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thetrashqueeeen · 1 year

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the hunger games is having a resurgence and i’m back on my bullshit so i thought i would post what i always imagined the rest of effie’s life looked like

she stays in the capitol to begin with. katniss was shocked when she saw them kiss, but was hastily shut up by haymitch when she teased him and they never really spoke about effie much after that. effie called haymitch once a week, filling him in on the rebuilding efforts, her rapidly blooming social life, new fashion trends, inter-district moving and the latest in geese rearing tips(i’m a goose apologist here he keeps geese ok). he can tell something is off but he doesn’t realise how much of it is outright lies

effie wakes in the mornings screaming, the pain of whatever torture she was reliving rapidly dissolving as her bedroom sharpened into focus. She rarely leaves her apartment. she watches them rebuild from her window, her heart racing when unexpected bangs and crashes come from construction sites. she gets up later and later each day, sometimes not bothering to get out of bed at all. when she can’t face the nightmares, she goes to the roof of her building and screams off the edge until her voice is hoarse. she tells haymitch that she’s been out partying when she calls. her neighbourhood gets a reputation for being haunted, people say you can still hear the rebels screaming at night. her old friends are mostly dead and the ones that aren’t can’t face the memory of her as much as she can’t face the memory of them. they do try for a while, pretending that everything is fine for as long as they can ignore the frenzied fear right under the surface. the cocoon her life has become feels suffocating but ultimately comforting. she tells herself she’s fine, that this is fine. she doesn’t know why she lies to him when she calls.

she lasts a year. one afternoon, she’s on the phone with haymitch and he’s telling her about katniss and peeta. they’ve just gotten engaged for real and he’s chattering on about them in the way he does when he lets his guard down. his voice is so comforting and so nice and so homely that her heart clenches and her hand grips the phone so tightly the plastic nearly buckles in her grip. she closes her eyes so the only thing entering her brain is his voice. when they get off the phone she throws her favourite things into a suitcase, showers and gets dressed in actual clothes for the first time all week and walks to the train station before she can think about it too hard. the days she spends on the train pass quickly and she steps onto the platform at 12 in the middle of a deluge. she trudges over to victors village, her suitcase clattering over muddy paving stones. she steps into the square of victors village in the pouring rain, looking sullen, tired and thinner than when anyone last saw her. she’s filled with sudden unease, and stands still, not sure she has the nerve to go and bash on his door. she feels much too old for this, much to old to run away from her life without telling anyone, for a man who didn’t even invite her. she’s freezing. peeta notices her and goes to invite her in, but katniss stops him, seeing haymitch has set out to meet her in the square. as he gets closer he notices she looks like shit. she’s not dressed for the rain and her clothes cling to her depressingly, her hair is plastered to her face and she looks about as tired as he feels. she’s stood with her arms crossed tightly, looking like she might cry. he wraps his arms around her cold, sodden frame and it takes her a second, but she wriggles her arms out from between them and wraps her arms around his neck, stepping closer. they might be too old for this, but she can’t deny this is better than whatever she was doing before. he doesn’t kiss her there; it still feels too alien to not hide.

the next morning, effie pulls one of haymitch’s porch chairs to the edge of the veranda and basks in the rising sun, allowing it to warm her all the way through. he comes out with coffee an hour or so later, remembering she missed it in 13. peeta comes over to say hello and effie finally feels her heart slow down.

she gets used to the rhythms of 12. she did worry that too much time had passed for them, but they fall back together as they’re meant to. they bicker and debate through barely suppressed smiles and finally offer the overt support the other has always needed. when haymitch gets up to feed the geese at first light, he leaves her in bed alone and she rolls into the warm spot he leaves. he makes her coffee when he’s done and says it’s because he’d never hear the end of it if he didn’t. in reality he just can’t imagine not getting to see her lift her bleary head off the pillow, her blonde hair mused and her eyes flickering open. her hair is one of the things he loves the most. he teases her about her ‘lotions and potions’ but he spends hours running his hands through her hay-coloured waves. she lets it grow down to her shoulders for the first time since her baby hair was chopped off for wigs. she starts growing produce in the back garden. the first time katniss sees her, hair tied back with a patterned scarf, wearing dungarees and chunky boots, she laughs out loud so hard that effie’s in a huff with her for a whole week. she offers an apology only because her wedding simply will not happen without effie planning it.

one day, she gets up as soon as she hears haymitch go out the back door in the morning. she dresses in a baggy t-shirt and bright dungarees (she tries her best not to link the bright dungarees that being her so much joy to grey jumpsuits) and makes coffee for them both. he startles when he finds her at the kitchen table, but she just asks him if he knew she had a degree from capitol university. he didn’t. she tells him she wants to teach children in the school house and expects him to laugh. he does a little bit, but then tells he she’ll be fantastic and admired her as she marched out the door to go and talk to the head teacher. they start her out easy, but the children adore her funny accent, soft hair and bright clothes. she adores them all right back. effie has a gaggle of small children running around her for all of the wedding and katniss looks over her the entire day, smiling at her and haymitch playing with them all. peeta had been slowly beginning to raise the idea of a family, but katniss had been shutting it down forcibly every time. she walks over to peeta at the reception and draws his attention to the large game of tag effie was participating in. as haymitch starts hefting kids over his shoulder shouting ‘the monster’s coming’ katniss tells him she wants their first daughter to be called primrose, not prim- never prim, but primrose. they’ll be great surrogate grandparents, she tells him.

effie adores little Finnick from the moment he’s born. haymitch also adores the baby, but is much less willing to show it. katniss pretends to not notice he still shakes sometimes and he pretends he doesn’t only hold him when he’s sat down. a few years later, finnick is joined by primrose who is just as beautiful as her namesake. as soon as finnick is old enough to go to school, effie insists on teaching his class every year. once primrose is old enough she trades off each year, trying (and failing) to pretend they’re not her favourite. finnick trains as a carpenter and every time effie so much as mentions something that needs fixing in the house finnick is there with a toolbox and his father’s smile. primrose grows up in awe of her big brother, the boy who calls her pipsqueak, shared every glass of orange juice he’s ever drunk with her and copies her maths homework every days she can remember. when he starts his own business, she starts to keep his accounts. it’s the summer she turns 15. she carries on absorbing knowledge like a sponge, retaining every fact, theorem and topic effie gifts her with. effie is the first person she tells when she applies for a scholarship at capitol university. her mother is the first person she tells when she gets it. katniss cries soft, bittersweet tears when primrose tells her she’s going to study medicine at the big university in the capitol. effie hugs her so hard on the platform as she gets the train that she thinks she might snap. katniss is so happy that her children are no longer the children of the last victors. they are the carpenter and the doctor. they have never once chopped their dreams off at the knees just in case they get reaped. katniss and peeta cry at her loss, sure she will only return to visit. finnick and effie do not cry, they know she’s coming back. she comes back with a woman in tow, but she comes back none the less. effie plans her marriage to the woman they come to know as Evie. finnick gets married just a year after they do, and he and his wife have so many children, haymitch jokes they should start a football team.

effie and haymitch don’t get anywhere near as long as they deserve, but they do get 25 good years. haymitch is older than she is, and his body has been through a lot. when she pleads with him to go to the capitol for treatment, he begs her to understand why he can never go back there, and she finds she does. he passes in his own bed, with his wife laying next to him, stroking his hair with quiet reverence. the last thing he hears is her whispering quietly that she loves him more than anything. that she would go through all of it again for just one more day.

when haymitch is gone, effie retires from the school house and spends as much time as she can with katniss, peeta, finnick, primrose and their various broods. she fully expects to die of a broken heart, she considers it only right. she thinks often of the tired, scared woman who stood in the rain waiting for him. she does not die of a broken heart, much to her annoyance. she doesn’t even grow much weaker with age. she keeps the geese until the last one dies and never stops growing food in her garden. one hot day in summer, the whole family go down to the meadow to bask in the heat and watch the children play. ‘this is the life a victor deserves’ she tells katniss as they watch finnick and primrose play with the children. she lays down in the sun to have a nap, resting her head on katniss’s lap. she hears the children screech with laughter, she feels the warm sun on her skin and she passes quickly, her last breathe quiet and unnoticed. haymitch is waiting for her when she gets there.

#the hunger games #hayffie #everlark #they got a victors life in the end #haymitch x effie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark

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piratefishmama · 11 months

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Forgiven Not Forgotten | Part 7

Never let it be said that the Harringtons knew how to go small. They didn’t. The quaint little two bed they’d been living in was always going to be temporary if Steve came home. Even if it was now… technically theirs. It was a nice house, perfect for many a small family, which technically they were.

But they were also… filthy stinking rich.

The Harringtons didn’t really know how to go and stay small. Which is why by the following weekend, Eddie’s release from hospital looming upon them and the two bed house feeling more and more cramped by the day, they already had a cash offer in place on a five bedroom estate in Bloomington.

Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a finished basement games room, just under eight acres of land, a pool, and an extra little pool house outfitted as a detached bungalow on the property.

The little house they’d lived in… given it was theirs, well. They had no real plans for it yet. Selling it on was a potential, it was too far from the estate to even contemplate handing the keys to one of the families linked to theirs through their children’s shared trauma, although that’d be a nice gesture on their part, the idea of separating their kids after such an ordeal?

Nope. They’d clung to each other. Kept each other alive. They needed each other.

One of the reasons they even chose the bigger property was because “It’s big enough for you all to be there.” That’s what Lynda had told Steve when he’d asked about it. “It’s not going to happen for another couple of weeks, so the house is still going to be a little cramped with everyone in it, but…”

“We have no intentions of separating you from your family, Steven.” John finished for her, nodding over Steve’s shoulder to the multiple sets of eyes watching them. “Like your mother said, what we have now is too cramped, this new place will have plenty of room for everyone.”

“And… what about when their parents turn up?” Because it was a when, not an if. “Just gonna go back to an empty house?” They were operating on when. Nevermind that they’d never seen their parents get out of Hawkins. Nevermind that the only parent they knew for certain was alive and well outside of Joyce and Hopper, was Karen Wheeler, Ted having put himself between his kids and a Demogorgon during the early days and hadn’t come out as the victor. It didn’t matter that they’d seen horrors beyond anything a child should have to witness.

The kids needed to operate on when.

“Then we’ll help them find homes in the area, but until then, the house will be… a home base of sorts. A comfortable starting point for all of you so you’re not too far away from each other, it’ll never be an empty house, Steven. I know it might look like we’re just spending money for the sake of it but… it’s not like that anymore.” They weren’t doing that anymore. They’d found a better way than being away from home all the time. John worked from a home office and delegated important tasks and jobs to others to free up his time, and Lynda decided she wanted to be at home.

They were just glad Steve was allowing them to just decide to be there for him all of a sudden. He didn’t have to.

“…Forgive me if I still doubt that.” No amount of tearful apologies could erase all that history “But thanks, for… for thinking of us. It’s true, we kinda stuck together like glue after Mr Wheeler…” he trailed off. After they’d gotten Karen and Holly out of that house while Ted held back that shaking door, huge, clawed fingers tearing through wood. He still remembered Holly’s screams, still remembered Karen crying, begging them to go back as Nancy and Mike dragged her out, Holly running straight to Steve. “We were never far apart from each other.” It’d be weird without them, unsettling when the dust finally settled. When parents returned to claim their kids.

“And you wont be.” John placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, firm, squeezing it in comforting reassurance. “You won’t be.”

“Aaaand this is your room.” Had it not been for the fact that Eddie had been in a coma for the last god only knows, where he could, with rules, conjure ridiculous shit, he’d have probably assumed he was still out.

He had a room. In what was essentially. A mansion. But he’d never seen it before, so he wasn’t still in his funky little void because he wouldn’t have been able to conjure it.

Only what he’d seen, only places he’d been.

He had his own room. Bigger than his old one at the trailer because of course it was. Currently empty of personal belongings, void of personality, but Steve was holding boxes. Boxes with stuff in them, rolled up tubes of paper, stuff wrapped in newspapers, and he was setting those boxes down one by one inside the room. “…What’s in those?”

“Shit we saved from the trailer, it’s not much but… it’s something.” Eddie silently turned to just. Stare at him. Brows furrowed, confusion so evident Steve had to ask “what?”

“…How long has it been since I died, Steve?” He had to ask again, just to be sure of something, even if it was a weird question to ask.

“Bout two years, why?”

“… And in that time, Hawkins basically ate shit, right?”

“Yup, where’s this going?”

“How’d you save my stuff for that long? Why did you save my stuff for that long? Shit couldn’t have been easy to keep safe, right? So… why?” Steve fell silent, his jaw shifting, lips pursing, visibly going through all the possible reasons he could have saved that stuff, all the reasons why he would have saved that stuff, all the potential excuses, the boy would be terrible at poker.

He settled on shrugging his shoulders.

“Because I did. Because I could. Like I said, it’s not much.” It was so much. Not quantity wise, no… Steve was right there wasn’t much in those boxes, probably why Steve could carry multiple at a time but it meant so much. Steve obviously wasn’t going to go into the why’s or the how’s with him though. He was going to brush them away, without answers. “We saved some mugs, there’s some posters in here, uhh, I got a bunch of your tapes and your deck, I wish I could say I saved your guitars but… I’m sorry man, it was just too risky carting around something that could make noise. I think… they might still be there but—”

“It’s fine, Steve… this—this is way more than I could have asked for.” He could always get a new guitar, eventually. It’d mean saving up somehow, or using some of the hush money that the government had promised him for signing, he was planning on using that to find Wayne though.

It’d been over a week, the hospital had slowly been cleared of survivors, the Sinclair’s were the only parents who’d made it thus far, having been staying with Sue’s sister a few towns over doing the exact same thing as the Harringtons. Waiting. Hoping. Praying for news on their kids, any news. Anything.

They’d taken the Harrington’s offer to stay in the converted pool house with Karen until they could get housing arranged, the kids staying in the main house with everyone else.

“Yeah well… we’ll sort you out a new one eventually. Can’t leave the bard without his instrument, right?” Eddie’s wide eyes were on him again, a beaming smile spreading across his lips, dimpling his cheeks, stretching the scar tissue on his jaw, and Steve had to look away, he had to, because otherwise he just might fall again, and he couldn’t… he couldn’t make that mistake twice.

“Be still my beating heart, was that a D&D reference, Harrington?” He could feel the warmth seeping into his cheeks at the attention, as Eddie leaned in a little closer, got into his space, it’d been so long since someone had paid him any attention. Even if it meant nothing to Eddie, even if he was just being silly, be still his own beating heart.

“Maybe. Now get to unpacking your shit.” He put the last of the boxes down on the bed, purposefully turning away from Eddie to hide his reddening face, to hide what he knew Eddie had never wanted to see. “We’ll be heading out into town in an hour to find us all some new clothes, maybe some new stuff for the rooms too. Hop to it.”

“You’re not gonna help lil ol me unpack? I just got out of hospital!” Eddie called after him as Steve made to leave the room.

“With a clean bill of health! You can manage a few boxes!” And he was gone. Running away. Like a coward.

#PirateWrites #ForgivenNotForgottenFiclet #Steddie #Post!S5 #Mentions of Kas Eddie #Hurt/Comfort #Miscommunication

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apocalypseornaw · 11 months

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Games

Campfires, Twister and confessions

Drinking games gone right

Warnings: cursing, mention of sexual themes

How the hell had a simple "Let's have a campfire" turn into this? Posted around the fire was damn near everyone you knew. Jody and Donna sat on a log with Bobby, the girls had already gone in. Eileen and Sam were sitting next to each other, you were sharing a blanket on the ground with Max and Alicia while Dean was talking to Ty and Garth. A few more hunters were there that had been inducted into not quite the inner circle but the outer inner circle. Madelyn, Isaiah and Victor being a few of them.

Somewhere between the girls and Garth's kids going to bed alcohol had been brought out. "I got an idea!" Alicia spoke and you turned to look at her "Yes dear?" She grinned brightly "Let's play twister!" You shook your head with a laugh "No way" under the best and most sober circumstances you wouldn't have agreed to that. You hadn't played twister since you were a teenager hanging out at the roadhouse with Jo and Ash, not only that but the crush you were harboring on the eldest Winchester had just gotten worse in the months since you moved into the bunker with him and Sam.

Your eyes drifted towards Dean. He was laughing at something Ty had said. The sound warmed you more than the fire even could. When exactly had you fallen for him? It wasn't a question you could answer because it hadn't been a one moment deal. No he'd snuck his way into your heart with every smile, every touch and every kind word or gesture.

You knew Madelyn also had eyes for Dean, it was obvious to anyone that watched and if you were being honest with yourself she was a better match for him than you. You were grouped as a friend to him. Someone who would have his back in a fight, not someone to love. You sighed slightly looking away from Dean back to Alicia as she said "Oh come on! Garth said he has a mat! Bobby, Jody and Donna are sober enough to be the spinner! It'll be fun!"

Victor met your eyes then cut his eyes at Max "Yeah Y/N it could be fun" you groaned inwardly. Of course Victor would wrangle you into helping with the crush he had on Max. Well if you played with the two of them it wouldn't get too awkward considering. A few other people agreed so you nodded begrudgingly "Why not?"

Dean watched you help Alicia block down the twister mat so it wouldn't slide around too much. You laughed when she slid across the mat to you. He smiled at hearing the sound.

Somewhere along the line of you moving into the bunker his feelings had shifted from thinking you were an amazing woman to wondering if he'd ever have a chance with you. You were everything he could've picked in a match and so much more. You were more than capable in the hunting world, absolutely beautiful and would stand your ground against anyone and anything.

He didn't want to admit how deep the feelings he had for you ran because for the simple fact love didn't work out for people like him. He didn't want to lose you just because he loved you and that seemed like his track record. His love was a curse.

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"Ok we have ten people. How do we divide it up?" Alicia asked but before you could suggest Sam shook his head "Eight, me and Eileen aren't playing" you stuck your bottom lip out with a laugh "Ok then eight. So two go rounds of four. Losers have to drink, winners go on to face the other winner?"

Alicia grinned "Let's pick the teams!" It ended up being you, Victor, Max and Ty on one team while Dean, Alicia, Madelyn and Isaiah was on the other. Of course it was your luck that Max lost the game of rock, paper, scissors to Alicia so your team went first.

