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preathfics · 4 years

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PreathFics Madness: Sweet 16

Welcome to the second full round of the PreathFics Madness, co-sponsored by @hardtchill.

We had 249 votes in the round of 32.

Congratulations to those fics that advanced. There were some REALLY close matchups (we’re talking 3 vote differences). We’re now down to two matchups in each division.

Don’t forget:

We’re looking for your nominations for the best fics in a variety of categories. We will eventually use these to inform a bracket-like competition of things like Angst, Fluff, and One-shots.

Nominate Here

Thanks to @hardtchill for managing this. To avoid conflict of interest, @hardtchill has asked that you please do not nominate anything by AO3 user DODO24.

The Bracket:

A reminder that this bracket is all of the PreathFics that received 900 or more kudos on AO3 (as of April 7, 2020). We need you to vote for your favorites in each round. The fic with the most votes in each matchup advances to the next round. I will not be posting the margins of victory, but @hardtchill also has access to the results and can independently verify their validity.

Sweet 16:

The Sweet 16 is now open for voting. You will vote on 8 pairs of fics. We’re giving everyone three days to vote again. Please please please DO NOT vote more than once and DO skip any pairs of fics that you haven’t read. I’m including links to all of the fics below each division bracket image, should you want to read before voting!

This round will end after 72 hours (8pm GMT/4pm EDT/1pm PDT on April 17/ 4am ChinaST April 18).

Next round will be the Elite 8, and you will vote on 4 pairs of fics to determine who advances out of their division and to the final four!

Sweet 16: VOTE HERE

Here is the bracket:

Division 1:

under pink skies (248782 words) by wnnbh12

Chapters: 30/30 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press Summary:

Tobin likes her life. She's made a name for herself playing professional soccer, she's got an endless list of girls' numbers in her phone, she's got the life she's always wanted.

But sometimes things change.

And sometimes change is a good thing.

---

electric love (23296 words) by blake0tyler Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Alex Morgan/Kelley O'Hara

Characters: Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara, Lindsey Horan, Morgan Brian, Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh, Emily Sonnett, Julie Johnston, Rose Lavelle

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, chaotic alex morgan, everyone is oblivious

Summary:

As a best friend, Alex knows — she just knows — that there are really only three things that Tobin genuinely cares about: black coffee early in the morning, playing soccer, and kissing girls at parties when she’s slightly too tipsy.

Alex also knows that dating pretty transfer students from Stanford does not fit into that category anywhere.

She knows.

Okay, she’s fairly sure, at least.

Christen & Tobin at college.

(& Alex’s perspective on the whole thing).

---

Feeling This (180329 words) by 5oclocksomewhere

Chapters: 32/32 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press

Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara, Julie Johnston, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, Alyssa Naeher, Lauren Cheney, Amy Rodriguez

Summary:

Christen is excited to start her freshman year at UNC, rooming with three of her teammates. A last minute transfer changes everything.

---

Wild and Young (44193 words) by Hidge Chapters: 19/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Tobin Heath/Alex Morgan Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Alex Morgan, Kelley O'Hara, Allie Long, Julie Johnston, Crystal Dunn, Original Male Character(s)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Love Triangles, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Confused Tobin, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Fluff and Humor, high school parties

Summary:

It turned out that Tobin Heath was totally into that whole good girl thing.

Tobin thought that Alex Morgan was the only girl that she could ever want, and then she got to know Christen Press.

--- Division 2:

---

Lonesome Dreams (286745 words) by whatname0523 Chapters: 36/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press

Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Mana Shim, Kelley O'Hara, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, Julie Johnston, Zach Ertz

Summary:

I lie under starlit sky And the seasons change in the blink of an eye I watch as the planets turn And the old stars die and the young stars burn But I don't really know this place, And it's lonesome here in the wide-open space Can it be as real as it seems? Maybe this time I won't wake from the dream

---

I was struggling to figure out how lightning works (then it struck me) (128582 words) by alittlestitious Chapters: 25/25 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Kelley O'Hara, Julie Johnston, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Single Parents, Family, Kid Fic

Series: Part 1 of

Struck

Summary:

"Hey Al, I accidentally kidnapped some kids," Tobin rushes out when her best friend picks up the phone, without so much as a hello.

Tobin possibly makes the best biggest mistake of her life.

---

Mixed Messages (110746 words) by elm27 Chapters: 28/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Alex Morgan, Kelley O'Hara

Summary:

Christen transfers across country to attend UNC, following in the footsteps of her friend Kelley O'Hara. Once she's there it is one series of events after the other, mostly surrounding her new roommate, Tobin.

---

Love on the Weekend (152214 words) by whatname0523 Chapters: 19/19 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara, Allie Long, Lindsey Horan, Emily Sonnett

Series: Part 2 of

Roman Holiday

Summary:

I gotta leave ya, it's gonna hurt me My clothes are dirty and my friends are getting worried

Tobin and Christen fell for each other in Italy. Can they make a long distance relationship work now that they're home?

--- Division 3:

---

Gold Love (172649 words) by Holom Chapters: 18/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Mallory Pugh

Summary:

“Christen? It…it is you, right?” Tobin sounded a bit unsure now.

Christen wanted to say something but she felt like she’d forgotten how to speak - like she was 15 again meeting Tobin for the first time. Her eye had caught the light reflecting off something on Tobin’s finger and she was certain she was going to pass out.

Right there, right where she saw Tobin put it on 12 years ago, was Christen’s ring.

“You know I waited for you. I waited for you until that loud u-17 coach threatened to make me run laps for the whole camp. I was so sure you were going to walk into the changing room, Christen. Where did you go?"

---

on a scale (from one to ten) (200591 words) by softanticipation Chapters: 28/28 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara/Christen Press Characters: Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara, Ali Krieger, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Tobin Heath

Series: Part 1 of

on a scale (from one to ten)

Summary:

After a summer apart, everything changes between Christen Press and her childhood best friend, Kelley O'Hara. All Christen wants to do it figure it out, but she's got a handful of other things that keep distracting her: thinking about grad school, being forced to make new friends, and - most importantly - trying to get along with Kelley's newest teammate, who seems to be out to make Christen's life a living hell.

---

pillowtalk (36823 words) by softanticipation Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Christen Press, Tobin Heath

Series: Part 1 of

pillowtalk

Summary:

Tobin's hurting. Christen's always there.

“It’s okay,” Christen soothes, moving her hand to come up and tangle in the base of Tobin’s hair. “We don’t have to do this now.”

“But I want to,” Tobin says, jaw setting even as her eyes fill with glittering tears. “I want to do this now.”

---

Afterglow (163024 words) by quincindentaldreams Chapters: 17/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press

Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara, Amy Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, Cody Press, Meghan Klingenberg, Becky Sauerbrunn

Additional Tags: Parenthood, Soldier!Tobin, Mom!Christen, Breaking Up & Making Up, G!pTobin

Summary:

"Her father, however, with the back doors closed from all the commotion and the front porch windows open, had recognized it instantly. His hand stopped from where it had been flipping the next pancake, ears tuned in to the outside to make sure he was hearing things correctly, then the sound of that old truck door shutting sounded throughout the house.

Christen angled her head backwards as the back door was opened, watching her father peak his head out quickly and wipe his hands on a hand towel. Every hair on her body stood up, as if lightening was about to strike through the blue sky above her head.

“There’s someone at the door for you, baby.”

--- Division 4:

---

Worth a Thousand Words (69624 words) by Heath17_KO5 Chapters: 18/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Kelley O'Hara, Christen Press, Alex Morgan, Ashlyn Harris, Emily Sonnett, Lauren Holiday, Ali Krieger

Additional Tags: background kellex, the whole uswnt - Freeform, Photographer AU, possible background soran, Don’t copy to another site

Summary:

Photographer Tobin has been hired to do the (tastefully nude) photography for a USWNT calendar, the proceeds of which will be used to benefit charity. She expected a busy day. She expected the long hours. She expected the nervousness of the women. She did not expect Christen Press.

---

Girl Crush (198389 words) by Urbanrebel6 Chapters: 28/28 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Alyssa Naeher, Kelley O'Hara, Sydney Leroux, Ali Krieger, Alex Morgan Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University

Summary:

Christen has a girl crush

---

we'll take the world by storm (it isn't that hard) (30866 words) by bestthreemonths Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press

Summary:

Navigating life, love, and adulthood in Los Angeles is hard enough for the average 26-year-old, but most 26-year-olds don't have several million subscribers hanging onto their every word like Christen Press does.

aka the youtuber AU

---

Make Me Like You (40428 words) by LittleHeiHei Chapters: 15/? Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press Characters: Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Alex Morgan, Kelley O'Hara, Allie Long, and the rest of the USWNT, Ashlyn Harris, Jill Ellis

Additional Tags: Hate to Love, Sharing a Bed, Secret Relationship, Eventual Smut, I'm as clueless as you are about where this is going, Fluff, They're both rude asf, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

They’ve hated each other since they met in the 2009 NCAA final. Christen thinks Tobin is cocky and insensitive. Tobin thinks Christen is uptight and far too serious. Fast forward 6 years and the two women find themselves sharing a room during the 2015 World Cup. This could get interesting…

#preathfics madness #sweet 16 #900 kudos

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truthbeetoldmedia · 6 years

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Charmed 1x01 “Pilot” Review

There had been rumors of a Charmed reboot for years. Before that, there were rumblings of it being a sequel to the original series. At long last, the rebooted series has arrived. The new series follows Mel and Maggie Vera (Melonie Diaz and Sarah Jeffrey), as well as their long-lost half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Madeleine Mantock), as they discover their new powers that were bestowed upon them after their mother Marisol’s gruesome murder. It follows the same kind of formula that the original series had, but that’s basically it.

As much as I had wanted to delve into every single article and promotional video leading up to the pilot episode, I had to hold myself back. Much like many fans, I was a huge fan of the original series and scoffed at the idea of a reboot so soon after the series finale. (It’s only been 12 years. That’s not a lot.) However, then I decided to be an adult about this fictitious work and it give it a shot. Hollywood hasn’t been pumping out very many original ideas lately, so we’ve got to work with what we’re given and make for the best and make the best of it, they did!

Going into this with a very open mind, I was delighted by what greeted me. There was a light-hearted air to the episode, despite it starting off with a murder and the sisters in mourning. It was a great set-up to help us get to know the new sisters and their whitelighter guide, Harry (Rupert Evans). Mel and Maggie were the two sisters who had grown up together in a small college town called Hilltowne. Mel, the oldest of the two, is a hot-headed grad student, as well as ardent feminist and sapphic queen. She has a beautiful, kind, and caring detective girlfriend, Nico Hamada (Ellen Tamaki). After Marisol’s murder, Nico breaks up with Mel, not because she doesn’t care, but because Mel is just so angry all the time. Mel knew something was up with her mother’s mysterious death, but no one had given her the time of day, including Maggie.

