#ah well Victor was already pretty tired so | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theartofdreaming1 · 3 years

Photo

Slightly paraphrased, but Peeta talking about that moment he developed his crush on Katniss is just too sweet 😊

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 22-24 are below the cut (sprinkled in some psychology thoughts again).

heart

Honestly, I think the people in Panem would perceive the whole everlark storyline the same way we perceive and react to our ships on tv (desperately wanting to reach through the screen, shoving the characters forcefully together, screaming “And now, kiss!”); especially the Capitolites who barely recognize the tributes (or people in the districts, in general) as people. The people in the districts would definitely view the whole thing more under a “reality tv” kind of lens, questioning how much of the relationship is real or not (we know that Finnick certainly thought that the entire thing was just a spiel, until Peeta hit that forcefield). The time spent in the cave must have been pretty convincing, though.

mind

I think that Katniss is still torn here - On the one hand, she kind of wants to believe that Peeta is actually into her (remember the happiness she felt when Peeta told her how his crush on her began, and it all added up and seemed so real), but on the other hand she’s terrified of that possibility because A) lingering trauma from her mom’s depression in response the Mr. Everdeen’s death, B) Katniss never even considered falling in love, so that’s a sudden unexpected thing to deal with, and C) maybe it’s just for the sake of the Games; and wouldn’t that hurt, getting your hopes up only to learn it was only for show? (How about we ask Peeta about that?)

soul

Yeah, that quote about Peeta only eating stale bread also struck me as quite sad. It just further adds to his understanding how there should be more to life than just survival, though. (One day, I’ll make that post about Peeta, Katniss, and Maslow’s pyramid of needs, I swear! I’ve already gathered some research material)

Chapter 22

My mother’s hand strokes my cheek and I don’t push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much I crave that gentle touch. How much I miss her even though I still don’t trust her. - Ugh, I can’t... Katniss misses her mom, misses being cared for😢 I’m so glad we’re going to see her patch up her relationship with her mom in CF... On a different note, Katniss craving that gentle touch just perfectly illustrates why she’s so drawn to Peeta, who is generally such a gentle soul (I mean, he’s literally the person stroking her cheek here 😊)

He [Peeta] doesn’t seem angry about my tricking him, drugging him, and running off to the feast. Maybe I’m just too beat-up and I’ll hear about it later when I’m stronger. But for the moment, he’s all gentleness. - As I was saying... 😉

“I’ll go hunting soon,” I say. “Not too soon, all right?” he says. “You just let me take care of you for a while.” - I love them so much😊🥰 And then Peeta makes sure she’s well-fed and hydrated, he rubs her cold feet and tucks her into the sleeping back... and she let’s him! 💗

“He [Thresh] let you go because he didn’t want to owe you anything?” asks Peeta in disbelief. “Yes. I don’t expect you to understand it. You’ve always had enough. But if you’d lived in the Seam, I wouldn’t have to explain,” I say. “And don’t try. Obviously I’m too dim to get it,” he says. - Oof. This exchange here is interesting in many ways: 1) it highlights their different experiences, tied to their different socioeconomic backgrounds, basically, and 2) that Katniss is very much aware of this difference, but we also see hints of her own ignorance here - because Peeta didn’t have to starve in his childhood, she thinks that he can’t possibly understand this level of hardship; but there are other ways in which one can suffer/lack fundamental needs, which brings us to 3) Peeta’s response about being “obviously too dim to get it”; I think this is a clue to his mom being also verbally abusive towards him: she called him “stupid creature” when he burnt those loaves of bread for Katniss and when he’s losing it in the attic of the Justice Building in D11 in CF he is mad that Katniss and Haymitch keep things from him “like [he’s] too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them”, which - to me - sounds like he’s tired of being treated that way (i.e. the way his mother treats him)

“I want to go home, Peeta,” I say plaintively, like a a small child. - God, this is a teenager in a murder-arena who feels like wanting to go home is a childish notion instead of a totally legitimate wish for anyone in that situation, regardless of age 😢

It’s not that Peeta’s soft exactly, and he’s proved he’s not a coward. But there are things you don’t question too much, I guess, when your home always smells like baking bread, whereas Gale questions everything. What would Peeta think of the irreverent banter that passes between us as we break the law each day? Would it shock him? The things we say about Panem? Gale’s tirades against the Capitol? - Geez, Katniss, give Peeta some credit here! A) It’s not like Peeta can walk around District 12 talking publicly about the injustices happening there - she and Peeta hadn’t even talked with each other before the reaping, whereas Gale is her best friend who rants to her while they are outside the confines of D12 and B) Peeta is literally the one who introduced the whole “not a piece in their Games”-idea to her; why would he be clutching his pearls over Katniss and Gale’s irreverent banter?! Just because Peeta didn’t live on the brink of starvation (she again brings up how his house smells like bread and - at this point - still thinks that the family running the bakery actually gets to eat what they produce just like that), doesn’t mean he doesn’t see how shitty life in D12 is - he can still want better conditions for those who are worse off than him!

“I did do the right thing,” I say. “No! Just don’t, Katniss!” His grip tightens, hurting my hand, and there’s real anger in his voice. “Don’t die for me. You won’t be doing me any favors. All right?” - Well, we’ll see this song and dance again in CF...

And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don’t want him to die. [...] And it’s not about what will happen back home. And it’s not just that I don’t want to be alone. It’s him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.” - I wish CF Katniss would remember this moment when she is questioning her motives about saving Peeta’s life in the arena - You. Care. For. This. Boy! You. Value. Him. For. Who. He. Is!!!

This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of. [...] This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another. - Whoo! Is it hot in here or is it just me? 😉

I’m struck by his immediacy now. As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow; the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe. - He makes her feel safe in a murder-arena!!! 😭 This is the kind of stuff that makes everlark just a top tier romance, tbh

Peeta telling Katniss about his crush starting on their first day of school 🥰😭 - and her reaction to it... For a moment, I’m almost foolishly happy - yes, because you have a crush on him, too! - and then confusion sweeps over me. Because we’re supposed to be making up this stuff [...] So, if those details are true... could it all be true? - YESSSSSSSS!!!

“You have a... remarkable memory, “ I say haltingly. - as a severely socially awkward person... I felt that lame response in my bones 😅

“You don’t have much competition anywhere.” And this time, it’s me who leans in. - God, this would be such an amazing moment if it didn’t get tainted by that immediate sponsor gift, which just serves to muddle Katniss’s feelings with her sense of survival, further complicating her relationship with Peeta... *sigh*

Chapter 23

“What was that you were saying just before the food arrived? Something about me... no competition... best thing that ever happened to you...” “I don’t remember that last part,” I say, hoping it’s too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush. “Oh, that’s right. That’s what I was thinking,” he says. - Peeta is the master of being a cheeky little shit and adorable flirt at the same time

“So, since we were five, you never even noticed any other girls?” I ask him. “No, I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you,” he says. - I appreciate that while Peeta has had a crush on Katniss forever, he clearly didn’t spend the entire time pining after her, oblivious to the rest of the world - he has a life outside of Katniss Everdeen, but ultimately, it all lead back to her

A disturbing thought hits me. “But then, our only neighbor will be Haymitch!” “Ah, that’ll be nice,” says Peeta, tightening his arms around me. “You and me and Haymitch. Very cozy. Picnics, birthdays, long winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games tales.” “I told you, he hates me!” I say, but I can’t help laughing at the image of Haymitch becoming my new pal. - Laugh all you want, this is going to end up being your future anyway 😄

He [Haymitch]’s at something of a disadvantage because most mentors have a partner, another victor to help them whereas Haymitch has to bready to go into action at any moment. Kind of like me when I was alone in the arena. I wonder how he’s holding up, with the drinking, the attention, and the stress of tring to keep us alive. - Katniss is already worrying about her “new pal”, I see ;)

Maybe he [Haymitch] wasn’t always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbearable. It must be hell to mentor two kids and then watch them die. - Honestly, that sounds absolutely awful...

Poor, Katniss, when she learns of Thresh’s death :( - But no one will understand my sorrow at Thresh’s murder. - It’s horrible how compassion and basic human decency gets construed as ‘weakness’ in the world of Hunger Games (esp. the Capitol)

Then I escape into sleep, comforted by a full belly and the steady warmth of Peeta beside me. - Honestly, I think a word analysis of THG-series could be interesting; how often does Katniss mention “warmth”, “steady/steadiness” “safe/safety/security” in connection with “Peeta”?

“We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery,” he says. “Bet that’s expensive,” I say. “Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it’s gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale,” says Peeta [...] Huh. I always assumed the shopkeepers live a soft life. And it’s true, Peeta has always had enough to eat. But there’s something kind of depressing about living your life on stale bread - Katniss is starting to realize that the lives of the merchants isn’t a cushy as she thought; also, in a way, we see a “prettier” version of how Panem treats the districts overall -> feeding the districts just enough that they can do their work (plus/minus a couple of people who’ll die of starvation, but at a small, for Capitolites insignificant margin), but not so much that they are in good shape to rebel; here, the merchants of D12 have just enough that they can live a “decent” life (they know it could be worse -> the Seam), but they don’t have enough to live a free, comfortable, self-determined life either. This also just further drives a wedge between the inhabitants of D12 (the merchants won’t want to rebel because they don’t want to get ‘demoted’ in their lifestyle, starving like the people from the Seam, and the Seam folk feel resentful towards the merchant people, while also not having the resources to rebel, due to their awful socioeconomic conditions)

What would be my life like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I’m not really sure who I am, what my identity is. - It’s so sad who Katniss has been so consumed with ensuring that her most base needs are fulfilled that she barely has had the time to really figure out who she is and what she wants from life (If we’re talking Maslow’s pyramid of needs, Katniss would primarily be stuck on the lowest tier 😢)

At least, we’ll be friends, I think. Nothing will change the fact that we’ve saved each other’s lives in here. And beyond that, he will always be the boy with the bread. Good friends. - Honestly, Katniss counting on being good friends with Peeta after the Games is the highest honor she can bestow on him at that moment (she’s so into him, lol); of course, knowing that their relationship is going to be a bit rocky once they’ve come back makes this thought a little sad... but we also know they’ll make up (and out ;) in the future

Peeta licking his plate and blowing a kiss out to Effie is such an adorable goofball-moment 😊

I cover his mouth with my hand, but I’m laughing. “Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave.” He grabs my hand away. “What do I care? I’ve got you to protect me now,” says Peeta, pulling me to him. - This moment would be so cute (also, Peeta’s so confident in Katniss’s skills to protect him, which is adorable - toxic masculinity who?) but... Ugh, he’s just so giddy here, it kind of breaks my heart for when he learns later that (at least some) of Katniss’s reactions were just for show

“If we want food, we better head back up to my old hunting grounds,” I say. “Your call, Just tell me what you need me to do,” Peeta says. - Love how Peeta’s always ready to follow Katniss’s lead :)

Ideally, I’d dump Peeta now with some simple root-gathering chore and go hunt [...] “Katniss,” he says. “We need to split up. I know I’m chasing away the game.” [...] “Show me some plants to gather and that way we’ll both be useful.” - Teamwork! If it weren’t for Katniss worrying for Peeta’s safety, they’d be on the same page here

“What if you climbed up in a tree and acted as a lookout while I haunted?” I say, trying to make it sound like very important work. “What if you show me what’s edible around here and go get us some meat?” he says, mimicking my tone. - I really like how Peeta’s challenges Katniss here; he doesn’t just go along with everything she says, while still being quite reasonable

I feel like I’m eleven, again, tethered not to the safety of the fence but to Peeta, allowing myself twenty, maybe thirty yards of hunting space. [...] I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel to show for it. - I don’t know, but Katniss feeling tethered to Peeta makes me think of Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory, according to which children with a secure attachment to their primary caregiver use their “attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment”... Of course, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation was conducted with young children, but attachment styles are supposed to influence the relationships we form with people in our later lives as well (including romantic relationships)... I dunno, just a random association that popped into my brain 😅

Chapter 24

Peeta’s a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood. - Heh, Peeta sure knows how to handle fire, huh, Katniss (or should I say: Girl on Fire?) 😏

I order him into the sleeping bag and set aside the rest of his food for him when he wakes. He drops off immediately. I pull the sleeping bag up to his chin and kiss his forehead, not for the audience, but for me. Because I’m so greateful that he’s still here, not dead by the stream as I’d thought. - Aww, this is so sweet (and domestic)!

It’s funny. I feel almost as if it’s the first day of the Games again. That I’m in the same position. [...] But no, there’s the boy waiting beside me. I feel his arms wrap around me. - They are a team! Katniss doesn’t have to face the horrors of the Games alone anymore! It keeps boiling down to this.

#thgagain #thg #hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #thg meta #my sketches and drawings #everlark

89 notes · View notes

dajaregambler · 3 years

Text

HeliosR - Victor Valentine Card story ‘‘Seeking for what’s frightening’’

Translation of Victor Valentine’s 4* ‘’Gothic Halloween’’ card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Gray: Uwah, amazing… Did you make this, Victor-san…?

Victor: Yes, this robot was built by me. I’m occupied with pouring all my time into producing these for the upcoming Halloween League.

Gray: I had assumed you were leaning more towards biochemistry… But to be able to build robots too, that’s seriously amazing...

Victor: As you thought my area of expertise is chemistry, however if I had to be honest, I barely have the confidence to manufacture these…

Victor: And on top of it, I had been also struggling with the design itself...

Gray: Eh… Wondering if it has enough punch to it, you mean… I already think it’s scary enough as is though....

Victor: Adding that pinch of “scary” has been considerably difficult. I’ve been making these as requested by Marion, but as far as the details go, I’ve only received how it should be thematically based on “evil spirits of Halloween”.

Victor: Naturally I have referred to literature to form a general outline on the matter, but what traits resemble an “evil spirit”, about it having a factor of “spookiness” to it... No matter how far I go with investigating the matter, I simply cannot draw the line where it’d be most suitable.

Gray: Like evil spirits… spookiness….

Victor: What is your impression of it, Gray? Do you think it’s able to represent those traits of an “evil spirit”?

Gray: Eh? Eeeh… uh, um…

Victor: Please do not hold yourself back, and be as candid as you can.

Gray: Be as candid as I can… Right, right...

Gray: Whether or not it looks like one, I can say that it’s absolutely close but… Um… on the contrary, it might actually be a bit too scary...

Gray: H-how do I say this… It’s like originally you were going for CERO A but ended up heading towards CERO D instead…?

Victor: CERO……? What may that be?

Gray: Ah… awawah, sorry…. I used a game rating system for scale… a Japanese one too…

Gray: The Halloween League is an event that children will attend, in terms of gaming that would be for an event for all ages...

Gray: But, as of now it feels more that it’s heading towards a more mature audience… So I was thinking all like, how about aiming for a younger one instead~... but please don’t mind it too much...

Victor: Hmm, I see…That is very interesting, or I should rather say an intriguing point of view.

Victor: I will do as you said and make an attempt to aim for a younger demographic, however with how it has been currently going, I don’t quite have the grasp on what I should do to change it.

Victor: If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about video games for all ages to use as a reference point going forward?

Gray: !! O-ofcourse…!

Victor: Hooh.... Even though it’s shortly summed up as for all ages, there seems to be quite a variety of video games.

Gray: For now I kept it limited and looked up horror games that came to mind… You’d come across even more games if you were to look it up

Gray: Uuum… if you’re looking for a game that has enemies that are “evil spirit”-like, then maybe this one…?

Victor: Yes, that kind of caricature is good. It gives an impression closely resembling the ones in animation for children.

Gray: P-personally I think it’s good if it’s as scary as these enemy characters here but… That is for you to decide...

Victor: Hmm…. If I were to judge from your perspective, would this be more scarier?

Gray: Eh? Yes… it, would be….?

Gray: I feel, that the difference is pretty obvious but… you don’t seem to think so, Victor-san?

Victor: Indeed. Even though we’re going in a different direction, I don’t feel that any of them are frightening, thus making it difficult to judge.

Gray: R-right…

Gray: Uh… I’m just asking this out of curiosity but… Is there, something that you’re scared of, Victor-san…?

Victor: Something that I’m scared of?

Gray: Ah, aaah, uuum, it’s just… it’s okay if it’s too hard to answer, or if you don’t want to! I suddenly asked something weird anyway, I’m sorry….

Victor: Fufu, what are you apologizing for? I don’t believe it was odd by any means.

Victor: Something I’m scared of… you ask? I haven’t played any video games before so on that matter I have nothing to say, and in regards to horror movies I don’t recall being frightened once.

Gray: Eh… so you’re like, totally fine with ghosts and demons and all that…?

Victor: More that I don’t believe in such things due to my point of view as a scientist, rather than being fine with it.

Victor: Well, realistically speaking “Ghosts believing scientists” such as Nova are not too uncommon out there.

Victor: I do want to believe in the possibility of it… Unfortunately, I have yet to see a theory that justifies it to begin with.

Gray: Wah… you’re amazing, Victor-san…. Makes me a bit embarrassed given how I accidentally believe in anything...

Victor: No, I wouldn’t say that I am. I do occasionally envy those who are able to simply enjoy horror movies as is.

Gray: Is that so…?

Victor: Do you have any issues when it comes to horror and occult, Gray?

Gray: Aah, no… I’ve built up a tolerance for it because of games that are full of it...

Gray: Besides, I think… humans are scarier than any ghost or demon, 100 times more scarier even….

Victor: Human themselves…. For example, such as Asch Albright?

Gray: !! Eh, eeeeh…. yes… His name alone makes me sweat bullets, weirdly enough...

Gray: But, not just A….sch, but I’m scared of coming in contact with other people in general...

Gray: Even before talking to them actually, like what if they hate me…. what if they think I’m weird… that’s all I end up thinking about

Victor: Which means that you are currently feeling the same sense of dread when talking to me this moment?

Gray: T-that’s right… Aaah, but, you’re not scary Victor-san… Um, it’s just...

Victor: Yes, I understand. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t believe there’s anything odd about you, Gray.

Gray: V-Victor-san….!

Victor: My apologies for getting us sidetracked. Could you lend me your wisdom for a little longer?

Gray: Ah, yes… yes of course!

Nova: Oooh, looks like you made a lotta progress~ Making ghouls and all♪

Victor: I was able to because of the advice I had received from Gray, and so I was finally able to see the light.

Nova: Good pals with Gray-kun now, eh? Well with Ren-kun too but, lately more people have been dropping by your lab. Lookit this celebrity here~♪

Victor: ...You’re surprisingly in a good mood today, aren’t you now?

Nova: Mmh, haven’t slept so I’m feeling somewhat all over the place

Nova: I’ve been absorbed into making these robots too, and before I knew it three whole days had passed~ That scared me real good, yanno

Nova: Wait a second, nobody came to see me in these three days….!? I wanna be a celeb tooooo~!

Victor: How about resting your mind and body, rather than dawdling around here?

Nova: Naaw~ The adrenaline’s coursing through my veins, not feeling tired in the slightest~

Nova: Whatever you say, making these robots is right where I belong. Had lotsa fun doing it too

Nova: Obviously I’m paying enough attention to safety and all that, but there’s more space to feel at ease compared to what I usually do for work….

Nova: Not that I’m forgetting substance research by any means, it’s just pretty nerve-racking when combined with making assets and tools for the heroes to fight with

Nova: Didn’t mean to pay that much mind to it, still it’s a heavy responsibility to have one’s life in your hands...

Nova: Makes me go all like, damn, this fear of failure and what to do about it sure is always growing ain’t it now!~ like some kinda realisation each time, yanno

Victor: ….., fear….

Nova: You’re always doing such a fantastic job, me~

Nova: A Summerfieldtastic job~....

Victor: …….

Nova: Eh, no response!? Here I was putting all my energy into being an idiot, and instead of straight manning me, you straight up ignore me!?

Victor: Aah, my apologies… There was something on my mind.

Victor: What did you say?

Nova: I-I didn’t say a word! Vic’s a dummy! I’m gonna go to my room and sleep! Good-NIGHT!!!

Victor: …..?

Fun trivia corner:

The Japanese game rating goes from CERO A to D, and Z. All ages would be CERO A, for 12 years old and above CERO B, for 15 years old and above CERO C, for 17 years old and above CERO D, and at last CERO Z for 18 and above. The European one is PEGI with age specific ratings (PEGI-3, or PEGI-18) and the American one is ESRB, with letter codes such as T for teen, M for mature, and so on. Helios is rated as 12+ on the Apple app store, that would be CERO A, PEGI-12 or ESRB T.

#heliosR #helios rising heroes #victor valentine #gray reverse

23 notes · View notes

purple-cat-demon · 3 years

Text

Forever Starts Under the Ginkgo Tree: Part 5

Genre: domestic fluff

Pairing: Gavin x Hazel

Word Count: 2,746 (long chapter this time)

Warnings: mild harassment

Let's get this trip started! 🤣 Enjoy and thank you for your patience~

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

~~Friday 5:40pm A.E.C.~~

“No, no, NoOoO! Where is it?”

The lament came from Hazel’s desk as she frantically looked through her computer files for the recent proposal to send to Victor. Anna rushed over to her boss��s cubicle.

“What happened?”

Hazel looked at her colleague with tears of despair in her eyes.

“I can’t find the proposal to send to Victor! It was here earlier and now I can’t find it!”

Hazel looked at her phone, and saw the time, causing her to panic even more.

‘I’m gonna be late to get home,’ she screamed internally.

“Mmm, it’s gotta be here somewhere, did you label it something different than usual,” Anna questioned. Hazel scratched her head, wracked her brain a bit; then a shout came from Willow’s desk.

“Hey Boss, is this it?”

Both Hazel and Anna ran over to Willow; Hazel scanned the file on Willow’s computer. Relief hit the frazzled woman’s face; she gave her colleague a tight hug.

“Thank you so much, Willow!”

“No problem Boss, but it doesn’t look complete, did you not save it properly?”

Hazel did a double take, eyes widened with fear; after looking it over thoroughly, she hung her head in defeat.

“Dammit… Quick, Willow, send that to me,” she ordered as she rushed back to her computer. As soon as the file popped up, Hazel clicked on it and typed furiously to finish it. After having Anna look it over and make some small corrections here and there, Hazel sent it off to Victor for review.

It was now 6:30pm, and Hazel was apologizing profusely to Gavin via text over being late. Thankfully, her boyfriend had the bags packed and ready to go.

*Ding*

An email notification came through on Hazel’s computer, to which she promptly clicked on it. It was Victor approving the report and wishing her a good weekend. She was puzzled over how Victor knew that she was going out of town, but paid no mind as she packed up her purse and told her colleagues goodbye.

As she made her way to the subway station, her phone rang with a picture of her and Gavin on the screen.

-Hi, my love, I am so sorry for being so late!-

-It’s okay, it’s okay. Where are you now?-

-I’m on my way to the platform for our station’s stop.-

-Wait, how about you just meet me at the platform for the bullet train?-

-What about the luggage?-

-It’s only two bags, I can carry them to the station, no problem.-

-Hhn, okay, what was the platform again?-

-It’s platform twelve, just wait for me there. I’m on my way now, see you soon.-

-Okay, my love, see you soon!-

Hazel meandered through the immense labyrinth that was this particular subway station until she found platform twelve on the upper levels. There she waited against a wall away from the evening rush, right next to a security kiosk. As she was going through her Moments App, a suave looking businessman sauntered up to her.

“Hello there, pretty lady, would you be interested in modeling?”

Hazel looked up with an annoyed look on her face.

“No, thank you.”

“Wait, wait, at least hear me out, yeah?”

Hazel glanced over at the security kiosk, the guard was keeping an eye on her.

“I said, ‘No,’” she didn’t even spare the guy a glance back when she said that. Just as the guy was about to retort, a familiar voice rang clear in the bustling station.

“She said, ‘NO,’” Gavin had appeared behind the guy, with a look that would stop even a mob boss in their tracks. The guy spun around and composed himself in an attempt to intimidate the officer. He paled when Gavin brought out his badge.

“Scram…,” Gavin seethed. As soon as the guard saw Gavin’s badge, he came over and started questioning the guy. Hazel gave a sigh of relief when the guard took the guy away.

“Are you okay?”

She turned to her boyfriend, “yup, I’m just glad you got here when you did.”

Gavin put his arm around her then glanced up at the information screen.

“Our train will be here any minute, let’s go line up.”

“Mhm!” Hazel beamed at him as she took her bag from him and walked over to the loading area. The sleek bullet train stopped smoothly at the platform; doors opening with an audible ‘whoosh’ as people filed out of the cars. Hazel and Gavin boarded the train and found seats toward the middle of the train car. Gavin placed the bags overhead as Hazel settled into the seat next to the window. She stifled a yawn as she looked out the window, gazing at Loveland City all lit up for the night.

“It’s going to be a two hour ride, if you want to sleep a bit then go for it,” Gavin mentioned as he looked his tired girlfriend over.

“But then you’ll still be awake…”

“It’s okay, I got more rest than you did anyway, I’ll wake you up when we’re close.”

A muffled grunt in protest came from his girlfriend; he just smiled tenderly at her, earning him a defeated sigh from her.

