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#I really should have taken the free pizza I got offered earlier but i forgot it was freshers so the crowd made me anxious so I didn’t
thatanimenerd101 · 4 years
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Mixing Drinks
Okay this was supposed to be short but oh hell no. So lets start off by tagging some wonderful people, @queensynderella @lovinkiri and @izuku-mydoria17.
Allie wrote part one for this so here it is. https://thatanimenerd101.tumblr.com/post/616704148430323712/kirishima-being-the-local-bartender-who-makes-you 
I relogged it. So Kiri is a bartender and your day sucked so he is going to cheer you up!
word count:1.3K
this gif is not mine all credit to the artist!
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Kirishima x reader 
The next ten minutes went by quickly as soon as Kirishima got off he smiled at you.
“Are you ready for me to get that ass of off your mind?” He offered you his hand because you could not stand up by yourself. You took his hand and smiled at him.
“Hell yes!” He ushered you out of the bar and unlocked his car.
“Do you mind if I take you back to my place? We can talk about anything you want and order some pizza. I will pay because only an ass will make a girl pay.”
 You trusted him so why the hell not? “Yeah, I trust you and you have been kind to me. Plus, you’re the only guy who isn’t a dick to me.” Your face started to heat up from the booze you had taken in earlier. He helped you into his car and he drove off to his house. The two of you flirted like high schoolers while he drove. You touched his leg a few times and he did not do anything. All he did was give you that warm smile you started to love.
Kirishima on the hand was doing his best to control himself, you were not in the right mind set right now. Maybe after some food you’d be in the right mind. But damn, you looked so cute right now. He was curious of something about what happened.
 “Hey, want to tell me why you think men are jerks?” Yes, he wanted to get your mind of everything but he was planning on dealing with that boy who made you upset. You were his favorite customer and he just overall liked you a lot. 
“I was supposed to go out on a date tonight. I drove to his place to pick him up and he was kissing another woman.” Your eyes met Kirishima’s.
 “Well he is Definite an ass, do you want cuddles to make you feel better?” He joked but then looked at you, your face lit up.
 “Cuddles?” You smiled. “I like cuddles and they also make me feel better.” He pulled into the driveway; he had a nice little house. Kiri got out of the car and opened the passenger door for you.
 “I plan on making tonight all about you. It is my job to get your mind off of things. I will treat you like a Princess.” He bowed playfully and you started laughing.
 “Thank you.” You got out of the car and the booze you had was starting to run out of your system. You and him walked inside his house. There was a lot of red.  He hung your jacket up for you.
 “Make yourself at home, I’ll order the pizza. Feel free to find a movie to watch. I’ll join you after I call.”
  He pointed towards the living room and you walked into the living room. His living room was nice. There was a large bookshelf full of DVDs and books.  He owned a lot of scary films and Disney? You decided on Scream; besides you were thinking that you wouldn’t be paying attention to the movie. Plus, you were planning to be “scared” so that Kirishima would hold you close.  He sat down on the couch holding the movie in your hands. You were thinking of something fun to do. You left the movie on the couch and followed the sound of his voice. Kiri was in the kitchen and wow he had a lot of bottles of alcohol. This was perfect. He did not notice you were behind him. You hugged him from behind and damn he smelled fucking amazing. The combination of cologne, faint alcohol and his natural scent.  You hugged him from behind. He looked down at you and smiled.
 “Hey, there. Pizza should be here in an hour.” He put his phone down and made you face him; you still had your arms around him. He hugged you back. You two stayed like that for a while. You pulled away from his warm body.
 “Hey I have an idea.” You smirked.
 “What is it?” He smirked back.
 You pointed towards the bottles he had in the large cabinet.
“I make a drink out of the stuff you got and you drink it. We take turns making drinks for each other and we rate it.” You smiled and tugged at a lose string on your jeans. You started to fall for him, fuck the other man you were supposed to go out with. Kirishima was way better and he knew how to treat a woman.
 “Sounds like fun, but its not good to drink on an empty stomach.” He tossed a banana to you. “Eat this first.”
 “Thank you.” You ate the banana he gave you. You had some banana on your lips but before you could use your hand to get it off, Kirishima held your hand. He looked at you.
 “Can I kiss you y/n?” His face was closer to yours, both of your faces were red.  “I’m sorry for asking but I-“  You cut him off by kissing him on the lips. The kiss was sweet and a bit needed. Noting else mattered right now, you were kissing a man that cared about you, you now knew that you loved him.  A few seconds later he pulled away and then leaned in to kiss you again. This time is was full of more passion. After the kiss your foreheads were touching.
 “That was really nice Kiri.” You smiled and looked into his red eyes.
 “It was and please, call me Eijiro.” He smiled and cupped your cheek and you nuzzled his hand. The two of you stayed like that for a while, enjoying the moment.
 “Hey Eijiro?” As soon as his name left your mouth his face went as red as his hair.
 “Y-Yes?”
 “Can I make you that drink now?” You giggled.
 “Yeah, what kind of glass do you want?” He walked towards a cabinet and opened it up.
 “Just a big tall glass.” You smiled and started grabbing bottles of booze. He gave you a glass and that started a night of you making bad drinks for him.
 When the pizza came both of you were the point of being tipsy. Eiji told you to start the movie while he paid for the pizza. He set the box of pizza down on the coffee table. The both of you ate pizza and cuddled. You forgot of what movie you were watching so when a jump scare came you screamed and hid your face in Eijiro’s chest. He paused the movie.
 “Are you okay Princess?” His grip on you tighten.
 “Yeah, but kisses will make me feel better.” You smirked at him.
 “Are you sure about that? I’ve only kissed you twice and your lips something I can’t let go.”
 You sat up and settled on his lap. “Give me the best kiss you can.” During the movie the both of you had a few beers, but it did not affect of what you wanted. You wanted him.
 “I want you Eiji.” You blushed and he did too.
  “Are you sure babe?” He did not want to take advance of you, he was not that kind of man.
 “Yes, but will you be my boyfriend Eiji?” You looked so cute and he was very happy at the moment.
 “I can’t say no Princess, you are so beautiful and I have loved you for a while.” He confessed his face was darker than his hair.
 “I love you.” You both said at the same time.
 He kissed you and you took off his shirt. The both you kissed while walking towards his bedroom. A trail of clothes on the floor.
 The next morning, he woke up first, you were snuggled up on his chest. Kirishima kissed you on the forehead. You opened your eyes.
 “Can I move in with you?” You yawned and smiled at him.
 “Yes. How was last night for you?”
 “I loved it and I love you.” 
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kyloswarstars · 4 years
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Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • part 1 – “the start of the end?” Divergent • Mini-Series AU
How do you say sorry when you have fucked up basically everything? Eric isn’t sure. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to ever earn your forgiveness. On the other hand: why should you forgive him? He had made the mistake of his life.
A story about Professor Eric Coulter, Harold the chimpanzee, midnight coffees and fries in the auditorium. You and Eric, Ms. Giraffe and Mr. FBI, trying to conquer life together until Eric did what he thought would be the best for you.
Pairing • Eric x Reader
Warnings • language
Words • 1.8k
Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • masterlist
/////
Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard
Your words burned into his retina. Eric still saw them when he closed his eyes. The phone screen was way too bright for his dark bedroom.
He didn’t know what to respond. He was a bastard. And all the other words you had described him with. His thumb hovered above the ‚S‘ to start off with a ‚sorry‘. When he saw the three dots, that implied you were typing, he stopped and didn’t say sorry.
Fucking stay away from me
He had fucked up. Eric shut his eyes but still saw your words. In the past there had been a lot of fighting and a lot of curse words because that was just how your relationship had worked – even though a relationship therapist may would have said that it wasn’t the healthiest way to interact with each other.
This was different though. This was the pain speaking he had caused. The burning brightness in his eyes got too much. He teared up although he tried so hard not too. Eric almost threw the phone across the room so he didn’t have to see your bright words anymore but then saw the three dots again.
And this time I mean forEVER
////////// 2 years ago //////////
„And here is the house where Mrs. Smith killed Mr. Smith because he had mowed the lawn the wrong direction.“
It’s been only the second night in the new city and Eric already went to a frat party. He shouldn’t be in this car. In his position he shouldn’t become friends with students. He should befriend professors. He should spend his free time at fancy dinner parties, in a suit – or at least a jacket – and a tie. An appletini in one hand and a cigar or some shit in the other. He didn’t really know how those dinner parties really were. Eric had never accepted a single invitation.
It was hard for him to keep a straight face while teaching college students that were only a few years younger than him. His career had started early due to his father who had ‚supported him all the time and just wanted the best for his son‘. Sometimes Eric was still angry that his father had pushed him into this path so early. But he had learned to accept it. After all, teaching was something he enjoyed. He never thought he would, but he did. And he really liked to be that approachable, cool dude of a professor his students weren’t afraid to talk to. 
He had been so good with declining invitations – he shouldn’t have taken the one to this frat party of his new students. It had led him to sitting in the car of a pizza boy, who’s name was Rafael. He had delivered about twenty pizzas earlier. It turned out Rafael had been the cousin of Carlo, one of Eric’s students, who had the really great idea to drive to that 24 hours opened pet store and cuddle with rabbits. On the way there they gave Eric a sightseeing tour with the weirdest facts about Chicago.
They were driving slowly through a quiet residential neighborhood that didn’t belong to the campus. The car was slow enough that, when a figure appeared right in front of it, it came to an instant stop.
An extremely upset face was illuminated by the headlights. Suddenly you banged your fist on the hood. And a second time with both of your hands formed to fists. 
„Get out there!“ Your voice was clear and sharp. The yelling in this quiet street would probably get the attention of some already sleeping parents.
„Oh damn.“ Rafael in the driver seat wiped his forehead.
„Rafael I said get out!“ You seemed to know exactly who had nearly run you over.
Rafael unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, slowly got out but didn’t go to you. He waited right behind his door. „Get in the car and let us talk later. Not here.“
„Do you think I care about who’s going to hear us?“ You seemed a bit insane. But maybe you were just furious because you nearly got killed. Maybe the beer had fogged Eric’s head. Under normal circumstances he would’ve never gotten between a woman as furious as you and a guy as intimidated as him. At least not before someone threw punches. But in his slightly drunk state he thought it was a good idea to get out of the car as well and be a mediator.
Before he was even able to say something, your fierce glance switched to him. „What are you looking at me?“
Eric’s hands got up like you pointed a gun at him. „I’m not looking at all.“
„Of course you are!“ You blinked at the headlights and studied him like a hunter it’s prey. Yes, he was looking at you. Your livid facial features amazed Eric’s cloudy mind. „Who are you even?“ You didn’t care about his answer though and walked over to Rafael.
„I’ve been searching for you for about an hour. Your shift ended at 9 and you said you’d be there to help me!“
Rafael’s head hung low. Getting scolded by a furious woman like you was probably not a nice thing to experience. „I forgot. Sorry.“
„Yeah, clearly you forgot.“ You opened the door behind Rafael’s and ordered the guys on the backseats to make room – they instantly obeyed. Eric felt like they all knew you too well to disobey your order. „Can you drive now? I have to get back our chimpanzee.“
Eric didn’t stay longer than ten minutes in that car. After Rafael almost run you – his twin sister – over, you had given four more orders.