Maggie is an 18-year old undergraduate, starting her first year of college. We’re introduced to her trying to rush a sorority on campus. Maggie’s personality dictates someone that wants to fit in with those around her. The sorority is cliched, including the sorority president. That was basically one of only two parts of the episode I didn’t like. The sorority president, Lucy (Natalie Hall), comes across with this fake niceness that your typical “mean girls” always seem to sport. Lucy makes it clear to Maggie that she’s a shoe-in for joining the sorority, but wants Maggie to be more like the other pledges by falling a bit more in-line with their image.

Macy Vaughn is a scientist. She recently got a position at the same university that Mel and Maggie attend, working under a Professor Thaine. While taking a walk, she stumbles upon the Vera house a few short months after Marisol’s murder. She recognizes it from a picture she has of herself standing in front of it in Marisol’s arms. Macy was told by her father that her mother died when she was little. She discovers that part was a lie, but we see her reading about Marisol’s murder on her first day of work. She ends up visiting Mel and Maggie and telling them she’s their sister. She basically ends up rocking their world, as the house completely loses power.

The house may have lost electrical power, but these three young ladies gained their supernatural powers by all being under the same roof together for the first time. Turns out, that broke the binding spell their mother had placed on them. In the original series, the sisters had a binding spell placed on them so they could grow up as normal children, safe from dark forces. One can assume, based on this knowledge (unless you’re new to the world of Charmed), that it’s the same reasoning in the new series.

Soon after meeting, the three start to exhibit new abilities. Macy discovers hers at a bar. She ends up flinging a beer bottle at the wall...without touching it at all. She believes she’s drunk and clumsy and makes a flimsy excuse to leave her friend behind and go home. Mel finds her power when she’s catching up with Nico at a coffee shop. Nico’s a concerned ex-girlfriend at this point and while discussing Mel’s behavior after her mother’s death, Mel starts freezing time. Understandably, she’s freaked out and flees. Maggie finds her abilities during rush at the sorority house. She’s being introduced to other girls in the sorority and when she shakes their hand, she hears their thoughts about her. They’re typical judgemental sorority thoughts, but it’s enough to weird out Maggie and make a spectacle of herself in the meantime as she runs out of the house.

The three women soon find themselves waking up tied to chairs in the Vera’s attic. Harry (mentioned above) introduces himself as a whitelighter; their angelic, spiritual guide. He’s also the man who took Marisol’s vacant position in the Women’s Studies department at the college. Harry informs them that they are the Charmed Ones and it’s their destiny to take down the forces of evil and stop the apocalypse. Obviously, this is met with trepidation. Macy explains that it’s all just science and that magic isn’t real. Maggie is fearful of these new abilities and isn’t sure if she wants this. Mel seemed to be the only sister who was thrilled by the news! They now have the ability to find out who murdered their mother.

What actually gets them all on the same page eventually is when Maggie is attacked by her ex-boyfriend, who has been possessed by a demon. Was he the only evil being on campus? Absolutely not. Professor Thaine, who Marisol had been the sole reason for charges being brought against him because he’s a sexual predator, is evil in all the ways there can be. We’re first introduced to him earlier in the episode on Macy’s first day at work. He had the charges against him cleared, but protests were popping up on campus. By the end of the episode, Professor Thaine is made out to be the first big bad these new Charmed Ones have faced and defeated. They originally believed he was the one who killed their mother, but his dying words say otherwise.

The episode ends with with sisters gathered around a Ouija board, attempting to communicate with their mother on the other side. “She” informs them not to trust Harry. This can go one of two ways: 1) The spirit the sisters have come into contact with isn’t their mother and is potentially an evil spirit/demon attempting to turn the sisters against their Whitelighter. 2) Harry isn’t who he seems. I’m quite partial to number 1. It might just be that it’s my belief that Whitelighters are a force of good. If Harry is indeed a Whitelighter (he has the healing powers Whitelighters tend to have at least), I believe he must be good. If he isn’t, I’ll be the first to eat my words and express my disappointment.

As far as pilot episodes go, it wasn’t very groundbreaking. This show is still very much in the shadow of the original series. My hope is that it comes out from behind that shadow sooner rather than later. I want this show to stand out on its own and it very well could. It offers intersectional feminism, which the original series severely lacked. For the original series at the time, it was great feminism...for white women. Times change and representation needs to grow. If your feminism is lacking in intersectionality, then I know I certainly don’t want it. Fans of the new and old series, alike, should just give this series a shot. I am a very firm believer that you should never judge a show on its pilot. Let the season speak for itself. Let this show stand on its own.

The Power of Three is back and just as strong as ever!

Some thoughts:

It is WAY too early to tell who my favorite sister is going to be, but at the moment, it’s a tie between Macy and Mel.

The line about the power to freeze time being “very common with control freaks” had be laughing hysterically because, damn, if that wasn’t just true for Piper, and now Mel.

Pilot episodes are so cheesy, but this one was great for introducing the new sisters.

These sisters are also related to Melinda Warren! (Just like the original sisters!) It’s a show about magic, so naturally there could be a number of tie-ins to the original series.

What the fuck is with the orbing? Is it even called “orbing” in this series? Whitelighters are supposed to “orb” in and out. This is the only thing that could possibly make me think Harry isn’t a Whitelighter...unless this is the new orbing that isn’t “orbing”. (This was the second of two things I didn’t like about this episode, FYI.)

I’m sick and tired of seeing fans of the original series bashing the new series. Give this show a shot or don’t, but let the show speak for itself and stop harassing the actors and other people involved in the reboot. If you don’t like something, nothing is stopping you from simply not engaging. Be mature. It’s just fiction. Fiction is supposed to give you a break from your current reality. I’d gladly take a reboot over our current reality any day of the week.

Charmed airs on Sundays at 9/8c on The CW.

Sarah’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

#Charmed #Pilot

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alippy711 · 6 years

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Falling Away With You Ch.3

Alright here is chapter 3. I have been working on the ending to this for legit months and rushed it today because the 6th graders I'm subbing for are off the wall.

Warnings: Just the usual swearing.

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Chapter Three- My Favorite Swede

From the day I met David we had this incredible connection, an undeniable chemistry. I fell hard and fast for him and it terrified me. David lived in a completely different world than me but most of the time that didn’t matter. When we met I was your average 26-year-old trying to figure out my place in the world. I was finishing up grad school and working towards landing a job teaching history. Where David’s life was exciting and flashy mine was normal and boring. At only 20-years old he was a rising NHL star living in an exciting city like Boston where he was able to capitalize on all the benefits that came with being a professional athlete.

We met in November of 2016 putting him at the start of his season while I was venturing into my last year of grad school and despite our hectic schedules we became pretty inseparable. From the first time we went out I knew I was a goner. He won me over instantly. Im pretty sure I would have said yes to a marriage proposal the first time I laid eyes on him, but that’s neither here nor there. David’s the type of person that consumes you. He draws you in, making you crave more while never getting enough. He had this way about him, a swagger if you will, but not in an arrogant way. His swagger was this happy carefree confidence that hooked me from the moment I talked to him. He was my beautiful Czech storm that took me by surprise and changed my life forever.

Unfortunately for me we did differ on one big thing, relationships. From the very beginning we both knew we had something special, but David was 20 and what 20-year-old hot shot NHL player wants to be tied down to one girl? Not too many. Despite our obvious connection he wasn’t really in the market for a serious relationship, while I on the other hand had always been the relationship type. I was a one guy type of girl, but when it came to David he could usually get me to agree to almost any scenario. Fast-forward a year later and here we are, glorified friends with benefits.

David had always been clear about what he wanted, there was never a time when he led me to believe we were more. He knew he had the freedom to do what he wanted with whomever he wanted, but he knew once he really started to stray our benefits would end. I had too much respect for myself to become one of many girls he was sleeping with and he knew that. To some our arrangement might sound ridiculous, but we had a connection that neither of us were willing to give up so we made a compromise. It wasn’t the most ideal situation but I had fallen too hard for the sweet Czech boy with an accent that warmed my heart to care about any future repercussions. Looking back, I know this was a recipe for disaster, and by disaster I mean total and utter heartbreak. Deep down I knew it would come to a head, but I had been holding out hope that things would change and David would want to commit.

****

Today was the day. Game one of two home games being played against Toronto that I circled on the calendar since before the season started. Playing Toronto meant one very exciting thing, William Nylander would be in the building playing opposite David and I couldn’t fucking wait. Willy and David met years ago when David moved to Sweden to play in the SHL and they had been close ever since. Unfortunately, we weren’t meeting up with Willy before the game due to David’s superstition stemming from last season’s game. We had gone to dinner with him the night before the game so I could meet him and the next day the Leafs kicked our ass and Willy scored a hat trick, so this time I have to settle with a five-minute chat after the game.

“You are entirely too hype for this game” My younger sister Addie said looking up from her studying as I skipped into my living room.

“Well I’ve been looking forward to this game all season” I rolled my eyes at her plopping down on the couch across from her.

“All season? It’s barely a month in...” she said sarcastically.

“Fine, I’ve been looking forward to it since they released the schedule months ago.” I said mocking her tone. She just shook her head and went back to whatever homework she was doing.

Addison was the youngest of us as she turned 22 in August and was in her last year of undergrad at Boston University. She had a place in Boston but could usually be found at Matt and I’s place at least once a week and tonight she would be my plus one at the game since Sam, Matts fiancé, had to work.

“Are you almost done? I’m starving and we have to leave early enough so I can see warm-ups” I whined watching her make the millionth note card of the night. She sighed, put her pencil down and shot me a look.

“You’re fucking ridiculous, but yes, that was my last one. Just give me like 15 minutes to get ready” she said putting her stuff in her bag. I smiled and hopped up from my spot taking the stairs two at a time as I went to get ready.

“Ad is my outfit acceptable for you?” I called out into the hallway.

“Yes. Basically anything is acceptable that you wouldn’t wear to work” she remarked not looking at the outfit I had laying on my bed. I was tempted to tell her about the work outfit David liked, but figured I would spare her the details.

“Good, the bodysuit is new, I waited to wear it tonight” I smiled over at her and her eyes grew wide when she finally looked at the outfit.

“Wait that’s a bodysuit!? Oh my god. I’m so proud of you Ash!” She patronized patting my shoulder.

“You are a bitch. Figured I would try something new” I said referencing the long sleeve black bodysuit with a low strappy V-neck that I paired with my favorite black skinny jeans and black booties. I went into my closet and grabbed my long tan cardigan outfit to break up all the black.

*********

"Which one is Willy?" Addie asked as the Leaf players filtered onto the ice.

"The incredibly gorgeous Swede" I said matter of factly.

"Sooo that would be number…?" She asked eyeing me. I released a short laugh before answering her.

“29, right there" I smiled pointing to Willy as he skated past us after sending a shot on net.

"Mmm he is beautiful" Addie mused following his movements along the ice.

"Damn Swedes, they're all beautiful. It's honestly not fair that an entire country can produce such gorgeous human beings"

Addie quirked an eyebrow shooting me a you’re-fucking-weird look, one I was very familiar with and I just laughed. We watched the Leafs for few minutes before switching sides so I could watch David for a minute before warm-ups ended.