You laughed when your hand started to slide. Max's longer body was stretched over you and the only rhino that kept you from hitting the dirt was Ty holding one hand onto your waist to allow you a moment to regain your balance. Victor had already bailed because he fell trying to reach under you.

"Right foot green" Bobby called out and you heard Ty groan a moment before he cursed and hit the dirt. You pulled your right foot up hearing a whistle from Alicia at the angle it put you at "Bite me Banes!" You hollered hearing a "Hey!" From Max.

"Then there were two!" Sam laughed. You cut your eyes up at him "Excuse me moose but I don't see you trying this!" "Left foot blue!" Donna called out and when Max seen how he'd have to move he let out a low whistle "Nope. Y/N wins it!"

The moment he moved you were on your feet. "Technically I won but I still need a drink while the next round happens"

You sat down next to Sam taking the drink Eileen offered as the next team got ready. You weren't eager to watch Madelyn and Dean get as close as you and Max had but oh well. He wasn't yours, not in that way.

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Dean cut his eyes at you already regretting not dipping out of this. Watching you under Max wasn't that bad, watching Ty steady you with a hand on your waist however? That made that jealous streak flare up in him.

"Worse ways to lose" Madelyn spoke from where she'd fell under Dean. You rolled your eyes taking another shot. Why had you agreed to this?

She got up (with Dean's help of course) and grabbed his arm "Let's get a drink" he rubbed his back "Yeah I think I need one" you spoke up, your inner lips loosened by the alcohol "Wanna just forfeit then Winchester? You know you ain't as young as you used to be, maybe you ain't as flexible either"

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Dean stopped in his tracks. You weren't drunk by no means but you'd gotten just enough alcohol in you he could hear the small simmer of anger in your voice that anyone else would've missed. Hold on, were you jealous over Madelyn?

He raised an eyebrow "That sounded like a challenge sweetheart" you grinned "Cause it was" a chorus of "Oohhh" went around the group. Dean nodded, drink long forgotten "Cmon then"

You sat the bottle in your hand down. "Let's do it"

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You were determined to win this damn game. Bobby, Jody and Donna had called it a night so Sam was the spinner.

The position you were currently in was less then ideal though. You were halfway under Dean, both of you working to beat the other and you weren't sure why either of you were being so damn competive.

"Left foot yellow" Sam called and you groaned before muttering "Fuck it" you slid under Dean to move your foot up to the yellow mark that was right next to his left hand. The angle meant your ass was firmly against his crotch. "God dammit" he breathed and you glanced over your shoulder at him "Tapping out?" He grinned "Never sweetheart" he shifted slightly and you bit your lip. Fuck why had you been eager to tease yourself?

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If Dean was being honest he was moments from tapping and asking you if you wanted to take a walk with him. The feeling only got worse when you nearly lost your footing and had to readjust your hips which meant your ass rubbing back against him.

It took every ounce of willpower he had to not roll his hips forward. Fuck he wanted you under him without so many eyes or so many clothes in the way. You shifted again and he couldn't stop the light groan that escaped him.

"Right foot blue" he looked down and cursed "Fuck it. I give Y/N wins it" he moved to sit back on his heels and you turned with your back against the mat to look up at him "I made Dean Winchester tap. I feel like I need a t-shirt made or something"

Ty moved to offer you a hand up so you took it while Dean took the drink Sam offered.

After twister a lot of people started heading for tents or the cabin. You were still sitting on a log watching the embers of the fire burn down. Ty sat next to you while Dean sat across from you with Madelyn and Isaiah.

She was flirting her ass off and you weren't sure if it was working or not. Ty had tried flirting but when you shut it down he was a gentleman about it. "I'm going to my tent!" You announced, standing up. Dean's eyes tracked your movements before he said "Can we take a walk first Y/N?" You saw the look that flashed through Madelyns eyes before she said "Well I'm headed into the cabin"

She walked off so you motioned to Dean "Lead the way" Isaiah offered to put out the embers while Ty headed the other way to his own tent. You walked next to Dean. He'd sat up your tent right next to his own. They were tucked between the impala and a wall of the cabin.

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You waited until you'd gotten out of earshot of Isaiah to say "Something wrong?" He stopped you with a hand on your arm "Yeah" you turned to face him, worry flushing the jealousy out of your system "What?"

He looked back towards where the fire had been before saying "Is there something between us for you? Because I've been biting my tongue, thinking it would fade or maybe hoping you'd find someone good enough for you but seeing Ty touch you? Feeling you under me, even if it was clothed and mostly innocent. I'm gonna feel like an asshole here if not but sweetheart I've had feelings for you for a while. If you don't feel the same way we'll forget this conversation ever happened and I promise you there will be no awkwardness"

Your heart was in your throat at his confession "And if I feel the same?" He let a smirk slip onto his face "Then I'd ask if I could kiss you" you pulled him down to you. The moment his lips met yours you felt your knees weaken slightly. Fuck the man could kiss. He licked into your mouth, rolling his tongue against yours and relishing in the sounds he was pulling from you.

You pulled away from each other, chests heaving slightly "If I asked you to share my tent?" You asked and he raised an eyebrow "In a you want me sleeping next to you way or" "in a I want to be under you without the clothes or it being innocent way" you cut him off and he groaned leaning his head down against your neck "I'd say I'm the luckiest man alive" you grabbed his hand, pulling him towards your tent "Cmon then Winchester let's see who taps first this time"

#dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader #spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction

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stargazer-sims · 3 months

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The More Things Change...

... the more they stay the same.

Victor and Yuri have grown a lot since their early days together, but no matter how much time passes, some things remain as consistent as ever.

Yuri matured significantly and managed to conquer his paralyzing self-doubt. He runs his own successful communications firm now and is well respected in the business community. But, he still dissolves into a sad little puddle and demands all the attention when he's not feeling well.

As for Victor, he's still working at the hospital and he continues feeling fulfilled by his profession. He likes caring for all his patients and makes their comfort his priority, but the patient who'll always be first on his list of priorities is the clingy and still impossibly cute one he has at home.

Yuri: I’m sorry I’m ruining your day off. I know you wanted to go biking with Davey and Lindsey, but now you’re stuck with me instead.

Victor: I’d rather be stuck with you than with anybody else.

Yuri: Not when I’m ill.

Victor: Any time, no matter what. You know that.

Yuri: I feel bad that you’re missing your adventure because of me.

Victor: It’s okay. The mountain bike trails aren’t about to disappear, and the weather will probably be warm enough for a few more weeks. I’ll have other chances to go.

Yuri: I wish I wasn’t so anxious about being alone. Otherwise, you could’ve gone anyway.

Victor: Honestly, I’m anxious about you being alone when you’re sick, too. Even if you didn’t mind, I don’t think I could’ve just left you.

Yuri: I need you.

Victor: I know.

Yuri: You make it better. I know that probably sounds like a silly thing to say since you can't actually make it hurt less, but you just... make it better. I don't know how to explain it.

Victor: It’s all right. You don’t have to explain anything.

Yuri: Stay close to me. Please.

Victor: I'm here.

Yuri: I was doing so well for so long, but I suppose this was inevitable. They don't call it a chronic illness for no reason, do they?

Victor: I'll take care of you. Don't worry.

Yuri: I know you will, but that doesn't stop me from wishing this wasn't happening.

Victor: Do you think you’d be more comfortable in bed? I can go upstairs with you and we can cuddle for a while if you want. Maybe I could give you a belly rub.

Yuri: I’d really like a belly rub, but I’m not certain I can move. Not until the painkillers start to work.

Victor: That bad?

Yuri: Yes. It's that awful cramping pain, like someone's twisting my insides.

Victor: Do you feel nauseous too?

Yuri: Mm-hmm. I've been feeling uncomfortable for the past few days, but it's gotten quite a lot worse since this morning.

Victor: You didn’t say anything.

Yuri: The pain was manageable, and I've been busy. But I'm worried this might be the start of a new flare-up, and I don't have time for my body to betray me like that right now. I've got too much work to do.

Victor: I don't think your body understands your work schedule, love.

Yuri: *grumbling* Stupid body.

Victor: *laughing* Would it be inappropriate for me to say how ridiculously adorable you are?

Yuri: Probably, but I won't complain.

Victor: Let me know when you feel like you can move. I'll help you upstairs, and I'll take your temperature.

Yuri: Do I feel warm?

Victor: A little.

Yuri: Oh... brilliant. This had better not be another infection, or I'll—

Victor: What?

Yuri: I'll cry. I'll quite literally cry.

Victor: It might not be as bad as you think.

Yuri: What if it is?

Victor: If you have a fever or if you're still in a lot of pain tomorrow, I'll take you to the urgent care clinic. In the meantime, try to rest, okay?

Yuri: Maybe we should go now. I mean, not this minute, but when Caroline gets back from shopping with your mother.

Victor: Do you want me to text Mom and let her know what's up? I'm sure Caroline can have dinner with her and Julian, and hang out there for the evening.

Yuri: No, it's fine. I can wait until she gets back at least, and I think she's old enough to stay by herself while we're gone.

Victor: I don't like the idea of her staying alone, and I'm not sure I can handle being worried about both of you.

Yuri: If anything happens, your parents are across the street.

Victor: You're not concerned at all?

Yuri: Of course, but she's seventeen years old. She needs to be independent at some point.

Victor: I know, but maybe not at this specific point. Maybe we can let her stay on her own for a few hours when you're feeling better, when we can both be available if she needs anything.

Yuri: You know you're being overprotective, don't you?

Victor: You say that like it's bad.

Yuri: It's not necessarily bad. You can overprotect me all you want, but Caroline has a much different temperament than me, and she might not always appreciate being protected as much as I do. I think you need to let go, just a little.

Victor: I don't know. I don't like it.

Yuri: What do you want to do, then?

Victor: I still think she should stay with Mom and Julian.

Yuri: Okay.

-----

Caroline: I'm back from shopping! I can't wait to show you the cute... Oh! Papa, what's wrong?

Yuri: It's all right, Caroline.

Caroline: How is it all right? Are you sick? You were fine when I left. Was it something you ate, or...?

Victor: Papa hasn't been feeling good for the past few days. It seems it finally caught up with him.

Caroline: You're going to take him to the doctor, right?

Victor: We were just talking about that, as a matter of fact. We decided we're going to urgent care.

Caroline: Urgent care? But that's like, for when it's really serious. Papa, you haven't needed to go there in ages. Not since just after we got back from Sulani last time. That's like, almost two years. This isn't going to be like the times you've had to be in the hospital for weeks, is it? 'Cause those are terrifying.

Yuri: That's what I'm hoping to avoid.

Caroline: Well, if you're going to the urgent care clinic, I'm coming with you. I'll hold your hand while we're waiting, and I'll do whatever you need me to.

Yuri: Well, I guess that's your dilemma sorted, Victor.

Caroline: What dilemma?

Yuri: He didn't want you to stay here by yourself.

Caroline: What are you even talking about? There's no way I'd stay here by myself in this situation. LIke, I'm already freaking out, so can you imagine how much worse it'd be if I was here worrying about you all alone?

Yuri: I thought you might like to have the house to yourself.

Caroline: Maybe if it was just a normal day and I had a few hours to myself to do something fun, but not right now. Maybe you can let me have the house to myself some other time. You know, like when you're feeling better and I'm not losing my mind over all the worst-case scenarios and stuff.

Victor: There's not going to be a worst-case scenario.

Caroline: I'm coming with you so I can hear the doctor say that.

Victor: Because I'm totally not a fully-qualified registered nurse.

Caroline: Victor, that's not what I mean! You totally are, but you know there's a hierarchy or whatever. Husband first, then nurse. And you can't say there isn't, because I've seen you acting even more panicked than me when Yuri's sick, and I know for sure you'd never be like that with your patients.

Victor: I do not panic. I'm one hundred percent calm. Trust me, I'm a professional.

Yuri: I don't think you're convincing her, love.

Caroline: You're not. Now, stop pretending to be a tough guy, 'cause we all know the truth. And don't tell me I'm not allowed to come with you because this is one time I'm not gonna do as I'm told.

Yuri: Oh? Just this one time?

Caroline: Ugh! You guys are so infuriating! How can I even love you so much when you're so annoying?

Victor: We're not going to tell you not to come. I'd like it if you did.

Yuri: I would too. I certainly wouldn't turn down the offer of you holding my hand while we're waiting.

Caroline: I know that's not much. It's not going to fix anything, but I also know you really don't like going to the doctor, so hopefully it'll make the whole thing a bit easier.

Yuri: Don't say it's not much. You might be surprised how much it truly can fix when you know you're with somebody who loves you.

#ts4 #sims 4 #willow creek #willow creek haunted house #Yuri Okamoto #Victor Nelson #Caroline Okamoto-Nelson #stargazersims

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hitchell-mope · 1 year

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At this point I have to wonder

Does anyone on tumblr actually like the genre of the shows they watch anymore? Wednesday, supernatural, stranger things. None of them are ever going to be the peppy, inoffensive milquetoast, glurge fest they want it to be. For example

The possibility of Xavier being Wednesday’s stalker and Tyler being a serial killer exponentially increases the chances of her choosing one of them. The only things standing in the way of either happening is Wednesday getting Xavier arrested, which he seems to have gotten over pretty quickly may I say, and the fact Tyler made her look foolish. The creepier they are the more interested she is. She’s not a normal person. She doesn’t live by normal person rules. It’s an Addams family murder mystery, comedy, whodunnit. I’ll say it again Addams. Family. They don’t work by a normal morality system. You complain they seem too normal. Then you complain when Wednesday night get with a creepy boy. Make up your damn minds and get with the genre already. You might enjoy it more

I have no doubt that hellers like to go on about how Dean’s “cray cray”. But then he wants to get into bed with the car he was conceived and raised in. Or he puts everyone in the universe in the line of fire on the 0.1% chance it’ll save Sam. Then they go “oh god no. Too crazy. We should make unfounded baseless think pieces about how he likes to dye his hair unflattering colours and slow dances with his roadkill boyfriend on the beach at sunset to completely out of character music”. That’s not Dean. That’s not supernatural. That’s what Victor Frankenstein thought Adam was. A nonsensical, monstrous, mishmash filled with unfulfilled expectations. And the hellers are ostriches with the heads in the sand because the truth will upset their “delicate sensibilities”. And yet they still play the victim.

Stranger things is a horror show. Not a campy eighties set comedy. Horror. So the cries of “make Will the main character and let him be happy” is a veritable oxymoron. He’s either the focus and he suffers beyond belief like in season two. Or he’s in the background and safe-ish. And besides. He’s not The Main Character. He never really was. He’s A main character, sure. But The Main Characters are Joyce, Jim, Mike and Jane. First four credited. And the ones who do the most legwork. I love Will. I do. He’s a great character. Even if he did get a little too bitchy in seasons three and four. But the fact of the matter is. He was the goal in season one and a chess piece for the Mind flayer in season two. He suffers less otherworldly torment in 3&4 because he isn’t the goal or chess piece anymore. It might be an ensemble show. But there are de facto main characters. Four in fact. But contrary to major belief. None of them are Will. If some of you learn to accept that. Then you might get a little less testy and be able to enjoy the show for what it is instead of what you’ve imagined.

All three are great shows. Well. Supernatural could stand to treat Sam a lot better. But the streamlined inoffensive claptrap some fans think it should be isn’t it. And it will never be it. It’s better how it is and some fans just have to accept that. Although I doubt they ever will

TL;DR: Wednesday, supernatural and stranger things are great, interesting and most of all dark shows. Removing the darkness removes everything that makes it interesting. Cutting and pruning them until they’re unrecognisable just leaves you with a blob fish slowly dying for lack of water. The shows are more than just what some fans think is or should be palatable. And the sooner some fans realise that the better the fandoms will be.

#the addams family #wednesday addams #xavier thorpe #wavier #tyler galpin #wyler #supernatural #dean winchester #baby the impala #sam winchester #anti castiel #anti destiel #stranger things #will byers #anti byler #(just to be safe)

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simulation-machine · 9 months

Text

The last of the homed San Myshuno residents from left to right: Salim Benali, Diego Lobo, and Penny Pizzazz!

The Sims 4 subreddit has an unquenchable thirst for Salim, but it feels very different from its love of Vladdy Daddy, Kyle Kyleson, and Victor Feng. This is because the rumor is that Salim Benali helps to produce very pretty babies. I have never had a sim of mine bed him, so I wouldn't know, but it's helpful information to have! He has been married to Kayla Flemming though, which is funny since he's lazy and she’s athletic.

Diego Lobo has always been like, hella gay to me. He's a spicy boy with very big opinions and a keen eye for visual art. As mentioned before, he usually gets with Izzy Fabulous. Diego Lobo is a hot-head, so he starts fights, but Izzy seems pretty good at getting him to calm down, or distract him by being goofy or tripping over something.

Penny Pizzazz is the brokest little fashionista we know, trying to get her blog about SanMy viral so that she can afford better shoes and authentic brand purses. She and Jesminder have always gotten together after the Bheeda Divorce (which always happens in my saves). They help raise the unborn Bheeda baby and co-parent with Arun very well. I'd probably get them to have a science baby together sometime.

Annnnnd with this post, I only have 10 sims left, aside from the ones that generate after the game gets played (like Erwin Pries and Greg). They'll be spread throughout something like 4-6 posts, depending on how I end up feeling as I edit them.

#sims 4 makeovers #city living sims #salim benali #diego lobo #penny pizzazz #btw this simblr is wcif friendly but because of my organization method the best i can do is giving the website for the creator #I have literally 150+ GB of CC #there is no way i can track down all of it specifically

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elisaphoenix13 · 1 year

Text

Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

Like most families, late evenings were Stephen's time to wind down. The boys were awake but in their rooms for the night and wouldn't need his attention unless there was an emergency, and all three girls were asleep. Lucy had just fallen asleep so Tony was upstairs on his Starkpad making sure the little girl would stay asleep, but he would likely join Stephen in the next ten minutes to wind down with him.

The sorcerer was already starting by heading into the kitchen and opening the freezer to grab some chocolate ice cream. He had to bend a little further than usual because of course everything got buried or misplaced when someone went looking for their own thing, but he was determined to get his chocolate fix. Especially since Valerie wouldn't be eating off of his plate. Or in this case, his spoon.

He didn't even process the sound of the elevator opening as he searched for his elusive ice cream, but he did process the rather surprising and abrupt smack to his ass that almost made him jump. It left a sting behind from the strength and force of it and he turned to reprimand Tony.

