking for Finger in Cuba, so he buried them in a tobacco field, with their heads out, of course.

Nono urged them to understand the seriousness of what it meant to be hunted by the secret party, which essentially made them targets of the whole world. They could leave no traces for Norma to track down. She considered there were three possibilities:

1- Luminous was insane.

2- He was an undercover agent sent by the dragon raja all along.

3- He was the only person in the world who was't hypnotized.

The only being who could be responsible for the third option is the white dragon king. Its skeleton was never recovered. Their only option was to travel with Luminous in secret to track down any trace that Johann might have left in the world before he disappeared.

-I really hope my brother is alive... -True Love! Said Finger and Nono in unison.

Finger then urged them both to leave and "go save the world" but Nono refused to leave. She had a responsibility with her family and with Caesar. As Luminous turned around and started walking, Finger stunned her, urging Luminous to help him carry her outside.

Chapter 4

Caesar Gattuso was sitting down in a church. This was the anniversary of his mother's death, so he wore a suit, drove a Harley Davidson motorcycle on his way there and brought her a bouquet of white flowers.

When he was younger, she bought him a miniature bike, she also loved to see him wearing little suits. Most of Caesar's style was based on her taste, he thought that would please her while she watched him from heaven.

The first time he had been on the Milan cathedral, he was attending her funeral. The ceremony was presided by the pope himself. Knowing of his family's involvement in her death, he poured kerosene on the coffin and lit a fire on the church. The authorities managed to save the historical building and despite of it all, Caesar was still allowed inside every year to mourn Gulweig, (as long as he wasn't carrying any dangerous chemicals).

Parsi Gattuso arrived in a car to give him some urgent news, his wife Chen Motong had gone missing. He brought with himself a letter that she wrote for her fiancé, it expressed Chen's dissatisfaction with her new life, asking him to give her some time.

Caesar immediately realized the poetic letter was fake, since Nono wouldn't bother to express herself in such a way. According to him, Nono would just write "Caesar, I'm leaving" In a napkin and leave it on top of her bed. The letter was probably written by a narcissistic person like Finger.

However, this left him reflecting on Nono's true feelings towards her future, wondering if all he did was capturing a bird (that he initially admired for its freedom) just to lock it in a cage.

Far away in Cassell College, the elders of the Secret Party reunited for an emergency meeting, the first one since 1961. Many famous individuals that once shaped the course of history were in it, still alive after faking their deaths to cover up their slow aging. In the principal's chair, Leonardo Flammel, the vice-principal and a direct descendant of Nicholas Flammel sat down and started the meeting.

He welcomed EVA, Norma's war personality with 140,000 times her processing power, and asked her to project a life-like hologram of Anjou's assassination attempt.

According to the recording, the previous night, the principal intended to access the ice cellar, but he stopped meters before reaching the entrance. He looked behind and said:

-Is that you?

In a fraction of a second, his access card had left his pocket after something cut through it. His entire body started bleeding from multiple cuts to his skin. He had no time to react and tried to use the card as his weapon, since the attacker didn't give him enough time (even using Time Zero) to draw his dragon slaying knife. It was guessed that his opponent could use Time Zero as well, but was more skilled in combat than the principal himself.

The security system identified the situation in time and called the police and medical assistance, otherwise, Anjou would have died. The conversation quickly turned to Luminous's possible involvement in the situation, Flammel had a conversation about it with "Mr. Beowulf", who was also present.

The legendary Beowulf was not an individual but a family of dragon slayers. They had a strong attraction to dragon blood, for them it was almost like drugs to an addict.

They were the most fierce dragon hunters in history, pouring the blood of their prey and drinking it after every successful kill. Their newborns were poisoned with dragon blood and only those who survived the process were considered worthy of living. Their latest descendants were almost dragon-like in appearance, but they were unlikely to turn into death servitors. Whenever that happened, the family killed them immediately.

Considering there's an imminent crisis ahead, the leader of the family showed himself in the table for the first time in a hundred years. That's because he strongly opposed the establishment of Cassell College, since "a true dragon slayer can only be born in the battlefield".

Back in the day, he led the "Action team" of the secret party, which eventually became the Execution Bureau. Initially he was expected to lead it, before he expressed his dissatisfaction with the college. Compared to the Action Team of the old days, the cruel Bureau is almost a charity.

Beowulf immediately started discussing Luminous's background. His parents were apparently in the records of the Execution Bureau, but their achievements are not registered. They never reported themselves and their location is currently unknown.

Caesar Gattuso was responsible for the defeat of Norton, Abdullah for Fenrir and the Gattuso's orbital weapon for the White King. Luminous was present during all of these events, but his actions are not registered either. He theorizes that Luminous is in fact a dragon, taking advantage of the war to slay his fellow kings. Since his use of Yanling was unknown and Time Zero belonged to the King of Sky and wind, the most mysterious of the dragon kings, the elders came to the conclusion that this dragon was none other than Luminous himself.

As soon as Beowulf questioned the absence of Frost Gattuso, Pompeii himself made an entrance by making EVA project his hologram on an empty chair. The man was semi-naked as multiple women applied sunscreen on him, annoying everyone on the room, specially Beowulf. Pompeii focused on the importance of Constantine's skeleton, since everyone else seemed more focused on Anjou's assassination attempt. Those bones contained the power of the king of bronze and fire, who was conformed by twins, so the college kept Constantine's skeleton, while the Gattuso family kept Norton's. In that very moment, Frost was transporting their half of the dragon king to an underground vault in the bank of Rome.

Pompeii linked Frost to the call, who was now 120 meters underground and descending. The vault was heavily protected against Time Zero users.

Just as they were discussing the security measures, the loud sound of an alarm silenced everyone in the room, when the members of the meeting asked about its purpose, they quickly realized that it wasn't coming from Cassell, it came from the elevator in Rome. The intruder was in the vault.

Frost was instructed to forget the original plan and leave with the bones of Norton. His bodyguards quickly mutated into dragon-like creatures to protect him. Corrosive acid and bombs were released as the elevator rose back to the surface, but there was something heating up the place and it was greater than any bomb they detonated.

Every guard stayed behind to guard the doors, hoping to witness the intruder. Finally, one of the doors was blown away. In the fire, there seemed to be dragons and snakes dancing. The mummy-like figure in white robes slowly walked towards Frost, as he exclaimed:

-It that... you? Is it really you? It is you!

EVA instructed him to step back, as he had no chance of winning against this "reaper", Frost took out his phone and transferred control of the vault to EVA before the strange creature reached him. Suddenly, the camera was broken and the visuals lost. The sound of the doors being blown up one by one was heard. Beowulf commanded EVA to close the sole entrance of the vault, which could easily resist ten-million-ton nuclear weapons, (Not enough to contain certain dragons).

Believing this to somehow signal the end of the world, the council awaited quietly. Investors in Rome were ecstatic when the value of gold suddenly increased (Since one third of the monetary gold in the world was just destroyed). EVA used the surrounding cameras to confirm the worst, Frost Gattuso was dead, crystallized by the extreme heat. Their diamond-like statues were left behind and soon collapsed, turning to dust.

The possibility of the resurrection of the black King soon reached their heads, its return would signal the end of humanity.

Caesar soon appeared in the room. He was named the new representative of the Gattuso family, so he ordered EVA to kick his father Pompeii out of the meeting. He defended his education in Cassell in front of Beowulf, saying it made him prouder than his last name ever would. He explained that this dragon was more dangerous than the others due to its ability to understand humans, their organizations and its capability to hide among them. It was more similar to humans than it was to dragons, which was its more terrifying feature.

He impressed Beowulf, specially when he ordered to investigate anyone who had come into contact with his uncle, since he recognized his killer. He then brought up Luminous. EVA explained that his unprecedented progress in combat skills was due to his participation in the Nibelungen project. It allows Luminous to surpass the dragon blood limit without turning into a death servitor. He was an artificial emperor, like Chisei Gen from Japan. Beowulf was enraged, since he considered it was a waste of resources to use Nibelungen on such a weak student instead of picking one of their A-Rank fighters and ordered EVA to put all of her computing power in finding Luminous and Finger. However, EVA found no records of Finger in her database. Everyone concluded that he deleted himself.

Since Luminous already worked for the Executive Department and therefore knew how to hide from them, Caesar proposed to employ a different type of hunter, specifically the ancient creatures that the college kept under the ice cellar, originally intended to be used against the black king. The elders voted in favor, but even Beowulf was frightened by the idea of employing them. Flammel suddenly stood up and contacted Finger, warning him of the impeding threat. Moments later, a veteran knocked him down.

Parsi had noticed a change in Caesar. In years prior, he'd make childish requests, like asking him to empty a restaurant because he wanted to drink tea in peace. It looked like he was never going to grow up. Ever since he came back from Japan, he was far more mature, taking bigger responsibilities and doing most of the work by himself. He asked Caesar about his friendship with Luminous, specifically if he wasn't worried about the beasts hurting him.

-I don't want to harm Luminous, but he made a mistake, he shouldn't have involved Nono.

He seemed extremely silent, stopping in his way out to stare at a decorative kimono, one that he brought from Japan as a souvenir, he was wearing it the day he arrived. He wondered about the weaknesses of the dragons, if Constantine was Norton's, who was Shavee's?

He felt like he was forgetting something.

#dragon raja #dragonraja #luminous #johann chu #caesar gattuso #nono #novel #dragon raja 4

[andy-the-8th]

Day Of and Day After - Sam (Part 5)

Part 5 of Creatures That Defy Logic

Read on AO3

That feel when you're 14 and your boyfriend turns out to be a merman, but you've still got things to get done this summer.

Sam's perspective at the end of the movie.

A/N: Sam was perhaps the least-developed character in the whole movie, so writing from her perspective was kind of a fun blank slate. I've given her a last name, individual background interests and information, and invented (mostly - Jennifer is Sam's friend who had like 2 lines) a whole supporting group of original characters for the chapters from her perspective - maybe they'll also be connected to other stories?

Sam got home about an hour after leaving the marina and Cody's parents behind. Hot from the long walk and summer air, she went immediately to the kitchen and downed two glasses of water, letting the coolness spread throughout her body as she sat and calmed down at the kitchen table.

It had been a good plan to walk back. Sam was as much an athlete as Cody or Sean or any of the boys they hung out with - her mind and muscles were connected, and one always worked better when the other was engaged.

With the open air and time to walk with purpose, she had managed to calm her emotions about losing Cody. She hung on to the mermaid's silent promise to have him back before school started, somehow communicated to Cody's mom via telepathy. God, telepathy. Another ontological thing to adjust to. Would Cody have telepathy when he returned?

She'd managed to stop crying about halfway through her walk. She knew it would come again that night, and probably the next several nights. She could hear her friend Jennifer laughing at how silly she would look crying over a boy going away for the summer, even a boy as socially desirable as Cody Griffin. Sam and Jen connected on a lot, but in the boys department she sometimes wished Jen could be a little less shallow. As far as Jen was concerned, a boyfriend only needed to be cute and popular - emotional depth, socializing, deepest-darkest secret keeping was for girl friends. Sam agreed on all the latter, but had always thought romance could be about something more.

She hadn't been attracted to Cody for his popularity. If anything, she was drawn to his drive, his energy when he would compete, the charisma he had among his teammates and with his friends. The way being one of the popular guys hadn't turned him into a cocky prick like Sean and some of the other boys on the team.

Sam felt like they were meant for each other, even if they'd only been going out since spring break. She thought Cody felt the same - Cody was like an open book, which was something she'd always loved about him. He was terrible at lying, and you could always see every emotion on his face. She had never doubted his feelings for her.

Which was part of why she was still not over him not telling her about this sooner.

Sam's older sister Jackie had come home from college last summer, talking about all the drama of dating in college with her high school friends once they were all back in town. The new thing she kept talking about was love languages - the way people show each other they care. Sam honestly thought most of her sister's talk was needlessly dramatic, and hoped that the boys she knew would grow up to be a bit less vapid and out of touch than all the boys Jackie seemed to encounter. Regardless, Sam took the little checkmarked quiz in the back of Jackie's magazine, and which said her love language was trust - being able to tell each other anything.

When she'd told Cody on the beach that she wanted him to be able to tell her anything, she could even hear Jackie's or her mom's voices in her head, saying that she was being a bit demanding for a three-month relationship in 8th grade. She didn't care. She knew she loved him, and to Sam that meant complete honestly.

So having to find out after Cody sprouted fins, apparently blew up the scoreboard (?),  and ran away from the meet was justifiably infuriating. To be fair, she didn't really expect this to be what Cody was keeping from her. Part of her was relieved that it wasn't him seeing some other girl. She didn't think he would do that, but this was junior high after all. She only now slightly regretted storming out that day - she may have been sad to lose Cody, but he had hurt her too with his lack of trust and uneven expectations.

The fact that she had to learn about the details from that Josh kid only exacerbated the issue. Apparently they were close friends or something now? Then again, he looked at Cody like a science project - like he was something to study. Still, she could tell that he was important to Cody, and had clearly helped him out when the problems had started - even if she would rather have been the one to do it, the kid's science background probably helped a lot more. Even if Josh insisted they weren't problems, they were steps of Cody's metamorphosis, it sure still turned into a lot of problems for everyone else involved.

Josh's - no, Jess's - weird-ass comment about her "kissing" him after performing mouth-to-mouth was probably the part of the day she least wanted to remember. Like, sorry for trying to save your life. Thank God for junior lifeguard training and boyfriends who can apparently shoot lightning out of their hands.

Still, as she was thinking about school the next day, Sam realized it was going to be weird to not be able to talk about where Cody was with anyone. She was his girlfriend, after all - "the most popular girl in school" as Jen naggingly kept reminding her - and had always been an extrovert, wanting to talk things over with people she cared about to make them all make sense. Jess was now in the weird position of being her only peer she could be fully truthful with about what was going on her life.

That would make for an interesting summer.

God, and Sean would no doubt have a million questions after whatever he might have seen at the swim meet. It was bad enough that he still attempted to flirt with her whenever possible - him getting into a fight with Cody that had to be broken up by Josh Jess of all people surely was going to make him all the more insufferable.

Getting up from her chair, Sam tied her hair back and got up for another glass of water. She was reminded of Cody's weird sudden thirstiness at all times over the last several weeks, and how that finally made sense, and (thankfully, maybe) wasn't diabetes, as she'd repeatedly warned him. He'd  insisted it wasn't, with the excuse that his mom wouldn't want him to go to regular doctors to get tested anyway. That part at least was true, even if only half of the story. Diabetes would have been a bit more normal, but imagining Mrs. Griffin dealing with insulin shots was almost scarier than her dealing with merpeople.

Merpeople of all things. She didn't doubt Cody's promise to her this time, but still: there'd better not be any mer-girls to hear about come the end of the summer.

Putting her glass in the sink, she stretched back and decided to put all the drama of middle school girls and boys - human and otherwise - behind her for the rest of the afternoon. She slid open the glass door next to kitchen table and stepped out onto the small porch in the backyard, lined with shelves of potted plants all sorts of colors and shapes. Sam had always loved her plants - succulents, aloe, bromeliads, spider plants, dracaena trees - things tied to the earth. Her room and the back porch had become her container gardens, where she'd retreat to care for them and decompress. She gathered up her watering cans - large spouts for rainlike streams, small bottles to directly water the soil - and the various pump bottles of plant food for each variety. As it was the beginning of June, it would be time to refresh the fertilizer in all of the soil. She filled the watering cans at the sink and moved smoothly and slowly from plant to plant, dabbing drops of liquid plant food to the soil, carefully parting leaves and stems, watering just the right amount for each species. The work was perfect, slow and relaxing - Sam focused on the diverse needs of each individual plant as well as appreciating its beauty and growth progress.

Sam was actually quite a good biology student herself, though she had always been more inclined to studying plants, both aesthetically and via agriculture, than anything to do with the oceans. Land management and endangered species conservation were at the top of her extracurricular interests - she had been president of the middle school environmental club the last two years, organizing recycling drives, local beach cleanups, and nature walk days for the elementary school.

This summer she had managed to get a part time job at one of the local greenhouses, which served both the florist shop and a few of the garden centers around town. Her job would start two weeks from the end of school. The prospect of spending the summer caring for things of the earth was far more comforting and appealing than tomorrow and dealing with people again.

Sam mentally noted the irony of her caring so much for things of the land, with her boyfriend turning out to be a literal sea creature.

She finished all of the care and cleaning for the plants on the back porch, then carefully went upstairs with the smallest of the watering cans and repeated the process with the small collection of indoor plants in her room.

After finishing up, she laid back on her bed, staring at the musician posters on her ceiling - Backstreet Boys, TLC, and Destiny's Child - trying to let her mind zone out. She reached into the bottom drawer of the dresser next to her bed for her CDs, finding what she had been looking for: TLC's FanMail, new just last winter. She popped the CD into her small player and put her headphones on, closed her eyes, and focused on following the rhythms of the drums and harmonies in the voices. The music worked - she found herself drifting off to sleep, exhausted physically and mentally from the rest of the afternoon.

It was almost dark outside when she woke to her mom coming in the front door downstairs. Sam quickly got up, taking a few seconds to reorient herself in space and time. Quickly trying to pull herself out of the weird fog of falling asleep midday, she made her way downstairs.

"Oh hey! Were you asleep?" Her mom rarely missed anything. Like Sam, she had long red hair, pulled back into a bun over her black dress shirt and blue blazer. Her mom was a lawyer, one of the only ones in their town who worked in environmental protection policy. Most of her days were spent with documents and plans from the various touristy planners, boat charters, and other industrialists looking to exploit the town's oceanside location, circumventing whatever environmental protection laws as they could. Ms. Lindsey Brathwaite was the main champion of the environment standing in their way.

Sam consciously widened her eyes and slightly shook her head to wake herself up. "Only a bit. Had a busy day earlier, lots going on with tomorrow the last day of school."

"Oooh, any plans for tomorrow night? Two weeks still til you start work, anything going on in the meantime with ze boyfriend?" Her mom always had a good sense of humor when discussing Sam's social life, even if it got a little annoying sometimes with not taking things quite as seriously as her daughter would like. If only she knew this one.

"Actually I was just going to maybe hang out with Jen and the girls tomorrow. Cody's, uh, Cody's going to be going away for the summer."

