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kikiwikienigma · 1 year

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spitballing ideas for a narumitsu fic that I'm considering writing that is based on steins;gate (because I deleted twitter and need a new space to hurl my thoughts)

• set shortly before aa5

• one never-ending summer day at the agency, apollo walks in to athena setting up a dingy microwave that she had seen her neighbor attempting to throw out ("but polly, look at it! it's in perfect condition, of course I couldn't let her just toss it in the trash! and besides, now we don't have to eat cold leftovers for lunch anymore. it's about time we got an upgrade!" apollo sighs. she had a point.)

• phoenix comes in to the two of them fawning over the new microwave. he had just returned from attending a seminar about new research into tech that allows the user to go back in time to see what a crime scene looked like at an earlier point (similar to kay's little thief, but with a time travel aspect). "if only we could go back and actually prevent the crime from happening!" he jokes. "then again, I guess we'd be out of a job huh?"

• phoenix stays late that afternoon catching up on paperwork. he takes a break because something about the seminar nags at him. one of the audience members had objected furiously at the idea of twisting the fabric of time itself to force the truth out. even if it was heavily theoretical, it was dangerous. he fiddles with his magatama in his hands. he wants to call miles to talk about it.

• he stands up to stretch and figures he should try out the new microwave. he pops one of the cup of noodles into it that athena had bought earlier and eagerly stacked in a tower on the counter. as soon as he does, though, an acrid odor immediately fills the room. he opens the door and sees the cup of noodles halfway melted. he figures he just managed to do something wrong somehow, considering his poorer-than-average culinary skills, and lets out a defeated sigh. he leans against the counter and phones miles. they get to talking about the seminar and the topic slowly shifts to what he would've done differently over the years had he been given a second chance... the conversation is loaded with pining and sentiment

• phoenix is fiddling with his magatama again as they speak. he parrots the question back at miles, what he would've done differently. miles begins to tell him he doesn't think he would've changed anything, but before he can finish he lets out a shout. at the same time, the magatama shocks phoenix's hand. he swears he sees a bolt of green electricity between the microwave and the magatama. the colors in his vision invert for a moment and he suddenly feels sick. it's similar to when psyche locks would appear, but none do and it throws him off balance.

• when the pounding in his head recedes, he asks if miles is still there. when he doesn't get a response, he checks his phone and the screen is off. his call history claims he had never been on a call with him at all. he's confused but writes it off as his phone being crap.

• he looks up, though, and realizes the time of day is different. the sun is rising out of his window? he checks his phone again and has to do a double-take. for some reason, the screen tells him it's twelve hours earlier than he remembers it being. it's the morning of the same day. now he knows something is very, very wrong.

- end chapter one. -

• my concept for this fic is that phoenix is hurled across timelines as he desperately attempts to prevent miles' death from happening, meanwhile unraveling the dark age of the law and fighting against the phantom.

• something about seeing what a character as self-sacrificing as phoenix is would do for the ones he loves is incredibly fun to write about. desperation is agonizing to capture

• even if you don't know shit about steins;gate, I think this still reads fine because I only kept the premise of a microwave time machine pretty much. then I decided to connect the magatama to it and have its spiritual energy be the reason why phoenix can travel across world lines instead of using cell phones.

• so! this idea has been giving me brain worms for the last day or so. this is entirely steins;gate propaganda to all of the ace attorney fans out there

#ace attorney #steins;gate #narumitsu #phoenix wright #fic #miles edgeworth #apollo justice #athena cykes #time travel #au #fic ideas #dual destinies

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colorfulbard · 3 years

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Showtime

Summary: Housewives in a small town truly have nothing else better to do.

Pairing: Lifeguard!Eren x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Small themes of NSFW