1: „Rafael, turn on the heating, I’m freezing from walking over an hour through the cold to search your ass“ 2: „Ew Carlo, take your hands off of me. I’m your cousin“ 3: „Since you’re all here, you’re going to help me get Harold back from those fanatics who think they can care better for him“
Eric guessed that ‚Harold‘ must be the chimpanzee you had talked about getting back.
4: „And please throw this weirdo, who keeps staring at me, out of the car“
He should be glad he got thrown out before he got pulled into something that ended in breaking the law. Since this was only his second night in Chicago he didn’t have a clue where he was. It was hard to find a taxi so he ordered an Uber which was there to get him in under five minutes.
Back in his apartment, which was still incredibly chaotic because unpacking wasn’t one of his strengths, he just tried to forget one of the weirdest evenings of his life by falling asleep on his mattress.
/////
When his alarm woke him up the next morning, he was still not used to his mattress laying on the floor. Eric didn’t know where his bed frame was and didn’t feel the urge to search for it. Not yet. Unpacking was a process. It could take weeks. And rushing himself was a thing he consequently protested because it had a negative impact on his wellbeing. In simple words: He was lazy.
And because of that, the coffee machine was right beside the mattress. Still half laying, he pressed the button to get a fresh coffee. Thirty seconds later he grabbed the cup and sat up, resting his back on the cold wall behind him.
Today was his second day teaching at the new college. He wasn’t ready. Not after ending the first day with this crazy car ride.
And as if the universe had known his thoughts, he froze in his movements when he entered the auditorium and studied the college students. You were sitting there. In the auditorium. In his auditorium. You were… his student.
////////// current day //////////
The phone screen made a cracking sound when it came in contact with the floor.
Fuck. He couldn’t leave your texts unanswered.
Eric got out of the bed, hurried to get dressed, ran to get his keys and then left the apartment. Maybe he woke up the whole street with the rapid start of his bike and rushing down the street, but he couldn’t care less.
He always hated that you were living so far out of the city. You were still living with your family – for obvious reasons and he couldn’t blame you. Tonight though, he really wished you would’ve agreed to move in with him. But you had turned that down like so many other ideas he had offered to build a future together.
There were no lights in the windows of your house. He couldn’t just creep around the house and hope for an opened window. Eric pulled out his phone with the cracked screen and opened the conversation. It was horrible to see your words screaming at him like that.
„I told you to leave me alone. Once and for all.“ Honestly, he didn’t think you would even answer the call, but you did, whispering like you weren’t mad at all. That was a bad sign. „Was this your bike’s engine being cut off?“
How should he start talking? What should he say? Which one of the thousand sorry’s should he offer first? How should he start to explain why he did what he did?
„Eric, what are you doing in our front yard?“
He could see the shape of a person in the window of your father’s room. You were staring at him. Your fast breathing echoed in his ear. There was no way you would forgive him. The realization that your relationship was unrepairable broken nearly drove him insane. How should he breath and eat and sleep and just be when you weren’t part of his life anymore?
„Scolding myself for telling them it was you who had kidnapped Harold after they finally stopped searching for him.“
Falling for you had been the easiest thing Eric had ever done. Before he knew you he thought body functions, that happened automatically, were the easiest things to do because you didn’t have a choice – you just breathed. It was the same with you, though. He just fell for you. And that, he did every single day for two years now. He didn’t know if he could ever stop.
You didn’t answer but he could still hear you breathing into the phone. He could still see you standing there at the window. Had you been watching over your father again while he was sleeping? Had you been reading him Pippi Longstocking again like he had done it when you were little – even though he probably didn’t hear you? Why did you not just hang up? Why did you wait?
„Why?“ Your stifled question broke his heart. He tried not to picture your face right now – this situation was already unbearable.
„Because I love you.“
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peaceisadirtyword · 5 years
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Jealous (Alex Høgh/Reader)
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A/N: Sorry! This was supposed to be posted yesterday, it was queued and all of that, but I had to edit a mistake and Tumblr deleted it... I wasn’t at home so I couldn’t post it again. I’m so sorry. Anyway this is the second request for Alex’s birthday project♥️ I hope you like it and thanks @tabseus for requesting it😘
The third request is coming in an hour!💕
Warnings: A bit of smut but not very detailed, jealousy, a fight, swearing... 
Words: 2151
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gif belongs to @the-poetic-persona
To say you were bored would be an understatement. 
You scrolled down your Instagram, liking some photos and commenting on some of your friends' posts, sighing in boredom.
When you came to visit your boyfriend in Dublin, where he was filming Vikings, you knew he would have to work a lot, and you wouldn't see each other as much as you wanted, but it was fine, even if you spent two hours together, it was worth it. 
Alex had insisted you went with him to set. He assured you it was fine, that you were welcome there and that all the cast was dying to meet you. You already knew Marco and Jordan, and would love to meet the rest of the cast, but the last thing you wanted was to distract Alex, and to be honest, meeting all those people that you had seen on the show a hundred times made you freak out. How were you supposed to react while meeting Katheryn Winnick? And Gustaf Skarsgård? And thank god Travis Fimmel wasn't there, because you would have fainted. Meeting those people was like meeting the Queen of England. You weren't ready. 
But a part of you regretted not going with Alex to set that exact day. 
He had been excited, as they would shoot a scene with lots of extras, and he had (of course) taken his camera to set. You knew he loved taking photos of people, and would spend hours with the extras, talking to them and taking photos. You didn't have any problem with that, in the contrary, it fascinated you how he would listen to their stories and then take the photo that told the same story without words. And loved his excitement when he showed you his photos and asked for your opinion. 
But that day he hadn't been taking photos of extras characterized as rough vikings with amazing life stories, that day he had been fooling around with some girls. 
The first photo didn't bother you at all, they were extras that admired Alex and wanted a photo with him. That was cool. You had encountered some of his fans on the street while going with him, asking for a photo, and you had offered yourself to take the photo. It wasn't the photo what bothered you. It was Alex's attitude, in a way. 
He had a very flirty personality, you knew that the first day you met him. At first you thought he was openly flirting with you, but then he talked the same way to your best friend, and that had confused you. 
He had posted several stories on his Instagram and girls appeared in all of them. First, fooling around with Georgia, then a video with a girl who worked on the dressing department, then the photos with the extras... Apparently, they were danish too, and he had been talking to them for hours. He even mentioned them on his stories. Entering one of the girls' profiles, you saw she had posted not one but three photos with Alex and a video. 
In the video they were talking in a mix between English and Danish, joking with each other as if they were friends. He had the flirting tone, and that made your blood boil. 
In the description of the post, she wrote how amazing was to meet the most 'ruthless and handsome viking of all times' and how nice he was. 
He had replied in a comment, saying it was nice to meet her too and that she had done an amazing job as an extra. And then a heart. A fucking heart. 
You tossed your phone away, too angry to keep looking at the photos, and turned on the tv. 
You don't really know how much time passed while you were sitting on the couch, your eyes fixed on the tv. And every minute that passed you were more and more angry. 
Alex arrived earlier than you thought, with pizza and a big smile. He was in a good mood, of course. 
"Hey" he frowned a bit when you didn't even look his way "I brought pizza, your favorite" he smiled again "And I have news: I have a free day tomorrow, and tonight we can go out with Marco, Jordan Georgia... To some pub or club, if you want to" he left the pizza on the kitchen and sat down on the couch, next to you "Hey, what's wrong?"
Usually, you welcomed him with an excited 'hi' and a hug, followed by an intense kiss that sometimes ended up in a quickie on the couch. 
"Nothing" you kept your eyes fixed on the tv.
He scoffed, and took the control to turn it off.
"Tell me"
"I said nothing" you finally looked at him, with your lips pressed together. 
Alex sighed, he was tired and only wanted to jump in the shower and change clothes to go and have a few drinks with his friends, he wasn't in the mood for fighting. 
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine, but at least tell me if I can do something to make you feel better" he tried to get closer to you and give you a hug, but you moved to get away, and he raised his eyebrow. 
"You can, but you wouldn't want to"
"What?" He was confused now. It was obvious you were mad at him, but he couldn't remember anything he had done to make you angry "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, forget it" you scoffed, getting up and walking to the kitchen, trying to control your anger. 
"No, tell me" he insisted, going after you "What is wrong, Y/N?" 
"I'm telling you, nothing is wrong, now forget it"
"I'm not forgetting it" he was losing his patience, but sighed and softened his tone "What happened? Is everything okay? Please tell me so I can..."
"You! That's what happens!" you yelled, losing control.
"Me? What did I d..."
"Did you have a good time on set today?" You asked sarcastically "I'm sure you did, surrounded by girls"
He understood what was it about, and groaned, rubbing his eyes. 
"What the fuck, Y/N?" He sighed, leaning against the counter "That's what all of this is about?"
"Yes!" the way he rolled his eyes made you even angrier "But it's not only today, it's every fucking day, Alex, you are always flirting with every single girl, even in front of me"
"I do not!" He raised his voice "Y/N I don't flirt with anyone, nor in front of you or behind your back, it is not..."
"Yes you do, you always do, you talk to them with that smile, and tilting your head, and you look at them like that..."
"How do I look at them?" He furrowed his brows "I look at them as I look at everyone else, I don't flirt"
"You know what? Forget it" you scoffed.
"No, Y/N, why are you acting like this?"
"Acting like what? Like if I cared for our relationship?" 
"You're not caring about anything, you're just being..." He licked his lips, shaking his head. He truly didn't want to fight "Look, there is no reason for you to be jealous, baby, I truly don't mean to flirt with anyone, I was just being nice" his breathtaking blue eyes fixed on yours and you looked away quickly. 
"You don't understand, Alex, I..." Your voice broke and you looked down, ashamed of the tears that threatened to roll down your cheeks "Have you seen yourself? I mean, you're like the most handsome guy in the world, it's just really hard to believe someone like you would stay with someone like me, and not go with one of those beautiful girls you meet every day at work, and how you talk to them, touch them..." You bit your lip "I know it's your personality, but..."
"Y/N, it hurts a lot to hear that" both of you looked like you would start crying at any moment "Because I don't care about the beautiful girls I meet at work, I love you, it's only you, and now I feel like I haven't showed you enough how much I care about you, and I hate when you think you're not good enough for me because it's not true" he clenched his jaw "I talk to those girls as I talk to a fan on the street, I'm not going the change the way I am, Y/N, I'm sorry, I was just being nice"
"Would you like to see me talking like that with another guy?" You frowned "Touching him?"
"Well it depends of how you were touching him" he shrugged "But I wouldn't mind, Y/N, because I trust you, and I know you wouldn't do that to me, even if you doubt me"
"I'm not doubting you, Alex I'm just saying..."
"No, it's fine, you don't trust me, okay" he scoffed "Forget it"
He walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. 
You stayed in the kitchen, with tears rolling down your cheeks and looking at your feet. 