"Ki you're here!" Addie squealed as we walked into our section. I laughed watching her race over to Charlie McAvoy's girlfriend engulfing her in a hug like they hadn't seen each other in years. Yet I'm sure it had only been days as they both went to BU.

"There you two are, I was wondering where you disappeared too." Kiley said making her way over to me and pulling me into a quick embrace.

"This one had to go down and watch warm-ups."

Addie shot an eye roll in my direction as we settled into our seats. We chatted with Kiley for a bit until Peyton, Ryan Spooner’s girlfriend got there. Peyton was from Ryan’s hometown in Ottawa so she was only in town some weekends, this being one of them.

"So anything new with you and Pasta?" Peyton preyed dropping into the seat next to me as she sipped her wine.

"Nope, same shit different day"

“Well hang in there, girl. I know he cares for you and I really believe he will come to realize that he can’t be without you.” She placed her hand on my shoulder giving it a small squeeze to go along with her warm smile.

“Thanks Peyt, I appreciate that”

“And if he doesn’t I will give him a world of shit and make his life hell” She flashed a devious smile as I laughed. If there was one thing I loved most about Peyton it was her feistiness.

“That is something he definitely doesn’t want to deal with”

When the game started our group settled into a silence as we took in the game our only comments being directed at what was happening on the ice.

Unfortunately, the outcome wasn’t what we were hoping as the boys lost 4-1. David played pretty well but couldn't cash in on any goals, same went for Willy and considering his luck last season it seemed that David’s decision to not meet up sort of helped, as Willy didn't score.

Once the game ended I hightailed it to where I would meet the guys even though it would be awhile before they came out. I had enough to keep me busy with a few weeks before my last grad paper was due. Addie left after the game to head back to her dorm leaving me and the other girls. I took my MacBook from my bag, plugged in my headphones, started playing some Florence + The Machine and pulled up my paper and went to work.

I was pulled from my trance when someone grabbed my shoulder causing me to jump a foot off the chair where I was sitting. I looked up and saw David in front of me laughing his ass off. I shook my head placing my hand over my heart and paused my music, before closing the laptop and dropping it back into my bag.

“You are such a jerk, you scared the shit out of me.” I scoffed feeling my racing heart in my chest. He had his hands on his knees as he continued to laugh at my expense.

“Im sorry, you didn’t see me I had no choice”

He shrugged his shoulders trying to stifle a laugh. I looked around room taking notice that it was nearly full as the majority of the players had exited the locker room. It was surprising that I didn’t notice him, but not unlike me.

“Oh of course.” I said rolling my eyes. “sorry about the loss, now where is my favorite Swede?” I said excitedly looking out into the hallway.

“Thanks, said he would be out in a minute” David answered looking down at his phone. “We can head out in the hall to meet him.”

He placed a hand on my lower back guiding me out of the room and out into the hallway. He dropped his bag on the floor then pulled out his phone to send off a message.

“Hey, don’t I get a proper hello?” I asked stepping up to him placing my hands on his chest.

“Of course you do” He smiled down at me sliding his phone into his back pocket before placing both hands on my hips to pull me close. I raised myself up on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck as his lips met mine and I melted into him. When we pulled away I had to lay my head on his chest to gather myself.

“I missed you today”

His voice tickled my ear sending chills down my body. I lifted my head from his chest and looked up to find that goofy smile plastered on his face. That smile made my heart skip a beat every time. It was those two chipped teeth of his that made his goofy smile even better.

“Well aren’t you two just adorable”

I poked my head around David’s body to find Willy standing a few feet behind us looking like a snack with a bright smile on his face as he watched us. I let out a small squeal as I all but pushed past David making my way towards Willy who had his arms open ready for my hug.

“It’s so good to see you Will” I spoke pulling out of our embrace.

“You two Ash, you look lovely tonight”

I blushed at his compliment as I stepped back to admire him in the perfectly tailored grey suit he was wearing.

“Right back at ya” I said with a wink as David finally joined us.

“Alright you two, calm down” He rolled his eyes and the two guys had a quick embrace and exchanged greetings.

“Baby face Nylander, I can’t get over the clean shave” I teased reaching out to pinch one of his cheeks causing him to blush.

“Aww yeah, Babs likes us clean cut and clean shaved” Willy shrugged.

“Thank god Cassidy doesn’t have that rule.”

“Why?” David questioned from beside me.

“There’s no way I could sleep with you clean shaven. I would be too afraid I would get hauled off to jail because you look like a child.”

Willy broke out into his signature laugh and it was probably one of the greatest sounds I have ever heard and very contagious as I joined him. While David scowled from beside me.

“I don’t look thatyoung” He attempted to defend himself but Will stepped in.

“Dude you do. If you shave and cut your hair short you absolutely look younger than Alex”

Will and I laughed as he huffed and gave up.

“On another note you both played well! I especially liked when you took each other out” I noted referring to a puck battle where both guys ended up strewn across the ice.

“Well someone took me out first, so I just returned the favor.” Will eyed David who chuckled lightly.

“Yeah my bad.”

“Hey pasta come here a minute” David and I turned around to where a teammate was beckoning him.

“Be right back”

“So how are things between you two?” Willy asked once David was out of ear shot. I let out a sigh as he watched me intently waiting for my answer.

“Were good, in the same place we were when I saw you this summer” I shrugged and looked over my shoulder to make sure David was still occupied.

“Hey, stick with him, yeah?” He placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.

“I’ve known him awhile Ash, he likes you, a lot. I know it’s hard, but you just have to be patient with him. He’s young and still needs to figure out what he wants.”

“Will, you’re literally 24 days older than him” He laughed again and nodded. “but thank you, that means a lot coming from you”

“Trust me, if he screws this up with you ill fight him on the ice, now come here”

He reached out and took my arm to pull me into a tight embrace.

“Fuck Willy I walk away for five minutes and you’re stealing my girl?”

“Sorry Pasta, she needs an older man”

I let out a loud laugh as the two bantered back and forth for a few more minutes while I stood back watching them interact. It was a shame they didn’t see each other very much during the season as they were always entertaining to be around.

#david pastrnak imagine #david pastrnak #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl imagine #william nylander #falling away with you fic

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yuniesan · 6 years

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Matters of the Heart - Chapter One

Summary: Lucas worked hard all of his life protecting his family. During the day he works at his security firm, at night he runs a bar in New York with his best friend and his sister, making sure that no one interferes in his business, or assaults his customers.

Riley thought she had everything she could have wished for cool friends a boyfriend who cared too much and loving parents, except she didn't know what she wanted from her life. Her life never felt like it was hers. She saw graduate school as a way to learn more about the world and about herself.

Until they met and realized there was much more to the world than what they had thought they knew.

A/N: My Rucas Friends, let me introduce you to the one-shot that turned into something else. Yes it’s an Adult AU, Yes it stars all of your favorite couples (well my favorite couples), also I love the day and night of the cover I created because it matches Lucas and Riley. AND YES THE FIRST CHAPTER IS OVER 6,000 WORDS LONG 😍😍😍

Chapter 1 – The Beginning of Everything

They had moved around a few times growing up, it had been him, his mom, and his sister Maya, going from state to state. It started just after he had turned ten, after his step-father had beat him one too many times, except this time his mother found out and she was furious. The man never laid a hand on her before, but that day he had hit her so hard that she cracked her skull on the counter, before he had turned on Lucas and broke his arm.

His sister had been at a neighbor’s house, when the police went to pick her up, Lucas and their mom were in the hospital getting treatment. The police took a statement, and his step-father had been arrested. This was Maya’s father, not Lucas’s but neither of them cared because they both hated him. Maya had only known because she had been hiding in the closet during one of her father’s drunken rages. Lucas had made her promise not to tell because they didn’t have anywhere to go, and he was doing it to protect their mother.

“But Lucas,” Maya had said that day crying while he tried his best to treat the wounds. The man never hit anywhere that would be noticeable to anyone, so his clothes covered the bruises, the cuts could be explained as if he were just playing with his friends outside, but the bruises had marks that looked distinctive to the older man.

“Not a word Maya, I don’t want momma to get hurt,” he said trying his best not to cry.

That had been one of many days where Maya had helped him hide the bruises, to help around the house when he could barely lift his hands. Lucas always made sure to put himself between his step-father and Maya so that she was never hurt.

The day they ended up in the hospital, with the police asking a million questions, that was the day his mother heard everything that had happened. She had been working double shifts since the end of summer because she wanted to save up for the kids to have a good holiday season. It was the reason she hadn’t noticed what had been happening.

“I feel so stupid, I should have known,” his mother said as tears stained her face. She watched in horror as she saw the bruises on Lucas as the doctor’s examined him that day.

The police took statements from all three of them before speaking to his step-father, the man swore that he didn’t do anything, even with the overwhelming amount of evidence against him. He screamed that Lucas and Maya had both lied about what had happened, but in the end the police and the courts made sure that he would end up in prison. Their mother moved them three times before they settled down, the first place was his grandmother’s house in Arkansas, but Lucas kept quite for a long time. His mother was afraid that he wasn’t making friends because of what had happened. In middle school they moved to Texas and lived with Pappy Joe on his ranch, they only moved afterwards because his mother had worked on her degree during those years and had gotten a job in New York.

Lucas also knew that it was during this time that his step-father had gotten out of prison, Lucas had just turned sixteen when they moved to New York, Maya was fifteen, and they were hiding in plain sight in a way. The city was so big that it would be impossible for the older man to find them. His mother changed her name to Hart, Maya did as well but Lucas kept his biological father’s last name, Friar. There was a restraining order on his step-father, so that if the man so much as stepped into the city he would be picked up by police.

Their lives moved on from there, Lucas and Maya became friends with Zay and they all started hanging out every single day. But Lucas still had some anger left over from what had happened, over how he couldn’t protect his mother or his sister. There were days where he got into fights at school, others where he tried his best to keep his temper from becoming too much. His mother worried that all of that time her ex-husband had beaten him, had had a harmful effect on Lucas.

After one too many fights his mother put him in therapy, it had work for a small amount of time, but somedays he felt as if he couldn’t control it. He stopped fighting in school after Zay had told him to join the football team, so he played football and got into Columbia on a scholarship. He played, but he also found another outlet for his anger in an underground boxing club that Zay had found one day.

He stopped fighting once he got his bar up and running, he had the money and the means to run the bar, as he got into graduate school, he wanted to run a successful business, and getting an MBA seemed like the best option for him. He wanted to make sure that he would be successful enough to protect his family if the time came. The bar had become one of his business investments, some of the others had worked out brilliantly as he worked on his degree and when he finished at the age of twenty-two, he was turning a profit on the bar and a security company he ran during the day. Maya and Zay took care of the bar, he worked on security, protecting people, setting up security for huge firms, and gaining a reputation as one of the best companies in the country.

Luckily something had happened in all of the sadness, his mother had found the chance to move on in her life and had fallen in love with a good man. A teacher who had tried to help Lucas while he had been in high school. They had dated for three years, earning his mother’s trust and eventually Maya’s trust as well. Lucas was always wary, until the man had proven to him that he was worth his mother’s time. The year Lucas started grad school his mother married Jonathan Turner.