"Oh really? Family vacation? I would have thought they'd stay around, tourist season and all." Lindsey never missed a thing.

"Uh, no, he's going away by himself. Swim training thing, out in Australia." At that Lindsey turned right around from where she was busy taking plates out of the cabinets. "Australia? Really?"

Sam did her best to nod nonchalantly. "I think he has something going on there for like, potential Olympic training maybe? And Mrs. Griffin's sister lives there too." Sam turned away, slightly bit her lip, worrying she might be laying it on too thick. Best to avoid too many details with the story, in case she or Jess or anyone else couldn't remember them all if they had to. That said, a training camp for the Olympics wouldn't be too out of the ordinary to be in Australia - the next actual games were in Sydney next year anyway, and as she said, Mrs. Griffin had a sister who lived somewhere on the north eastern coast.

Lindsey was still no less surprised but at least seemed to buy the story, frowning at her daughter slightly. "Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, I'd imagine you'll miss him, especially with such little notice!"

"You have no idea." Sam's tone accurately indicated to her mom that she was annoyed but also wanted to drop the subject for right now.

"Well we can get on making dinner right now, then if you want to call Jen later tonight you can set up your plans and talk things over? I won't be needing the computer tonight so the phone'll be all yours." Sam really loved her mom, especially how she knew when to give her space to work things out socially. "Jackie will be coming back next week too!"

The thought of her sister showing up again for the summer made Sam even more glad to be out of the house at her greenhouse job. Jackie was alright, but ever since Sam had grown up enough to be dating, her sister was only too interested in being helpful - and prying - in that department. There were only so many details Sam would be able to give about the boyfriend she'd already told Jackie about.

"OK, thanks Mom! I'll call Jen after dinner." Sam walked over to the salad bowl Lindsey had already put out on the table, and began carefully mixing in croutons and putting the dressings out from inside the fridge. After the day she just had, something as simple as making dinner was an appealingly normal event.

#the thirteenth year #dcom #disney channel original movies #mermen #mermaid #TLC #backstreet boys #destiny's child

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Stark’s New Intern” Chp. 13

Summary: Erik works the first day of the Stark Expo and makes a discovery...

"The most important time in history is, now, the present So count your blessings cause time can't define the essence But you stressin over time and you follow the Roman calendar These people into cloning like Gattaca, you can bet They tryin to lock you down like Attica, the African diaspora Represents strength in numbers, a giant can't slumber forever…"

Black Star—"K.O.S. (Determination)"

"When can we meet Tony Stark?"

The chunky white girl with the dark goth hair and stank attitude glared at Erik as he stood before a podium giving the introductory remarks to the two hundred plus fourth through sixth-grade students who were attending the morning children's track of the Stark Expo.

Erik squared his shoulders and glared back at her.

"It's rude to interrupt someone's speech without raising your hand when they are explaining what is about to happen. How about you wait and let me finish?"

The girl's lips curled up in surprise and she looked around as the other children snickered at her. She rolled her eyes at Erik and folded her arms.

"Now…to finish my remarks, I'd like to say that the Children's Expo is going to be filled with various activities that you can fully choose to participate in throughout the day. Lunch will be at twelve-thirty and provided for all of you inside the Learning Annex tent located right next to the convention center…what is it now?"

The same white girl raised her hand and Erik could hear a few exasperated sighs coming from some of the other kids there.

"Will there be gluten-free food provided, because—"

"Did your parents fill out the registration form and check off gluten-free?"

"Yes—"

"Then why are you wasting our time asking about it?"

"I just want to make sure—"

"We are providing gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, non-processed, locally sourced foods for those with dietary concerns. Anything else?"

Erik's lips curled into a scowl and a little Black girl with two tiny braids laughed out loud at his expression and quickly covered her mouth when he glanced over at her. She was the same girl that the chunky white girl had talked over at the beginning of Erik's presentation. He softened his expression at her and she visibly relaxed and dropped her hands on her lap.

He swiped his hand on his touchpad and the projected image floating behind him changed to a map of the expo space.

"Restrooms are located by following the blues lines on the walls and if you have questions or concerns, we have adult guides throughout the expo halls that can help you at any time…"

The same problem child's hand flew up.

"Stand up," Erik barked at the annoying girl.

The girl stood up, her lips tight, and her eyes still challenging him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Katy—"

"Everyone, Katy wants some attention right now. She's been asking questions that could be answered at the end of my little talk. She's spent time whispering to people around her and being a distraction, and she has also been rude to many of you. So, Katy, the floor is now yours, we'll all just sit here and give you all the attention you want."

Erik stepped away from the podium and held his hands clasped in front of his waist.

The children stared at the girl and Katy's face, that had once been smug, slowly drained. His mother who had been a school teacher would've handled the girl a lot better, but Erik knew this type of child. He went to school with a lot of them like her. So used to being considered smart, gifted, and "special" all their life that they tended to become conceited and grew a holier-than-thou ass-hole mentality. If there was a high-income family attached behind them, they were even worse. Katy had made fun of some of the other kids who had asked good questions by belittling them with comments meant to make them look stupid. Now Erik was making her look stupid.

"Can we get back to me giving everyone information now?"

Katy said nothing.

"Sit down then," he said.

She plopped back down and he didn't hear a peep out of her for the rest of his presentation. At the end, he answered pertinent questions and released the youngins to adult handlers that matched the color-coded badges all the children wore. Forty minutes of talking, ten minutes sprinkled throughout with Katy interrupting, and twenty minutes of Q & A already had him drained from being around kids the rest of the day. He expected to hear from Tony about Katy from some of the adult handlers in the room who helped with supervision, but he didn't care. Don't start none, won't be none is what his Mama taught him.

"Are you giving a tour Mr. Stevens?"

Erik turned to see Athena making a child-sounding voice.

"Thank God no," he said with a big grin on his face.

"My track is over and the high-schoolers are going to eat lunch now, so I have a break. What do you have next?" she said.

"The Track C group. Junior high. I thought the little kids would like graphics better but they seemed to come alive more when I just talked to them and ignored my pictures."

"You're good at talking. You get excited about what your explaining and its infectious."

"It doesn't feel that way."

He glanced around. No one was watching. He cozied up to her and put a hand around her waist.

"Can I come back over tonight?"

"Be mindful, Sir," she teased, pushing back from him.

He kissed her on her lips.

He'd been swimming in her pussy for three days straight and shit was so good she had him daydreaming about her while he worked with the expo crew team to set up. He didn't even try to be discreet with her anymore because she had him hooked. She glanced around then rubbed up against him, letting her lips rest on his lush mouth.

"Could I borrow him for a second? Or do you need to hump his leg?"

Giselle stood with a palm pad in one hand and a bunch of teen badges in the other.

Athena stepped back from Erik.

"These are some badges for a few attendees who just arrived and weren't able to pick these up downstairs."

Erik took the badges from her. "You can pass them out at the beginning of your presentation. If there are some left because the attendees didn't show up, I'll take them back for tomorrow. We found some people trying to sell these outside."

"Alright," he said.

"Do us all a favor, try to stay professional and stop pawing at each other," Giselle snapped.

Athena rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you tonight, Erik," Athena said walking away.

Erik watched her swing her big hips in her tight ass slacks and he couldn't help but make a sound of approval under his breath. That was enough to annoy Giselle and she sucked her teeth.

"Don't be mad. I was tryna get with you, but you turned me down."

She ignored him and took her spot near the back of the room waiting for Erik's next session to start.

She cut her eyes at him.

"Be pissed at yourself…"

She crossed her legs and Erik noticed the deep split in her skirt and the sexy heels on her feet. Damn, she could still get it. He sat next to her. Giselle's fingers flew over her touchpad.

"I'll be professional, okay? Thanks for reminding me."

He patted her thigh and she moved her legs away from him.

"You plan on being mad at me all day?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Jealous?"

"Of what?"

"Athena and me. You know we smashing."

"That's your business. No one needs to see it here is the point."

Giselle was cute when she was annoyed. The pout on her face was actually kind of sexy to him.

A surge of junior-high aged attendees filed into the space snagging seats. Erik stood up and headed to the podium. Checking his watch, Erik started promptly.

The junior high track was straight fire. The students were attentive, laughed at a lot of the graphics he put together for them meant to add humor to science and technology, and his Q & A session went over the allotted time because so many young people wanted to stay behind and talk to him. He had to finally type up his email and give it to the tons of questions that had to go unanswered. So many bodies flocked around him vying for his time. Giselle had to come rescue him, guiding him away from the crowd.

"They got you acting like Pepper," he joked.

"They bum-rushed you like you were Tony," Giselle said.

Her voice was pleasant. Actually friendly. He regarded her face with curiosity.

"You sound impressed."

"Actually, I was. You were great."

"Just great?"

"Okay…okay…that was a fantastic session."

"Ooh, fantastic. I leveled up in your eyes."

The expression on her face made her look open to him.

"You had lunch yet? I'm going to grab a bite and then I have to head over to the mini-lab and work there for two hours."

"No, I just had a latte earlier."

"Let's go eat…unless you have to go to your next station."

"I can eat."

He was surprised she agreed to go with him.

He steered her to the lunch pavilion in the tent outside the convention center, and they fixed themselves hearty plates of fancy catered food. They sat outside the tent on the steps of the convention building and ate their fill.

"Ah vitamin D," Giselle sighed, holding back her face to the sun when they were done eating.

She looked beautiful with her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted, and her hair resting on her shoulder. Erik ate his food while watching her sunbathe. He was still feeling her and didn't know how to get past her reticence toward him. She must've felt his eyes on her because her lids raised up slowly and for a second, Erik was lost in her face. He wanted to kiss her again and leaned forward toward her…and she was letting him.

"Hey, Devika!" Erik said pulling back from Giselle when his peripheral caught sight of her.

Tony's personal secretary strolled past carrying two bags.

"You need help?"

Erik threw away his empty plate and stepped to Devika. He took the bags from her.

"Thanks, Erik. That was a struggle," Devika said.

Her eyes took in Giselle.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Good. I have to head over to the mini-lab. Where do you need to take these?" he asked.

"You're in luck, these actually need to go to the lab. The morning crew forgot to take these. Extra sample slides and tubes."

"Cool. I'ma head out. Holla at me later?"

His eyes gazed at Giselle.

"Maybe."

He grinned and walked with Devika.

"Are you two dating?"

"Me and Giselle? I wish."

"She doesn't like you?"

"I think she does, but she has this thing about being professional and not fraternizing while working together. Stupid."

"It's not stupid, Erik. Sometimes mixing business and pleasure backfires. I made that mistake once…"

Devika's eyes darted away from his and they both saw Tony walking toward them. Stark's eyes took in Devika and Erik knew immediately who she was talking about.

"Stevens," Tony said.

"I'm on top of stuff."

"I know you are. Lab?" he said pointing the bags.

"Yeah."

"I'll head over with you. I have a free twenty minutes so I'll show a little face…Devika I need to cancel dinner with Hartzel and Cook tonight."

"This is the third time—"

"I know. I just don't have the energy for those guys right now."

Tony walked ahead of them and Erik kept up with the bags. Devika pulled out a tablet and canceled Tony's evening plans.

The mini-lab was a replica of one of Stark Industries' actual working labs. It gave students the opportunity to see real-world applications with hands-on experience first-hand. Tony swept in to the usual fanfare and Erik handed off the lab supplies to another intern.

Erik walked around the finished lab and was shocked to see a microscope that he wanted to use back in L.A. but had no private access to. There was also other equipment he needed to be able to test the vibranium. The irony. The shit he needed but couldn't use in Los Angeles was right in front of him for little kids to play with.

Erik walked over to Samira the lab coordinator.

"Is there an evening shift?" he asked.

Samira glanced at her tablet and swiped the screen a few times.

"I have enough people, but if you want to hang out—"

"Yeah, put me on the list," he said while calculating what he would need to be able to run a discreet experiment out in the open.

###

Erik slipped past Samira and three other interns as they shut down the mini-lab for the night. He volunteered to power down all the science equipment, clean them, and pre-set them for Saturday morning so Samira and company could go eat dinner and take off early.

The vibranium was in his pocket and he moved to the back of the lab and snagged the tools he needed to take a sample of the metal and test it. He needed to be in and out of the convention center by ten and it was already seven at night. Three hours to do as much as he could to learn the properties of the metal. He would have to use episcopic illumination carefully. He had several options to choose from, so he opted to use crossed polarizing filters first until he saw that the amount of equipment in the lab was extensive enough to go full out. He decided to go with a differential interference contrast using unstained samples of the vibranium. Time was of the essence.

He worked fast and printed up results as they came, erasing any traces of his use of the equipment, including printouts of data. He felt jumpy as he heard footsteps move back and forth in the front of the entrance.

By the time he collected what data he could in the amount of time that he had, Erik was already strolling to his hotel room with his head full of wonder. Vibranium was not from earth. It had no trace of any elements found on the planet he walked on. His father and his people had been using something literally from outside of the world. The discovery actually made his hands shake as he took out his room keycard. He was excited. Dumbfounded. Even more curious. Aroused in a way that made his skin tingle.

He opened his door and across the hall, Giselle opened her door and put an empty room service tray on the ground.

Dressed in a hotel robe, her eyes met his as she stood up.

"You're back late," she said, a sly smile on her face.

Erik walked over to her door and slipped his left hand behind her neck and his right hand around her waist. Giselle's eyes had that same look she gave him at lunch, and when he crashed his lips on hers, he knew he wasn't leaving her until what needed to be done was done.

Chapter 14 HERE

###

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#stark's new intern #killmonger #tony stark #marvel cinematic universe #black panther fanfiction

[mitsoftwere266]

IT,BSIT,BSIT in Hyderabad,BSIT 4 years program

The main point brought up in Natalie Wexler's new book The Knowledge Gap is almost an untimely idea. It's in the book's epilog. After a convincing, book-length contention for offering an information rich instruction to each kid and archiving our baffling absence of progress in doing as such—to raise understanding accomplishment, advance equity, even, she proposes, to end school isolation—the writer mentions an astonishing objective fact.

"I'd love to highlight a school locale, or even a solitary school, and state: This is the manner by which it ought to be done," Wexler composes. "Shockingly, I presently can't seem to see an American school that reliably consolidates an attention on substance with an instructional technique that completely misuses the capability of writing to construct information and basic intuition capacities for each youngster."

That is one damnation of an arraignment of American schooling, and shockingly, a bold one, since seemingly it raises doubt about the mission of her completely announced and energetically meaningful book. From one perspective, the case for content can't be made time and again or too decidedly, and Wexler does it well. By setting such a large amount of the book in real study halls among genuine educators and kids she does E.D. Hirsch, Jr. better than Hirsch himself. Nonetheless, it is telling—and a bit of discouraging—that more that 30 years after Hirsch burst almost coincidentally onto success records with Cultural Literacy, the urtext in the information rich tutoring group, Wexler can't name a solitary school or area doing it right. Along these lines The Knowledge Gap can't be seen as a reminder for American schooling. The caution has been ringing for over thirty years. We have hit the nap bar and turned over. Also, that's, well… disturbing.

Front of "The Knowledge Gap" by Natalie WexlerWexler is the most recent in a line of backers – myself included – who have differently shaken their clench hands or their heads, tragically, at American schooling's untouchable powerlessness to come right on substance. The reasons schools and locale have not bet everything on information and set up a sound, aggregate, and painstakingly sequenced central subjects are not difficult to recognize, and Wexler lists them completely and competently. Above all else, schools, educators, distributers, and others remain determinedly connected to the evidently mistaken thought that understanding cognizance "is a bunch of aptitudes that can be instructed totally disengaged from content," she composes. Training is a state-level issue under our Constitution, which makes a public educational program, a typical element in different countries, a nonstarter, "and regardless," Wexler noticed, "our nation is most likely excessively assorted for such a push to work." Indeed. At that point there are the regular convictions that "small kids are essentially inspired by subjects that identify with their own lives," that scholarly substance is "'formatively improper' for the early evaluations," and "that training ought to be youngster focused" organizing understudies' inclinations and capacities, and giving educators less expert in curricular dynamic. That these gauzily Romantic thoughts regarding youth and Piaget's "stage hypothesis" are bought in to uncritically in American schools can be ascribed to the field's helpless handle of "the fundamental science about how we learn." Then there is additionally an insight among educators that any set educational program "infringe[s] on their opportunity to show whatever and anyway they needed." Beyond the four dividers of the study hall, parent activism "has zeroed in on disposing of or diminishing testing instead of on what the educational program ought to resemble if testing vanished," Wexler composes. What's more, obviously, there's simply the unflinching object of The Tests which "sent the message that subjects other than perusing and math aren't significant" while fortifying—almost requesting—a perspective on perusing cognizance as a substance unbiased set-up of abilities.

"It's difficult to comprehend why an issue as major and unavoidable as the absence of substance in primary school—and sometimes, center school too—has gone unnoticed for such a long time," Wexler composes. This is my solitary critical purpose of conflict with the creator. The absence of substance has not gone unnoticed. It's gone unaddressed.

In the event that the limit and will to get this privilege existed, there ought to be not one illustration of schools and areas who are executing an information rich educational program well and reliably. There ought to be bunches of them.

Washoe County, Nevada was one such model and Wexler dedicates an interesting part to the Core Task Implementation Project, or CTIP, in Reno—a grassroots, instructor drove activity that arose naturally following the state's appropriation of Common Core, a long way from very much supported fights over the guidelines in Washington, and away from the glare of media inclusion. "Keeping CTIP going felt like a round of whack-a-mole: one voting public would be pacified, however then another would spring up with complaints," Wexler composes. Urgently, protection from educational program and substance wasn't the issue. "The issue was more that the locale continued endeavor new activities, some of which appeared to be working experiencing some miscommunication, and those activities outweighed CTIP." Sobering stuff yet enlightening: Even with attention to the requirement for information, submitted faculty, a sensible degree of regulatory help and promising outcomes, it actually self-destructed. Having worked for Hirsch's Core Knowledge Foundation, I have seen this myself. Today there is a model school. Tomorrow there's an administration change, another activity, or staff mass migration. Change is hard. Keeping up it is more diligently still.