When Alex emerged from the bedroom, he had changed his clothes, and he went directly to the door, leaving the apartment. 
He came back much earlier than you supposed. Usually, when Alex went out, he'd come back around five or six in the morning, so you tensed up when you heard the door at two am. 
You had been laying in bed for hours, crying and looking at your phone, wishing he would call or message you. 
He didn't turned on the lights, even if he knew you were awake. He just took off his jacket and sighed, laying next to you in bed. 
You thought he wouldn't talk to you, ignore you until both of you forgot about the fight, so it startled you when he hugged your waist from behind and pressed his cheek against yours. 
"I'm sorry" he whispered, and you moved closer to him, still crying.
"I'm sorry too" you whispered "It's my fault, I shouldn't have got jealous of those girls, you did nothing wrong"
"I didn't know you felt that way" he kissed your temple "You should have told me, I love you and I don't want you to feel like I don't" 
"I love you too and I shouldn't act like I own you" you smiled softly "You say you don't flirt and I should believe you, sorry"
"Are we going to spend the whole night apologizing to each other?" He chuckled.
"I'm truly sorry, Alex, I just... You're like too perfect, and I'm just worried someone will take you away from me"
"No one will" he made you turn your head and kissed your lips softly, smiling when you kissed him back fervently "I promise"
You turned around to deepen the kiss, his hands travelled to your ass and cupped it softly, making you sigh. 
"You're home early"
"I know, I just couldn't have fun knowing you were mad at me" caressed your hair softly.
"Sorry" you pouted, knowing he loved going out with his friends "Sorry I ruined your night"
"Stop saying sorry" he chuckled "I love you" 
This time you kissed him, biting his lower lip and making him moan. 
Alex and you fought sometimes, usually, it was when any of you had had an awful day or were stressed, and usually it was over small things. The best thing was the reconciliation. 
His hands found his way inside your pajama pants and took them off, almost ripping your shirt just after that. You laughed as you took his clothes off too, pressing your thighs together when you saw his beautiful body naked.
He immediately pinned you down and crawled between your legs, pressing his tip to your entrance and rubbing his hard member between your folds to make sure you were wet enough, while his mouth explored your neck and you moaned, throwing your head back and closing your eyes. 
When he thrusted into you, you moaned his name loudly digging your nails into his shoulders. 
"Did I hurt you?" He asked, out of breath, in your ear. His breathing next to your neck made you shiver.
"N...No, keep going please" you moved your hips to make him move inside you again. 
"Fuck, you're beautiful" he grunted when you arched your back and moaned again, just when he hit that exact spot inside you "And you were jealous of other girls, woman? Have you fucking seen yourself?" He moaned, leaning into you to kiss your lips again. 
You came almost screaming his name, with his hand covering your mouth so you wouldn't wake up the whole building. He came right after you, hissing when your walls clenched around his member. And then he smiled at you, panting and pressing his forehead against yours.
"We should fight more often" 
Tags: @mblaqgi @alicedopey @lol-haha-joke @hallowed-heathen@ivarslittlebadgirl @naaladareia @tephi101 @captstefanbrandt@love-hate-love @titty-teetee @readsalot73 @moondustmemories@thevikingsheaux @therealcalicali @chimera4plums@blushingskywalker @awkwardfangirl02 @credulouskhaleesi@gruffle1 @justacripple @heartbeats-wildly @inforapound@trashcanx @winchesterwife27
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quicksilversquared · 6 years
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How to Fake a Marriage ch. 5
(AO3) (FF.net)
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Marinette let herself smile as she carefully pieced together panels for a dress at the end of a long day of work. While it was starting to get late, she was almost done with the base of the dress and it was already shaping up to be just as pretty as she had imagined it. She almost wanted to just forget the time and keep working until the piece was done, but she couldn't. Adrien would be expecting her over at his apartment soon.
Marinette couldn't stop her grin from growing as she thought about her friend. She had managed to avoid any awkward conversations with Adrien ever since she dodged his question about Alya's text (she was still grumpy with her best friend about that, but at least Alya hadn't said anything about "at least she finally confessed" or something like that; Marinette wasn't sure how she could have recovered from that. Instead, she had managed to laugh off his questioning by saying that well, of course Alya had wanted them to get together, because then they could go on double dates and Alya had probably thought that it would be fun. Adrien, the oblivious dork, had taken her at her word). They had been cooking together every night since; it was faster than cooking separately, they didn't have to worry about things spoiling as much as they would have to if they ate alone, and they were having a lot of fun hanging out together.
They might have gotten close during lycée, but they were growing even closer now.
Adrien had started his classes earlier in the week and from what Marinette could understand, he absolutely loved them. They were far more interesting than his business courses had been, at least so far, and his professors were great. The best part, Adrien had told Marinette, was that physicists didn't really seem to care a whole lot about fashion, so none of them had any clue who he or his father were. They weren't about to treat him with kid gloves just because his father was a giant in business.
Also, the physics students had no idea who he was. For possibly the first time in history, Adrien had the chance to make friends without his father's influence hanging over his head.
"The business students all figured it out pretty fast," Adrien had told Marinette over dinner one night. "And they thought if they befriended me, they would be able to get an internship with Gabriel's business department pretty easily. It got old really fast."
Marinette could imagine. It was probably for the best that Adrien wasn't particularly interested in fashion and design because he wouldn't have had an easy time finding real friends there and he would never be able to break free of his father's shadow.
"Are you really still here, Marinette?" Madam Rosalie popped her head around the door. "That can wait until tomorrow, it's already getting dark outside."
"I'm just finishing this up. I didn't want to lose my place." Marinette held up the piece she was working on. "I'll only be ten more minutes, tops."
"All right. Good night!" Madam Rosalie called, vanishing back around the door. Marinette resumed her sewing as her boss's heels clicked away down the hall.
"You really shouldn't stay too long," Tikki said, flying out from hiding and perching on Marinette's shoulder. "I know you let Adrien know you were running late, but he can't wait forever."
"Has he sent any more texts?"
Tikki zipped down to Marinette's bag and pulled out her phone, unlocking it. "Just a confirmation that he got your text."
"Can you let him know that I'll be done in ten- no, nine, maybe eight- minutes?" Marinette finished one seam and moved to the next. "I'd hurry, but this can't be rushed. Photoshoot pieces have to be perfect."
"One second- done! Text sent!" Tikki tapped Send and put the phone down. "That's a really pretty design, Marinette! Is it one of yours?"
"Mmm. Partly." Marinette bit her lip as she carefully worked the seam. "The top part of the dress is Madam Rosalie's design, the bottom is mine. She was having trouble figuring out what would work best with the top design and had all of the interns take a shot at it, and mine won. I wanted to do all of the sewing myself so I can get all of the details just how I envisioned them."
"It looks good!" Tikki cheered. A buzz caught her interest, and she held up Marinette's phone. "Adrien said okay, he's started making dinner so just go straight to his flat, it should be ready to eat as soon as you get back."
"Adrien is a lifesaver." Marinette loved not having to cook every night, loved not eating the same leftovers for a week straight, loved having the new recipes Adrien brought with him…. and, of course, loved having the company. She didn't doubt that later on they would have problems with both of them being busy at the same time, but for now they were doing a pretty good job of trading off cooking nights when they were busy.
"He also said that he has a late meeting with a professor tomorrow, so if you can cook then that would be good," Tikki reported.
"It'll be my turn anyway," Marinette said. She snipped a couple threads and turned the dress again to attach the next panel. "And I didn't really have to start the skirt part tonight, I just wanted to get it done. I'll find a better stopping point tomorrow."
It actually only took Marinette seven more minutes to finish all she needed to get done for the night- the zipper could wait, after all- and then she was jogging down the stairs towards the exit. If her apartment were any further away, she would transform into Ladybug to cover the distance faster. As it stood, it would probably take just as long to find a safe place to transform and detransform as it would take for her to just powerwalk the short distance.
"Nice timing," Adrien called from his kitchen when Marinette burst in his door, panting and clutching the cramp in her side from sprinting up the stairs. "I just took everything out from the oven."
"I'll leave earlier tomorrow," Marinette promised, setting her bag down by Adrien's couch and heading over to help set the table. "Sorry about the delay, I just wanted to get one last thing done and it wasn't a thing I could just set down and pick up tomorrow."
"That's fine." There was a clatter from the kitchen. "Do you often work that late? You haven't since I got here."
Marinette finished straightening the napkins and turned to watch Adrien pull out the plates as she thought about the question. "I don't think so? Maybe once. I don't like working so long, it burns me out and then I don't do as well the next day. I think it'll be somewhat unavoidable once we get close to Fashion Week, though."
"Hopefully midterms won't line up with Fashion Week," Adrien said as they served up the baked macaroni and cheese. "We'd both be busy all the time and end up having frozen pizza for a week."
Marinette made a face at that. She really wasn't particularly fond of that idea. Leftovers was one thing; having the same thing day after day sounded absolutely awful. "One of the older interns suggested making stuff in advance and freezing it so we don't end up doing that. I have a couple things stashed away in the freezer already that we could pull out and reheat as needed."
Adrien grinned as they headed to the table. "Like a squirrel. And really, already? Planning that far in advance?"
"It was mostly because I made enough food that I couldn't eat it before it spoiled," Marinette admitted. "So there's, like, half a lasagna and some soup and a couple other odds and ends."
"I have an ice tray," Adrien offered helpfully, thinking of his barren freezer. "And maybe some frozen corn."
Marinette pressed her lips together as she tried not to laugh. "Tasty."
Laughing, Adrien swatted at her. "Oh, shush. You know what I meant."
"Do I?"
  Their dinners together continued as Adrien's semester went on and the weather slowly started to get chillier. There were a couple nights when they couldn't get together- Marinette had to work late, or Adrien was invited over by a classmate or a friend of his father's- and there were a few nights when they invited other people to join them, but for the most part it was just Adrien and Marinette.
And that was the way they liked it.
Conversation sometimes hit a lull when Adrien had spent the entire day studying and Marinette had done nothing other than hem things or do paperwork for Madam Rosalie, but then neither of them had a problem with turning on the TV and bonding over commentary on whatever show was showing on TV. Cooking shows seemed to be a favorite of theirs, especially cooking contests. They got way too invested in it, but that just made it more fun.
"Do you want to watch a movie later?" Adrien asked Marinette over the sound of their favorite cooking show running in the background as he collected the plates after they finished eating. "I think there's a pretty good one showing on TV a little later."
Marinette bit her lip. She did, but she also had been planning on going out for a run as Ladybug and she would be too tired after the movie ended to go out. Granted, she could always wait for another day, but she really just wanted to transform and burn off some energy. It had been way too long since she last flew over the rooftops.
In fact, she hadn't gone out since Adrien arrived. They had always spent their evenings together, even if Adrien was sitting at the table studying and she was curled up on the sofa drawing or reading. It was nice to hang out with another person in the evenings, even if it meant that she couldn't talk to Tikki as much.