Words: 1.6K

A/N: I saw an ask that I think was from @sleepysnk blog and I couldn't help myself. This one-shot was based on this video. Sorry in advance to her for not asking permission, but I really wanted to write this. I hope you like it!

~~~~~

Summer was a time for new beginnings in a young kid's life. School was out which meant three whole months full of time to make self-improvements. Or to just goof off with friends. During this time of experiencing the blazing sun, the first thing to come to any kid's mind is to be the first to hit the pool.

Not that it mattered who came first. In the small town of Shiganshina, eventually, the community pool would be full of family's trying to cool off from the summer heat. Whether some of the families were there by choice didn't fully matter. Mothers from all over town were dragged by their children regardless of what errands needed to be done.

In the past five summers, that's how it was. Mothers had no reason to come to the pool by choice ever since their eye-candy had left to college out of state. This summer, however, the housewives in-town were less reluctant to the idea of a day at the pool. As kids ran around the pool, ignoring the lifeguard's whistle, and whacked each other with pool noodles. Housewives found other ways to enjoy their time under the hot sun.

Amongst the loud splashing and laughter, a familiar ringtone chimed. This particular ringtone, however, was only familiar to every housewife that had been to the pool since the beginning of summer. The phone the ring was coming from lit up, an alarm displayed on the screen labeled as 'showtime'.

Practically every woman who had been to the pool since summer began had a Pavlovian response when that alarm rang. They all immediately sat up in their chairs, grabbed mirrors to fix their makeup or hair, and relaxed back into whatever sexy stance they could think of.

Out of all the women who waited for the show to start. None of them were nearly as excited as Debbie, whose phone alarm was still ringing. There wasn't much a housewife in Shiganshina had to look forward to. Especially during the summer.

Debbie truly detested summer with a passion as fiery as the sun. School was no more which meant her alone time was over. Three kids were now constantly on her ass with her husband either at work or napping.

She almost bristled at the mere thought of having to deal with them later in the afternoon but maintained her composure. She couldn't afford a single hair out of place. It'd taken her two hours to perfect the look she was going for. The amount of effort couldn't go to waste. Not when she had to compete with seven other housewives for his attention.

"Look alive, ladies," proclaimed Debbie as she readjusted her boobs and put down her sunglasses. "The show is about to begin." She smirked as the current lifeguard began to step down from her tower to switch.

Debbie felt time slow down at the sight of a door opening at the other end of a pool. She was sure the other housewives were feeling it too as they all began to tense in anticipation. If any of their kids were drowning at the moment, none of them would notice. It's not like it mattered considering Mikasa was still watching anyway.

Even if one of them did drown, it wouldn't hurt to watch them being saved by the notorious Eren Yeager. He was the one that currently had every housewife on the edge of their seat. The man was an Adonis in the eyes of every housewife in Shiganshina. The absolute perfect man of their dreams.

When that door fully opened, they all felt the air leave their lungs. His silky brown hair was tied back into a bun with the right amount of fringe framing his face. Abs chiseled to perfection glistened in the sunlight. To top it all of, with a flick of a wrist, he took off his sunglasses to reveal the most gorgeous eyes that suck any woman in.

Debbie could go on and on about Eren. She even bit her lip at the thought of them, together. Having invited him over for dinner as thank you for saving one of her kids from drowning. They would be all alone after she forced the kids into bed early. Her husband would be working late, so, who knows? Anything could happen.

None of the housewives' eyes left him for even a second as he walked to relieve Mikasa of her shift. Some could barely manage to remain composed as he offered a nod and greeted them with a "ladies".

Debbie put on her best sexy pout the moment his eyes were on her. She waited for the inevitable nod and compliment on her new sunglasses only to receive a nod. No compliment.

Her eyes widened and she cast a glance at the other wives. It seems they were suffering from the same thing. It was like that ever since he came back from college out of state.

Debbie's perplexed expression turned to a sneer when she remembered why. Turns out after coming back home to visit his mother, a college education wasn't the only thing he came back home with.

"Eren!"

Speak of the devil and they shall appear. Debbie scoffed under her breath at the sight. You weren't much of a looker in her opinion. Everything about you screamed basic in Debbie's eyes. From your hair to your outfit. But that didn't stop Eren's eyes from lighting up whenever he saw you.

You had to be honest, at first, summer in the small town of Shiganshina was boring. The only reason why you were even here was due to Eren's insistent begging. That boredom lasted until he mentioned he had gotten a side job as a lifeguard. The same job he had the summer before he left college. He had mentioned it to you before in passing, but you'd never forget the stories Armin told you of all those housewives who drooled at the sight of him.

The moment the job began you gave him time to settle before you came to ruin it all. The time you spent waiting was worth it. Every housewives' eyes were on you as you confidently strode up to Eren on his lifeguard chair and asked for a kiss. Their faces were to die for, you wished you'd taken a picture. Especially Debbie's.

You knew for a fact she hated your guts. It wasn't like she tried to hide it anyway. She glared at you every chance she got. Which is why you were at the pool visiting Eren again today. You giggled as you glanced back at her while leaning against Eren's lifeguard chair.

"What are you laughing at?"

You looked up to the object of your affections and shook your head. "Nothing," you said innocently while rubbing his knee.