Wexler takes care not to accuse educators. Teaching perusing appreciation as a bunch of discrete aptitudes instead of an impact of information and jargon, for instance, is "essentially the water they've been swimming in, so widespread and underestimated they don't address or even notification it." That is both right and unacceptable. Eventually—maybe now—educators, the directors who enlist them, the schools that train them, areas, contract the executives associations and entire states just should raise their degree of complexity pretty much this. There is no alternate route forward at scale. It is dazzling if singular educators, and even whole schools and regions get this (anyway quickly) yet just to the extent that this adds to the solitary thing that can close the information hole: a discount change in the way of life of training and more noteworthy complexity about training, fortified by smart strategy that remunerates a patient interest in information. Everything else should be ignored.

Without question there is more prominent gratefulness for the fundamental part of foundation information in perusing perception than in 1987, when Cultural Literacy went through a half year on the New York Times blockbuster list. Where there used to be none, there are a few English Language Arts educational programs, both monetarily accessible and uninhibitedly available "open instructive assets" intended to fabricate information intelligently, aggregately, and consecutively, for example, Great Minds' "Mind and Wisdom," and, from Hirsch's own philanthropic association, "Center Knowledge Language Arts." So there is mindfulness, even advancement, only not as much as we scholarly children and girls of Hirsch might want. Wexler noticed that early rudimentary instructors "spend a normal of just sixteen minutes every day on social examinations and nineteen on science." A country that comprehended the reasonable and convincing connections between foundation information and proficiency that she unloads would be humiliated by these figures and request more: more history and science, however more craftsmanship, music and the full scope of breathing life into content that would "reestablish grade teachers to their legitimate spot as advisers for the world" as David Coleman winningly puts it.

"Educators endeavors will prove to be fruitful just on the off chance that they comprehend what to search for," Wexler notices. Too bad, not and still, at the end of the day. For the full advantages of an information and language rich training to arrive at its full blossom, it requires not one educator to get this, but rather every one of them, and for them to facilitate their endeavors to prepare for holes and redundancies. I'm not exactly cheerful this is in the offing, which is the reason school decision has moved to the highest point of my own favored approach alternatives. Better for promoters of information rich tutoring like Wexler and like me to persuade one school to do it directly than to go through the following 30 years pushing the stone up the slope just to have it move back over devoted and sincere teachers like the people in Washoe. In the event that straightforward rationale and the immense load of intellectual science can't motivate changes by and by, maybe fruitful models may create more prominent interest. School decision isn't referenced as a switch for change in The Knowledge Gap, in spite of the fact that Wexler properly disagrees with ed reformer and contract administrators who have been truly no less at fault than "the norm" instructors in neglecting the proof on the significance of information. She takes note of that some sanction the board associations, including KIPP, Uncommon Schools, and Achievement First "saw that a couple of schools with a more substance centered methodology hadn't endured a similar drop [on more thorough Common Core adjusted tests beginning in 2013]. So they started retooling their rudimentary educational plans to zero in additional on substance," she composes, another marker that the fundamental job of information as a driver of understudy results has not gone "unnoticed."

#EDUCATION #MIT #BSIT #IT IN HYDERABAD

[winchester-fantasies]

Bewildered Heart - Chapter Seven: Childhood Innocence

Series Summary: What happens when Sam and Dean Winchester love the same woman?

Word Count: 2048

Warnings: angst, pissed off Sam, mentions of angry Dean, pregnancy, swearing

Pairing: Dean x Remi Leverett (OC), Sam x Remi Leverett (OC)

Winchester Fantasies’ Masterlist

     When Remi awoke in the morning, Dean still had not come home, and when she checked her phone she found that he had not sent any texts either. Tears sprang to her eyes as her mind returned to his outburst the night before. She had not meant for it to slip out that way. She had wanted to make it special. Why she had been so stupid to lose herself in him like that she did not know.

      She had not anticipated that kind of reaction from Dean either. Sure, she had imagined he would be shocked, but not like that. That was a side Dean only reserved for when he was outright livid. He had never raised his voice like that to her; had never given such a harsh dose of coldness. Remi had never expected him to not want this baby – it had not even crossed her mind. But her heart felt heavy at the realization that perhaps he did not.

      Remi slid out of bed, her body weak and tired from having stayed up into the early morning crying and berating herself for having fucked up so epically. Her stomach growled and as much as she wanted to just stay in bed, she realized she had to stay healthy. Especially now that she had a tiny human growing inside her.

      When Remi reached the kitchen, she found Sam already up. He was on his laptop, eyes glued to the screen, a cup of coffee in his hand. He glanced in her direction when she entered but did not return her smile, instead turning back to his screen. Remi’s heart sank just a little that even he was giving her the cold shoulder, but she ignored it and went to pour herself some coffee.

      When she turned around, Sam was watching her, a steely look in his normally kind eyes. Remi swallowed the coffee before plastering on an uncertain smile. “Is…everything okay?” she asked hesitantly.

      Sam’s jaw was set and he stared at her a few more moments before speaking, his voice cold. “I’m going to ask you something. And I want you to be completely honest with me.” Remi swallowed hard as she waited for his next words. “Is there something going on between you and Dean?”

      Remi’s breath caught in her throat and her hands trembled causing her to turn away from Sam hurriedly and place her mug on the counter before she could drop it. Tears sprung up when she glanced back at Sam who sat rigidly in his chair, waiting for her answer. “Sam,” Remi breathed out, her voice catching, her eyes begging him to let it go.

      Sam shut his eyes and his mouth twitched. When he opened them again, Remi nearly shriveled up at the anger blazing in them. “No!” he snapped. “Tell me the truth. Now!”

      A tear rolled down her cheek, her eyes locked on his with dread. “Y…yes,” Remi whispered. Sam’s expression changed into one of shock, as if he had not fully expected her to answer positively. That is when she saw what she feared most – his eyes filled with anguish as the gravity of her words finally settled over him. But in an instant, his anger was back as he shoved back his chair and stalked over to her, his large frame towering, fists at his side. She saw his hands shaking, and she realized this went beyond anger; this was rage. “Sam, we were going to tell you. We were just waiting for the right time….”

      “Oh, yeah, it was perfect timing!” Sam said sarcastically. “I had to find out by hearing my brother fucking my girlfriend.”

      Remi blanched at his words. “Y…you heard that?”

      Sam’s eyes narrowed and he gave her a harsh smile. “Oh, yeah. I heard it. All those fucking pornographic sounds you were making. I’d know those sounds anywhere,” he growled.

      “Sam…I’m…so, so sorry,” Remi breathed, unable to find any other words.

      “Oh, sure,” Sam rolled his eyes. “I can tell you’re real sorry. So what? I leave and you just jump on the first dick that comes your way?”

      Remi’s trepidation fled as her blood boiled. She stood up as straight as possible, her own hands forming into fists. She felt her fingernails biting into her palms, but the pain only spurred her on as she squared off with Sam. “It wasn’t like that,” she said through gritted teeth.

      “Then how was it?” Sam challenged.

      “I thought. You. Were. Dead,” she said, emphasizing each word.

      “Well, maybe I’d be better off that way,” he snarled, his gaze raking over her in disgust. His words pricked at her heart, and for a moment her anger faltered. She had not meant to push him that far.

      “Is everything alright?” Cas asked, coming into the room. He looked between Sam and Remi questioningly.

      “I can’t deal with this right now,” Sam muttered, pushing past Cas and stomping to the garage. Remi heard his Charger roar to life, tires squealing as he peeled off down the road.

      Remi’s shoulders slumped in defeat as Cas came to stand beside her. He placed a rigid but comforting hand on her shoulder. “What happened, Remi?”

      “Oh, Cas,” Remi sighed. “I’ve messed up everything.”

      Remi glanced up into Cas’ blue eyes, gentle and caring, waiting for her to continue. “Sam found out…about me and Dean. We were going to tell him together, when the time was right.” Remi huffed out an angry chuckle. “But that was a fucking disaster.”

     Cas frowned for a moment as he glanced around the kitchen. “Where is Dean?”

      “He left yesterday and hasn’t been back since.” Remi glanced at the floor. “Cas, I’m…I’m pregnant,” she stuttered, daring a look at the angel.

      His eyes were wide at her revelation, but a slight smile was on his lips. “Dean’s,” he said matter-of-factly.

      Remi nodded. “I totally fucked that up, too. When he found out he was furious, Cas. He just stormed off and I haven’t heard from him since.” She paused for a moment as she closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she opened them again, her eyes were swimming with tears. “Cas…what do I do?”

      Cas smiled gently at her. “I wish I had an easy answer. That I could tell you what to do. But I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “This is something that you have to decide yourself.”

     Remi nodded slowly. “I know you’re right. It’s just…my heart loves both of them. I’m carrying Dean’s child, but I don’t want to hurt Sam either. It’s all just such a cluster fuck.”

      Cas turned and pulled her into his arms, his body stiff but warm. Remi melted into his embrace as fresh tears fell. She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she pulled away. “I have to leave, Cas. I can’t stay here right now. Not with everything the way it is. I need some time away to figure everything out. Plus, I don’t think Sam and Dean want me around right now,” she huffed.

      Cas frowned. “But where will you go?”

      “I have a friend in my hometown. Her door’s always been open. I can stay there for a few weeks until the dust settles.” Cas nodded. “But, Cas, you can’t tell Sam and Dean where I’m at. Please.” The angel stared at her, his expression nearly impossible to read. Finally he nodded.

      “Thank you, Cas,” Remi said. “I’m going to go pack.”

**********

     Half an hour later she was headed toward Gentry, a little bedroom community in Arkansas that she had called home for nearly her entire childhood. It was a town where everyone knew everyone; where strangers were neighbors; and you were considered rude if you didn’t send a friendly wave to passersby.

      She drove for nearly seven hours, only stopping once for lunch and a few bathroom and gas breaks, arriving in Gentry just as the sun began dipping behind the horizon. She drove down Main Street, taking in her childhood. Everything was the same despite her not being there in almost four years. She smiled as she watched people strolling down the sidewalks, mostly elderly couples, arms linked as they enjoyed the cool evening.

      She made her way down a little farther passing by the old church and run down laundromat across from it before she made her way to the park. Even though it was set off from Main Street, in many ways it was the town center, where everyone gathered on special occasions. Remi remembered festivals and parties from her childhood when she and her friends would saunter throughout, playing games, eating greasy food from trucks, and taking makeshift hayrides. She grinned as she passed the skate park where kids from the local high school would gather after school and throughout the summer, the boys showing off and the girls drooling.

      Remi drove a couple of miles out of town before she reached a dirt road. She made her way slowly, avoiding the many potholes that dotted the dusty path. She traveled another seven miles before she turned off, pulling up into a gravel driveway. She parked and alighted, taking her duffle bag from the trunk and covering her eyes against the sun as she surveyed the house in front of her. This was her childhood home. The two-story house stood away from the road, tall and boxy. One window faced the road while the front door stood on the side of the house, facing the tall grove of pine trees that her grandfather had planted long before she was born.

      The house had been bright yellow when she was little, contrasting with the azure metal roof. But now it was a dull bluish-gray, melding nicely into the greenery around it. She glanced around, taking in the foliage around her and listening to the wind as it moved through the pines, their tall trunks swaying in the wind, and their branches rubbing together in an almost eerie squeak. Remi smiled. These were the sounds of her childhood and nostalgia enveloped her as she heard the front door open. “Remi?” a voice questioned. She turned to see her friend, Lauren, standing in the doorway a surprised look on her face.

      “Hey, Ren,” Remi greeted as she made her way up to the wooden stairs, her duffle bag thrown over her shoulder. “Can I stay here for a few days?”

     “Um, yeah, of course,” Lauren answered with a smile. She glanced around in confusion. “Where’re Sam and Dean?” Lauren knew that Remi was a hunter, her and the Winchesters having saved her four years before from a vamp nest.

      “Uh, they…they aren’t here,” Remi mumbled making her way into the house as Lauren stepped aside.

      “Is…everything okay?” Lauren asked suspiciously, her eyes filled with concern.

      Remi sighed and rubbed her hands across her eyes. “It’s a long story, Ren. I just needed to get away.”

      Lauren smiled. “I understand,” she said, pulling Remi into a hug. “You can stay as long as you need to.”

      Remi smiled and nodded appreciatively before Lauren led her upstairs. “You can stay in here,” her friend said, motioning her into the bedroom on their left. “I figured you might want to sleep in your old room.”

      Remi set her duffle on the bed before she turned and took in the room. Everything had been rearranged and her things had long since been replaced, but the room was still painted the same baby blue that she had loved. She smiled as she remembered the times she had spent hanging out with Lauren while they obsessed over boy bands and had private dance parties into the early morning hours. “Thanks, Ren,” Remi said.

       Lauren smiled. “I’ll let you settle in. It’ll be a while before Zach gets home so feel free to shower and freshen up.”

      Remi smiled and nodded as her friend closed the door and retreated down the stairs, leaving Remi alone. She sat down on the bed, the silence enveloping her. The heaviness she had felt for the last two days settled over her once more, the diversion of her friend now gone. She swiped at an unbidden tear as emptiness filled her stomach and her heart ached for her childhood innocence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! If you liked what you read, let me know!! ❤❤

***Please do not share my content on any other platform without my consent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[x1-imaginesreturns]

Butterfly (Part 1)

Masterlist

Pairing: Dongpyo x fem!reader - Soulmate AU!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4,123

Notes: f/r means favorite ramen

Requested: No

Everyone is born with a soulmate, and a tattoo symbolizing the relationship that would come from it. But you always doubted that. What if it’s not happily ever after? What if somehow the system messed up and gave you someone that you could never get along with?

Of course, there were ways to remove your soulmate tattoo. It was painful, and your other half would never know you removed it. However, even if you did doubt the soulmate system, you kind of liked your tattoo.

At first, not even your parents could figure out what it was or where it was. They thought you were a rare case of someone who wasn’t gifted a soulmate tattoo. However, when you were 6, you had asked your parents what the little shape on the inside of your right thumb was.

Turns out you did have a tattoo, it was a little butterfly, dark blue in color. As a kid, you always admired it and even tried to look for people with the same tattoo as you, but it never worked out.

And as you grew older, it was like you were losing hope of ever finding your soulmate, so of course, your dreams and hopes slowly grew into doubt and despair. But none of that leaked into your personality, as you knew people would shun you and just say, “You just have to wait to find your soulmate!”, if they ever found out about your doubts.

Soon enough though, you were packing your bags, as you were leaving for college. You were majoring in music production, as music was something you had loved your entire life. You played the guitar and piano, but you wanted to further your knowledge of music and college seemed like the perfect opportunity. 

And upon arriving, you really felt like you were free, like you could fly away like a butterfly.

So, your first semester of college passed by without a hitch. You weren’t the type to have many friends, one or two always suited you best. And that stayed true here, far away from any of the friends you had back home.

Your new friends, Minjin and Sihoon, were there for you during thick and thin. Minjin was very outgoing and social, and had a real talent for dancing. You had met her when the two of you had been running late for class. Minjin had been looking at the ground while running, causing her to run right into you. After laughing about getting knocked over, the two of you decided it would be more fun to skip class, heading to the local café. It was history from there.

Sihoon was in a lot of your classes, as he was also majoring in music production. You guys first met when you had been paired up for a project in your music production class. After a few awkward days of working on the song, the two of you clicked. You produced an awesome song and earned yourself an A on the project.

And it turns out Minjin and Sihoon get along too, they were almost better off without you lol. The three of you went everywhere together and were always there for each other. 

And that’s how you ended up in Minjin’s dorm room for one of your classic sleepovers. Sihoon had volunteered to set up for the arts festival in the park the next morning, so he decided to skip out on the sleepover to get some sleep.

Soulmates was just something the three of you had never discussed, at least on a very personal level. Minjin had always said she couldn’t wait until she found hers, but she had never shown either of you her tattoo (nor had you looked for it). Sihoon had never really expressed interest in it, but you had seen his tattoo.

You were the quietest of the three of you. Never said a word about soulmates, didn’t say you had a tattoo, etc. You didn’t know it, but both Sihoon and Minjin assumed you didn’t have one and had started avoiding the subject.

And so, as you and Minjin were watching the sunset from her dorm window, a tradition you guys had started from the very first sleepover, she turned to you as the sun had finally disappeared below the horizon.

“Hey y/n?,” she says, as she walks towards the kitchen. “Yeah? What’s up Minjun?,” you answer as you follow her. 

“Do you have a soulmate tattoo?,” she asks, “You’ve never said anything about it, so Sihoon and I always assumed you didn’t have one, but it’s better to ask than assume.” 

“Wait you guys really thought I didn’t have a tattoo?,” you asked, bewildered. Minjin’s eyes light up and she jumps right over to you, grabbing your hands, “So you do have one? Where is it? Have you met them yet?”

You sigh and say, “Turn over my right hand.”

You don’t know why you decided to let Minjin see your tattoo, but you just hope that she would only tell Sihoon and not any of her other dance friends. While she didn’t see them outside of school much, she did talk about them a lot. 

She loved everyone in her dance class, except for Son Dongpyo. According to her, he was a no good show-off brat. You never bothered to ask anything more of him, figuring he probably was stuck-up or something. 

Anyways, Minjin squealed when she saw your tattoo and immediately starts bombarding you with more questions. “Oh my gosh!! It’s so cute, it’s a little butterfly, that totally fits you, oh my gosh!!!! Have you met them?? What are you hoping for in your soulmate?”

“Woah, okay slow down Minjin!,” you exclaim, backing away a bit. “Sorry,” Minjin starts, “I just got so excited. So what’s up, why do you never talk about it?”

“It’s kinda dumb,” you say, “But I’ve slowly lost hope over the years. I’m just not too optimistic about finding someone with a tiny butterfly on the inside of their right thumb. My parents didn’t even notice it for 6 years!,” you exclaim.

Minjin’s face drops a bit before she says, “I know it’s hard to wait... I’ve actually been waiting for a few months...”

“Wait what do you mean?,” you ask curiously.

Her eyes dart away from mine as she sighs softly. “Sihoon’s m-my soulmate,” she stutters out. 

Your eyes widen as Minjin turns around and lifts up her shirt to reveal a periwinkle-colored daisy on her shoulder blade, the same tattoo that Sihoon had. You remember Sihoon’s tattoo from the time the three of you had gone swimming at the beginning of the year.

“Why haven’t you told him yet?,” you ask softly. “I’m afraid he won’t want me as a soulmate,” she says quietly, “I know he can do better than me...”