"I think I might pass," Marinette said at last, raising her voice a little so Adrien could hear her over the sound of the TV and the running water in the kitchen. "I've been having a little trouble sleeping and was hoping to catch up on it tonight."
"Okay." Adrien rinsed the plates off before sticking them in the dishwasher. "That sounds good, actually. I might do the same." He winced. "I had an eight a.m. class today and I forgot how much I hated those."
"Owtch." Marinette remembered those classes. It seemed that despite her best intentions, she had gotten at least one day a week with the early classes, thanks to either scheduling conflicts, filled sections, or classes that were only offered at the early hour. Needless to say, it was very frustrating. She liked sleeping in too much to really be able to enjoy those particular classes.
"D'you want to take off now? I can deal with the rest of the dishes," Adrien offered. "There's really not that many."
"No, I can help!" Marinette assured him hastily, rising from the table to bring the dishes of leftovers into the kitchen. "Besides, I want to know to see if the asshole chef gets eliminated."
Adrien sniggered as he glanced over at the TV, where the chef in question was currently frantically stirring some sort of stir-fry on-screen. It looked like it might be a little charred. "You really have it out for him, huh?"
"He's got a big head. It just rubbed me the wrong way."
Adrien glanced at the screen again as Marinette transferred the leftovers into smaller containers. "He's really sweating. Everyone else seems like they're doing all right, though."
"That's good." They fell silent for a few minutes as Marinette stashed the leftovers in the fridge, rearranging other things so they would fit, and Adrien started washing the things that couldn't go in the dishwasher. The TV prattled on in the background as the timer counted down and the chiefs rushed to finish their dishes. As Marinette and Adrien finished putting the last things away, Marinette's least favorite chef was really sweating. It was looking more and more likely that he might be the one to get eliminated.
"Do you want me to record the rest of the episode for tomorrow?" Adrien asked as he closed the last cupboard. "Or do you want to stay until it finishes?"
Waiting until the episode finished could take another half an hour with commercials. Marinette didn't care about it that much. "Record it, I think. I'll probably enjoy it more if I'm not about to fall asleep. Besides, we can just skip through the commercials if it's recorded."
"Sounds good. Good night, Marinette."
"Good night, Adrien."
Marinette flashed one last smile at Adrien as she stepped out of his apartment for the night. As soon as the door closed, though, the facade of weariness promptly vanished. She unlocked her apartment's door as fast as she could before ducking inside, relocking the door, and making a beeline for her balcony. Tikki popped out of her pocket, just as eager to transform as Marinette herself was.
"Tikki, transform me!" Marinette cried as she darted across the room. The pink light washed over her just before she reached the door, and Ladybug darted out of the door and into the waiting city.
It wasn't like running around in Paris. Even after a couple months, the rooftops of London were still unfamiliar and strange. Unlike in Paris where she was often spotted and would take breaks to come down from the roofs to greet people, she tried to stay out of well-lit areas; while it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for people to see Ladybug in London, it might put her identity in jeopardy. People would be scouring the city, trying to find people who had been in Paris during the time that Ladybug and Chat Noir were active in an effort to uncover Ladybug's identity. Keeping that in mind, Marinette had asked Tikki to alter her outfit, making it darker and better able to blend into the night. Since it was already fairly dark- she had changed her outfit's design to have black knee-high "boots" and black up her arms and over her shoulders back before she and her partner defeated Hawkmoth- it was mostly just a matter of darkening her trademark fire-engine red suit to a deeper shade of red and extending the black areas just a bit. Even with the changes, she kept up on the rooftops and out of busy areas to minimize the possibility of her being spotted.
Since Marinette hadn't seen any headlines about Ladybug in London either in newspapers or on the Ladyblog, she was pretty certain that she had been successful. It definitely helped that the Londoners weren't looking for her. If they spotted anything on the rooftops out of the corners of their eyes, they were more likely to ignore it and write it off as a bird. And further helping was the fact that Londoners generally didn't go around staring up at rooftops.
Ladybug flew through the air, twisting into a flip and resisting the urge to let out a joyous shout. She loved the feeling of flying, the knowledge that she could let herself drop and she would be able to catch herself without a problem. It was more fun when she could let herself whoop or shout during a particularly intense flip, but that would blow her cover just as much as a bright red suit would.
It really just wasn't the same. Besides, she was definitely missing having her partner by her side. Running around alone was just so much less fun.
Ladybug had only been out for ten minutes when she caught sight of a dark shape running over the rooftops. She immediately landed lightly on a roof, hiding behind a chimney and peeking out to get a look at whatever had joined her in running above the city. The shape apparently hadn't seen her, as they kept running over the rooftops without pausing. Ladybug's mind raced- surely there couldn't be an akuma in London, they had defeated Hawkmoth and the butterfly Miraculous was back in Master Fu's hands- and she was about to worry that the Miraculous had been stolen again when the figure shot up into the air on a long, sticklike thing before helicoptering his way back down to the rooftops in a very familiar manner.
Chat Noir!
Ladybug didn't hesitate to take off after her partner, racing over the rooftops as she followed him. He had gotten a head start when she froze in surprise, but she had an advantage because she was far more familiar with this skyline than her partner was. She knew how fast she could run without tripping, where she had to slow down and where the shortcuts were. If she hadn't run over these rooftops dozens of times before, she wouldn't have stood a chance against Chat Noir's night vision.
As focused as Chat Noir was on figuring out his path, he didn't even hear Ladybug racing up behind him. She bowled into him without slowing down at all, sending both of them flying down into the empty street below. Chat Noir yelped and struggled as they fell, and only just managed to twist so they landed on their feet.
"What on earth-" Chat Noir started, whipping around with his baton raised defensively. He froze when he caught sight of Ladybug standing there with a huge grin on her face. "Bugaboo?"
"I didn't know you were coming to London!" It would be harder for them to remain unnoticed if both of them were in London now, especially since they liked calling back and forth as they flew over the city. Still, it would be much more fun going out if Chat Noir was going to be out and about as well. She couldn't race herself across the city, after all.
"Yeah, I didn't know for sure until after you left." Chat Noir put away his baton and stepped forward to envelop Ladybug in a hug. "It's good to see you again! I really missed you."
Ladybug grinned and hugged her partner back. She had missed her kitten a lot as well. He was one of her best friends, after all, even if they didn't know each other's real names. Even after only a week in London, Ladybug had considered trying to track down Chat Noir next time she was back in Paris to see if her partner would be interested in getting a secondary phone so that the y could stay in contact while they were apart. Maybe they could set it up now, while Chat Noir was in London. Or maybe- better yet- Chat Noir would be in the area for a while and the phones wouldn't even be necessary.
"Are you in London for a while?" Ladybug asked, voice muffled by Chat Noir's chest. She couldn't let herself get her hopes up- her partner might just be visiting a friend in the city, after all, or maybe he was on vacation. The chances that he would actually be in London for the same amount of time that she was going to be there were slim. If he was in town for a vacation, they would probably only have a week together at most. If he had gotten a job in London, he would probably remain even after she returned to Paris.
That would actually be crushing. She didn't want to permanently be apart.
"I am! I'll hopefully be here for a couple years," Chat Noir said as they loosened their grip on each other and stepped back. "And you? Are you going to be in London for a while? I wasn't expecting to see you here!"
"I'm here for a year," Ladybug told him. She was considering the possibility of extending her internship since she was getting a lot of good experience (and because hanging out with Adrien was fun and she didn't want to abandon him in London, even if he could probably take care of himself), but she wouldn't be able to ask about doing that until much later in the year. Besides, things could change between now and then. Maybe something else would come up that would change her mind.
Chat Noir's ears drooped. "I'll be here for three. Are you going back to Paris after this year?"
"Probably." That was what she had originally been planning, because she had absolutely no intention of trying to get a fashion job overseas (she wanted to be able to see her friends and her parents on a somewhat regular basis, after all) and while she liked London well enough, she liked Paris more. There were plenty of labels based in and around Paris that Marinette liked and would gladly apply to. There was no point in getting Chat Noir's hopes up by mentioning the possibility of her staying longer now.
Her partner sighed. "Bugger. At least you're here now, though," he added, perking up. "That's more than I was expecting. I was planning on flying back to Paris once you showed up there again just so I could let you know that I was out of the country. I couldn't exactly leave a note somewhere hoping you would find it, since it's more likely that it would blow away or something."
"It might get made into a pigeon's nest," Ladybug suggested. "Or eaten by a rat."
Chat Noir grinned, and the familiar impish expression made Ladybug . "Eaten, my Lady? I imagine such terrible news would taste pawsitively awful."
Ladybug just groaned.
  Adrien could not believe that Ladybug was in London. What were the chances of both of them ending up in the same city, and in the same part of the same city to boot? It was absolutely fantastic to be able to see her again, even though they would have to be extra careful if they wanted to avoid being spotted. Now he had two friends he knew in London, which was far more than he had ever expected.
It was great.
"I really wasn't expecting that," Adrien told an uninterested Plagg as he washed up for bed. Adrien had jumped on the opportunity to transform and go out when Marinette left early to go to bed. At best, he figured, he would get in a good run and maybe get to do a little stargazing. At worst, he would dry out his skin running around in the cool night air.
Instead, he had been knocked off a roof by a very enthusiastic Ladybug and they had spent an hour running around and catching up with each other before going their separate ways for the night.
Adrien had missed his partner ever since she left Paris. She had told him that it would be a couple months, at the very least, probably at least a year. He hadn't asked for details- even after all of these years and Hawkmoth's defeat, they kept their civilian lives private- but clearly whatever it was that was taking her away from Paris had brought her right to London.
"Are you going to get all sappy over her again?" Plagg asked, annoyance clear in his voice. The kwami had been more than a little exasperated by Adrien's moping in the days and weeks after Ladybug's departure. Adrien thought he had been perfectly justified in his misery; after all, being Chat Noir just wasn't the same when he was prowling the rooftops by himself instead of alongside his Lady. It was lonely going out at night and not running into her, especially since he couldn't keep in contact with her any other way. But now-
Now she was here, in London with him, at least for a year. They wouldn't be able to meet up every night- Adrien wouldn't be able to transform and go out every night without blowing off Marinette, and he was not going to do that, and no doubt Ladybug would have nights when she was busy as well and unable to go out- but at least there was the possibility of them running into each other. It was more than he had expected.
"I wasn't sappy," Adrien said at last, resisting the urge to spin in happy circles around the room. His downstairs neighbor was probably asleep by now, and they would hardly appreciate him clomping around and waking them up. "And we're friends, why shouldn't I be glad to see her again? We haven't had the chance to hang out for forever!"
Plagg rolled his eyes.
"I'm glad she's here. I haven't been able to see her for months." Their accidental meet-ups had gotten fewer and farther between after they both entered university, though they had made some effort to see each other on a semi-regular basis. Both superheroes had thankfully been in Paris that first time around, but Ladybug had an internship of some sort on top of her studies and he had been both a model and a student. Their schedules were packed, and they had been lucky to be able to meet up once a week when they were out and about.