“If you’re okay with it…,” she trailed off as the train started moving. Hazel wrapped her arm around his arm and used his shoulder as a pillow. She found sleep right away as Gavin looked through his phone, confirming a booked reservation for a restaurant on Saturday night.

The two hours apparently flew by because the next thing Hazel knew was Gavin waking her up.

“Hey,” he softly called out to her, slightly shaking her arm, “our stop is coming up.”

She quickly composed herself as Gavin got up to get the bags down from overhead.

“We should go wait by the entrance,” he said.

“Mhm,” she replied, still a little groggy from sleep. She then got up, took her bag from Gavin and headed to the entrance with him in tow. The small box that was in his coat pocket fell out and into the aisle. An elderly woman noticed and picked it up, calling after the young man.

“Excuse me, young man.”

Gavin turned to see the woman holding the small box.

“You dropped this,” she said, smiling sweetly. Gavin’s eyes widened in realization as he patted his coat pocket, then proceeded to stride over to the woman.

“Thank you so very much,” he expressed his gratitude profusely. The woman winked and smiled at him,

“Good luck, young man.”

Gavin smiled and nodded, then made his way back to Hazel, shoving the small box in his pant pocket this time.

“What did you drop,” his girlfriend inquired.

“Ah, my train pass,” he fibbed, hoping his slight flush would go unnoticed by her. They disembarked the train and wandered through the station, finding the nearest exit to the surface. From there, Gavin pulled out his phone and punched in the hotel’s address. Thankfully, it was only a twenty minute walk from the station; plus they were traveling light in regards to luggage.

As they walked through the somewhat deserted area, they kept their eyes open for any restaurants that were still open at 9:45pm. All seemed lost and they were ready to find a convenience store for their dinner, when they turned on the street their hotel was on. A noodle shop was still open and served as a welcoming beacon to the hungry couple. Three other customers were enjoying some late night food as well. The cook gestured to the two of them to sit anywhere. Settling on a table for two by the window, the young couple sat down and looked over the menus in front of them.

Hazel made a mental prediction of Gavin choosing the spicy beef noodles after she saw it listed. Moments later the cook came by to take their orders.

“What can I get you two,” he asked while setting some hot tea down for them. Gavin gestured for Hazel to go first; she flustered a moment but soon chose the cold soba noodles. As predicted, Gavin did choose the spicy beef noodles; Hazel smiled at his choice.

“All right, I’ll get those cooked up for ya,” the cook chirped, and went to the kitchen. Hazel took a sip of the hot green tea and lightly sighed; content with finally getting to their destination.

“You okay, my love,” a question came from across the table. Hazel turned her gaze from the window to Gavin; her smile dispelling the concern from his face.

“More than okay, I’m just so happy to be here, with you.”

Hazel clearly saw the slight tinge of red his ears took on under the shop's lighting.

She giggled a little, "and what are you so flustered about," she coyly inquired. He coughed and went back to shipping his tea. Hazel pulled out her phone to see where the hotel was in regards to the noodle shop. When she saw how close it was on the map, she looked out the window and saw the hotel’s lighted sign across the street, only a few doors down.

“We can come here for lunch too, since it’s so close to the hotel,” she said, pointing out the window towards their hotel. Gavin was about to reply in agreement when their food arrived at the table. The spicy noodles smelled wonderful, and for a brief moment, Hazel regretted her cold soba noodle dish; but quickly remembered the spice wreaking havoc on her stomach the last time she ate them. So she happily started dipping her soba noodles in the dashi sauce that accompanied them.

“Mhm!”

“I take it your food is good,” Gavin inquired, smiling at his girlfriend. The furious nodding of her head confirmed this; he chuckled at her reaction.

“Then we’ll definitely come back before we head home,” he said assuredly.

“It looks like you two enjoyed your meals, there’s nothing left,” the cook said brightly as he took the empty dishes from the table. He returned with the bill, to which Gavin already had his debit card out for.

“Heeey, didn’t we agree that I would take care of the food for this trip?”

Gavin thought for a moment over Hazel’s protest.

“Hmm, I don’t remember agreeing to that,” he replied with a mischievous smile on his face.

She puffed out her cheeks in response to his devious behavior.

“I told you, I want to spoil you on this trip,” he reached out to touch her hand, “please let me.”

“But don’t you do that everyday,” she pointed out, blushing vividly while looking out the window.

“Yes, but this weekend is special…,” his voice trailed off.

Hazel side-eyed her boyfriend, cheeks still puffed out.

“Oh? And what makes this weekend special?”

He flushed scarlet and cleared his throat.

“Uh, b-because it’s been a while since we had a weekend to ourselves,” he replied, trying to maintain his composure.

They bid the cook goodnight and headed out towards their hotel, hand in hand. Their hotel had a modern contemporary feel in the lobby, which made Hazel super curious about the room itself. Gavin never actually showed her the room he booked, so it was going to be a surprise for sure. With the key cards obtained, they headed towards the elevators, only to walk right past them and through the glass doors leading into a courtyard. As if almost sensing her confusion, Gavin explained while walking to their room,

“Sorry, the room won’t have the greatest of views, but it has something I thought was better.”

“Oh? What is it,” she eagerly asked.

“You’ll see,” he chuckled as they walked up to the last bungalow in the row. Hazel was taken aback slightly at the exclusivity of the bungalow. Gavin flipped on the light just inside in the entrance and made his way further in. The first thing Hazel noticed was the small kitchen on the right. Beyond that was a small dining table; and beyond that, was a king size bed next to the sliding glass doors to the back patio. Hazel sat down on the bed and flopped backwards.

“Aaaah~,” a satisfied sigh filled the room. Gavin turned on the lamp on the nightstand closest to the wall near the patio doors.

“Pleased with the room?”

Hazel shot up and turned towards Gavin, with a big smile on her face, “Mhm!”

“Wait, you haven’t seen the part that sold me on booking this room,” he said, walking towards a door that Hazel just now noticed.She hopped off the bed as Gavin opened the door. She barely made out what was in the room but then gasped when Gavin turned on a dim light to reveal a private hot springs bath.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, are you sure you don’t need help with this,” she gestured towards the bath, flabbergasted. Gavin just shot her a look of disbelief.

“Really, my love? I’d be offended if you tried to help out…”

Gavin’s expression changed to bewilderment when he saw tears in his girlfriend’s eyes.

“W-what’s wrong?”

She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

“Thank you so much! I was not expecting any of this,” she looked up and kissed him on the lips. He leaned into her kiss as his hands wandered up her back. He broke off the kiss then gently pressed his forehead to hers.

“You want to try it out?"

His girlfriend’s eye sparkled at this temptation,

“Wait, what time is it?

Gavin fished his phone out from his pocket,

“It’s a little after eleven.”

Hazel contemplated for a moment, as if carefully weighing out the decisions.

“Hmmm, perhaps tomorrow?”

“Mm, okay, let’s get some sleep then,” he replied, turning off the light; with Hazel leading him back into the main room.

“Are you gonna use the bathroom first then,” he asked her.

“Mm, if you don’t mind~”

“Not at all, take your time, my love,” he said, kissing her forehead. She then rummaged through her duffle bag for her essentials, and made her way to the bathroom. Gavin walked over to the patio, unlocked the sliding glass door and stepped out into the brisk night. The inky black sky greeted him with a cloudless view of the stars shining brightly. He closed his eyes and made a silent prayer to the stars; in hopes that everything would go well tomorrow at the giant ginkgo tree. Just as some small anxieties were starting to settle in, the sudden appearance of his girlfriend caused him to jump slightly.

“You okay, babe,” she asked, lightly massaging his shoulders, “oof, you’re pretty tense!”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he replied, almost melting into her healing touch, “just waiting for you.”

“Ah, yes, the bathroom is all yours now~”

He turned and kissed her temple, “okay, be right back,” he then headed off to the bathroom, closing the sliding glass door behind him, while Hazel got settled into bed. The sheets felt cool against her skin; she was thankful he packed a pajama set that gave some warmth on this cool night. Waiting for her boyfriend to join her, she decided to open up her Pokemon Go app. She immediately cried out, causing Gavin to poke his head out of the bathroom.

“You okay,” he asked, slightly panicked.

“Oh! Oh yes, an incredibly rare Pokémon hatched out of an egg just now. Sorry, my love~”

“As long as you’re okay,” he breathed a sigh of relief, then resumed his nighttime routine. A few minutes later, he emerged to join his girlfriend in bed, clad in his favorite pajama pants.

“What hatched that was so rare?”

“A Riolu,” she beamed, quite pleased with herself.

“Which one is that again,” he inquired, climbing into bed. She showed him the newly acquired Pokémon.

“Why is it named Ginkgo?”

Hazel giggled a little, “in honor of our trip.”

Gavin stifled a laugh, earning him a playful smack on the arm.

“Come on, let’s get some sleep,” he urged her while trying to take her phone. Though, he did regret over-reaching as his wound on the right side stung, causing him to hiss and cease his actions.

“You okay,” she inquired, halfway giggling but also concerned.

“Y-yeah, let’s sleep,” he carefully shifted over to give her a goodnight kiss before gingerly settling down under the covers. It was going to be a big day tomorrow, and they both needed their well deserved rest.

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mr love #gavin #mr love gavin #恋与制作人 #bai qi #mr love game #pcd writes

26 notes · View notes

thebiggestshrimp · 3 years

Text

A Special “Souvenir” part 3

SFW (for now)

MLQC: Victor X MC (featuring Kiro)

Potential Spoilers!! brief mention of Kiro’s other half (so brief you’ll miss it if you blink), plot from Chapter 10, another slight reference to Airplane Date with Victor

Narrative Switch to Victor at the end

Word Count: 1.5k

Part 1 & Part 2 link

Part 3

As soon as you exited the building, you noticed Kiro leaning on a black car, clearly waiting for you.

“Ah Miss Chips! Are you ready to go?”

“I have to head down the street to LFG to hand in a report to my boss” you say while waving the documents in your hand.

“That’s fine, I’ll drive you there so we can get our night started as soon as possible”.

Kiro eagerly opens the passenger door for you, and then confidently strides to the driver's side. This is the first time you’ve ever seen Kiro behind the wheel, and to be honest, you didn’t even know that he could drive. You had just assumed since he was an idol, he wasn’t allowed to drive for legal reasons.

LFG was only down the street, barely a 5-minute walk, but as tired as you already felt you appreciated Kiro taking you there. When you looked at Kiro, you noticed how handsome he looked, how his expression become sterner when he was driving, how his hands look so muscular when he gripped the wheel, or how for the first time you realized just how big and manly he looked... You quickly looked away; it wasn’t your intention to think of Kiro in any way but as a friend. But you could at least admit that he was very hot. No wonder all of his fans fangirled as hard as they did.

You both arrived at LFG, the sight of which made you nervous. You checked your phone: 8:03. Victor prefers it when you show up to hand in your reports before 8 o’clock, so he would hopefully only call you a dummy once for being a few minutes late.

“This should only take a moment.” you nearly sigh while opening the car door.

“No worries, I’ll be waiting for your swift return Miss Chips”.

Little did you know Kiro was intently watching you as you walked towards LFG, admiring the way your ass ever so slightly jiggled. He caught himself staring for too long, whispering to himself, “God damn, I want to show her all of me one day”.

You were currently nervously fidgeting in the elevator, heading up to the top floor to see your boss. You almost caught yourself silently praying that he would let you off easy, in case Anna and Kiki actually lied to make you feel better about the report.

“Ding!” chimed the elevator when you reached your destination. Shakily, you exited and headed to the door marked “VICTOR LI: Loveland Financial Group CEO”.

You knocked. Nothing.

That was unusual, Victor never waited past one knock to invite whomever waited outside in.

You knocked again, a little harder this time in case the previous one was too soft to hear. Again, you were met with silence.

You checked your phone, thinking maybe he responded to your text. Nope.

You sent him another.

MC: I’m outside of your office with the report, are you out on business and I just missed you?

You waited impatiently until your phone said it was 8:16.

MC: I guess I missed you today so I’ll be here early tomorrow morning to hand it in, I hope that won’t interfere with your schedule.

You swiftly entered the elevator again, awaiting the descent to the ground level. At least now you had no reason to be nervous and could loosen up a bit tonight with Kiro before you were mocked by Victor.

Kiro was leaning against his car again, as the vigor returned to his eyes as he noticed you approaching.

“So, did it go well with the boss?”

You gave him a half confused, half relieved look, handing your report to him.

“Well, he wasn’t in his office, so I’m sure he’s not going to be too happy to receive this tomorrow because I was a bit late making it here”.

Kiro quickly eyed your documents and reassured you with his trademark smile. “If it’s from you, then I’m sure he can forgive you missing one deadline”.

Although you appreciated his optimism, you weren’t so sure Victor would feel the same.

Sensing your reluctance, he quickly opens the car door for you, urging you in.

“Don’t worry Miss Chips, tonight we’ll have so much fun you’ll forget all about your troubles!”

Kiro’s sudden declaration and the cheerful tone he emitted made you giggle, which, to his surprise, he found so adorable his face blushed a new color. Luckily for him, your giggle also caught you so off guard that you turned to the side to avoid meeting his gaze out of embarrassment.

You once again were admiring the beauty of the cityscape while Kiro drove. You recognized some places you passed, trying to guess what surprise Kiro had in mind. By 8:32, you finally arrived at the surprise location.

“You know how hard it is to actually be here on a day they’re open...” Kiro said with a wide grin.

You gasped in surprise, not expecting Souvenir to be open. It had been 3 weeks since you last heard it was even open, and 5 since you were last able to enjoy the fine dining. You realized that since it was actually open, it must mean Victor was inside.

“Hm, so that’s why he never answered.” you said to yourself a little too loudly.

“What was that Miss Chips?” a certain blond chimed in while leaning closer to hear you better.

Slightly embarrassed you nearly exposed your boss’ secret, you quickly wave Kiro away, stating that you were simply shocked that you finally had a chance to eat here again. That answer seemed to satisfy his curiosity based on the way his eyes lit up at the thought of sharing a beautifully made meal with a beautiful woman.

Kiro boldly decided to grab your hand, leading you into the small establishment. You were too consumed with the thought of possibly having to explain away to Victor why you hadn’t come in earlier to hand him the report to respond to Kiro’s assertiveness.

Mr. Mill’s greeted you both, sat you down at a candle lit table, handed you menus, and swiftly walked back to inform the boss that two customers had arrived, one of which being you. This caught Victor’s attention. He wanted to know who you had come with, figuring it was either one of your work friends or, more likely, the idol Kiro Zhou who often frequented Souvenir with you.

Victor had nothing against Kiro, in fact he appreciated that he didn’t mind the “weird paying system” that Souvenir had, and that his love and admiration of his dishes was pretty much the only nice review on the restaurant’s website. However, he knew that Kiro was an evolver, and a surprisingly dangerous one. He wasn’t 100% sure what exactly his evolve was, but he was certain that he had some kind of mind control ability.

Seeing you with him always left Victor feeling like he lost. What did he lose? A few months ago, he wouldn’t have known the answer to that question. But now, he knew all too well that he had fallen in love with you. He didn’t like to admit it to himself, since he never saw himself as the type to ever fall in love with someone. But then he reunited with you, and you shared tender moments together that ignited something deep within him. You sacrificed yourself for him, just as you did all those years ago. When he had finally confirmed that you were the same girl, the number of emotions that welled inside him made him weep, but not tears of sadness but instead joy that at long last, he had found his first and only real friend.

Of course, he’d never tell you that, not unless you accidentally divulged your feelings first. Victor didn’t like losing, and was confident in his ability to make you confess. Even if you only wanted to be friends, that was okay with him, but he felt that you wanted something more.

It started small, with the way he sometimes caught you looking at him, at which you would quickly make up a half-assed excuse. He then noticed that you commented on his moments way more than you used to, and he found himself commenting on yours more too. He realized that you invited him out to do things, things that weren’t work related. You had once attended a business trip with him so that you could mingle with important people to gain more reliable sources, where you got embarrassingly drunk off a couple sips of Brandy (which he had told you was not a drink for a lightweight such as yourself, but you didn’t listen on the plane ride either). As he carried you to his car and set you down in the passenger seat, you leaned over to him and whispered.

“You know *hiccup*, e-even though you’re my boss and sometimes a hard *hiccup* ass, I still really appreciate your friendsh- *hiccup*. And, it helps that I reallllllly like to *hiccup* look at you”.

Victor suddenly laughed out loud while remembering how embarrassed you were the next morning when you found yourself sleeping in one of Victor’s guest bedrooms. He had told you not to worry about it and that you were not a burden to him.

A thought occurred to him then, accompanied by a mischievous grin.

“Simple, a fair price for a delicious meal” he said to himself.

Victor reached into his fridge and grabbed some of the ingredients to make his signature dish, and also your favorite; pudding.

Part 4

#mlqc fanfic #mlqc victor #mlqc kiro #mlqc smut #mlqc spoilers

17 notes · View notes

pokeexehasstoppedworking · 3 years

Text

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch13 Onto Hammerlocke- I Mean Stow-On-Side

The two of you left. Heading off down the trail Hop directed you before rushing off to take on Bede and spend some time in the Wild Area as planned. You hoped Victor would be able to keep him out of trouble and from fighting with Bede. As much as you wanted to stick together and were honestly curious to see how that battle would play out, you couldn't just let Gloria skidaddle off by herself and she was dead set on heading to Hammerlocke whether you liked it or not...Well not Hammerlocke exactly. She wanted to go to the town of Stow-On-Side, to challenge with Fighting Type Gym, Hammerlocke just happened to be along the way. A pit stop of sorts if you will. And when down to it you were pretty curious now yourself about this place. From what Gloria was babbling about happily about it, Hammerlocke wasn't only just home to the famous Dragon Gym Leader and his gym, but one of the main power plants in Galar owned by the Chairman himself. Hey. Sonia mentioned something about the Chairman having to do something with the power supply of Galar.

"So how will we know when we get there?," you asked after you two had crossed Motostoke's bridge.

"Oh. It'll be easy. It's not as big of a place as people think and not a lot of people live there since it's mostly just a single stadium and power plant run by the Chairman so not a lot of people go in and out either. Raihan's usually on long trips this early in the year since he never battles anyone who hasn't obtained everyone else's badge. But usually barely anyone gets to battle him because Kabu wittles most out and it usually takes a long time to get that amount anyways. Sooo...We actually might NOT see him there if he's out n' about," she explained. Which also had you sighing in relief, from what she mentioned before you were a bit iffy about being flirted with by a video game character even if he was a real person in whatever reality you were in right now. "In fact...the Chairman's pretty strict when it comes to who gets in too. Only gym challengers who collected at least three badges are allowed in to visit even."

You rose a brow. "So, in order to battle Raihan you need all the badges from the other gym leaders, but in order to actually get into the city you have to get three badges? Seems a bit stricter than needed."

She shrugged. "It's supposed to motivate us to work harder I think. But we don't have to worry! I already got three badges so they should let us in. We'll know it when we see the place since it looks a lot like a castle!"

A castle? Well then that should be easy to spot at least. You had no idea how long it actually took to get there but you both soon fell into that familiar pattern of walking all day, pitching the tent, sleeping, then putting the tent away, and continue walking of course. You lost count after the third or fourth day of doing it as by now it had become a rather used to routine of yours. And of course eating your fill of whatever bland tasting foods you both had packed unless you were lucky enough to stumble upon another berry tree that your drizzilie eagerly climbed up and ate from. You were glad despite it's evolution that it's hunger hadn't increased too much, usually it would much rather sleep away in your pack as your walked or watched the world slowly go by. Tell you one thing, your back and shoulders sure weren't enjoying the new found experience of walking with even more extra weight added to yourself. Your body was easily more tired and sore by the end of each day and your sleeping was more deep, luckily Gloria now didn't seem to mind waiting and letting you sleep in now. Every new morning you found her outside the tent intently looking around the dirt roads you were following and guessed that she must've been waiting for her brother and best friend to catch up as they promised they would. You two hadn't seen or heard any sign of them in the days you've been traveling but neither of you were worried too much. You had a feeling you'd see them again if the game's story was being played out like it was, but you couldn't shake the feeling in the back of your head that something was going to happen sometime soon. You just wished you could remember what it was. Along the way the two of you passed one or two small towns on your way there and had momentarily stopped to restock your food replies but didn't find any sign of the two boys or motels to stay at. So you two kept on walking and camping as you got closer and closer to Hammerlocke according to that rotom inside Glory's phone. And then you two FINALLY saw it on the horizon, right after you managed to walk past a couple of trees that blocked your view of it.

Gloria pointed excitedly. "LOOK!! THERE IT IS!!" You glanced where she was pointed and even you had to blink, from far away it DID kinda look like a castle with what you could make out from some high walls and a few towers from your spot far away. She quickly grabbed your hand and gave a tug as encouragement to keep going. "C'mon we're almost there! I wanna see if the boys are there."

You wasted no time in complying in her request, after all you wanted to get there too and rest your aching feet thanks to mister water balloon lounging on your back. You were ready to just rest up for a while, but you persisted in increasing your pace for Gloria's sake as she seemed to gain a new and excited spring in her step at the promise of meeting back up with her crew. Well you couldn't really blame her for wanting to see them again. You yourself were curious about what happened between now and when you all left Motostoke some days ago. It took maybe one or two hours of you two walking to finally reach the 'town', and you had to say....it looked more like a giant building as far as you were concerned. The whole thing was MASSIVE and made from black and dark grey stones, the entrance literally being carved to look like some kind of dragon you had to pass through to get into the inner city. Gotta say. You were a fan of the design. It breathed the kind of Place a Dragon Type Gym Leader would live and work. As you two got closer (and noticed just how big it all was) you noticed that some man wearing the same white uniform and sunglasses as any other Gym Leader employees was standing in the shade of the steps leading up to Motostoke. His gaze laser focused on the two of you as you approuched. Shouldering up his body and holding out a hand towards the both of you as Gloria made it first to the first two steps of the Hammerlocke entrance way.

"Excuse me," he asked, "Are either of you two Gym Challengers? Only challengers with three or more badges may enter Hammerlocke for the duration of the Gym Challenge."

"I am!," Gloria confirmed before slinging that big old brown backpack of hers off her shoulders and you both watched as she opened and rummaged around in it. Presumably to get her badges for the man.

"Ah, a gym challenger. Allow me to check your gym badges, please young lady." he held his hand out to her expectantly and after a moment Gloria held out her badge circle to him containing the three badges she won and placed onto it so far. The man took them from her and you two waited patiently as he hummed and brought it up to his face to carefully examine. "Let's see here. The grass badge, the water badge, and the fire badge." After a moment longer he nodded and handed the circle back to her. "It's confirmed that you've defeated three gym leaders including the leader of Motostoke no doubt. You may enter. I wish you the best of luck in your future battles, Miss."

"Thanks!" She quickly took it from him and stuffed the thing back into her pack as the man looked back up.

"Oh, it's you!," he said, "The boss told me you were coming in today but I wasn't expecting you so early this morning."

"Naturally." Gloria froze at the voice and you turned around at the familiar male sounding voice. And your eyes widened as Bede just casually strolled up to the steps as well, "I'm never late to any meeting with the Chairman or the like. He doesn't like to be kept waiting-" He paused. Lavender eyes going wide as soon as he saw you but then went into a scowl as soon as Gloria turned around to scowl at him. "Oh, it's you...."

"Yeah?," she asked daring him to answer, pushing the lid on her pack closed and slinging it back over her shoulders. "Surprised ya ain't all frazzled like lint from Hop's battle with ya."

He scoffed. "Oh yes. I almost forgotten about him. You see...I doubt Hop will be coming. It's only natural."

She paused and even you rose a brow as Bede reached into one of the giant pockets of his. "....What are you talking about?"

"Ha! After such a humiliating defeat, there's no way he could look the Champion in the eyes. Here just look at the gym badges I've already won." He held up his own badge circle with coincidentally the same badges as Gloria up to the man who nodded at him. "I'm sure he'll withdraw from the challenge."

"Thank you, Challenger Bede. I can confirm you have the required badges."

"Anyway," He put the badge circle back into his giant pocket, "I have a meeting with the Chairman so I must excuse myself-" Bede leaned back as Gloria suddenly leaned forward at him with a glare.

"WHAT. Did. You. DO?," she demanded.

He blinked at her before scowling himself and (seemingly able to grow a more resistance to her anger from last time) brushed himself off. "I didn't do anything to him. I just simply beat Hop after all that confidence he spewed back at Motostoke."

"Oh no no no no. You did something else didn't ya? What did ya say to him?"

"The truth. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why I-"

Gloria was suddenly pulled back by you with a confused yelp and even Bede paused when you gave him a glare. The type that a mother would a scold a child with that every kid could relate to seeing one time or another. "Bede." He paused wide eyed at you. "Go on to the Chairman. You don't want to be late." Gloria looked up at you even more confused at your calm tone but Bede made no time to waste as he snapped his head from you and quickly sped walked the stairs as they both of you watched. After he disappeared from your view completely, you let Gloria go with a look. "Hey. Are you alright?"

After a moment she nodded. "Yeah. But what did ya do that for? I had him right there itchin' for a battle."