Eren rose a brow, not believing your tone for a second, and followed your previous line of sight. He rolled his eyes when he spotted Debbie waving at him just moments after she finished glaring at you. "Do you have to cause trouble with every housewife you meet?" He teased, shoving your hand away.

You placed a hand on your chest and gasped in mock disbelief. "Me? Cause trouble?" You asked rhetorically, "I would never." You crossed your arms and frowned.

Eren leaned back in his chair, "yeah, okay," he said sarcastically with a scoff.

You scoffed back at him and smacked his thigh, "okay, come on. You have to admit it's pretty funny." You barely held in a laugh at the sight of a whole row of housewives glaring daggers at you.

"Not gonna be funny when they finally poison you," Eren joked while stroking his abused thigh.

You gave him an incredulous look. "Yeah, because I'm dying to eat Debbie's casserole," you said sarcastically. Those housewives had been sending casserole after casserole to Carla's house ever since he came home. You hadn't bothered to eat a single bite of any of them. Neither had Carla.

Eren gave a small wave to Debbie, who was still watching the two of you. "What's with you and Mrs. Carter anyway?" He asked with a raised brow.

"More like what's with Debbie," you corrected, "she's hated me since she figured out I'm your girlfriend."

Eren smirked and leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head. "Can't blame her, I am a catch." He winked down at you.

You rolled your eyes, "whatever you say, Casanova." You stepped away from the chair. "I'm gonna get going, don't wanna keep distracting you considering they're not gonna save their kids anyway." You gestured to the housewives who had their eyes glued on Eren.

He rose a brow but soon nodded after glancing at the housewives. "You have a point, get outta here." He leaned down to swat your ass.

You punched his leg in response. "Oi, watch your hands, Yeager!" You scolded.

"You know I can't control myself." He smirked and tried to rest his hands on your waist.

You hummed and laughed to yourself. Eren rose a brow at your laugh but said nothing as you stood on your tiptoes to grab him by his whistle. He was frozen as he waited for your next move and spellbound the same way those housewives were with him.

The tips of his ears were hot, you could feel it on your lips as they gently grazed his ear. "Let's hope you'll be able to control yourself until after your shift." You gave his ear a small kiss before pulling away and quickly walking away before he could recover.

You gave him one last look over your shoulder and giggled at the sight of his flushed cheeks. You also gave Debbie a passing glance and waved at her. "Hot day isn't it, Mrs. Carter?" You asked.

You didn't miss the way she attempted to murder you with one look. "Immensely," she said through gritted teeth.

Yeah, summer was a fun time.

#eren x reader #eren x y/n #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot x reader #eren yeager x reader #eren jeager x reader #aot self insert #aot fanfiction

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furblrwurblr · 3 years

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I had to adress the trauma before they kissed

Part three to Patience, Love!

Douxie x Reader Soulmate AU, fluff, angst. crack if you squint.

《One》《Two》 | Masterlist

You'd had a few days of unfamiliar band after unfamiliar band and were glad for a taste of home when Papa Skull was up on the itinerary. You two slept in as you had for the past week and had an instant noodle breakfast (the good kind, none of that Maruchan crap Douxie's addicted to) before hitting the town. Dancing, walking, and browsing the streets with their little shops was a fun way to spend the afternoon before you made your way to the venue. You noticed Douxie was being… a little bit more. A little closer, a little softer, a little jittery. You'd had a mind to ask him but he interrupted you every time he saw your curiosity scratching itself on his forearms, running off looking over his shoulder for you to follow. At some point, he'd asked to split up, absolutely not because he wanted to find something for you, or so he said. You spent the whole time he was gone absently searching for something in return, preoccupied with the thoughts on your arms and legs that were just so very Douxie.

"Oh! That's nice! No, no no no, this is your soulmate! Nice isn't great, it's between good and okay. Or would it be between good and alright? Which trumps the other? Blast it all, this store isn't helping," or "This store isn't at ALL what I thought it was... No! Don't think about that, if they see that on their arm I'll be the impatient one!"

You told him where you were after he seemed somewhat satisfied. He walked towards you, the grin on his face falling into a betrayed look of feigned shock as he watched you taking pictures of all the thoughts he'd forgotten you could see. He groaned as he sat beside you on a park bench, seeing just how much you'd read.

"Did I give it away already?"

"All I know is it's somewhere between great and good, or is alright the better word?" you teased.

He bumped your shoulder with his. "Cheeky," he smiled. "Let's head back to the campsite, eat a quick meal, and grab a good spot!"

After a light dinner, you'd managed to squeeze your way fairly close to the front, far enough from the stage to risk being squished. You'd been there a few hours when Papa Skull finally made their appearance, you and Douxie amongst the loudest welcoming them onstage. Not long into their hit song, "Mean", Douxie was nervous.

"I’m gonna do it. I don’t want them to spook..."

You glimpsed his concern on your forearm, unable to make much out in your excitement for the live music, but you knew he was working up to something. You let it be, curious to see what he'd do.

Douxie slowed his breathing. He really liked you so far, and although your mind was quick to dive into the gutter, he didn't want to scare you off. Your own mishap ended in him seeing you once before ghosting for nearly a month. Not to mention, he could tell how embarrassed his little experiments on the boat had made you, what with the whispering and all. It may have been a different kind of embarrassed, more flustered than mortified, but you'd never spoken out against anything. He didn't have a clear grasp of your boundaries. While he'd been searching for a gift for you, he'd wondered how he was going to give it to you. He settled for another first- nothing big, it was pretty cliché, but he enjoyed doing it and hoped you would too.