You grab Minjin’s hands as you say, “No he can’t. You’re his soulmate. I can understand why you’d be nervous about it, but you can’t avoid it forever Minjin.”

She sighs. “You’re right y/n. I’m just worried. Getting rejected by your soulmate is worse than getting rejected by your crush,” she says. You giggle a bit and say, “You’re certainly right. Come on, let’s get popcorn and finally finish YG Future Strategy Office.” Minjin nods and the two of you enjoy the rest of your sleepover.

~~

You were rudely awakened the next morning by the sound of Minjin’s phone buzzing. Minjin immediately darted to get it and when she picked up, you didn’t recognize the voice on the other side. “Yah, Hyeongjun! Why are you calling me so early in the morning?”

“Cause you’re supposed to be at the arts festival this morning in about 15 minutes!,” Hyeongjun exclaims, “Hurry up, we need you!”

He abruptly hangs up before Minjin can snap back at him. She notices you sitting up and says, “Sorry y/n, I completely forgot that I had to go to that this morning.”

“It’s fine,” you answer, “Let’s just get ready quickly, you can’t be late.”

The two of you get dressed, do your makeup, and head out the door in no more than 10 minutes. Luckily, Minjin didn’t live far from the park, so she managed to barely make it on time. 

“Sorry y/n! I’ll see you later! Make sure to watch us!,” she says as she darts off towards her dance friends. ‘Guess I’ll go and find Sihoon, he’s probably still here,’ you think to yourself.

As you walk towards the center of the festival you see and smell the various stands selling all sorts of food. It all smelled so good, and you were tempted to get something, but you figured you should wait, as you just had breakfast.

Now, you weren’t sure were to look to find Sihoon, as you had never been to the arts festival. Sihoon had apparently been going his whole life, as he lived in the next town over, which wasn’t but 15 minutes away. 

After wandering around for around 10 minutes, you spotted one of Sihoon’s other friends, Eunsang. You had seen him a few times, as he was one of the baristas at your local café. However, you hadn’t been formally introduced to him ever, so you figured he would think you were some crazy stalker of Sihoon’s.

But whatever, it’s worth a shot, these events are kind of boring with no one to hang out with. You approached him from behind, and tapped on his shoulder, causing him to turn around. He looked you up and down and asked, “Do you need something?”

“U-uh yes, um, I’m looking for Sihoon. Do you know where he might be?,” you ask shyly. Eunsang raises one of his eyebrows and says, “No one asks for Sihoon. Who are you exactly?”

You don’t think you’ve felt more scared in your life. “U-um my name’s y/n. I’m in hi-,” you were abruptly cut off by Eunsang grabbing and shaking your hand enthusiastically.

“You’re y/n????,” He asks incredulously, his eyes widening. “Yes??,” You answer, confused. “It’s nice to finally meet you! Sihoon talks about you and Minjin all the time! I’m Eunsang but I’m sure you know that, considering you approached me about Sihoon, but I’ll take you right to him, I know exactly where he is!”

And so, Eunsang drags you all the way across the lawn towards the stand that the local café had set up. Sihoon was standing in the long line of people, his blue-gray hair standing out among other people. Eunsang smiles at you and says, “I know we didn’t really talk much but it was nice to meet you y/n. My shift is soon, so I gotta get changed. I hope I’ll see you around!,” Eunsang chimes, as he starts to walk away.

“Bye Eunsang!,” you say, still a bit frightened by his sudden change in personality. You walk over to Sihoon, noticing to subtle look of nervousness on his face.

“Hi Sihoon,” you say, standing next to him in line, “Why are you in line for coffee? You almost never drink coffee.” He shyly smiles for a second before stuttering out, “Well, I-I figured I would get Minjin a coffee, she’ll p-probably be cold after her performance!,” he says, not looking you in the eyes, “Yeah, yeah, that’s it...”

He trails off, looking shy. “Sihoon,” you say teasingly, “You have a crush on Minjin don’t you?” His cheeks flush a soft pink as he looks away from you. He then sighs and turns back to you and says, “Y-yes...but for a different reason than you might be thinking.”

‘Wait, no way... Sihoon knows that Minjin is his soulmate too?’ “She’s my soulmate!,” SIhoon exclaims, his cheeks a bright shade of red now, “I-I only know because she often wears see-through t-shirts.”

You giggle a little bit. “Well, I think you should try confessing to her then,” you say, “It’ll definitely go better than anything you’ve imagined in your head.” Sihoon sighs and say, “I’m definitely not her type though, and plus she definitely likes that Hyungjun kid from her dance classes.”

You slap your forehead in dismay. “Sihoon, you’re her soulmate! You’re exactly her type! And I get being nervous, but I think you should really at least try.”

At this point, Sihoon was next in line. You can tell he’s contemplating what you said, and you’re just hoping he takes your advice. Sihoon gets her favorite coffee, which is just a simple iced espresso. 

As the two of you walk towards the stage, where Minjin will be performing in about 15 minutes. But before you both sit down, Sihoon abruptly asks, “Should I really confess to her y/n?” You nod. Sihoon sighs once again and says, “Alright, I suppose this is it... should I show her my tattoo?”

“That’s up to you, Sihoon,” you say. You figure by now, he’s really nervous, so you try and change the subject. Sihoon seems to appreciate this, and the two of you flow into another conversation easily. Soon enough, someone announces that their dance team will be coming on the stage.

And as you see all 7 of them come onto the stage and get in the correct formation order, the familiar tune of Anpanman starts to play. At that moment, Eunsang rushes over and takes the empty seat next to you. He waves to you and Sihoon quietly, and then all of you focus back onto the performance.

However, while Minjin was doing great, you noticed another boy who was dancing really hard, and of course happened to be really cute too. You wondered who he was and if Minjinn had ever mentioned him before.

Of course, there was some part of your mind that thought it could be Dongpyo, but you really hoped it wasn’t him, as Minjin did make him seem awful. Maybe it’s Hyeongjun, as you’ve never seen him before either, and Minjin always says he’s cute, almost like a baby.

But you go back to being fixated on the mysterious boy, as his powerful dance moves continued to blow you away throughout the whole performance.

Little did you know, the mysterious boy had noticed you too.

~~

The performance ended powerfully, and you made sure to cheer for Minjin. You looked over at Sihoon, who was smiling, and it made you happy knowing that he definitely enjoyed it. All of them went backstage, and you could tell Sihoon was getting more nervous each minute that went by.

Deciding you didn’t want to put anymore stress on him, you walked over to where everyone on the dance team was gathering. As you approached, their “meeting” of sorts, seemed to end and all of them started to head in separate directions.

Minjin spotted you, and immediately headed in your direction. “Hey y/n! How was our performance?,” she asks, stopping right in front of you. “It was really good Minjin, you guys looked great up there!,” you say truthfully.

“Hey, you know what though?,” you say, causing Minjin to turn her head in confusion. “What?,” she responds. “You should go talk to Sihoon,” you say.

“Yeah! I should! I want to know what he thought!,” she says, oblivious to your true intentions. She darts off without another word, and you giggle a little bit. You just have to hope everything works out for them.

At this point, it was starting to approach lunchtime, and you were, quite honestly, getting hungry. After noticing the slightly more expensive prices at the food stands, you decided it would be better if you just picked up some food at the convenience store on your way home. 

You knew that Sihoon wasn’t going to want to stay much longer, and at this point, you knew Minjin would come with him. You started to walk back towards where Sihoon had been before, and as soon as you saw the two of them, you noticed the happy tears running down both of their faces as they embraced.

You smiled happily, knowing that Sihoon had listened to you and that the two of them would be happy together from now on.

However, you were feeling jealous in a way. They had technically found each other so easily, because of their pretty obvious tattoos, while you were stuck with this stupid tiny butterfly.

You brushed those thoughts aside though, there was no use in getting caught up on them. They were still your friends, and nothing would change about your relationships with each other. 

You finished making your way over to them, figuring it would be okay to ask if you could head to the convenience store now. Minjin waved at you once you started approaching the two of them, a big smile plastered on her face.

“Hey guys!,” you say, “I’m guessing it went well?,” you finish, winking at neither of them in particular. They both blush sheepishly as they also look at the ground shyly. 

“You guys want to head the convenience store down the road?,” you ask, “Everything here is a bit expensive.” They both nod in agreement and the three of you start walking over.

As the three of you are walking towards the convenience store, Minjin and Sihoon are laughing about something that you can’t decipher and that they don’t seem to want to share with you either, and besides, you’re struggling to decide what you want to get anyways.

You’ve already decided that you’ll get f/d to drink, but you’re not sure on what kind of instant ramen you’ll get. Pretty much everything sounds tasty right about now, but you figured you’d go with something you know you’d like, a.k.a your f/r.

As you enter the store, you head right for the refrigerated section, grabbing your f/d as Minjin and Sihoon debate over whether to get vanilla or chocolate ice cream. You giggle a bit as Minjin tries to use puppy eyes to convince Sihoon to get chocolate ice cream.

You’re walking away as you see Sihoon finally relent to Minjin’s wishes. As you go into the instant ramen isle, you immediately spot your favorite kind. Grabbing it off the shelf, you head to the check-out counter.

As the employee is scanning your items, you start digging through your small purse to try and find your wallet. However after looking through everything twice, you realized you didn’t have it. Sihoon and Minjin were oblivious to you, as they were now debating on what kind of ramen they should get.

“Um, I’m sorry, I guess I don’t have my wallet on me,” you say to the employee, bowing in apology. You start to walk away from the counter, but a hand catches your shoulder before you can walk away from the counter.

“I’ll pay for her stuff,” a cute sounding voice says, sliding a ten thousand won bill onto the counter. You turned to look at your savior, wondering what he looks like. 

It was the mysterious boy from Minjin’s dance team.

Now that he was close to you, you could really tell how cute he was. “T-thank you,” you stutter out, blushing. The boy smiles at you, shaking his head. ‘It’s no problem,” he says, still smiling, “You were the girl watching my dance team’s performance, right?”

“You saw me?,” you ask incredulously. The boy nods again, “How could I not notice such a cute girl sitting in our audience?,” he says, winking at you.

You blush as the cashier then hands you a bag with your ramen and drink in it. The boy takes the change from the cashier before turning back to you. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, what’s your name?”

“It’s y/n,” you answer, “What’s your name?,” you ask in return. 

“I’m Do-”

Before he can finish, Minjin grabs your elbow, storming away while glaring at the boy. As she drags you out of the store, you pull free of her grasp and exclaim, “What was that for Minjin?!”

She sighs and says, “That’s Dongpyo, obviously! I don’t my best friend becoming friends with an asshole.” You sigh and say, “I mean, he doesn’t seem that bad? He just paid for my lunch Minjin.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t need to explain it to you y/n. He’s just not a good person,” she says. You sigh. “Fine,” you say, “I’ll take your word for it, but that doesn’t mean you can get in the way if I see him again.”

At that moment, Sihoon walks out of the convenience store, holding his and Minjin’s lunch. Minjin smiles when she sees Sihoon, and she grabs his hand. “Let’s all head out,” Minjin says, “Let’s just forget that argument happened, okay y/n?”

You nod in agreement, glad to be off of that subject. The three of you start heading the direction of Minjin’s apartment, having a nice conversation on the way there.

However once you got to her apartment, Minjin turned around and blocked the door to her apartment when you were about to go in. “Hey sorry y/n,” Minjin starts, “Sihoon and I kind of want to eat alone, if that’s okay.” You smile at her and say, “Sure Minjin, I totally get it. I’ll see you guys at school on Monday then.”

They both nod, and Minjin finally closes the door on you. As you walk home, you can’t help the bitter feeling growing in your heart.

~~

As time went on, Sihoon and Minjin started hanging out a lot more, just by themselves. Most of the time, they didn’t even inform you that they were going somewhere. Things became especially weird between you and Minjin. She just seemed to not care for you anymore, but she was still pretending to be your friend because Sihoon still cared about you. But you knew things were perfect between them and you were happy that they had found each other.

But you had never felt lonelier. You found yourself wandering over to the local café a lot more now, often seeing Eunsang there on his weekly shifts. He’d talk to you for a bit if he could, and you found it nice to have the company once in a while.

But then you witnessed him meet his soulmate in that very café. Eunsang had a large X tattooed on the back of his hand. As the girl handed him the payment for her order, he saw the X, and it was history from there.

You thought it wasn’t fair that everyone around was meeting their soulmate and just moving on from you. Even in the letters you would get from your old friends sometimes, they would mention that they had met their soulmate or even include a picture of them.

Of course you were happy for them, but you were jealous.

And from time to time, you would think about Dongpyo too. You still couldn’t get over how cute and sweet he was. You’d see him walking the halls of your college from time to time too. 

With all of these thoughts, and the fact that you were losing friends by the minute, the rest of the school year started to drag on. But, finally, the final project before school officially let off for summer had arrived.

The music production classes would be working with dance majors to create a song that the dancers would be able to dance to. The music class would be working with a dance class in the same period.

Meaning... if you were correct, you’d be working with Minjin and Dongpyo’s class. 

And sure enough, the next day, Minjin’s class walks through the door. You only knew Minjin and Dongpyo by name, but the rest of them looked familiar. You wondered how they were going to choose the groups, and you just hoped you wouldn’t be put with Minjin, considering how things had been lately.

However, before you could figure out how you were going to be distributed, your teacher silenced the two classes. “Alright classes, due to the distribution of our classes, I’m going to need one from volunteer from each class to offer to work in a group of only two.”

You knew Minjin wouldn’t volunteer for something like that, and besides, why not live a little? You raised your hand confidently, not noticing that someone from the dance class had also raised their hand.

“Alright y/n and... Dongpyo, correct? You’ll be the group of two.”

You slowly look over at Dongpyo, not believing what your teacher said until Dongpyo flashed you the same smile he gave you at the convenience store.

What have you gotten yourself into?

~~

(Part 2)

#x1 #x1 imagine #x1 imagines #soulmate au #dongpyo #x1 dongpyo #son dongpyo #x1 scenarios #x1 reactions #sihoon #kim sihoon #eunsang #lee eunsang #produce x 101 #produce x 101 imagines #produce x 101 scenarios #produce x 101 reactions

[aweebwrites]

Fly Away (Ship  Olympics Entry #1)

Jay looked up at the massive white stone walled castle before him with large blue eyes, bluer than the wide open sky before him, a wide smile on his face as he took it all in from the bridge extending over the ocean that lead to the huge work of art. He wasn’t going to the main castle, rather a smaller section of it that served as the Gardenia School for the Noble. It was the best school in all of the world, its education system refined perfectly. There was no topic that couldn’t be learned here. Such a high standard of education was usually offered to the privileged, the wealthy, the important… Jay? He was none of those things. Poor, homeless orphan he was. It should be impossible for someone like him to get into a place like this. But here he was, wearing his uniform with pride, attending this school as one of its best entrees grade wise. He shocked everyone back in his hometown. They never expected someone like him to even finish school, far worse attend GSN. They always looked down at him, told him he’d never amount to anything, told him his very existence was a mistake, that he should have died a long time ago as to not trouble to poor old woman running the orphanage he lived in. 

It made him angry. Absolutely furious. Sure he may not have had the best start but his life wasn’t worth any less than theirs! He could do great things too! He was hell bent on proving them all wrong, to watch them choke on the ugly words they cast at him. He studied day and night, hiding in the local library so he wouldn’t have to leave after closing, taking in as much as he could, testing himself, pushing the boundaries of his knowledge constantly until… Here he was, on scholarship. He held onto his little suitcase that held what little he owned then continued ahead, other students walking around him wearing the green jacket with Gardenia’s gold stitched crest and white pants, heading in for orientation. He was glad living accommodations came with the entry package since his home village was miles and miles away from this place. It was all Jay could do to squander enough money for the ride here on time. He awed as he looked around the huge structures, at marble statues and fountains, vast gardens and greenery. He did a full spin but then blinked once he heard talking over speakers from the orientation hall.

“Crap!” He swore under his breath then darted towards the sound of talking.

He stopped at the entry point, staring wide eyed at the hundreds of other students here. It was expected since the school was not only massive, almost half as big as the castle of the Royals of Gardenia next door, but they also had a vast variety of things to study here

“You are late. Don’t stand here and gawk.” A man says with a nasally voice spoke and Jay jolted then looked up at the man whose hair was pulled back into a sleek, low ponytail and swallowed.

“R-right! Sorry sir!” Jay squeaked out then went to enter- only to be barred by the man’s arm.

“Your name.” The man spoke again, sounding increasingly annoyed and Jay shrunk back in embarrassment and trepidation.

“O-of curse. Jay. Jay Walker. From Quartzville.” Jay told him and the man checked the list in hand.

“Ah. The commoner.” The man says with distaste and Jay shifts uneasily. “Take a seat and try not to interrupt the ceremony.” He says dismissively and Jay nodded before darting into the hall, taking the first available seat he could find.

Jay sunk into his seat as he listened to the speakers. What a great first impression...

____________

Jay looked at his papers as he walked through the large dorm hallway, trying to find his room. There were so many! He’s actually reached a thousand with 1447 nowhere in sight. He sighed then glanced around at the other students walking around and talking with each other. Maybe he could ask one of them… He spotted a green haired girl talking with a purple haired one and perked up before walking over.

“Excuse me.” Jay says, stopping before them, gaining their attention. “Uh, do you know where room 1447 is?” He asked them.

“Wow, upper 10 huh. Your parents must either be filthy rich or have connections.” The purplenette spoke then blew and popped her gum.

“Down the end of this hall. There’s a stairway leading up to the upper 20 hall. Your number’s up there.” The greenette told him.

“Thanks! Jay says, glad that he was at least close by.

“Jay Walker, huh.” The purplenette says and Jay blinked as he saw her peering into his papers.

She popped her gum again, revealing a sneer as she straightened up.

“Hey. You’re that commoner, nobody that managed to get in.” She says and Jay felt colour drain from his face as he took a step back.

“No way.” The greenette says with wide eyes then caught sight of his rackety old suitcase he was tugging along. “It is you. Some nerve you have thinking you can just walk up to us like you’re one of us.” She says, stepping closer and Jay stepped back.

He has to get out of this situation quick. If a teacher or someone in power so much as thinks this is an altercation, he can kiss all his hard work goodbye!