"Damn, Sugar, if y'wanna popsicle you just hafta asss…" A snicker. "Ask."

It. Was. Not. Tony.

Stephen couldn't decide whether to be mortified or to laugh because in Quill's defense, the kitchen light was not on and the light in the freezer wasn't great.

The man was also drunk. It was a wonder the god could get drunk since he literally manipulated energy and light, so he must have gotten into the Asgardian ale and gotten off at the wrong floor. So as calmly as possible, Stephen finally found and retrieved his ice cream while Quill sniggered to himself about something, closed the freezer, and walked over to the light switch to flick it on.

Quill blinked back at him, looked him up and down, and sniggered again. "Yer magic 's gettin' good. Didn't know you could turn into Stef–Ste–Mom."

Stephen rolls his eyes. If there had been a physical representation of the alcohol Quill had sustained in his body, it would be up to his eyeballs. "VICTOR, please ask Scott to come get his very lost, and very drunk husband before he continues to molest me."

"Scott is currently out of town until the end of the week." The AI responds apologetically. "Shall I get Cassie?"

"No. I'm not going to–" Stephen starts but then the elevator opens again and the teen herself walks off.

"Ugh. There you are. You're hopeless when Dad's gone." Cassie walks over to Quill and links her arm with his. "Come on Papa. I think you need to go to bed now."

Stephen watches with some amusement as Quill looks down at her before saying, "but wha' about Scotty?"

"Dad isn't here remember? That's Mom."

"Huh…" Quill glances at Stephen again. "No wonder Tony taps that."

Cassie chokes and Stephen covers his face with a long-suffering sigh. "I apparently look like Scott when the kitchen is pitch dark with only the freezer as light. Do you deal with this everytime Scott is out of town?"

"No. He's usually busy with work too. But sometimes he has a day off and he gets drunk because he misses Dad. It's okay though. He's really easy to take care of. As long as I keep an eye on him and direct him to bed, he'll go to sleep and be fine in the morning. He's kind of like you when he's drunk. He just needs something to cuddle…but it has to be living. He passes out once he glomps onto me." Cassie shrugs. "I tried Emir but it's not the same for him."

Stephen frowns. "He doesn't…do anything does he?"

Cassie gags. "Oh god no. If he did I wouldn't deal with it. He's drunk but he knows it's me. He gives me extreme Papa Bear cuddles when he's drunk. Somehow he's more protective."

The sorcerer sighs with relief. "Well you better get him to bed before he decides on revisiting his old crush on Tony."

"I will die if that beast tries anything with me." Tony mumbles as he joins them in the kitchen. "I like my ass the way it is and I don't bottom to anyone. Especially not to him."

"Please stop. My ears are bleeding." Cassie gags and starts tugging Quill back over to the elevator. "Come on Papa."

Quill went without argument and as soon as the door closed on them, Stephen winced and rubbed the spot the god had not so gently slapped. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a bruise already forming. Normally if it had been Tony to deliver the blow, other parts of him would have been very interested, but he supposed some part of him knew it hadn't been so it wasn't an instant turn on. Maybe it was the strength behind it.

"What did I miss?" Tony asks curiously as he watches Stephen rub the sore area of his rear.

"Quill's drunk and mistook me for Scott. My ass will likely have a reminder of it in the morning."

Tony smirks. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"Maybe after I eat some of my ice cream." Stephen mumbles, getting a spoon from the drawer and taking it over to the living room to sit on the couch.

Fortunately it seemed Tony was content with Stephen's answer…and he was successfully distracted by the jaguar insistently nudging his head under Tony's arm. Apollo turned out to be loyal and reliable much like Athena, but he was just a little bit…needier? He was nowhere near Flynn's level but it was likely that the large cat was mistreated to some degree. Like Emir had been. Apollo had been on the black market after all.

Stephen ate his ice cream and watched TV in peace, and when they were finished, he and Tony both decided to call it a night and retired to bed. There was no lovemaking, but Tony did get as far as getting them both undressed and giving every inch of Stephen gentle attention. He even followed through with his promise of kissing the forming bruise on the sorcerer's rear. Stephen would have normally been exasperated but Tony had been trailing kisses all over his body and drawing relaxed sighs from him that he couldn't find it in him to care.

Sometimes the gentle touches were all Stephen needed. Tonight it was enough to lull him into a dreamless sleep.

====

Tony woke up the next morning to his chest vibrating. It simply took him opening his eyes to find out it was because of a certain overgrown black cat lazing on him, and he pushed at Apollo.

"Get off. You have your own space."

Tony grunts, relieved when the jaguar gets up and returns to his spot at the foot of the bed next to Athena. He laid his head next to the wolf's, who didn't even huff. She was already used to Apollo's disruptions.

"Steph…" Tony rolls onto his side and wraps an arm around his spouse, minorly surprised when the sorcerer doesn't respond. "Stephen."

Stephen still didn't respond and Tony decided to let him sleep for a little while longer. He clearly needed the sleep and the two youngest girls weren't demanding his attention yet. At least if Diana needed something, she was willing to ask Tony about it. She was more likely to go find Cassie though. Tony would worry about Quill recovering from a hangover, but to everyone's irritation, the god didn't suffer from them.

Bastard.

Tony thought about staying in bed and relaxing for a bit longer, but then decided that it was a good day to make breakfast for the family. He didn't do it very often and considering Stephen was still passed out, the former doctor probably needed some breakfast in bed. The man did enough, everything under the sun, and definitely deserved it.

Not that Tony didn't spoil him anyway.

So as quietly as possible, he slipped out of bed and got dressed before heading downstairs to start breakfast. It would be the usual large assortment since it was all eaten anyway and the kids were more likely to eat better with a variety of choices. Especially the girls. Although Valerie would eat anything on Stephen's plate…sometimes even William's. The plate sharing thing was likely part of her attachment but neither of them seemed to mind sharing with her.

It was in the middle of cooking breakfast when the kids started to wake up to the smell, and Valerie came into the kitchen holding her Mooey and looking a little upset.

"What's wrong topolina?" Tony asks softly.

"Mama not waking up." She responds.

Tony frowns. "Still?"

Harley entered next looking equally worried and holding Lucy who looked like she had been crying. Now she just looked grumpy. "Yeah, Lucy was crying and Mom slept through it. Is he okay?"

"As far as I know." Tony answers and wipes his hands on a kitchen towel before holding his hands out for Lucy. "Give me Lulu and finish breakfast while I check on Mom?"

"Sure," Harley nods and hands his youngest sister over to his father and then takes Tony's place at the stove. "Come on Val, wanna help me out until Will wakes up?"

"Okay." Tony hears the quiet response as he leaves the kitchen and heads back up to the master bedroom.

Just like Valerie and Harley said, Stephen was still asleep and seemingly dead to the world. A thought that worried Tony so he walked over and checked to make sure his spouse had a pulse and breathing. He did have both at a steady rate, so Tony tried shaking him awake again, but to no avail.

"Steph." Tony says loudly with another attempt at shaking his shoulder. "You alright?"

No response. Not even when Lucy rather loudly demanded her mother's attention. Something that would have woken the sorcerer up from a dead sleep. Hell, even Valerie walking into the room for his attention would have done it too. Which made Tony worry even more. He tried checking for a fever next because usually that was one of the rare reasons Stephen slept like this…but there was nothing. Stephen was seemingly healthy as a horse…so Tony could only think of one thing.

Magic.

Stephen never used magic on himself to sleep, even if he was desperate for rest because he always wanted to be available for his children or for emergencies. He rarely even used it on the kids or team members. If he did it was for their safety or the safety of others. So if this was magic, had something or someone done this to him?

Tony grabbed his phone and decided to call Wong as William walked in. "Val and Harls told me Mom isn't waking up."

"I'm calling Wong. It might be–hey," he says when the sorcerer picks up. "I might be in need of some magical advice."

Wong sighs heavily. "Isn't that what your wife is for?"

"Ordinarily, yes, but he's the problem this time."

"What is it this time? Merman? Wolf?" Wong asks, sounding bored.

"No. He won't wake up." Tony says.

The line goes silent and he pulls his phone away to look at it, finding that the other man had indeed hung up on him, but before he could call Wong back, there was the unmistakable sound of a gateway forming behind him. Wong stepped through into the room moments later and immediately walked over to the bed to look the Sorcerer Supreme over as Tony and William watched curiously. Wong was hard to read at the best of times so they weren't sure if the situation was serious, but after a few minutes of Wong casting various spells, he sighed.

"It's not serious." Wong finally says. "It's exhaustion caused by astral projecting too much for too long."

Tony frowns and says, "so he just needs to sleep it off?"

"Yes and no. Sleeping it off can take longer than the alternative option."

"What's the alternative option?" William asks.

"There's a reason we call it Sleeping Beauty Syndrome." Wong snorts.

"Sleeping Beaut–" Realization dawns on Tony and he gives the sorcerer a flat look. "You're kidding right?"

"True love's kiss is a thing, just not the way the fairy tales portray it. Unfortunately most of the Sorcerer Supremes of the past didn't have someone like Stephen has you. So they had to sleep it off." Wong says and Tony raises an eyebrow.

"And how long would it take?"

Wong shrugs. "Days, weeks, years."

"Yeah…this family can't function without him for five minutes so we'll take the easy way." Tony snorts.

He moves back over to Stephen after Wong steps aside with a sarcastic "hopefully you're actually his true love" which Tony deftly ignores after panicking about it for a split second. If he wasn't Stephen's true love, then he had better have an explanation if it wasn't one of the kids. Tony honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be Valerie.

But he leaned over to kiss Stephen after setting Lucy on the bed, and just when Tony was starting to believe that maybe he wasn't Stephen's true love, the man inhaled sharply and started to open his eyes. Lucy decided to help with the process by slapping his face in the way only a small toddler can.

"Ow." Stephen grumbles and opens his eyes to find three other people looking down at him. "Since when has watching me sleep become a spectator sport?"

"When you decided to overuse astral projection." Wong huffs. "Your husband had to call me because you had Sleeping Beauty Syndrome."

Stephen sits up and rubs his face as Lucy squeals happily–probably because she thought her slap helped wake Mama up. "I didn't realize I used it that much. I'll try to be more careful."

"Thanks," Tony says to Wong and motions to the bedroom door. "You want breakfast?"

"Yes."

The sorcerer abruptly turned and left the room and Tony couldn't help but laugh a little.

"We should feed him more often." Then Tony looks back at Stephen and folds his arms. "I should ground you from chocolate for worrying me and the kids."

"I promise it wasn't intentional." Stephen says as Athena finally walks up the bed to him to lick him.

"I'm glad you're okay." William says softly, reminding Tony the teen was still there. "Val was a little upset and worried."

"I'll apologize to her." Stephen says.

"Part of your apology could probably be letting her sit in your lap and eating off your plate." Tony says humorously.

"She does that anyway." Stephen says, getting up and digging some clothes out of the dresser and getting dressed. Tony smiles and turns him back around and holds his waist, making Stephen blush a little. "What?"

"I love you too Duchess." Tony grins.

"Douchebag."

"Harley's right. You can be vomit-inducing." William says as he picks Lucy up from the bed. "I'll leave you to your…grossness."

When William leaves with Lucy, Tony bursts into laughter. "Grossness?! Harley is definitely rubbing off on him."

Stephen smirks. "I think he's just realizing that he and Harley are getting to that point too."

"What kind of parents would we be if we didn't gross out our kids or embarrass them?" Tony smiles and kisses Stephen. "Come on Duchess. You have some groveling to do."

#stephen strange #supremefamily #ironstrange #tony stark #mama bear au #peter quill #harley keener #cassie lang #william kaplan #valerie stark strange (oc)

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dragonjesterwrites · 2 years

Note

could u maybe write how Sun and Moon would handle a best friend with depression having a bad ‘can’t get out of bed’ type of day? I know this is a bit heavy so it’s ok if u don’t wanna write it ❤️

No you're good! I've had a fair few of those days myself, no fun whatsoever, so it's nice to have a little hurt/comfort to write and read later. Also I'm so, so sorry this took so long Nonnie, as an apology I poured in all the cute I had in the writing kitchen

TW: Implied depression, err platonic cuddling? Technically no romance (although I'm gonna come clean and admit I originally missed the "best friend" bit sgshjs so sorry again Nonnie) it's supposed to be platonic, but you could read it as romance if ya fancy. Annnnd I think that's it!

Hey Moony :) For the most part, everything's going swell! Only… a couple of things going on. Javier had to go home early, he had a liiii-ttle bit too much Fizzy Faz and got sick (it's been all cleaned up now though, don't worry.)

The other thing is about our friend. I think they're upset. Can you check on them, Moony? They just kept saying they're fine, but I don't think they are :(

Moon let his gaze linger on the note in his hands a moment longer, a twinge of concern sparking through his wires and tightening his chest.

He folded the note with nimble fingers and tucked it inside the hidden pocket of his pants, before reaching up and pulling the spare blanket he'd come for off the creaky shelving, gaze sweeping across the inventory for something that might help if something was wrong.

A glint of light caught Moon's attention from the floor as he padded sideways, and he stopped to consider it. Well… worth a try. Better than anything else in here.

After plucking the object off the floor, he exited the storage closet with rolled blankets pinned under his arms, silently nudging the disguised door shut behind him with a slippered foot.

Despite the bells, Moon had gotten good at being sneaky, and the children were not alerted to his presence, allowing him to add the new blankets to the nap area without interruption.

He snuck glances over at you from where you sat, surrounded by the little ones and with a large storybook open on your lap. Even with his night vision, he couldn't quite make out your face, but the abnormal lack of enthusiasm in your voice only made his worry grow. There was variation between characters, enough to keep the children enraptured, but it carried a distinct tiredness behind it, and Moon wanted nothing more than to swaddle you up and take you somewhere nice and cozy.

"Mr. Moon?"

A whisper in the dark and a tug at his pant leg caught his attention, and he peered down at the tot that had snuck up on him, starry fabric clutched in her hand.

"Hello, little Kiera. Is everything okay?" Moon crouched and tilted his faceplate, the girl's curious expression bathed in blue light.

Kiera nodded, then gave a toothy smile and pointed at the blanket he'd just set down. "Can I be a shoo-shi roll?"

Moon let out a quiet chuckle and booped her nose affectionately, pleased at the giggle it caused. "Of course you can." In Moon's experience, nothing quite put a smile on a human's face like watching other humans be silly. And fifty giggling human children wrapped up in blankets was certainly a very silly sight. Not to mention adorable.

Kiera laid down on the blanket, cheeks puffed out as a result of trying- and failing- to contain her laughter, and Moon began to roll her up, an amused noise of his own slipping out.

"How's that? Not too tight?" Moon asked once he was finished, and Kiera shook her head quickly.

"It's perfect! I'm a swordfish!"

Moon's frame shook with nigh-silent laughter as he scooped her up under his arm, gently shushing her when she squealed in delight. "You certainly are. Now, shall we go get your brother?"

"Yea! He can be a tuna! And Lisa can be a crab, annnd Victor can be a salmon, and…"

Moon had timed it just right so that you had finished the story upon their arrival, and as he predicted, within seconds of spotting Kiera happily being toted around as a tuna roll, every last child had also wanted to be transformed into sushi.

It didn't take much longer than that to get the children to sleep- Moon could personally attest to how comfortable being rolled up into a blanket was, having tried it himself out of curiosity- and he was able to make his way over to you where you were sat in the beanbag, completely still apart from where your thumb softly stroked the gilded spine of the closed book you looked down upon.

Upon his approach, you blinked, then raised your head slowly. The lingering worry that had been ever-present jumped to a full on buzz of concern when he caught a glimpse of just how tired you looked before you smiled. But it didn't quite reach your eyes, the usual lively gleam gone.

"Hello, Starlight." Moon whispered, slipping his hand into his pocket to pull out the object he'd plucked from the storage closet. "Sunny said you seemed upset. Penny for your thoughts?"

Your attention flickered to the copper coin he held pinched between silicone fingers and thumb, and you huffed in quiet amusement after a moment.

"Ah, you know him. He's always worried." You offered him a small smile, then turned your gaze back to the book. Moon hesitated, then slipped the coin back in his pocket. That wasn't a denial, but you clearly didn't want to talk about it either. Hm.

"M-Moony?" Your eyes widened as Moon flopped down beside you and pulled you into his embrace, his front pressed to yours, faceplate gently nuzzling the top of your head while his arms cradled you close.

"Is this okay?" He murmured, long fingers woven in your hair pausing their slow scratching.

"I- yeah, but, the kids-"

"The little ones are fine, fast asleep. They all had a Moondrop before their nap."

You were silent, but you moved in closer, arms winding around him, and he resumed gently rubbing circles on the back of your head.

A muffled noise caught his attention, and he paused briefly to listen. It came again, slightly more audible this time, and again, now accompanied by your body beginning to tremble and shake in his arms. Oh, Starlight.

"It's okay. Let it out. I've got you." Moon murmured, shifting to let you in more as you squeezed at him.

"I-I'm sorry." Came the choked reply after a minute, and he shook his head above you.

"You've nothing to be sorry for."

"But I- I'm crying all over your ruffles." You whispered, fingers flexing where they clutched at his shoulder, and Moon let out an amused hum.

"Starlight. Do you have any idea how much drool, vomit, and snot the Daycare accumulates on a daily basis?"

"Gross." He felt your brow furrow against his shoulder, but heard the short giggle you let out.

"Mmhmm. Tears are sanitary, at least. And-" His voice softened. "I meant it when I said there's no need to be sorry. But, you know you don't have to be so strong all the time. It's okay to not be okay."

"...I know." Your voice was quiet, cracking again. "I just- I didn't want to burden you two with my problems. You already have so much to deal with."

If Moon had a heart, it would certainly have shattered. Even on your bad days, you still held such care for others. Even others like him and Sun, literal machines designed to handle fifty children and all their problems. Of course, they were more than machines, and they did get stressed, thank you very much Corporate, but-

"Starlight, we adore you, you're our best friend. As far as we're concerned, your problems are our problems. You can always come and talk to us, about anything. You are not a burden." Moon moved his hand to rub your trembling back as he spoke, music box clicking to life within him.

For awhile, the two of you lay together without speaking, only the soothing chimes of the music box, Moon's machinery, and the sound of your breathing as it deepened and slowed filled the air, and the lunar animatronic became vaguely aware of slipping into a restful trance of his own.