(Or course, not all of their run-ins were due to luck- Adrien always snuck out whenever he saw news on the Ladyblog that Ladybug had been spotted out and about, and it only took him a month to realize that there was a pattern to her outings. Granted, that pattern changed every time the semester switched, but it was still a pattern that he could- and did- take advantage of.)
"I wonder if we could try to set up a schedule," Adrien wondered out loud. He hadn't needed to in Paris- while he lived in his father's home, Gabriel Agreste never checked up on his son after dinner. He was free to take off into the night, so long as he went to bed at a reasonable time so he could be up and alert at a time his father approved of. Here, though, he normally hung out with Marinette until one of them decided to go to bed. They didn't necessarily talk much, but having the company was nice. Adrien liked the little snippets of conversation that occasionally popped up as they worked- or, rather, as he studied and as Marinette read or doodled. It would be rude to Marinette if he started shooing her out of his apartment or dining and dashing when they ate at her place just so he could maybe run into Ladybug. Besides, he liked hanging out with Marinette. She was one of his oldest friends as well, and she also would only be in London for a year unless she got an extension with Madam Rosalie's company. "Maybe if I beg off to go to bed early every night I have an 8 o'clock class..."
Plagg snorted. "And then you'll be miserable and sleepwalking into everything the next day and Marinette will wonder why."
"I don't stay out that late." Adrien glanced at the clock as he turned off the lights and slid into bed. "It's only just now one, and we stayed out longer than we normally do catching up." As much as they could catch up, that was. Despite Hawkmoth's defeat, they had yet to share their identities with each other. Adrien really had to bring up the subject sometime soon and see if Ladybug's kwami had changed her stance on sharing their identities at all. It was really frustrating trying to edit himself all of the time, steering away from subjects that might give away who he was behind the mask. If they could share identities, Adrien would. "And I can drink tea or coffee or something to wake myself up. It'll be fine."
Plagg didn't look convinced.
  Adrien was positively dragging the next morning. He hadn't been able to fall asleep right away after getting into bed since he was so distracted with thinking about what Ladybug might be doing in London and how he might tackle asking her about the secret identity thing again, so he was running on far less sleep than he had planned. It had probably been close to two o'clock before he actually fell asleep.
"I toooooold you so," Plagg sing-songed from his jacket collar as Adrien stumbled blearily into class, fingers clutching a mug of green tea laced with sugar and honey. It wasn't nearly strong enough to wake him up, but Adrien had discovered when he got up that his supply of caffeinated drinks was nearly nonexistent. Apparently he had just kept forgetting to refill things when he went grocery shopping, so he was out of coffee and had been running too late to stop at a coffee shop on his way to class. "You talked to your lovebug for too long. Now you're gonna be sleepwalking for the whole day."
"I would be fine if I had actually been able to fall asleep," Adrien muttered back out of the corner of his mouth. Talking to Plagg before class was always risky- people could see him and ask him what he was doing. It was easier in London compared to back in Paris, where people tended to pay more attention to him, but even now it was getting harder since he was becoming friends with a number of his classmates. They wouldn't hesitate to ask him about his apparent talking to thin air while entering class.
Plagg sniggered and fell silent.
"Hey, dude, how's it going?" Adrien's classmate Paul asked as Adrien slid into his seat. "You look like the walking dead."
"I feel like it, too." There was no point in lying. Paul wasn't going to ask; he knew full well that Adrien wasn't a morning person. Paul, the weirdo, was. Somehow he bounced out of bed fully awake at some ridiculous hour in the morning. Adrien suspected that Paul probably was one of those people that ran or swam laps in the mornings before classes, just so they could be super-productive and (inadvertently) rub it in people's faces.
Admittedly, Adrien used to be like that too. He went to bed early and got up early, often before his alarm went off. Years of nighttime patrols and late-night akuma attacks had thrown off his carefully constructed schedule, and then proper Teenagerhood hit and Adrien was trying his best not to sleep through his alarms. He had at one point tried to recover his earlier sleeping habits, after Hawkmoth had been taken care of, but it seemed that Adrien was doomed to not be a morning person.
Adrien didn't particularly care, but his father did. When he was living at home, every day came with a wake-up call at six in the morning, even if Adrien didn't have anything to do that day or if there had been a late-night photoshoot the night before. One of the many things he loved about London was that he could sleep in.
It was fantastic. Eight o'clock classes were less fantastic.
Paul sighed and shook his head. "I've been up for hours, dude. You missed out on a gorgeous sunrise."
"Ugh."
"All these purples and pinks and blues-" Once they had gotten to know each other better and the other boy found out how much Adrien hated eight o'clock classes, Paul had decided to go out of his way to annoy Adrien with his cheeriness when Adrien was still wishing he were in bed. It was much like having another Plagg around him all the time, except a Plagg that was annoying him with incessant cheeriness instead of being a complete and total grump. Paul also didn't constantly scarf Camembert, which was a relief. That was strictly a Plagg thing. "You should have seen it! And I got to enjoy it with my fresh chocolate croissant and a smoothie..."
"Yeah, yeah," Adrien started, rolling his eyes and glancing out the windows. He froze when he realized that it was overcast outside and had been since the previous night. He turned back to Paul with a suspicious squint. "It's cloudy. You couldn't have seen a sunrise this morning."
Paul grinned.
"And you hate croissants," Adrien continued, giving his friend a look. "You think they're tasteless and dry- which, by the way, you're still wrong about that, they're delicious- so you never eat them. Very funny."
"I thought so." Paul glanced down at his phone, where it was sitting on top of his desk. "But it's supposed to be clear tomorrow morning, if you were interested-"
Adrien made a face, and Paul laughed again.
"All right, settle down," their teacher called as she finally got the overhead projector to turn on. "How is everyone on this lovely morning...no? Okay, fair enough. We're picking up where we left off last time..."
The morning dragged on. Though Adrien found his classes interesting- much better than business, for certain- even his sugar-laced tea wasn't helping him focus much. He was distracted by thoughts of Ladybug. Would they run into each other again soon? Would she be open to sharing identities? He didn't want to push, because if he did Ladybug might take off and avoid him, and then he would never see her again, because she wouldn't go out to patrol until she had left London and then maybe she would move somewhere else, like Italy-
"Dude, are you seriously spacing out right now?"
Adrien blinked and the room swam properly back into view. He sat in front of his computer, stimulated experiment complete, and-
He swore. He had spaced out mid-run and had completely forgotten to time the stupid thing. He would have to set up and run the entire thing again, which meant that he would probably have to stay after class to finish, which meant he would miss his bus back to his apartment and would have to wait another half-hour to get his lunch.
Darn it.
Paul raised an eyebrow at Adrien's outburst, but thankfully didn't comment. It probably didn't hurt that Paul spoke no French, so for all he knew Adrien could have been saying "well gee willy wonkers, that's inconvenient".
(spoiler: that wasn't what he said.)
"I need a nap," Adrien decided, switching back to English. "Or coffee. I'm not normally this distracted."
"No kidding. Is everything all right?"
Adrien nodded, even as his attention got divided between Paul and the digital experiment he was resetting. Everything was fine- better than fine, actually, because Ladybug- and the only problem was that he was overthinking things.
"If you say so."
"I just stayed up too late, that's all." With everything set up properly again, Adrien got his stimulated experiment running again, this time with the timer going as well. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on it this run; after all, he didn't have any extra time to spare. Any mistakes, and it would only add on to the time he would have to stay after class to fully complete his assignment. "And then I had trouble falling asleep."
Paul snickered and shook his head, turning back to his own computer. "Night owl. Strange."
"Early bird. Stranger," Adrien shot back. It was a familiar chorus for them by this point in the semester.
"Whatever, dude." Paul glanced at his computer again and briefly turned his attention back to the data sheet they were meant to be filling out. After scribbling down a number and re-setting the experiment for another run, he turned his attention back to Adrien. "Have you started studying for midterms?"
Adrien frowned. "Er, not really?" Midterms were a couple weeks out still, and Adrien was still mainly focused on getting his assignments and readings for his classes completed. Thinking about it now, though, he probably should start reviewing stuff from the start of the semester at least somewhat soon, and he and Marinette definitely needed to start really focusing on stocking up the freezer in case they both got too busy to actually cook. He also really needed to ask her if she knew when Madam Rosalie would be having her runway shows, just so they could start planning.
"I'm going to start this weekend," Paul said. He paused to check on the progress of his experiment before turning to look at Adrien again. "Any interest in a study group?"
"That would be nice." He hoped, at least. Adrien had always wanted to be part of a study group back when he was in his business program, but his busy schedule and the lack of classmates he was actually close to kept him from meeting up with anyone to study. Such groups usually varied in productivity, according to his friends. Some went well, with people filling each other in things they missed or were unsure of. Others, according to Alya and Nino, ended with people cracking up as they imitated professors or shared goofy things they had written down in their notes during lectures. They were good for blowing off some steam, his friends had said, but not particularly useful for learning anything. He had attended study groups with his friends in collège and lycée, of course, but Alya and Adrien together were good at keeping those groups on task. It was easier to scold people back into focusing when he knew them really well and they spent most of their time together anyway.
Paul nodded, looking pleased, and then both boys fell silent as they focused on their "experiments". By the time the clock hand had ticked to the end of class, Paul had wrapped up his assignment. Adrien was still working.
"Good luck, dude," Paul said as he packed up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll text you to set up a time for the study group. It probably won't be right away since we should probably figure out what we each need to focus on first, but it would probably be better to not wait until last minute."
"Sounds good," Adrien said, glancing up from his computer to wave as Paul left. Soon he was the only person left in the lab.
"You just missed the bus," Plagg informed him from his bag. "Hurry up, or the next one'll leave without you, too, and you'll have to walk home in the rain."
"I can't rush the experiment, Plagg. The program doesn't work like that." Adrien checked his timer and filled out yet another entry in his data sheet. He was almost done, so unless he got seriously distracted he wouldn't have any trouble catching the next bus. Hopefully. "I'm almost done anyway. I'll be packing up in probably five minutes."
"And then you're going to go visit your wife before you finally go back to your apartment and give me more cheese. I know how this goes."
Adrien glanced away from his screen for long enough to flash Plagg an annoyed look. "Marinette is my friend and the bus stop is right next to her building. It would be rude not to drop in and say hi."
Plagg gave him a look, which Adrien ignored. "You're going to see her at dinner."
"I know."
"And all evening."
"I know."
"And you saw her yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and the-"
"I know that Plagg, thank you."
Plagg floated over so Adrien could see him out of the corner of his eye. "That's good. I'd thought you'd forgotten, considering that you're going out of your way to see someone you literally see all the time."
"I'm not going out of my way. Madam Rosalie's building is on my way from the bus stop to the apartment building."
"The stairs up to Marinette's cubicle aren't on your way home." Plagg floated closer and Adrien ignored him. It wasn't an easy thing to do, since Plagg would just look like a small black shadow right at the edge of his vision, but Adrien had had plenty of practice ignoring Plagg over the years. "You just want to see your wife like a good husband."