Douxie placed a hand on your upper arm to make sure you wouldn't startle, it was a bit difficult to get your attention. He slid his arm behind your back, looking to you for confirmation. Your nod made him sigh in relief as he planted his hand on the outside of your shoulder. He felt you laugh and nearly withdrew before you grabbed his hand and pulled so his arm draped over your shoulders, placing your other hand across his back and gently curling your fingers into his waist. You two shared a tender moment of silence before half-turning your attention back to the concert, both too caught up in each other to be in the moment.

He fingered the large box in his sweater pocket, withdrawing his hand. It could wait, he didn't want to risk you moving to look at it, and Mordrax forbid you take your warm hand from his side before he was ready.

Later, you both fell into your sleeping bags with a mighty puff of the air rushing out under the sudden weights, both heaving great sighs of relief. You looked over to him in silence, waiting for his gaze to meet yours. His head turned quickly, smiling wide. Laughter built between you until the pair of you were wiping tears from your eyes, still feeling the euphoria from the concert and one another. Once you relaxed again, Douxie got up and beckoned for you to do the same. You looked at him quizzically.

"If I know I'm hungry then you must be too, I eat less often than you," he reasoned.

Reluctantly, you got up, sad to leave your plush dollar-store sleeping bag. Douxie started the fire while you zipped the tent to swap your themed tour outfit for something more comfortable.

Douxie rustled through the bags back on the ship, pulling out leftovers from the diner in town. He made his way back to the now-blazing fire, sitting on a log to prepare the meal. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the glow of the lantern in the tent--

blimey, was the tent always that sheer? It was night and the lantern made it far too easy to see your silhouette. "Woah, looking away now!" Ah, he saw how appropriate the word "blimey" was in this case. While he did enjoy what he saw, part of him did want God to blind himself because he was 90% sure he'd just watched you remove your top without your knowledge. "God, I tease them constantly, but I'm just as bad, aren't I?" he realized. He quickly went back to warming the food, hands rushed and face pink.

You watched his fault write itself on your torso, cheeks just as flushed, although with a bit more amusement than he was feeling at the moment. You finished and stepped out, a smug look on your face. Wordlessly, you sat next to him, studying his reaction. He avoided your eyes, recognizing the glint they had when his thoughts betrayed him. You slid off the log, reclining against it and making a show of placing your arms behind your head.

"I guess I can't really complain, you are making me dinner first, as per your own terms," you said, nonchalant.

Douxie cursed himself. "How could I have been so bold?" he lamented with a sheepish smile. Time to change the subject. He looked around, searching for anything to talk about, settling on the flames that reminded him of the familiar he missed oh so much. He broke the comfortable silence and turned to you. "Would you like me to show you something?" The nondescript watch on his wrist extended, magical glamour falling to reveal his brace, now glowing with energy.

You nodded eagerly. His magic was comforting and beautiful, just like he was… wait. Why not mess with him a bit?

"One condition."

He withdrew his hands from their position in front of him, face earnest.

"Take off your sweater. I've seen your tattoos under your short sleeves, and I know they glow, wonderboy," you half-demanded. Payback and your own reward in one? You deserved to be a little stern.

He laughed, shrugging off his sweater before putting his hands at the ready once more. With a smile, he pushed and pulled the bonfire from where he sat beside you, flames turning his signature blue the more he manipulated them. It was beautiful, drowning the verdant green of the forest in a blue that belonged only to your soulmate. Douxie reveled in your amazement, fire magic a new experience for a novice such as yourself.

You turned your attention to his tattoos and your lips parted in wonder. You'd never seen them in full, runes you couldn't recognize glowing a vibrant blue. The swooping lines didn't move, but it seemed the light shining through them did, glow rippling below his skin. You slid back onto the log again, closer this time, and brushed your fingers over them. Douxie let the fire swirl to its original shape, goosebumps raising at your feather-light touch. They dimmed, once again their original grey, but you persisted, enthralled by the runes.

Douxie had never loved someone so much. Sure, you'd only known each other a few months, but he felt justified since you were his soulmate. As much as he still couldn't believe he'd met you after all that time, he was more amazed at how often it proved true that you were made to fit one another. Your humor, your joys, your sadness. It made itself apparent in how you walked towards him, the way you smiled when he called you. The comfort in your voice that he could feel through the phone. Your eyes. Oh, your eyes, how they did things to his heart.

He pulled himself from his thoughts, eyes roving over your body intently, latching onto any exposed skin. He was looking in pride at his thoughts of admiration, feeling almost as if they marked you as his. "A reminder," he thought, that right now, you belonged to one another. He brought his gaze back to those eyes of yours, now studying his face. The two of you looked at one another in silence, watching one another's eyes flick down and back again, faces drawing closer. His tongue darted out to moisten his slightly chapped lip, causing your breath to hitch. His heart jumped at the sound, snapping him from his daze. He gently lifted your hand from his bicep, shakily breathing the same air as you. He folded your fingers into his chill grasp, bringing them to his lips and pressing a long kiss to your knuckles before bowing his head to press your hand to his brow. You smiled, heart beating from your chest, then grabbed his sweater from between you two with your free hand and sliding it up to his back and over a shoulder. He slowly released your hand with a small chuckle, twirling the garment from his shoulders and placing it on your own. His hands dragged down to the beginning of the zipper and tugged it forward to secure it on your body, pulling you just that much closer. He lingered, smiling gently at you. This. This was a moment he hoped would never end.