"Remember what Victor said. You can't just pick a fight with him especially if the Chairman's here. I already had to apologize to him, so let's keep things civil. Ok?"

She huffed. "He's the bloody one who started it."

"I know. But let's let it go for now. Besides, if Bede could catch up to us this fast from Motostoke that means the others could too right?" You saw her perk up immediately at the propsition and you smiled, nodding towards the entrance way. "Come on. Let's go have a look around and see what's going on?"

She quickly agreed and together you two entered the darkened tunnel beyond the stairs. At the other end of the short tunnel was light and as the two of you exited, you gaped up in aw at the side before you. Before you was the biggest stone structure you had ever seen!! Surrounded by two other stone structures that looked oddly like wings in a way. It certainly screamed castle by it's magnificence. Everywhere you looked was a few houses and buildings all made from the same black-dark grey stones with some painted a bright shimmering gold in some places that reflected the sunlight to make it gleam. The place had it's OWN TOWN INSIDE OF ITS OWN WALLS and A FREAKING DRAW BRIDGE!!

".....I thought you said this place was just a stadium and power plant," you said after a moment to take it all in.

"I....guess they must've expanded from when Lee told me about this place." She looked around. "Where should we look first?"

"The Pokemon Center," you said without hesitation, "It's been a while since you had your pokemon looked at right? Plus it's a nice place to start that has seats and ac."

Luckily she agreed and it wasn't too long to find either since the center was literally right next to the entrance. The boys weren't there but you got to rest your legs for at least twenty peaceful minutes of relief, and Gloria was able to get her pokemon checked over. And Drizzilie as well since after what happened in Motostoke, you wanted to make sure that your pokemon was doing fine considering it's change, but the Nurse Joy assured you that he was totally fine and that it was indeed just normal Drizzilie nature to act like this. Thank goodness. You two (more like three after your Drizzilie noticed and repeated patted your shoulder until you gave in-) also got drinks from the man who was selling berry juice and such behind his counter at the center, tasted sour but it was nice at least. After that Gloria suggested you both walk around the town a little bit to see if you could spot the two of them. You didn't have any better ideas so you figured why not. It couldn't hurt to look around. Starting as soon as you two left the center, you both headed towards the right side of the town. There was around what you could tell was maybe about a good twenty or thirty houses that looked like the regular kind of space someone would live in so it didn't take long for you two to comb the streets of them with no signs of the two in sight. There was also the train station and when you went up a different path on the right side of Hammerlocke it lead to a dead end with a single school building and a giant statue of a pokeball.

You sighed aching feeling starting to return in your feet. "Man. They aren't here either are! ...Makes sense since I don't think they'd go to this school."

"No," Gloria agreed but perked up seeing the giant bronze statue of the pokeball and walking up to it, "Buuuut I heard a legend about the Hammerlocke Statue. They say if you touch it you'll be able to catch pokemon better. Can't hurt ta give it a wack."

You chuckled. "Go for it. You wouldn't have anything to lose after all." You watched as she smiled and with a giant grin slapped her hand down on the statue as it gave a soft thud sound where her hand made contact- "AH!?" You suddenly lurched forward from the force of your Drizzilie as it gave out the loudest sound of terror you ever heard coming out of it even when it was a sobble and scramble to hide itself into your pack completely. You nearly fell onto your face stumbling but by some miracle didn't fall down...before snapping your head around to your shivering back pack. "HEY! Drizzilie what's the big deal?!"

...Gloria blinked. "What just happened?"

You shook your head. "The heck if I know. He acted like he saw a ghost or something-"

"H-Hello there," a weak voice called out. Gloria yelped and whirled around behind her at the sudden voice and you also looked. ...Brows suddenly widening in surprise as a little girl who couldn't have looked older than six, seven, or eight years old tops shyly came out from behind the statue with something in her hand. But it wasn't that that surprised you. She wore an old fashioned little girl's dress you'd expected a little girl back in the 1950's to wear and short black hair, but what really had you staring was her skin which looked ghastly pale against her bright dress and dark hair. With bags under her very tired looking eyes, as if she was sick with a fever. "You look like someone I might trust." Her voice although small typical for a girl her age, sounded lightly raspy, and weak. Matching her sick appearance.

The two of you exchanged a look for a moment before Gloria knelt down to get eye level with the tired looking girl. "Hey there wee las." She said with a soft voice. "Are ye lost? What do you need help with?" Silently, she held up the thing in her hand which you finally noticed was a letter. A very OLD looking letter as the paper looked yellowed and the wax seal on it looked about as brittle as sand. She looked at it for a moment before slowly taking it from her. "What's this?"

"You see, there's I fancy and I....I...I've written him a love letter."

"....Aw! Did ye now?" She smiled. "That's so bloody sweet of you."

The girl nodded. "Do you think you might deliver it for me?"

Gloria immediately nodded. "Of course I will!"

"Really? Oh thank you thank you!," the little girl smiled brightly despite her tired appearance, "I'm so glad I found someone like you to help me!"

"By the way," you asked looking around. You didn't see any grown ups around. Where were her parents?, "What's your name?"

"My name is Paula. Here you go! This is the letter I want you to deliver!" She pushed Gloria's hand holding the letter towards her and you thought you saw Gloria pause for a moment blinking..Before she slowly stood up and held out the letter to you to look at. "Deliver it to Frank, won't you? Frank lives in Bellonlea. That's who you want."

You both gave each other a look as Gloria spoke. "Bellonlea? That's a long way from here."

You nodded. "Hey Paula. Where's your pare-" You froze. Absolutely froze. And when Gloria looked too she blinked...Before looking around. ..And you whipped around yourself. Paula. Who had just been standing in front of you less than five seconds ago. WAS. GONE. There weren't any signs of her leaving and no footsteps you heard. Gloria event stopped to walk around the statue but came out the other side alone...and the both of you stared at one another. ".....Where did she go?"

Gloria shrugged. "I dunno man." Her foot tapped the spot where Paula was just standing. "She was literally standing right here a minute ago. Her touch was so cold. Did ya see her leave?"

"No. Did you?" She shook her head no again. Leaving the both of you standing there with nothing but the letter in Gloria's hand as proof of her even existing.....Until you pointed back the way you came. "Come on. Let's go check the other side of town for the guys." You said hoping to get away from the awkward tention.

You two quickly left the area with Gloria slipping the letter into her pack as you did, and off to the left side of the town you went. Passing the center as you did. There was at least another twenty-thirty houses, an antique store, a small gym, a barber shop, a cafe, and a clothes store like back in Postwick. But still no signs of the guys. And then there was something called 'The Vault' that was being guarded by some men but you two didn't pay it much mind in the end as you searched. But still no signs of Hop or Victor anywhere.

"UGH!! This is useless!," Gloria gripped her hat in frustration. "We've been wondering around lookin' for 'em ALL DAY! And still ain't no signs of 'em bloody anywhere!"

You nodded looking around. Your Drizzilie had resumed it's regular position after a while of hiding thank goodness it seemed to be ok. "Maybe they haven't gotten here yet? Hop did say he wanted to stay a few days in Motostoke and catch some pokemon. We shouldn't give up yet."

"Yeah I guess. But they should've been here if the mareep head is. I wonder if I should call 'em-"

"Pst! Hey you!" Both of you paused...Another voice?? This time male and sounded around Gloria's age- Gloria whipped around quickly in expectation but the teen you were both met with wasn't Victor or Hop. Or even Bede. It was a red headed boy in a red hoodie, black sweats, and blue shoes. "You heard the rumor?" He asked the both of you.

....You both looked at each other bewildered for a moment before you shrugged. "...No?" Gloria slowly looked back to the boy. "I haven't. What rumor?"

"What? You haven't heard!?," the boy asked surprised, "There's a rumor if you give the one you like an applin, you'll be together forever!"

".....OH!! That old wive's tale!"

"....Applin?", you asked.

"It's a pokemon. The story goes that the first Queen of Galar's favorite pokemon was an applin and so her fiance gave 'er one as a gift on their weddin' day. Since then it's been tradition ta give one to a person yer romantically interested in when ya confess your feelings. Hop told me that story once," Gloria explained and the boy nodded.

"Actually the truth is, there's someone I like," the boy confessed looking down and scuffing his shoe on the ground, "She's gonna move over seas pretty soon...I've been searching for an applin so I can get my feelings across the right way. But I can't find one."

"Huh. Fancy that. You're the second one today who's told us they wanted to confess their feelings ta someone," Gloria chuckled, "But whatcha stop me for?"

"Well i-it's not just you two,'' he confirmed holding up a hand, "I've asked anyone here if they have an applin they'd trade me with. If you've got an applin, would you please give it to me?"

....You shook your head. "Sorry. But I've only ever had one pokemon and you're looking at him." Your drizzilie yawned in response.

"Actually," the both of you looked to Gloria smiling, "I do have one. While we was checkin' out that daycare back in Turrfield I adopted one from one of the random abandoned rotomi boxes. I think it's still in my personal inventory."

The boy's eyes widened. "Whoa! You mean you'll really give me an applin?!"

Gloria nodded. "Sure I will if it helps out your lady love!" She giggled before jamming her thumb behind her. "But wait 'ere for a sec. I gotta go get it from the center."

The boy nodded urgently. "Yes! I-I will! Thank you! B-B-But hurry! S-She's leaving tomorrow and I-I asked her to meet me later today!"

Gloria nodded turning quickly. "Don't worry! Stay right here I'll be back as fast as I can!" And she took off...You blinked and quickly made to jog to catch up with her.

"Hey! Whoa! You're handing him your pokemon just like that?"

She nodded as you caught up with her. "Yeah! I can tell he was bein' honest with me. 'Sides he's nice. Nicer than that mareep head anyways."

You nodded. Couldn't really blame her opinion on Bed-..........De.......BEDE!! "He's the troubled one!" You suddenly shouted and stopped. You must've caught Gloria off guard because she stopped just a few yards ahead of you as you stared at nothing suddenly....THAT'S IT!! THAT'S THE PERSON WHO YOU HAD THE BAD FEELING ABOUT!! BEDE WAS THE RIVAL WHO'D GET THAT LIFE CHANGING CHARACTER DEVELOPEMENT MOMENT!! .....But what!? ....GAH!! You couldn't remember what happens to him in game!! Your hand smacked your face in a face palm and you groaned. "UUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!! GREAT!! Just my luck too!"

"....Yeah he's the troubled one." You slowly peeked your f/c eyes between your fingers to look at the confused brunette. "But whatcha goin' on 'bout now??"

....You shook your head. "Nothing." And looked up with a steeled face. "But Gloria. I NEED you to do something for me. And I need you to promise me to do it no matter what!"

Gloria must've been taken a back a bit because her face went concerned before she slowly nodded. "....Ok? What's it ya want me to do?"

She blinked as you very seriously grabbed her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and spoke in a serious tone. "Gloria...I NEED you to apologize to Bede the next time you see him."

Gloria froze for a moment. Drawing a complete blank as if her brain was processing what you said with a reboot. "..............WHAT!? Are you crazy!? ME!? Apologize to the wooloo for brains for what he did!?"

"No! Not apologize for what he did to YOU. But apologize for what you did to him." She rose a brow and you sighed. "Gloria. I need you to apologize to Bede for yelling at him. And for calling him names like Mareep Head. That doesn't excuse his behavior and it doesn't make what he did ok, but I think he's about to go through something and I think it'll be better if there wasn't so much tention between you two. And after you apologise you shouldn't call him 'mareep head' or 'wooloo for brains' any more." You couldn't exactly tell her your reason why but you REALLY had a feeling whatever was about to happen was going to be big for him. And it'd be so much better the less tention there was between the rivals. And...with Bede being endorsed by the Chairman and all it'd be better for both her and Hop if most of the tention stopped. "You don't HAVE to forgive or forget what he did, and you DONT have to put up with him. But.....I can't explain why. So please as a friend just do me this favor."

Gloria stared at you for the longest time......before she sighed. Smiled. And nodded happily. "Ok."

....

.......

..........What-

"WHAT?!" You blinked. Hands dropping to your sides as she chuckled at your smackgobbed face. "A-Again?? Just like that!? You'll apologize to him??"

She nodded with a determined smile. "Hey. Victor and you already said I shouldn't fight with the mar-...Bede anymore! If apologizin' is what it's gonna take then I can suck it up and do it. After all ya apologized for me, so I can apologize for you just this once."

.......You breathed a long sigh of relief, weight lifting from your shoulders. "Thank you! I owe you one."

She shook her head. "Nah. Let's call it even. Kay? C'mon. Let's get that mate an applin before his lady love shoves off for a different region all together."

You nodded and with new found relief off you went towards the center. It didn't take too long for the two of you to reach it and immediately enter. Once inside Gloria made her way over to the Rotomi machine thingy than reminded you of an ATM and as soon as she pressed a button, the robotic pokemon on top danced to life as she worked it. Feeling slightly exhausted, you looked up feeling a tap on your shoulder and when you looked your Drizzilie pointed towards the man selling juice again. Before looking at you in question. With a sigh you nodded and went towards the man who was of course happy to sell you another cup of juice for your pokemon. RIP the rest of your money. You only had a few coins left from the change back as you stuffed them back into your pocket with a sigh and the man handed your eager pokemon a cup of reddish juice. It quickly jugged down the entire thing within a few seconds before giving a pleased chirp sound. You chuckled and rolled your eyes. Well at least someone was happy-...You paused..Blinking and turning around as a blur of pink and white fluffy hair walked past the center's window...No. It couldn't be! It would've been too much of a coincidence if it was...But still. You quickly moved towards the door as Gloria curiously looked up from the machine after your retreating form as you stepped out of the center, and looked around. ..No sign of him-

"Mr. Chairman!" You blinked at the familiar voice...before peeking around the corner and low and behold there the white haired boy was! Walking towards...you frowned. Oleana and the chairman who was...wearing the same weird outfit you saw him wear in Hulbury. Seriously, what was with the polka dot shorts?? Bede walked right up to the two who looked at him. "I've been both collecting wishing stars and gym badges as fast as I can. "

"Good work, Bede." Oleana complimented crossing her arms. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten that it was the Chairman who endorsed you." You instantly frowned. What was the deal with this woman!?

"If I gather enough wishing stars that'll help solve the problem that's been bothering you, right Mr. Chairman?" Your brows rose. So that's why Bede was collecting lots of wishing stars!? The Chairman was using them for something!! ...But why would the Chairman of an entire region need wishing stars that just Dynamax pokemon??

"Oh it's not just about me," the chairman clarified, "It's for the future of the whole Galar Region. And we'll need more than just wishing stars. We need a powerful pokemon trainer, too. Someone like the Champion."

"With all due respect, Sir, I was able to show Hop, one of the champion endorsed trainers, just how outclassed he was." You frowned more. Ok. You could see how Gloria and Hop could get mad at him. "I'm sure I'll be able to defeat the Champion. No. I WILL defeat the Champion."

"That's the spirit! It takes healthy competition to really keep the Gym Challenge Energized!" .......He called THAT healthy competition!?!?

Unknownst to you, Gloria had come out of the center and spotted you after looking around a bit, poke ball in hand which must've been the applin for the boy she promised. She walked over to you before blinking and looking towards where you were looking at, and pausing a moment seeing the same trio you must have.

"Challenger Bede, there is something I wish to disscuss with you. Do you have a moment?," Oleana asked.

Bede nodded to her and she silently beckoned him to follow her as she turned and began walking off with him and the chairman- You jumped as a blur rushed past you and it took you a moment to realize that it was Gloria. And the brunette was barraling right towards the white haired boy as he walked after Oleana and the Chairman. ....!? OH NO!!! You opened your mouth to shout at her to wait and stop if she was going to fight but even if you did she wouldn't have heard you, and it was too late!

"WWWAAAAAAIIITT!!! BEDE!!," She shouted at the top of her lungs gaining the attention of both Bede, and Oleana and of course the Chairman as all three stopped to turn around and see who could've been the one who had called his name. "I HAVE TO TELL YA SOMETHIN' IMPORTANT!!"

Bede looked stunned to say the least blinking purple eyes wide as he took in the sight of Gloria racing right up to him, as the two adults behind him looked slightly surprised. Before he scowled at her. "YOU AGAIN!? I don't have time to deal with you! If it's a battle you want it'll have to wait after my business with Ms. Oleana and the Chairma-"

As he turned to go away, Gloria had straight up grabbed his hand which had the dynamax band on his wrist causing him to turn back around to face the heavily breathing brunette who gasped for breath stunnded. .....Oh no!! Blinking out of your stupor you began jogging your way towards them hoping to stop any misreadings on the situation before it got out of hand. In the mean time Bede had paused blankly, stunned....Looking between his hand and Gloria for a moment before frowning and tugging his hand only to find her tightly glued to it.

"I-....I h-have a c-c-confession ta make to ya!," she wheezed out between breaths staring at him pokeball in hand.

"Well whatever it is it can wait until I'm finished!," he stated firmly tugging on his hand. "Would you please mind letting go of my hand?"

She shook her head. "No! I've been meaning to do this the moment I realized I should've done it after our first encounter in the mines!" She said apologetically and it made you slow down as you got closer...OH!! She was going to apologize! But Bede looked at her confused. "Bede...I.." Her lips pursed for a moment as her face almost gave a cringe. Before slamming her eyes shut. Grit her teeth. And blurted it out. "I-I'm sorry! I called ya names n' yelled at ya!"

That made everyone quiet as they stared. You in relief. Bede stunned confusion. Oleana.....Oleana. And the chairman suddenly looking interested seeming to realize who it was talking to Bede.

".....I-...*ahem* Well..." Bede tried to straighten himself obviously not sure how to handle the closed eyed girl gripping his hand apologizing.

"I know, I know! But somethin' recently came up that made me realize I had ta do this n' if ya did beat some one fair and square then there ain't nothin' I could do about it...but believe me t-this is a lot harder for me to do ..c-c-confessing in all." You smiled. Good, good. This was going well.

....That was until she peeked an eye open to Bede's expression as he stared...Eyes darting around for any way to escape this. "I Uh..." He cleared is throat righting himself into that usually serious faced person. "Well then. It's seems you truly and finally came to your senses enough to realize I..." His eyes landed on the poke ball still clutched in her hand...and suddenly that calm face went suspicious. He glanced between her and the pokeball. Before using his free hand to point at it. "And WHAT is that your holding??"

She blinked holding it up with a shrug. "Nothin' really. Just a lil applin."

A smack sound was heard as you AND your Drizzilie utterly face palmed HARD with the reality hit before you. Bede went once again into that wide eyed shocked mode Jaw dropped. Behind him Oleana's face went slightly wide eyed in surprise, the Chairman looked totally taken by surprise too before hummed and grabbing his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Bede looked between her face and the pokeball so many times wide eyed and sputtering strange noises that sounded like words he was trying to form as she rose a brow confused. "....A-Are...." He looked at her suddenly in the eyes. "A-ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?" His eyes narrowed. "Like...Y-You're not joking with me or m-m-making fun of me right now are you!? I-I have y-y-you know I don't appreciate being toyed with, Girl!!"

She scowled. "OF COURSE IM BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!! Y'know how hard it was for me to make myself run up to ya and say all that! And for your intel fancy pants! It IS an applin! I wouldn't lie 'bout the pokemon I have! I was gonna give it away after the lil confessin' I forced myself ta do." You wanted to die from second hand embarrassment from her obliviousness to the situation she unknowingly put herself in.

Bede went wide eyed before his face turned about as pink as the coat he was wearing. He glanced a couple more times between her and the pokeball. ...Before in one swift movement he yanked his hand out of her grip and turned away head down and hands shoved into his pockets. "I....I-I....*AHEM*...I-I appreciate what you have decided to tell me...B-But I'll need time to think about if I accept such outlandish words from you or not...It...It might be best if we go our seperate ways for a while to let me think on t-that."

Gloria blinked at him still oblivious...before nodding proudly of herself and satisfied with the answer she got from the obviously flustered boy. "I'm glad we agree on that. I don't think I need ta say anymore to get my point across."

"A-A-AGREED!!" He looked desperately to the older woman. "M-Ms. Oleana you wanted to see me??"

Oleana looked to the Chairman who chuckled after a moment and nodded before Oleana turned around and Bede quickly followed after him as you dared continued to walk up to her. She smiled as she turned to you. "Well I think that went better than expected!"

You shook your head with a groan. "Actually I think it could've gone better."

Gloria rose a brow and was about to ask what you meant when the two of you were cut off by a chuckle of the chairman....Oh shoot! You forgot he was here. The man waved a hand casually. "Not too worry. Bede will be fine. But either way I hope you were listening, Gloria." She looked more confused at him. "As you know, wishing stars are those mysterious stones that are even attached to your Dynamax bands. There's more to wishing stars than just making your pokemon into giants though. They hold far more energy than that."

".....There is what?"

He chuckled. "If you're curious, then you should head to the stadium. In fact, we should head inside right away.I'll even give you a lesson on how the Galar Region gets it's energy." He nodded to you. "And of course your friend is more than welcome to join us like last time. I'm interested in getting your opinion." Ah nuts he DID remember you.

"Mm....Sure I guess."

"Excellent." He smiled turning. "You ladies follow me and Ill give you the tour." The two of you looked at each other before Gloria shrugged and began following him as you sighed. How did you get yourself into these things?? But you also followed him. Mr. Rose lead you all across the draw bridge that lead into the main castle which had a giant red and black stripped rug and was lit by actual torches. As you both took in the darkness and barely light around you, you followed the Chairman as he walked. You followed him until you all turned a corner and were surprised to find the entrance to the stadium!! Well it was closed off with a few people and security around, and to no one's surprise found Oleana plain faced waiting for the lot of you. "As you know, Hammerlocke's stadium doubles as an energy plant." The chairman continued walking up to Oleana and holding up a hand. Immediately she handed him a tablet that was in her hands. "Now have a look at my tablet. I've got all the information you need on it." He held it out to Gloria. She took it, looking confused at it for a moment, before tapping the screen and what you would best call a diagram and a friendly looking picture of Mr. Rose himself popped up. "See? An easy to understand description of the energy plant! First, energy is absorbed from Hammerlocke Stadium's tower. Then it's changed into electricity in the underground power plant and delivered to people throughout the region!" He went on to explain. "Our lives and society require various types of energy sources, such as electricity, natural gas, and water. My associate groups aim to improve everyone's lives by harnessing the power stored in wishing stars!"

Both of you looked up obviously surprised by what he said before Gloria glanced back to the tablet raising a brow before holding it back out to him. "But I thought only Professor Magnolia's Dynamax bands could harness the energy, wouldn't ye need 'er help??"

He took the tablet back before handing it to Oleana. "That's what Oleana and my team is for. I'm hoping Sonia would join us after her travels and research is finished."

"....Why are you telling us this?," you asked, "It sounds petty important. Wouldn't you want to keep that info to yourself?" It was also suspicious just telling you two but then again Bede did say more than once he was gathering wishing stars for the Chairman so maybe this was just you being too paranoid...But still that uneasy feeling you got when you were around these two were back.

The chairman paused as if sensing your feelings before smiling. "Experiments with Wishing Stars is nothing new. Professor Magnolia has done it for years and look what she created! Other scientists are currently studying their properties other than just us, and I believe Sonia is looking into the history of the origin of their power. So it's not really private knowledge." ....You...guessed that made sense. "Besides. If Bede's going to become the next Champion perhaps having any strong trainers by his side might be beneficial to our cause." And that bad feeling doubled! Oleana leaned over to whisper something to him and he hummed. "...Oh. It's time for me to get to work. I should get a move on before Oleana decides to give me another earful." He chuckled. "Gloria, I suggest you head over to the vault next. Just head toward Route Six from the stadium and you should find the vault without any issues. If you ladies would excuse us. It was nice to see you both again." With that they turned and you both watched as they walked towards a guarded elevator and went right in.

When the doors closed behind them Gloria turned a brow to you. "Well that was weird ain't it?"

"Good riddance I say." You turned to her after a moment and pointed to her pokeball. "Hey. Weren't you supposed to give that to the guy?"

She hummed looking to her pokeball then jumped. "OH GOSH I FORGOT!!" She twisted on her heel and made a break for it. "C'mon Y/n! We got no time ta lose!"

You sighed but complied by turning and jogging off after her. It was going to be a long day you could tell. But still you two made a promise and you were going to keep it. And that's exactly what Gloria did. You were more tired than her jogging around and carrying more weight, so it would make sense by the time you caught up with her you were wheezing for breath and had a back as sore as it could get, doubling over and hands on your knees a few yards away from Gloria who offered the wide eyed teen the poke ball with a smile breathing heavily herself.

"S-Sorry it took so long, mate!" She handed it into his awaiting hands. "O-One applin as promised!"

"YES!!" He held the ball into the air. "WOW! I did it! I finally got an applin! Thank you! Thank you so much! Since you went through the trouble of giving me an applin I've got to tell her how I feel!"

Gloria nodded. "When is she coming anyways?"

The boy went to speak, but suddenly stopped wide eyed. Fumbling with the ball for a second and looking past Gloria who turned her head behind her as another teen girl with darker brown hair in a ponytail and a yellow shirt approuched with a smile. "O-Oh! Geez!! T-T-That's her now!!".....Gloria whistled turning on her heel and walked aways from the boy to you as she came over. Smooth. Too bad she wasn't that smooth when apologizing.