"You do remember that Marinette and I aren't married for real, right?" It was something Adrien found himself saying on an increasingly frequent basis, since Plagg insisted on calling Marinette his wife, just like he had insisted on calling Marinette Adrien's Princess for weeks after the Evillustrator incident. Even though it had been weeks since the fake wedding, Plagg had yet to grow tired of the nickname.
"You might as well be. You spend all of your time together acting all domestic-like. Believe me, I would know," Plagg added, flying up to perch on top of the computer. "More than a few of my Chosens have gotten married. I know the signs."
"You know how to be annoying is what you know," Adrien shot back absently as his experiment wrapped up and he hit his timer to stop it. He scribbled down the numbers he needed, closed the program, and logged off of the computer. "Marinette is my friend and we live right next door to each other, of course we're going to hang out a lot." Adrien glanced back at his computer to make sure it was logging off properly before packing his bag and slinging the strap over his head. Plagg quickly abandoned his perch on the computer to fly into Adrien's bag. "That's all it is. I love Ladybug, remember?"
Plagg made an interesting noise that was somewhere between a snort and a strangled laugh. Adrien decided not to ask.
The walk to the bus station didn't take long, nor did the ride to his stop. After that was a short jaunt up to say hi to Marinette and remind her to actually eat before he headed back to their building to eat his own lunch.
"Your life is so boring these days," Plagg complained as Adrien put his dishes in the sink, poured himself another cup of strong green tea and headed back to the table to spread out his books to study. "You don't go out and do anything, and then what do I get to do with my time? Waste away with subpar cheese, that's what!"
"I have to study, Plagg."
"That's all you ever do. That and flirt with your wife."
Adrien decided not to comment.
After a few more minutes of moping and moaning around the room, Plagg found a bright patch of sun to take a nap in and Adrien dove into his notes. Hours passed as he pored over formulas and theories, jotting down notes on areas he needed to focus on and questions that he needed to ask the professors to clarify concepts. He was so absorbed in his work that he jumped into the air when there was a knock at his door. A second later, he was scrambling to answer it.
"Did you lose track of the time?" Marinette asked in amusement as she stepped into the room and spotted the papers and notebooks scattered across his table. "I thought you would be wondering where I was since I forgot to text, but clearly no concern was needed."
"Is it late?" Adrien asked in surprise, pulling out his phone to check the time. Sure enough, it was late enough that normally by this time, they would have already eaten and would be most of the way through cleaning up. "Wow. Was work busy?"
"I lost track of time," Marinette admitted. "And then I got on a designing kick for the winter collection, but I still had to get my work for the upcoming collection finished after I got done with that."
Adrien laughed. That was so like Marinette to get so distracted that she completely lost track of the time. "Please tell me you get extra time off when you work overtime."
"It would be nice," Marinette said as they headed back into the middle of the room. "Do you want me to cook tonight? You look like you're in the middle of something."
Adrien's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly and they both startled. Marinette's lips quirked upwards in amusement as Adrien laughed again.
"Maybe we need to dip into our leftovers supply," Adrien said after a moment. He wasn't certain how he hadn't noticed that he was getting hungry before, because it was certainly obvious now. "I'm sure we'll be able to refill it before we get into crunch time."
"Sounds good." Marinette headed for the kitchen and started rummaging around in the freezer. "Did you have a good day at university?"
"It started too early," Adrien complained as he moved to clear the table. "I couldn't fall asleep and then my classes started at stupid o'clock."
Marinette's head popped back out of the freezer so she could give him a puzzled look. "I thought your eight o'clock was yesterday, not today? Or did I remember wrong?"
"It was yesterday," Adrien admitted sheepishly. Right. He supposedly went to bed early last night. "But I ended up not being able to settle down, so I watched some stuff on TV, and then I still couldn't fall asleep, and then my class started at nine. I probably could have slept for another hour or two."
"Did you take a nap after you finished?"
That...sounded like a really good idea, actually. "No. I should have, maybe, but Paul was talking about setting up a study group and I wanted to be prepared for that. I hadn't really done a ton of review so far this semester, so I just did a ton of it this afternoon."
"Don't burn yourself out," Marinette advised as she pulled a glass pan out of the cupboard to reheat the leftovers and started preheating the oven. "I've done that before and then ended up not studying closer to the actual exams because I was so tired of spending all my time with my face in my books."
"I'll definitely take breaks," Adrien assured her. "I don't want to burn myself out, not in the first round of tests in my first semester here." His breaks would probably come in the form of going out running over the rooftops at night, but he couldn't exactly tell Marinette that.
"That's good." Marinette spun around again to dig through one of his drawers. She found the ladle she wanted within a few seconds, making Adrien smile. Even though she kept things in her apartment in slightly different place, she had been over enough times to memorize where he kept things. "Do you have projects as well? I know sometimes I had papers or projects instead of tests."
"There's a couple projects, but they're on top of exams." Adrien gave her a rueful grin. "So some of my study breaks will comprise of working on those."
"Ugh." Marinette made a face as she wrestled the leftovers into the pan. "That's no fun. And that doesn't count as a break, I hope you know that."
Adrien shrugged. "It's school. At least this time it's in a subject I like. I've been feeling like I'm understanding everything, so hopefully I'll just be reviewing equations and theorems and, y'know, doing practice problems. Not that bad."
Marinette laughed. "That sounds like torture to me, but to each their own."
Adrien grinned as he stacked his notebooks and papers carefully along the wall. He had run into that reaction several times before, both among his friends and among the other models at Gabriel. "I'd say the same about fashion, but I actually do find the process fascinating. I'm just hopeless at designing and I've never tried sewing."
"Never?"
He just shrugged at her flabbergasted expression. "I've never had reason to try. My dad's known for forever that I'm hopeless at drawing and designing- he tried to teach me, and all I could do was draw stick figures. I don't have any groundbreaking design ideas either."
"It's usually more important that things be pretty rather than groundbreaking. I've been looking through some of the runway show archives from around the world and let me tell you, there are some weird things out there." The expression Marinette made told Adrien all he needed to know about what she thought about those looks. "I'm kind of not surprised because there's, like, such a focus on new and never seen before and whatnot in design school, but sometimes designers lose sight of how to make actually flattering and wearable clothes."
"What's the weirdest thing you've seen?" Adrien asked curiously as he entered the kitchen and started digging in the fridge for the oranges he was positive he had seen earlier. They had to pretend to make their meal healthy somehow.
Marinette bit her lip as she thought. "Oh, gosh, I don't even know where to begin. There was something that looked like a green potato sack with suspenders at a Fashion Week in the United States. There've been oversized coats with weird seam lines, and strange patterns, and...ugh." She shuddered and Adrien hid his grin. "And then you look at some of the big designers and they basically have repeats of the same dress in different colors or different patterns or, y'know, with different embellishments."
"Not very innovative, then."
Marinette shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. They're going for pretty and understandable instead. A lot of people don't understand the really funky shapes that some designers are making. It's too avant-garde for them, and they don't commission those designers. The fashion world loves innovation, the general population tends to value tradition and classic looks more. It's a matter of balancing the two."
Thinking back to the shows he had seen (and participated in), Adrien couldn't help but agree. His father certainly came up with some fantastic ideas, but he stayed well within the boundaries of wearable.
"So what is Madam Rosalie's style like?" Adrien asked. He found the oranges and pulled them out. "How out of the box is she?"
Marinette bit her lip as she thought. "Kind of in the middle, I think? We play with new design elements, but it's more approachable. We try to kind of meet a certain design style so it's recognizable as ours."
Adrien perked up. While he wasn't super interested in fashion, any distraction from his studying was fantastic and design style wasn't something he hand Marinette had really discussed much before. "Is it hard to try to alter your design aesthetic to match Madam Rosalie's?"
"Not really. I had to submit my portfolio to Madam Rosalie when I applied to the internship. She takes design interns that have similar aesthetics, so that everyone meshes together well design-wise."
"Ah, that makes sense." Adrien should have guessed that, maybe, but he hadn't exactly been involved on that end of his father's business. Still, he had seen the entries in plenty of his father's contests and the winners did tend to have design aesthetics similar to Mr. Agreste's own. That should have been a pretty good clue. His father did occasionally pick a surprise winner for their fresh point of view, but it never veered terribly far away from his typical style.
It was starting to get ridiculously late as they sat down to eat, and by the time they finished and washed everything up there wasn't any time to really do anything together. Marinette bid Adrien goodnight and took off as soon as everything was put away. Adrien briefly entertained the idea of going out as Chat Noir- he definitely wanted to see his lady again- but he finally decided against it. If he went out running, he would quite possibly fall off the roof falling asleep mid-jump, even after all of the tea he had gulped down in an effort to stay awake and get some productive studying done.
Besides, he had to deal with Paul again in his first class first thing in the morning. He needed to get some sleep.
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lilacmoon83 · 3 years
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Lightning in a Bottle
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Also on Fanfiction.net and A03
Chapter 22: Snafu, Pt 2
As David arrived home that evening, he saw a man dropping off his daughter and immediately concluded that this must be Lance. He was doing his best to be okay with this man spending time with his daughter and was truly glad that Olive had someone to look after her while he was gone. It was still hard that he was still around now that David was back.
Margaret made it easier, as usual. This man had been fully interested in dating his wife, when he was presumed dead, and he would have wanted happiness for her if he was really gone. But he was grateful that she hadn't moved on. It was still hard seeing this man though. He could see the way he was looking at Olive and even Margaret, as she came out of the house, that he wanted a life with them. The longing in his eyes was unmistakable and set him on edge. He didn't fear him doing anything or making a move; he didn't seem like the type. He had overstepped a bit with Olive, but doubted he would do the same with Margaret. He knew his wife would have a right hook for him if he did, for she had made her feelings to him perfectly clear. He felt eternally grateful for that. Margaret was in love with him and was in no way torn at all with where her heart was.
"You must be Lance," David said, as he extended his hand and the other man shook it.
"It's nice to finally meet you," Lance replied. That was a lie. Both of them probably would have been okay never meeting each other. Margaret stepped in though, as she usually did, and slipped her arms around his waist.
"Hey baby...how was your day?" she asked, as she pecked him on the lips.
"It was good...better now though," he replied.
"Well…I should be going. I'll see you in a few days for the climb, Olive," Lance said, as he retreated to his car and their daughter waved to him.
"Honey...are you sure you're okay watching Henry tonight?" Margaret asked. Olive shrugged.
"Sure...we'll be fine. You and Dad go out...you need it," she said and they smiled at her, as they went inside.
"Hey sweetie...you okay with it just being you and Ollie tonight?" Margaret asked, as their son sat at the table, coloring a picture.
"Sure...pizza and movies for us," Henry replied, as he finished his drawing. It was of a man with a heart on his chest.
"Who is that?" David asked. Henry shrugged.
"I don't know yet," Henry replied, as he put it on the fridge and his parents hugged him, before going to get ready for their evening out.
~*~
It had been an eventful day at the station, indeed. Killian and Emma had managed to convince Tom Clark to come in to look at a lineup. If they didn't get a positive ID, then the man they suspected of murdering Tom's brother would go free by the end of the day.