“Uh. Thanks for the help but I gotta r-” He turned right into someone’s chest when he made a break for it.

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground from where he was pushed down by the gray haired male sneering down at him.

“Watch where you’re going, commoner. Just who the hell do you think you are?!” The guy growled at him as he pushed himself up slowly.

This situation was getting out of hand quickly. If he doesn’t get out of it soon-

“What’s going on here?” Jay tensed at the familiar nasally voice of his dorm coordinator, he’s learnt.

“Nothing Professor Clouse. The idiot tripped and fell.” The gray haired boy told him as Jay got to his feet.

“Is that so?” Professor Clouse asked, eyeing Jay critically and he swallowed, knowing the wrong answer will send him back to his home village.

“Yeah! I’m a clutz. I wasn’t looking.” Jay says sheepishly, fiddling with the handle of his suitcase.

Close took a moment to appraise them- or rather, picking out more reasons to look down at Jay before turning away.

“At least try not to be a nuisance, Mr. Walker.” He says dryly and Jay looked down.

He realised then that this was his chance to escape and wasted no time in doing so, taking off down the hall and up the stairs. He wheezed as he reached the top, hunching over for a moment to catch his breath. He then glanced down to make sure he wasn’t being followed then walked down the empty, shorter wall. He glanced at the doors, looking for his door then perked up to see it close to the end of the hall. He then shifted his papers aside and used his key to open the door. His breath caught as he opened the door to the utterly massive room. It had two large, canopy beds on both sides of the room, high ceilings, a large window with white curtains pulled back, giving the most beautiful view of the sea and sky he’s ever seen. Vast, endless and clear, both sky and sea. If swimming was allowed, he’d certainly take a dip this instant. He walked in, closing the door behind him then took in the light gray walls, the desks and chairs, the closed laptops on each. School property. Not theirs to keep, he remembers. He… Gets to live in a place like this?

He let go of his suitcase as he grinned widely, walking towards the window. He threw it opened then laughed as the sea breeze rushed in, ruffling his curly hair and throwing the curtains back. He leaned against the window pane, sticking his head out and breathing in deep. It was all worth it for this.

________

And Jay thought finding his room was hard, Imagine finding his classes across this massive campus. So massive, they needed to have transport across the campus available. What made it worse was that there was no-one to ask for directions. Not when word spread like wildfire of him being a commoner. They would all glare at him or simply pretended that he doesn’t exist. Sure he had a map but by the time he would sort through it, he’d be late. He whined as he looked down at it. Tonight, he had to study this map. Right now, he absolutely can’t be late to literature class. Why? Because Professor Clouse was his teacher.

“... hurry up. If we’re late for Mr. Clouse’s class, he’ll ban us from ever coming back.” Jay’s ears perked up at that and he looked across where the two guys were briskly walking towards a waiting tram.

He all but tripped over himself to follow them. Thank the skies.

______

“Mr. Walker. What a surprise.” Mr. Clouse says once he walked into the lecture hall to see him up front and center.

The closer to the teacher, the better. No matter how much said teacher appears to hate him.

“It turns out you do have enough intellect to understand the school’s map… But not enough class to keep your uniform tidy it seems.” Clouse says in disgust and Jay blinked then looked down at his uniform.

What was wrong- He spotted a small patch of dirt on the knee of his pants and paled. It was from being pushed over yesterday. He only had one uniform donated to him and it had somehow slipped his mind to check!

“You may be used to rolling in the mud in your hometown Mr. Walker, but here, we have no tolerance for your piggish ways. Out.” Clouse demands and Jay sputtered as the other students laughed at him. “Lets see if you can get it right tomorrow.” He says dismissively and Jay frowned as he sat there for a moment longer then picked up his bag and books then headed out of the lecture hall.

Nice to know that other students weren’t the only ones he’d have to worry about. He pressed his ear against the closed Mahogany door, trying to hear the lesson. He’ll prove his worth to them too. Just they wait.

________

Jay returned to his dorm that night utterly exhausted. Turns out day 2 is infinitely worse than day 1. He would drop his bag on the ground but he fears that it would get dirty somehow and miss another class. It’s three strikes and you’re out with Professor Clouse after all. He dragged his feet on the ground, towards his bed, wanting to just sleep but knowing he can”t. Not until he’s studied this stupid map. He had 10 whole hours of classes. 9 if you exclude Clouse’s. Then after math class, his last course of the day, he ran into the gray haired guy again. Ash, Jay learnt he was named. He had tripped him in front of his friends and all of his books in his hands went flying. It was a good thing they hadn’t fallen into the fountain he was next to but the tram left which meant he had to walk back to his dorm. And to make matters worse, it began to rain. He dropped his books down on the desk then blinked once wind and rain washed over him. He then looked towards the opened windows. Oh. He forgot to close them. He walked over, careful of the small puddle of water that accumulated and closed it. He then turned around when something caught his eye.

There, at the top of the unoccupied canopy bed of his roommate that never showed, were two glowing orange- red eyes staring at him. He stood there frozen for a moment… Then screamed, stripping over his own feet as he hurriedly stepped back, falling on his ass hard.

“That looked like it hurt.” A voice spoke from atop the canopy and Jay scurried back until his back was against the wall, watching wide eyed as the- the person climbed closer to the edge, revealing a tanned face with a visible scar over his eye. “Ah-ah-ah. No more screaming please. My ears are still ringing from the first.” The male says as he hopped down from the top of the canopy then walked towards Jay, the claws on his paw like feet tapping against the ground as he did.

He stared wide eyed and speechless as this person, this… Creature walked closer, his large red wings holding orange primaries folding against his back, those same red and orange feathers dotting through his hair, a large, long clump of them remained folded against the edge of his far longer fur covered tail, its mahogany colour matching the fur covering his strange feet. It disappeared under the trousers he wore, fading out at the top of the waist band, leaving clear tanned skin along his stomach, neck, face and upper arms. His hands to his wrist however, were covered in what looks to be deep red scales. His black talons on his fingers appeared retractable since Jay could swear that he just saw them shorten just now.

The creature stopped before Jay then knelt before him, tail swishing side to side as he smiled at him.

“The name’s Kai. Sorry for coming in uninvited. It’s just that rain is hard to ly in and your window was open so I was waiting it out.” The creature says with a shrug then focused his glowing eyes on Jay again. “I am curious though. What’s a celestial creature like you doing in the Overworld?” The creature asked, long ears twitching curiously but Jay’s eyes were focused on those sharp looking teeth.

The world blurred then spun for a moment before everything went dark.

__________

Jay woke slowly to a pounding in his head and grogginess. He flinched once his alarm went off, the loud noise totally not helping his headache. What happened? Was he that tired to pass out? He rolled over to turn off the alarm then sighed as he soaked in the softness of this bed that was far bigger than he was. At least he managed to get-

“Oh! You’re awake!” Jay’s eyes widened almost comically as he stiffened at the voice in his room.

Suddenly everything came rushing back to him. Jay paled.

“I’m glad you’re alright! You just passed out all of a sudden. Have you tried eating? Your stomach was growling something fierce all night.” Kai says as Jay sat up slowly, staring at the creature- Kai, wondering if he was hallucinating from hunger.

“Anyways. I can’t stick around. It’s almost sun up so I’ll be leaving for now. I’ll come back later. We barely managed to have a solid conversation after all.” Kai says, shooting Jay a fanged grin as he headed towards the window, fumbling a bit with the latch due to his long claws but he managed to open it after retracting his claws almost fully. “I’ll see you later!” He says with a wave of his hand before jumping out, wings spreading as he did, as well as his tail feathers.

Jay just sat there, staring at the window- before he jolted out of bed, looking out the window for any sign of him but found none. It was as if he disappeared. Was he really there even? This world may have its fair share of oddity but none like him. Jay sighed then stepped back. He must have been seeing things. A gust of wind blew then and Jay blinked at the sight of the red feather floating in the air just outside the window. Without much thought, he reached out and caught it, pulling it inside. It was… A very big feather. Bigger than his palm. It was warm too. But how can that be? His second alarm going off startled him out of his thoughts and he swore as he darted towards the bathroom, leaving the feather on his bed as he did, He can’t afford to be late!

_________

Jay’s mind has been on the strange being that was Kai all throughout the day. He’s tried to use logic to explain what he saw. A hallucination, a mirage. But he had the feather. The feather may not even belong to him. But it was too big for any bird he knew of, not to mention the unnatural warmth it radiated through his book he kept it in. He was worried it would have caught on fire but it hasn’t up to this very moment, on his way back to his dorm. And that. Would he really come back? If so, he had several questions. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be looking to hurt him still. He opened his door cautiously then looked inside his room. Of course he forgot to close the window again. But he doesn’t seem to be here. He managed to make it back to his door while the sun was still up. Maybe that was it? He did leave pretty quickly earlier after all. He closed his door behind him then began packing his things away and preparing for tomorrow’s classes. He had Professor Clouse again first thing in the morning. He changed out of his uniform into a beaten up pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that had a few tiny holes in it then inspected his uniform for any dirt. He only has one pair which means he can’t afford to wash it. He just has to wipe out marks. He headed into the bathroom with his pants and began wiping any part of it he even imagined a speck was. He didn’t know how long he was in there before wing beats caught his attention. He threw his pants over the closed toilet then headed out, just in time to see Kai land on his window pane, his paw like feet having surprisingly good grip and balance on the thin lining of wood and stone.

“Oh! You’re here. Sorry I kept you waiting.” Kai apologized as he came in, folding his wings so they could hold inside the window.

“It’s… Fine… I guess…” Jay says as he rubbed his arm awkwardly.

What even is this situation?

“I never caught your name.” Kai says as he walked straight up to him, towering a whole head over Jay though he suspects that’s because of his special…

Er. Feet.

“It’s Jay.” Jay told him without thought before mentally face palming, realising that he just told the guy (he thinks) his name just like that.

“Jay huh. It suits you.” Kai spoke after a moment of consideration. “Finally ready to tell me what you’re doing here?” He asked, confusing Jay.

“... What do you mean? Why I’m at school?” Jay asked, not sure what he was getting to.

Kai frowned as his tail swished with his consideration of Jay. His eyes widened once he realized.

“You don't know, do you?” Kai says, tilting his head to the side and Jay was even more confused.

Kai grinned then, all fangs and sharp teeth.

“You’re like me.”

_____________

Jay sat patiently, waiting for the next tram so he could head back to his dorm. He’s gotten pretty used to the hustle and bustle here. After an entire month he somehow survived, he had to adapt. Just like how he’s adapted to missing the first tram after his classes on purpose in order to stay out of a specific group’s way. Shade, Ash, Tox, Chamille and Neuro that is. Neuro wasn’t a physical type of guy like the rest were. He’s more of the type to use words and intimidation- like Professor Clouse, who still hates his guts. While everyone else has settled with ignoring him mostly, those 4 are hellbent on making his life miserable. A push, a shove, a trip, throwing his books out of his hands, his subsidized meal he won’t get a replacement of, etc. Just anything to remind him that he’s ‘a commoner’ and that he’ll ‘never be more than a pathetic piece of unworthy shit’. Jay was used to it. It was hard not to. He’s been hearing insults, slurs and worse being spat his way since before he could understand what they meant. He’s been pushed around for just as long too. Telling someone won’t help. All he has to do is to keep his head down and bare with it. Hopefully they’ll get bored. He perked up once the tram arrived then got in, waiting a few moments for it to detect that there was no-one else boarding then take off.

He looked out the window, at the campus as it passed by, wondering if Kai had arrived yet. He keeps coming back because he was sure that he was like him. Jay huffed aloud at that. He looked nothing like his kind. He had no tail, no wings, no feathers, no fur, and certainly not those odd legs. Jay rested his cheek in his palm. Though, Jay didn’t think being like him would be a bad thing. He may be used to this life of his but there are days he wished he could spread his own wings and fly away from it all. He got off the tram at his stop then headed into the massive dorm building. He headed up the stairs, knowing better than to take the elevator and risk getting trapped inside with someone unfavorable. Thankfully, the journey to his dorm was uneventful. He opened the door to see Kai preening his feathers in the nest he made out of his roommate’s bed. Said creature peered up over his wing then grinned at the sight of him.

“Jay. Welcome back!” He greeted as Jay closed his door behind him, a small smile tugging his lips

“Yeah, I’m back.” Jay says softly, walking towards the odd being who had become his friend after all this time.

It was impossible not to like him. He was a charming, caring bastard who made it his mission to put a smile on his face and keep it there. Jay ran his fingers through his naturally spiky hair and feathers, feeling the tightly wrapped up stress and anxiety of today’s mission for survival uncoil and vanish as Kai purred under his touch, craning his head up for more. Affection was second nature for him. It took a while to get used to his wanting to touch and even cuddle. But now that Jay got used to it, came to anticipate it… He can’t imagine going without it ever again. He hummed as Kai cupped his cheek, talons retracting as he did. Jay hummed as he leaned into it, his palm surprisingly soft. Kai watched his kin as he rubbed his cheek against his hand, melting into the touch, starved from it for all his life. His long, milk chocolate lashes brushed his freckled cheek as Kai saw him unload the weight he seems to always carry. Kai shifts his hand, cupping his chin as he slid off the bed, looking down at him as he slowly opened gorgeous blue eyes that reminded Kai of the ocean.

“... Fly away with me?” Kai asked softly, not for the first time and Jay was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

He gave a huff then smiled up at Kai.

“You idiot. You know I don’t have wings. I can’t.” Jay says then stepped back, Kai missing his closeness already. “Sorry, I can’t talk much today. I have to study.” He says, setting his bag down on his desk then sat around the table.

Kai huffed then walked over, tail swishing behind him as he stopped to peer over Jay’s shoulder as he took out several thick books to study from.

“Why go through all this trouble to prove them wrong? Wouldn’t it be better for you to just do what makes you happy?” Kai asked him and Jay frowned at this conversation again as he searched for his highlighters in the drawers of the desk.

“You wouldn’t ge…” Jay trailed off once he opened the smallest drawer the desk had, seeing the blond coloured feather he had been found with as a child, or so the old woman who ran the orphanage told him.

She had said the only reason she kept it was because of how beautiful it looked. Jay stared down at the feather, wondering if his parents were out there still. He’d want to at least meet them, even if they didn’t want him… A gust of wind blew in then and Jay gasped as it lifted the feather out.

“NO!” He yelled, reaching for it once it began to fly out the window.

Quick as a flash, Kai dashed after it, catching it before it could float too far away. His eyes widened the moment he touched the feather then looked down at it, partially seeing its reflection in the sheen it still held.

“Thank you so much!” Jay says relieved as he jogged over, taking the feather once Kai turned away from the window.

He held it close to his chest then looked up at Kai, his relieved smile becoming a frown once he saw the troubled look on his face.

“Are you-”

“I have to go.” Kai says, cutting him off and Jay blinked up at him wide eyed.

“Already? But-”

“Sorry.” Was all he said before jumping out the window.

Jay looked down to see where he was flying to- but saw nothing but the ocean below looking up at him. Jay’s heart clenched at his sudden departure… Did he do something wrong?...

_____________

Jay was sure he did. It’s been a whole week since Kai left… He hasn’t come back since. He found… Everything infinitely harder than it should be. He couldn’t focus on his schoolwork and everyone made sure to use it as an opportunity to stomp him down. He’s supposed to be used to it but each comment soaked so deeply into his thick skin. With everyone looking down at him renewed, Ash and his little gang upped their needing to make his life a living hell. They somehow got into the tram’s controls and had him stuck on a never ending trip around campus. By the time someone realised something was wrong, he missed several classes and Professor Clouse told him not to come back to class. He can’t swap to another class. They were all completely full. He’s been forced to stand outside and press his ear to the door to listen to the lesson- that’s if one of them aren’t free then. There wasn’t a single moment of rest throughout the day.

Now, he was finally at his dorm building, finally at his safe zone, heading up the stairs slowly. Chamille had ‘accidentally’ spilled a whole bottle of ink into his lap at the end of their Cartography lessons in English. He had spent an hour in the public bathroom trying to wash the ink out but it was impossible. He only made it worse. He hasn’t cried in a long time but he could feel the tears stinging his eyes as he came up to the top of the stairs. He had only gone through two classes when this incident happened and he knows no matter what he said, the other teachers won’t let him near the class. So he opted to come back to his dorm room; the only place the world isn’t out to get him. He turned down the hall then froze at the opened dorm room that belonged to him. He didn’t leave the door open… Dread ran down his spine and he dropped his bag then ran towards the opened door.

He looked inside- and couldn’t stop the sob that left his lips. The entire room was wrecked. The beds broke, the mattresses overturned, the curtains ripped down, water was pouring out heavily from the bathroom, the desk overturned- Jay gasped loudly then ran inside, not caring about the water he ran into along the way to the desk that was missing all its drawers, all his rental books, everything. Even… Hot tears poured down Jay’s cheeks as he looked towards the window he left open always in hopes that Kai would come back someday. He walked over slowly, on shaky legs as more tears poured down his cheeks. He looked down from the window- and there were all his books along with what few articles of clothing he had. There too were the blond and red feathers he’s grown to cherish more than anything. He stepped back- before his legs gave out with the gravity of everything. There, in the ruins of his dorm room, with water from the bathroom soaking into his clothes, Jay sobs, each sound of anguish and despair rocking his body with the force of it as the markings on the wall laughed at him.

‘Commoner,’

‘Street Rat.’

‘Trash.’

‘Waste of space.’

‘Loser.’

‘Nobody.’

Jay gripped his arms tightly, sobbing loudly and uncontrollably, barely able to catch his breath as the raw despair choked him, swallowing him whole. All he wanted to do was prove that he could be something good. Great even. How can he do that when they refuse to give him a chance? All his hard work, all his determination… It all amounts to nothing now… Wing beats filled his ears and Jay’s eyes widened before he lifted his head, squinting against the bright light that filled his eyes as he coughed from the sobs. Kai flew through his window, hovering just before where Jay sat, eyes filled with anguish for him. He reached down, cupping Jay’s chin with a flaming hand, watching as the beautiful brunette blinked away his tears to look up at him, surprise filling his eyes at his daylight form of fire.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.” Kai spoke softly as Jay pushed himself to his feet, staring at him with wide eyes.

“K… Kai… You’re…” Jay managed to get out, in awe of his fire, his light.