Nervous the boy rubbed his head as the girl walked right up to him. "Sorry I'm late" she apologized. "What was it that you needed to talk about so suddenly?"

He sputtered. "I....Er....H-How's your packing going?" You facepalmed for the third time that day.

"Pretty much everything's been packed. Since I'm moving away tomorrow."

"Yeah," he agreed with a sad look in his eyes before taking a deep breath, "H-Hey! Check out this pokemon here!" He stated holding the pokemon out to her.

Blinking she looked at the pokeball then to him before slowly accepting and holding his ball curiously. "..What is it?"

"It's uh!.." He looked down and rubbed his next. "A-A-An applin." She blinked up surprise suddenly gracing her features. "F-For you."

"Oh. An applin?" He nodded and she looked back to the ball for a moment silence falling over them. It continued on for so long you and Gloria exchanged a slightly worried glance feeling awkward watching the seen. Luckily the girl smiled before looking back to her blue eyed friend. "Amazing. Did you catch it?"

The blinked surprised by her reaction before he looked embarrased and shook his head no. "W-Well...N-No. Someone gave it to me. B-B-But NOT romantically gave it too me!" He clarified holding up his hands. "I-I traded for it! I-I..." He slumped arms to his sides. "I'm sorry. I really wanted to give you an applin that I caught on my own. But well...Ah just forget it. I can't give you this applin." WHAT!?

"You're right. I can't take it," she agreed handing it back to him. Double WHAT!?

"Yeah.."

"Even if we're separated and far away from each other, I'll still be waiting for an applin you caught yourself." She giggled at his sudden dumbfounded expression.

"W-Wait. Do you mean-?" He was quickly shut up when she out of no where kissed his cheek, and Gloria chuckled as his expression went as pink as Bede's coat.

"Ah! Um...I'll uh-....I'll see you later!," she said just as flustered and pink faced before she quickly turned on her heel and lightly squealing with joy ran off. Leaving the boy wide eyed and jaw dropped and you two as witnesses.

Gloria snorted and you gave a tap to her shoulder to get her to stop. The boy after a moment picked his jaw up off the ground and turned to you. "Say. W-What do you think that was about just now? D-D-Do you think it meant that-?"

"That she likes you back?," Gloria asked before nodding. "Sure does pal. Good on you!"

He chuckled nervously. "T-Thank you? Wait! Does that mean what I think i-i-it means!?" She nodded again at his wide eyed face. "Really, really!? I can't believe it!" He threw his hands up. "WOO HOO!! ...Ah...Sorry. I just never thought that we both felt the same way."

"Oh don't worry. I'm used to seeing that by now," you clarified.

"Right. Well, I'd better give this pokemon back to you." He handed Gloria back her pokeball and before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out something. "Here. Take this, too. Think of it as a reward for helping me take that first step." It looked to you two like some kind of coupons but you weren't sure. "I'm going to catch an applin myself! And then someday, I'm going to go giver her that applin. ...YEAH! I b-better get searching for an applin!" He turned with an extra bright smile on that face of his. "Thanks again, Mate! See ya!"

"Good luck!," Gloria called after him waving.

"Well...Today's been an exciting one," you stated stretching you back hissing as you did. "Looking around the castle town, seeing the chairman and his weird secretary, ...I guess technically apologizing to Bede, getting a letter from a mysterious girl, and helping someone confess their love. I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Does this place have an inn or a hotel we can stay at?"

"I didn't see one when we looked around."

"Camping doesn't sound too bad," a voice said with a chuckle.

"Yeah that does sound-"....You looked behind you and nearly had a heart attack when you came face to face with Leon himself! Jumping back and clutching your chest where your heart was as he gave a few laughs! "CHEESE AND RICE DONT DO THAT!!" You shouted your drizzilie chirped annoyed at him.

He chuckled a little more as you pouted at him and he shurgged. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself! I saw you just standing there and thought I should come up and say hi since it's been a while." Before you could say anything in response to that he was distracted by a happy squeal and turned to Gloria.

"LEON!!," she shouted jumping up to hug onto him.

With a laugh and smile he twirled around once cape flowing with her before planting her back down on her feet...And you couldn't help but shake your head with a smile. "Hey! Look at you, Gloria! You've groan exactly half an inch since I last saw you!" He fondly ruffled the giggling gal's hair. "Seems you're doing well collecting gym badges. I saw your recording of battling Kabu and I gotta say I'm so proud of you guys for making it this far!"

She beamed smiling wider than you had ever seen her before. "You are!? Aw. It was nothin'! Hop won his before I even did. He's the real one you should be proud of."

He nodded with a hum and you watched as he rubbed his neck like Hop. Family habit you supposed. "I am proud of him too! But Hop..." He suddenly looked down. "Gloria did something happen with him?" She blinked surprised. "He was acting really odd when I ran into him. He took one look at me and immediately was like "I'm so sorry, Lee!" It might be the first time I've heard him apologize for anything, and I have no idea what it was for. Maybe he's feeling down because he's had some losses in battle?"

"OH I KNEW IT!!" Both of you blinked to Gloria who scowled and huffed. "He lost to that challenger Bede! He was making fun of us and you and bein' a real pain in the tush!"

Leon stared at her for a moment before humming and catching her attention. "Well that would explain it. But he's got to learn sometime."

She blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well...When you lose, you feel down in the dumps. But then there's no where left to go but back up! You've got to think on why it was you lost, though," he explained to her as she blinked.

"But...he lost before to Nessa and he didn't act like that when he did."

"Ah. I see. Well sometimes the reaction can depend on the person who you lose too. You said he made fun of you and me?" She nodded as he gave a thoughtful face. "I see. Well then if that happened he might be taking it a bit more personally. But we all have to handle people who don't like us on our journies. The important thing is to know that their words don't mean anything." He smiled. "Everyone's amazing in their own way, and someone else's hateful words shouldn't affect how you grow. So don't worry about him. You know that little brother of mine. I think he might yet become a surprisingly great trainer!"

Wise words. Wise words that seemed to get to Gloria as she nodded, "Yeah...Yeah you're right!" She smiled. "Hop's too smart to let that get him down anyways! He'll make it to the top guarenteed!"

"That's the spirit! Blast! And look at the time!" He scanned the sun real quick before groaning. "Nearly forgot my meeting with the Chairman! That Oleana lets me hear it when I'm late! Now only if I can remember which way to go-"

"They're at his power plant." Leon turned to you in question and you pointed back up the way you came. "Go that way to the pokemon center, you can't miss the thing it's the only thing here that's bright pink. Then turn left and he's inside his power plant last time we saw 'em."

He blinked before smiling brightly at you. "Hey thanks, Y/n. It was really good seeing you again. And seeing how that sobble of yours grew." He patted Gloria who smiled at him in return. "And it was so good seeing you too. You're doing a great job so far! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Anyways, I'd say that you should go and say hello to Raihan while you're here, Gloria!"

You paused and Gloria's eyes widened in wonder. "HE'S HERE!?"

He laughed again and nodded behind him. "Yeah! In fact he was my ride back here. He's the greatest rival I've got and the final hurdle you'll have to face in the Gym Challenge. Besides me of course. He should be still at the vault if you hurry. It's down that way." He pointed directly behind him. "On the way to Route Six...At least I think that's where it is. I'm not too good with directions."

"OMG!! IT'S THE CHAMPION!!"

Leon suddenly looked behind him as a small group had already gathered. "Uh oh! I-I'll see you later girls!" With a final pat to Gloria's head he RAN!! And the crowd gave chase. "S-Say Hi to Hop for me when you see him again!"

In a moment you quickly grabbed Gloria and yanked her out of the way of the stampeding twelve people's way as the crowd gave chase after the running champion and you both watched as they passed you. "GEEZ!! Does that happen to him all the time?"

Gloria nodded grabbing your arm. "Way more times than I can remember. But come on!" With a smile she tugged you forward in the direction Leon pointed. "I've never met Raihan before! And even the Chairman said I should visit the vault!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Whoa there! I thought we agreed to find somewhere to rest for the night."

"But Y/n!!," she whined tugging you again sad frown on her face, "I'm curiously about what this vault is now! So we gotta check it out! And plus! This might be my only chance of meeting Raihan casually without havin' the stress of a battle on my shoulders! If he's as amazin' as Lee says then I gotta at least say Hi!"

Your frowned back. "Yeah. I'm kinda iffy about the whole flirting with me part! I've never been hit on before."

She looked surprised for a moment. "Really? But you're so pretty! That's hard ta believe."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think that but that's not the point. The point is I don't feel like getting hit on by a guy who takes selfies and by the looks of it is abnoxious!," You insisted. Plus he was in your dream too and you'd rather avoid anymore interaction with anyone from your dream outside Leon who was genuinely nice. You were getting flirty bad boy vibes by what you've heard and seen and that was not your ideal type of guy in mind.

"PLEEEEEAAAASSSSEE!?," she begged you tugging on your arm. "Please please please! I promise It'll be the only favor I ask ya! Please won't ya do it just this one time!!"

You groaned throwing your head back. Knowing her she wouldn't budge til she got what she was after. "....Fine! But at the first sign of trouble we're outta there!"

Immediately her face lit up and she squealed happily like any teen you knew from back home meeting a boy band they loved. "YES!! Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret it I promise!!"

"We'll have to see about that," You mumbled but let her tug you along with a newfound skip in her happy step as you went. You were right. This was definately gonna be a LONG day!

You let her drag your already annoyed and sore self towards the way Leon had pointed out to you past the barber shop you two had passed by earlier and onto another draw bridge as you came across it. Brow raised as you passed by a second pokemon center, did this place really need two of them?? And past a few people as you went. At one point you duo passed a group of about four woman who were excitedly chattering at a blushing girl in the center who held a piece of paper in her hands red faced embarrassed as a person could guess....You had a scary sinking feeling you knew where they had just come from. And an even more scarier feeling when you found out you weren't wrong. Because all of a sudden Gloria stopped, making you bump into her, gasped wide eyed like she had just seen a ghost, grabbed your arm tighter, and pointed with the other hand in front of you both! Blinking you looked up...and suddenly wanted to curl up into a whole and never come back out. There he was. The third person from your dream. the undenyable orange badanna dragom gym leader of Hammerlocke himself, Raihan. He looked...Bored. Leaning up against two double doors, which you had guessed was the vault, and lazily scolling through his phone....But perked up when he felt eyes on him and glanced over in your direction. As soon as he made eye contact with you he smiled. AH HECK NO!! You turned to leave but there was a problem as Gloria still had a good grip on your arm so you yelped in panic when she went forward with a happy smile on her face, and Raihan leaned himself off the wall as you approuched. OH FRICK OH FRICK OH SWEEET BABY SOBBLES!!

"Oh. Hey there, Ladies!," he greeted a fanged smile sent your guys' way when Gloria dragged your wincing form right up to him. "Nice day for a walk. If it isn't the trainer endorsed by the champion. Let's see...What's your name again?" He hummed for a moment eye brow perked up in thought at the excited girl standing before him before snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "Ah right! Gloria! And if Leon himself recognized your potential then I guess you'll grow into quite the trainer."

You rose a brow. ...Well that polite compliment wasn't what you expected at first. But Gloria gasped finally letting go of your arm. "You know who I am!?"

He laughed this time. But not in a mean way, more of an amuzed way. "Are you kidding? All Leon ever talks about is you and your brother and Hop! And how amazing you kids are. All the same though, anyone wanting to challenge the mighty Raihan has to prove they're up to it by earning seven gym badges first."

...She blinked. "Oh uh..." Embarrassed she kicked her foot against the ground. "A-Actually I-I'm not here to challenge ya. I just wanted to m-meet ya in person and c-check out the vault of course!!"

"Ah so you're here to see our treasures are you?" Gloria nodded to him. "Gaining a better understanding of pokemon by studying history certainly isn't a bad idea." Your brows raised even more in surprise. "I like your spirit, Kid!" He nodded towards the doors laying a hand on them. "Follow me why don't you?" With a single push from his hands they opened and he went inside, well Gloria excitedly went in right after him and by default you too. Hey. He hadn't said a single flirty word. Maybe this would be tolerable. " The room he walked into was...Honestly very plain looking. There was two giant shelves covered in trophier, a few seats leaned against one corner, a staircase leading elsewhere, A woman manning a counter, and some kind of symbol plastored on the wall. Blinking back up when Gloria gasped. "I'll even spare you one of my league cards. Signed of course as for any fan." Now you realized why she gasped. He had just handed her one of his league cards and was smiling brightly at him which made him chuckle before lazily pointing up the staircase. "Now on you go. If it's the vault you want it's up those stairs there."

Gloria blinked for a moment looking towards the stairs then back to Raihan and smiled. "H-Hey Thanks!" Before turning and slowly walking her way towards the stairs, card in hand.

You sighed in relief. Thank goodness he kept it casual. You didn't know how you'd react if-

"And I didn't know Lee had such cute friends.~" Your eyes must've looked like those funny googily eyed stickers you'd buy from the store by how wide they looked when you snapped to him. And this guy just stared calmly with a polite smile...And. WINKED!! At you!

You stood there for a moment before your Drizzilie gave a loud warning chirp in his direction to which Raihan blinked at. Gave you enough time in his moment of confusion to BOLT your way to the stairs weight and aching pain be darned and scrambled after Gloria a weird feeling coming over you. "Remind me to give you a big dinner later as a thanks!" Your pokemon thrummed in approval and you made your way and into the..outside?? What the? You slowed down your pace as you got higher and higher. And dared to look down which was a HUGE mistake because you instantly felt a twisting feeling in your gut realizing how HIGH you were off the ground and without safety bars from just one flight of stairs alone. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you dared to continue up the stone steps towards a door at the top.

"Whatever happened to the sword and shield that drove off the disaster?"

You rose a brow as you walked forward more towards the familiar sounding female voice all the way towards the open door...No there's no way SHE would be here too! But alas when you walked right in. Your eyes widened. The room was MASSIVE!! High brick walls, giant windows, and four giant tapestries lined the front walls. One depicting two men under a light, the next the two men by what looked like a storm(??), the third them, the storm, and a sword and shield in the sky, and the last one of the two men as kings. Not sure what story it told but it looked heroic as in a fairytale. As your eyes trailed down to two women in the room one was obviously Gloria who was chatting with Sonia and the other. Was obviously...Sonia. You blinked wide eyed at the lady but was relieved to see her as you stepped in with a smile.

"Hey, Sonia!," You called out.

said red head looked at you and smiled as you walked over to her. "Hey! Y/n, I thought you couldn't be too far behind if Gloria was here." She paused seeing the little hitch hiker leaning on your shoulder that was your Drizzilie, as she pointed at him. "Hey. Is that who I think it is?"

You smiled and nodded. "Yep. Apparently he was closer to evolving that you guys thought. He ended up doing that when Gloria borrowed him for a battle. Still hungry as a snorlax tho." Drizzilie shot you a pouty look and you three girls ended up chuckling at his reaction. "Anyways what are you doing here? I thought you came here right after that dinner in Hulbury."

She waved a hand. "Well, yeah that was the plan at first, but I ended up staying with Nessa a bit to catch up and have some time with my friends." She sighed. "It's been so long since I saw them all. It was good catching up with her and everyone else again revisting our favorite spots. I lost track of time and ended up catching a ride with Lee and Raihan back here to see the vault." She turned back to the tapestries and you glanced up as she looked. "I-....Think I'm getting closer to solving the mystery behind the dynamaz origin but...the same thing happened to everyone else that researched this far into the story before giving up. Still too much mystery and not enough answers to fill in the blanks I'm afraid."

You nodded glancing up at the old things. "Yeah I get you. I'm trying to solve a mystery of my own too in a way." A mystery of how to get back home and helping Gloria finish the game's story plot was the one but you weren't about to admit that!

She looked at you. "Oh yeah? What kind of mystery?"

"The mystery of how long it takes before that guy down stairs decides to put the moves on me. Maybe he's like an an- uh pokemon and you have to play dead." She rose a brow. "Y'know that one saying. You have to play dead or else they'll pounce on anything that moves."

"PFFFT!!" Sonia Snorted. Snorted!! Before her hands flew up to cover her mouth as laughter shook her form and Gloria looked up from her phone confused. "I-I-I...Oh gosh! Ahaha! I-I g-guess you met Raihan??" She asked between small giggles.

"Met him!? I thought the guy was gonna try to make me a side dish for his next curry by how he looks at you! Does he flirt with everyone?"

Sonia giggled a bit more before shaking her head. "No! That's just how h-he is. He really is a sweet and caring guy once you get to meet the real him honest."

"Told ya," Gloria confirmed.

"Well I don't think I wanna be the 'princess' who gets kidnapped by the 'dragon' thank you. Hopefully he'll be too busy taking selfies when we go back to go Y/n hunting." That got Sonia chuckling again.

"I hear you, I was that way when I first met him too. I hope you find what you're looking for." She turned back to the tapetries. "I'm going to stay here and try to study these a little more."

You were not that lucky. Because as soon as you two descended the stairs and got back down to the ground floor, Raihan was still there ever present seeming to wait for you. Doesn't a famous Gym leader have OTHER things to do-....Oh right. Gloria said he usually had a lot of time on his hands this early into the challenge. You wanted to face palm yourself hard for forgetting so easily like that. Raihan however just smiled at you two and looked to Gloria.

"Well that was quicker than I thought it'd be?," he chuckled," Was the famous Hammerlocke vault to your satisfaction Lil miss?"

Gloria instantly nodded. "Yes! The tapestries are beautiful!"

He nodded in agreement. "And really old too. The tapestries in the vault depict the heroes of the Galar Region's past. I suppose if we've got any modern hero I'd have to be our Champion Leon." He hummed looking Gloria over a moment and you rose a brow at him. "...Hey. You want some advice from a Gym leader who's fought Leon for the Champion title lots of times?" Of course she nodded excitedly. "Then listen up, Gloria. Your goal is to defeat that superstar Leon. So go to Route Six and train yourself up along the way to Stow-on-Side. Bea's the fighting type gym leader, so the best way to beat her is to think like a fighting type trainer would. Train hard and I know you'll be able to do it!"

With a fist pump the brunette nodded. "Right! I won't let ya down Sir!"

He chuckled. "Now I see why Lee likes you so much. Ah. That reminds me." He turned to the door and pointed. "There was this lil man that looked a lot like you looking for you outside there. Maybe you know him?"

In an instant the girl snapped to the door, gasped, and ran off. "VICTOR!!" The doors slamming open as she flew through them with the speed and strength of a wild bull.

He laughed. "Ah. That kid has some spunk. I look forward to battling her soon." He then turned to you as you paused. "Anyways. I don't think I got your name Miss??"

"Y/n." you stated flatly, "And thank you for the compliments-"

"Ah thank nothing of it." He flashed a fanged grin at you, "I know how it can be sometime meeting me n' all that but it really is no big deal-"

"Oh you're right about that." He paused stopping, blinking wide eyed at your deadpanned face mouth agape in a smile as he processed what you had bluntly but politely stated. "You do seem REALLY nice and I really appreciate all the nice things you said to me and Gloria, but I'll have to stop you right there with the flirting, Mr. Raihan. No offense to you of course, and I don't mean anything by it." You turned giving the frozen gym leader one last look before you left. "You just aren't my type. I'm sure you'll find a nice person soon tho with your looks and charms. Have a nice day."

And you left, leaving the wide eyed Dragon Type Gym Leader standing there jaw dropped and the secretary at the desk who also looked shell shocked at what she had just witnessed. ....Raihan's rotom gave a loud pokemon sound of alarm when Raihan dropped his phone with a thud onto the floor. Meanwhile you had just gotten outside the vault and with a sigh looked around. Relieved THAT was over and done with. As you scanned you heard someone call your name and when you looked, saw none other than Victor waving an arm towards you. Smiling you happily made your way over to the equally smiling brunette boy.

"Hey! There you are! We've been running all over the place trying to find the two of you! And judging by the sun..We've been doing it all day too. Where were you guys??"

He sighed shaking his head. "It's...complicated, Y/n. We got here a little while ago, but we aren't staying. We're taking the night train tonight to Stow-on-Side."

You blinked. "Wow. Again? I'm gonna be up all day and night then-"

"No." He cut you off and made you pause, "Not all of us." He clarfied frowning and looking down. "Just me and Hop. He...has some things he wants to sort out."

"Sort out? What do you-" You looked around more. "Where is he?"

He pointed behind him down the ways towards Route Six. "Down that way. Gloria took off after him but I wanted to make sure she didn't forget you or anything."

You nodded patting his shoulder before beginning to walk off in the direction he pointed out with a feeling you knew exactly what this was about. Victor followed behind as you picked up your pace looking around for those two crazy kids-

"Then there's no point in us stickin' around!," A loud male voice cried out somewhere ahead....Both you two exchanged looks for a moment before picking up your pace and rushing forward, going around the corner and finding out exactly where the loud yell was coming from. You found Gloria and Hop alright. With their wooloo and raboot out and two of those weird Team Yell guys standing there by some snake looking pokemon. The man was the one who was yelling tho. "Let's get out of here! We'll make these bothersome kids holler some other day!" Was that a threat!? In an instant you began walking towards them again as the two make up caked clowns turned and ran off.

"Gloria..." Hop began turning and giving his friend a sad smile. "You and raboot were brilliant together!"

Gloria smiled holding up her pokeball to return said raboot. "Thanks! Wooloo n' ye have really gotten stronger since the last time I saw ya! Guess ya can say 'Woo hoo' to match your wooloo!" She giggled at her own terrible pun but....when Hop remained silent her giggles slowly faded as she looked at him...and she blinked. Uh oh. This couldn't have been a good sign. "Hop?" She questioned reaching a hand half way to him....He shook his head no looking down. "H-Hey. What's wrong?"

He remained silent for a moment. ".........Gloria." He began. "See..Bede really wiped the floor with me last time we battled." Oh boy you KNEW it would have something to do with that. "And don't get me wrong. I can take a loss. Battling means you've got to lose sometimes. ....But he said that I was dragging Lee's good name through the mud being so rubbish like I was..." WHAT!?

"WHAT!?," Gloria yelled out shocked. "HOP! That's not true! You've won every at every gym we've been too so far! Twice even before me. How does that make you any weaker than I am?"

"I know that!" He clenched his hands into fists at his side not looking up. "And I know what you said is true but ...I can't just let myself let my guard down and not improve. And I just can't get those words out of my head! If I'm weak, then people'll think Lee's weak too! But I don't want that! I can't let Lee get dragged down! He's the unbeatable Champion! I'm gonna have to take some time figuring this out.....I-I...Im sorry- AH!?" He blinked frozen as Gloria suddenly enveloped him in a hug...before his face broke up in bright pink from it...and he slowly hugged his friend back.

"Hop...You're NOT weak," she mumbled against where she hugged him, "You're smarter and stronger than ya think. And I don't want you givin' up."

"Heh. Who said I was giving up?," he asked with a chuckle, "If I just gave up now that would just prove Bede's point. And I came too far now to stop. I made a promise to you I'd battle you in the finals and I aim to keep that promise! This isn't me quitting, Glory. Just taking some time away to improve on some of my skills. That's all." She blinked as he pushed her away and gave her that bright smile of his. "If I'm going to beat you, then I need to prove that I'm a worthy rival. Alright?" ...She nodded eventually with a smile.

"Besides." Both of them snapped towards the two of you as you approuched. "If you ever really want to talk with us, you can call me or Hop on your Rotom phone at any time." Victor rose a brow as he crossed his arms and eyed where Hop was gently holding his sister's arms. "...Did I miss something?"

Hop blinked before instantly letting go beat red with a cough. "HEY! When did you-...*AHEM*" He rubbed his neck. "I-I was just saying see you around, Gloria!"

Victor hummed like he really believed him. "Rrrriiiiiggght. Anyways, Hop. It's getting close to sun down. If we wanna catch the night train out of Hammerlocke we should go now and wait at the station."

"UH!! R-Right!" He cleared his throat and turned to Gloria. "I-...I-I'll see you later, Glory. You can b-bet on that." Before quickly walking away past the both of you. "H-Hi Y/n. Nice seeing you again!"

Victor sighed and turned to follow. "Yeah. It was good seeing the two of you again. Don't forget. You have our Numbers, Gloria." He pointed back at her as he walked away. "Stay out of trouble! You hear?! And be prepared!"

"I know how to stay out of trouble ya loon!," she yelled back at him.

"Could've fooled me!"

Gloria stuck her tongue out at his retreating form and you chuckled. "What a loon. He's more chatty than a herd of hungry wooloo."

You shrugged. "I guess so..." You frowned a bit. "But on a serious note, are you ok?"

After a moment staring at where the two boys disappeared she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'm ok. There ain't really nothin' I can do about this anywho."

You suddenly had a guilty feeling come over you. "Hey...A-About what I had you do earlier with apologizing to Bede. I'm really sorry about that-"

She held up a hand to you and shook her head. "No." Her face a determined frown. "Nah you n' Victor were right. And so was Lee. I shouldn't make any trouble for myself by just pickin' fights. And Lee was right about there bein' people like Bede anyways. But I ain't gonna let his words get ta me. And I know Hop."...She smiled. "I cant explain it as anything but a friend's intution, but I know he'll be alright. He's too smart to let Bede keep 'em down for long. And Victor's with him. So I know he'll help him too."