Riley Matthews’ life was a series of tragic accidents met with moments of happiness, or at least that how she had seen if for so long. Born during her parents’ second honeymoon in New York, they had raised her in an apartment not far from where her grandparents lived as they worked on finishing their degrees. It was a small apartment, but it was full of love from what Riley could remember. Those happy days didn’t last, when she was six her parents were driving home from a ballet at the Pennsylvania Ballet, they had done Sleeping Beauty and, so they took Riley as a Christmas present. It had been a snowy day, and the car had skidded to the side and flipped on the highway and into a ditch.

Riley was the only one to survive.

She had been in the hospital for six months recovering a brain injury, while her Uncle Shawn sat by her bedside. He brought her toys, and books to read to her, he made sure she ate, but he never mentioned her parents. No one did. They were all afraid that it would hurt Riley more.

The thing was, that she didn’t remember them, she didn’t remember a lot those first few months, so Shawn being the one constant in her life aside from her grandparents and Josh had become her legal guardian. It was in her parents’ will. Everything they owned had been packed up and moved to her grandparents’ house.

Riley and Shawn lived there until she turned ten, when he had been offered a job at a newspaper in New York. At first her grandparents protested the move, but after a while they had let them go if only to give Riley a chance at happiness without the ghost of her parents following her around. When they got to New York, Riley had been enrolled into a local elementary school, but soon Shawn noticed that she had picked up her mother’s intelligence so for middle school she had been enrolled into Einstein Academy.

That’s where she met her best friends, Farkle Minkus and Isadora Smackle, the two geniuses helped her come out of her shell and have a little bit of fun. Farkle was a reminder of the past, his parents had known Riley’s and at that time she had become curious about them. All she could remember were the photographs Shawn had put up throughout their apartment, she had no memory of them at all. So, someone who knew them could help her fill in the gaps of her memory. Her friendship with Isadora had become something special in itself. Isadora was deaf, but her loss of hearing didn’t stop her intelligence from growing over the years. Even though she wore hearing aids, she rarely had them on because they would sometimes crackle in her ears, so Riley learned sign language until Isadora had become comfortable with her being around.

The three of them hung out with one another, they smiled, and Riley’s life began to change around her. Shawn took her back to Philly whenever the holidays came around so that their little family stayed close no matter what and her Uncle Josh stayed with them every summer. Riley had been accepted into the same specialized school as her friends and the three of them worked together throughout the years. Riley was no longer hiding behind the sadness of losing her parents, she celebrated them, asked about them, and although she couldn’t remember their faces from her own memories it helped that they had been so loved when they had lived.

Isadora and Farkle started dating in high school, and while Riley went out on a few dates, no one really clicked with her throughout those years. College had their group separating, Farkle and Isadora went to Princeton and completed their bachelors within the first eighteen months. Riley went to Yale because it had been her mother’s dream school, she met Charlie who had become a close friend to her and she had taken classes in a number of departments before settling into the English department and earning her degree in English.

When she graduated, she still didn’t know where she would go, but a last-minute decision found her at graduate school on her way to earning her master’s degree while Isadora and Farkle were on their way to their Ph.D.’s at the same school. Charlie followed her to New York with a job at a nearby school while he earned his teaching credentials. The four of them moving into an apartment together that they could afford while they worked on their degrees. Riley had known that they could have gotten a better place because Farkle’s family had the money and means but they all wanted to do was find their way through their lives on step at a time.

This was the beginning of everything.

Riley’s shift at the café started at seven in the morning every single day, she worked most mornings and if she could she picked up extra shifts so that she could save up for when a emergency happened, mostly she was trying to have enough to pay her tuition, pay her part of the rent and buy herself food. She hadn’t brought new clothes since high school, everything was second hand, or something her grandparents sent as presents. She didn’t care about having new anything and was glad that Shawn had raised her to be good with money. The apartment they shared was a four-bedroom walkup, luckily, they lived on the first floor because she wouldn’t want to actually walk to the second floor. She knew that Farkle took care of the bulk of the rent and while they fought about it on occasion she was grateful for that as well.

“Why not,” he would often say. “I can afford it Riley.”

She sometimes hated relying on anyone for anything and a lot of the time she wanted to yell about how unfair it was to put the burden on Farkle, hence she would work and save even if he didn’t take the extra money she saved it anyway. She had just received her work study assignment, her first day on the job was on Tuesday, and she only worked on days she had classes which made the commute to the school easier.

“I think you’re crazy,” Charlie said while she made drinks at the café. He had come over to take her out to dinner as a celebration for getting into grad school at one of the top schools in the country. Her bachelor’s was from Yale so of course NYU would accept her, she worked hard to get into the program, she was always working hard towards something, she wanted to make her parents proud. She wasn’t sure about becoming a lawyer just because it had been her mother’s career goal, she wasn’t sure what she wanted but it was a step towards something.

“I’m not crazy Charlie, you’re crazy,” she said to him sticking her tongue out to him.

“Riley, you don’t want to be a lawyer,” he said for the millionth time. “Hell, you don’t know what you want to be.”

“I could be a family lawyer, I could be something, hell Charlie I could be President of the United States if I wanted to be. I just want to find my way.”

“I just don’t want you to regret this Riles,” he said as she handed the customer their drink with a smile and a quick thank you.

“I know you’re right, but I feel like… I don’t know that there’s something that I can do as a lawyer, especially after helping out with those women’s groups back when I was at Yale, it’s just a start towards something.”

“Fine, but remember if you want to runaway at any point in time I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go, just say the word,” he smiled at her taking her hand. “You’re my soulmate.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell that to the next guy you ask out and see how it goes,” she said rolling her eyes. Charlie had come out to her after she talked about helping people. She remembered that conversation, it had happened a month after his parents had cut him off for being gay, and he was ultimately alone. Riley had adopted him into her makeshift family and Farkle and Isadora love him as much as Riley does.

“I haven’t had a date in months, I feel like I’ve lost my edge, the move to New York killed it,” he said smiling at her.

“You wish Gardner,” she said pushing him aside. “Who is it? I want a name.”

“Not giving it to you, and it’s only a crush anyway so who knows where it will go. I’m not even sure he’s gay, so I’m taking it slow.”

“Sure, you are, just don’t come crying to me if it doesn’t work out,” she said knowing that she would comfort him anyway.

When she finished her last drink for the day and handed it off to the customer, waving a quick goodbye to her co-workers and getting her stuff, she was greeted with the hot summer heat that stifled the New York streets. Charlie dragged her off towards one of the shops to get an outfit for dinner.

“You’re not wearing that, heaven forbid this girl wears anything knew,” he said as he dragged her towards the back.

The store was a used clothing store named Demolition, she had been there a few times when she was in high school but only ever brought one shirt because she hadn’t known what to get.

“Charlie, I can’t spend a lot of money,” she said trying to drag him back out towards the street.

“Nope, you have some money saved from last month and for once I want you to look good,” he said pulling out a pair of dark grey skinny jeans, followed by a black flowy spaghetti strap top. She almost groaned, when Charlie wanted to dress her up he became a man on a mission, it’s one of the reasons he had gotten a job at Nylon when they moved to New York.

Before she could protest he shoved her into the dressing room and closed the door. She took the chance and looked at the price on the clothes, the jeans were only $20 which seemed reasonable, and the shirt, well the shirt wasn’t cheap.

“Take a chance on this Riley,” he said, instead of fighting him on it she changed into the clothes, her white bra strap peaking out making her self-conscience about it, but before she made a comment Charlie opened the door. “See you’re hot, now we can go and buy you a bra and panties set and then we can go out.”

“Seriously are you going to make me blow all of my saved-up cash?”

“Nope, cause I have a gift card for Victoria Secret, I won it at work and figured I could use it on you because if anyone needed it, well it would be you.”

“You don’t have…” he stopped her before she could finish, putting his hand on her mouth.

“None of that, you’re the reason I can keep going, after… well after you know, so I want to repay you,” he said with a small smile. “Now let’s pay for this, buy you $500 worth of new undies and get home so we can get ready.”

“Thanks Charlie,” she said making his smile reach his eyes, if she didn’t think it were possible, but she saw a sparkle in his eyes and it warmed her heart.

When he said he was using the gift card on her, he wasn’t joking, they walked into Victoria Secret and he picked out several sets of undies, as well as pajamas and a nightie, he made sure to use every cent on the card so that she would have to throw away her old panties, because to him it was a travesty that she had had them for so long.

When they were both ready he pulled her out towards a nearby bar, “They have cheese fries that are to die for,” he said smiling at her as he pulled her towards a table. She noticed that he had kept looking over a the bartender serving up drinks to the people at the bar.

“I bet they also have good drinks,” she said to him making him trip over his own foot before they reached the table at the other end of the place. Charlie sat down and glared at her for a moment. “What did I ruin your suave entrance?” she smirked at him.

“Funny, very freaking funny,” he said before pulling out the menu that was on the center of the table. “Just pick whatever you want to eat, and drink, you have to drink today I already know that you don’t work tomorrow so don’t give me some lame excuse.”

“Fine, I know you just want me to get something to drink because it means you can talk to the bartender,” she said looking over the menu. “How many times have you been here anyway?”

“A few, usually with people from work because my best friend is too busy running herself ragged to go out anywhere with me,” he said mulling over the menu.

“Sorry,” she said as a blonde waitress walked up to their table.

“Can I get you guys anything?” she asked smiling without really smiling. Riley hadn’t thought that it was possible for someone to be as confident as her.

“Can you give us a moment?” Riley answered and the waitress moved on to the next table.

“We might as well wait,” Charlie said to her. “I invited your uncle Josh to hang out with us, since he’s been bugging me to get you to stop working so much.”

“You invited Josh?” she was shocked at hearing this for the first time. She hadn’t seen Josh since graduation, because she started working at the café while doing an internship all summer long. Mostly she was hiding from her family because they still wanted to coddle her and give her money for going to school and finishing.

“Yes, he invited me,” Josh said smiling at her, but it made her feel like she should hide under the table. “Maybe if you would stop ignoring me then this wouldn’t be so awkward.”

“It’s not awkward,” she said but her throat felt dry. “Not… not at all.”

“Yes it is,” Charlie said.

Before they could go into it any further the waitress was back, except this time her smile was genuine, which meant she was interested in Josh.

“Of course,” Riley said rolling her eyes for a moment as she watched the two interact.

“Be nice Riley,” Charlie said in a hushed tone, Riley loved them both, but for some reason it made her feel ten inches tall every time they ganged up on her. She was raised to be self-reliant, but some days it felt as if they wanted to put her in a bubble and keep her safe.

Josh ordered a burger and a beer, smiling at the blonde taking the order as if they’ve gone through this dance a million other times. Charlie ordered some complex drink that Riley didn’t even want to understand and his fries. When the girl’s eyes settled on Riley she felt as if she were challenging her, ‘gross’, she thought to herself.

“Cheeseburger, and a vodka cranberry,” she said trying not to roll her eyes.