"Okay...we're going to take you into a room with a glass window. In the other room, they'll be bringing in the lineup. None of them can see you," Emma said, as they led him into the room. In the next room, a light was flipped on, as six men were led into the room and lined up beneath the numbers.
"Take your time...no rush," Killian said, as Tom observed the men and his eyes locked on the one beneath number four. At the same time, Emma was hearing the heartbeat again, loudly in her ears, and she still had no idea what it might mean.
"Sorry…I don't recognize any of them," he lied. Emma and Killian exchanged a glance.
"Are you sure...take your time," Killian urged. But he shook his head.
"I'm sorry...I can't make a positive ID," Tom said hurriedly, as he left quickly. Emma sighed.
"He's lying...and it's number four. We need to delay his release somehow," she said.
"I'm sorry Emma...but without an ID or a murder weapon, we have no choice but to cut him loose," Killian replied. She sighed in frustration, as she stared at the man through the glass and the heartbeat hammered in her head. She ran out, trying to get away from it. This man was going to hurt someone else and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
~*~
David and Margaret met Regina at the entrance to the auditorium, hand in hand, and then followed her in, where they found three seats near the front of the stage.
"Good evening and welcome, Ladies and Gentleman," the blonde woman said, as she came onto the stage.
"I am Glinda Goode...head of the Singularity Project and possibly more famously, survivor of the mysterious flight 828," she said, as she strolled along the expanse of the stage.
"The mind is an amazing thing. Every mind is unique and different. Yet the potential for many minds to become one is a very real thing," she said.
"My research is considered fringe and even completely insane to some. But mirror neurons is a real science and my research has shown that the human brain can link up with other human brains," Glinda said, as her eyes rested on them.
"At last...I've been waiting for you," she said, unnerving them all...
~*~
Emma walked in the door that night, lost in thought, and approached the table where her niece and nephew were playing a game.
"Hey guys…" she said.
"Hey...there's some pizza leftover," Olive offered.
"Thanks...your parents go out?" Emma asked through a mouthful of pepperoni.
"Yeah...wanna play?" Henry asked. She was about to tell them to make a place for her when she saw Henry's drawing on the fridge. The drawing resembled Tom Clark, in his store, with a heart on his chest.
"Aunt Emma?" Henry asked.
"Uh...there's an errand I forgot I had to run. I'll be back soon," she said, as she ran out. Olive and Henry exchanged a glance, shrugged, and then went back to their game.
~*~
After Glinda's presentation, David, Margaret, and Regina waited for her just outside the auditorium. Clearly, she too, was aware of the other people that were on the flight with her and were curious if she had been monitoring their lives. Margaret was a bit more uneasy about her than her husband or new step-sister were. David could tell by her narrowed, laser gaze on the woman that his wife had questions and for Glinda's sake, he hoped that she didn't have some ulterior motive against them. He knew his wife and she was ready to pounce on anyone else that was a potential danger to them.
"Thank you for waiting," Glinda said, as she approached.
"What did you mean earlier? That you've been waiting for us? What interest do you have in my family?" Margaret asked. Glinda seemed a bit taken aback by the raven haired beauty's forwardness, but then smiled appreciatively.
"I have no narrowed interest in your family particularly...just passengers in general. I wondered how long it would be until some found their way to me," she replied.
"Looks like some passengers already wandered into your project," Regina stated.
"Excuse me?" Glinda asked. They exchanged a glance.
"You really don't know?" David asked, gauging her reaction.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Glinda replied.
"Then maybe we should go somewhere a little quieter and talk," Regina suggested. Glinda motioned them back into the auditorium, which was deserted now and they sat down.
"Now...perhaps start at the beginning," Glinda said. David looked at Margaret and she nodded, as he began to tell the story, regarding their son and his mysterious fever.
~*~
Emma hurried to Tom Clark's store and entered, just as a customer was leaving. It was mostly empty and she approached the counter.
"Detective…" he greeted.
"I...I need to ask you some more questions," she said, as she suddenly noticed the photos on the bulletin board behind him. One photo in particular. Her best and dearly departed friend, Lily.
"Detective?" he questioned, seeing that she seemed shell shocked.
"That photo…" she uttered. He turned and followed her line of sight.
"How do you know her?" Emma asked.
"Oh, you mean Lily?" he asked.
"Yes…" Emma answered.
"About ten years ago, it was discovered that I had a faulty valve in my heart," he said.
"I had a couple surgeries and was taking a lot of medication, but my condition continued to deteriorate over time," he explained.
"My doctors said that my only chance was to get a donor heart, so they put me on the list about seven years ago," he continued.
"To be honest, I wasn't optimistic. I knew my heart would probably give out before I made it to the top of the list, but Stealthy was always optimistic," he said.
"And he was right...about six years ago, a heart became available and I had the emergency surgery," he added, stunning her to speechlessness.
"They told me afterward that the heart came from a young woman that died in a car accident," he said.
"It made me really sad that her life was cut short, but I got to live. My brother asked for her picture from the doctor and the family agreed. They said that I shouldn't feel bad, because their daughter would have loved helping someone like that. It's why they donated her organs," he explained. Tears slipped down Emma's cheeks.
"You knew her?" he asked. She sniffed.
"She was my best friend...I was driving the car that night," Emma admitted, stunning him to speechlessness this time.
"Wow...what are the chances?" he wondered and Emma heard the heartbeat again. This was why...it had to be. The heartbeat suddenly got louder, just as Killian entered the store.
"Hey...you ran out so fast…" he said.
"Later...we need to go," she replied, as they hurried out.
"Emma...what is it?" he asked.
"I...I can't explain. Just...we need to go!" she shouted, as they jumped in his car and he started driving in the direction she instructed. The pounding kept getting louder and then slightly softer, causing her to call out.
"Stop...go back!" she said. Reluctantly, he put them in reverse and brought them to an alleyway. Emma jumped out and hurried down the alleyway, with Killian chasing after her.
"Bloody hell, this woman," he grumbled, as he ran after her.
~*~
The man in the red hoodie observed an elderly man using a corner ATM machine to extract some cash. Quietly, he followed the elderly gentleman, as he hobbled back to his apartment building nearby. From his pocket, he produced an almost empty liquor bottle and he broke it on a wall, allowing him to use the spout of the bottle as a handle, while the other end would act like a dangerous, jagged weapon of glass. And with his weapon ready, he ambushed the man, cornering him outside his building.
"Give me the money…" he growled.
"Pl...please, it's all I have…" the old man pleaded.
"Give it up…" he said, threatening to slice his neck. The man's hands shook, almost violently, as he fished out the money. But the murderer wouldn't get the chance to hurt this one, as Emma drew her gun.
"Drop the weapon…" she ordered sternly. He stopped and slowly dropped it, as asked, but he decided to push the old man and make a run for it. Emma holstered her weapon and Killian steadied the old man, before he could fall, while she took off running after their perpetrator. He tried to climb a chain link fence, but Emma easily caught up to him. She grabbed him by the hood and pulled him down, before tossing him to the ground. She put her knee into his back to hold him down, as she cuffed the scumbag and hauled him to his feet.
"You're under arrest," she hissed, as she walked him back to the car.
~*~
Glinda listened to their story with rapt attention, extremely intrigued by their story and that of what they had termed Callings.
"And you're sure that some of the passengers are being held somewhere against their will?" she questioned.
"We're positive...my sister tracked down their former location. She thinks it was a government black site and couldn't get access. Since then, they've likely been moved," David said.
"And you took a job at this accounting firm? The one that handles the finances for Unified Dynamic Systems?" she asked. He nodded.
"The same company that's funding your Singularity project," Regina said pointedly.
"I understand how that looks, but I assure you that I have very little involvement with my funding source. They approached me and offered to fund my research," Glinda said.
"Well, even if that's true, they might be using your experimental research on these passengers, which in turn is endangering our son," Margaret said sternly.
"And I would never want such a thing," Glinda said.
"My research was never intended to be used to experiment on unwilling subjects. This is horrifying," she admitted.
"Do you think you could find out more about your funding source?" David asked.
"It's possible...not easy, but I will try," Glinda replied.
"Really?" Margaret asked skeptically. She nodded.
"If there are people in danger, especially a child, then I must. My research is meant to be used for good...and this is definitely not that," she said.
"Thank you…" Margaret said. Glinda smiled and nodded.
"I want no part of this evil and will do what I can," she promised.
"Well, that went better than I thought it would," Regina mentioned, as they exited and began trekking to their cars.
"It did...but I still need to get my hands on more information," he said.
"Well...you mentioned that your boss is an idiot so it shouldn't be terribly hard to swipe his badge again. You did it once already, after all," Regina replied. He nodded.
"He's obsessed with the plane...and I'm sure I can use that to our advantage again," David said.
"Just be careful...if the people behind this figure out you're digging, they could come after you," Margaret said worriedly. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her tenderly.
"I will be…" he promised. With that, they said goodnight to Regina and went home for the evening.
~*~
Emma entered Tom Clark's shop again, a little later, and fished out some pints of ice cream from his freezer. She put them on the counter and he rang her up.
"That's a lot of ice cream," he teased. She smirked.
"My niece and nephew will eat all mine if I don't get them some," she replied.
"So...you caught the guy," he asked.
"We did...we've got him on armed robbery," she replied.
"That's it?" Tom asked. She shrugged.
"Without a positive ID from you and the murder weapon, we're not going to be able to get murder charges," she replied, as became pensive for a moment.
"If we had the murder weapon...then we could match it to him and send him away for life," she mentioned, as Tom avoided her gaze.
"Tom...I know you have the knife," she said, as he looked up.
"How?" he asked. She shrugged again.
"You wanted to carry out your own justice and to a degree, I get that. But trust me...letting the justice system do its job, especially with a case this airtight is the way to go," she urged. He sighed and produced an item wrapped in cloth from behind the counter. She put a glove on and unwrapped it, revealing the bloody knife. She produced an evidence bag and put it inside.
"I...I can come and identify him," he offered. She smiled.
"Tomorrow morning, nine sharp," she replied, before taking the paper bag of ice cream off the counter.
"Take care of that heart...it's special," she implored. He smiled.
"I will," he promised, as she walked out, feeling much lighter than she had in a long time.
~*~
They arrived home to find their kids asleep on the couch in front of a movie. David smiled and turned off the television, while Margaret gently shook Olive awake.
"Go on up to bed, honey," she urged. Olive nodded and they hugged her between them.
"Night peanut," David said, as she headed up, while he lifted Henry into his arms. Together, they went upstairs and took him into his room. He watched, as Margaret gently undressed him and helped her put him in his pajamas, before they tucked him.
"He is out," David whispered, as they watched him sleep.
"I know...I'm glad he's sleeping so well now and no fever," she mentioned. He kissed her forehead.
"And I'm going to do everything I have to in order to keep it that way," he promised, as they quietly left his room and made their way to their own.
"What a night…" she mentioned, as he helped her unzip her dress.
"I know...I thought you were going to rip Glinda's head off," he mentioned, as he unbuttoned his shirt. She winced.
"I guess I got a little carried away when I thought she might be behind everything," she said.