You nodded smiling. Of course you knew Hop would be ok as well. "That's right. But hey. Victor told me they were heading to Stow-on-Side. We were heading there anyways, and there's some day light left. Why don't we drop by Hammerlocke Cafe for a quick dinner and start heading out before night fall?"

With a determined smile Gloria Nodded and pointed up. "Perfect idea! Let's eat! Then it's onto Stow-on-Side!!"

#pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon piers #pokemon piers x reader #piers x reader #reader x piers #reader

9 notes · View notes

raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 years

Note

I read in your rules you don’t do NSFW but do you mind possibly doing a oneshot of Vil and Rook (separately) making out or possible little spice with female s/o? If not both then I’m certainly fine with one uwu 💕☺️👉🏼👈🏼

A friend once told me they would pay me to write straight up NSFW content. I don’t particularly think the genre suits my writing style well, which is why I typically avoid doing it.

I’ve considered offering more spicy requests for limited time special events, but I’m not sure how Tumblr would react to it since the new policies went into effect. If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

I would be more than happy to give you the slightest taste. A preview, if you will. Let it slowly coat your tongue and permeate your senses--until you are completely swallowed up, consumed by the fires of lust.

Fufu, just kidding. In any case, enjoy. They are definitely not social distancing in these imagines (that’s for sure), but there’s nothing that explicit. Still, I would not advise you to read this at work.

Imagine this...

You are the apple of his eye.

And no one can convince him otherwise.

Your clothes lie on the floor, discarded and forgotten--but you remain alert, self-conscious. Especially in the presence of such a handsome man.

His hands trail up from your waist, dancing up your bare back and becoming a gentle caress to your cheek. His fingers remind you of both fire and ice, cool and pleasing to the touch, yet setting your skin aflame wherever they have lingered.

“That’s my princess,” Vil croons, his voice taking on the musical quality or a murmur and the conspiring tone of a whisper. “Why, you’re as pretty as a picture.”

You blush, instinctively snaking your hands over body to cover up--but he stops you. A frown mars his regal features.

“We’ll be having none of that. I want to see you--all of you.”

“It’s...a little embarrassing,” you admit to him.

The stars sparkle in his narrowed eyes. “Are you embarrassed to be with me?”

“No, but...”

“Then lift your chin up, my dear (Y/N). We have already decided, have we not? I am yours, and you are mine. There is nothing more to it than that.” His smile is reassuring, warm. A ray of sunshine peeking through the wood, a beam of moonlight in the dead of night.

This midnight tryst is just for you two, and for you two alone.

He tucks a slender, lily-white finger under your chin, tilting your head to face him. His glossy lips pull back into a smile--and his request is a simple one, almost demure...had the ravenous look in his eyes not given his secret away.

“Now then...May I?”

The last of your worries dissipate, and you nod, spellbound by his beauty.

He leans in, and the warmth of his body envelops you. Hot and cold, day and night, you and him, melding together and becoming one in a tangle of limbs and moaning.

It is your little secret, your everlasting vow to each other.

But the stars above twinkle in conspiracy.

Knowing.

The thrill of the hunt is exhilarating.

But the act of claiming his prey is even more so.

“It appears I have won the game, ma chérie,” Rook says with a light laugh.

He has you pinned against the gnarled trunk of a tree, tucked deep in the forest and away from prying eyes.

“Okay, you win,” you relent through heavy panting. Your entire body is burning up, searing. “Good job. Now let’s head back.”

It had been rather foolish of you to challenge Rook to any sort of athletic competition--he was easily able to capture you, despite you practically throwing your out lungs and heart to make a daring escape.

“Ah, ma chérie...you wound me so,” Rook’s expression becomes sly, fox-like. “You expect a hunter such as I to walk away without my prize? When we made the wager and placed our bets, I seem to recall you offering a kiss if I was the victor.”

“I’m tired,” you protest weakly, “and sweaty. I don’t think you find that to be very attractive.”

Rook chuckles. He has to admit, he enjoys it when his prey puts up a bit of a fight. It makes it all the more tantalizing for him when he finally gets to sink his teeth in.

“Non, non. Far from it. You are always the one I have my eyes trained on. Everything you do, everything you say...it has its own charm to it.” He draws nearer, and you can feel his own hot breath on yours. “Now then, my prize. If you will allow, that is.”

You don’t resist when he goes in for the kill. He kisses you, hard and long and rough. His tongue brushes yours in a playful greeting, and you kiss back--perhaps not as forcefully, but with all the feeling of an frenzied lover.

It becomes hard to breathe. You pull away, gasping for air, but he comes back for more, savoring the taste of you. Like sugared plums, he muses.

When Rook has, at last, had his fill, he releases you and holds you steady by the shoulders to keep you from falling over.

“Ah, excusez-moi. I apologize, perhaps I was a bit too eager. Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes...” you stammer, staring up at him in bewilderment. “Th...Th-That was...”

Amazing.

#Rook Hunt #Vil Schoenheit #Reader #self insert #Reader x Vil Schoenheit #Vil Schoenheit x Reader #Rook Hunt x Reader #Reader x Rook Hunt #twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland requests #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #kinda spicy

363 notes · View notes

oh-look-isa-weeb · 4 years

Text

Fly Me to the Moon

Yuri Plisetsky

Celestial beings + royalty AU. You're the Night. He's the Moon. You're stuck together, whether you like it or not.

Notes: A longer post this time! I could have gone with a normal royalty AU but nooo, of course I didn't. I hope this turned out okay! Title is from a Frank Sinatra song of the same name.

---------------

The Day is the bringer of the Sun; It surrounds it, and it holds the Sun up, just as the Sun brings the Day with it wherever it goes. They move and work together.

The Night is the guardian of the Moon; it is the contrast which allows the Moon to shine brighter, stretching endlessly behind the Moon, the herald to its beauty and grace.

You are the Heir of the Night, training tirelessly to prepare to take on the mantle of the Moon's Guardian, and you are tired.

No, seriously. If you have to hear about the union of the Sun and the Moon one more time, you're going to scream. You mutter exactly that to yourself, under your breath, as you walk through the training facility to your studio. To your surprise, someone replies.

"I know, right? It's gross. If I ever fall in love, hit me."

Who in the world…?

You spin around, coming face-to-face with sea green eyes and golden hair. The same eyes hair you would one day be sworn to protect. Before you stood Yuri Plisetsky, the Heir of the Moon. He didn't know who you were, but you certainly recognised him. After all, you'd been watching his progress since you were selected to become the Heir of the Night. Your life's work would be dedicated to his being.

Only after a split-second did he seem to realise that he had talked to another being, and that he was decidedly not alone. He spun around, glaring.

"Who are you? The hell are you doing here?"

I'm the only one allowed around here, you thought amusedly. You're the trespasser. You wondered if you could tell him that. Heck, what was stopping you? It would be nice to see the look on his face.

"As a matter of fact, I'm the Heir of the Night. Also known as the person who'll be working with you closely for the entirety of your reign." You pause and shoot him a pointed look. "And the only person allowed in here, Mr. Trespassing Heir of the Moon."

Ah, the sweet satisfaction of watching someone's brain shut down. He sputters for a bit and turns ever-so-slightly pink, scrambling to come up with an excuse.

"If we're gonna work together, w- what's wrong with me being here anyway? I- It's not like I'm not some random civilian!"

He pauses, and an oddly aged look crosses his features.

"I just- I needed somewhere to get away for a minute, okay? I would very much like to be able to breathe without those two advertising their relationship. And I don't want to go for class," He sighs. "I'll just go now."

Something about the way he says it resonates with you. Maybe it's the resigned tone in his voice, or the weary look on his face. And you understand, you really do. After all, you've been preparing to take up an equally important -- and equally heavy role. Sometimes you wanted an escape, too.

"Do you… Want to stay? And watch for a bit?"

He pauses and turns to look at you. He's trying to act nonchalant, shrugging casually with a "Sure,", but you see the way his shoulders sag a little, as if the tension was released, and his features smoothen out just a fraction. You tell him to make himself comfortable along the sides somewhere and begin running through your combat drills.

As it turns out, Yuri is a pretty courteous audience. He doesn't ask too many questions, and only does when you stop for breaks. At the end of your training session, you sit together, backs to the wall, and bask in companionable silence, taking a breather from the stress that your roles bring you. Finally, you prepare to leave the studio, locking up and exchanging farewells.

"Hey, uh, thanks for letting me stay. I think I needed that. I'll, uh, see you around. I hope."

"Well, we'll meet again eventually. Moon and Night and all that. Feel free to come back anytime, though."

He heads off in the other direction, waving as he walks away.

You don't see him for a good month.

You don't know why. Did he get in trouble? Did he not want to return? Was he doing alright?

You'd just about given up seeing him until coronation day ever again, until one day you open the door to the studio to find it already unlocked. You open the door anyway, paying it no mind, and promptly walk face first into something. Someone.

Yuri.

He grumbles about getting crashed into, mumbling a "Watch where you're going, moron" under his breath quietly, but he steps aside to let you in anyway. How did he get in? No, nevermind that, Lilia was coming in today. He shouldn't be here.

"My advisor's coming today. You should get out before you get caught."

He stares at you like you've grown a second head.

"Moron, did no one tell you? I bargained with Yakov. You're gonna teach me to fight, and I'll, well, they'll find something for me to teach you. Anyway, I'm meant to be here, stupid."

You gape at him as Lilia strides past you two and into the studio, thoroughly unimpressed at your expression. She tells you to "close your mouth, you are an Heir, not a fish", and she "certainly did not teach you to dawdle in doorways". You put your stuff down, but you have no clue where to begin. Teach someone?

Lilia sighs. "The basics, girl, unless you want him to spend more time on his butt than his feet."

Right, you feel like an idiot now. Please let there be a hole to swallow you up. You gesture for Yuri to join you in the centre of the room, and slowly run him through warm-ups.

Over time, you fall into a routine. Some weeks, you teach Yuri to fight, and other weeks, he teaches you dance. Not just waltz, you know how to do that, but other forms of dance. Ballet. Tango. Flamenco. The macarena, because why not, although that was mostly a joke. You meet Yakov, his advisor, as well and the current Sun and Moon, Yuuri and Victor. Most importantly, you meet his cat, and his grandfather. Victor says it's wonderful that Yuri's friends with you. Yuri says he's too nosy.

As the time passes, you find yourself enjoying his company more and more. You realise that he's actually a kind person, even if he doesn't outwardly show it. And one day, you catch yourself thinking, he's really pretty.

When did you fall for him? You don't know. But as soon as you realise, you never stop realising. You're hyper-aware of everything he does. It frustrates you to no end. You're in the middle of a foxtrot with Yuri, and you can feel yourself flushing wildly. He frowns at you and stops.

"What's up with you? Why've you been so jumpy these days?" He presses a hand to your forehead. "Tch. You're not sick, are you?" You shake your head, but you can't quite meet his eyes.

Because the heat from your cheeks seems to have somehow fried your brain cells, you decide to throw all caution to the wind. You might also be too sleep-deprived to regret this.

"I- I LIKE YOU!" You blurt, before your common sense finally catches up to you and you clap a hand to your mouth. "Ah, sorry, you uh, heard nothing… Ahah…"

He gapes at you, and then he averts his eyes. Great, he totally thinks you're a weirdo. You've just messed up your relationship with the guy you're stuck working with for your entire career.

"I like you too, moron." It's so quiet you could swear you imagined it, but Yuri stands across from you, eyes on the ground, face as flushed as yours. It's your turn to gape at him, as he bites out a "What? Quit staring at me!", although you can tell there's no real heat to his words.

"I'm glad," you hum, smiling gently as you extend a hand to him, a silent invitation to resume dancing. You let the music wash over you, losing yourself in the steps, and every time your eyes meet, there's a soft smile on his face.

Epilogue

You take your place on the dais next to Yuri, preparing to face the court for your coronation. You'd been there for him before this, through demanding days and insecurities. You'd seen him at his worst, in the days just after Victor announced he was stepping down as the Moon, helping him to fight off his self-doubt. You'd been there for Yuri, and as the new Night and Moon, you'll continue being by his side. As his guardian, but also as his betrothed.

Over the next week, there are ceremonies and festivities, including your wedding, which takes place on the last day. It's a whirlwind of crowds, carnivals, and dancing. You and Yuri have your first dance, the same foxtrot you had been dancing when you got together all those years ago, the same soft smile ever-present on his face, as if it's just you two in the ballroom, like it was back then.

Then the music changes to something more bold, and you charge at each other in a mock-battle, your movements dynamic and explosive, yet graceful, a testament to your proficiency in both combat and dance.

As the night progresses, your friends and family join you on the dance floor, laughing and mingling. There's not much actual dancing happening, but that's perfectly fine, because you're surrounded by loved ones. Someone starts a line dance at some point, and you get everyone who joins to do the macarena, just for laughs. You see Lilia rolling her eyes, but you laugh and pull her into the crowd to join you.

And at the end of the night, you're in the comfort of your room, Yuri by your side. He pulls you in for a sweet, languid kiss. This is the love of your life, the man you'll wake up next to every day for the rest of your life.

After all, the Night is the guardian of the Moon; it is by its side, always. It is the Moon's refuge, its home. It loves the Moon dearly, and the Moon loves it back.

#yuri on ice imagine #yuri on ice #yuri plisetsky #yuri plisetsky x reader #yuri!!! on ice

137 notes · View notes

jiejie-eonni-onee-sama · 3 years

Text

Sending my love to you

For the lovely @fandoms-are-my-friends-1321 😍😍😍😍

Hope you’ll love the story!

TW: Smut, swearing (Roman being Roman)

The songs quoted are not mine.

"No, thank you! For the umpteenth time, I'm not interested!"

"Oh come, doll! Why do you refuse to have some fun with me?"

(Y/N) (L/N) rolled her eyes, exasperated. The thug who was trying to make a move on her was annoying!

"Are you deaf? I already told you that I don't want to be with you! I'm already with someone!"

"And then? I don't care!"

"Oh? Well, maybe you would care if I told you that I'm Roman Sionis's fiancee?" she snapped.

(Y/N) tried to hide her delight when she saw her suitor being terrified at the mention of Roman Sionis, one of the most powerful mobsters in Gotham City.

Also known as Black Mask, he was notorious for his bad temper and his tendency to murder those who dared piss him off.

The thug stepped back and said with a quivering voice:

"Okay, okay... You win. Please, don't tell Sionis!"

"If I'm in a better mood, perhaps I would act as if nothing happened! Now, get out of my view!"

Once her admirer ran away, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She could not wait for her future husband to come back from his business travel around Europe.

(Y/N) smiled while thinking about her fiance: Roman might be terrifying for many people, but when he was with her, the mobster was different.

Indeed, he was the perfect partner for (Y/N): he wasn't only a loving and considerate boyfriend but also a good listener and a supportive companion. After all, he never asked her to give up her career as a fashion designer when they started dating.

But now, all she wanted was to come back home, relaxing on the sofa and waiting for Roman.

She got up, went to her car, and drove back to the penthouse.

Once she arrived, she politely saluted the doorman and went upstairs. Then, she turned on the lights and sat on the sofa, reading her mail.

A blue envelope caught her eye, and she smiled in pleasure: it was Roman, without a doubt!

(Y/N) opened the letter and saw a beautiful card with a picture of Venice at night.

She turned the card around and read the message:

My future queen,

I can tell you that my business trip is coming to an end, which is a relief.

I know that you're longing for me, but I'll come back as soon as possible. And you know I'll always keep a promise, only for you, my jewel.

Be a nice girl as always, and wait for me.

You know the song:

Treasure these few words 'til we're together

Keep all my love forever!

P.S. I love you, you, you, you

I'll be coming home again to you, love!

Wait for me, sweetheart.

Your future King.

Roman Beauvais Sionis.

(Y/N) fondly smiled: since the beginning of his travel, her fiance always send her postcards from different countries with lovely messages.

According to Victor Zsasz, Roman "became a helpless romantic" when it came to her. However, he did not say that with harshness: after all, she became the only person he accepted to be close to his boss.

She won't say that she and Victor became friends, but they trusted and respected each other. That was enough for her. As she relaxed against the sofa, the young woman was impatient to hold her boyfriend in her arms. They will be together again, no matter what would happen...

The next day.

"I think we should hire this group for the Special Saturday. What do you say, Miss (L/N)?"

"This is an excellent idea, Sally. I've heard that they are becoming popular in Gotham..."

"Indeed, yes. So, shall I book the Thunder Boys for next Saturday?"

"Okay, let's do it. Can you call the manager for me?"

"Already done, Miss (L/N)," smiled Sally as she picked her phone.

(Y/N) smiled: she appreciated Sally since the kind blonde woman started working at the Black Mask Club as a manager. Her main task was to organize special events at the club, and she excelled in her work. Even Roman praised her choices!

As she walked around the club, checking on what the employees were doing, she asked the waiters:

"Is everything ready for tonight?"

"Yes, Miss (L/N). The drinks are in the cellar since this morning. The digestives are in the fridges, and we are waiting for the pastries. The bakery called us to say they are on their way. They will arrive around 10 minutes!" answered Kyle, the bartender.

"That's perfect! You did a good job!"

"Thank you, Miss."

"You're welcome," she answered before examining the decoration.

Since their engagement, Roman appointed her as the co-owner of his club, and she appreciated the gesture. (Y/N) had many occasions to design and create outfits for the staff on special events, such as holidays or theme parties. The patrons of the club and Gotham's elite always admired her work.

She smirked as she remembered her first meeting with Roman: it was during the Gotham Fashion Week, two years ago. He was a VIP guest, and she was presenting her new collection.

This week was a success for her, and she caught his eye after a fashion show.

He felt immediately attracted to this lovely and charming young woman and asked for her number, under the pretense of ordering a new suit.

Since then, they always were together, and the media pictured them as the "Power Couple" of Gotham.

An unofficial title that amused her more than anything. But right now, the young woman longed for her beloved mobster, as soon as possible...

Meanwhile, at the Gotham airport.

"FINALLY! This fucking business trip is finally over!" exclaimed Roman as he put his suitcase in the car trunk.

"You're right, boss. But at least, we are at home!" stated Victor.

"Indeed. I'm fucking tired of those fucking jackasses. Remind me to never deal with German mobsters again!"

"Noted, boss."

Sionis sighed before smiling:

"But, let's not killing the mood! I would finally be reunited with my queen!"

"And I'm certain she was impatient to see you again!"

"Obviously: it was the first time we've been apart from each other for a long time! It must be so painful for my little Coco Chanel!"

"As it was distasteful for you!" grinned Victor.

"It's an understatement, Vic!"

Both men entered the limo and when they were starting the engine, Roman's phone buzzed.

"Ah, wait a minute!"

He picked up the call.

"Hello, Roman Sionis's speaking!"

**"Hello, darling."**

"My beautiful future wife! How are you?"

**"I'm fine, thank you. But I miss you, handsome!"**"

"Aw, my lovely doll. I miss you too! But don't worry, I'll be back soon!"

Roman and Victor heard a soft sniffing from the other side of the line. They look at each other, upset: was she crying?

"Baby, you're alright?"

**"Yes, of course. I'm just tired, but it's fine. Don't worry about me!"**

"What kind of husband I would be if I do not care about my lovely wife? Now, baby: don't panic, I'll be home soon, 'kay?"

**"Okay. Come back safe and sound, it's all that I ask!"**

"Don't ask me twice, darling! And be sure that I'll spoil you rotten when I'll return!"

**"You don't need to, Roman!"

"Darling, that's my duty as your fiance, and it would be my duty as your husband!"

He heard her soft laugh.

**"You're incredible!"**

"That's why you love me, beautiful. Alright, I must go. See you later, darling!"

**"Okay, see you later. I love you!"**

"Love you too."

He hung up the phone and said:

"Victor... Tell me I did not mess up everything!"

"I don't think so... I guess she is just unhappy to not seeing you right now... If only she knew that you called her from the airport!"

"I wanted to surprise her, not making her sad!"

"Don't worry, boss. I'm sure (Y/N) will forget it when she will see you!"

"I hope so... Now, let's go! I have some business to deal with before coming back home."

"Here we go, boss..."

Timeskip. In the night, at Sionis's penthouse.

(Y/N) was sitting in her armchair, drawing some sketches of new dresses for the waitresses for the Special Saturday. She had many ideas in her mind for this event, and she was confident about the achievement of this happening. Roman would be proud of her...

Thinking of her fiance made her heart ache, and she stopped drawing.

(Y/N) hoped that he did not hear crying during their call. She knew that it would agitate him until they meet again, and she wished that it would not trouble him for his business.

The silence in the penthouse was oppressive for her, and she tried to fill it by humming a song:

I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes.

I'm coming home.

Tell the world that I'm coming home.

Unbeknownst to her, Roman was already in the penthouse when he heard her singing. Smiling, he advanced stealthily behind her and softly sang:

As I write this letter, send my love to you.

Remember that I'll always be in love with you.

Treasure these few words till we're together.

Keep all my love forever.

P.S. I love you, you, you, you.

I'll be coming home again to you, love.

And till the day I do love.

P.S. I love you, you, you, you.

Startled, (Y/N) turned around and let out a cry of happiness when she saw Roman standing behind her, a triumphant smile on his lips.

"Hello, princess. I'm home!"

"ROMAN!" she yelled as she jumped on her feet and ran into his arms.

He laughed as he wrapped his arms around his fiancee, holding her tightly.

"Looks like someone missed me!"

"You have no idea. It seemed like an eternity!"

(Y/N) looked at him with a slight frown on her face.

"But I thought you were still in Europe when I called you!"

"I was at the airport when you call me!"

She playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"You jerk!"

"Ouch! Baby, why do you hurt me?" he laughed.

"Because I was sad!" she answered.

"And I'm sorry about that. I wanted to surprise you, not upset you!"

He gently touched her cheek.

"Now, I am here, and I'm not leaving you! 'Kay, pretty woman?"

"Okay."

He grinned.

"Now, my queen, why don't you give your beloved king a well-rewarded kiss?"

"With pleasure, your Majesty!" she laughed before pressing her lips against his.

Roman welcomed this gesture with a moan of pleasure and started to stroke her sides, sliding his hands under her shirt.

She gasped:

"Hey, slow down! Are you that hungry?"

"You have no idea, doll. I missed your touch for too long, and I want to catch up time!"

She saw the lustful sparkle in his eyes and smirked:

"In this case, we are two of us!"

She asked:

"I forgot! Where is Victor?"

"I gave him free time! He deserved it, after all!"

"So, it's just the two of us?"

"Absolutely."

He scooped her up.

"Roman, I have legs, you know?"

"Yes, but I love carrying you like a princess! Besides, consider it as a rehearsal for our honeymoon!"

"Oh My God! You're kidding!" (Y/N) laughed.

"I'm serious, darling! Now, let's have some fun! We both deserve it!"

On these words of wisdom, he walked to their room with his fiancee in his arms.

Once they arrived in the bedroom, he gently laid her down on the bed before closing the door.

Then, he topped her with a hungry smile.

"I've missed you, (Y/N)"

"I've missed you too, Roman. Kiss me, please!"

"Your wish is my command!" smirked the mobster before kissing her.

She answered the kiss feverishly, slightly moaning as he bit her lower lip.

Without interrupting the kissing, they hurriedly took off each other's clothes, impatient to feel their bare skin under the hands of their beloved one.

Within a few seconds, they were completely naked, admiring each other's beauty.

Roman started kissing her before letting his lips tracing down her body, making (Y/N) shivering with pleasure.

Chuckling, Sionis continued his little game by peppering kisses on her stomach and thighs before licking her entrance.

Gasping, she clutched his hair, making him groan.

"Hey, hold on, tigress! Do you want to scalp me?" he chuckled.

"S... Sorry!" she moaned.

"Nevermind, it's alright... Where was I? Oh yes!"

And he continued teasing her by kissing her intimate parts, tightly squeezing her sides.

(Y/N) was fogged with pleasure: she knew that Roman was an experimented lover, but Lord! He knew how to take her to cloud nine!

As for Roman, he enjoyed making her scream with pleasure: it turned him on every time. But now, he wanted to take the next step.

Withdrawing, he came back to face her again while adjusting his member near her entrance.

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with love and desire. The only sound they heard was their accelerated heartbeats and their erratic breaths that filled the room.

"You're ready?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm always ready for you, Roman." whispered (Y/N).

"That's my girl!" he chuckled as he kissed her lips before penetrating her.

When she felt him inside her, she panted before rolling her hips against his as he started thrusting.

If it was slow at first, his poundings were faster each time their hips rubbed against each other, making her cry with desire.

Roman groaned with lust as he heard (Y/N)'s voice moaning his name. Her hands scratching and holding his back made him hard: God, she was so addictive!

Tangled in the sheets, they accelerate their "dance" without stopping their cries of bliss.