When the she was gone Riley turned to Josh with a glare, “No coddling please,” she said before adding. “Also tell the waitress that you want to go out with her before she spits in my food because I’m sitting next to you.”

“You might also want to mention that you’re both related,” Charlie added.

“Seriously,” Josh said before standing up. “And we’re talking, not I’m not going to coddle you I just want to talk, you know like we used to growing up. I’m not my parents.”

“Yeah, I know, but grandma and grandpa are a little much when it comes to me, I know they miss daddy, but some days it feels like it’s too much.”

“I know, remember I was a premature baby, they’re the same with me,” he said before kissing her on her head and walking off.

“You think he’s actually going to ask her out,” Charlie said when Josh was at the bar asking for the waitress.

“Yes,” she said watching the two interact. “Josh probably comes here as much as you do just to see her, which just makes you both hopeless.”

“Maybe if they get close I can get information on the guy, and we can work from there,” Charlie said a grin on his face, she knew it was his plotting face, she’s seen it enough to know, especially when there was someone who Charlie was interested in.

“Why not just give it a shot and ask?”

“I don’t want to I guess mess it up,” he said reminding her of his last relationship. He liked the guy so much, but when push came to shove, they broke up in a very public fashion. It took Charlie a year just to get over the heartache, so she could understand why he was being so cautious about it.

“If I have to start taking chances so do you, I’m not going to push you but maybe next time we come you can try to, well you know.”

“Okay,” he said smiling. “What if we come here every Friday, for the next month, maybe you’ll meet someone too.”

“Right, like that works out so well for me, the last guy I went out with used me as a beard,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah well you win some you lose some,” he said as Josh made his way back towards their table.

“Well,” she said as her Uncle sat down.

“Her name is Maya, and we’re going on a date next Monday because the bar is closed on Mondays.”

“Good for you,” Charlie said smiling at Josh before turning the full force of the grin on Riley. “Riley has decided to come out with us every Friday while I build up the courage to ask someone out.”

“Wait,” she said looking at the two of them. “What, huh?”

“Yeah,” Josh said looking over at her. “This was originally just a plan for us to get together to convince you to stop hiding out and having more fun. Riley, my darling darling niece, you work too damn hard for someone your age, you need to have a little fun.”

She couldn’t help but look at the two of them stunned at what had just happened, her best friend and her Uncle conspiring against her.

“I go out,” she said knowing it was a lie and they knew it too because they both gave her very pointed looks. “Fine, I don’t go out, but I need to save money, I can’t live with Farkle and Isadora and Charlie for the rest of my life.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop living either,” Josh said to her. “That’s why mom and dad worry, that’s why they are constantly asking me to check up on you.”

“Fine you win, you both win, I’ll go out once a week but that’s it, between school and work it’s impossible to do anything anyway.”

“Actually, I had the school cancel your work study,” Charlie said and all she could do was look over at him stunned at what he had just said. “Listen to me Riley Matthews, you have a full scholarship, and a job, you’re not allowed to have another one.”

“Charlie,” she said smacking his arm. “You,” smack, “Had,” smack, “No freaking right to do that.”

“Riley you’re twenty-three years old, you’ll be twenty-four in December, you need to live a little and not work yourself to death,” Charlie said to her.

“That’s where I come in,” Josh said to her. “Mom found a trust left to you by my brother and sister-in-law, Riley you don’t have to touch anything in it but use it to keep yourself from running ragged, I know you better than anyone else, you try to help everyone, while trying to do everything and at some point, it’s going to be too much.”

“But,” she said quietly.

“No buts,” Josh said. “You need to live please, do it for your parents who loved you.”

“I’ll try,” she said, feeling the sadness in her heart clamp down on her shoulders, she couldn’t remember her parents, but she knows from what everyone had said to her over the years that they had loved her and treasured her, and they would want her to live and be as happy as they were.

It had been a long day, Lucas knew that he still had to do the numbers for the bar, he loved his sister, but she was horrible with math, and he had wanted her to finish school, so he took on the extra work to make sure she had time to study. Especially since she only had one year left before she finished her bachelor’s. She was the artist, he wanted her to keep that dream alive after the way their childhood had been. Their mother was happy with John, and Lucas was glad that for once she had found happiness, but Lucas will always worry it came from the years of their lives that they had spent with his step-father.

So, Lucas worked hard, the few relationships he had had over the years only lasted a week, he preferred quick hook-up to actual relationships, he didn’t have time for clingy people he needed to take care of his family.

“Hey Lucas,” Zay said from behind the bar as he mixed drinks. His best friend wanted nothing more than to be a bartender, he liked the movie Cocktail and just ran with it, plus he was a good cook and helped Lucas manage the bar when he was too busy running his company.

“How’s the day going?” Lucas asked standing behind the bar for a moment, pulling beers up for patrons and helping Zay get everyone their drinks.

“So far so good, Maya got a date with that guy she’s been flirting with for the last two months,” Zay said before pointing the guy out to him. Lucas saw the messy dark hair and the suit and tie and thought that if they lasted it would be a miracle because Maya wasn’t the type to like straight laced guys, but then again neither had his mother and she ended up with a guy who was the superintendent of schools, so he could be completely wrong about this.

“Who’s that he’s with?” he said point the girl out. Lucas had seen the other guy around before, Zay has a soft spot for the other guy in the group, but he hadn’t dated a guy since high school because he had been in a relationship for the last two year, but his girlfriend and him decided to split because it felt more like a friendship than a real relationship. So Zay was afraid of asking the guy out and him not being bi, or gay.

“The girl is new, I’ve never seen her before, Maya was ready to spit in her food because she thought that she was with the guy she like,” Zay said smiling. “Why do we gossip like a bunch of old ladies?”

“Blame my mother she loved those gossip magazines, but I also like to know who comes in here, and whether I need to kick them out,” he stopped for a moment before cycling through what Zay had said. “Did Maya actually spit in her food because I don’t want to lose my license.”

“Nah, the guy got to her before she did anything,” Zay said before mixing a few drinks.

Lucas eyed the table for a moment, “She looks like one of those rich girls with too much time on her hands,” he said watching the brunette smile at the other two guys at her table before he was pulling away from the bar.

“You should know better than to judge people Lucas,” Maya said as she walked behind the bar to grab the drinks for one of the table.

“I’m allowed especially when you want to date my customers,” he said to his sister before pulling away from her.

“Where else am I going to find someone as nice as Josh,” she said with a smirk. “Anyway I don’t have time to go find a different bar to hang out in especially since I live over this one so deal with it.”

“Whatever,” he said before walking towards the back door. “I’m going to work for a minute call if you need anything.”

Once he was out of the front of the bar and in his office where he ran both his businesses he felt calm, he had the place decorated to be comfortable since he worked long hours there. Somedays he shuffled between the bar and his security company, most days he worked directly from the bar because like Maya and Zay he lived above the bar itself. He owned the building, both the bar and the apartments above it so it didn’t matter where he was working from. He lost himself in the numbers, making sure to order the things the bar needed while checking with the night crew from the security side.

He called his mother around ten to tell her about Maya and the suit, his name was Josh according to Maya.

“I wish you would date more often instead of working yourself to death,” his mother said on the other side of the line.

“I’m not working myself to death, and I date, but there’s no one out there that would measure up to your standards,” he said wanting to hit himself in the face with his phone.

His mother sighed from the other side of the phone. “Lucas, I want you to bring a girl to thanksgiving this year, please try a little at least. I know you feel like everything that happened when you were a kid was you trying to protect us, but I want you to be happy my little angel.”

“Fine I’ll go out on some dates, and see if one of them sticks, but I’m not making any promises.”

“It sounds like a promise, but I understand, just have a little fun, and tell your sister to call me, I know she’s avoiding me because of the scratch on my car but it wasn’t that bad and John fixed it.”

“I’ll tell her, love you mom,” he said and when she said that she loved him back he hung up the phone sighing. He knew that his mother would annoy him until he settled down for a moment instead of working too much. He was twenty-five, turning twenty-six in January, but he also knew that his mother was itching to hook him up with a daughter of a friend and he wanted to avoid that situation.

“Whatever,” he mumbled to himself before standing up and stretching, his muscles ached from everything he had done throughout the day. He had to help train two security teams for a large-scale event, as well as a meeting with his managers, and the team leads, so finishing the day off with sitting at his desk wasn’t making anything any better.

Walking out of the office looking for food was the best option for him, especially if it’s a burger and a mountain of fries, he needed to carbs to fill his stomach before finishing up the last of the orders.

“Lucas, I need you,” Maya said peeking her head into the office.

The only time she called him for anything was when something was going badly, with a sigh he walked out to see one of the patrons drunk and by the jukebox blocking the princess from earlier for moving. Maya called him because if she went it would cause the drunk to turn his attention towards her. Zay was stuck behind the bar so all that was left was Lucas since his security for the bar was stuck outside holding the line.

“Come on girl,” the guy said as he rubbed himself against the princess. “You know you want this.”

The drunk was holding her hands down, stopping her from defending herself which was when Lucas saw red and yanked the guy off of her.

“What the hell man, you can get your turn when I’m done,” the guy said before Lucas pulled him towards the door and handed him off to the bouncer, he couldn’t afford to deck the guy, but he was also worried about he woman he had just helped. Her friends hadn’t seen what had happened, when Lucas checked he noticed that the two guys had been at the bar and had missed the interaction.

The woman was rubbing her wrist as she walked towards her table and started grabbing her stuff, “Are you alright?” he asked as he stood in front of her table.

“Uh… um, yeah,” she said but her voice was shaken he could tell that she was going into shock.

“I’m the owner of the bar, if you want you can sit in my office until you’ve regained your composure, or I can call a cab for you,” he said knowing that he had to establish that she was safe first.

She was mumbling to herself before she nodded, and Lucas led her to the back, grabbing a bottle of water on his way there. He handed it to her and sat her down on the couch before moving towards one of the chairs on the other side.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked but before he could get an answer she started chugging the water in large gulps.

“My friend and my Uncle went to the bar, to order something, honestly it was because my best friend has a crush on your bartender, but I decided to go to the jukebox because I wanted something to do and…,” she sighed for a moment. “I should have just stayed home today.”

He looked at her for a moment, noticing her fingers had burn marks on them, a bandage on her wrist, he wondered if he had been wrong about her. “Why are you here?” he asked curious.

“I was shanghaied into coming, everyone thinks I work too hard, I’m in law school and I have a job and everything, but everyone thinks I don’t know how to have fun, so of course the day they force me to go out something happens,” she said with a sigh. “Thank you for your help, but I should probably go out there and tell them I’m going home.”

“Okay,” he said to her. “But don’t let one bad night discourage you from going out with your friends,” he said thinking that for some reason that he didn’t want her to go anywhere and just talk to him, but if she came back maybe he’d get the chance to see her again.

“Thanks again,” she said as she stood up and left the room, leaving behind the smell of strawberries.

“There’s something in the water,” he murmured to himself thinking about how the moment his mother asks him to date he gets a freaking princess. “I don’t have time for princesses,” he said before going back to his desk and getting back to work.