His long fingers withdrew to finally warm the food, the 'almost' of what had just happened filling the comfortable silence of the forest clearing.

It'd been a few days since the Almost (your affectionate lament for the kiss that nearly was), and the tour was nearly over. Only a few days were left and you weren't ready for it to end. Maybe after this you and Douxie could spend more time at one another's flats, just to have each other around. Your home was your sanctuary, and you were already fully prepared to open it to him. You trusted him and were happy you'd ironed out your initial issues. For the most part, that is.

"What's this, Y/N?" Douxie asked. You were taken from your thoughts by his sudden question and gave him a puzzled look. He gestured to the 'trust issue' statement written boldly across his bare shoulder before going to sit next to you, the distance between you feeling like an emotional chasm. He used to sit closer before the Almost. "Is something the matter? Did I do something to make you cross?" His face was less puzzled now and more anxious.

"Well," you began, "It's nothing recent. Maybe it is? I keep dwelling on the past, and I feel I need to bring it up."

"Go for it, darling, anything you need," he rushed, turning his entire body to face you.

"I've been running most of my life, as is the curse of an immortal, but I’ve spent the last sixteen years of it searching for you. I kept asking you questions, trying to find you. As amusing as it was to play cat and mouse, I felt displaced and restless. Friends came and went, I scoured America in its entirety. A hint, a clue, something!" You rushed, breathing ragged. "Arcadia was my resignation, you know," you continued, quieter now. "I've stayed as long as I have because I gave up, too tired to keep running towards something, no matter how much I wanted it. No matter how much I wanted you, I--" your eyes filled with tears and you paused, choking on a sob. You sucked in a breath. He needed to hear this. *You* needed him to hear this. "It hurt when I realized you didn't remember our fleeting moments together in combat. I enjoyed sharing that moment of revealing ourselves to one another, but it hurts that I've chased that beautiful blue for the past eight centuries and you don't remember those two years of patrolling the canals.”

Douxie placed a hesitant hand on the small of your back and his eyes dropped from your face to the forest floor, remembering why he'd been so excited to meet you. He'd seen your reactions to his thoughts back in Italy but quickly had to move on. He and Archie had decided long ago that no matter what, they'd put Merlin's tasks above anything else. Even his soulmate. When he realized how close you were he got excited. He couldn't search for you, but he didn't see anything wrong if you found him first. Even then, he kept you at arm's length, scared of the consequences. Merlin's tower, how could he have been so thoughtless? Douxie had never stopped to consider how his constant moving around would affect you. He never took the concepts of soulmates all that seriously. Sure, he could daydream about being with someone made for him and refuse to date anyone until he met you, but it became real the night he found you. Too real. So he ran. Dancing around you, pretending he was doing you a favor with his vague answers and puzzling riddles. Then, he met you again. You were real once more. After his comical encounter with you, he was too preoccupied to sleep, absorbing the finality of having a soulmate. You had come into his life with a bang, a reminder that Merlin and his tasks didn't define who he was. What had shaped him were small influences of the people he'd met throughout the last millennium, including you.

You were worried. Douxie's brow was more creased than you'd ever seen it. His hand on your back grew clammy, the cold night air quickly cooling the fresh damp patch of your shirt.

"...Douxie?" you whispered, afraid your rant had gone too far. His head turned just a little too quickly and you gasped at the tears glistening in the moonlight. He choked on a few unsteady breaths, mouth half-forming words. You reached your hand for the bicep of the arm loosely wrapped around your waist, but before you could touch it, he spoke.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, drawing his hand away from your torso. The first of many large tears burst upon the wood of the log you sat upon. Whose tears they were no longer mattered when both of you began crying anew. You wrapped your fingers around the arm he removed from your side and placed it there once more, throwing your arms around his middle. He sobbed at this, heart happy that you still accepted him, and brought his other hand to clutch your head to his collarbone. He wasn't running anymore, he'd done what was asked of him and was finally able to let you catch up to him.

The two of you were too caught up in one another to notice but had either of you been paying attention, you would have seen each other's skin being adorned with countless words of adoration, regret, and joy.

#patience love #douxie x reader #toa douxie x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #too many commas #like WAY too many #not betaread #casual fic writing lmao im working on more polished pieces #x reader #toa x reader #toa wizards #idk how to tag things #furblewrites #I SWEAR THEY KISS NEXT BIT

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strongsassysexysloane · 3 years

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Eleventh Day of Twelve - A Tired but Treasured Day

A/N - Look at that! We are second from the end! Thank you to all the comments and love! Really appreciate it, it's been a long week!

. . . .

Read previous drabbles below.

. . . .