“The Overworld isn’t a place for us. We only suffer great misfortunes at its hand.” Kai says softy, stroking Jay’s cheeks that were flushed from crying before offering him a small smile. “Hey Jay. Do you trust me?” He asked him and Jay found himself nodding before he could think on his question.

“Then… Fly away with me.” He says, releasing Jay’s cheek to take his hand, walking him close to the window.

This again. Jay looked back once he heard commotion coming his way. If he stayed… No. Jay didn’t want to stay. He looked back into Kai’s glowing eyes from where he stood on the window pane, waiting for his answer. He held Kai’s hand tighter, stepping up next to him. Kai’s fire somehow blazed even brighter but… All Jay could feel was his soothing warmth all around. Kai looked down and so did he. The water was a long drop below but instead of looking terrifying, it looked inviting. Jay leaned forward first, letting himself fall with Kai right next to him. He stared down with wide eyes, excitement filling him, happiness even. The glittering water rushed up to greet him and Jay smiled widely.

He’s never felt so free.

_________

“Any sign of him?” One coast guard asked the other as they checked the area around the castle for the student that jumped from his window.

“Nothing. Poor kid’s most likely long gone by now.” The second coast guard says, shining his flashlight against the ocean’s surface as the sun began to set.

“That’s that then.” The first guard says then started the engines and headed back to shore.

Behind them, softly glowing red and blue feathers danced with each other on the water’s surface, disappearing with the dark of night.

_________________________________________

(Would you look at who’s back from the dead? Tada! Plasma goods! I took part in the Ninjago Ship Olympics and this is my first piece! Second piece will be up in like,,, A few mins. Hope you guys liked it!)

#ninjago #ninjago kai #kai ninjago #ninjago jay #jay ninjago #Kai Smith #jay walker #others mentioned #clouse ninjago #aweebwrites' work

[justanoutlawfic]

Private Practice: An Outlaw Queen One Shot

Summary: Dr. Regina Mills packs up and leaves Washington to escape drama with her ex-husband. She joins her best friends, recently divorced Marian & Robin's, private medical practice. What happens when she falls for Robin?

For the last day of @oqmovieweek, to go alongside a manip I made of Private Practice but with OQ.

Also on AO3

It had been a long time since Regina Mills had to go to work without putting on scrubs. She almost hadn’t known what to put on as she stared at her closet, which she had only recently unpacked over the weekend. It was like her first day of college, after 12 years at a private school with a uniform. When you’re told what to do and what to wear every day of your life, you forget what it’s like to make your own choices.

 Regina tried to shake that thought out of her mind. She couldn’t keep blaming her repressive background on the choices she had made in her life. Too many people from her circle did it, she saw it on the news every day. Being affluent wasn’t an illness, using it as an excuse for poor choices only got eye rolls and judgement. Regina knew she had to take ownership over the choices she had made in her life. There were a lot of things she could blame on Cora, but the end of her marriage wasn’t one of them.

 After she put on a red dress and black heels, Regina walked out onto her deck, which looked out over the ocean. You couldn’t get this view in Washington or New York and she had certainly missed it. She inhaled the sweet, salty smell of the ocean, imagining what it’d be like to go for a midnight swim whenever she pleased. Maybe she could even convince Ursula or Carletta to visit her. They’d love…

 “Regina?”

 Regina turned to the source of what broke her peace, finding it to be at the house next door. She did a double take when she saw it was Robin Locksley. She wasn’t supposed to see him for another hour when she drove into work.

 “Robin?”

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I asked you first.”

Regina laughed, though she soon realized that maybe Robin wasn’t happy to see her. “I…I start work at yours and Marian’s practice today.”

Robin took a step back on his own deck. “What?”

“Yeah…didn’t she tell you?”

 Robin didn’t answer the question, he didn’t have to. Instead, he turned right back around and went inside. Regina faced the ocean once more, suddenly not feeling as relaxed as she had a few moments prior.

Oceanside Wellness was located in the center of Los Angeles, inside a larger building. Regina made her way up on the elevator, going to the floor Marian had directed her to in her e-mails. That was where she got her first surprise. The lobby was very open and lively, the offices having see through glass walls. That never would’ve flown at the hospital, but she supposed that was why things were different there.

 She approached the desk where a young-looking man sat, wearing yellow scrubs with little unicorns on them. “Hi, I’m Regina Mills, I’m here to see Marian.”

The young man didn’t look up from the computer he was vigorously checking. “Take a seat and Dr. Locksley will be right with you.”

“Um, actually, I’m....”

“Regina!”

 She would’ve known that voice anywhere. Regina felt herself being enveloped in a big hug by Marian. She let out a deep breath, feeling welcomed in this place for the first time since her plane landed. Regina and Marian had been roommates in medical school, sharing a tiny apartment in New York City. They quickly became best friends, especially as their specialties were so close. Regina had gone into gynecology and fetal surgery, while Marian had studied fertility. Med school was where they had each met their husbands. Marian and Robin had married in the spring after graduation, while Jefferson and Regina had in the fall. Now both were divorced, though it could be argued that one was on better term with their ex than the other. Or so Regina had thought.

 “Did you not tell Robin I was moving here?” She asked, when they pulled out of the hug.

Marian bit her lip, rubbing her arms. “I, uh…”

“Marian. I thought you two were on good terms.”

“We are, we are, and not just for Roland. We’re still friends.”

“Then why was he surprised when he saw me this morning?”

“He already saw you?

“Apparently we’re neighbors.”

“Oh…” A pang of guilt filled Marian’s face. “Look, I’ve just been so busy. After our last OBGYN quit, I’ve been in over my head running the practice. Robin has been out on a book tour, which is great, but it means I’ve been left with most of the work. For both Roland and the practice.”

Regina sighed, feeling a little guilty for pushing. “I get it, it was just a bit awkward this morning. But it’s fine,” she assured her, smiling so Marian would too. “Show me around?”

“Of course, of course.” Marian turned to the desk, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder, causing him to look up. “I guess we’ll start with someone you’ll be working closely with. This is Killian Jones, he’s studying to get his midwifery license and also works as our secretary. Killian, this is Dr. Regina Mills, she’s taking Kathryn’s place.”

Killian tilted his head. “Oh. I’m sorry about earlier, I’m just trying to order a crib and there’s so many options…”

Regina cut him off by holding up a hand. “It’s okay. I look forward to working with you.”

 Marian put a hand on Regina’s hand, leading her away from the desk.

 “He seems nervous.”

“He’s normally more jokey and frankly, a bit annoying. But he had an ex drop a baby on his doorstep last weekend and he’s been in over his head ever since.”

Regina let out a low whistle. “I guess babies really do change everything.”

“They really do.” Marian lead her into a room towards the back of the office. It was set up like a kitchen, with brand-new appliances and beautifully designed cabinets. “This is the break room.”

“Wow, a far cry from the hospital cafeteria.”

“You could say that. We normally have donuts or bagels here in the morning, Killian will grab you coffee or whatever you need throughout the day.”

 The door to the breakroom opened and two people walked in, laughing and bumping shoulders. One was a taller man with curly hair and brown eyes, the other was a much shorter woman with auburn curls and the deepest blue eyes Regina had ever seen. They stopped laughing and paused when they caught sight of Regina.

 “Belle, Neal, this is Regina Mills, our new gynecologist.” Their mouths dropped open, but Marian steamed ahead, not missing a beat. “Regina, this is Neal Cassidy, our pediatrician and Belle French, one of our psychiatrists.” She linked arms with her friend. “I’ll see you two later.”

As Marian whisked Regina out of the room, the latter got a sinking feeling. “Marian, exactly how many people at this practice knew I was joining?”

“Plenty.”

“Which means?”

“I knew.”

“Marian!”

Marian sighed, pausing outside of a door. “Look, you sounded so desperate to get out of Seattle and well…”

“This is a pity job?!?”

“No, no.” Marian held up a hand. “We really needed a new OBGYN. We have Killian, but he’s not even certified and he needs hours.”

“But you didn’t tell anyone. Did you think they’d say no?”

“Of course not. It’s just…we’re a family here at Oceanside. Kathryn leaving took a toll on all of us. I knew they were going to struggle having someone new come in.”

 The door to an office down the hall opened and a tall blonde came storming out, her stilettos clacking against the floor. A frazzled man with red hair and a tweed coat chased after her.

“Mal! You can’t storm away every time I suggest an alternative method!”

“I know what I’m doing, Archie!”

Regina arched her eyebrow, looking at Marian as Mal slammed the door to another office. “Oh yeah, seems like one big happy family.”

“Archie Hopper is our second psychiatrist, he typically helps alleviate Belle’s client load, but lately he’s been helping Mal with her patients.”

“And Mal’s specialty is…?”

“Sexology.”

Regina snorted. “You cannot be serious.”

“It’s a real thing.”

“I’m aware, I just didn’t think anyone actually studied it.”

“She’s also an attending at the local hospital, but she does work here. Anyway, she’s kind of set in her ways, so be careful. Not that I think you’ll have to consult with her very often.”

“Well, I do get patients that have questions about safe sex during pregnancy, so maybe she would be of service there.”

“Like I said, proceed with caution. Anyway, this is your office. The birthing suite is around the corner…”

“Birthing suite?”

“Yes.”

 Regina gave Marian a look, once again and she had a feeling it wasn’t the last time her best friend would be receiving it that day.

 “Here at Oceanside, we practice alternative types of medicine. I mean, you know that’s Robin’s specialty.”

“Yeah, Robin’s, and I’m sure that works for him, but…”

“Look, most of our patients prefer to give birth here. The hospital is close by if there’s an emergency, but here they can have the perks of a homebirth in a more professional setting.”

Regina let out a deep breath. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but there was no going back. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

Marian grinned. “Great.” She handed Regina a clipboard. “Your first patient will arrive in a half hour. Just your standard ultrasound.”

scandalous that caused the end of their marriage. No one cheated, there was no fight that they couldn’t come back from. They just realized that as much as they loved each other, they weren’t in love. It didn’t change that they could still be friends or the way that they parented their 5-year-old son. When they had decided to separate, they went to see Archie. He told them that the key to any separation was communication. Robin felt that he and Marian had done that very well in the year since their divorce.

 Until that day.

 He tried to catch her in between patients, but she was conveniently always “too busy”. Robin could hear the other members of the practice whispering about the new member. They liked Regina fine, but they couldn’t believe that Marian had added her without consulting any of them. Robin shared their frustration, but he felt that he had more of a reason to. He and Marian had started the practice together a few years out of med school. They had agreed to do everything together, that included hiring and firing. Through the divorce, they each kept half the practice and agreed that they would run things the same. Clearly, Marian had gone back on that.

 After lunch, Robin camped out in Marian’s office and waited. He didn’t have another patient for a couple of hours and had nothing but time. The two shared a schedule through their phones for Roland’s sake and he knew that she’d be done with a consult soon. Robin kept his eyes on the clock, waiting for the knob on the door to jiggle and for her to walk through.

 “Robin!” She jumped a bit. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

Marian sighed, shutting the door. “Can’t this wait?”

“No, it can’t.” He rose to his feet. “We need to hold a meeting tonight, after Regina leaves.”

“Regina is a part of the team now. She’s apart of all staff meetings.”

“Well, we’re having the meeting because of her.  No, wait, that’s not fair. We’re having the meeting because of you.”

Marian sighed, pulling her thick curls back into a ponytail. “Look, I know you’re all a bit miffed…”

“Miffed? You hired her without telling any of us. That’s not how it’s supposed to go, especially not between the two of us.”

“It’s Regina. Our Regina. Do you really care?”

“Of course I wouldn’t care. But that doesn’t change that this isn’t how we do things. We always vote, always.”

“The others will have to get over it,” Marian said, walking over to her desk.

Robin’s mouth dropped a bit. “How can you be so caviler about all of this? Do you even feel bad?”

“Honestly, Robin? I don’t!”

 Robin raised an eyebrow, seeing how upset Marian’s face was getting. He walked closer. This wasn’t like her, not at all. They talked about everything and if he had done this, she never would’ve let him live it down. The thing was, he wasn’t surprised that he had hired her without asking, but to act like no one had a right to be upset about it? That was the weird part.

 “Look, I get it. You’re the charming one. You’re the one that all of our friends like.”

“They like you too.”

“Sure, they do. They’re nice to me, we talk. Back when we were married, they’d come to parties at the house. But I see the way they look at me. I’m their boss. You’re their friend.”

Robin’s face fell. “Marian, that’s not…”

“So, I needed a friend. Someone that I could talk to about stuff, the stuff I can’t talk to you about. And maybe that’s selfish, but I haven’t done much of that since I met you. Heck, my entire life, I’ve always put other people first and I don’t regret that. But now?” She shrugged. “I did something for me. I hired my best friend, who frankly needed an out from her old life as much as I needed her.”

 Marian walked out from behind her desk, folding her arms over her chest.

 “And you need to work out your issues with her.”

“I don’t have issues…”

“Yes, you do. And I get it. I do, but she was our friend first.”

Robin looked away. “Jefferson was my friend too.”

“And we both know that he isn’t innocent in any of what happened either.”

“She cheated on him, Marian.” He looked her in the eyes. “You did the right thing when you felt like you were falling out of love with me. She didn’t.”

“We all make mistakes, Robin. And punishing her for it, isn’t going to help.” She looked out the window, noticing that Mal, Archie, Belle, Neal and Killian had all gathered outside of it. “I’m going to go apologize to them for not going over it with them first. You need to work things out with Regina.”

 She walked out of her office, leaving Robin alone with his thoughts. His eyes flickered to Marian’s desk, which was cluttered with photographs. Most were of Roland, but there was one from their med school days, before Jefferson transferred to their school. Regina’s parents had allowed her to bring Marian and Robin along on a trip to Maine. Marian sat in the back of the chaise, Robin and Regina in the front, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her. They were all smiling, they were all so happy.

 He knew deep down that he wasn’t mad at Regina for cheating on Jefferson, not really. In all reality…he was jealous of the man she had cheated with.

Regina had always liked wine. In WASP circles, it was easy to start drinking at a young age. She could remember trips to Puerto Rico with her father, her grandmother pouring her large glasses when she was only thirteen. Her father would try to reprimand her, but she would always chastise him back in Spanish. Regina didn’t know much of the language, as Cora didn’t want her and Henry to be able to communicate behind her back, but she knew she said something to the effect of “She’ll live.”

 The love of red wine lasted long into her adulthood and when she found out that her new home had a wine cellar, she was more than pleased. After a long day of new patients and one delivery in the weird yet calming birthing suite, Regina headed down the beach, a bottle of red in one hand and a folding chair in the other.

 She was two glasses deep when she heard another chair plop down beside her. Regina looked up to find Robin setting up, a six pack of beer in his hand.

 “You talking to me, now?” She asked.

Robin cracked open a beer, taking a long sip. “I never stopped.”

“You never returned my e-mails or calls. You avoided me all day at the practice.”

“I was surprised to see you.”

“I assumed Marian told you I was coming.”

“Yeah, well…she didn’t.”

“That’s not my fault. I hope you’re not mad at me because of that.”

“Of course I’m not.”

“Then why are you so mad at me, Robin?” She looked at him, biting her lip. “Is it because of what happened between me and Jefferson?”

Robin took another sip of his beer. “He is my friend.”

“When’s the last time you two spoke?”

“That doesn’t change what you did. You slept with his best friend.”

Regina nodded, looking out at the ocean. “I hate myself for that, you know? You can hate me, Robin, but you’ll never hate me as much as I do.”

There was a pause. “I don’t hate you, Regina. I never could.”

“Sleeping with Victor was wrong, I know that now.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

Regina traced the rim of her wine glass. “I wasn’t happy. I know that’s stupid and I know it’s the opposite of what you and Marian did.” She sighed. “I wish I could say we got caught up in the heat of the moment, but Victor was there and Jefferson wasn’t. I regretted it as soon as it happened.”

“You didn’t have to tell him.”

“If I didn’t, then we’d still probably be married.”

“And you didn’t want that?”

“No.” That was the first time Regina had admitted it out loud. “I didn’t. I had a husband, a great husband, and I didn’t want him anymore. So rather than doing the right thing and leave him, I made him be the bad guy and leave me.”

 Robin reached over, putting his hand on top of hers at the sound of her voice cracking.

 “Jefferson isn’t perfect,” he whispered.

“He never cheated.”

“That doesn’t change that he could be an asshole. This is the guy that moved in on you so soon after Daniel died.” Robin paused again. “Marian told me what he did when he found out.”

“I probably deserved it.”

“No, Regina. You didn’t.” He touched her chin so she’d look at him. “He forcibly removed you from your own home, he threw you out into the rain.”

“He was hurt.”

“Doesn’t make it right.”

Regina let out a shaky breath. “If you knew all of this, why the hell have you been treating me the way you have?”

“I guess my anger has been misplaced.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I found out you cheated on Jefferson, I was surprised that it was with Whale. He’s a guy that slept with everyone with a pulse. That’s his thing and he’s my friend too, but he’s not your type.”

“I wasn’t exactly looking for that.”

“I know. But I guess I wished…” He tilted his head back, shutting his eyes. “God, this is going to sound stupid.”

“Robin…”

“I was jealous of him. Of Victor.”

 Regina swallowed, letting his confession wash over her like the ocean that was so close to them. She thought back to med school, back before Jefferson. She had met Robin before Marian, they were in the same class and ended up in a study group filled with incompetent people. They spent many a night eating bad junk food and listening to rock music, talking about their futures and what they wanted out of life. Regina had been so close to falling for him and a part of her always knew that Robin already had.

 Then her ex, Daniel, came back into the picture. They had broken up when she left Maine to attend school in New York. He wasn’t rich like she was and he didn’t have goals of becoming a doctor. He had just finished up his secondary education degree and had gotten a job teaching at a local high school. He asked Regina to give him a second chance and she had given it to him with no question. They fell back in love as quickly as they had the first time. Sadly, it lasted about as long too. Daniel caught a bad strain of the flu, that caused him to be hospitalized. The doctors made a mistake while treating him and it claimed his life.

 Regina’s family wasn’t very supportive. Her father had passed away by that point and Cora had never approved of Daniel, so it wasn’t a big deal in her eyes. Her sister and her had never been very close. All she had, was her med school family. She would never forget Robin holding one of her hands, while Marian took the other. They sat with her in the front row, besides Daniel’s mother and brother. They had been the only people to get her through that day.