#rucas #rucas adult au #Riley Matthews #Lucas Friar #maya hart #Josh Matthews #Zay Babineaux #Isadora Smackle #Farkle Minkus #smarkle #joshaya #charlie gardner

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carolina-bleus · 7 years

Text

October 28, 2016 (Day 125)

A car pulled up alongside Michonne who was waiting at the curb. “Hey, pretty lady, you need a ride?”

Michonne eyed the man. “I only accept rides from my husband.”

“Husband?” The man scoffed. “You look too young to already be married. How’d he managed to catch you?”

“I’m sure he asks himself that same question every day.”

The man’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Michonne laughed as she broke character and got into the car. “What?” she asked innocently before leaning over to give Rick a kiss.

“You know what, Miss Sassy Mouth,” Rick huffed out before smiling at his wife. “How was your day?”

That put an immediate damper on Michonne’s mood. “Long per usual. What about yours?”

Rick rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Same. I have a ton of research I need to do for my thesis and research for Dr. Manning while also prepping for the medieval history recitation I’m leading.”

“Well, I have a trial brief I have to get done for school and an appellate brief I have to do a ton of research on for the Innocence Clinic. I also have to come back here later to meet with folks about a group project and you know I hate group projects. Plus, I have a ridiculous amount of reading to do.”

Rick looked at his wife with raised brows. “So why are we taking time right now to go shopping when we both have so much work to do?”

“Because we are foolish and ambitious and accepted invitations to Halloween gatherings thrown by important professors that we want to get great references from come job search time,” Michonne stated.

“Please don’t say ‘Halloween gatherings’ like that. It makes it sound like we are conjuring up something that night,” Rick said with distaste.

“We are conjuring up something...successful post-grad careers.” Michonne let out a deep sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this about shopping, but let’s get going so we can get this done and over with as soon as possible.”

Their earlier light mood evaporated, the couple made the short trip to the costume superstore in silence.

Once inside the store, Rick and Michonne stood for a moment and stared. The staggering amount of costumes available was almost overwhelming.

Michonne picked up a store guide that gave a quick overview of costume categories and locations. “Are they trying to dress everyone in Boston with all these costumes?”

“Well, at least we should be able to find what we want relatively quickly and get out of here.”

“Yeah, we should be done at least within the hour,” Michonne predicted.

An hour and a half later, Rick and Michonne were still wandering around the store. The longer they stayed in the store, the shorter they got with each other.

Rick threw up his hands in frustration. “Well, what do you want to go as, Michonne? You’ve shot down all of my ideas thus far.”

“Rick, you’ve only come up with ideas that involve western wear. Look, I know you want to wear your cowboy boots, but you are not going dressed as Woody and I sure as hell am not going as that ridiculous yodeling cowgirl,” Michonne said heatedly.

“I never suggested that. I said you should go as Woody’s girlfriend, Bo Peep. You know they are highlighting their love story in the next movie.”

“That’s sweet and all but you expect me to go around all night wearing a cinched waist, wide polka dotted dress, petticoat, long bloomers, and a bonnet?” an incredulous Michonne asked.

Rick’s face lit up with pride at his wife’s words. “Wow, you really were actually paying attention when we watched the movies.”

“Rick...”

“That’s a pretty good recollection since she was barely in the second movie.”

“Riiiiiick...”

“But you forgot her staff and the freaky looking sheep. That’s okay though--”

“RICK!”

“What?!”

“You missed the entire point.” Michonne stared into her husband’s eyes so there would be no question. “I’m not going as Bo Peep. Next idea.”

The couple walked around the massive store for another 15 minutes until Michonne spotted a display that made her smile for the first time in hours.

“That’s it! That’s what we’re going as! It’s so perfect!” Michonne exclaimed as she rushed over to the display.

Rick immediately started shaking his head when he saw the display. “No way! That’s not even an option.”

Michonne was taken aback. “Are you kidding me? We’d make the perfect Flash and Iris West.”

Rick looked back at the display. “Where is the Iris costume? All I see is a skin tight red monstrosity that isn’t going anywhere near my body.”

“I’d pull my costume together with regular clothes.” Michonne clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, it’s going to be so much fun. Iris has the best wardrobe on television. It’s so diverse. She can be pretty and professional, cute and casual, or date night sexy.”

“So basically, you are just going to dress up as yourself,” Rick stated dryly.

Michonne stopped mentally going through her outfit choices as her eyes lit up at Rick’s words. “Aww, baby, you think my clothes look as good as Iris’?”

“Michonne...”

“That is so sweet! She really is OOTD goals.”

“Michonne...”

“I forgive you for trying to put me in that petticoat now.”

“Chonne!”

“What?”

“You missed the entire point,” Rick said with a raised eyebrow as he repeated what Michonne had said to him not long ago...a fact not lost on Michonne. “My point is that you get to be comfortable for the most part while I have to wear a red spandex unitard. Are you really going to have your husband out in these streets looking like an extra from Cirque du Soleil?”

Michonne stepped back and looked at the costume with a more critical eye. It did look kind of cheap and flimsy upon closer inspection. “Hmm, Cirque du Soleil would never,” she mumbled.

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Michonne.”

“Sorry.” Michonne stretched and checked the time on her phone. “Okay, so that idea is out, but we are about two hours in and still without costumes. I’m hungry. I’m irritable. And we both still have a lot of work to do this evening. What are we going to wear? We need to get this show on the road.”

Rick sighed and turned around, hoping to find something so they could get out of here. “What about those two? They are a classic couple.”

Michonne turned to where Rick was pointing and spotted the mouse costumes. “Rick, are you serious? You are going to have us looking like a couple of furries.”

“A couple of what?”

“Furries.”

“Furbys?”

“No, Rick. You don’t know what a furry is?”

“Apparently not, Michonne,” Rick said with irritation.

Once Michonne explained, Rick took full offense. “Why would you think I’d know what that is and how do you know what that is?”

Michonne shrugged. “Well, Shane is one of your best friends. He’s done so many things...and so many people, I was sure you’d heard some things from him. And I know what it is because Andrea is one of my best friends and she briefly dated a guy who was into that.”

Rick shook his head. “We really need better taste in friends.”

The newlyweds were silent for a moment before they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Agreed. But we need to find something to wear first.”

Tension broken, the young couple walked for ten minutes more until they stumbled upon the perfect costumes.

Michonne shook her head. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of this from the beginning. This is our favorite show and our favorite couple. And we look remarkably like them.”

“I get to wear my cowboy boots,” Rick added happily.

“And I get to wear those cute jeans and a sword.”

Rick rubbed his chin while examining the display. “Do you think I should get the costume with the Murder Coat?”

“I don’t know.” Michonne eyed her husband’s closed cropped curls. “His hair is much longer than yours when he starts wearing the Murder Coat. Plus, there is the whole beard situation. You look more like he did in early on with the clean-shaven face and close cut.”

“I have to be Officer Friendly in the uniform?” Rick complained.

“First of all, he was sexy in that uniform. I didn’t appreciate that fact until at least the fifth season. Second, I could try to blow out your hair some and you could stop shaving for the next few days. We could have you looking like him from early season three.”

“Okay,” Rick agreed. “But I’m still getting the Murder Coat.”

“Rick, he had the tan jacket in season three. You know he didn’t get the Murder Coat until 4B.”

Rick tilted his head. “The Murder Coat doesn’t care about timeline continuity, Michonne.”

“O-kay, then.” Michonne turned back to the display. “Should I get the cloak or her vest?”

“Get the cloak. It’s iconic. And besides, it’s October in Boston. I don’t want you getting cold out there.”

Michonne turned back to Rick with a smile on her face. “Aww, baby, how thoughtful.”

Rick blushed and shrugged his shoulders. “You know I don’t want anything happening to you...not even getting a cold.” He reached for one of Michonne’s hands. “I’m sorry about the Bo Peep costume. I really thought you’d look cute in it cause you look good in everything. And for what it’s worth, I think you have a better wardrobe than Iris.”

“You are really racking up those brownie points right now, babe,” Michonne said with a huge smile. “And I’m sorry about the Flash costume. I didn’t know it was full on spandex before I suggested it. But, you would have looked hot in it though. All that jogging you’ve been doing is paying off. You already had a great body but now it’s...amazing!”

“You been eyeballin’ me, Mrs. Grimes?”

Michonne ran her eyes up and down her husband’s body. “Every chance I get, Husband.”

Rick stepped closer to his wife. “Well, now that we’ve picked out our costumes and apologized to each other, how about we buy this stuff, get out of here and head home for a little bit. I can share another costume concept I had...just for our personal Halloween celebration.”

“What’s the concept?”

“Nudist colony.”

That shocked a laugh out of Michonne. “Rick, we’ll have to play that tonight after we get our work done.” Michonne squeezed Rick’s hand. “Let’s go check out.”

Once the couple was walking to their car with purchases in hand, Michonne pulled up short. “Goodness, all the water drinking is catching up to me. You head on to the car and I’ll be right back,” Michonne said as she raced back into the store.

Later that night, the couple was home and getting ready to finally enjoy some uninterrupted quality time together. Rick was lounging in bed waiting for Michonne to come out of the bathroom.

“Michonne, nudist colony doesn’t require that much preparation. What’s going on?”

The door opened and Michonne slowly emerged dressed in a Bo Peep costume...but a decidedly sexy version as it was a short corseted, low cut dress that came with thigh highs, a bonnet, and a staff. Michonne finished it off with a pair of sky high heels.

Rick’s mouth dropped open as he quickly sat up.

“I didn’t actually have to use the bathroom back at the store. I decided to redeem your brownie points tonight. So I went back in and bought this because I thought you might like this concept a whole lot better than ‘nudist colony.’”

As all the blood had suddenly rushed from his brain to more southern climes, all Rick could do as Michonne made her way over to him was shake his head in awe and appreciation and utter, “Best. Wife. Ever.”

@richonnefics

Monday 6-27-16 Tuesday 8-23-16

#RichonneMarriedLife #Richonne #richonnefics #a year in the married life

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cajunroe · 7 years

Photo

Webgott Chef/Critic AU ↳ Joseph Liebgott has only ever had three major loves in his life: family, friends, and food. It all he’s ever wanted and needed. He runs a successful restaurant and it’s popularity is growing everyday. He hasn’t been worried about a possible setback since he opened. He knows that the plates he puts out are the best because he’s doing what he does best. However, there are critics. Critics who specifically seek out places like his and look for any and every reason to destroy his life. One critic in particular, known as The Shark because of a shark pin the guy wears on his lapel, apparently has his sights set on Joe’s place and he’ll be damned if this Ivy League prick finds anything wrong with his cooking.

Joe discovered his love of cooking when his mom had to work a double or else she’d be fired. So, Joe makes dinner for his little brothers and sisters with what’s in the fridge, and when he’s sees their faces light up when they take their first hesitant bite and then devour the rest, he thinks he might have some talent. He starts to cook more often when his mom has to take more and more shifts at work. Each time is something new or different that he thought of or wanted to try. Then he starts doing the grocery shopping after school. Then his siblings start requesting dishes or newfound favorites. Then, on Joe’s birthday when he finishes making his own three-tiered birthday cake, his whole family calls him into the living room. When they hand him a sealed white envelope he doesn’t know what to expect. He opens it to find an acceptance letter to the culinary arts academy he wanted to apply to.