You walked into the office clinging to your cup of coffee. It felt like you were just here and you were, only five hours ago. This time however it was your own doing. You'd found a tiny shred of evidence to go on and had to follow it before the trail went cold. Then it lead to Gibbs and Nick finding the killer in a warehouse in town and bringing him in at just after 0100. You didn't finish interrogating until 0200 and it was now 0730. Coffee, coffee needed to be pumped into you to wake up this morning and a constant flow throughout the day would be required.

To your delight there was a hot cup sitting on your desk as you walked into the bullpen. No note so you assumed this time it wasn't from your gift giver. Day 11 and no one had spilled the beans or gone looking at the cameras like they wanted to on day one.

"Gibbs dropped it off about five minutes ago before he went down to get a report from Kasie who wasn't pleased to be called in so early." Ellie explained while leaning back in her chair and sipping her coffee. "He brought one for all of us."

"Christmas miracles do happen." Nick grinned, dropping his small cup in the trash. "Done."

"It's not a race. You just slugged all your energy for the next three hours."

"Oh please, I've stayed up later and come to work more tired before. Remember the November incident." He waved off.

"I still feel hungover from it." Ellie grumbled, scrunching her nose at the memory of Tequila.

"Please don't remind me." Tim groaned. "Plus I'm not allowed anymore Tequila, Delilah's orders."

"She may be on to something." You ran your hand through your hair, smirking at the banter. Turning on your computer for the day, you saw the next gift hanging from your desk lamp. It was beautiful, a little teddy bear carved out of marble with a shimmering purple and green crown sitting on its head.

"Day 11, the gift giver strikes again." You rolled your eyes at Nick's words while holding the Christmas decoration in your hand, running your thumb over the intricate detail.

It was sweet, a cute addition to your small Christmas tree at home. You'd put it up on December one. That was your tradition and some years it didn't seem worth it but you made the effort. Being alone on Christmas sucked, there was no way around it but this year you were making an effort to not sulk about it. The secret gift giver certainly lifted the spirit as well.

Your tree wasn't over the top but a nice addition to your home. This would fit perfectly front and centre and you made sure of it.

The day was relatively easy. The office banter keeping the spirits going with a good supply of caffeine. It was really just a lot of paper work and then you were set free around mid afternoon to try and have that weekend off. This time Vance made sure the team wouldn't be called in. There were other agents to take the call after all.

You'd missed Jack most of the day and didn't want to interrupt her as she was head deep in evals for the end of year. Instead you decided to shoot her a text when you got home.

- Just wanted to say have a good weekend. Didn't want to interrupt your head mojo.

You knew she'd get a kick out of it and you weren't mistaken.

- Head mojo hey? Smarty in the evening just like you said. Missed you today, didn't realise how many evals I still had to do before I went on my trip. Now I'm back logged and still at work.

It was just hitting 1830 which was a late one for Jack on a Friday. She was always hurrying along at the end of the week to make sure by the time 1700 hit she was out the door.

- I hope you are either finishing for the evening or planning on having dinner while you work. It's getting late, Jack.

- No need to worry about little old me. I need to get these done, I'll grab a bite later. Enjoy your night.

An idea popped to mind, you grabbed your coat and car keys and headed back out into the snowfall with your blue scarf still wrapped around your neck.

Thankfully, you weren't too far from the Navy yard and the Diner was just a five minute detour on the route. You called ahead so the food was ready when you got there and still warm when you knocked on her door.

"Come in, y/n."

You huffed, opening the door. "Now how could you possibly know it was me?"

Jack was sitting on her couch, shoes off, legs crossed and glasses tugging her hair back and sitting on her head. "You didn't reply, you always reply. And you care too much." She got up, placing her laptop on the coffee table and walking up to you.

Those were a lot of compliments you weren't entirely prepared for. You thought Jack was the one that cared a lot, but never too much. "I think I care just the right amount but I can eat this all by myself if you'd prefer?" You smirked, pretending to walk back out but Jack caught your arm.

"I didn't mean it like that. I lo-ike that you care so much." She ran her hand up and down your arm a few times before dropping it away. Her warm comforting smile turned into a cute frown. "And don't you dare walk out on me now that youve made all this effort to come here." She took a deep breath in. "Is that two cheeseburgers and fries?"

The frown and the way her nose twitched at the smell was completely adorable. "With a side of gravy. Wasn't sure if you liked it on your fries or not." You shrugged, missing the soft and loving look Jack gave, you walked past her and sat at one end of the couch, unpacking the bag of food. "Come, sit." You urged, patting the spot beside you as she just stood there and watched.

With a soft smile curving her lips, she came around after a beat and sat exactly where you said to. She took the small pot of gravy and poured it over her fries before pouring the rest over yours. "Thank you."

You bumped her shoulder lightly. "Anytime. Can't have Jack Sloane Hangry and loose in DC." That got you a slap on the knee but it was worth it as her hand soothed the spot she hit and stayed there for a while until it was time to eat.

"Didn't mean to ruin your Friday night plans either." She took a huge bite of the burger.

Between bites you managed an answer, "You mean my big watching The Holiday movie while eating a cup of noodles or the one where I go to sleep at 7pm because im living on about four hours sleep right now."

Skipping over how tired you were she jumped at the mention of the movie. "That's my favourite Christmas movie! It's got the best of both worlds! The sun of LA and the cold winter wonderland of the UK. God, I haven't watched that in years! My mum and I went to the movies to watch it and then every Christmas after we'd watch it together, some people had Love Actually, we had The Holiday. Guess I stopped watching when mum passed." She ate a few more fries. "Wow, Jack, way to ruin the good mood. Sorry. Got lost for a moment there."