 Months later when she found out that the two of them had begun dating, she had been happy for them…but felt something inside of her. She didn’t quite understand what it was. She had just lost Daniel and was in no state to move on, but she almost felt as though it was a betrayal. She had shaken it off, knowing that Robin wasn’t her property. They were friends and Marian was her best friend. Not long after that, Jefferson pushed his way into her life and there was no looking back, for either of them…until that moment.

 “You shouldn’t say stuff like that,” Regina finally whispered, not knowing what else to say.

Robin shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

“Marian is my best friend.”

“And we’re divorced.”

“She wanted me to come down here for her. If I start dating her ex…what would that do to her?”

“She’ll find a way to get over it.”

 Regina looked into Robin’s eyes, unsure if she really believed him. She didn’t care about what Jefferson or Victor thought, they had both moved on anyway. Jefferson was expecting a child with his new wife, which had partially sparked Regina’s need to move. Seeing Priscilla walking around the hospital with her ridiculously cute baby bump had been more than she could bare. And if she had to sit through one more Victor and Jefferson screaming match, she would’ve stabbed them both with a scalpel.

 It had been three years since her divorce and mostly everyone involved was trying to move on. Regina included. She had dated a bit when working at Seattle Grace, but no one that really mattered.

 Sitting in front of her, with his sandy blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, he mattered.

 Regina gave Marian a final thought, before leaning in and kissing Robin.

They did the secret dating game for a few months. Regina would try to resist him, but somehow always found herself going back. They’d go out to dinner or take walks on the pier, most nights landing in bed at one of their houses. Somehow, they managed to keep it a secret from everyone. There were a couple of close calls, like the time when Marian dropped Roland off early one morning and Robin had been at Regina’s, but for the most part…they were getting away with it. She hated how dirty that sounded in her mind. She hated even more that with every date, every laugh and every bad joke, she was falling more in love with Robin.

 The people at the practice were adjusting to her, as well as they could anyway. Belle and Neal were still a bit standoffish, but both Robin and Marian assured her it was normal. They were best friends, having worked together since the practice opened, and were pretty cliquey. Marian assured her that in time, they’d warm up to her and they could be friends. Regina didn’t see a time when she’d end up friends with the cute but opiniated psychiatrist, but she’d keep an open mind.

 Surprisingly, Mal, Killian and Archie ended up being her favorite colleagues. Mal was a take charge woman, not letting anyone give her crap whether it be about her specialty or her attitude. Regina respected her, understanding how hard it was to be taken seriously in a male dominated field. Archie was sweet and cared deeply about everyone in the office, even offering to consult some of Regina’s patients that might be suffering from postpartum depression. Killian was a great assistant and though he only had one working hand (the other being a prosthetic), he worked twice as hard and was somehow pulling off getting his license, work and single fatherhood.

 The only issue was working alongside Marian. That had originally been a perk of joining the practice, since her best friend was a fertility specialist, she could go onto refer patients to Regina. They could work side by side to help each other out, something they hadn’t done since their residencies. Yet, it was so hard to keep everything a secret. Marian seemed so much more relaxed to have her best friend in the room, while Regina couldn’t wait to get out of it.

 “I can’t keep feeling this way,” she told Robin, one night over dinner. “I just can’t.”

“You really think telling her will make you feel better?”

“It has to.”

“I thought you said a secret was best in the beginning.”

“That was before…”

Robin tilted his head. “Before?”

Regina bit her lip. “Before I thought I could fall in love with you.”

A smile spread across Robin’s face and he took hold of her hand. “I love you too, you know?”

“We need to tell her, then. Especially for Roland’s sake. He’s going to be confused why Auntie Regina keeps spending time at his daddy’s.”

“You’re right. We’ll tell her, together.”

They decided a game night would be the best bet. Regina invited the entire practice over and they played, drank and ate cheese. Killian left first, having to relieve the sitter. Mal and Neal followed out not long after, Belle heading out to go on a date. Archie was the last to leave, offering to help clean up, though soon realizing that Robin and Regina wanted to be alone with Marian. He gave them both a knowing look, that scared them a little bit. If he had figured it out, who else had? Seattle Grace was full of gossip, despite being a large hospital. Everyone seemed to know about Regina’s affair. She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised that a smaller practice wouldn’t be different.

 They waited until the food had been packed away and the games were put back in the closet, before pouring out some more wine for the three of them. Regina and Robin exchanged a look as Marian checked her phone, clearly texting the sitter to make sure Roland was in bed. She set it down, looking between the two of them.

 “Okay, what’s going on?”

“We need to talk to you,” Regina said.

“We?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Is it about the practice?”

“No.”

“Then what would we need to discuss?”

Robin drew a deep breath. “It’s been 18 months since the divorce was final.”

“I know that.”

“And we’ve both been seeing other people.”

“Well, isn’t that one of the benefits of a divorce?” Marian partially joked. She dropped the smile when neither of them did, looking between the two once more. “Wait….”

“Marian…”

“How long?”

“Please, just let us explain,” Regina tried to get out.

“I asked, how long?”

Regina bit her lip. “It started the night I started working for the practice. So…about six months ago.”

 The silence that killed the room was enough to kill someone. Marian stayed seated on Regina’s couch, looking between the two some more, clearly waiting for one of them to say it was a joke. Instead Regina was staring at her, and Robin was looking at his feet. Marian stood up, her wine glass shaking in her hand.

 “So, the two of you have been sneaking behind my back for six months?”

“We didn’t know what it was at first,” Robin said. “And then over time, we weren’t sure how you would handle it.”

“Well, it’s my best friend and my ex-husband. I think I have a right to be a bit freaked out.”

“We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to be happy.”

“And I want you both to be happy, but that requires lying to me?” Marian took a long sip of her wine. “Have you two really thought this through?”

“Yes, we have.” Robin took hold of Regina’s hand. “I love her.”

Marian looked at Regina. “And do you love him?”

Regina looked at Robin, taking in his kind face and beautiful eyes, before looking over at her best friend. “I do,” she whispered.

“This is…it’s a lot.” Marian finished off her wine and Regina moved quickly to pour her some more.

“We don’t expect you to be okay with it right away. In fact, if you’re not, that’s fine. Take all the time you need to process.”

“We don’t even have to tell Roland,” Robin pointed out.

Marian nearly choked. “Oh God, yeah, how are you going to explain screwing his godmother?”

“Marian!”

“You said I could take time to process.”

 They were silent, knowing she was right. Marian got up, looking between the two of them once more.

 “This is real,” she whispered. “You two love each other.”

“We do,” Regina told her. “We really do.”

Marian bit her lip before nodding. “Well,” she said. “I guess there’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Marian…”

“Look, I’m not going to be over the moon, but I’m not going to stop you either. You have to acknowledge that this is awkward.”

“We know it is,” Robin said.

“But, I also know that you two wouldn’t do this if you didn’t think it was worth it, so…” She sighed. “I just need some time.

 She put her empty wine glass into Regina’s hand, before grabbing hold of her purse and walking out the door. Regina felt herself leaning into Robin, who wrapped his arms around her.

 “She’ll adjust,” he whispered.

“I hope you’re right.”

“No matter what, I love you, Regina.” He tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Regina felt a ghost of a smile go across her lips. “Yeah,” she murmured. “Me either.”

#oqmovieweek #outlaw queen #outlaw queen au #oq #oq au #regina mills #robin hood #marian hood #ouat #once upon a time

[cinful-stories]

Dissection Day (Nico x OC)

This was made as a short-story request for @tykira45 using her MC. The story is set in an AU where the MC Natalie and Nico attend school together. 

Warning: SLIGHTLY NAUGHTY THINGS AHEAD!! Rights to Natalie’s design belong to @tykira45.  

We were told to pick up the metal scalpel, but I didn't do it. We were also told to have the pins in hand. I didn’t do that either. My hands don’t move from my lap, nor do my eyes tear themselves away from the window. It’s raining outside--a torrential downpour. 

“Natalie, please follow directions.” The voice of Professor Daniels swims in my head. It’s muffled, as if I was submerged in water. I nod shyly, pretending to reach for the scalpel. 

Dissection day. It’s an annual event put on by the Academy’s biology department where a different animal is presented to us on a silver lab tray to have its flesh and organs picked apart by vultures wearing googles and gloves in the name of “science”. Each year, the animal of choice is larger and more difficult to dissect, and each year I have a different excuse to stay home. Last year, I abruptly contracted a rare strain of the flu that was so vicious that I had painful blisters all over my face. The year before that, a distant cousin from Albania had mysteriously died, leaving all of his possessions to me, and I had to attend the funeral or I wouldn’t inherit the dowry. This year, I couldn’t come up with anything convincing enough and walked to class with my head hung low and my eyes brimming with tears. 

I always had a profound love of animals. I volunteer at the local animal shelter and help stray dogs and cats find loving homes. A large sum of my weekly allowance is donated to the environmental center for conservation efforts for threatened ecosystems. I never dream of hurting another living thing, and in this moment, I am having an internal battle over dissecting the fetal pig sprawled out before me. 

“Natalie, what did I just tell you to do?” my professor gripes, crossing the room to loom over my lab bench. His glasses slip down the bridge of his nose, and he eyes me like a snake ready to swallow its mouse. 

My voice comes out as a whisper, afraid to draw more attention to myself. “You told me to follow directions.” 

“Very good, now do as I say,” he commands. “I’m only trying to help you.” His hand swipes his brow, coated in slimy perspiration. “I know how to fix this. Nico!” 

My head swivels to a lab bench in the back of the classroom. With his head craned over the pig’s open stomach, Nico Meier, the student with the highest marks in biology class, is focused intently on the task at hand. He had already advanced far beyond our professor’s verbal instructions and was halfway through the dissection. Tufts of strawberry hair flounce as his head pops up. A sweet smile adorns his lips. “Yes, Professor?” he asks, his tone chipper and obedient. 

My heart pounds wildly in my chest. I had spoken with Nico several times but only with formality. My grade is obscenely low in biology, and at the request of Professor Daniels, I meet Nico in the library for tutoring sessions twice a week. He’s always patient with me, guiding me through the lessons at a comfortable pace. When I begin to show an understanding of the concepts he covers, he praises my progress and offers rewards such as going out for ice cream or taking a leisurely stroll around campus. He’s encouraging and easy to converse with, but he only sees me as a peer when I wish he would see me as more. 

Nico steps over, hands behind his back. He grins warmly at me, and I blush, quickly turning my cheek to hide my affection. 

“Nico, you are doing exceptionally well so far, so I will go ahead and give you full marks for this exercise. Instead of finishing your work, I need you to assist Miss Natalie for the remainder of the period. It’s evident that she needs some coaxing,” Professor Daniels sneers, cutting his eyes toward me. 

The young man seats himself next to me. “Sure thing, Professor. I’d be happy to help!” Professor Daniels walks away, satisfied with Nico’s enthusiasm. 

I do not turn to face my new lab partner. I continue to stare down at my hands, twiddling my thumbs in anticipation. I secretly hope that Nico will acknowledge my discomfort and just do the dissection himself without making conversation. 

“Natalie, are you feeling alright?” 

Dammit.

“I-I’m fine, Nico,” I say hastily, averting my gaze. A crack of lightning strikes the courtyard outside, nearly splitting one of the older oak trees closest to the window. It’s much easier to accept that there’s a dead pig in front of me when worrying about getting struck by lightning.  

“Hey,” he replies, his voice gentle next to my ear. I feel the warmth of his hand on my own, still folded in my lap. A fiery blaze of scarlet rises on my face, and I begin to sweat and squirm anxiously. He never made any moves to touch me during our tutoring sessions, but I had always wanted him to. “You can do this, okay? I’ll walk you through the steps and make sure the dissection is as clean and quick as possible. If you need to step out, just let me know.” 

His kindness causes a stirring in the pit of my stomach. I gain the courage to face him and melt at the tenderness in his smile. Small lines tug at the corners of his amber eyes as they squint at me, gleaming like precious rhinestones. I feel my lips moving involuntarily, agreeing to his proposition. 

Nico tells me to grab the scalpel and run it along the center of the pig’s stomach in a straight line. I swallow a lump in my throat. I watch in horror as my hands drive the tiny blade into the lifeless creature’s gullet. The scalpel is dragged downward toward the pig’s tail, and the sour stench of death sterilized by formaldehyde fills the air. I drop the scalpel. It clatters on the tabletop and I plug my nostrils. 

“Eugh--that smell is awful!” I cry, laughing nervously.

“That’s the worst part about dissection day,” Nico jests, unfazed by the stench. “The science wing reeks of chemicals for weeks.” It’s obvious that he’s trying to divert my attention from the disturbing scene. 

I follow the instructions written on the board. The next step was to peel back the flaps of epidermis on either side of the animal and pin them down to the lab tray using dissection pins. I stare down hopelessly at the rift in its stomach. The pinky-gray hue of intestines peeks through. It makes me nauseous. 

My fingers slowly dive into the crevasse. The sensation of the pig’s internal organs touching my glove was unbearably cold. I squeeze my eyes shut as I move the skin and skewer it to the pan. 

“Natalie, look! It’s so cool!” Nico exclaims. I feel his body shift next to mine as he leans over to inspect the pig. “You’ve gotta see this!” 

I open my eyes and peek at the animal and instantly let loose a squeal. Sitting deep within the pig’s abdomen is an unborn pig fetus the size of my fingernail. Nico’s eyes flash, realizing that the scene probably isn't as “cool” to me as it is to him. He quickly unpins the flaps of skin, removing the fetus from sight. 

“Nico, I-I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do this anymore,” I stammer. I’m ashamed of myself for giving up so early, but I just couldn’t bare to look at the pig’s innards knowing that it had died while pregnant, knowing that two beautiful creatures had to die for “science”. 

There is a flicker of sympathy on his face. He watches me with concerned orbs, searching my soul. 

“What on earth is going on here?” Professor Daniels demands, hurrying over to our lab bench.

I look up at him with sorrow. “I-I’m sorry, Professor, but I can’t. The pig--it’s pregnant--er, was pregnant. I think I need to leave the classroom.”

Our professor glances from Nico to me again. “Get out of your chair. You’re coming with me to the dean’s office. Nico, you may return to your seat. Thank you for trying to help, but I’m afraid she’s a lost cause.” 

I stand from my stool. Every eye in the class is on me but no mouths are moving. Nobody was going to object to sending the tree-hugger to the dean for a reprimand. My feet shuffle behind Professor Daniels, my eyes looking anywhere but the dissected pigs.

“Send me too.”

The pair of us halts abruptly at the sound of Nico’s enraged voice. 

“Pardon me?” Professor Daniels challenges.

Nico rises from the lab bench. “I defied you, Professor. I didn’t help her at all. Send me to the dean’s office too.” His usual sweet smile twists into a nasty scowl.

The professor is stunned. “Don’t be ridiculous, Nico. You’re my best student! There’s no reason to send you with--”

“Then I’ll go myself. I’m not going to stay here and finish your damn dissection when you’re punishing a sweet girl just for not wanting to harm animals. C’mon, Natalie!” 

Nico pushes his way through desks and appalled students. His shoulder gives Professor Daniels a rough shove as he passes by. He grabs my hand tightly, dragging me behind him. I stumble trying to keep up with his brisk pace, the hem of his Academy blazer flowing in his wake. He yanks me haphazardly through the halls, ignoring my complaints of his grip being too tight, until he reaches an unmarked door at the end of the foreign language wing. He pulls the door open and practically tosses me inside, shutting it behind us. 

“Nico, this isn’t the dean’s office. If the professor finds out we’ve--”

The quick movement of his lips cuts my words short. That charming smile, tinged with lust, collides aggressively with my mouth. Hands cup both sides of my face, his body pressing my spine against the wall of the dark closet. I try to push away for breath, but Nico’s lips reign down on me mercilessly. He is unforgiving, sliding a knee between my upper thighs beneath my skirt. He finally breaks away, amber orbs dilated and pulsing in the dark. 

“What was that?” I whisper. My hands are still trapped, smothered between his chest and my stomach. I feel his heart beating like the wild gallop of a stallion. 

He pants, chest heaving. Fingers comb through my dark locks tenderly. “Something I’ve wanted to do since we first started meeting in the library.” His eyes are focused on my lips as if examining them for dissection. “I’m sorry if that wasn’t mutual. I just couldn’t help myself. I’ll stop now if you want me to.”

My heart flutters. This isn’t quite how I imagined my first kiss with Nico would go, but I was immensely glad it was happening. “No, please don’t stop. I liked it.” 

He smirks at me, leaning in once more. “Good,” he murmurs against my mouth. My mouth is claimed by his own. He nibbles my lower lip, tugging it between his teeth. His hands greedily feel the curves of my figure. Those fingers--gentle yet hungry for more--trace across my bared breasts. I am certain that our moans and giggles could be heard all the way back in the biology classroom, but neither of us cared. 

The pair of us spend the remainder of the school day in that closet, exploring each other’s bodies with our hands, mouths, tongues. Nico thoroughly examined my insides, feeling every inch and eliciting sensations I had never experienced before and didn’t want to experience with anyone else. 

Perhaps this year’s dissection day wasn’t so bad after all. 

#nico meier #sexy nico #midnight cinderella #MidCin #midcin fanfic #fanfic request #i hope you like it #ikemen series #otome games #romance

[amoxgirl]

Legacies

Legacies Chapter 2

1995 Appalachian Mountain Territories

Jon knew he was different than most boys his age, what made him different he didn’t know nor understood but it didn’t matter. His Mom simply told him that he simply marched to the beat of his own drum and didn’t care for the ‘rough housing’ the other boys were doing. He had nodded at his mothers explanation and thought no more about it, he rarely played well with the other boys and often found himself coming to the rescue of the younger kids or the girls that was from the neighborhood.

It didn’t bother him, he rather liked it- other ten-year-old boys wouldn’t help the girls out nor would they play with the ‘babies’ either cause one group had ‘cooties’ or because the other group still wanted to play sillier games. But Jon was unique in the fact that just as long as he was outside where the sunshine could hit his face and he could take a deep long breath of fresh air he was happy.

Life was good… He had his Mom and his Nana and that’s all that mattered to him.