“We applied for you.” His mother says when he just stares at the paper.

“T-they needed a demonstration, transcripts, and a bunch of other shit, how?”

“Believe it or not, your leftovers are better than a lot of fresh meals, I got you transcripts and you had several glowing recommendations sent in.”

Joe smiles and blinks back his tears.

“Time for cake.”

Three years later and Joe has his own restaurant, backed by his family and large group of friends.

Joe puts his heart and soul into his cooking and loves the joy and happiness that he’s able to bring to strangers through his life’s work.

On an ordinary Tuesday night, Grant burst into the kitchen from the front of the house and whistles for Joe’s attention.

“What is it Chuckie? I’m a little busy here. Tal! Garnish and send it out!”

“I told you to stop calling me that Lieb and I think he’s here.”

Joe’s head shot up. The most renowned critic in all of San Francisco was possibly about to dine in his restaurant. He could make or break any establishment and Joe had worked too long and too hard for some college boy to ruin him.

“He wearin’ the pin?”

Grant nodded his head. No one really knew what the critic looked like, only that he wore a shark pin to the restaurants he reviewed.

“Alright, make sure you serve him. Be nice, but not too much. That pretentious prick hates when servers are too pushy.”

“You got it.” Grant said before he left.

Joe turned to his staff, “Alright boys, one customer ain’t gonna ruin us. Let’s go! Tal get started on those apps! Skip, how are the desserts? Babe, get moving on those steaks! Come on people, this ain’t opening night!” There’s a resounding chorus of, “Yes chef!”, and Lieb smiles.

David Webster didn’t necessarily enjoy being a food critic. Yes, he got paid to eat food, but sometimes he felt less than accomplished, void of purpose, no matter how popular his blog was. So when he’s told several hundred times to try Easy Company, he looks into it. Owned by one Joseph Liebgott, it’s been open for three years and it’s kept steady business but has been gaining traction since a featured spot on a Food Network show. There’s no specific cuisine set and it’s the first thing that grabs his attention.

No pictures, that’s…interesting.

A new menu each night.

Tricky and expensive, but impressive.

Friendly and attentive staff.

Always a plus, given the industry.

Lastly, from the plethora of online reviews, it’s worth the heftier price tag.

He stares at the blank page of his novel and sighs.

Now’s as good a time as any.

Web sighs as he pushes himself away from his desk, places his pin on his lapel, and makes a reservation for late that night.

The true testament of a great restaurant is the experience an hour right before they close.

The restaurant is nice and surprises him when he walks in. He’s seated immediately and given the day’s menu before the waiter leaves him for kitchen. Probably to tell the chef that he’s here so they can wine and dine him literally.

He’s not left waiting for long.

“Have you had enough time to look over the menu?”

“Yes, I’ll have the special of the night and a scotch, neat, please.”

“Right away, sir.”

Web pulls out his phone and starts the live posting of the night, determined to do his best to find any fault or exceptionality.

Joe hates critics. He doesn’t understand the reason they even have a job. How does someone else’s experience of a place determine what your own was going to be like? What kind of indecisive person lets some stranger’s opinion stop them from enjoying something amazing? Also, why was this fuck in his restaurant?

“He wants the special and a scotch, neat.” Grant tells him as his puts in the order.

“Neat? Who is this asshole?” Joe laughs as starts the order.

Babe jumps in as he plates a perfectly cooked steak, “He’s a Harvard grad, got a degree in literature. He hasn’t published anything yet, but is working on book about sharks. Name’s David Webster and he’s actually pretty nice once you get to know him.”

Half the kitchen stops and looks at Babe.

“How the hell you know all that?” Joe asks.

“He’s friends with Gene. I didn’t know that’s who you were talking about until you mentioned the pin.”

Babe goes back to cooking like he didn’t just drop a bomb full of knowledge on them.

There’s a crash at the bar and Grant runs back out to the front of the house.

“How was everything, sir?”

Web was surprised, the food was remarkable and he’s never had such a profound response to any other meal he’s eaten. Now he understood why people fell in love with food, why people chose this career for a living, why a good meal could bring a unique happiness to someone’s life.

“Would it be possible to speak with the chef?”

The waiter’s, Charles as his embroidered shirt states, eyes widen and then give him a polite smile.

“Let me go check for you.”

“Yo Lieb, he, uh, wants to talk to you.”

“What the fuck for?”

“I didn’t ask, you said to be nice.”

Joe sighs and wipes the sweat from his forehead.

“Yeah, thanks for that.”

Joe takes a deep breath before pushing open the kitchen door.

“You asked to see me?”

Web looks up from his final review post he was writing and looks up to see a rather annoyed looking chef looking down at him.

“Yes, I did.”

“What for?”

“I wanted to say that I love your food.”

Lieb folded his arms, attempting to look unimpressed but still appreciating the praise from someone so well-known.

“Really?”

“Yes, I can see why you do what you do. I can see why you love it. I mean, my potatoes were a little over seasoned, but it didn’t ruin my meal.”

“Ov—Over seasoned?!”

Joe looked at the handsome – wait, no, pretentious – face of the critic and was so not entranced by the sharp blue eyes.

Web looked around the restaurant where some other guests were looking at them and then back at the chef.

“Yes? Like I said, it didn’t ruin the meal. I want t—.”

“Look Harvard, I don’t care what you want. You know what I want? I want you to leave. I don’t care what you post on your little website or shit, I don’t care. Just leave and don’t come back.”

Web narrowed his eyes, anger boiling inside him, and moved to get up in front of the chef.

Joe caught the scent of the critic as he stood up in front of him and it reminded him of a day at the beach. It was soothing in a way that immediately annoyed him because of the man it was attached to.

It was only then that Web caught onto the Harvard comment.

“Wait, how do you know I went to Harvard?”

That caught Joe off-guard, he didn’t catch that he let that slip.

“What?”

Playing dumb had worked for him many times before.

“Harvard. You called me Harvard. How did you know?”

“You got that look about you, shark boy.”

Son of a bitch.

Sometimes Joe should learn when to shut his mouth.

Web grabbed Joe’s arm and pulled him outside the restaurant much to Joe’s loud and vulgar protests.

“How do you know who I am?”

“I have my sources.”

Web gave him an exasperated look.

“Please, you do not have sources. How do you know?”

Joe licked his lips and Web’s eye couldn’t help but follow the movement for some reason.

“My friend Babe’s boyfriend, Gene, is a friend of yours.”

“Wait, this is where Edward works?”

“Edward? Jesus, Web, only his ma calls him that.”

David flinched at the nickname.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What, Web?”

He didn’t flinch this time but narrowed his eyes again.

“Yes, that.”

“You’d rather be called Harvard or shark boy?”

“I’d rather be called David.”

“Well, Web, this has been nice and all but I’ve gotta get back. So not nice seeing ya.”

Web grabbed his arm again before he reached the door.

“You know my name, can I at least know yours?”

“It’s Joe, Joe Liebgott.”

Web’s mouth opens and closes for half a minute.

“You okay there?”

“Y-yeah, I just didn’t know you were the head chef as well as the owner.”

“Yeah, I’m a regular Renaissance Man.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Lieb.”

Joe smiled as looked back at Web to see a mixed expression of enjoyment, annoyance, and longing? on the taller man’s face and it made him stop and do something stupid.

“Did you have dessert?”

It was worth asking just to see the confused look on Web’s face.

“What?”

“I said did you have dessert? Do they teach you to listen at Harvard?”

“No I didn’t and no, they don’t.”

“Well you can’t write a proper review if you don’t have dessert, right?”

Web smiled, “I guess I can’t. Is that an invitation?”

“It’s a demand.”

“Lead the way then, sir.”

Neither of them missed the hitch in Joe’s breath as they entered the restaurant.

Joe had Web sit at a chair in the kitchen while the rest of the staff finished the closing of the restaurant.

“You all can go home, I’ll finish here. We’re closed tomorrow anyway.”

The handful of staff still there shouted out quick thanks before running out of the door.

“So what do you want Web?”

Joe handed over a menu and finished cleaning the counters while Web decided.

“I haven’t had a strawberry shortcake since I was a kid. I’m a bit nervous though, what makes it ‘adult’?”

“The strawberries are soaked in an almond liqueur and the sauce in made with strawberry vodka.”

“That’s sounds perfect.”

Web’s phone rang and it was the ringtone of his editor.

“Sorry, I have to get this.”

Joe didn’t even answer, already focused on making the dessert.

He stepped through the door of the kitchen and watched Joe through the window.

“Yeah?”

“What’s taking so long for the final review?”

“I haven’t finished yet.”

Web watched the dance that Joe was performing effortlessly while he cooked.

“What do you mean? The restaurant closed twenty minutes ago. You’re on thin ice already Webster.”

The nasally voice from Sobel was grating on Web’s nerves.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“I know, sir. I’ll get in it, right away.”

“You better, or you’re done.”

His boss hung up before he could respond.

He went back into the kitchen and sat down with a long sigh.

“Boss that bad, huh?”

“Something like that.”

Joe watched the pound cake bake then started the sauce.

“So how does a Harvard grad, with a degree in literature, become a food critic?”

Web smiled, “Believe it or not, it’s very difficult to do what you really want.”

“Not for me.” Joe laughs and if Web wasn’t so fascinated by the man, he might’ve been angry.

“Well, I really want to write, but I’d also like to not be homeless, so I do this.”

“Nah, you can’t do that Web. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you haven’t written anything substantial about sharks since you started this job?”

Web looked shocked for a minute before he nodded.

“See, doing something you hate hinders your creativity, so now you can’t focus on what you want to do.”

“So what do you suggest I do?”

“Quit.”

Web laughs loudly, “Just like that? I’m into debt up to my ears and I can barely afford my what I have.”

“What? Parents didn’t pay for college?”

“Not when I told them I was majoring in Literature instead of Law like everyone expected me to.”

“So you paid for it by yourself?”

“I got help from the government and scholarships, but yeah. They still refuse to talk to me.”

Joe made a noise of consideration.

“You’re not what I expected Web.”

Web looked up and met Lieb’s eyes.

“I could say the same thing to you, Joe. Not many chefs or owners would be doing what you are now.”

Lieb winked, “I’m not most chefs.”

He came around the counter and placed the dessert in front of Web.

Something about Joe commanded attention and David couldn’t look away, not even at the impeccable dessert he was bound to rave about.

Lieb leaned in a little too close, but he may have snuck some shots of vodka while Web took his call. He was a little too attracted to Web, a critic for pete’s sake, and it shook him.

“And this is not most desserts.”

In that moment, nothing could have pulled Web away from Joe.

ASSHOLE CALLING. ASSHOLE CALLING. THERE’S AN ASSHOLE AND HE’S CALLING.

Unless, of course, your boss calls you.

Web pulls back, swears, and answers roughly, “What is it now?”