You liked it when she rambled. She always would say so many interesting things and you just loved to hear her voice. You prayed the day never came when you wouldn't hear it anymore. "Don't apologize-" You held up your hand to stop her from butting in. "- And, no it's not because of Gibbs silly rule. I enjoy hearing about your past about things you love or did. The Holiday is a sweet movie, my must watch in December along with The Grinch, Home Alone and many more. I try my best to keep the holiday spirits up when I'm by myself for them which has been the last many."

"I enjoy hearing you talk too." She smiled, taking a massive bite of her burger and filling up her cheeks.

There was no silence after that. The evals were put to the side and you talked for what seemed like hours. Talking about childhood Christmas' and silly stories to cringe worthy dating moments over this time of year. It wasn't until you couldn't keep your mouth shut from yawning that you said good night around 2300.

"Sorry you didn't get your evals done." You sing over the roof of your car as Jack unlocked her Mini.

"Don't be. I'm happy to come in tomorrow because tonight was fun!" Her genuine smile told you that she wasn't lying. You could read people pretty well and most times Jack Sloane was an enigma to you but right now you knew she was telling the truth.

"Good night, Jack."

She opened her car door before adding. "Enjoy your movie!"

You yawned with a laugh. "You're kidding right? I'm going to sleep, I'll watch it tomorrow now."

"Fair, good night y/n. Sweet Dreams!"

. . . .

Who doesn't want this to end? Me. But I also maybe, slightly want a break from writing every day. It's been fun but tiring. I've enjoyed it a lot though! I love this time of year, if only I wasn't working in retail.

#ncis #ncis christmas #ncis reader insert #ncis x reader #ncis 12 days of christmas #jack sloane #nick torres #ellie bishop #tim mcgee #jack sloane x reader

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barefootbeautician · 5 years

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Motorbiking across Vietnam!

The good, the bad and the weather.

If you have decided you want to motorbike Vietnam, woo go you! This is an amazing experience but WOW was it hard physically and mentally. Motorbikes are a part of life in this country with over 30 million taking up the roads. This was my first time ever riding a motorbike and believe me, if you can ride a bike here, you can ride one anywhere in the world!

While cruising the highway we saw some very interesting sights; from families of five on one bike, to a massive cage of ducks coming off every part of a bike! How they balance all the different things on these small bikes amazes me.

Riding in Vietnam is not for the faint hearted, there seems to be little to no rules on these roads. Green light means go, amber still go and the count down from 5 on the red light still means go. There is no right of way on a roundabout with people honking left, right and centre for you to move! However honking is a normal thing here, it usually means "I'm about to overtake you" or "I'm next to you so don't turn". It scared the hell out of me when a massive truck honked something sounding like a fog horn next to me, while overtaking a bus going into incoming traffic. I have many memories of almost being squashed so being alert and remember to move out the way is the best advice. They are a lot bigger and don't seem to care about you on your small bike.

Rent or buy a motorbike

I believe this is a personal preference whether to buy or rent your mighty steed. We opted for renting as the company we went for were great! It was so easy to rent it in Hanoi and drop it off in Ho Chi Minh. The guy was great throughout our trip and let us know the best places to do bike services down the country. It was also very nice not to have to worry about selling the bike at the end, we were on quite a tight schedule so being able to just leave the bike and get our deposit back, was one less thing to stress about. The only slight set back is you do have a set date to give the bike back by so make sure you give yourself enough time to make it all the way down and not have to rush. The fee varies from company to company so just read the small print and make sure you get the bike back in time and all will be good.

Saying all of this, in the backpacker areas, bikes are easy to find and cheap to buy. So if you want one you can decorate and call your own, then this is a great thing to do. Make sure you have your paper registration (blue card) when buying a bike. You will need this to sell the bike and it's your proof of ownership if you get stopped at road blocks. Just remember to test drive a few first and make sure everything works. Repairs are cheap along the way, but it won't be fun to break down in the middle of a highway.

Whether you buy or rent your bike always remember to name it! Makes it more fun:) In the picture above you will see our mighty steeds- Ronald and Wilson.

Accommodation

We never had trouble finding places to crash for a night or two. We used hostels, Airbnb and couchsurfing. We loved couchsurfing, it was a great way to stay with locals and learn more about the culture. We always booked a day ahead as it was nicer to know we had somewhere to rest after a long day of driving. Mixing up your budgets is good too, so if we did couchsurfing for a few nights, we would splurge a bit on our next place. When I say splurge, it never broke the bank as all accommodation is pretty cheap.

Food and coffee

Phò

This had to be one of my favourite dishes! After a long ride in the ice cold rain, this hot noodle soup was perfect and tasted delicious. It's eaten at any time of day but mainly for breakfast. It's a very light but filling meal consisting of light beef broth flavoured with ginger and coriander, flat rice noodles, spring onions and slivers of raw beef that cook in the broth. It's so yummy!

Banh Mi

What a magical sandwich! The best place we had one was in Hoi An. This baguette sandwich is filled with crunchy salad, pork pate, slow roasted pork and sriracha sauce. There are different meat fillings but the pork was my favourite. Super filling and full of amazing flavour.

Goi cuon