But the disappointing, telltale clicks and whirs of the generators powering up soon roused him, and he focused blearily on his internal clock. Thirty minutes already?

"Starlight?" He began as the two of you slowly untangled yourselves. You looked up at him- definitely still tired, but the mood scan indicated you were content, at least. "Would you like to stay over tonight, for a sleepover in our room?"

"Oh." You looked surprised for a moment, then smiled, looking a bit like yourself again. "Yeah, I'd love to. Are you… sure it's okay?"

"Yes. I apologize that we didn't allow you to visit sooner, we just had to ensure it was clean… and there would be no issues for you to navigate up there." The distinct, loud whirs of the dial around his and Sun's room balcony reminded him to hurry, and he helped you to your feet. "I'll send you the route via your Fazwatch. And, Stardust?"

"Mm?"

"I'm glad you're here."

~~~~~

Sun perked up as he picked up on the sound of footsteps outside the secret entrance to his and Moon's room. Well, perked up more than he already was- he'd been bouncing around excitedly ever since he'd read Moon's note.

He leapt off the edge of the bed and swung the door open, and you only got a split second to look surprised before he was picking you up, giggling and nuzzling against you as he carried you in.

"Hello to you too!" You laughed, and Sun twirled you around, letting out a boisterous laugh of his own.

"Dewdrop! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" His rays fluttered and pulsed as he finally set you down on the bed, dropping to a crouch next to you and digging through a bag pre-placed at the foot of the bed. "Moony told me you weren't feeling well after all, so I got out my best sleepover supplies! I, ah, had to borrow some from the lost and found, but I'll return them tomorrow."

He pulled out a stack of dvds, placing them next to you and giving them a little pat, then turned back to the bag and pulled out some hot cocoa packets, a rolled up electric blanket- "no heating when the lights go out, but this should keep you warm until they come back on!" -and roughly thirty popcorn bags.

You slid off the bed and kneeled next to him, wrapping your arms as best you could around the large animatronic and burying your head in his chest, prompting him to let out a soft 'oh' and hug you back. "Thank you, Sunny."

"Of course." He whispered, squeezing you tight. "Can't have my Sunshine upset, hm? I'm prescribing allllll the cuddles."

"That sounds lovely." Sun heard you murmur, and he took that as his cue, easily scooping you up and carrying you onto to the bed.

"Then cuddles you shall have!" He declared, playfully growling as he wrapped his arms around you and rolled onto to the bed. It warmed every last part of him to hear you shriek with laughter, swatting at him and making him giggle too. You really were precious to him and Moon.

And he wanted you to know that, too, so even throughout the movie, and the second, and the third, even after you had fallen into what seemed to be a very peaceful, deep sleep halfway through, Sun made sure to hold you close under the warm blankets, periodically whispering quiet assurances and letting the sound of your heartbeat lull him to a rare rest.

#platonic #sundrop x reader #moondrop x reader #writing request

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mortemoppetere · 9 months

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TIMING: february 24, 2017. FEATURING: rosa cortez, juliana cortez, elena cortez, and the grand first appearance of flora cortez. LOCATION: emilio's living room and bedroom in mexico. SUMMARY: emilio gets a pep talk from his sister just before being thrust into fatherhood. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

24 FEBRUARY 2017.

The living room was relatively small, comparatively speaking. It took Emilio twenty steps to pace from one wall to the other. Less if he lengthened his stride. He’d gotten it down to twelve once, with steps so wide it was a little embarrassing. He did it in seventeen now, shuffling the last one as he took a breath. One hand came up to his head, tangling in his hair as he glanced to the bedroom door.

The door to the outside opened, sunlight streaming in behind Rosa as she stepped in and shut the door behind her. She looked taken aback to see him there, crossing the room to meet him in the middle with eight long steps. He wondered, absently, if she could pace the length of the living room in less than twelve, if this, too, was something she was better at. He pushed the thought aside. Stupid. It was stupid. Everything seemed so stupid.

“What are you doing out here, Milio? Did something…?” She glanced to the bedroom door, and he shook his head quickly.

“Everything’s okay, I think. ‘Ana just kicked me out. Said I was stressing her out more than the rest of it.”

Rosa snorted. “I’d believe it. You were bad enough with me when it was Jaime. Can’t imagine how much worse you are now.”

“I forgot it was like that. Looks more like a battlefield.”

“No it doesn’t.” Rosa’s smile was small, sly. “You’d know what to do on a battlefield.”

Emilio snorted, some of the tension leaving his chest because Rosa was good at that. They didn’t always get along — that was the nature of siblings, he knew, especially siblings in such constant competition with one another — but when they did, his sister always knew exactly what to say to tame the tangled web of his thoughts. Better than Edgar did, better than Victor had ever gotten a chance to try. The only one who might challenge her for top spot in the game of knowing how to settle Emilio’s uneasy mind was Rhett, and the warden wasn’t here now.

Gently, Rosa nudged his shoulder with hers. “You should go in.”

“She kicked me out,” Emilio reminded her. “She doesn’t want me in there.”

“She does. She’s stressed and in pain and probably a little bit terrified, but she wants you there. She married your dumb ass, didn’t she? She chose to get stuck with you. The rest of us just had you tacked on.” The words stung a little; the teasing was a little too close to the truth, he knew. Emilio, in comparison to his siblings, was unnecessary and often unwanted.

But not to Juliana.

“Any final words of wisdom before I step back into the thick of it?” He raised a brow, smiling faintly and pretending her words didn’t sting, pretending nothing did. Rosa had the good grace to do the same, shrugging a shoulder.

“Don’t let ‘em see the whites of your eyes.”

Nodding to her, Emilio took a deep breath. Ten paces to the bedroom door. His hand hovered over the knob, and he drew another lungful of air before nudging it open.

Juliana was on the bed, a sheen of sweat covering her skin. Her eyes found his across the room, and relief flooded her features. Immediately, the anxiety he’d felt at the door dissipated. “Milio,” she breathed, thrusting out a hand towards him. He walked over to the bed, slipping his hand in hers. She squeezed it so tight he thought his fingers might break.

“One more push,” his mother said from the foot of the bed, methodical. There was no joy in her face; she looked less like a woman helping to deliver her grandchild and more like someone ticking off a checklist of daily chores. Emilio looked away, focusing instead on pushing Juliana’s damp hair away from her forehead.

The pressure on his hand increased momentarily as Juliana pushed, but Emilio hardly noticed it, because with the height of that pressure came a sound. A shrill cry piercing the air, new lungs drawing in oxygen for the first time and releasing it with so much noise that it was almost as if they were protesting.

“A girl,” his mother announced. A weight was shoved into Emilio’s hands; a necessary thing instead of a thoughtful gesture. His mother needed both hands free to finish, and Juliana was still weak from her efforts. Had anyone else been standing in Emilio’s spot, they would have been handed that wriggling mass, too. Had he not reentered the room, the child would have been placed on the floor. That was how it went, he knew. “That’s good. We’ve had more luck with girls, lately.”

His mother’s words struck something in him, some childish sense of accomplishment as if his mother being pleased that his child was a girl was the same as his mother being proud of him for something he’d done intentionally. He looked down at the shape in his arms. She wasn’t crying anymore; dark eyes were blinking up at him, face scrunched up in a way that almost seemed thoughtful.

It felt like being hit by lightning, looking at her for the first time. He put a finger in her tiny hand, and she gripped it with more strength than should have been possible for something so small. He sucked in a breath.

“Call her what you want,” Juliana said from the bed, sounding drained. “I’m going to take a nap. Just don’t make it something stupid, Milio. I’m not calling her Emilia.” He snorted at the suggestion, rolling his eyes.

“Flora,” he said quietly. “I like Flora.”

“Okay,” Juliana agreed. “Flora it is. Flora Emilia Cortez.” He looked over to her, bemused expression on his face, and she shrugged. “I just like the name. It isn’t about you. You’re a little conceited, darling, has anyone ever told you that?”

Rolling his eyes again, he knelt down, letting her take a look. “We did a pretty good job,” he told her quietly.

“We? Which one of us just pushed her out?”

“I helped a little.”

“You can help when she needs potty training. That’s how you pay me back.”

Laughing, he nodded his head. “Okay,” he agreed. “Deal.”

#self para #new lungs #living room floor series #wickedswriting #hi i wrote a redacted word long self para and i'm posting it in parts so no one shames me

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fakeosirian · 1 year

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Almost a Stranger -- HoA Fabian/Patricia One-Shot

Post-S3, hurt/comfort, angst, lots of mess.

Fabian and Patricia have always been friends, despite how surprising people (themselves included) found it. Most days, they bicker, or they make plans to avert whatever crisis they're in this week, but the crises finally dried up, and bickering doesn't feel quite the same when the sentiments are ringing true more of then than not, these days.

At least they can be miserable together.

read on ao3 or here below the cut

Is it alright to be myself again? Can I finally be myself again? I don't need a reason to find I'm beginning to feel myself again I'm leaving the memory behind So I can finally be myself again Auf Wiedersehen, I'll see you later, some better day Cards on the table Vanity off to the side Always been able To get myself back to a stride Time's an eraser A reverie speaks for itself Sign your own waiver And you'll never be somebody else You'll never be somebody else Almost a stranger And even to those that I know I'm the remainder Of memories thrown to the cold Life is too painful When honesty comes at a price And lies are non-fatal Unless they're the four-letter kind Unless they're the four-letter kind

Fabian had been stuck in limbo for three straight weeks.

Ammut’s destruction did not cancel exams. That’d be an admission of guilt on Mr. Sweet’s part, and regardless, despite things feeling Decidedly Over around Anubis House, that didn’t apply to the school year. As he stared at his ceiling, there was still a month and change left, and while he wanted the Valedictorian spot, he didn’t want it badly enough to study early through the funk.

Well. Another year, he might have. In truth, his lack of early bird vigor had little to do with the exams themselves and everything to do with the black hole in his memory he’d do anything to scrub out entirely. Just knowing it was there at all was more than enough – he was guilty to admit he’d eliminate even the negative space it cast behind it without a second thought, if given the chance.

Eddie growled at his laptop across the room. He must have nearly died again. (In the video game, Fabian reminded himself, when just thinking that made him reflexively nauseous.)

Unable to stand the mounting pressure any longer, Fabian shot up from his bed and strode across the room to the door. Eddie pulled one half of his headphones off his head and peered over the lid of his laptop.

“You good?”

“Yeah, just getting a glass of water.”

“Cool.” He went back to his game without missing a beat; Fabian let go of the breath that lodged itself deep in his torso.

The hall was dimly lit – it was past 10, but Victor had gotten…noticeably lax about curfew recently – and dead quiet. Fabian’s steps lightened out of habit, and he stopped short when he saw a light flickering past the cracked kitchen door.

He slid up to the door and peeked through; Patricia leaned against the island counter, one hand gripping it tightly enough to blanch her knuckles, and the other blanching its knuckles on the handle of a mug. She stared into a lit candle on the counter like it held the answers to all of life’s biggest questions, and if she looked away for even a moment, they’d evaporate completely.

He wasn’t meant to see this, that much was clear.

He’d frozen on the spot, not paying attention to the way his weight shifted onto the door; unlatched, the door put up no resistance against his body leaning forward, and while Fabian was still mid-panic deciding how to proceed, the door’s hinges whined once it hit that one spot in their rotation. Patricia startled, blowing out the candle. Fabian gritted his teeth and held back a curse.

“Who’s there?”

“Me. Sorry.” Fabian ducked out from behind the door, sheepish eyes jumping all around the room, anywhere but on hers. “Are you…?”

“I’m fine,” Patricia said, a bit too quickly. She glanced at the smoke spiraling upward from the smoldering candle and back at him. “Someone left that lit. Fire hazard.”

“Right.” He fought down the urge to call her out. Why lie about that? It’s just a candle. It’s…definitely just a candle. Nothing weird about candles. So, no reason to lie, but she did anyway. I probably look suspicious. She’s acting suspicious. I’m acting suspicious. Suspicious of what? Ugh. It’s Patricia – of course she’s being weird about a candle when it’s just a candle. How long has it been since someone’s said something? Oh God. She can see it in my face, can’t she?

“Going to share with the class?” Patricia’s grip on her mug jerked a bit. Her shoulders were tense; Fabian’s were too. He heaved a sigh – felt a lot more like shoveling dirt than breathing should – and walked past her to get a glass.

“Nothing.” She stared at him, wordless. “Nothing worth the breath to explain, at least. I just came to get some water. Didn’t mean to interrupt anything. Sorry.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything,” she insisted. Fabian pressed his lips together and nodded; it came out jerky, insincere despite his best efforts and intentions, and her face pinched up in disgust. “If you’ve got something to say, then just say it.”

“I really don’t.” She scoffed. Fabian closed the cabinet door, but his hand hovered over the faucet handle for a moment. He tried, but he couldn’t let it go. “Seriously, are you okay? You seem upset. Is something bothering you?”

“If you even have to ask,” she grumbled. “It’s nothing to get all worried about. Would be better if you didn’t, actually.”

“Patricia.”

“Fabian.”

He put the glass down next to the sink and stood directly in front of her.

“I’ll leave it alone if you ask me to, but –”

“Already did, so case closed.”

“But, there’s no reason to suffer through it by yourself on purpose.”

Patricia looked at the floor, kicking the tip of her slipper over it, back and forth, back and forth. Fabian opened his mouth, compelled to fill the silence but with no particular thoughts in mind; it hung open for a moment, and closed when he came up empty. He turned around and turned on the tap.

“I was trying to calm down. Not from anything in particular. Just relax, whatever that means,” Patricia said underneath the rushing water. Fabian turned it down slightly – but not off. He glanced over his shoulder briefly, too quick for eye contact, and put his glass under the stream. “I heard somewhere staring at a candle works. Total crap, in my opinion. Now I’m tense and I have a blind spot smack in the middle of my vision.”

“Can’t sleep?”

“Something like that.”

“Me neither.” Fabian huffed a laugh. “Doesn’t help that Eddie’s teaching some twelve-year-olds some colorful, new vocabulary over Call of Duty right now.”

“What, cause he’s losing?”

“You didn’t hear it from me.”

Patricia grinned behind her mug. Fabian decided not to question why, upon closer inspection, Patricia decided to drink black tea if she was ‘having trouble sleeping, or something.’ The longer he lingered, the clearer it became to him that their ‘somethings’ were the same.

That was the last thing he wanted to talk about. …And yet he was still in the kitchen, talking. A strike of fear flashed across his mind – acting against his feelings, or were they his feelings, or was there something else driving the car? – and he forced down a gulp of water.

Unsurprisingly, he choked, and Patricia slopped tea on the counter in her haste to get her mug out of her hands. He waved her off, red-faced and suppressing the last of the sputtering, and forced his ragged throat in line.

“Wrong pipe.”

“Right.”

She positively dripped skepticism; rich coming from her, Ms. I Can’t Be Seen With A Candle.

He sniffed – water had gotten all the way up his nose, because of course it had – and took less ambitious sips while Patricia made a half-hearted attempt at mopping up her spilled tea with a paper towel. Every second that ticked past, the silence got thicker. Fabian wanted to leave. But, he hadn’t yet, and he wasn’t making any moves to. There was something…unfinished about this.

That original ‘something.’

“I guess you could say I haven’t felt myself lately,” Patricia said, apropos of nothing (or something). Fabian half-choked again – his glass was at his lips and ready to tip – and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That’s one way of putting it.” He sighed. “You don’t remember anything either, do you?”

“No, nothing.” She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Not that I really want to, but I keep looking around in here like I might, like it’s possible I’m just missing something, and I can’t not know about it if that’s something that’s possible.”

“I find it hard to try in the first place because the sinking dread of what I’m going to do about it if I did remember something gets in the way.”

“Well, nothing, right? It’s over. Done and dusted.”

“Joy won’t look me in the eye.”

Patricia froze.

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since I’ve…been back…she’s seemed off. Not around anyone else, and nothing like I could remember before.” Fabian grimaced. “People have told me things I’ve said, but no one’s mentioned anything I said to her. I just…don’t know, and it’d be so hard to explain. I wouldn’t believe me if I was her.”

“She hasn’t told me anything about that,” Patricia said, her voice small. “Are you sure you’re not…y’know.”

“No, I’m not imagining it,” Fabian grumbled. “I think Jerome’s noticed too.”

“Ah.” She took a slow sip from her mug. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, people only noticed you acting weird because you’re usually pretty nice. Me? Apparently, just an average couple weeks, as far as everyone else was concerned.”

“It…doesn’t,” Fabian said, wincing. “And you weren’t completely normal, anyway.”

“Oh, great. I was worried I hadn’t made enough of a mess.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Patricia barked a laugh; it sounded painful. Fabian’s face grew hot. “You had no idea what they were doing in the Gatehouse! We didn’t even know what a sinner was yet.”

“Sorry, Officer, I didn’t realize Evil Things were happening in the Evil House. Won’t happen again.”

“Well, I did know, and I went anyway. Could always be worse.”

Patricia glared at him. He didn’t buckle; why would he? She couldn’t say anything worse about him than he’d already said himself. Bomb defused. She broke eye contact, muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

Before he caught up with himself, Fabian poked the bear.

“What?”

“Don’t talk like that around Eddie.” Fabian stared at her, missing several pieces of the puzzle. “Nevermind. Just don’t. Better yet, leave the entire topic alone.” She picked up her mug and pushed past Fabian to exit the kitchen.

“Patricia, wait.” She stopped, but she didn’t turn around. Her knuckles flexed where she gripped the door for dear life. “Do you…not talk about this at all? With anyone?”

“Why would I? Do you?”

“Fair point,” he said. “Um. Maybe we…should.”

She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes shone, glassy, under the low light of the kitchen.

“Why.”

“It’s…hard? When you don’t?”

She pressed her lips together. He ran through all of the other exits in the room that didn’t involve getting past her in his head. Two, by the way. Laundry room, window. Not looking good.

“Maybe.” She turned to the threshold again. “Thanks, Fabian. Sort of.”

“Er, you’re welcome. I guess.”

She disappeared down the hallway. Fabian lingered in the kitchen; he couldn’t leave, not while his heart raced and his blood sang in his ears.

*-*

That was before, but this is now: a summer trip to New York City, Patricia, Fabian, and Alfie on a plane, with instructions to meet Eddie and KT at the airport. (The directions to where they’d meet in the airport looked as clear as the alchemy recipes Victor left lying around in the cellar, so functionally directionless and with the implication of harsh consequences for failure.)

Fabian didn’t like to think too much about how he couldn’t make it out for Nina before. Alfie had offered to pay without hesitation, otherwise it likely wouldn’t have worked out this time, either, and making a comparison between the two situations seemed like an exercise in misery.