"You're protective...and have reason to be. Besides, it was sexy," he said, as he put his arms around her, as she stood there in her undergarments. She bit her bottom lip.
"Really?" she purred.
"Very," he said in a husky tone. He kissed her tenderly, at first, and it quickly grew passionate and smoldering. He cupped her face in his hands and then slowly slid them down her neck. Goosebumps formed on her skin, as he put his hands on her body. She was still getting used to having him back, in a very good way, of course. She had been absent without his touch for so long and only had her dreams. The memory of his touch on her body had still been there though, like it was part of her and sewn into her skin. But his touch still drove her crazy and she gasped for air, as he released her lips and kissed her throat.
"Make love to me…" she breathed desperately. He gently lifted her into bed and settled atop her, as their passion and love consumed them in the physical culmination...
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blogboyreadery · 3 years
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Dino Surrender: Saturday Screen Time #2
This post will not be about WandaVision, but I do have to say that it’s insanely interesting. I have to admit that I was skeptical about it at first, but it totally captivated Grace and me. Dude, what is even going on!? I won’t ruin it for you if you haven’t seen it, but WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON!? Hahaha, ok but seriously, what I want to process is actually the Disney short that we watched after WandaVision. It was Toy Story That Time Forgot, and it was all about dinosaurs so I loved it.
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The basic plot of the 20-minute short is that Trixie the triceratops gets taken on a playdate with Woody, Buzz, and Rex to Bonnie’s friend’s house. Bonnie leaves her toys in her friend’s room as she goes to play a video game, and Trixie and the rest of the group meet the new toys that Bonnie’s friend just got for Christmas. Trixie is particularly excited to meet these brand new toys because they are a whole tribe of dinosaurs like her, the only difference between them is that this tribe of dinos really take they’re roles as warrior dinosaurs seriously since they were only unwrapped two days earlier and hadn’t really been played with yet.
Trixie forms a kind of romantic friendship with the head dino warrior named Reptillus Maximus. Trixie has been disappointed that Bonnie isn’t treating her like a dinosaur, but instead she’s been pretending that Trixie is a reindeer or a pizza guy or something else that isn’t at all what Trixie wants to be. But Reptillus is 100% dinosaur and unapologetically the warrior king that his outward appearance suggests he should be. After spending the day with the new dino tribe, Trixie, Woody, Buzz, and Rex discover that the tribe’s cleric (like an evil wizard shaman kind of dude) is trying to destroy all of Bonnie’s toys because of their allegiance to Bonnie. In the cleric’s eyes, being loyal to a child is nothing more than weakness.
Trixie manages to get away in an attempt to alert Bonnie to come save the toys and Reptillus chases after her to stop her. Reptillus, who has been conditioned by the cleric to view Trixie’s allegiance to Bonnie as weakness, manages to cut Trixie off right before she can alert Bonnie about what’s happening. Reptillus tries to convince Trixie to see things his way and that Bonnie will never really see her as the dinosaur that she’s supposed to be. In a moment of clarity, Trixie then delivers the line that made me say out loud, “dude that’s so gospel” to Grace on the couch. (Gosh I’m such a dork) Trixie says, “You can be so much more... it’s your kid who choses what you’re going to be. It could be a dinosaur, or a reindeer, or something you’d never even think of. It’s about being there for your kid, it’s about...”
“Surrender,” Reptillus replies, finishing Trixie’s sentence for her. Bam! How does anybody watch this and not think about the Lord? It’s so good. Of course from here everything works out and the short ends on a high note, with Reptillus finally getting played with for the first time (of course having his kid pretending that he’s something other than a dinosaur) and giving the look of true fulfilment to Trixie before Bonnie takes her back home.
I think that our culture tells us that we need to chose what we’re going to be, and that no matter what anybody else says, that’s what/who we are. Sure, this has some great effects, like how empowered I felt growing up having my own father tell me every night before bed that I can go where I want to go, do what I want to do, and be who I want to be, as long as I really put mind to it. In a lot of ways he was absolutely right. I have the power to turn myself into just about anything because of the opportunities that I’ve personally been afforded in this life. (Side note, some people do have more opportunities to shape their lives than others due to their economic status, race, family upbringing, etc., but no matter who you are you absolutely have control over your own decisions) But just because I can do something doesn’t mean that I should. 
Our culture is trying to tell kids that they need to chose which historically marginalized groups they need to identify with, what gender they want to have, how they need adults to treat them, whether or not to keep the baby inside of them, who they need to hate, and what they need to be afraid of. And it doesn’t stop there, because as adults the pressures only get worse, because if you chose wrong then you may now have to defend yourself against everyone who’s been personally attacked that you didn’t chose to identify yourself the same way they did. We have every choice to be what we want to be, but once we chose we better dig in and get ready to defend that choice at all costs.
Reptillus believed the cleric who told him what was really going to give him purpose. “Take your life and identity completely into your own hands.” But there was something hard to pin down that was different about Trixie. She was actually more free than Reptillus and his tribe were, even though they thought that Trixie’s mark of allegiance to Bonnie (Bonnie’s name on Trixie’s foot) was a sign of weak subservience to a child. But by the end of the story, Reptillus realized that this “surrender” actually wasn’t weakness, it was freedom.
The cleric is our world, trying to convince us to simply be identified by what our tribe tells us we should be. It tells us to take control of what and who we are and not let anyone try to convince us otherwise. But Trixie is the mature Christian who knows that God is calling her shots. Sometimes He doesn’t make the decisions for us that we’d like, but other times he dazzles us with things that we never could have imagined on our own.
Today I want to be like Trixie, and I want to surrender. Maybe I can get my own interests out of the way long enough to let God turn me into what He’s got planned for me. It’s got to be better than what the world is offering, because I look around and just see a bunch of tribes of warrior dinos that I don’t want to be a part of.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. - 1 Corinthians 10: 23-24
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notesfromthepen · 6 years
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THE DEAL
THE DEAL
    As hard as prison is at times, I try to remind myself of the blessings that are to be found in even the darkest of circumstances. 
    Since I've come down, I can't stop thinking about an episode of a podcast I listened to when I was in the free world. I don't remember what podcast it was, but I never forgot what it was about.
    Joe Rogan, Duncan Trussel, Daniellie Bolleli, the guys from Radiolab or who ever it was that I was listening to, were talking about a study done by John Hopkins University, Columbia, or Chucky E Cheese, again the details are a bit fuzzy. These John Hopkins guys went to visit terminally ill hospice patients teetering on the precipice of death.
    The purpose of the visits were to research the experiences of death, specifically as it involves end-of-life regrets. So these people from John Hopkins, Columbia University, or Pizza Hut, they asked all these patients, just days from death, if they had any regrets, and if so what they were.
    What they expected, was a wide variety of responses. What they found, was that most of the regrets were incredibly similar. As the study progressed they noticed that many of the responses were universal, across the board.
    As it turns out; no matter who we are, where we come from, what our political affiliations, what our race, creed, or religion are, when we find ourselves at the end of the line, and its time to look back at our lives, we, more often than not, have the exact same regrets.
    The most common responses from the hospice patients were things like:
        1.I wish I realized that happiness can be a choice.
        2. I wish I would have spent less time at work.
        3. I wish I had spent more time with loved ones.
        4. I wish I that I would have followed my dreams.
        5. I wish I would have cared less about the opinion of others.
    Regardless of what the answers were it got me to thinking. And to be honest, it terrified me. The fact, that every single person that they interviewed had regrets at the end of their lives, and that they were so universal, crawled into the folds of my brain and wouldn't leave.
    Whether you're an atheist, a Christian, a Hindu, or a Buddhist, one indisputable fact, the one thing we have without a doubt, is this current life. That is indisputable. And the thought of reaching the end of my one chance, this experiment of life, of this miracle of consciousness and existence, and having regrets is terrifying.
    I shudder to think of lying in bed, in my twilight years, as the vitality of life slips away, only to realize that I'd had it all wrong. That I let it all get away from me without ever looking up in appreciation. That I'd invested my invaluable and all too fleeting time in the wrong things; like money and work, instead of love and meaning. I could think of nothing more unsettling, upon the closing of my eyes for the last time, than the feeling that I'd missed the point, and that it's too late to do anything but die with regret.
    This pinnacle of fear resonated with me, and the finality of death and regret lead me to a day-dreamt thought experiment about what I'd give up to avoid such a fate.
    In this hypothetical, I asked myself what I'd do if in my twilight years, firmly planted on my deathbed, filled with regret of a wasted life, if God (or Doc Brown from Back to the Future) appeared and offered me a second chance. I imagined that God would tell me that he could send me back through time and I'd get another chance to really appreciate life and die without regret, but, like everything in life, it would come at a cost.
    The deal would be, if I choose to take it, that he'd snap his fingers and I'd wake up decades earlier, with no knowledge of my later years, or the deal. He'd promise me that I'd gain the meaning and importance to live and die without regret this time. The trip back, he'd say, would cost me twelve years in prison. Twelve years without family without loved ones, without control, without property, without my other half, and without freedom. My part of the deal would be to spend twelve lonely years behind bars while the world went on without me.
    It's not that God is a sadist in this scenario, it's just that; this twelve year struggle, where everything is taken away, is the only way he could guarantee that I'd gain the appreciation of life that I was searching for.
    The purpose of this thought experiment was to figure out what I'd give to live a life of meaning so that I could die without regret. To choose whether I'd rather live a long and relatively easy life that missed the mark and ended unfulfilled, or If I'd I rather suffer through twelve years in prison if it meant that I'd come out the other end with a true appreciation for life and what it means to be alive?
    It all comes down to what holds more value to you? Comfort or meaning?
    I know, without a doubt, which I'd choose: I'd risk it all; the time, the comfort, the pleasure, and the freedom, if it meant that I could gain the understanding to truly do justice to this one chance at existence.
    After making my choice, I imagine I'd be whisked back in time maybe forty, fifty, years and dropped off to start paying off my part of the deal. That's how it'd work.
    And this is how I choose to view my current reality. This is me being sent back. This is me paying the debt in order to gain the purest appreciation of life through absence and struggle; a struggle I agreed to, and no matter how long I have to do this, or how hard and lonely it gets, if I can live even a day of true appreciation and gratitude for everything I'd taken for granted up to this point, it will have been worth it. 
    The question you should be asking yourself right about now, a question that I can't give you the answer to, is this; can a True appreciation (with a capitol T) only be gained through absence and struggle, or can it be gleaned second hand from a study on deathbed regrets or a Facebook post?
    For your sake I hope that it's the latter. In any case I have to use this opportunity. I owe it to everyone who ever mattered to me, including myself, to never take life and all it's intricacies for granted ever again. 
    This is it. If I can view this part of my life as if I've been sent back from my deathbed. If I can see this as my second-first chance at getting it right, of living my life with true appreciation and reaching an end without regret then I truly am blessed.
    And if you are reading this, then this can be your second-first chance too. No matter the cost, no matter the struggle, remember those that went before us and what they told those guys at Chuck E Cheese....and don't risk dying with regret...
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