Ultimately, they reached cloud nine in a last outcry of desire. Panting and tired, the lovers held each other with tenderness. (Y/N) puts her hand on Roman's chest while her beloved fiance gently stroked her hair.

The silence stopped when the young woman muttered:

"I'm so happy to have you here."

"I have noticed." chuckled the mobster as he kissed the top of her head.

He added with a soft voice:

"I've missed you too, princess."

"I have noticed, you know," she smirked.

She sighed.

"I tried to be strong, to make you proud of me."

"But babe... You don't have to prove anything to me. You're the only woman I ever dreamt of being mine forever. You are strong, confident, creative, smart, friendly, and so beautiful. I cannot be more proud of you than I am now. Otherwise, I would never choose to marry you!"

"That's true: you have a reputation for being a womanizer!"

"I used to have this reputation. Now, the only woman I ever laid my eyes on is you!"

(Y/N) raised her head and met his deep blue eyes. Usually, they were icy or fiery when he was with business partners or enemies. But when he was with her, they were soft and loving.

She was the only one who can appease the mobster - and Victor was grateful to (Y/N) for that.

The young woman smiled before kissing her lover:

"I love you, Roman."

"I love you too, (Y/N). Now, let's have some sleep, 'kay? We have a kingdom to rule, my beloved queen!"

"So, sleep well, my dear king!" she muttered before drifting away in her sleep.

"See you tomorrow... my love," he murmured before falling asleep.

As they were slipping in the arms of Morpheus, the two lovers enjoyed the presence of their significant other, finally reunited.

After all, what better place to be than home, when your beloved one is waiting for you?

🎵Songs used:🎵

🎵Coming home - P. Diddy, Skylar Grey, and Dirty Money.

🎵P.S: I love you - The Beatles.

Thank you very much for the reading!

I hope you enjoyed the story, and I’m waiting for your reviews!

Don’t hesitate to send me a request!

Take care and see you soon! 😘😘😘😷😍💖

#requests #birds of prey #roman sionis #ewan mcgregor #scarlett johansson

24 notes · View notes

ka-za-ri · 4 years

Text

Prize Pt. 3 (Finale)

Ahoy! The last part of this commission is here! It was so hard to try and fit everything my client wanted into the fic overall, so I’m sorry if it might feel a little off. I did my best to give y’all a good end product! ｡ﾟ(｡ﾉωヽ｡)ﾟ｡

Chapter Index and Obey Me! Masterlist: here Ao3 Mirror: Here Pairing: Satan x Reader Genre: Smut Wordcount: 3,700 ish Tags: Soft smut, fluffy stuff, confessions, Summary: The cards are all on the table and the game is revealed. An uncertain future is discussed and feelings are confessed.

Victory

The months following that fateful day you spent with Satan passed without much commotion. In fact, it felt as though the attempts at usurping your time had diminished since then. It was easy to fool yourself into thinking that they had simply gotten tired of the game they played. It was easier to believe they were all busy with the sudden influx of papers and projects that needed to be completed for classes or that they had other pressing matters to attend.

You didn’t think much of the fatigue or the nausea, chalking it up to having to pull multiple all-nighters in order to get things done on time. The changes in your sleep schedule were easily explained by your terrible habits; and the cravings you had for food you rarely even thought about could just be another symptom of your delusional state as you crammed as much information about Demonic History, Sociology and Sigil Writing as you could within the time allotted to you.

It wasn’t until you missed your monthly cycle more than once that you realized something was distinctly different. From the way the brothers treated you to your mood swings and the tenderness your body felt, it all started to click together. You waited another week, just in case the stress was causing you to be late, but when nothing came of it, you realized that there were certain things you needed to discuss.

“Can we study in your room?” you asked, veering from the usual path to the library and closer to the dorms. “There’s uh…some things I kinda want to discuss, but preferably not in public.”

Satan raised a brow at your request but said nothing, leading you to his room and quietly shutting the door behind him once you were safely within. You sat on his bed, staring mostly at the floor though your gaze flicked up to meet his eyes from time to time. The words you had to say were just at the tip of your tongue, but actually getting them out was going to be the hardest part.

“So, uhm…we need to talk,” you started.

“Yes, that much has been established already,” your demeanor concerned him to say the least. He pulled a chair over to sit across from you, “So, let’s talk.”

“There really isn’t a good way to say this...” you grimaced, already imagining the various tragic outcomes of what you were going to tell him, “but uh…I haven’t had my period this month.”

He blinked, processing what you were telling him. There was an unending awkward silence between the two of you that practically drove you mad. After several excruciating moments of stillness, Satan let out a deep sigh. You couldn’t interpret the meaning of his reaction and waited with bated breath for his reply.

“Is…Is that so. Is this the first time you’ve ah…missed it?” he struggled to understand your human anatomy. “Is this normal?”

“No, It’s not normal…it’s close to the second month I haven’t had it. I’m. I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.”

He blinked slowly and exhaled deeply through his nose when he heard the news. It was impossible to read his expressions. His face remained impassive for a time before he broke out into a small smile, but that was quickly dashed away and replaced once again with concern. “I…See…Well, I suppose we do need to talk...”

It was your turn to be surprised. “What do you mean?”

Satan leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap and contemplated what he was about to tell you. Things were bound to reach this point anyway, but he was still nervous. He needed to deliver the information to you in the most matter of fact fashion, yet his voice still wavered a bit. “So, you know how you were told that you’re here in an exchange program to strengthen bonds between the realms?”

“Yes...”

“Well, Diavolo was pretty serious about the strengthening bonds and relationships part.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow very well.”

Satan sighed, hating to have to go into a long lecture, but it was the only way for you to properly understand the game they had played ever since you arrived. “To be blunt, Diavolo believes that the demon population is dwindling at an unacceptable rate. In an effort to bolster the population numbers, he started this exchange program as a trial run and requested that denizens of the House of Lamentation assist in his ah…competition to, you know….” he trailed off, not sure how to further explain things.

Ah, there it was. There wasn’t a need for Satan to continue. You had suspected something from the very start, just having your suspicions confirmed laid your doubts to rest. Your gut instincts had been correct, and all the effort you put into spending time with the man in front of you had paid off. It was a winning scenario for all parties. Diavolo’s trial was a success; and you were with someone that you chose to be with, so long as the child was his.

“I see...” you nodded. “Now everything makes sense...”

“I’m, well, I guess I should apologize for all of us, we’re sorry that we didn’t tell you. Rules and everything kept us from saying anything.”

You giggled, “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I had an idea of what was going on pretty early.”

“You…you did?” Satan looked at you incredulously. He had thought he kept his end of the deal pretty well. He couldn’t speak for his brothers, but he knew for a fact that he hadn’t said anything incriminating nor did he do anything that felt obviously related to the competition.

“None of you are very good at hiding your intentions,” you shrugged, brushing his shock to the side and moving onto more pressing matters that you wanted to discuss. “How…how would you feel if you were the father of this child?”

“Me?” He could hardly believe his ears. He had played the game on the loosest terms, only interacting with you when he had to. The one time he did bed you, it had been in the heat of the moment and when he wasn’t completely himself. “As flattered as I am to hear this, I don’t know if I would be the best candidate for the father.” Even if he was completely elated at the idea, there was no confirmation that the child was his yet he couldn’t bring himself to celebrate his victory just yet. The child could belong to any one of his brothers.

“What if I want you to be the father?” you beckoned him to sit next to you on the bed, guiding his hand to your abdomen and letting him feel the life that was growing there. From there, it only took a little bit of magic to figure out if your suspicions were true. Unfurling a small tendril of magic to assess who the child might belong to. As soon as his magic made contact with the energy within you, there was no doubt in his mind it belonged to him.

“How’d you know?”

You smiled sweetly at him. “Well, let’s just say that out of all the times I’ve been with a demon, you were the only one who I let close when I was the most fertile.”

“Really? You chose me? Out of everyone else?” Realization dawned on his face when he realized you had actually played the rest of them at their own game. His face flushed with a mixture of excitement and bashfulness. He always knew he had the same chance as his brothers to win, however hearing that he had been chosen to win made his victory all the sweeter. He embraced you, tightly holding you against him and laid you down to cuddle in celebration. Satan won. Asmodeus had been first, the others had been more vocal and forward; but he was the victor in the end. It was a fact he struggled to grasp but having felt the life growing within you only confirmed it and it felt incredible.

“Yes, you,” you giggled at how incredulous he sounded. Kissing him softly on the forehead, you brushed his hair away from his eyes. “I’m glad it’s you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Satan heaved a heavy sigh of relief, the weight of guilt from hiding the competition away from you had stressed him to the point where he couldn’t sleep for many nights. Though the others had followed Diavolos orders and pursued you, he chose to let you come to him. It was a risk, but one that paid off in the end. Hearing that it was what you wanted warmed his heart, and he held onto you tightly in that relief.

The two of you laid mostly in silence together, every now and then murmuring a soft affirmation of your adoration for each other. Other than that, it was a simple, comfortable quiet you had grown accustomed to and cherished with him. You didn’t need to exchange words. Just enjoying his company was enough to have you feel satisfied and loved.

He still couldn’t get over the fact that even if none of the brothers had overtly said anything about the competition, you had been able to piece everything together on your own. There was an undeniable sexiness about how you had all of them eating out of the palm of your hand. To know that out of all his brothers, he was chosen gave him a rather smug sense of pride he couldn’t quite describe. It was easier to just show you his affection and his relief.

What was supposed to be an innocent study date turned into a serious conversation. In turn, that turned into a cuddling session once things were discussed and revealed. Everything being out in the open and on the table released so much of the tension you had been holding onto for so long that you found yourself quickly falling into a doze in Satan’s arms. His words earlier had given you so much reassurance that things would be alright. With the worst of your worries alleviated, you felt like you could properly rest for the first time in weeks.

Though, it seemed as if Satan had other ideas.

With the others out doing errands or going to meetings, it meant the whole dorm was empty; and he could be as vocal as he wanted to be when he was around you. Satan’s legs were tangled with your own, making it easy for him to roll his hips to you and let you feel just what you did to him by being close. His cock already half hard poked at your backside, and you let out a soft giggle as you were roused from your half-asleep state. “Really? This is all you can think about? Can’t we just have a cute cuddling moment here?”

“Well, how often do we get the whole place to ourselves? We can be as loud as we want and no one is here to judge.”

“Okay, well, when you put it that way, how can I resist.”

He wrapped his arms protectively over your abdomen pulling you flush against him as he peppered your neck with soft kisses. The dark mark he left weeks ago had long faded, but he wasn’t adverse to making a few more. You were now his after all. There was so much uncertainty about your future, but it would be fine as long as he was with you. Just the knowledge that he was willing to walk down that unpredictable path with you put you at ease. You sighed in content, melting into his embrace. Satan’s hands wandered away from your belly, trailing up to squeeze your tender breasts. You gasped, arching your back and inadvertently pressing your backside against the growing hardness in his pants.

He let out a soft laugh, loving how receptive your body was to all his touches. It was as if the two of you were meant to be. He wasn’t a superstitious man, but Satan couldn’t help but think meeting you was some stroke of destiny. To have you to himself like this only seemed to cement that notion in his mind.

His hips rocking into your backside became more incessant the more his need for you grew. Though it wasn’t as intense as it had been the last time, there was still an innate desire to mate with you. The kisses on your neck trailed lower to your collar bones. Satan’s hand moved from your breasts to snake under your top, easily peeling it off of you in one swift motion to reveal more skin for him to lavish with attention.

He wanted to do it properly this time, kiss you for hours on end and show you just how much he adored you. Spending so much time with you on the regular had only deepened his affections for you, and he wanted to show you that what he felt was beyond his base instincts. He had feelings past the need to claim and mate with you. He had thousands of years to temper himself into something more than a raging ball of impulse.

His hands returned to your breasts. He teased you through the fabric of your bra; and with every moan that came from your lips, you swore you could feel him grow harder. Satan’s breath felt so hot against your skin. Every kiss seemed to brand you with a heat that spread across your body before pooling between your legs. You groaned, struggling to free yourself from his grasp, but his legs around yours and his hands on your breasts kept you in place.

He made up for all the roughness last time with the sweetest kisses at your jawline and on the shell of your ear. Your nipples strained against the fabric of your bra as he continued to grope and play with your breasts until you were gasping his name, “Please… let me touch you too.”

Satan complied, if only so he could now see your face. As soon as you turned over, you pulled him into a deep kiss full of passion and lots of tongue. He hummed in approval of your enthusiasm, holding you flush against his chest. His hands wandered lower and played at the waistband of your bottoms for a brief moment while you kissed before they slid lower to rest at the swell of your ass. You were forced to break away when he abruptly gave your ass a firm squeeze. Chuckling at your surprised squeak as a result, he redoubled his efforts to work your bottoms off of you.

“Couldn’t help myself,” he poorly explained with a slight shrug.

In retaliation, your hand snaked between the two of you and fondled at the growing bulge in his pants. He let out a soft moan of appreciation once his crotch got more friction, and his hips instinctively moved to meet your touch. Satan wasn’t holding back on being vocal in his appreciation for you. With no one around to judge him, he was more than happy to let you know exactly how he felt about you. “Beautiful. Just beautiful,” he breathed in between the kisses you shared.

He maneuvered you to straddle him. In doing so, he found that he had the best view of you in this new position. With one hand firmly on your hip to keep you from going anywhere, his other hand was free to wander and explore your body as he wished. It only served to heighten his arousal as your clothed heat was constantly grinding against his hardening cock.

It was unfair how many clothes he managed to keep on when you were half naked on top of him. While his hand squeezed your breast and teased your nipple, you focused your concentration on evening the playing field. It was no easy task as every piece of clothing you managed to get off of him was reciprocated with a playful pinch of your nipple which only broke your focus. “Stop that,” you grumbled, swatting his hand away from you as you finally got the last layer of his uniform off of him.

“Stop what? Admiring you? Cherishing you? Treasuring you?” His fingers trailed lower to caress your belly. “That’s going to be hard to do.” There was nothing but love in his eyes as he came to terms with what the future with you would bring.

Hearing those words come from him made your heart flutter. The pressure of his bulge against your clothed heat also added to the emotions roiling through you. You wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to go. His hands reached once again for the waistband of your bottoms, carefully unwrapping you like a present. You were only allowed to move off of him just so he could shuck both your bottoms and your panties in one go.

Once again, you found yourself with significantly less clothing than he did. “Not fair,” you grumbled.

“Oh? Shall we even the playing field once again?” he suggested. Satan allowed you to shift off him just enough for him to navigate your hands to his pants. Your hands brushed across his abs in that motion, causing him to shiver before they started to undo the buttons and zipper to his pants. He watched your every movement, entranced at how you looked when you were concentrating. Heat simmered in his eyes, the hunger in them ever growing the more clothing you took off of him.

You decided to leave his boxers on for the time being. The power had swung in your favor this time, and you gently palmed him through the flimsy fabric. The simple action had him shivering and gasping underneath you. It was a sound you could easily get addicted to. You gave yourself the freedom to tease him a bit more, stroking his length through his boxers until he called out your name and begged for you to do more than just touch him with your hand.

“You’re beautiful,” you echoed his earlier sentiments, finally divesting him of his last garment and tossing it carelessly into the corner of his room. “Absolutely beautiful,” you breathed, crawling back on top of him and kissing him deeply. His hands flew to your hips, positioning himself to enter you. As soon as the kiss broke, he slid into you with one fluid motion.

“Fuck,” Satan hissed, his eyelids fluttering. It had been good the first time, but the energy was so different now. He had every desire to draw the moment with you out, show you just how much he cared; but as soon as he was inside, the innate need to mate and breed with you caused a haze to settle over his mind. He wanted to savor the softness while it lasted, and he strained to take even slow strokes in you.

However, seeing you on top of him, so pretty and moaning as his cock took its first few passes, broke what little control he had over his desires. He thrust into you with his hands holding you firmly in place. Everything about you was absolutely divine in his eyes. Even if heaven was locked away from him for eternity, he could at least imagine what it would be like when he was with you like this. Time didn’t matter. The competition and expectations of what was to come of your child were no longer a factor in those blissful moments.

Satan loved seeing you like this, face flushed and eyes lidded in pleasure as both of you chased your releases. He liked knowing when it was all over, you would be falling into his arms and no one else’s. It made him feel as if he could catch you from anything that happened. You were his, and that fact alone drove him into a possessive frenzy. He let his trusts run deeper, harder into you. With every breathy sigh and every moan he came closer to his climax. He could tell you were close with how your head lolled back and how vocal you had become.

“Fuck, Satan…I love you,” you whined in a moment of reckless abandon before you felt your orgasm wash over you in waves. Your vision blurred for a moment as your senses were overwhelmed with your climax.

Your words sent him over the edge. Satan’s heart soared hearing your proclamation, barely believing that you had said it at all. He gasped at the suddenness of his release. Pulling your hips down flush to his, he released his load deep within you, groaning as his balls twitched in the aftermath of such a climax. He had wanted to prolong the experience of being one with you as long as he could, but it was over all too soon.

Gently cradling you and bringing you down from your perch on top of him, Satan let you rest on top of his chest, not wanting to depart from your warm caverns just yet. His instincts also screamed to keep you filled, making sure sure that none of his seed went to waste, even if he had already impregnated you already.

“Say it again,” he murmured, stroking your hair idly as the endorphins sedated him.

“Say what again? I love you?”

“Yes. Again.”

“Okay, okay. I love you,” you admitted, blushing a bit at how often he was making you say it.

“Good. I like knowing that my love wasn’t misplaced.” His fingers in your hair trailed down to rest at your lower back, and he could feel himself drifting out of consciousness. There were too many things he still wanted to talk to you about, but the two of you had all the time in the world to figure things out together.

He hummed an old, soothing tune as he let his thoughts wander. There was still so much for you to learn about the Devildom. A visit to Diavolo would be in order as soon as possible as discussions on matters pertaining to your child were needed. Then, you would most likely need to be put on an accelerated course to make certain you know the ins and outs of Devildom customs and cultures to ensure that your child would grow up in a proper environment. He thought of the ways he could support you, outside of the obvious help in your studies. There was also the concern of the child being born from such a unique lineage. Surely there would be growing pains associated with that as well…

“Satan?” your sweet voice broke him away from his train of thought.

“Yes?”

“You’re stressed out,” you stated plainly. “Your whole body is all tense. Whatever you’re worrying about can wait, right?”

“Yes, my love,” he agreed, pulling the covers over the both of you. Whatever worries he had about the future didn’t feel so daunting, so long as you were with him.

#Obey Me! Fanfic #Obey Me! Satan #Satan x reader #Shall we date satan #Obey Me! Smut #My writing #i'm trash you're trash we're all trash

71 notes · View notes

ambiguoslyambitious · 3 years

Text

Chapter Two: Settling In

Author: ambiguoslyambitious (me!)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2,678

Summary: Bela Rivers has just spent her first night in Riverland Farm and the gravity of the work needed to maintain the farm has finally hit her. How will she manage to restore the once thriving farm back to its former glory? Meanwhile, rumors of the new farmer's rudeness has quickly spread amongst the townspeople. Will Bela be able to save her reputation? Or has her chance for a fresh start already been tarnished?

Caw-Caw!

Ugh, Bela groaned internally, burying her face in her pillow to hide from the early rays of the morning sun. There’s no way it’s already tomorrow.

After Mayor Lewis and Robin had departed from the dilapidated farm, Bela had simply thrown her luggage in the front room and thrown herself on top of the surprisingly new bed in her grandfather’s old room.

Seems like they did some renovations before I arrived. Bela thought gratefully. It didn’t take long for Bela to succumb to her dreams, her grief and long journey both taking a heavy toll on her.

Caw-Caw!

Bela groaned again, this time reluctantly pulling herself to her feet. She knew that she had several long days worth of work ahead of her and the sooner she got started the better.

She rummaged through her luggage and settled on a faded pair of ripped jeans, paired with an old t-shirt and boots. She styled her hair away from her face, taking a moment to stand over the kitchen sink and splash some cool water to remove any remnants of sleep from her eyes.

As she prepared to exit the farmhouse she noticed a dozen packets of seeds on the kitchen table with a small note next to it. Bela picked it up, feeling slightly embarrassed that she had failed to notice it sooner. It read,

Dear Bela,

This is just to help you get started. Good luck!

Mayor Lewis

Bela gave a small half-smile at the mayor’s act of kindness. It was heartwarming to experience kindness from someone who was pretty much still a stranger.

Maybe, Bela mused. Things will be different. In a good way.

She strolled out of the farmhouse, the crisp spring air nipping at her nose. She found a chest behind the house filled with old tools.

Hmm, Bela glanced out at the property riddled with overgrown grass, discarded tree branches and stones. Where do I start?

After pondering for a moment, she decided to grab the scythe. She figured clearing the grass was the easiest task to perform.

First, Bela sighed. I’ll clear out the main island and make a patch for a garden and plant the seeds Mayor Lewis gave to me. Then, I’ll clear the routes to town and up The Mountain.

With a plan in place, Bela began wildly swinging the scythe, desperate to rid the farm of the knee-length grass. Hours go by before Bela was able to completely clear the path to the farmhouse from town. She took a seat on her front steps, fully taking in the magnitude of Riverland Farms.

Shit. Bela thought to herself as she gulped down a bottle of water. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

_____________________________________________________________

“Honey,” a kind, yet tired voice called out. Caroline had just finished restocking the shelves at Pierre’s General Store. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Have fun and tell the women to drop by sometime.” Pierre responded without looking up from the register. Today had been yet another slow day as Pierre struggled to compete with the nearby Joja Mart.

Caroline grabbed her sun hat from the counter and left without another word to her husband. I wish he would spend less time worrying about the store.

She walked out of the nearly perpetually empty store to meet with her friends in the town square.

“Hello, Caroline!” a cheery voice greeted her.

“Olivia! This is perfect timing.”

“I know!” Olivia responded, strutting over to the housewife. As usual, Olivia looked as though she was heading towards a photoshoot for Forbes magazine. ”Let’s not keep Jodi waiting.”

The pair quickly made their way to the edge of the square near the cemetery, where Jodi was already standing there waiting.

“Caroline! Olivia!” Jodi smiled at them. “How is everything?”

Caroline smiled back, “Oh, Jodi, you know how it is. Same as always.”

“Oh, I’m in a lovely mood today.” Olivia waved a hand across her perfectly made face and chuckled lightly. “I’ve managed to make quite a lot of money through some of my stocks. I think I might be able to make a significant payout and hire a landscaper to help maintain the yard.”

Jodi and Caroline quickly exchanged a look. Both women were housewives, struggling to make ends meet and keep their children in line. They would never admit it, but they were both a bit jealous of Olivia’s wealth and free time.

“Now,” Olivia continued on, seemingly unperturbed by the pair’s jealousy. “If only Victor would find himself a job, then things would be perfect. How are your kids?”

“Well, Sam’s gotten himself a part-time job at Joja Mart.” Jodi answered, fidgeting with the end of her braid. She gave Caroline a sympathetic glance before continuing, “And Vincent is still having trouble focusing on his lessons with Penny. Luckily, she’s been dropping by the house to give him extra lessons."

“Ah, Adrian has been struggling with the new math Penny introduced.” Caroline said, nodding in agreement. “And Abigail’s been slacking off with her online classes ever since that new Prairie King game came out.” She shook her head in disappointment.

“Hmm,” Olivia nodded. “I think Victor mentioned that they’ve been practicing in the saloon.”

“Oh, Yoba,” Jodi rolled her eyes. “That’s all Sam’s been talking about this week. Part of the reason why he got his job was so he could get it.”

“Ah, well, at least it’s been keeping the kids busy.” Suddenly, Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “Have any of you met the new farmer?”

Caroline sighed, knowing that Olivia always changed the conversation to gossip.

“Well,” Jodi answered shyly. “I tried going to that old farm with a bean casserole to welcome her, but no one answered. I even visited Mayor Lewis to just make sure that Bela had actually moved in and he said she arrived here Monday.”

“Well, when I went over there, I saw her working out in the field.” Caroline said, as the other two leaned in closer. “But, when I tried calling out to her, she just ignored me.”

“No way!” Jodi exclaimed.

Olivia gasped in surprise, “How rude!”

“I know!” Caroline sighed. “Forgive me, Olivia, I know things in the city are different, but I didn’t expect her to outright ignore me.”

“No, I understand, Caroline.” Olivia responded. “You would think she’d be a bit more polite. Didn’t Lewis say that she was around Victor and Sam’s age?”

Jodi nodded, “You’d think a young woman like that would have had better manners.”

“Hmph,” Olivia stuck her nose up sharply. “Seems as though we have another Andy in town.”

Caroline and Jodi looked around the square quickly, happy to see it empty at this hour.

“Olivia!” Caroline chastised lightly. “You’re too blunt.”

“Yeah,” Jodi agreed. “Maybe she’s just a bit shy like Sophia.”

“Well, at least Sophia has the decency to say hello,” Olivia shot back. “People like her are the reason why people like you think people from the city are so rude.”

Caroline and Jodi shoot another glance at one another, remembering when Olivia and Victor had arrived in Pelican Town just the year before. With her extravagant looks and taste for the finer things in life, many in town had been intimidated by her and her wealth.