Three hours into a trans-Atlantic flight, and exercises in misery sound appealing for being exercises at all. He’s stuck in the middle seat, Alfie sleeping in the aisle seat, and he’d already finished the only book he’d taken out of his carry-on.

Patricia’s awake, though. They hadn’t talked much once the novelty wore off and Alfie passed out, but one glance at the book that wouldn’t un-finish itself and Fabian knew he’d have to break the awkwardness sooner or later.

She’d propped up her chin on her hand, staring out the window like something other than ocean would show up. He taps her on the shoulder, and she grunts her acknowledgement.

“Excited to see Eddie?”

“Huh?” Couple seconds to process. “Oh. Yeah, loads of excitement.”

“Sure sounds like it.”

“Oh, shove it. I’m exhausted, and I can’t sleep on planes,” she says. “Yes, I am excited to see Eddie. I bet you’re going to be missing Mara, then.”

Fabian’s breath catches.

“Mara?”

“Well, yeah.”

Yikes. He hadn’t told her, had he.

“That didn’t really…”

“Oh.”

“It’s pretty recent. You didn’t miss anything, or. You know.”

“No explanation necessary.” Does she look…relieved? “To tell the truth, it was weird anyway. Sorry if that’s mean.”

“It’s not. It…made sense, but.”

“Too much sense?”

“Too much sense.”

Patricia nods like she’s got a cigar hanging out of her mouth.

“Always thought she picked people who she had nothing in common with, but turns out that was her type all along. I suppose I owe her a ‘you told me so’ for all the times I told her otherwise.” Alfie stirs in the aisle, and Fabian waves his hand in a ‘volume down’ motion. She grimaces, but she’s clearly got more to say. “Was it…mutual?”

“Yeah,” Fabian says. “It…yeah. Two dates, and at the end of the second, we were both looking for the opening. No big deal. Guess I’d just gotten in the habit of starting something new at the end of the year.” The laugh isn’t completely forced. Patricia awkwardly pats him on the arm.

“Not all of us can have the surprise whirlwind romance of Joy and Jerome.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself and Eddie short.”

He hadn’t even wanted to say it, not really, but he thought it’d be the right thing. Evidently, it wasn’t, because Patricia’s eyes widen and dart back to the window. She rattles off a stilted agreement a moment too late.

That isn’t wishful thinking, is it? It shouldn’t be. Worse than making ‘too much’ sense, it made none at all.

Despite no wishes being made, the monkey’s paw curls anyway. The first day of the trip goes great (navigating the airport aside); the second day, Patricia and Eddie spend the latter half of the afternoon arguing behind a bedroom door while Alfie, KT, and Fabian do their best to drown it out with the TV. It’s not working.

Alfie just cranks the volume up a couple notches when they start shouting again, and KT turns it down when they get quiet. Fabian would get involved in the tug-of-war over the remote if he wasn’t so invested in spending every single ounce of willpower he had to not make sense of the snippets he caught anyway. Morbid curiosity is already a real enough concept to him, but he hadn’t yet considered that it also applied to situations without someone trying to kill you directly. You can absolutely die of anticipation, all on your own, with a heartrate fast enough.

Eventually, whatever show they were hardly paying attention to in the first place didn’t cut it anymore, and KT suggests that the three of them go around the corner for some snacks. Of course, that’s when Patricia and Eddie throw open the door.

“I’m going with you,” Eddie says, no room for argument as he grabs his wallet and keys out of the bowl next to the front door. He strode past so quickly Fabian couldn’t even see his face; his voice was bent out of shape, hoarse and evaporated. KT, Alfie, and Fabian share a look; Fabian takes a step back towards Patricia, and the other three leave without a moment’s hesitation. The door slam echoes throughout the Miller’s apartment, and in the void of sound it leaves behind, Fabian wonders if he’s made an enormous mistake.

(Why this would be a mistake, he didn’t know, but it nags.)

Fabian whips around to face Patricia. Her cheeks are splotchy and red, her breathing shaky, and Fabian remembers how deeply unequipped he is for this. Something must have shown on his face; her breath catches, her eyes get glassy, and it’s all over.

“Come here,” Fabian says, or something tells him to say, because he’s acting entirely on instinct when he erases the distance between them and takes her up in a hug. She’s stiff as a board in his arms, but she isn’t throwing him off (like he knows she is completely capable of and willing to do), so he’s at least avoiding the big mistakes.

He guides her to the couch; she hiccups into the side of his shoulder, and he can feel the twin wet patches there stick to his skin. They’re forced to break up for a moment when they sit down.

“I’m sorry,” Fabian starts to say, but he only gets halfway through the second word before she fully breaks down into sobs. That’s when it clicks for him – he knows these sobs.

“I only –”

“I know. When you’re angry.”

“Very angry,” she corrects between heaves.

It had been years since the last time, so long he’d nearly forgotten, but he still knew what to do. He puts an arm around her shoulders and buttons up his mouth; she lets it all out. There’s words in there between the tears and gasps, nothing that’d make it easier to understand, and nothing he dares to press.

Who knows how much later, Patricia’s mostly stopped crying, still muttering under her breath here and there and wiping tears off her cheek with Fabian’s upper arm, and Fabian’s phone buzzes. It’s a text from Alfie asking if they’re clear to come back.

“What’s up?”

Fabian fumbles to respond to the text – not yet, need a bit more time – and attempts a lie by omission to the question – just Alfie – but she sees right through it. He puts his phone back in his pocket (where she’ll have to wrestle him for it if she really wants to – he doesn’t examine that thought too much).

“They’re going to be taking a bit longer with the snacks.”

“What, because I’m crying?” He sighs – he’s supposed to be avoiding getting into it with her while she’s still upset – but before she can get either angry or angry with herself for being angry, he shifts the topic:

“What do you need right now?” Her mouth drops open in surprise, and not a moment later, less in surprise and more out of offense. “Do you want them to come back?” Her jaw shuts with a click. “Talk about it, then? Or do something else entirely? We could go on a walk for ourselves.” The straws he’s grasping at break apart in his hands, but it’s enough to get her laughing.

“Wandering around NYC without a guide would be insane – that doesn’t sound like a Fabian plan at all! Who are you and what have you done with him?”

Oh, that’s what was so funny. Haha. Oh.

She looks horrified once it sinks in for her, too, but he just…laughs. Very hard, to the point he can’t stop laughing, actually; it’s nervous and jarring, but it’s infectious, and she tentatively starts laughing, too, enough to finally interrupt her crying, until his chest catches on a laugh-turned-hiccup. He’s crying, he realizes. He wasn’t laughing at all. He’s just crying.

Now it’s her turn to fumble her way through an apology (and he knows why she’s compelled to since she’s not subtle – she can needle him and call him a geek but only because he doesn’t…break when she does).

“No, it’s okay – I’m sorry, I’m supposed to be comforting you,” he says, voice thick with tears, which she just shakes her head at, no words. He gets ahold of himself as quickly as he lost it. “Seriously, no apology necessary. I know you get it.” She still doesn’t have the words, but she nods.

They sit like that for a while; Fabian’s not sure how long, the best marker of time available the erratic rhythm of their heartbeats interrupting each other over and over. His picks up whenever he thinks about it too hard. Maybe he was wishing it into existence, but sometimes, he could have sworn hers would do the same.

Without preamble, she explains:

“We’ve been having issues because Eddie’s mad I can’t forgive myself for what happened. Whatever that’s supposed to mean in this context – I think he’s being daft. There’s way more to it than that, if that were even it. I mean, if it were that simple, wouldn’t I have just done it already?” Fabian understands both sides of this argument a little too well to stick his neck out, so he presses his lips together tightly and waits for her to continue. “It’s pretty easy for him to feel that way in his position. His biggest sin was trusting the wrong people.”

“Nina always felt guilty when things went wrong,” Fabian chips in.

“Exactly. Something about being in charge makes people all weird. It’s so selfish. Has anyone ever properly been in charge of anyone else around here? We’re all just doing stuff and half-talking about it and hoping it works out. It’s so hard to look yourself in the face and recognize what went wrong is entirely your own fault, but it’s the only way you get better, right? It’s insulting for someone to step in and blame themselves and take that away from you.”

Fabian is taken aback because it feels wrong, just as selfish in a way, but something buried deep inside him agrees strongly enough to scare him a little. He’s never had that feeling validated before. He thinks it probably shouldn’t be, reflexively, but that in and of itself exposes the deep river of self-doubt running below all of that. Alfie got sinnered too, they’ve talked about it, but he’s been able to cope by still trusting his core intentions to be good. Patricia is the only other person who understands. He can trust her more than anyone else, in a twisted sort of way, and if she trusts him…

Does she? They make very significant eye contact. Of course she trusts him. This is Patricia – she doesn’t cry in front of anyone if she can help it. Except him, apparently. It’s not like he’s keeping her here by force. (He couldn’t even if he wanted to.)

Suddenly, he’s very, very, very aware of the fact that they’re alone for as long as they want to be (within reason) and there’s a dangerous current arcing between them. Judging by the look on her face, she’s well aware of it, and just as flummoxed as him.

But…just as interested. They’ve been physically close ever since she broke down crying, but their faces were not this close five minutes ago. This is bad. This is very, very bad.

“Eddie!” he squeaks. She whips around to look at the door – he clarifies:

“No, they’re not here, they’re still gone, I just. Well. We’re…”

“We’re what, doofus?” Now he’s irritated.

“We’re about to kiss?” She opens and closes her mouth a couple times (and stares at his) but she can’t dispute it. He continues: “You’re still dating Eddie.”

Patricia deflates into him – cue the flush simmering away on his face roaring into a towering inferno – and mumbles into his chest.

“Am I?”

(He’s positively mortified how quickly that got him excited. Forget mortified – disgusted.)

“…Isn’t this exactly what got Jerome in trouble?”

“Are you seriously comparing me to Jerome Clarke right now? While cuddling me?”

He’s too flustered for words; she sits up, but she’s still holding on to him, now eye level. He can see the justifications flying around between her ears, so clearly that he pinpoints the moment she picks one and sticks to it.

“It’s not like it’d be the worst bad decision we’ve ever made.”

“That’s a pretty low bar to clear.”

“Exactly. Why beat yourself up for this when you’re too busy tackling the big fish?”

“…I don’t think that’s how that works.”

“Why can’t it be?”

Fabian sighs.

“Patricia.”

“Fabian.”

She’s not going to let up; she forced his hand.

“Patricia, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really, genuinely want—” Chokes a bit. “To kiss you. Right now. I needed to say it out loud to make sure you know I mean it, but mostly because I’m having a hard time believing this is real.”

“Same here.” Her wobbly little smile looks like victory; unfortunately, victory over which battle hits him like a brick to the chest, and it’s much harder to want to reach out and take it after that. “What? Is everything okay?”

Fabian shakes his head. He waits for her to fight him, agree, do anything, really, but the ball’s still stuck to his side of the court. He struggles to find a way to say it that doesn’t feel so…accusatory.

“Do we really want to taint…this…with that? You're still...”

She sighs, looks at his lips again, and looks away with a shake of her head.

“I hate that you’re a good person.”

“Hey, I could say the same about you. That was the last of my resistance I was using there – if you’d fought me at all, well.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Sorry! Sorry. Ugh.” They stop talking, but they don’t stop holding each other. The gears in Fabian’s head turn in time with his stomach. “Don’t break up with Eddie for it.”

Patricia gets up, puts him at arm’s length, but still holding onto him.

“Where the hell did you get that idea from?” He blanches – did he overstep? Had he missed something? Or is he really that self-centered? She whacks him in the arm. “And stop overthinking it! Seriously, why are you worried about that?”

Fabian hems and haws a bit. Despite the involuntary rush of adrenaline – cued just in time to match the way his mind went completely blank on the topic despite the clear logic he used to make that statement in the first place being there just a second ago – he’s shocked to find that she’s not angry. She sounds shocked, a bit upset, but not necessarily with him. He takes a couple steadying breaths as she looks on with concern ratcheting upwards.

“You and Eddie are having a hard time right now, and for good reason, but it’s not unfixable whatsoever. You have a strong relationship. I don’t mean to insinuate anything, only that I don’t want you giving up on that prematurely for…whatever this is, or rather could be.”

Patricia frowns, brow furrowed to the nose and storm clouds rolling in.

“Don’t worry about what me and Eddie are doing. I know exactly what I’m doing.” Even though he feels like he’s the one in the wrong here, he can’t help but get his hackles up involuntarily at that obvious falsehood. She groans and waves her hand. “Oh, you know what I mean. It’s a mess, but it’s my mess. Our mess, me and Eddie’s, I mean. If it ends, it ends because of us, and there’s plenty of us to go around already.”

“Okay,” Fabian says, desperately grasping for that trust he had in her earlier. He finds it more easily than he was expecting, lying right behind her eyes and in the thin, crooked, half-broken smile she puts together from scratch for him.

“But.” He tenses up. “The two of us have been through a lot together. I’ve known you for basically forever.”

“Not all of forever has been pleasant,” he can’t help but offer. She snorts.

“That’s sort of what I mean. Don’t discount what this could be because of what it might have been before.”

That…huh. It struck a chord with him, but…

“Does…does that mean anything at all?”

“Oh, shut up. Don’t make this bit of forever unpleasant, too.” They both laugh, and things feel as close to comfortably normal as they could, what with the pervasive feeling that This Isn’t Happening For Real still hanging over the room present. Or her hand on his shoulder, still. Mostly the hand.

“This bit?” He can’t help himself – it’s so easy to give in to the urge to be cheeky around her.

“Yeah, this…whatever we’re doing. How we’re being better friends because we hate ourselves but we could be also…” she trails off, nose crinkling as she tries on an entire store’s worth of ill-fitting phrasings. “What did I say about not making this unpleasant?”

This time, when he cries from laughing too hard, there’s no pain in it whatsoever.

Eddie, Alfie, and KT return shortly after. Eddie still seems bothered, but less than he did when he left, and Patricia’s able to keep her cool just fine when he walks in the door. The only slip that gives her away is the quick glance back at Fabian when Eddie finally vacates the threshold of the door and puts their convenience store haul down on the coffee table. It was so quick that only Fabian would notice, but the gnawing anxiety in his gut wouldn’t stop reminding him that his own over-focus on Patricia would be the far more obvious thing for an outsider to notice there. That’s the only reason he saw her glance in the first place.

It's easy enough for them to pretend that everything is some semblance of normal for the rest of the trip. When they’re in a group, whatever activity they’re up to and the five-person banter are far too distracting for minds and eyes to wander. In a group, Fabian can’t tell if that subtle bit of distance between Patricia and Eddie is all in his head or not, and the less people there are, the distance between everyone invariably gets larger. Consideration for personal space, maybe. Maybe.

The trouble comes when the group whittles down to just Fabian and Patricia again, so they do their best to limit how often that happens. Fabian ranks it among the hardest things he’s ever done where the consequences don’t involve someone dying.

By the time they’re on the plane home, he’s so exhausted from tamping his feelings down that he doesn’t have the energy to feel them in the first place. He sleeps most of the time, unlike last time, and is only awake at the same time as Patricia (the one who claims to not be able to sleep on planes) once. They spend most of it in silence, Alfie’s snoring matching their stuttering heartbeats, and dare not refer to That Night.

Fabian would hold Patricia to her word – to not hurt Eddie on his behalf – no matter how much it hurt the two of them in turn. For now, he’s left with a lightness in his heart, and an ugly churning in his stomach.

#house of anubis #hoa #my writing #house of anubis fanfic #hoa fanfic #fabicia #didnt necessarily mean to do this but i ended up using the post-canon i have for foyf just. Diverging. Obviously #almost certainly not noticeable or important but mentioning for clarity's sake LOL

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victorluvsalice · 4 months

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-->And then – fishing! With nothing better for my boy and my enby to do, I sent them over to the local fishing spot at the lovely Lake Lunvik via their various teleports and had them start fishing. Smiler got a nice salmon, while Victor caught a Discus AND the “Wise Wolfman” tablet! Not that he can read it properly, as the runes are secret werewolf language script, but still – cool to have! He also got up to Fishing level 7, which was nice, and developed a Like for the activity – hey, he may not enjoy EATING fish, but catching them is something else. :p

-->Meanwhile, Alice, feeling the rage after enhancing her smell and scavenging for goodies again (again with no luck – how was it Victor was luckier with his fishing than she was with her scavenging when it came to werewolf artifacts?), super-sped her way to the top of the Howling Point to have a private spot for a potential rampage! I had her do some howling, yet more scavenging (she picked up some Plathinum, at least), stomping around angrily, napping, and grooming herself, and eventually she went over the edge into a proper RAMPAGE! Which, as per usual, consisted of her doing some more scavenging just to see if she’d dig anything cool up, before regaining control and going back to normal. XD Look, if you’re not the kind of werewolf who enjoys spooking people, rampages are kind of a whole lot of nothing. :P

-->With Alice having gotten in a lot of werewolf practice (enough to get an ability point, in fact! I picked up “Natural Healing” just so I could unlock the “Immortal” ability for later – once I can get her and Victor to be immortal like Smiler is, I’ll go ahead and turn aging back on for the save), and the hour getting VERY late, I decided it was time the gang headed home. Alice and Victor had a nice "home again" makeout by the front door, then Alice sped off to bed while Victor and Smiler cuddled in the front entrance. :) I was feeling very content indeed with the day –

-->And then I looked over, saw the entire wind farm was broken, and grumbled to myself as I got Victor to Repairio the lot as Smiler paid the bills. XD Smiler then got put on mechanism-making duty while I had Victor make some eco upgrade parts – or, at least, try to make some eco upgrade parts. The first attempt ended with him in a fight with the fabricator, and the second attempt ended with him getting spooked by the house making weird noises. *shakehead* Not a good night for Victor there. I gave up and had him go to bed just as a refreshed Alice was getting up – SHE got sent to pick up volume three of the vampiric encyclopedia to read in the séance room, only to discover that it was a bit too advanced for her understanding yet. Ah well, she tried.

And that is that for this particular episode! Next time, we check out Spring Tuesday, which also involves the trio getting their occult on -- only this time we're focusing on VICTOR'S brand instead of Alice's...

#sims 4 #the lazy save #victor van dort #alice liddell #smiler always #maybe I should have Alice go fishing for artifacts instead of digging them up XD #she hasn't had the greatest luck with scavenging #I mean sometimes she digs up a cool metal or crystal #but most of the time it's diddly squat #decent for werewolf XP though #and it's always a safe thing to have her do while rampaging at least #felt kind of appropriate to have one on the howling point #Alice never got the 'woke up there naked' experience from her initial transformation after all :p #and I had to include a little Valicer cuteness :)#Smiler got to be the cuddlee for once how nice #and I was deeply amused when Victor had to fight his own fabricator again #was hoping he'd end up covered in dye but no dice #we'll get dye-splattered Victor again some day!#queued