One of Vietnams most favourite dishes. Translucent spring rolls packed with greens, coriander and various combinations of minced pork, shrimp or crab. You can also dip them in fish sauce which really adds to the flavour of these delicious rolls!

The motorcycle trip

Starting in the busy centre of Hanoi we took 4 weeks to ride down the coast to Ho Chi Minh. Through winding roads, freezing rain, busy highways and bright sunshine. Unfortunately for us, it rained 3 weeks out of the 4 which wasn't fun on a motorbike. We went through alot of ponchos, a rain coat and pants, bin bag under layers for warmth and plastic bags for our feet, as you can imagine, they were some very attractive outfits.

I'm not going to write every place we visited as some were only for one night to rest our tired heads. We started in Hanoi so the places will be in order from top to bottom. So I'll just be writing the places with the best memories:)

Hanoi

The capital city of Vietnam, the starting or finishing point for many Vietnam motorbike itineraries. I would suggest staying in the Old quarter ( Hoan Kiem) as it’s always busy with tourists and locals. It’s ideal for backpackers who want to be close to it all, eat great authentic food and enjoy the nightlife. However we were not very clued up when it came to staying here and unfortunately booked an Airbnb way out of the happening area. It was very interesting trying to order food at a Vietnamese restaurant where there was no English on the menu and no one spoke English. It made for a fun guessing game trying to not order chickens feet!

Ha Long Bay

There are so many boat cruises in this place to take you around the hundreds of freestanding islands. We went on a 2 day boat tour which included food, alcohol and a bed for the night. On this tour we got to walk around in a massive cave, checkout a floating pearl farm and climb to the top of one of the islands to see an amazing view. This is definitely worth doing however there are thousands of tourists which kind of takes the magic away and unfortunately we had rain the whole time. There wasn't much else to do in Ha Long bay for us, so we left after a couple days and carried on our adventure south.

Journey from there to Hue was pretty boring for us. All the rain, evil bed bugs and very long cold rides. Nothing worth chatting about but it finally looked up from Hue.

Hue

FINALLY SEEN SUNSHINE!! I was starting to forget what blue sky looks like and the feeling of sun on my skin. We only spend one night here and found it pretty cool. The food and coffee was really good and the bars were fun. Only thing that annoyed us was a crazy amount of people on bikes trying to sell you cannabis, obviously say no because most of them work with the police to catch people.

Da Nang

Loved Da Nang! Full of history, good food and beautiful views. The Hai Van Pass, which was made famous by an episode of Top Gear, is a definite must! Beautiful winding roads and incredible ocean views make it any motorbikers dream.

Once you've finished with this amazing drive, The Golden Bridge was awesome to see! The best time to go is as soon as it opens at 8am so you miss the massive rush of tourists and tour groups which is about 10 a.m onwards. There are so many people on the bridge it takes away the splendor of it. Also when you go early, you will most likely see loads of brides and grooms taking beautiful wedding pictures which was nice to see.

The cable car ride up to the bridge is one of the longest in the world and it's so much fun! Breathtaking views the whole way up and if you do go early, you usually get the cart to yourself.

Another must do is The Marble Mountains. These amazing mountains are full of tunnels, caves and Buddhist shrines just waiting to be explored! If you have plenty of energy and love a good mission, you can climb to the summit of one of the mountains and feast your eyes on spectacular views over the entire area.

Last but not least, is the Son Tra Peninsula. At the size of over 4000 hectares, this beautiful rainforest is massive! It juts out into the sea from the city of Da Nang with hikes to go on, incredible views and untouched beaches.

Hoi An

This was the first place that had a real backpacker feel to it. Plenty of hostels to choose from, great food all around and nightclubs next to the beach. We stayed in a hostel called "Tribee Ede hostel" which had a relaxing pool and buzzing bar area. Drinking games were played most evenings and even an amazing free food tour once a week. As I said earlier, Hoi An definitely has the best Banh Mi in Vietnam, along with other very tasty foods to try.

If your looking to get a suit or dress tailored, this is the place, with over 50 tailor shops to choose from and very fast service. I got a dress tailored within 24 hours!

Nha Trang

We weren't here for long but it was quite a cool place. Our hostel had free beer for a couple of hours at their rooftop bar which was awesome. Plus a yummy meal shared with other travelers, which was a great way to meet other backpackers and swap stories of Vietnam.

Dalat

Our hostel was not the best here, it had a curfu to be back by or they would lock the doors! So obviously we pushed boundaries ;) Most unusual thing I've come across with a hostel. So unfortunately we couldn't stay out past midnight but we still managed to have some fun. The best thing we found in Dalat was the Maze Bar! Never seen anything like it! It was literally a maze inside a building with bars on different floors, full of secret spots and a beautiful rooftop maze with a view of the city.

Ho Chi Minh

The last place on our Vietnam roadtrip! There is lots to do in this busy city. We were only here a few days so didn't do a huge amount. However going to a rooftop bar is a must here. We couldn't actually afford a drink at the one we went to, but did get to see the amazing view of the city!

We were lucky enough to be here for New Years Eve and got to meet up with a bunch of awesome travellers we met in Hoi An. New Years was such a crazy experience! With the most iconic strip of bars and clubs we have ever seen, packed with thousands of people enjoying the festivities.

After New Years madness we had to say goodbye to our mighty steeds! It was one of the best but hardest 4 weeks, full of amazing food, beautiful coffee, a lot of rain and great friends! Biking Vietnam... Not for the faint hearted.

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