“Hopefully, you just caught her on a bad day, Caroline.” Jodi said, trying to give the new farmer the benefit of the doubt.

“Hopefully,” Caroline sighed. “Well, ladies, I should probably help Pierre close the shop and get dinner ready for the kids. I’ll see you all again soon.”

Jodi and Olivia nodded in agreement, each of them bidding their farewells before heading their respective ways back home.

“You know, Caroline,” Olivia said in an unusually cautious tone of voice. “Sometimes, you and Jodi are too kind for your own good.”

“Goodbye, Olivia.” Caroline gave a weak smile.

Olivia rolled her eyes playfully, “Have a good night.” Not even a minute later, Olivia was opening the door to her beautiful manor where her son sat in the kitchen, nose buried into a book as usual.

“What did I say about bringing books into the kitchen, Victor?”

“Mother,” Victor raised his eyes sheepishly. “Apologies. I was just waiting to see if you needed any help with dinner and figured I would entertain myself. I’ll bring this back to the library at once.”

“It’s all right.” Olivia smiled. “And don’t worry about dinner, I’ve already prepared something for us.”

Victor turns to return his book to the library before Olivia continues, “Wait just a moment, dear.”

“What is it, mother?” Victor furrows his eyebrows in curiosity. Hopefully, not another inquisition about my unsuccessful job search.

“Have you heard anything about the new farmer, Bela Rivers?”

“What do you mean?” Victor frowns. “I haven’t yet gotten the chance to meet her, but I assume it’s because she’s been busy fixing up that old farm.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Olivia says, turning to grab their dinner from a pot on top of the stove. “I was just curious if you’ve heard anything from any of your friends, like Abigail.”

“Abigail?” Victor asks, rolling his eyes. “Did something happen with Caroline?”

“Well,” Olivia turns around, a glint of mischief in her dark eyes. “Since you ask, Caroline mentioned that Ms. Rivers appears to be quite rude.” She eagerly scanned her son’s face in hopes of inciting a reaction.

“Rude?” Victor’s eyes widened in surprise. “How so?”

“Apparently, when Caroline went over there she spotted the new farmer working out on the field. When she tried calling out to her, she just completely ignored Caroline. Can you believe that?”

“Hmm,” Victor frowned. “Perhaps she was preoccupied.”

“Still,” Olivia rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t take much to say, ‘Hello’ or ‘I’m busy, can we talk another time?’”

“I suppose so.” Victor stroked his chin in thought. “Perhaps, I’ll head over to make my introduction.”

“I wouldn’t waste my time.” Olivia said, carefully serving a plate of spaghetti to her son. “Jodi also wasn’t able to talk to her.”

“Oh, come on, Mother. Don’t be so judgmental.” Victor gratefully accepted the plate. “And have you forgotten that she’s from Zuzu City, like we were? She might not be used to the townspeople’s friendliness. I know I wasn’t.”

Olivia sighed before taking her seat across from her son. “You may be right. If you do decide to pay her a visit, make sure to extend an invitation to dinner.”

“Of course.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Olivia said, the mischievous glint in her eye returning. “Let’s talk about your job prospects.”

_____________________________________________________________

Victor Jenkins decided to pay this mysterious farmer a visit. He decided to bring a simple wooden basket, adorned with beautiful faux green leaves, holding one of his mother’s finest, iridium-quality aged Blue Moon wines as a welcoming gift. Inside the basket, Victor had written a simple note, inviting the newest resident to Pelican Town to dinner at the Jenkins’ residence.

His mother, Olivia, was a bit apprehensive about this invitation, especially since she had heard of the newcomer’s rebuff of her friends, Caroline and Jodi.

Regardless, Victor decided to try and engage with the farmer. After ensuring that the wine was secure in the basket, he promptly exited the manor and began heading west out of town towards Riverland Farm.

Maybe , Victor pondered. This newcomer is focusing on fixing up that old farm. If she grew up in the city, perhaps she didn’t realize the importance of antiquated pleasantries in a small town like this.

He chuckled to himself, remembering how awkward it was when he and his mother first arrived in Pelican Town. Similar to the newcomer, Victor and his mother had resided in Zuzu City. He was studying engineering at the prestigious Pellcar University, while his mother worked as an accounting manager at Joja Corporation.

Hmm, Victor thought. I wonder if Ms. Rivers worked in the same department as Mother.

After about twenty minutes, the cobblestone street of the town square had morphed into a simple dirt path. As he approached Riverland Farm, he was amazed at how much had already changed on the main island. The path he was on was clear of grass and any other debris, and across the farmhouse was the beginnings of a simple strawberry patch.

It seems as though the new farmer has been quite busy, Victor noted, looking around in admiration. However, it appears that quite a lot of work still needs to be done. He noticed that there were still many large stones and fallen tree trunks littered across the property.

After surveying the field and determining that the farmer wasn’t outside working, Victor walked up the steps of the farmhouse and politely knocked, his hands rapping against the wooden door quickly, yet loudly. He waited patiently before knocking once more, a bit more urgently. This time, the door suddenly gave in.

I suppose the farmhouse is in need of maintenance as well, Victor thought, wondering what his next move should be.

Well, Victor gently pushed the door open, I do suppose the door is unlocked.

“Hello?” Victor called out, peeking his head inside the farmhouse when he heard no response. “Ms. Rivers?” His eyes swept across the room, searching for the newcomer.

“Ms. Rivers?” He called out again, cautiously stepped inside the farmhouse. “My name is Victor Jenkins. Might I ask where you are, Ms. Rivers?”

The front room was surprisingly spacious, containing only a small table, chair, television and fireplace. He looked over to the left and noticed a small kitchen, also barely decorated and only containing the simplest of appliances. To his right, he noticed a door that stood slightly opened.

That must be her bedroom, Victor thought, There’s no way she could still be asleep, is there? It’s the afternoon.

He decided to walk over and knock once more. “Ms. Rivers? Are you in there? I don’t mean to intrude.”

Once again, there was no response.

Getting slightly impatient, Victor slowly pushed the door open wider and was annoyed to see the new farmer sweeping with her back towards him.

How rude! Victor was annoyed that his mother may have been right about the new farmer. How can she act like she hasn’t heard me calling her for the past five minutes?

Victor cleared his throat loudly. “Excuse me, Ms. Rivers. Did you not hear me knocking?”

Victor looked on in astonishment as Bela continued to sweep without acknowledgement.

“Ms. Rivers,” Victor raised his voice in annoyance. “I did not want to believe the rumors, however, you are acting just as rude as the townspeople have described you. How disappointing!”

Bela swept whatever dust she had managed to collect into a dust pan, finally turning to see a stranger in her doorway. She dropped her dust pan, screaming in fear. She gripped her broom with both hands tightly, pointing it at a man whose face changed from an expression of annoyance to one of fear and confusion.

‘“Who are you?!” Bela screamed, waving the broom threateningly.

She didn’t hear me? Victor thought in confusion. He looked at the angry and scared farmer, realizing that she must be deaf.

“My name is Victor,” he said slowly, taking extra care to emphasize each word. “I live in Pelican Town.”

Bela’s face burned bright red in embarrassment as she promptly lowered her broom. She raised her hand in a waiting gesture, before looking around the room for her hearing aids. She hadn’t worn them in days since she had been spending most of the time working in the field and didn’t think she needed to.

“I-I’m sorry, Victor,” Bela apologized, the red refusing to leave her face. “But, how did you get in here?”

“I’m afraid that your door was unlocked, Ms. Rivers.” Victor answered sheepishly. Now that the farmer was no longer threatening him with cleaning supplies, he couldn’t help but notice her beauty.

“Bela. Just call me Bela.” She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Well, Bela,” Victor raised the arm holding the basket, “Welcome to Pelican Town.”

15 notes · View notes

dajaregambler · 3 years

Text

HeliosR - Keith Max Card story “Worried old man Keith”

Translation of Keith Max’s 3* “The Night Pool Party” card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Little Faith: I dun wannaaaaaa~! I wanna play games~~

Faith: So annoying…. Don’t go around throwing a tantrum now….

Junior: Ain’t it fine, Shitty DJ. We got games here anyway, so he’ll be quiet if we let him play, yeah?

Faith: Haah? You can’t just easily let a spoiled kid like this do what he wa--

Little Faith: There’s games!?

Junior: Hell yeah★ It’s not one of ‘em new ones but… I’ll go get it

Faith: Wha- ….Ochibi-chan! Wait a sec!

Little Faith: Uwaah, so fun...♪

Keith: Geez, all of ya are running around and making a ruckus. Makes you wonder who’s the brat here…

Little Faith: ……...

Keith: ….Mh?

Little Faith: !

Keith: (...Did he, just blatantly look away?)

Jack: “It seems that he got intimidated by seeing Keith. Please look a bit more cheerful.”

Jacqueline: “A happy smile is important-nano! Especially in front of a tiny child, if you don’t smile it’s no good!”

Keith: (Uum, uuhuuh…)

Keith: Is...is there anything ya wanna drink~? Ah, just so you know, can’t give ya any alcohol okay~?

Little Faith: …….

Keith: There’s no need to be afraid of this ol’ man here~~? Look…. happy happy smile~♪

Little Faith: ………..

Keith: (Wha- He ran away!?)

Keith: (I was all smiley to him and yet it had the opposite effect….!)

Keith: (Actually, the hell’s up with “ol’ man”!? Never thought something like that would come outta my own mouth…)

Junior: Ooooi, Chibi DJ! I got that game here♪

Little Faith: !!

Faith: Sigh…. Ochibi-chan will have to act if he starts acting selfishly or throwing tantrums, because I don’t know what to do anymore at this point

Faith: Eh, Keith? What are you looking so defeated for?

Keith: Huuh~? I ain’t though~?

Keith: I’mma, head off to the prof’s lab for a bit. Wanna ask ‘bout that machine… you guys behave and play nicely, got it

Faith: …..?

Keith: Oooi, prof. I’m coming i-

Nova: Nuhuuuuuuh~! I dun’ wanna, I dun’ wanna take a bweak~~!

Jack: You must! I beg of you to take a break and quietly listen to what I have to say

Nova: NoooOOooOOooo~!!!!!!!

Keith: Wh-what the….?

Nova: Ah man~ I showed you something embarrassing. Sorry, Keith-kun

Keith: Nah… My bad for walking in when you’re this busy

Keith: Came to see how the machine reparations and investigation is going but… Already got most of it, so I’ll just go back

Jack: No need to. You may take it easy here, Keith

Jack: Nova finally took a break thanks to you coming here. Please, have some coffee together.

Keith: …….

Nova: ----I see~ So, you ended up calling that boy “Little Faith”-kun

Nova: That’s a pretty good name for him. Although I prefer Jack’s “Pocket-sized Faith”-kun more~♪

Keith: Still, taking care of some kid is seriously hard. I knew what it was gonna be like so I didn’t want to take ‘em in...

Keith: It's a hundred times more of a pain in the ass than I thought to take care of him, to the point of it being absurdly tiring….

Nova: Ahaha, got your hands full, eh~

Keith: Well, the other’s are good with that, I just sit by and do nothing

Keith: That lil’ Faith’s still scared just by seeing me though...

Nova: Oh no, that hasn’t changed?

Keith: ….I did my best and tried to smile like Jack and all told me to, yeah?

Keith: But it didn’t work out at all, if anything he ended up running away

Nova: Uwah…. That must’ve been heart-breaking….

Nova: It was suuuuuuuch a big shock for me I had hurt Marion’s feelings and he ignored me when he was little!

Nova: I had panicked because I didn’t understand why, and then begged Victor to give me advice...

Jack: What had Victor said?

Nova: For the most part it was advice containing information he got based on general theories, psychology and the like.

Nova: In the end, after trying various things, Marion came to me and apologized, saying “Sorry for ignoring you”...

Nova: We hugged each other reaaaal tightly, and both burst out in tears…. Fufu, it’s still nice to think of♪

Keith: Naw well, that’s only something you and Marion could do

Jack: No, perhaps that might be wrong

Keith & Nova: Huh?

Jack: Despite Nova’s appearance he is easily loved by children. With the exception of Marion, there’s also the children of his acquaintances and those in town that are quick to get along with him, isn’t it so?

Nova: Aah, now that you mention it, that might be it? I did notice I was being treated as a friend rather than an adult

Nova: Like I’m poked fun at and taken care of…. even though I’m an old man who’s age is showing~?

Keith: Dunno ‘bout that… That tantrum from earlier wasn’t all too different from Little Faith’s

Jack: Keith, how about trying it out too?

Keith: ...Eeh?

Jack: Your behaviour might be too “adult”-like

Jack: Why don’t you try to deceive him by following Nova’s example?

Keith: Nah, naw, there’s no need to…

---The next morning

Little Faith: Leonard-oniichan! I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth!

Junior: Ooh, how good of you. Then, guess we’ll continue playing that game

Little Faith: Yaay♪

Keith: ……….

Faith: Haah, games in the morning again….? Ochibi-chan’s totally way too soft with him

Faith: Keith, bathroom’s open. Did you wash yourself yet?

Keith: ……..

Faith: Keith? Are you listening?

Keith: NoOOooOoO~! I dun’ wanna, I dun wanna wash my fwace~~~!!

Faith & Junior: !!!!???

Keith: ……………

Junior: Are… are you okay, Keith?

Keith: ….Hm?

Faith: Just how much did you have to drink this early in the morning? This is seriously scary, I’ll go get Dino…

Keith: !? Wait that’s not-, I ain’t dru-

Junior: Chibi DJ, don’t look at this. Ignore it, ignore all of it.

Little Faith: Yeah, okay….

Keith: Why!!!???

Keith: Why did it turn out like thiiiiiiiis-!?

#heliosR #helios rising heroes #keith max #faith beams #leonard wright jr.

25 notes · View notes

kosmosguk · 4 years

Text

You. Me. Us| Yandere Jimin x Reader

[Summary: The handsome guy you meet briefly in a bookstore is intent on intertwining his fate with yours, although his methods themselves are unorthodox. After all, he’s intent on his belief that in the end, it’s you. Him. And the word Us. And it doesn’t matter how he gets to the ending he deserves.]

Type: Horror/Thriller fic

Warnings: Yandere themes, stalking, masturbation, voyeurism with no consent from one party, brief mentions of alcohol, near-death experience, obsessive behaviors painted as normal

A/N: based on the tv show You, so credit goes to the show and its producers! I didn’t vibe with the second season that came out yesterday so I decided to write a fic based on the first season but with a different ending. This is the first part, and if it goes well, I’ll update other parts!

December 27, 4:33PM

He had met you on that day, a cold gray day in the unforgiving city of Seoul. Two days after Christmas, Jimin remembers how frigid the city was as the warmth of the holiday season seeped away. He remembers every detail about that afternoon, that meeting; hell, he remembers every detail about you.

You’re soulmates. Lovers cast by the stars of the universe and molded with brushings of stardust. It’s inevitable that he had seen you, that he had met you.

Pretty, with wide eyes shadowed by long, curled lashes. Rosy lips arched in a pleasant curve. A scarf--he remembers the color: crimson, like blood roses--loosely circled around your delicate neck. You, you were perfect.

"Hey," you had called to him. Had spoken to him. Did he even deserve to be witnessing you, the you that glowed in this worn down bookstore in Seoul?

"Hello?" he heard you speak again, like cold water splashing on him, and he blinked his vision clear.

You smiled gently, a little shyly as you met his gaze. "Is this book any good?"

He cleared his throat, flitting his gaze to the worn book you had in hand. "Yes. Victor Hugo, a classic. Although it gets a little tedious sometimes to read, it's amazing to see how major issues from the 19th century can still be applicable to modern times. That and the way he manages to describe societal anguish in a poetic manner leaves a feeling of satisfaction."

His voice trailed off. Shit, he did it again; he talked on and on about something that people as pretty as you most likely didn't care about. You must be bored, must see him as boring.

But instead, your smile grew just a little bit bigger. "This sounds interesting. I'll take it."

And Jimin felt his heart speed up a little bit more. This, you, him. It must be destined.

December 27, 8:41PM

You're a writer. He can't help but notice the bundles of paper delicately clipped together in your bag when you open it to find your wallet.

And he also can't help it when he catches your name when you answer a call. It seems that he can't help a lot of things when it comes to you.

He looks you up on social media first. Instagram. Facebook. Snapchat. Twitter. Hell, even Tumblr. It's advantageous for him that you use the same username for each social media platform.

Spending some time with friends to take my mind off of writer's block. The caption follows a shot of drinks, glistening in the low light of a bar, lined up on a table. There are three people tagged. He makes a mental note to look at their profiles later.

Wishing I was back in the sun. It's a shot of you in a bikini, lying underneath the golden sun. He can't help but feel a little jealous that all of these people--218 according to the likes on your post--get to witness your body like this. But it's okay, he tells himself. This was posted months ago, long before you met him, someone who looks past superficial aspects.

He scrolls until his thumbs grow tired. As he turns off his laptop, he can't help but feel a little disappointed that you haven't posted anything, not even a short hinting tweet, about the cute guy you met at a bookstore.

He remembers your latest tweet, posted 2 minutes ago. You're at a bar celebrating your friend's birthday. He decides that a peek or two won't do any harm. Besides, he's only there to make sure you're safe.

His cap is pressed over gray-dyed hair, and he's in clothes that will allow him to blend into the crowd. A girl sidles up to him, resting her hand on his shoulder flirtatiously. He shrugs it off; she's not you after all. The girl, obviously more than a little tipsy, gets up and stumbles away.

He sits in a place that allows him to see and hear you, but he's not too close so that you can see him.

"Minyoung! Happy birthday!" he can hear your voice, high-pitched and bubbly. It's a lot different from the voice you had used in the bookstore. He can't help but feel just a little prideful that he knows the real you more than your supposed friends do.

He remembers Minyoung from her Instagram profile. Minyoung herself, with 2K followers, is pretty with a straight small nose and cropped hair dyed neon green, but in a phony way that leaves him swallowing bile. She doesn't deserve you, and she especially doesn't deserve the expensive gift. You'll be lucky to get something a quarter as expensive for your birthday; he knows your friends almost as well as he knows you. And he also knows that they don't deserve you.

"Bitch, you didn't!" Minyoung tears through your delicate wrapping with sharp and long acrylic nails. Jimin can't help but wince from his seat.

"She did! Flexing on us, huh, babe," your next friend he recalls is named Ji-Ah. She's the kind of phony pretty that Minyoung is too, with long brown curls and glossy lips. Jimin thinks he hates her almost as much as he hates Minyoung.

You smile, though he notices how it's just a little strained, and he feels anger as he watches Miyoung toss your gift on the table without even as much as a thank you. Fuck Ji-Ah, Jimin doesn't think he hates anyone as much as he hates Minyoung.

Your gift, one you poured care in, cast aside. You are an angel. Your "friends" don't deserve to be in your presence, let alone receive a gift from you. Jimin's clenches his hands, and when he relaxes them, there are crescent-shaped indents, drops of blood smeared on pale skin.

"Come on, let's move to a club! This bar is so fucking boring," Minyoung coos after she’s done opening her gifts.

You shake your head. "I have to work early tomorrow and a manuscript to write. I’m so sorry, but have a fun time without me!"

"Boo! Don't be a boring bitch," Ji-Ah sticks her tongue out as she gets up and walks off with Minyoung.

It only leaves you and your last friend. Haeun looks the least fake of your friends, but Jimin knows that she's the same level as them. Rich. Fake. Obnoxious. Only using you.

"(Y/N), why did you buy that for her? You know you can't afford it. Minyoung doesn't deserve that at all. Next time, if you need money, just ask me," Haeun pushes her long black hair fixed in a high ponytail off her shoulder as she gets up to leave. You just force a smile as Haeun sidles away. The smile drops when none of your friends can see you anymore.

Condescending isn't she. You really know how to pick your friends.

You take the nearest glass of alcohol and pour it back rapidly. When you've swallowed it all and wiped your mouth, you pull on your jacket and leave the bar. Jimin follows behind you, your silent protector in a bitterly empty world.

You wander into the train station. A nearby drunkard tries to accost you, and Jimin makes a move towards you. You manage to fend the drunkard off before Jimin can be your hero, but your phone slips out of your already shaky grip and falls onto the tracks.

You stumble into the tracks. Jimin rushes towards you. You grab your phone and stand up as the train whistles begin to grow nearer, and Jimin watches as your eyes blow wide, frantic as tears drip down your cheeks.

"Take my hand!" he yells over the sound of the train. You look up, your eyes bleary, and grab his hand. He hoists you up as the lights of the train glow brighter.

"Um," you manage to sputter as you try to grab ahold of yourself," Thank you."

Your hazy eyes focus on Jimin and clear a little. "Oh! Bookstore guy!"

You look adorable like this, hair slightly messy and lips parted in confusion. Jimin's heart tugs a little. God, he's already fallen for you so deep.

That moment fades as your cheeks puff a little, and you vomit over his shoes and the bottom of his pants.

He finds himself in a taxi cab, his shoes in a plastic bag next to him, as you snore softly by his side, having passed out after telling him your address. He catches sight of your phone, the case dirty from its fall into the tracks.

You won't mind if he just...peeks, do you? He acts before he can think, grabbing your phone and fiddling around with it. Perfect, now he'll be able to watch everything you do on it. He feels a little guilty, but the train incident proves that you need him just as much as he needs you. He sets the phone back down next to you. It looks like nothing has happened, but Jimin knows better.

The taxi rolls to a stop in front of an apartment building. He reaches out to nudge you awake, but you're already blinking glossy eyes open before he can.

"Thank you," you say before your mouth falls open," Oh my God, I threw up on you. I threw up on you; that's so fucking embarrassing! Here, uh, my phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. Call me, and I'll, um, get you new shoes."

"It's fine, really. These shoes were getting old anyway, and I needed a new pair of shoes soon. How about a drink instead?" Jimin beams in a way that has swooned the hearts of many, crinkling his eyes into upside-down crescents. You smile back at him as you get out.

"Sounds good! Just text me when!"

The taxi door shuts behind you. Jimin is left temporarily breathless. Just like he thought, you’re meant to be together.

When you get into your apartment and look back out, the taxi is gone. You can't help but feel a little guilty that you hadn't done much for your savior after he had done so much for you.

A knock bangs on your door, and you look at who it is.

"God, leave me fucking alone, Seojun," you spit out, sliding open the door. Seojun’s standing there, his body swaying slightly; he can barely stand straight.

"I'm sorry, babe! I swear to God nothing happened with me and her," your ex-boyfriend sputters out. He smells of booze; you’re not surprised.

"So you tripped and your dick somehow managed to land in her mouth; don't be a fucking lying cunt, Choi," you bristle, making a move to slam the door.

"Baby, baby, listen to me," Seojun steps in closer before you can, sliding his hands onto the curve of your waist," She didn't mean anything. I've missed you. I’ve missed the way you feel, baby. My cock misses the way you squeeze down on me. Aren’t you lonely, baby?’’

You hesitate before pushing him off of you and slamming the door shut on him. "God, don’t fucking talk to me anymore. Just leave me alone, Choi. Don't come back."

You hear boots scraping against the pavement as he walks away from your door and hopefully out of your life. He always was and always will be an asshole. You had dated him for the fun of it after he made a move on you at a party, and all of your friends had insisted that you ‘’try him out,’’ whatever the fuck that meant.

But still, his words make you remember just how lonely and untouched you are.

Sagging against your sofa in front of your window, you push your pants down your hips, spreading your legs apart slightly as your hands slide down your body. Your fingers circle your clit, quick, short movements that leave you quivering slightly and clenching down on empty air.

You think of the guy from the bookstore. His handsome features with his sharp facial structure, puffy eyes, and rosy plump lips. He’s ethereal, a fairy. His voice was soft and just a bit high pitched. You think of how tempting he looked, clad in a soft sweater and dark jeans that showed off his thighs and ass. You bite your lip as your thighs close around your arm.

You come with a cracking moan, your eyes fluttering shut as you shake slightly from the pleasure.

You sail down from your peak, crashing back into sobriety that leaves you feeling more empty and more guilty. God, you really are pathetic, aren't you? Fucking yourself to a guy you barely even know, barely even talked to.

Wiping your fingers on a tissue and pulling your pants back up, you stand up and walk away from your spot by the window, having forgotten that you had left the curtains open.

Jimin had seen the whole thing from his hidden spot across the street, and he softly moans to himself as he rubs himself hard through his jeans. Fuck, you look so, so pretty when you come. If only you weren't thinking about that jerk ass who had come to your door.

Jimin comes hard, groaning softly into the fabric of his coat as images of fucking you and how good he would make you feel overtake his mind. He sags against the rough brick wall of the building across from yours, his chest heaving, and he makes up his mind right then and there.

He would do something to make you forget about that jerk ass. He would do anything for you after all.

Choi Seojun, the man plastered over your Twitter for a solid six months, would be hard to get rid of, with his status as an esteemed rich party boy and your ex-boyfriend.

But for you, Jimin would do anything.

After all, in the end, it was you. Him. And the word Us.