“Webster, that is not the way you address your boss.”

Web pulls the phone away from his ear while Sobel yells.

Joe’s laughing, but looks like he just missed something great, as he pulls a large bite of the dessert onto a spoon and lift it towards David’s mouth.

Web’s mouth opened in surprise and Joe smiled as he gently fed the dessert to the other man.

The noise that ripped out of Web’s throat could, at the very least, be described as pornographic.

Joe’s eyes widened and the spoon clattered onto the counter.

Joe slid off the stool and into Web’s space, just as Web had started the raise the phone back to his ear, his boss still screaming.

Joe’s hands were slowly reaching toward Web.

The phone reached Web’s ear and he came to a conclusion.

“I quit.”

He threw his phone down on the table and met Lieb’s lips with his own. It was a little off since they were both smiling, but it was perfect.

They eventually pulled away and rested their heads against one another.

Joe whispered gently, “How was that?”

David laughed and looked into Joe’s eyes before saying, “It was a little too sweet for my taste. I like something with a little more heat.”

Joe’s eyes darkened, “I can fix that for you, David.,” and tried to capture the critic’s lips once again, but Web pulled back with a laugh.

“No, seriously Joe, put a little chili powder on this or something.”

Lieb pushed Web playfully and went to clean the last of the dishes.

“Fuck you, Web.”

David shrugged as he took another bite, “Okay, but somewhere else. You have to think of the health code violations Joe.”

The dishes crashed in the back of the kitchen and Web laughed harder.

Web took the last bite of the dessert as Joe pulled him out of the seat, “It’s a good thing I live upstairs.”

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ronnykblair · 5 years

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Finance TV Shows in 2019: The Full Round-Up

A few short years ago, the landscape of “finance tv shows” consisted of a bottomless black hole.

That black hole resembled the exit opportunities available to mid-level investment bankers, but was even less entertaining.

There were plenty of shows about dragons, drug dealers, and advertising agencies, but nothing about hedge fund managers, traders, or private equity titans.

But the TV landscape changes quickly, and in the past year alone, there have been at least three new or continuing shows set in the finance industry.

Those shows are Billions (Showtime), Succession (HBO), and Black Monday (Showtime), and I liked all of them, to varying degrees.

Here’s my mini-review for each one – but first, a word about the challenges that all finance TV shows face:

Finance TV Shows: Got Emotional Stakes?

Back when we were thinking about producing Season 2 of Cost of Capital, I met with a writer who had worked on Law & Order to brainstorm story ideas.

He explained why the producers on that show often avoided financial stories:

“You’re doing something challenging here. On Law & Order, they tried to avoid stories with purely financial goals/desires because it was too difficult to establish the emotional stakes. And it’s hard to make people on either side of a conflict about money sympathetic.”

Most books, shows, and movies attempt to solve this problem with one of the following:

Make the protagonist a “fish out of water” who comes from modest means and is trying to break into the world of finance (e.g., the original Wall Street).

Make the story about oddballs and quirky characters who have their own problems and who then try to take down the system (e.g., The Big Short).

Take a character from privilege/wealth, remove the character’s advantages, put him in a different setting, and see what happens (e.g., Trading Places).

Or, go the “drugs and hookers” route and film a bunch of crazy people stealing money and doing cocaine all the time (e.g., The Wolf of Wall Street and Boiler Room).

These techniques help, but if a show or movie is overly reliant on them, they can come across as clichés.

In light of these challenges, I judge finance TV shows based on:

Characters: Do I care about the characters? Are there stakes beyond “make more money”? If the characters are not likable, are they at least interesting (ex: Tony Soprano)?

Story: Is the story surprising but logical? If the story is strictly “logical,” it’s often boring, and if it’s too “surprising,” it often has glaring plot holes that take you out of the world. The best stories surprise you initially but are obvious in hindsight.

Learning: Do I learn something new about the finance industry by watching? Or does the show at least present well-worn themes through a new lens?

And now to the mini-reviews:

Finance TV Shows: Billions (Seasons 1 – 3)

I reviewed Season 1 of Billions a few years ago, and I’m happy to say that the show has improved a lot since then.

If you haven’t seen it, Billions is about a hedge find titan, Bobby Axelrod (played by Damian Lewis), and an up-and-coming U.S. Attorney, Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), who goes after him for insider trading.

Of course, the U.S. Attorney’s wife also happens to be a “performance coach” at Axelrod’s hedge fund (Axe Capital), which creates the initial conflict.

Season 1 of the show was OK, but came up short in the “Characters” department.

Chuck Rhoades is a spoiled rich kid who irks everyone he meets, and Bobby Axelrod is a billionaire who made his fortune through shady-to-illegal activities.

Not only were they both unsympathetic, but they also weren’t that interesting.

Season 2 and 3 improved upon this premise by fleshing out the main characters and also by introducing an up-and-comer in the hedge fund world (Taylor Mason) who has a talent for investing but a naivete about the business.

I won’t spoil story details here, but by the end of Season 2, one character makes a “sacrifice” that makes him/her more sympathetic and adds depth by forcing him/her to make a tough choice.

By the end of Season 3, another character makes a major decision about how to deal with an “enemy” that shows this character is flawed, but still has some redemptive qualities.

Meanwhile, the series resists the urge to play out the same situations and conflicts over and over again – unlike police or medical procedurals.

Instead, character relationships keep shifting as allies become enemies and frenemies become friends… or regress to enemies.

That said, Billions still does a few things that drive me crazy:

Dialogue filled with elaborate metaphors, as if people constantly reference Greek mythology or Yankees infielders from the 1978 World Series when speaking to friends.

Stories that require a high suspension of disbelief (think: “Look at this clever strategy I just used to win – but I had to know in advance that Events A, B, and C would happen for it to work”). They’re surprising, but the logic is sometimes questionable.

Stereotypical characters and social commentary. The Attorney General, “Jock” Jeffcoat, is particularly bad on this count. A gun-toting conservative from Texas who uses dead coyotes to make points to his subordinates… right.

Season 4 starts on March 17th, and I’m looking forward to it.

I might even make a drinking game out of it and take a shot every time a character makes an obscure cultural reference.

Finance TV Shows: Succession (Season 1)

Succession came out of nowhere and truly surprised me.

You could describe it as “Game of Thrones meets modern corporate America.”

The series is about the Roy family, owners of a global media conglomerate (Waystar Royco) who fight for control of the company when the founder and family patriarch, Logan Roy, runs into health issues.

The Roys are inspired by real-life media-conglomerate families like the Murdochs, Redstones, Hearsts, and Maxwells.

Logan Roy is a cutthroat and competent executive, while his kids are… not so competent.

One is a “former” drug addict, one has the attention span of a 5-year-old on a sugar high, one is a consultant to “professional liars” (i.e., politicians), and one lives as a man-child on a ranch in New Mexico and dreams of starting a podcast on Napoleonic history.

The finance industry comes into the story in a big way because a private equity firm gets involved with the succession struggle and attempts to make a power grab, starting with the acquisition of a minority stake in Waystar Royco.

Amid this struggle, there are affairs, backstabbing, secret plotting, and even a Bernie Sanders-like politician who goes after the Logan family.

When I heard the premise for Succession, I was extremely skeptical.

“Oh, great,” I thought, “yet another show about unlikeable people betraying each other. After The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, do we need more of this?”

But the answer turned out to be “yes” because I ended up really, really liking the show.

It works because it’s funny; it’s more of a black comedy than a pure drama, with equal parts satire and serious conflict.

Also, even though the characters are initially unlikable, they become more likable and interesting over time as the show demonstrates that wealth and power do not resolve fundamental human issues.

Watching the episodes, Tolstoy’s famous line from Anna Karenina came to mind:

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Despite their wealth, the Roys are just another unhappy family – and each episode reveals a new dysfunction that makes them unhappy in a different way.

On the negative side, I’d point to:

Story Leaps – There were a few corporate maneuvers (think: hidden loans, giant scandals covered up over decades, etc.) that tugged my “suspension of disbelief” strings.

Dreariness – The comedic aspects did not come through quite as strongly in the first few episodes, and I kept thinking, “OK, can we please get one sympathetic character… just one, please.”

But, overall, I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m looking forward to Season 2.

Finance TV Shows: Black Monday (Season 1 in progress)

Black Monday, a new Showtime series that’s in the middle of its first season as I write this, officially takes us from “black comedy” to straight “comedy.”

This one stars Don Cheadle as Maurice Monroe, or “Mo the Marauder,” who heads a prop trading firm called “The Jammer Group” in the 1980s.

The series follows the traders at this firm, who were somehow responsible for Black Monday in October 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed by 20%+ in a single day.

Along with Don Cheadle are Andrew Rannells as Blair Pfaff, a fresh grad from Wharton who has developed an amazing trading algorithm and is leveraging it to win job offers, and Regina Hall as Dawn Darcy, the top trader at the Jammer Group.

Black Monday is a fun, completely over-the-top portrayal of the 1980s on Wall Street.

If The Wolf of Wall Street were made into a TV series, it would resemble this show.

It’s not at all surprising that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg directed the pilot, as it’s a tonal match for many of their films.

If you’re easily offended by sexist, boorish, and completely ridiculous behavior and comments, you should not watch this show; it’s set 30 years before the #MeToo movement, and it feels more like 300 years before.

You’re unlikely to learn much about finance by watching this one, but you will learn about the atmosphere of the industry in the 1980s.

That said, I still enjoyed the six episodes of Black Monday I’ve seen so far.

In a comedy, you can get away with almost anything as long as the audience laughs, which explains this show’s appeal.

There doesn’t appear to be much substance at first, but that changes a few episodes in as the series begins to address issues like the glass ceiling, the underrepresentation of women, and the computerized and automated trading that would eventually disrupt the whole industry.

My favorite quote is spoken by Maurice to Blair, as he explains why the fresh grad lost $50,000 trading on his first day:

“Your little algorithm doesn’t work so well against real traders, huh? Pro-tip kid – computers, don’t make trades, okay? Men do.”

If only he could steal a DeLorean time machine from another 1980s movie and see what trading is like today.

Finance TV Shows: Top-Tier Television?

It’s difficult to compare these shows because they’re all quite different, despite sharing topics and themes.

And, not to be a TV snob, but I wouldn’t consider any of them to be “top-tier series” – i.e., do not go in expecting The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Leftovers, etc.

But they’re all enjoyable shows that improve from start to finish.

If you want an authentic flavor of the hedge fund world and you don’t mind ridiculous dialogue, check out Billions.

If you want a black comedy about a dysfunctional family that’s entertaining but sometimes a bit too dreary, check out Succession.

And if you fantasize about doing cocaine at the office and buying expensive cars, start binging Black Monday.

Finance TV shows have come a long way, and they’re not nearly as bleak as exit opportunities for mid-level bankers anymore.

I’d say they’re almost up to the standard of Associate exit opportunities, and with time, they might even reach the Analyst level.

The post Finance TV Shows in 2019: The Full Round-Up appeared first on Mergers & Inquisitions.

from ronnykblair digest https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/finance-tv-shows/

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