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concealeddarkness13 · 11 months

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WHG 20 Prompt 1 - Triel

Content warning for mentions of rape and suggestive themes. Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @drabbleitout (thanks for Ives!), @grailfish, @forthesanityofsome, and @pied-piper-of-hamlet!

I twirled the key for the room I had “paid” for to have alone time with a victor. Ives, to be precise. He had been a tribute with Nesri, and we hadn’t been able to rescue him, but that was all going to change now. We had plans and backups and nothing would go wrong enough to stop us from getting tributes out and rescuing Ives.

The Capitol was selling his body for shits and giggles, and I had half a mind to kill anyone who touched him, but I didn’t have enough time, unfortunately. At least I had been able to send the person who paid for the ticket for Ives’s time tonight to a hospital instead.

The hotel they had people meet him in looked fancy on the outside, but once I got into the room it was all dark and dingy and sad. Except for the fucking bed. Of course. Bastards.

I closed the door softly. “It’s been a while, Steelheart. You don’t have to worry about someone coming to rape you. I totally didn’t beat them up within an inch of their life to get their ticket.” He was standing farther in, and I couldn’t see well enough, so I turned on the light.

He flinched at that, curling in more on himself. Damn, he looked like shit. I had to hurry up and rescue him. He looked at me, but not up into my face. And his movements seemed slow. “I…I don’t understand,” he said quietly, tilting his head. “Did you want their ticket to take their place? I don’t mean to ask too many questions, I only want to know what I should adjust for the evening. What matters is that you have a ticket. How would you like to proceed?”

Fuck. Nesri had warned me how completely the Capitol probably unraveled him, but he was acting nothing like he had before. I walked a step closer, taking off my hat. “It’s Triel Reeves. Do you remember? The Games three years ago? I failed you then, but I want to help you now.” He still looked lost. “I’d like to talk.”

He finally looked up at my face when I removed my hat but winced and looked away. But then looked back. He blinked rapidly and looked away again, giving a small nod. “Would you like to sit?” He sounded shaky. “Can I get you anything?”

“No thanks. You’re not a servant. I’d actually ask you the same thing. My engineer sent some things with me just in case you were doing bad. And Nesri sent a letter. Do you remember her at least?” I sat down far away from him. I wasn’t about to make him uncomfortable by being close.

“I remember,” he whispered. He sat down, keeping the distance. “I’m doing well enough. They keep me…functioning.” He glanced around the room.

“Then you’ll probably appreciate these.” I set out the mechanical parts Shine had given me and the letter from Nesri. I didn’t remember all of it, but it basically said that she missed him and that we were coming to rescue him now, after we failed him.

He picked up the letter first, slowly reading over it. “Failed me…? I don’t understand. You got yourself and the others away. I’m property of the Capitol. This is what I’m meant for.” He didn’t let go of the letter though. “You’re putting too much at risk here.”

Of course I had failed him. Ryker had died, and he had gotten trapped by the Capitol. I leaned forward and clasped my hands. “I did fail you. You and Ryker. And I can’t make it up to him, but I am planning on making it up to you. We have a plan. I’ll be the tribute this time, and I’ve gotten better and have more comprehensive plans. I won’t let that happen again. And if something does happen and tributes I recruited get captured, I have plans for that. I want to help you and get you out of here. You’re no one’s property, Ives. You’re a person, and I really want to help.”

He winced, looking at the floor and setting his jaw. “And if you’re captured?” he said lowly. “Am I supposed to lose you too?”

I smiled. “I have plans for that too. The Capitol won’t be ready for what I have in store for them.”

“Should you be telling me this?” he whispered. “Am I not a liability?”

I shook my head. “I don’t believe you are. The Capitol has abused you. Don’t you want to fight back? I can help with that. Please. Let me help you, Steelheart.”

He didn’t speak for a while, and I waited patiently. “The Capitol has taken advantage of all of us,” he said lowly, looking over at me. And I would never admit it out loud, but it looked like he was about to cry. “What’s your plan?”

I smiled, wanting to reach out and hold his hand, but that would probably make him uncomfortable. He had enough people touching him. “I volunteer for the youngest kid in my district. I recruit as many tributes as possible. Shine, my engineer, is making a teleporter that I’ll sneak into the arena. Nesri will also have one just in case I am captured so she can still get you out. The teleporter will be used to fuck with the Capitol and then to get everyone out. If there are any people captured, we’ll raise hell in the Capitol from the safe place I have. Then we’ll truly escape once we have everyone.”

Ives nodded slowly and folded the letter up. “What would you like me to do? How can I help?”

I shook my head. “I don’t expect anything from you. You don’t have to do anything for me to help you. But if you want to do something, I’ve heard that you’ll be a mentor this year. Please watch over the tribute you have. They’ll probably need it.”

“A mentor?” He frowned. “I don’t…I…” He fell silent, wrestling with himself for a bit. “I’ll try,” he whispered.

“And me, Nesri, and Shine will be there to help, so if you need anything, please let one of us know. Oh, and Shine has been taking good care of Niner. She’s excited to see you.” Niner was the Synthetic Doberman who had been with Ives at first, but he had begged us to take her with us to protect her.

He nodded, stilling at the mention of Niner. “Thank you. For all of it. I don’t deserve all of this.”

I nodded. “I think you do, but I also think that it doesn’t matter whether someone deserves it or not. That’s not a good measure of anything, really.” I paused. “Do you want me to stay so we can chat? Or would you rather me leave so you can have a quiet night tonight? I might just go and find some other people who bought tickets for you and totally not beat them within an inch of their lives too.”

“You shouldn’t do that,” he whispered. “You could put your plans at risk.” He leaned over his knees. “Which I know you’re probably busy with. I don’t want to keep you. How long is it until the Games start? Maybe, if they’re planning to use me as a mentor, they won’t be giving out as many tickets.”

Of course not. They were way the fuck too greedy. “Only about a week until the Reapings happen. And no worries. I have the perfect disguise for that.” I winked. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve gotten good at making plans by now. And do you want me to stay and chat? It can be about anything. I have a lot of good stories too.”

Ives nodded. “I do want you to be careful. But I think, maybe, I should try and get myself ready for things.” He glanced down at the mechanical stuff Shine sent. “I have a few repairs I should do.”

At least he was going to take the help! I nodded and stood up. “I’ll see you, and I’ll help get you out. I promise.” I put on my hat and bowed with a flourish. “Please stay safe.”

“You as well. And, Triel, no picking fights,” he whispered.

I grinned. “Don’t know if I can promise that, but I’ll try.” And with that, I left. And totally tracked down at least some ticket holders before I headed back to the ship to see my crew.

When I got back on the ship, Nesri walked straight up to me and even Shine looked up from what they were working on. I grinned and waved at them before hugging Nesri, giving her a kiss on the cheek and feeling more of a thrill when she blushed.

Shine walked up, handing us wine glasses and signing once their hands were free. “How did the meeting with Ives go?”

I took a sip and walked over with Nesri, sitting down next to where Shine was working on something for the mission. I signed back. “It will take some work to convince him, but I am not going to give up on him.”

Nesri chuckled and chugged her wine, leaning against me afterwards, signing as well. “I will talk to him, and then he will totally change his mind. Well,” she deflated a little. “I failed him. I will not fail him again. Steelheart is going to be safe by the end of this. I promise that.”

I looked over at Nesri and held her close, kissing her forehead. “I failed him too. It is not just on your shoulders.”

Shine snorted. “I just want to learn more about his machines and help him out.”

We laughed, and I relaxed against Nesri. “This will be the last time I will be able to relax for a few weeks.” I stared up at the night sky. I was going to miss the ocean. “The stars are beautiful tonight.”

Nesri nudged me before she signed. “They are not the only things that are beautiful.”

Shine sighed. “Not to break up your flirting, but just to check one more time, what is the plan for the Reaping day?”

I nodded. “There are no planned volunteers. Ashont doesn’t have anyone to force to volunteer, so I’ll volunteer for the youngest person I can.”

Shine nodded and finished with their work. They handed it to me. “The teleportation device. I will make it small enough for you to be able to sneak it into the arena.”

I grinned and clasped their hand before signing. “You are a genius. Thank you so much!”

I leaned back and sipped my wine as Shine waved it off. Nesri leaned against me and whispered in my ear. “You want to have a good night before the Reaping?”

A smirk pulled at my lips, and I looked down at her. “Always, love.” I checked with Shine to make sure they were good and walked with Nesri to my quarters to have a nice night.

#writeblr hunger games #whg #writeblr

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echantedtoon · 6 months

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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch8 Battle Gym Leader Milo

(I have read somewhere sheep love dandelions so Im applying that fact to wooloos. I would also like to note that all side quests shall also be considered a part of the story.)

It would be nice to wake up without pain in your neck, sides, or back wouldn't it? That's what you wished you could do as you were shaken yet again the very next morning by someone. The four of you had decided to set up camp in the nearby camping grounds near the stadium since the day was starting to come too a close and you still weren't used to not sleeping on anything between you and the ground besides the thin floor of the tent and had fallen asleep feeling the hard ground beneath you and it must've taken you at least a good three hours before you had fallen asleep that night. Your sobble softly snoring sleeping on your head. And this morning was just like the rest when you woke up with a slight pain in your neck and back, popping them as you stretched. And with what happened yesterday you must've looked a sight-

"You look like you haven't slept in a month." Yep. It was Gloria decked out in her white gym uniform again ready to take on the day and battle ....or so it seemed.

You yawned and rubbed at your neck. Giving a groan as you already felt your sobble climbing on your back to reach it favorite riding spot and you gave him a look when he flopped half of himself over your shoulder. You were starting to see a pattern with this little guy liking to hitch a ride instead of walking himself.....Hm. Well if he was gonna stick with you for a while maybe you should give him a name? But right now you were more concerned with how much you were yawning. "Haha. I wonder why."

"Is she up?" Victor's head appeared in the opening of the tent next to his twin's and rose a brow at you blinking at the sunlight. "Oh...Wow you weren't wrong? Real case of bed head there, Y/n."

"Glad to know I can scare off Prince Charming," you sarcastically stated, "Although I wasn't expecting any kissing from any royalty anyhow."

Gloria snorted and Victor quickly held up his hands. "WHA- I-I didn't mean to be rude I swear it's just-"

"Ah. It's fine." You cut him off moving to grab your lumpy backpack/pillow at this point and made to crawl out of the tent. "Im always like this in the morning anyways. All I need is a quick hair brush and Im fine. ...What time is it?"

"Pretty early in the morning. We can all head on over to the stadium if you want but we'll still have to wait. Milo's still battling someone at the moment."

It must've been one of the trainers from before you guessed as you completely crawled out reaching up to straighten your hair out in an attempt to look presentable from a night of little sleep. "I guess he's still busy today. Kinda makes me wanna rethink my whole business license schtick if this means I'm gonna run a business like that."

"Business stick?"

"...Nevermind. Help me put away the tents then we can head on over to the gym ok?"

The four of you scrambled to put the tents away as you fumbled to get yourself looking half way decent. You doubted anyone would pay too much attention to you being only one random person sitting in the crowd of possibly hundreds of more people...That reminds you. You looked over your shoulder at Gloria who was currently in a pretty deep conversation with her twin whil Hop (tried to-) wrestle the tent down into it's more compact form. Victor mentioned she had stage fright. Not as bad as before stage fright, but still stage fright. He mentioned she had gotten A lot better but it seemed there was still some left since you could still remember her stiff smile and the way Hop had assuring held his friend's hand out on the field there, which was real sweet of him. You could definitely tell he was related to Leon. But it won't be the same here. It's not like you or anyone else would be there to encourage her while on field. The best any of you could do was cheer her on from the stage. Guess the two of you would have to roll with the punches as they were about to hit you. It didn't take too long to pack everything away, and you had helped Hop with his struggling battle to put the tent away. As soon as it was tightly packed away and placed onto Hop's back, you turned ready to journey to the stadium-

"Hey." Gloria's voice stopped you mid step as she pointed back up the way from the stadium. "Before we head on out I need to buy me some dandelions."

You gave her a look like she was crazy. "Dandelions? What would you buy dandelions right now for?"

"Milo's still busy right? Then we have time to get some before we go!"

You had zero idea what in the world Gloria would want with dandelions especially before her first gym battle, but you agreed since it meant you'd have some more time to straighten your hair out. So you agreed and she proceeded to buy dandelions at the florist shop. Stuffing them into her white uniform's pants pocket. She had bought a good amount and you wondered what in the world they were for. A gift for Milo perhaps? By the time the four of you made it back down to the GIGANTIC stadium. Her brother turning to her as you three stopped by to part ways. From here you could hear the cheering from the hundreds of people within and briefly wondered for a moment exactly where all these people came from. Certainly not this small town unless they traveled to see the matches. Which seemed more likely.

"Don't forget to show them your League Card to get in," Victor reminded her.

"I know."

"And stay calm."

"I know."

"Have a clear head and think things through alright."

"I KNOW!! Vic I'll be fine! You guys should get seats and watch me kick some butt!"

You heard him groan and shake his head. "Just....Don't forget what we talked about earlier alright?"

She nodded her head before giving him a smile and turned on her heel to trot on over to the front doors, which was guarded by more of those security people from the first stadium. Hop caught your attention when he nodded his head towards the stadium and you agreed following him as he turned to walk towards around the far side of the stadium with Victor hurrying to following behind. The three of you walked around until you came to two large double doors with stairs leading up and up into the stadium and you followed them screams and cheers becoming more and more prominent until you exited through the top and found yourselves high up and in side the stands....Huh. There wasn't as many people as you thought there would be. There was still a lot of people filling the seats around you but there was considerably less than at he opening Ceremony. There was still a good chunk of empty seats scattered about even with the large crowds. Surrounding the field was hundreds of seats with spectators cheering loudly and chattering likely excited for the next battle with Milo but said Gym Leader was no where to be seen on the field. Your guess was that he was taking a small break before the next battle to be had. You still followed behind them as they walked down the steps(thank GOODNESS that it wasn't as loud as the other stadium. You didn't think you could take that loud of a racket again.) and the lot of you were able to be seated a lot closer to the field this time thanks to the variety of open seats. As the three of you sat down the cheers of the crowd soon turned into loud but manageable to your ears murmurs. Your sobble had taken to pushing itself up half on your head to look around interested but you reached up to take him into your lap instead. Neck still stiff from your awkward sleeping position.

It was then you noticed there was no one on the grassy fields below. "Hey. Where is everyone?"

"Gloria must be going through the challenge right now," Victor said it was easier to talk to him now than at the Opening Ceremony. "It took Hop about twenty five minutes to make it through so we'll have to wait and see what happens."

"It wasn't too hard," Hop commented crossing his arms, "In Postwick it's practically a need to know skill how to herd wooloo. A right of passage if you will. That challenge was practically begging me to solve it!"

That's right. Hop and the twins were born and raised amongst these pokemon. This should be fairly easy for them you thought. Or more likely hoped.

"Is this being broadcasted on TV as well?"

"No. Only the Entrance Ceremony and the Champion Matches at the end of the year will be. All the battles at the stadiums are recorded though, but they're uploaded to the Gym Challenge League's official Poketube website. So Mom would still be able to watch us if she wanted too. It helps with the pacing of TV channels and networks and makes it more conveniet for anyone watching."

Ah. That makes sense. Guess you just had to wai- ....You blinked and squinted your eyes towards the field and pointed. "Hey. Who's that?"

Both boys looked towards the stadium's giant TV and Hop answered. "Oh. That's Dan. He's the gym's referee here, but he doesn't usually step out on field unless the battle's about to begin."

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! THE BATTLE BETWEEN GYM LEADER MILO AND GYM CHALLENGER GLORIA SHALL BEGIN!!"

All three of you looked rather surprised at what was just said by the blonde man before Hop said what the three of you were thinking. "WHAT?! Already?! How could she have finished the challenge that fast!? It's barely been ten minutes."

You weren't sure yourself but were distracted by the sudden amount of cheers from the crowd as two more figures stepped onto the field. From the far left came Milo, the same man who worriedly apologized for letting his wooloo knock you over and from the right came Gloria..but she looked a bit different. Unlike last time, instead of stiff her movements were fast, jogging her way to the middle keeping her eyes slightly downward as the cameras caught her image and placed them on the screen for everyone to see. The two of them met somewhere in the middle of the field by Dan and although you could see their lips moving as they exchanged a few words you couldn't hear anything. You had guessed you wouldn't unless they had microphones to speak into. Before long the two bowed to each other before turning on their heels and walking away from one another. The flash of Victor's camera making you blink as he proceeded to capture his sister's first real battle of the league. Hop watching with a set determined face. The referee taking a few steps back himself, most likely not wanting to get caught in the crossfires.

"Here we go."

In one fluid motion with a cheer from the crowd, Milo threw a ball out and in a flash of light out came a gossifluer. Gloria mimicked the motion with her own pokeball and to your light surprise it wasn't a scorbunny. It was a corvisquire. The crow bird like pokemon gave a loud caw as it fluttered there awaiting orders. You didn't remember her catching that pokemon. Must've been one of the new ones she managed to capture back before you left Motostoke.

"BATTLE BEGIN!!"

Immediately Milo pointed and his lips moved in yelling in order. Immediately his gossifluer responded by a wind blowing around itself and suddenly leaves danced around it it a tiny tornado before being flung forward towards the bird pokemon. Razor Leaf move perhaps? Gloria's small form (or big form on the giant tv depending on which one you were watching) pointed back and barked something and like a blurred shadow the bird thing shot forward, dodging the leaves thrown at it, and like a seagal plucking a fish from the sea, the tiny gossifluer was quickly snatched up into the claws of the crow thing. You could only watch in worry for the poor thing as the corvisquire flew up, up, up until it would've been considered out of bounds of the gym. Before plummeting like a rock down below. THEY'RE GONNA crash!! Was the first thing in your mind as they went and just at the right moment the pokemon snapped it's wings back up and easily managed to fly away unhurt. A sigh of relief escaped you. Thank goodness....Only...it no longer had the gossifluer in it's claws. Your hold on your sobble increased making it give you a confused chirp, as your f/c eyes instantly went to the part of the field it would've crashed into. Only to catch the part glimpse of a light going back into the pokeball in Milo's hand. That could've only meant that Gloria managed to one hit K.O. the poor pokemon. That didn't sound right, unless the corvisquire she caught was pretty strong or-...Oh no. It couldn't be that- No time to wonder on that now as Milo sent out another pokemon who looked like a walking puffy dandelion. Eldegoss if you remembered right. While Gloria kept her corvisquire....before returning it. Guess she was changing it after all.