#yandere jimin #yandere lemon #yandere bts #bts jimin #park jimin x reader #jimin x reader #yandere jimin x reader #yandere #yandere au #yandere fic #yandere reader insert #bts au #jimin fanfic #yandere jimin fic #bts horror #bts lemon

442 notes · View notes

eliicries · 3 years

Text

This is my first time ever writing a proper fanfic and also my first time posting it online. Criticisms are very much welcome. This is my alternative ending to the cartoon series "Clone High" (you guys should check it out, it's pretty great!) I love this pairing so much but I hated how they ended up sleeping together because I've always believed in character development and the ending felt like it wasted a good opportunity to do so.

_________________________________________

Enchanted (a joanfk fanfic)

How did it come to this?

Two bodies pressed against each other, one of which is hovering above it's counterpart, hot and eager to make contact. Then the other, whom lies beneath them writhing in discomfort yet somewhat obvious pleasure.

Never in Joan's life had she imagined herself being the latter in such an obscene situation.

Well atleast not with somebody else other than her bestfriend and absolutely not, emphasis on the word "not", with the certain campus playboy she used to avoid like a plague.

Heck, if someone told her last night that she would end up sleeping with JFK, she would've laughed her ass off for solid 10 minutes! Then proceed to sock their teeth off for even suggesting such an absurd idea.

But as she felt his breath fan against her bare neck, she felt her own hitch.

His lips met with her flushed skin and in their wake, left along little trails of pleasure of which accumulated into an emotion something else entirely.

Guilt.

It seeped into her flesh and gnawed upon her being.

Yet the feeling of betrayal against one's morals only increased tenfold when she made no protest to stop the male from completely lifting her shirt off.

Oh God, She actually moaned.

The himbo was not to be blamed of course. His previous advances had always been outright rejected, so as ecstatic as he was, her sudden change of heart confused him. An even bigger surprise to the both of them was when it was her who initiated the idea.

It's not like her to act like this. Was she really that frustrated beyond rational thoughts?

To make things even worse, it wasn't only the disappointment she has towards herself that's weighing on her mind but also of another person very much important to her.

Abe.

They've known each other since like forever.

Now, what would be a better way to ruin a good natured friendship other than one of them developing feelings for the other?

Just to her luck, she had to be the one who does the falling, whilst her companion seemed less than eager to catch her.

As if it's the universe's way to spite her, Abe suddenly decided to date someone else.

And of course, it just had to be none other than Cleo-fhking-patra.

Seeing them together at the school campus in a daily basis was already bad enough, now living under the same roof as her and all---she also had to suffer listening through the sloppy noises they make whenever they're eating their faces off.

She swears to god everytime cleo glances at her with that look of victor in her eyes, her blood boils so much. Oh, if only she was given an opportunity to poke them out with a fork.

Then, in a final attempt to win him over, Joan had to walk around wearing those god-forbid clothes and laugh in that shrill god-awful tone.

Yet to no avail, her feelings are still unreciprocated.

In the end even as a giggling vapid slut, Abe still chose Cleo over her.

Just like he always did.

He even seemed supportive with her hookup with JFK.

Another fuel added to the fire.

Now she felt really silly exerting all those efforts just for his approval.

She always berates Cleo for being such a slut but is she really better after how desperate she acted?

Maybe if only she'd been straight forward with him from the start, things would've ended in her favor.

Or perhaps it was wrong of her to seek reciprocity. Love, after all should be unconditional.

Either way, it's too late now.

She's so pathetic.

Suddenly a voice called out to her, a sudden ripple in her stream of thoughts, breaking her out from of her stupor.

Looking sideways, her eyes met with familiar droopy ones.

She hadn't even noticed that he had stopped moving a little while ago.

"H-huh?"

"Are you er, uh, alright?"

Oh. That's right.

She was with JFK, and they were about to have sex with each other.

"You were-uh, crying."

Immediately, she brought a hand to her cheek and felt the said liquid trailing down her cheeks.

Shuddering as she finally realized she was not only physically bare, but now also emotionally.

Great.

She atleast expected an expression of dissatisfaction from him, but the male said nothing and merely looked at her. Probably dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events.

The room was quiet except for her soft sniffles.

He seemed to fiddle with the bedsheets for a while before finally deciding to move closer to her.

"Can I er, touch you?"

Expecting him to continue on where they left but too tired to even protest, she made no movement whatsoever to stop the male. They might as well finish what they've started even tho the thought made her want to shut her eyes.

She was surprised however, when she felt his arms wrapping around her, securing her into a hug.

She turned to look at him, perplexed by the sudden act of affection that he is displaying.

"Did it not feel good?"

Ah, there he is.

Of course, It was just about his ego. How foolish of her to think that he, even for a bit, cared about her.

She tried to squirm away from his grip, her fists meeting with his chest. The male took this as a sign to loosen his hold of her but not as much to completely let go of her.

"I did something wrong didn't I?"

Her body suddenly ceased it's erratic movements. She turned to look at him, searching through his face for any signs of deception which instead, only offered a genuine expression of worry.

He was blaming himself.

He actually thought it was his fault that she was crying. That's why he stopped.

"I, er, um sorry.."

If she was already crying before, then she was definitely bawling her eyes out right now.

"N-no! It's not your fault i--why did you stop?" She exclaimed in between sobs. His hand settled itself on her waist while his other one made it's way to her hair, combing them in a way that's supposed to be therapeutic.

"There, there.."

"I wanted this, Kennedy! Isn't this what you also wanted?"

"Sure I do, but not when you're uh, like this." She lets out another sob. "Besides, If I do make you cry it's going to be for an entirely different reason, if you get my meaning."

"S-shut up.."

He suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at her causing her to roll her eyes. Normally, she would've been irked by his usual comments like this, but tonight must be a different case. They seemed to give her a weird sense of normalcy, and that somehow comforts her.

Her sudden movement made the male flinch, as if anticipating another punch for his pesky remarks, he was relieved however, when Joan just readjusted her head to lean into his chest more properly.

She found this actions of his comical, cute even if she dares, and she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

"Have you calmed down now?"

"Yes, thanks Kennedy."

Silence enveloped the both of them for a while before Jfk decided to speak again.

"You know, this suddenly reminds him."

She hummed in acknowledgement.

"Uh, Lincoln."

"Oh."

JFK didn't fail to notice the weak croak in her voice.

"Yeah, it was around that time poncey died. It was just kinda like this, except ya' know, we weren't both naked."

She felt his chest rumble as both of them let out a chuckle, hers a bit stiffled from burrying her face into them further. Muttering, "That sounds just like him.." In a barely audible voice.

No words were exchanged afterwards. Silence embraced the room once again, the same way his arms did around her body. Warm and in contrast to the air outside---inviting.

The moon illuminated the dim room seemingly to say it's hello.

So she took the opportunity to get a good look at his face. There she could makeout the subtle movement of his nostrils as he breathes.

Inhale, exhale, Inhale, exhale, Inhale..

Till she found herself unconsciously moving to the same rhythm.

His eyes she noticed, are now droopier. As his upper lashes seeked to meet with his lower ones but never actually closed them as they were fixated onto her. Only now was she able to acknowledge the kindness she failed to notice that they seemed to always have.

Then his lips, which in contrast to the usual smirk he parades around campus, lost all it's cockiness and is now ghosting a faint smile.

He looked so endearing right now that she could only sigh.

Was this really the same guy who used to shove other kids into lockers before? The same one who used to view women as mere objects meant to gratify sensual pleasure?

I guess grief from Ponce's death did change him in ways even he is not aware of.

Or maybe, he's just not a complete asshole as she thought him to be.

It could also be that she's just lonely and desperate for any act of kindness so she clung into them when given. That would explain how she got into this situation in the first place.

But whatever the answer may be, there are two things that Joan is now sure of:

One, no one is irredeemable.

And two, the male never looked as much enchanting to her right now as he ever did before.

#joanfk #joan #JFK #Clonehigh #himbo #goth

6 notes · View notes

hedwigstalons · 4 years

Text

High Expectations - Ch22

Next instalment of the military boys for you with WASP!Gordon and Air Force!Scott. Lots of love and thanks to @willow-salix for putting up with my musings, moaning and general self doubt.

Earlier parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One

AO3 chapter link

Chapter Twenty-Two

The bar was dark and packed to bursting point. Gordon nursed a juice while keeping half an eye on the door for Scott. It was probably just as well that the army had been allocated a different bar he reflected, he wasn’t sure many more bodies could safely squeeze into the already crowded space. The US Army, buoyed by being on home turf, had scraped a narrow victory in the competition and the walk from the barracks had been accompanied by the sounds of celebration from across the base as the resident personnel decided to toast the victors. In light of this the event organisers had decided it was perhaps wise to keep the visitors separate from their hosts, a winning team could get a little over enthusiastic in their celebrations, especially with an entire base full of compatriots on hand to buy them drinks. It meant that the designated non-Army bar was crowded but at least Gordon knew he and Scott would definitely end up at the same place.

Ordinarily he would be in the thick of the action after an event. Before, the short time between the end of a competition and heading home had been one of the few points in his life when he was free of responsibilities and obligations and he usually took full advantage of the freedom. His misspent youth could be carefully plotted out on a calendar in regimented bursts around his swimming commitments before the daily realities of training, school and looking after Alan kicked back in.

Tonight he wasn’t in the mood for indulging in a few hours of hedonism, especially after Scott’s prior warnings about underage drinking and military police not making for a happy combination; it wasn’t worth risking his fledgling career for. The more physical pleasures that often followed a competition were also off the cards in a shared dormitory of strangers. Most of those present though didn’t fall under the state’s age restriction and the alcohol was flowing freely. A glass thudded down on the table in front of him, slopping some of the contents onto the already sticky table.

“Get that down you, Tracy. You earned it.” The sound drew his eyes away from the door and back to the table of WASPs around him. He hoped Scott would turn up soon, after the swimming was over he’d managed to avoid the cretins he’d had the misfortune of being thrown into the pool with but with everyone confined to one place there was no escape. Not all of WASP fell into the obnoxious category but there were a few individuals that he was quite glad he’d be unlikely to cross paths with ever again.

“I’m good, thanks.” He nodded towards his own glass, still half full of apple juice.

“Ah, c’mon, you’re off duty.” An uncoordinated hand slapped him on the shoulder, jolting him forwards with the force of it. WASP might not have won the competition but they hadn’t done badly and a sizable chunk of the points had come from Gordon’s success in the pool. Points that were being celebrated with a few too many beers and a fair quantity of hard liquor. “Lighten up a little.”

The glass was shoved closer, nearly falling off the edge of the table into his lap. He wasn’t too sure what was in it but it sure as hell wasn’t apple juice; from some of the sniggerings and mutterings and looking at who had supplied the drink he strongly suspected the glass contained a lethal mix for the sole purpose of getting him blind drunk.

“He said he’s fine.” A hand reached down and covered the glass, dragging it away towards the middle of the table with a scraping sound.

Gordon looked up, then up further. Scott towered over the table, exuding an air of command even during his down time. Blue eyes were set into what Gordon clearly recognised as protective mode, his mouth thin and his jaw clenched, daring those at the table to challenge him. Grateful though he was to have his brother finally show up he really didn’t need Scott to antagonise the rest of his team over one drink that he’d had no intention of touching anyway.

“Sorry folks, family reunion time. I’m sure one of you can put that drink to good use,” he flashed a placating grin as he quickly stood up and stepped away from the table, drawing Scott away before tempers could flare. Those that hadn’t been at the pool were looking a little bemused at Scott’s sudden arrival and departure which must have come across as fairly rude but Gordon could already feel the tension from the swimmers who had butted heads with his brother before and he was keen to avoid an argument. “Do you have to rub everyone up the wrong way?” he asked when they were finally clear of the WASP delegation.

“They’re idiots, and drunk ones at that.” Scott was in no mood to suffer fools, he’d had enough of that already for one day.

“I know, but you’re late and I didn’t really have anywhere else to wait. And they aren’t all idiots, there’s just a few bad apples on the team.”

“If you say so. What the hell was in that drink anyway?”

“No idea, but I had no intention of finding out. I could have handled that by myself you know.”

“Sorry, I should have trusted you.” Scott at least had the decency to look a little shame faced, sometimes it was hard to remember that Gordon was no longer a kid and was capable of making his own decisions, usually the right ones. “I just know what it can be like, the military can be a bit heavy handed with the drink when it’s in the mood. Speaking of which, do you mind if I grab a beer?”

“Go for it,” Gordon shrugged, just because he was sticking to juice didn’t mean his brother had to.

Scott gave a grateful nod and worked his way towards the bar, his movements still stiff and tense. He ordered a beer and knocked the whole lot back in record time before leaving the empty bottle on the counter top.

“Jeez Scott, is everything okay?” The ferociousness with which Scott attacked the drink had surprised Gordon and he sensed that Scott’s mood wasn’t just down to his encounter with the WASP team. The man before him certainly wasn’t the carefree brother he’d enjoyed sparring against just a few hours earlier.

“I’m fine. Can we get out of here?” the tone suggested Scott was anything but fine.

“Sure,” he nodded, following on in Scott’s wake as they made their way to the exit. Once they reached the cool night air Gordon tried again, it was clear from Scott’s bearing that something was bothering him. “Now are you going to tell me why you’re storming round like a thunder cloud?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Bullshit, Scott. You show up late looking like you’re spoiling for a fight then knock back a drink at mach 3. You either tell me what’s going on or I’ll set Virgil on you.”

Scott grimaced but he could tell from Gordon’s expression that he was deadly serious. At least Gordon was likely to have some understanding and sympathy whereas with Virgil he risked being subjected to an anti-military guilt trip and he definitely wasn’t in the mood for that. Normally his immediate younger sibling would be his sounding board but on this their opposing views were likely to be a stumbling block, no matter how well intentioned his brother's counsel might be.

“Not here,” the area immediately outside the bar was busy with people taking a break from the heat and crowds inside and there were a few too many Air Force personnel around for his liking, “let’s take a walk.”

They headed off into the darkness, their subconscious steps leading them by mutual consent towards the nearby athletics track. The bleachers were empty in stark contrast to the crowds of the previous day and the whole area was shadowy with just a few security lights illuminating the gates. They settled onto the hard planks and took a few moments to just sit quietly in the darkness.

It was Gordon who cracked first, the slumped shoulders and stony expression worn by his brother were still a cause for concern. Scott looked tired and not just in the purely physical sense.

“So spill, how come you were so late tonight?”

“Just had to deal with some stuff from my CO.”

“Still not gelling with the new guy?” He had been treated to a few choice words in the past about Scott’s thoughts on his Commander and they were far from complimentary.

“Not that new anymore. But no, he still doesn’t trust me to lead my unit and questions my every decision. I guess the feeling’s mutual though.”

“How so?”

“His orders are...urgh.” He dropped his head into his hands for a moment, his fingers carding through his hair in agitation, before straightening and gazing unseeingly over the empty track. “My last mission, it was a complete disaster. Pretty much everything I predicted would happen, did, but when I tried to talk to him about it before we flew out I just got shot down,” there was a heavy pause, “just like two of my unit,” Scott muttered darkly.

“Ouch,” Gordon winced. “I didn’t hear about that; must have been reported while I was on the subs, it can be hard to keep up with the news down there.”

“It wasn’t reported. The whole mission was top secret, even the guys’ families think they were on some training exercise that went wrong. Look, I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this.” He turned towards Gordon and even in the darkness the silent plea could be seen.

“Understood,” Gordon tried to reassure him. He knew there would probably be times in the future when he needed to speak to someone outside of the service despite it being against orders and if you couldn’t trust family, who could you trust? “Whatever you say goes no further.” This moment was between him and Scott, one serving brother to another, and he could feel his shift in status from dependent child to equal.

“Thanks.” The quiet nod that accompanied it conveyed a depth of feeling that showed just how much Scott was dealing with. “You always hear rumours about the secret stuff and you think it’s going to be all exciting, but the reality is...it’s bad. This isn’t what I joined up for. The guys from my unit weren’t the only casualties either, there were civilians in the area, innocent people who had no choice in all this. Collateral damage is how my CO referred to them, callous bastard.”

It was the first time Scott had spoken to anyone outside of his immediate unit about the mission and the relief at being able to criticise the orders without reprimand was palpable. He’d been on the other side of this conversation a couple of times as some of the men and women who served under him had felt the need to talk but he’d always been the listening ear and had always been required to respond on party lines, that the sacrifices were worth it for the bigger picture, despite his desire to scream that he’d thought it was a fool's errand and that he hadn’t wanted to lead them into danger. But none of them had been given a choice, it was a case of fly or be court martialed. Now, with the lives of those who trusted him on his conscience, he wondered if court martial would have been the better option.

Gordon sat in silence, realising that what his brother really needed was someone to just listen as he worked through his own thoughts. His own meagre service history, still in the early stages, had him completely devoid of experience in the field of combat and the moral minefield it could evidently come with. In the deep shadows of the stands Gordon could almost feel the ghosts that haunted his brother's memories, turning the figure that was normally a poster boy for patriotism into a hunched and brooding shell that looked far older than his twenty-six years.

As if sensing the scrutiny his brother was subjecting him to Scott mentally shook himself and straightened. The doubts and worries were locked away again as he visibly morphed back into older brother mode; strong, dependable and emitting a feeling of self-assurance. He might have let his guard slip for a moment but he had worn the mantle as head of the pack for too many years to be comfortable showing such vulnerability for long. He was already doubting the wisdom of telling anyone about his problems but the call from his CO earlier in the evening had left him angry which always clouded his judgement. Venting had helped a bit and he was grateful that Gordon had been there, listening without judgement in a way that their father or Virgil never could.

“So what’s this posting of yours?” He asked, flipping the focus back to Gordon. “You said in the ring you wouldn’t have any time for training.”

It was a clear sign that any conversation about the Air Force and Scott’s thoughts towards it was over. The walls were back up and Gordon knew that, despite that momentary show of vulnerability, any further probing wouldn’t be welcomed. It was troubling just how much Scott was affected, biggest brother had always been so confident, but tonight Gordon had seen a side he’d never been privy to before and he wondered how many other times Scott had worn the mask to protect the rest of them from his doubts.

Much as he wanted to help Scott he really didn’t know how and he still had his own problems to unpick. Now it was his turn to be in the spotlight.

“No, I think my sporting activities are going to be on hold for a while. Um, I’m being given command of a craft.”

“You’re getting a Merlin? You really must have impressed them during the training to get your own sub so quickly.” Scott couldn’t help but feel a flush of pride at Gordon getting that level of recognition so early on in his career. Really Gordon should have been bouncing at the news so to see him so flat and brooding was a worry and he wondered what the problem was. “You had to know it was coming at some point, commanding a unit is kinda the deal with being an officer.”

“S’not a Merlin, it’s a bathyscape. I go in a little under a month.”

“A bathyscape? I didn’t even know WASP had those.”

“Yeah, it’s a research posting; unlike the Air Force, WASP isn’t all about combat missions y’know. I’ll be out there for a whole year, looking at underwater farming methods.”

Scott whistled, as first assignments went it was a big one but perhaps not in the direction Gordon had been hoping to take; his brother has made no secret of wanting to get a place on the sleek and fast Stingray, the whole point of volunteering for the Merlins was as a stepping stone to this, and a research bathyscape was the polar opposite. “That’s a long time, is that what the problem is? At least you know your way around a farm, or was a sea tractor not quite what you had in mind as your first mission command? You don’t sound too excited about it all.”

“It’s not a sea tractor,” Gordon snorted at Scott’s abysmal attempt to lighten the mood. “I know underwater farming might not be everyone’s bag but I’ve been really enjoying the oceanography and marine biology parts of my training. I think that’s partly what got me picked for it. A whole year is a bit longer than I was expecting but this is a big deal. This project could really make a difference and I’ll be leading a sizabe team so it’s an honour to be chosen.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming on.” Despite everything he was saying there was a distinct lack of excitement from the aquanaut.

“It’s the whole research element. The project is joint with CalTech and I’ll be sending our findings on to their marine biology team.”

“What difference does that make?”

Gordon tried to meet Scott's eyes but couldn't, nervous about whatever reaction he might get to the news he hadn't yet been brave enough to voice. Compared to the issues Scott was facing this seemed minor in comparison but it was still giving him sleepless nights. His stomach churned, the butterflies inside him evidently practicing backflips or something. He hadn't told anyone about this, not even Virgil, but he trusted Scott to give an objective opinion and be honest with him.

“Well, most officers have been to university. It turns out that they like those of us who haven’t to get qualified on the job. Part of the deal with CalTech is that the research papers can count as course credit. If I study for a few extra units while I’m down there then by the end of the year I could earn a higher ed diploma.”

“That’s great news.”

“Is it? My CO is talking like it’s a done deal but I’m really not sure.”

“What’s not to be sure about?”

“This is me, Scott. The family screw up. Part of the reason I’m even in WASP is cos you finally got Dad to see sense that I wasn’t cut out for College.”

“You are not a screw up!” Scott exclaimed, cross that even now their father’s past needling about Gordon’s academic abilities was still able to drag his brother down; sure he wasn’t in the same league as John but then very few people were and it didn’t mean he wasn’t bright in his own right. “Now you listen up. I didn’t go against Dad cos I didn’t think you could hack college, I did it because I could see you’d make a damn good aquanaut. You’re made for the submarine service but that doesn’t mean you’re incapable of anything else.”

“But studying at undergrad level, it’s going to be a lot of work.”

“Gordon, you work harder than pretty much anyone else I know. You certainly worked harder at school than the rest of us,” he took in the raised eyebrows that framed a look of pure skepticism. “I mean it. You might not have got top grades but your marks were still good even though some of the subjects didn’t come naturally and you did all that around your swimming and Alan.”

Gordon scuffed at the planks, his fingers absentmindedly attacking a stray splinter in the wood as the empty seat on his far side suddenly became very interesting. Scott seemed to believe in him but he just couldn’t summon up that same faith in himself. “But what if I fail? I don’t think I can do it.”

There, he’d said it. Ever since he’d been called in by his commanding officer and given the details of the posting the study element had been dragging him down like a millstone. He’d realised pretty early on, even during selection, that he was the odd one out, underqualified compared to most officers. What he hadn’t realised was that WASP would not only support him to gain a degree but it was assumed that he would be taking on this learning as a matter of course. From that moment on the gnawing dread had been eating away at him. He enjoyed the study topics and he’d proved himself worthy of the command element of the posting but instead of looking forward to the opportunity all he could think about was the impending failure because he couldn’t foresee any other outcome.

“Look at me, Gords. You aren’t going to fail. It’s a diploma of higher ed, right?” Gordon gave a slight nod of confirmation. “That means it’s first year stuff and I know that when it comes to the ocean you’ve got that more than covered. What you’re going to be missing is the general skills and for those you can always ask the rest of us for help. John has written more scientific papers than is healthy, Virgil can generally spot any flaws in logic even if it’s not his subject and I’ve done so much Harvard referencing I could probably do it in my sleep.”

“Harvard? But you went to Yale.”

“Harvard referencing is how you say what books and papers you used to write your assignments.”

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Gordon groaned, kicking out at the bench in front, “I don’t know any of this stuff.”

“It’s alright,” Scott slung an arm round Gordon’s shoulder, wishing there was some magic pill he could give his brother to dispel the self doubt. Gone was the confident aquanaut, even the thought of returning to study had Gordon regressing to the kid who worried each term if his report card would meet the lofty ideals of the father who demanded so much. “No one knows this stuff at the beginning and there is no shame in that. Normally you would get a load of seminars at the start of your course but that’s going to be a bit tricky if you’re underwater. I don’t know how it will work with you doing it through WASP but CalTech should give you some support and if they don’t then you’ve got three older brothers who have all been there. One of us will always be available to talk you through it, not that I think you’ll need any help.”

“You really think I can do this?” He pulled out of the hug and stared at his brother as though trying to gauge his honesty. The way Scott was talking he made it sound so simple.

“I’m sure you can. But if you get stuck with anything don’t brood on it, just ask.”

“Yeah, I can really see that one going down well.” Gordon rolled his eyes, remembering the last time he’d attempted to ask for homework help. “John already thinks I’m an idiot.”

“No one thinks you’re an idiot, Gords. I know John can be a bit...acerbic at times but he’s mellowed since he left Harvard.” Scott made a mental note to have a quiet word with the would-be astronaut; for most things the word ‘can’t’ was just a challenge to Gordon, something to be proved wrong, but when it came to anything academic Gordon was evidently still plagued by crushing self-doubt. The last thing he needed was for a disparaging comment from the family genius to send Gordon spiralling. It was true John had been a lot more approachable since starting at Tracy College, living with Virgil and having Alan as a frequent visitor seemed to be grounding him more in family life, but he could still be a bit abrupt if you caught him at the wrong moment.

“If I do this can you promise me one thing?”

“What’s that?”

“Please don’t tell Dad, I really don’t need him breathing down my neck about grades.”

“Promise. Dad won’t hear a word about it until you’ve got that certificate in your hand.”

The sigh of relief was audible in the still night air as Gordon released some of the tension that had been knotting his insides. Sat there with Scott, being given assurances that his brothers would be on hand if he needed them, he felt a lot more confident about the whole thing.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #high expectations #military brothers #self doubt #talking and listening #Scott Tracy #Gordon Tracy

25 notes · View notes