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It was summer time and by far Jon’s favorite time of year, no school and the warm lazy days called to his heart like nothing else could. While this summer most of the boys he did play with got to go to a summer camp Jon had elected to stay at home, the majority of other kids that were still around were of families that couldn’t afford to go to the summer activities.

He had over heard his Mom and Nana talking about it once school had let out, that they had saved up enough money for him to go should he choose to do so but the flyers that his teacher had sent home with him on the last day of school looked so boring- and that’s what he had told his Mom and Nana.

Instead here he was in wooded park climbing a large oak tree, smiling successfully when he got middle ways up into the top of the tree. Parking his butt on a thick branch and digging out a granola bar from his pocket he enjoyed the shade and the pride of getting this far up when suddenly he heard voices shouting. Stuffing the rest of the bar into his mouth and pocketing the wrapper he hastily made his descent down again.

Listening closely, he realized that there was lots of different voices screaming, male and female alike- stepping into a screaming direction Jon was finally able to make out what they were screaming, “Sasha!” He tilted his head and thought about the name- he thought it belonged to a visiting young girl, she was spending the summer with her own Nana if he remembered correctly and something told him that having this many adults screaming for her was bad news.

Suddenly from around a tree a man stepped out and froze- Jon hadn’t felt him there and by the raised eyebrow he thought the man was just as surprised to see him as he was. In the stretched silence Jon took a moment to look at the man and found himself freezing when he noticed the guns at the man’s hips. Wetting his lips, he felt a slight, very so slight fear bubble- “you’re not truly afraid are you?” when the man spoke it was a funny accent Jon had never heard before, and with Cincinnati being a ‘port’ city he had heard so odd accents before this. But trying to be polite, as his Mom had taught him, he answered the question, “no Sir!” There was a smile forming on the adults lips when the shouting came closer.

Then Mister Connors stepped out around the park path and spotted him and the other man and snapped, “Jonathan what in the blue blazes are you doing out here?” Then Mister Connors eyes snapped to the other man and froze, his head lowered, and a closed fist came over his heart as he spoke, “hail Gunslinger!” Jon felt his eyes go wide as he looked at the strange man who was bringing up his right hand and with two fingers tapped his left side of collarbone. “hail Sai, what’s all ruckus for?” Mister Conner’s raised his head and spoke more softly, “a girl has went missing Sai!”

Jon shuffled his feet as the adults talked, he barely understood the conversation but the pieces he understood was the Gunslinger was on a hunt for parts of a posse he had been chasing for a long time. Suddenly the Gunslinger spoke up, “I will help in the search,” Mister Connors sputtered and finally managed out a thank you- Jon beamed and added, “I will help too!”

At this Mister Connors thundered at him, “certainly not young man- your march your butt back to your mamma and stay there! We don’t need to be looking for two lost kids tonight!” Stiffen his back Jon was ready to fire back when the Gunslinger spoke up, “the Lad can accompany in my search- I don’t know the terrain and something tells me he might be handy to have along!”

Once Mister Connors left Jon turned his full attention to the Gunslinger and with a shy voice was able to squeak out a thanks, but the other man simply studied him harder. After a minute he spoke up again, “what’s your full name Lad?” Jon straighten up to his full height, which was pretty tall for his age. “Jonathan Dean Moxley Sir!” The other man let out a laugh and held out his hand, “Steven Regal young Moxley!” Shaking his hand Jon felt his small world center and a heat ignite deep in his little heart.

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It was the next day, the second day of the search for the missing Sasha when Jon had mentioned the pond to Mr. Regal when he asked Jon why he was concerned about the pond he shrugged his shoulders and said as an afterthought, “girls like cute animals and stuff- sometimes ducks swim in that pond!” The other man simply stared at him for a moment and then had him lead him to the pond in question.

Jon watched in awe as Mr. Regal walked with him around the large pond and pointed about small but noticeable foot prints- once when they bent down to examine an odd set of tracks Mr. Regal began to teach him differences of each track they found so when they bent down again some hours later Jon was about to identify the deer tracks without pause.

This seemed to please Mr. Regal and Jon felt such pride in himself that he never wanted this day to end however Mr. Regal wasn’t done teaching him. Next he was taught about the moss on tree trunks and how to avoid poison ivy and what mushroom/berries were good to eat. He learned how to identify the scat left behind to know what type of animal he was tracking- learned how to listen for sounds and more importantly for the sound of water.

It was closing in on dark when Jon felt the odd sensation at the back of his skull, the sensation quickly turned into a headache and just when Jon thought he couldn’t take it anymore everything in his vision tilted and he tripped. Mr. Regal caught him easily enough and frowned at him, “Jon…. Jon what ails you?” Working his mouth Jon had never felt so tired before but he forced himself to speak, “I had this funny feeling in my head then it turned into a headache but now it doesn’t hurt- when the pain went away it surprised me!” He felt Mr. Regal go completely stiff and watched as the other man bowed his head, after a moment he spoke softly, “do you hear it Jon?”

Jon was trying to detangle himself from the arms of the other man when he asked, as his heart thumped wildly against his chest, “hear what?” Mr. Regal glanced up at him at last and whispered, “the voice of your father?” Suddenly Jon was scared to breath, scared to move but Mr. Regal continued on, “a gunslinger will always hear the voice of his or hers forefathers Jon- a gunslinger will never lose focus nor get lost in thought cause they are never alone in their own head!”

They spent the hour in silence, man and boy both staring straight ahead- the man razor focus ahead while Jon himself stares ahead. They quietly came a upon a fork in the road- bending down in the dirt Jon traced the funny looking track when a small but quiet voice murmured deep inside his ear- left, “Mr. Regal I think we should go left!”

Mr. Regal studied him for a moment then nodded and as they walked Jon whispered. “I heard him!” Mr. Regal quietly laid a hand on his head told him one of the most important things in his young life, “listen to him Jon- he will never lead you astray.” Nodding as they continued on until they came to a hill and small cave crop to left- She is inside, glancing at Mr. Regal Jon smiled big when the other man thumbed his thumb into the direction of the cave, “Agreed!”

With that they both walked into the cave and a mile in they found the destroyed corpse of little Sasha Banks and Jon let the tears fall freely.

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1997 Gator Country

It was summer once again and this year the heat had came early and Jon was suffering because of it- his Dinn had swung by after school had let out and nabbed him for their annual summer training. It had been two years since he had met Steven Regal and awoke his inner gunslinger spirit- his Dinn (not teacher- heaven forbid) had continued his hunt but had always dropped back in to train him, a fact his Mom and Nana had hated but when Regal (as his Mom calls him) told him that the instinct to hunt- and the pressure of the voice in head would make him insane before he hit adulthood they had relented.

It had been on their first trip outside the Appalachian Mountain Territories that his Dinn told that he had called in some favors to some  local Bookmen and after much digging they all agreed that Jon was perhaps the youngest gunslinger to awaken his inner instinct.

“It’s not doing me any fucking favors in this swamp!” He knew if his Mom and his Dinn heard that fowl word muttered from his lips he would have received a lashing but in the heat of the day- with only his hunting knife and four bullets left in his apprenticeship  guns, and half a canteen left of drinkable water he was annoyed.

Drop off to the left

Smiling in a cruel kind of way, a smile unbefitting a twelve-year-old Jon simple stopped and listened and after a moment he heard the faint sound of a rattle from a rattlesnake.

“Oh, goody dinner!”

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He never got to eat or skin the damn rattlesnake that night, why? Simple, really- his instinct had spoke of the drop off, but it was Jon’s own intelligences that found the cave buried back in the drop off- and in finding the cave (his least favorite places) he had found the two-man posse he and his Dinn were hunting.

Quietly and slowly exiting the cave he took up post in a tree and set off a soundless flare and waited. He knew better than to engage the posse on his own- even though he thought he might be good enough to take them on, but in doing so he might have to kill them and so far he hadn’t been giving the go ahead to kill anything human yet.

Behind and to the right

Already having his gun drew and in the guard position Jon quietly shifted to take a peek behind him- having the tree trunk to his back firstly made him work a little harder at not being heard or seen. The man that slipped out to the right of his tree was a larger man than his Dinn- but the guns at his hips told Jon all he needed to know. Softly, “a mile in it forks- they are to the right fork. The girl is either sleeping or unconscious.” The big man pauses and just as softly asks, “not dead?” Jon snorts and snaps back, “give me some credit man- I know the difference between the living and the dead!”

Yes, little Sasha Banks had taught him that fact two years ago. The sight of her cold body plus the signs his Dinn took shown him taught him early on the differences. Sighing Jon made his way down his post and landed soundlessly next to the unknown Gunslinger, glancing at one another for a second then Jon smirked when other man puffed out his cheeks and moaned in disappointment. “your just an apprentice….” A pause then, “numbers?” Giving the other man a flipped look Jon respectfully, cause like it or not this man wore gunslinger guns, “two!” A long moment, “you made your first kill yet?” Swallowing hard Jon simply shook his head was about to answer when a scream echoed from the cave, “Fuck me- come on then seems like today is your lucky day!”

Jon wanted to back peddle and tell the man to fuck off- he wasn’t his Dinn, had no right to give him orders but another scream echoed out and the image of Sasha Banks flashed in front of his eyes

Never stop never look back

Muttering, ‘fuck you!’ and when the other man gave him a funny look Jon sheepish blushed and said softly, “not you!” The other man nodded and jerked his head inward and Jon took a deep breath and followed.

The work that follows is fast, deadly, and precise on both the unnamed gunslinger and himself. Both their aims were accurate and just as deadly- Jon thought he would be sick afterwards, but he felt nothing when he noticed the girls tore cloths and the bite marks on her shoulders and small breasts.

Always shoot to kill and never kill just for the sake of killing

The girl had stopped screaming long enough to understand that the people that had just saved her wasn’t there to inflict more pain and started to cry. Jon went to the man he had just killed and checked his pockets- looking for any type of ID, he had witness his Dinn do this countless times and so he knew to also check the pulse to make sure his kill was dead.

“Your fucking good kid, what’s your name?” Smiling at the praise Jon answered proudly, “Jon Moxley!” The older man cocked his head and mumbled, “Moxley- I know I have heard that name somewhere before,” shaking his head clear he continued onward, “Well done Jon Moxley, I am Mathew Reigns but most in these parts call me Rosy!”

Smiling Jon stuck out his hand to other gunslinger and replied back, “nice to meet you Rosy!”

#writing #fanfiction #wrestling #BirthrightLegaciesAU #LegaciesChapter2 #Dean Ambrose | Jon Moxley #Seth Rollins #Roman Reigns #Renee Young #Sasha Banks #Mathew 'Rosy' Reigns

[northernrainforest]

Off the rock

Like Harry and Meghan on their Australian tour, Flo and I jetsetted this weekend, baby bump on full display. A few minor differences: we had an almost five-year-old with us, we flew coach, and we only made it as far as Seattle. Also, I’m six months pregnant but I look like I’m about to give birth on the light rail, so the breathless coverage of wardrobe choices reserved for Meghan wouldn’t be quite as interesting in my case (read: a lot of leggings.) Lastly, we weren’t on a diplomatic mission: there’s no dermatologist in Ketchikan so we were in Seattle for a yearly skin check. Yes, it’s as sexy as it sounds.

Shortly after we moved to Ketchikan, I heard several people talk to each other in passing about “getting off the rock.” In Brooklyn in the late eighties (still my main reference point for everything) this would have meant kicking a crack habit. But I quickly figured out it’s island speak for “going anywhere but here.” Having just arrived, and with gorgeous weather at that, I couldn’t appreciate what that might mean to some people. It’s now been three months, and though Flo and I have both left town for very short work trips, this was the first time the three of us went to the airport together and headed down to the Lower 48. I have to say: it was kind of magical.

First, Ketchikan International Airport, or KTN. It took us three minutes to drive down the hill in the still dark morning, past the Alaska Marine Highway terminal, the post office and A&P (Alaskan and Proud, our local-est grocery store) and park in the airport ferry lot. It’s a dollar a day to park there. A dollar. A day. If you’ve ever driven to and parked at an airport in a major city, you’ll appreciate how complete giddy it can make a recent transplant to spend three minutes and four dollars and be done with the process. Ah but wait: the process was not quite done. After parking and paying, we boarded the 7:45 ferry and arrived at the airport at maybe… 7:48? A motivated person could swim the Tongass Narrows in about the same time it takes to cross it by ferry – not because the ferry is slow, but because the waterway is so, well, narrow. We have TSA pre-check, a product of a particularly bad hour I spent alone at JFK with a two-year-old who delighted in running away from me as the security line crept forward. It was a lifesaver whenever we left New York or LA, but in Ketchikan all it means is you don’t have to take off your shoes. There’s one security line, and even if it’s slow there’s little danger of missing your flight: once you get through security you’re already at your gate – because there are only two, and they’re next to each other.

Wasn’t that a fascinating explanation of small town airports? Aren’t you so glad you’re keeping up with my blog? Okay, so if you’ve flown through a lot of small airports none of this is interesting for you. But for me, it’s pretty mind boggling. I’ve told several people since we moved how much lower my stress level is, and sometimes I wonder if it’s hyperbole – I still run at an eleven most of the time, elevating the making of school lunch to a federal case – but it’s situations like the airport run that remind me how true it is. Life is easier when there’s no traffic, and minimal driving in the first place; when lines are short; and when there are simply fewer people everywhere you go.

So it was interesting to be back in a big city after some time away. As long as Flo and I have lived on the west coast – and combined we’ve logged about fifty years – neither of us had ever been to Seattle (unless you count the Alaska Airlines terminal at SeaTac.) Several people in Ketchikan asked if we’d be renting a car, so I second guessed our decision not to; but the minute we arrived I realized with relief that, like almost every big city I’ve ever been to, it’s easier notto have a car than to have one. (Dallas is the exception that springs to mind. And, obviously, Los Angeles.) SeaTac’s version of the AirTrain is free, and it took us directly to the light rail station; $6 and 35 minutes later, we were walking up Broadway on Capitol Hill, taking in the restaurants, the rain-soaked leaves and the preponderance of rainbows.

“It’s not pride week, is it?” I said, trying to remember what month we were in.

“No,” said Flo. “I think this is all the time.” As far as I know, there’s no gay neighborhood in Ketchikan; we were officially back in the city.

Capitol Hill is epically cool, in the best sense of the word: it’s not completely gentrified yet (although I’m sure longtime locals would disagree with me), so there’s an interesting mix of people, stores and architecture that reflect the changing face of a city. It was the perfect launch pad for three and a half days of walking adventures. We walked down to Swedish, the big hospital complex, for our dermatology appointments and got epic views of the Puget Sound from the sweeping 14thfloor windows (while partially disrobed – take that, Harry and Meghan!) From there we wandered down Pike (Pine? I’ve been told they’re basically the same street), stopped for perfect coffee at Victrola, ate Mediterranean from a food truck next to a little park, took the monorail up to the Space Needle and found an awesome playground. After that was a walk to the flagship REI, which looks like the flagship LL Bean, and I’m honestly not sure who got the idea from whom, since they’re both hella old stores. By the time we hiked up the 45-degree angle that is Denny (Street? Avenue?) and back to our place, we understood why they don’t call it Capitol Valley.

The next two days were more of the same: a combination of walking, kid-oriented fun (hello, Pacific Science Center), and stocking up on provisions. We were like old-timey sailors on shore leave: minus the brothels, plus a massive Trader Joe’s list. And more than anything, we charted our meals like we were navigating the stars to find the promised land. With only so many meals, we had to be careful not to waste them. Thai, pizza, dumplings, sockeye, and delicious bakery bread all made the cut. Indian and sushi are on the agenda for the next trip. (And yes, I recognize that it may seem strange to leave the Salmon Capital of the World for three days only to get salmon elsewhere. It’s basically a combination of being boat-less, friends-with-boats-less, and the grocery stores in Ketchikan not selling local fish. The whole fishing thing here is a bit bewildering to a newcomer: a post for another day.)

I asked Flo if he missed this aspect of city life: stepping outside and just walking, with stops along the way to run all sorts of errands (we all got very mediocre haircuts at a walk-in place; the price one pays for speed, convenience, and cheapness.) We agreed that we missed it, except having come most recently from Los Angeles, that feeling is almost like being homesick for a place you’ve never been; it’s been a long time since we’ve really lived that kind of life. What we both love about the city as a construct is not endemic to life in So Cal. It’s why we loved living in Amsterdam, and why we’ve often talked about packing it up and going back to New York. Certain cities have a vibrancy that can be felt from the minute you step off the light rail and out into the rainy evening, and Seattle is one of those places. But there’s magic and beauty in the quiet too, in the slowness of small town life on a distant island. The bushes in our yard have finally stopped producing those big juicy blackberries, replacing them with hard little ones that take a lot longer to ripen, and possibly never will. The season is nearly over, and another season is here. This is how seasons work, of course, but it can be easy to miss when life is moving quickly and every falling leaf lands on concrete.

When we landed in Ketchikan, fewer than half the passengers got off the plane; everyone else was headed for Juneau. Alaska Airlines operates like Greyhound up here – they make a few stops and you get off when you need to. We stepped off the jetway and into the tiny terminal, then down the gangway towards the ferry. The lights of the town lit our dark passage across the Narrows. One small passenger had a new puppy she’d gotten in Portland. There was a group of laughing boys, a basketball team flying home from a game. High school athletes in Southeast Alaska (and I’m pretty sure the rest of the state) rack up a lot of air miles flying from game to game; members of the visiting team often stay at the homes of the local team, like foreign exchange students from a few hundred miles away. There’s something collegial about being an Alaskan. As independent as everyone is, there’s a spirit of generosity that runs through this place. An hour after we borrowed that sander a few weeks ago, pulled from the well-stocked basement of a friend, she knocked on our front door. She had mentioned the sander-lending to her husband and he told her it wasn’t working very well – so she ran to the hardware store at dinnertime, bought a new one and dropped it at our house. We’re all in this together.

We flew back from Seattle three months to the day from when we first arrived here. I mentioned to the same friend’s ten-year-old that we’d only been here for three months and she looked at me with big eyes. “Really?” she said. “It seems like you’ve been here for so long.” In many ways, it seems that way to me too. Sometimes you arrive somewhere you’ve never been and realize it’s a place you’ve been homesick for your whole life.