"ALL RIGHT!! DYNAMAX TIME!!"

You didn't have time to ask Hop what he meant. A bright red glow oozed out of the band Gloria wore upon her arm as she held her pokeball, it quickly was surrounded by the glowing energy before becoming bigger in her hands. She stumbled a bit seeming to have trouble with the added weight where you for sure thought she'd fall, before up righting her self and turning around. With her teeth grit, Gloria raised the gigantic red pokeball above her head and tossed it. Your eyes followed it as it sored as high and far as she could- CRAP!! Your hands came up as an explosion of red appeared out of no where like multiply giant fireworks, followed by a whoosh of wind strong enough to push your body back and an UNGODLY giant cry in such high volume you could've sworn your ear drums could burst. There was a very loud chirp of panic and your eyes opened in a panic down to your shirt just as your sobble dove under it to escape the now......FREAKING. GIANT. BIRD THING!!! THAT THING WAS MASSIVE AS YOU STARED AT IT FLYING!! Thank god the stadium was built big enough for that thing to flap it's wings!! Speaking of which every flap sent a gust of wind flying from it, making Victor have to hold hit hat with one hand as he continued taking photos! Good gosh! No wonder your sobble was shaking against you! That'd thing give would give you nightmares too! A red circle of dynamax clouds hung over the Corvisquire and it's black body now had a red shine to it. Looks as if Milo had decided to do it as well, because he did the same process of returning his own pokemon and adding the same red energy from his dynamax band. Giving the precious red pokeball a few pats with a smile before turning around and with one arm chucked it into the air behind him. Once again you had to shield your eyes from the bright explosion of red as the giant eldegoss made it's appearance with a slam down on the field that disheveled the ground and shook the stadium from under you. In an instant Gloria pointed towards the dynamaxed grass pokemon and must've given some kind of order you couldn't hear. Because it was at that very moment what you could only describe as a giant whirlwind of a tornado whipped from the corvisquire and straight for the eldegoss in a dead hit. That's right. Dynamaxing was a cool thing, but neither pokemon could dodge each other's attacks they were too big. Dynamaxing was a test of brute will to see how much you could hold out. And you were pretty sure Gloria had the upper hand but not because you thought she was super strong. The high winds made the three of you clutch your seats as it hit the eldegoss head on. If your hair wasnt a mess before it was now. Once the winds (other than the powerful breezes from the bird's wings) died down, you nearly choked seeing Gloria's form on her hands and knees clutching the grass to not be blown from the dirt. HOW WAS MILO STILL STANDING!? With a shriek of it's own the eldegoss leaned it's large head forward and you were surprised when three large green seeds fired off from it's head and landed with giant thuds under the bird's feet. Thank goodness Gloria was already ducking. What sprouted forth was GIGANTIC green mushrooms and grass surrounding it, then it exploded in a giant flash of green light. Giant glowing petals made of energy shooting everywhere before disintegrating into thin air. Green waves of energy washing over the crowds as the bird gave off a giant eagle cry of it's own but still flying in tack. ...That was one tough chicken!

"Eldegoss's Dynamax Move!! Awesome isn't it!?"

You couldn't answer. Another giant eagle cry pierced the air making your ear hurt and two black jet streams poured from it's wings. You watched in horror and shock as the dark jet streams encircled the poor grass pokemon. Encasing it with a dome of black before exploding in a blast of black. The eldegoss crying out in pain as is tilted towards the ground- OMG! That thing was gonna crush Milo!! The eldegoss went out in an explosion that sent dirt clouds flying up everywhere as it timbered glowing brightly through the dust clouds as it magically shrank down winthin it's own mess. You all watched with baited breath as the clouds spread out and covered the famous gym leader as well, Gloria's bird pokemon glowing a bright reddish color before beginning to shrink down until it was back to it's normal size. It's normal size being about as big as Gloria herself (which was still pretty big but when again you remembered how big corviknight are supposed to get), and perched back onto the ground right next to it's trainer who was staring from her kneeled position as the dust literally settled. At least the giant gusts of wind weren't pushing you against the seats anymore. Maybe you should suggest to Leon to install seat belts on these stands. As the dust finally settled with great relief you saw Milo, unhurt and waving his big sunhat to shoo the dust away. Behind him was a giant crater in the ground and disheveled land. All that was left behind from the battle that had taken place.

"THE BATTLE IS OVER!! VICTORY GOES TO GYM CHALLENGER GLORIA!!"

The absolute UPROAR of the crowd's cheers along with Hop standing up to shout his own cheers to his rival/friend and another flash from Victor's camera signaled him capturing the shocked look on his sister's face just standing there looking around herself....Before you saw the brightest smile Gloria's ever given on her face and hugged her corvisquire making the poor pokemon wobble on it's feet as Milo placed the hat back on his head. The gym leader took a moment to look behind him at the disheveled field and big crater in the ground before looking back to the teenager and approaching her. Gloria seemed to notice because she stopped hugging her pokemon to face Milo with wide eyes as he approached her. The two exchanged words for a moment before Milo held out his hand in a fist with a smile. Wide eyed she took a moment to stare at it before slowly holding out her own hands and he dropped something into the palm of her hands. Wide eyed and staring straight at it, it only took her a few moment for her to hop about excitedly and hold up the small thing in her hands. The cameras zoomed in enough for you to see that she was holding the same badge Hop had showed you the other day on the TV. She did it!? Her first badge! One more step on your way home! ...At Least you hoped. In the end the two of them shook hands and soon after excited the field as the three of you exited the stands, you taking your sobble and putting him on your shoulder again. The poor shaking pokemon calming quickly noticing there wasn't anymore giant pokemon. Hm. You might have to put him in your backpack from now on if he was gonna react all scared and hide like this. By the time the three of you excited the stands Gloria was already waiting outside the doors she went in. Smiling and bounding over towards you waving the badge around in her hand.

"LOOK AT THIS!!," she yelled excitedly shoving the badge in your faces the bronze-gold shining in the sunlight. "On my first try too! I told you I could do it!"

"You must've took my advice then."

You gave Victor a curious look. "Advice?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We used to play VR battles when we were younger as practice since we didn't have any pokemon. I suggested she pretended it was like the game and try her best."

Oh. Well that worked out pretty well for her anyways. Hopefully it'll work for the next battle as well, but you were a bit concerned that Gloria(and Hop-) only won because Milo and his pokemon was overwhelmed and tired by the onslot of trainers coming so early. But you were reluctant to say so. Not only because you didn't want to disturb the progress of the game's story more than you might have already did just by being here, and because you didn't want to hurt either of their feelings. Weighing your options, you decided that not mentioning it was the better choice for now.

"Congrats! I knew you could do it!," you complimented as she smiled wider.

"Thanks! I guess we all must be on the same battling skill level then!"

"HECK YEAH! Wouldn't expect anything less from the greatest trainers to come out of Postwick!" You chuckled at him. "Oh by the way. What'd you do with all those dandelions you bought? Did you give 'em to Milo or something?"

A sly smile spread across her face. "Nope! I'm surprised you didn't remember."

He rose a brow. "Remember what?"

"Expert on wooloo huh?" She shook her head. "Wooloo love eating dandelions! That's why you barely find any of those flowers where wooloo graze or on farms in general. The objective was to get the wooloo to knock over the hay bails right? What better way than to get them to chase after you with their favorite food?"

Wow. That was actually a really smart idea you had to admit. Growing up in a farming community must really pay off. Hop's jaw practically fell open with this new revolution and his hands hands came up to grip his head. "AW MAN!! Why didn't we think of that!? I got my own wooloo for crying out loud!"

"Hey. It's ok. You're still smarter than me when it comes to science and research. You'd be a pretty good scientist too!"

"Science? Really?"

Hop nodded with a sigh. "Yeah. But it's more of a hobby, I just find learning stuff interesting y'know. But my main goal is to become the next Galar Champion!!"

"Not if I beat you to it!"

"Bring it on, Glory!

"Speaking of becoming champion," you interrupted the two, "Have you guys figured out which person you're gonna battle next?"

Both of them paused before looking at each other and Hop shrugged. "Well, there's really no particular order you have to have to battle in so I can pick anyone I want to battle next. It really doesn't matter as long as you get the eight badges for your Badge Circle...." She looked at you. "But Mr. Milo suggested I should go battle Nessa instead. He said she might be a good challenge for me."

"Nessa? Isn't she that model lady you showed me before?" She nodded.

"No way! That's where we were headed too!" Hop smiled. "Victor and I could use the next challenge.This is a great chance to do a bit of traveling together!"

"Hey that sounds like a great idea! But first I want to check out this Turrfield treasure."

You all looked at her confused. "Turrfield treasure?"

She nodded. "I heard from a kid that there's supposed to be some kind 'o treasure around here. I think I figured out the riddle since then and I wanna go check it out before we leave."

"What kind of riddle?"

She made a thinking face. "Uh...Hang on a sec. What did she say how'd it go again? Some treasure lies in Turffield and the way to find it is with the standing stones and a riddle."

"Standing stones?"

"She means the ruins around Turffield," Victor answered you seeing the confusion on your face. "Some people call them 'Standing Stones' since most of them stand upright with their strange carvings."

"Seek the standing stones with Grass before the other ones," Gloria recited, "Use well that strength and find then the strength of it's strength in the end. Dally not if you've a mind to find what time has left behind...I don't know what it means tho."

"I do! It's about Pokemon types duh."

The three of you looked at Hop. "How did you solve that mystery?"

His answer was to point upwards towards the small florist and gift shop. "You remember the gift shop up there we were in?" You nodded confused. "They have this brochure in there with info on the Geoglyph and Standing Stones. I got curious after what Glory said about the thing and had a lil peek. It turns out one of the older standing stones has symbols that spell the word 'Grass' on it. And then there's two other's with 'Water' and 'Fire' cut into 'em too. It's like the three pokemon types. Grass types are usually stronger than water types but water types are usually stronger than fire types. And Fire Types are usually stronger than Grass types. It's a whole cycle of advantage type strengths."

You all were completely floored with such a logical and smart answer to come out of the teen but Gloria seemed the most impressed when she suddenly grabbed onto his hands making the poor boy freeze. "NO! WAY!! Oh my eevee! That makes so much sense! Hop you're a genius!!"

....He blinked a pink hue coming to his cheeks. "I-...I-I am?"

"YES!," she insisted eyes wide, "Who else would've been smart enough to figure out that riddle in one day!? And make the connection with pokemon advantages!" She gave him a tug and he stumbled a bit as she pulled his hands. "C'mon! We gotta go check 'em out! You know where they are right?"

"Wha- GLORIA!! What about our travel plans!?," Victor shouted after her gesturing towards a road that if you looked, was the way out of town.

She waved him off tugging Hop quickly down a different path back towards the Geoglyph. "It's just a quick look see! We'll meet you guys at the Pokemon Nursery on Route Five!!"

"GLORIA WAIT!!.....UGH!!" Victor facepalmed himself with a groan as he stood there and you blinked. "This is why I'm glad she has a traveling buddy." He looked back up at their disappearing forms with a scowl. "She gets one idea in her head there's nothing stopping her from getting it! Then she just rushes off into it without a second thought."

"Then I take it she didn't tell you about trespassing on the Chairman's mine shafts."

"She did WHAT?!"

"Uh...Nevermind," you deflected pointing down the road. "Should we uh...Go wait for them?" In the end Victor huffed, shook his head, and turned on his heel to begin walking down the road. So you took that as a yes and made to follow him. "So....Where's the way to this Nessa person?"

Victor took a minute to respond with a sigh. "I'm not too sure. I know it's all the way on the other side of Galar in a coastal town called Hulbary. So it's safe to say it'll take some time if they insists on battling her gym next. Let me check my map." You watched and walked beside him patiently as Victor reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Turning on to where the screen lit up and then spoke. "Hey Rotom. How long would it take to travel from the town of Turffield to the town of Halbury?"

Now you know you shouldn't have been surprised considering all phones had a rotom pokemon in it acting as this world's version of 'Hey Google' but you still blinked at the almost robotic voice answering him back. "ZZZZT. Follow on Route 5 to your destination. By Flying Taxi it would take approximately a week. By foot near a month."

"A WHAT!?"

He gave you a look. "Flying is a lot faster than walking, and Hulbury's all the way across Galar from here. Of course it would take that long to travel by foot." Oh...right. Not a game. R.I.P your poor feet and the many night of awkward sleeping positions to come. He looked back to his phone messing with something on the screen a few times. "...According to this, Route Five starts once we pass the Pokemon Center and cross Turrfield Bridge. From there it's a straight course right across country to the east coast. It might take a while but it's the most convenient one for all of us."

"Isn't there a train or those taxi things?" Even if you REALY didn't want to try using those birdbrain powered taxi's you didn't like the sound of you walking across country for about a month either.

"Even if we got a taxi you heard Rotom. It'd take like a whole week of flying. And the corviknights need time to rest and eat and sleep too. They're living things just like us. Even cars, trains, and planes need to stop and need time to tune up and refill on gas don't they? And besides there's no train stations or Flying Stations set up in Turffield. If you want a train you'd have to travel back to Motostoke which is half a week, or you'd have to call a taxi from there to pick you up. Besides we all have a whole year to complete this task. One month out of eleven more isn't going to hurt anyone."

Except your feet and sleeping abilities but you couldn't argue. He was right. You traveled for four days and waited five for Gloria to get her first badge. You could do it again but longer. As the two of you walked down the road, the town began to fade away a bit behind you as you two traveled down the road. You both were just crossing over a small hill when you noticed a small cabin like building with a sign above his door reading: Turffield Pokemon Nursery. That must've been it! It looked as cozy as it did cute. And a little bit a ways from it was a bridge. That must've been the Turffield Bridge Victor spoke of earlier. Maybe you two should wait for the other two inside? It was pretty sunny out and you've been in the sunlight for a while. As you two walked towards the building, some movement near the bridge caught your eye and your eyes turned towards said movement. And your vision was filled with blurs of black and red and your hearing clogged with yelling. Your hand instinctively coming out to grab Victor's shoulder. The teen stopped from the tug on his shoulder a few yards away from the Pokemon Nursery before giving you a confused look as you stared. He followed your gaze just as what was happening finally registered in your head. It was those goons again! The weird ones that looked like they just stepped out of some kind of rock concert! The same ones from the hotel back in Motostoke! Why were they here tho? Two men who looked about your height a bit taller, were standing there on the bridge just as it connected with the road and backed against a part of the bridge was another man who looked all dressed up to be a doctor. Blue jumpsuit and a mask over half his face as he held up his hands to the men. Now yelling could be heard.

"OI! Just hand over that bike already!," One of them shouted pushing the smaller man's shoulder once, "We need it to cross this long bridge!"

"N-N-No!" The doctor man stammered out backing further against the wall of the bridge. "I-I bought this with my own hard earned money f-f-fair and square! What would two blokes like you even do with it!?"

"We're gonna use that bike ta chase around Gym Challengers! It'll be a scream!," the other said before cackling out with laughter.

"WHAT!? N-NO WAY!! I-Im not letting you two meatheads use my bike to chase around innocent children!"

"...Victor?"

"Yeah I see it." He peered around you brow raised looking at the scene before you two. ''Who the heck are those guys?"

You didn't answer, just stared as the two brutes jabbed the man again demanding his bike (or lack there of as you couldn't see one-) be handed over to them. How mean! But what really caught your attention was mentioning chasing around gym challengers. Now you couldn't remember if anything like this had happened in game but chasing around innocent kids for whatever reason just didn't settle right on your gut. There was two kids with you that were challengers and one could easily mistake Victor for one if you weren't careful.

"....You stay here." To reiterate your point you pulled Victor to the side of the road and firmly planted him there. He blinked and opened his mouth- !? He blinked again once you shoved your backpack into his arms and began walking. Your sobble giving a small chirp of surprise with the sudden movements. "Hold this."

"Wha- H-HEY! Y/N! What're ya doin'!?"

"C'mon old man! Give us the darn bike and we'll leave ya alone! You can get another one!"

The man scowled up at them. "T-Then why dont the two of you BUY one!?"

"Money's tight man! Just give it to us!"

"HEY UGLY!!" Dust sprayed everywhere or at least over one of them. As the three men turned to the sound of a woman's voice only for one of the weird rockstar wannabes to receive a splat of dirt picked up from the road to hit him square in the face and have the rest of it cover his front body. The man sputter/screamed out and hands immediately went to wipe at his face. Luckily none got in his eyes so no pain, but that didn't stop the annoyance. Especially since when he looked back up there was a girl standing there hands on her hips and sobble half hiding behind her head as she point. You gave them the angriest scowl you could muster. "You two KISS lookin' airheads leave that poor man alone! He already said no so beat it before I make you!!"

Behind you Victor's jaw dropped and the two goons seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. Looking between the two of them confused before scowling and looking back to you. Crap. These two were both at least a good foot or two taller than you were. You hadn't really thought ahead but no turning back now.

"Oi! Girly, why don't ya mind your own business?"

"Yeah! This doesn't concern you!" They said leaning over you. Unknown to anyone your sobble was starting to get a bit teary eyed at the two above him.

"It IS my concern if you're going around hassling innocent people! What'd the guy do to you two?! Back off and leave him alone before I call Officer Jenny on your arses!" Really you didn't know if this region had an Officer Jenny, but it seemed to work as their scowled wavered a bit.

"Whatcha gonna have us arrested for!? We haven't done any crimes yet!"

"Yeah yet! And what about you two planning on scaring everyone you see?"

"Last chance Girly!" One poked your shoulder as if to intimidate you. "Mind your own busines-"

"WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The three of you were interrupted by a loud almost baby like wail as you immediately cringed from it being from directly next to your head. You hissed hands coming to cover your eyes in a panic feeling tears start to sting from them. Was the pain of the yelling so loud you started crying?! If you could've seen past your furious wiping and tears you would've noticed the other men starting to cry as well, face paint starting to run down their faces.

"AAA!! M-Man what's goin' on!?", one shouted to his companion.

"I-...I D-DONT KNOW!! LET'S JUST GET OUT OF HERE OK!?"

They fled. Bumping into you and knocking you over in the process. You yelped as you fell to your butt on the dirt road and your sobble let out a choked hiccup as it was jostled from your head and onto the grassy ground in the men's haste to escape. Well...the baby cry was gone at least, but there was still a few hiccups from behind you as you hissed and used your sleeve to furiously wipe at your stinging eyes. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!?

"OMG! Y/N! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"

"Here young lady. Turn your head up." You blinked crying to see past the stinging of your tear soaked eyes and someone gently grabbed your jaw. A Second later a wet cloth was wiping at your eyes. Almost instant relief came from your sore red eyes as someone wiped at them. "There we go. Lucky for you I always have a Sobble Tear Cloth handy on me due to how sensitive the little ones can be." Once you got enough clear vision you could see the faces of Victor and the doctor man who were both kneeled next to your fallen body. "There now. How do you feel?"

".....Peachy,'' you mumbled shaking your head from his grip. "What was that?"

"Your sobble crying. When sobbles cry it's like someone chops a hundred onions near you. It's a defense mechanism that's highly affective as you can see. The effects take a while to wear off but luckily for you I happen to be an expert on these kids of things." Grabbing your arm the man carefully helped you on your feet and smiled behind the mask. "Thank you kindly for the help. But you didn't have to, Im sure they would've left sooner or later."

You waved a hand sniffing as said sobble began to immediately start climbing up your pants leg again. Combined with your wooloo bowling trip, you must've really looked a sight. "It's fine. Can't be worse than being knocked over by a wooloo. Are you alright, Mister?"

He nodded. "Yes. Thanks to you. Here. Let's get you to the Nursery. There's some eye drops in my office that might help you further. I work there as one of the nurses with the caretaker and her assistant."

You nodded and with the urge to wipe at your eyes the Docter and Victor helped you stumble walked your way towards the Nursery, your sobble continuing to climb up your body with little difficulty as it reached your shoulder. You felt it touch your cheek and give a small chirp but at the moment you paid it no mind trying not to fall over.

"Hey, Vick-...Oh wow. What happened? Was Y/n crying or something?"

Oh great. Well at least they finally showed up.

"Ill tell you later. Opening the door over there and let's get her inside."

The next thing you knew you were inside a cozy looking house and was given eye drops. It took a few minutes for you to go back to normal and the redness around your eyes to subside. But by the time it did you were feeling way better and sitting on a green couch. One hand petting your sobble who happily accepted the affection with a smile. Hop and Gloria had returned from their small search a little bit after you had managed to chase those men off, and they happily explained their trip from standing stone to standing stone...But unfortunately didn't find anything other than an old ten dollar bill that someone most likely accidentally dropped while visiting them. And Victor got to scold you about just walking up to strangers like that. Weren't you the grown up here? Glad to know everyone was ok tho. The elderly lady at the center had offered the four of you tea as thanks for helping to rescue their nurse and Gloria excused herself to check out the Center's Free Pokeboxes in their own rotomi stations. When you asked about it Hop was happy to explain.

"Oh. Free Pokeboxes are basically boxes from people's rotomi boxes. Usually Nurseries and Centers get a whole lot of them if a pokemon's trainer passes away, or if they were donated or abandoned to the system. From there they're sorta put up for adoption or released back into the wild if no one claims them within a year or so.....Y'know I think Ill take a look too. I might just find a neat new partner." He got up to go join Gloria currently flipping through options on the rotomi leaving you with Victor sitting on the couch.

You sighed. "Man. Some day it's been huh? A riddle solved. A gym battle won. And now a nurse was saved."..You pointed over towards the other two. "Are you planning on grabbing some free pokemon too?"

"All thanks to you. But please maybe don't be so reckless next time. I was afraid something bad might've happened to you by what those brutes yelled running off." ...He shook his head. "Nah. I already evolved my eevee so I'm good for now."

"Oh? What'd they say? And when did you that?"

He hummed. "Um....I think....'You're too strong!" He tried to repeat in a failed attempt at a deep man voice. "If you stay in the Gym Challenge you're gonna cause problems for our lady! You haven't seen the last of us! We're gonna make sure you stay out of our lady's way!'..Or something like that. And I picked up a water stone while we were in the Wild Area. Seemed like a good thing to do since Vaporeon is a lot stronger than when it was a wee eevee."

Well that perked your interest. You stared at him. "Our lady?...Does that mean someone ordered them to go after Gym Challengers?"

He hummed a more worried look coming over him. "Could be. But I wouldn't know who or why. Who'd want to go after the Gym Challengers?"

That was a very good question. You wracked your brain for a moment. Was there any person in the game with a pack of goons? And was there any lady out to stop the gym challengers? Your memory turned up nothing as you sighed and sunk back into your seat on the couch as you did. Those goons were at the hotel and now here as well. That couldn't just be a coincidence could it? No...You had a feeling there was something linking those guys to whatever's about to happen to you. Too bad you didn't know. As you both silently sat there, another person walked in through the door and up to the counter but you paid them no mind even as Gloria approached them.

Eventually you sighed. "I wouldn't know either it seems, but just in case I think we should all be keeping a really close eye out for anymore of those guys and let Leon know the first chance we get. As the saying goes better be safe than sorry."

"Couldn't agree more. Especially since this is concerning my friend and sister."

"What's concerning us?"

Oh that was Hop. You turned. "We wanted to tell you about-" You blinked coming face to face with a grumpy purple face in the arms of Gloria as she held the tiny pokemon clinging to her like a baby. ...You pointed. "Where did you get that?"

"My Toxel? The lady that just came in wanted to drop it off. Somethin' bout hatching it and not being the pokemon she wanted or some speel. I couldn't just let a cutie like this go into adoption or tossed out in the cruel wild after just being hatched." She held it up to her face as she smiled. "Look at how cute you are! Who'd wouldn't want acutie pie like you?" The baby toxel in her arms responded by reaching an arm out and grabbing her nose. Aw! Cute.

You shook you head with a smile before standing. Lifting an arm up with your sobble clinging to it to allow it to freely crawl back onto your shoulder before you stood up slinging your pack over your shoulders. "C'mon. I'll tell you as we walk. The sooner we start the sooner we can reach Hulbury and our next step of this little adventure."

#pokemon leon x reader #reader x leon #leon x reader #pokemon leon #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #a champion time for the heart

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stargazer-sims · 1 year

Text

Journal Entry #49 (part two)

previously - Journal Entry #49 (part one)

Victor

After my appointment with Dr. Ishida, Mom and I grabbed some lunch and then went to the hospital to see Yuri. My visit with the eye doctor had gone way better than I'd anticipated, and she’d told me some things that'd taken me by surprise. I could hardly wait to tell Yuri everything that happened, and everything I'd learned from the doctor.

When we got to Yuri's room, he was sleeping. He's been sleeping a lot, so that didn't come as much of a shock. His body needs the rest, and even though the amount of sleep he's currently getting is induced by antibiotics, steroids and heavy-duty painkillers, I'm not too worried about it because I know it's helping him.

The thing that does concern me is how slowly he seems to be recovering. The last time he had an infection like this, the antibiotics had worked their magic in about three days. By the end of his fourth day in the hospital, he was able to sit up in bed by himself and swallow some water and a few mouthfuls of meal replacement drink on his own. This time, he's already been in the hospital for four days and they still have to hydrate and nourish him with tubes, and I don't think he's had the strength to sit up since he was admitted.

Mr. Okamoto was there when Mom and I arrived. With the benefit of my partially returned vision, I was able to see how drawn and weary he looked. If I hadn't known better, I might've even said he'd been crying. His eyes were red around the edges, as if he'd been rubbing at them, and there were pronounced dark smudges underneath.

I didn't draw attention to it. I just greeted him and asked how everything was going. He said Yuri had been awake around mid-morning, and they'd talked, but that he'd been in a lot of pain. He drifted off again after a nurse had given him more medication.

The way Mr. Okamoto said he and Yuri had talked made it sound like it hadn't just been meaningless small talk. I was dying to find out exactly what they'd talked about, but I knew better than to ask. It was unlikely my father-in-law would tell me anyway. Maybe Yuri would, when he was ready. It wouldn't do any good to ask him either.

I told Mr. Okamoto that I planned to stay for a while, if he wanted to go home for some food and a nap. He favoured me with a small smile that I could only describe as grateful, nodded, and said he'd be back around dinnertime.

That worked for me, because I needed to be home and fed before Sakura showed up in the evening. I could hardly wait to get Elsa back, as ridiculous as that likely sounds to some of you. I've been worrying incessantly that she'd gotten damaged in our flying tumble down the mountain, and I needed to inspect her for myself. Plus, I needed to tell Sakura about my doctor visit, and ask her if she'd been able to locate Seiji.

Mom decided to leave a few minutes after Mr. Okamoto did. She said it didn't make any sense for her to sit there and watch Yuri sleep, and I agreed. I suggested that she and Julian should go and do some sightseeing or something to take advantage of a free afternoon.

"Ask Uncle Kaz," I said. "He knows all the best things to do in town, and he'd probably love to play tour guide."

"I think Julian wants to go to the onsen," she said. "The indoor one. He wasn't comfortable sitting outside in your yard."

"He knows you have to be completely naked at the public onsen, right?"

Mom looked amused. "I'll tell him."

Yuri and I go naked in our little private hot spring bath behind our house, following the age-old rules of social etiquette for hot springs even though we don't really have to. Our friends do as well, when they're at our place, and it's totally fine. Even in the public onsen, it's not embarrassing at all to be in the buff because nobody's really looking at anyone else, and everyone's too polite to say anything even if they were looking.

"He'll be okay," I said. "I don't want him to be caught off-guard when he gets there, that's all."

She nodded. "I'm sure he'll appreciate the heads-up."

"Have fun," I said. "And don't let Uncle Kaz fill your head with nonsense about local legends and stuff. If it sounds fake, it probably is."

"Good to know," she said. She gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back to pick you up around five-thirty, okay?"

"Okay," I acknowledged. "See you later."

Once Mom made her exit, I took my place next to Yuri's bed, in the chair Mr. Okamoto had been occupying a short time earlier. It wasn't the most comfortable chair, which I knew from having sat in it for hours each day this week, but I reminded myself that my situation could've been a lot worse. At least today I didn't have to hang out in Yuri's rooom with nothing to do but be alone with my own thoughts.

Today, I was able to use my phone. I sent another message to Seiji, which yet again went unanswered, and I spent some time exchanging texts with Fox, who's the only one of our friend group who doesn't currently have a job. He said he and Takahiro hadn't heard from Seiji for several days either. According to him, Taka evidently knew something about it, but for some reason he didn't want to tell Fox anything. That worried me. I didn't want to stress Fox out with my own anxieties, though, so I simply said I'd let him know if Seiji messaged or called me, and he promised he'd do the same if Seiji got in touch with him.

After chatting with Fox, I scrolled through the sports news. I knew there'd been at least two stories about my accident right after it happened because Yuri had seen them and told me. There might've been more, but I wasn't emotionally ready to know, so I didn't search for them. Instead, I looked at hockey scores from back home, watched some epic ski-jumping videos, and read a short article about some hotshot Canadian figure skater who’s training here in Japan now and absolutely owning the podium this season.

The guy’s a Korean-Canadian, judging by his name, and he’s apparently dating a J-pop idol. I didn't know how the bit about the boyfriend was supposed to have been relevant to the news story, but it was mildly interesting, so I decided to bookmark the article so I could read it to Yuri later. He loves J-pop, and he'd probably know who the skater’s boyfriend is.

Yuri would likely recognize the skater's name as well, now that I’m thinking about it. Figure skating is another thing he’s into. He likes looking at the fancy costumes, and undoubtedly also the men in those costumes, although he’d likely never admit that last part to me. I don’t blame him, though. I mean, I don’t care about figure skating all that much, but if it wasn’t already obvious, I kinda have a thing for delicate-looking men, especially the fair-skinned and dark-haired ones like Eden Seong, the skater in the news article.

Don't tell Yuri.

When I got tired of scrolling, I got up and walked around the room a few times. Even though I'm not technically cleared for exercise, I tried a few leg stretches. It felt good to work my muscles, even if only gently.

I was in the middle of a set of knee lifts when I heard the distinct rustling of starchy hospital blankets, and then a small, sleepy whine. Yuri always makes the cutest noises when he first wakes up. It's like he's offended that his consciousness has resurfaced and dragged him away from sleep.

I immediately stopped what I was doing, crossed the room in a few quick strides, and resumed my seat.

"Hi," I greeted him. "Sleep well?"

Yuri peered blearily at me through half-closed eyelids. "Victor...?"

"The one and only," I said. "How are you feeling?"

He frowned adorably. "Is... is that a rhetorical question?"

"No. I really want to know."

"Better?" he said. "No, not really better... but, my pain's not too bad, and I don't feel like my brain is in a fog any more, so... that's something, I guess."

"Your fever's down. I'll bet that makes a difference."

"I wish I was better already," he complained.

"I know you do." As carefully as I could, I brushed my fingertips through his hair and down along his temple and cheek. "Honestly, though, I'm just glad you're improving and that we can be together. I missed seeing you, my sweet boy."

"You... what?" he said. Then, as my words sank in, he reached up to put his hand over mine, and despite how pale and sick he looked, his face lit up with the most beautiful smile. His eyes met mine and he held my gaze. "Wait a second. Victor, are you saying... you can see me?"

“Yeah.” I was suddenly crying for the second time that day, and I wasn’t even bothered by it. "Talk about irony, right? On the day I saw the eye doctor and everything."

"That's amazing news. You have to tell me all about your appointment with the eye doctor."

“I will," I said. "I have a lot to tell you, but I just... I want to look at you for a while, first. You know, our picture on the nightstand was the first thing I saw when I woke up, and then I could hardly wait to see you in person."

“You’ve been sleeping in my bed.” It wasn't really a question. He knows me well enough to realize that's exactly what I'd been doing, just like I knew without him telling me that he'd slept in my bed when I'd been in the hospital.

“It's because I miss you,” I said. “I'm waiting for you to come home and sleep in your bed with me.”

His smile faltered a bit, and he pulled my hand away from his face. He didn’t let go of my fingers, though. “Your cast is scratching me,” he said quietly, sounding half-apologetic.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I want to come home and share a bed with you again too, but it might be a few more days before I can. Maybe a week. I don't know.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be here with you every day until then."

"You need to take care of yourself," he said. "You need to rest. You're still healing too."

"I'll be resting here," I told him. "What am I going to be doing besides sitting?"

"I saw you exercising."

"Uh... don't tell anyone you saw that."

"You're impossible, Victor," he said. "Don't do it any more until Dr. Sato says you can. Understand?"

I smiled. "Hey, here's a thought. If I stay here with you, then you can keep an eye on me and boss me around as much as you want."

"I'm being serious."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'll be good."

"You'd better be," he said. He stirred uncomfortably, and then nodded toward something on the narrow, wheeled table near the bed. "Do you think you've got enough command of your fingers to use the bed controls? I think I'd like to sit up for a bit, but..."

"Are you allowed to sit?" I inquired.

"Nobody said I'm not allowed. Please? Just for a few minutes? We don't have to tell anyone."

Because I can almost never say no to him, I clumsily pressed buttons on the remote that controlled the elevation of the bed and eventually got it so that the head of the bed was at a comfortable angle for him. He wasn't quite sitting. It was more like reclining, but I reasoned it was better for him that way, since he didn't have to use any of his own power to hold himself upright. I was sure he was pleased to be in a position other than lying flat, like he'd been doing for the last several days.

When I asked if he was okay, he replied that he was. He reached for me again, and I let him curl his fragile little hand around mine.

We sat quietly for a few minutes after that. Yuri played with my fingers, slowly bending and flexing them as much as my casts would allow, and delicately massaging each one. I often let him do that, even before my accident. It feels good, not necessarily because of the movement, but more because he’s touching me by his own choice and doing it with such deliberate care.

I closed my eyes. “You’re so good at hand massages.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah. My fingers were stiff. I didn’t realize.”

“You’re not using them enough. Yes, I know you can’t,” he added, before I could point out the fact. “We’ll have to do this every day until you can.”

“You won’t hear me complaining.”

“Nor me,” he said, and then made a little noise of disapproval. “Bring moisturizer tomorrow, though."

"They're that bad?"

"They could be softer," he said. "Bring your nail clippers and file as well. If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll give you a manicure.”

I laughed at that. “A manicure? You really must be on the mend, if that's on your mind.”

"Bring your rings tomorrow too," he said.

"Do you think they'll fit now?"

"Hmm..." he hummed softly as he stroked the top of my ring finger. "I think so, and now you'll be able to see me put them on you."

"Can I put yours on you?" I asked.

"Mine are already on." He looked slightly bemused. “Besides, even if I took them off, how would you propose to put them back on without using your thumbs?"

"Well... you could just slide your rings down your fingers a bit, and then let me slide them back," I suggested. "Or maybe just that one." I gestured at his right hand, with the heavy gold band. "You know, the day we put those on was one of the happiest and the saddest at the same time? Like, being on a video call and watching you open the package and put your ring on yourself was really hard, 'cause I wished I could be there to put it on you. But, I was happy because of the promises we made."

"Me too," he said. "Both those feelings."

"So, can I...?"

He nodded slightly, and smiled in the sweet, shy way that never fails to melt my heart. "Yes, you can. In fact, I think I'd like that very much."

#ts4 #sims 4 #eagames #snowy escape #victorsworldadventures #victor nelson #yuri okamoto #tw hospital #tw illness #tw chronic illness #tw injury #stargazersims

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