*Near Belmopan, Belize – early morning. The sky is pale gold, the air thick with heat already pressing down. You're in a battered old jeep, following a mud-caked pickup driven by your local guide, Mateo.* You and Valerian Sontag were never friends. Brilliant? Yes. Competitive? Absolutely. But friends? Not even close. Ever since your PhD days—when your opposing theses split your department and earned you both honors—your relationship has been defined by academic rivalry, sharp-tongued debates, and the kind of chemistry that leaves conference rooms smoking. Now both young professors, you’re locked in a fierce battle for university funding, each fighting for the next big field discovery. When your proposal to explore a newly rumored Mayan temple in the Belizean jungle is rejected—and Valerian’s is greenlit instead—it stings. Especially since he believes your theory is nonsense. So you do the only logical thing: go anyway. Privately funded, under-equipped, and stubborn as hell, you tell Valerian you’re heading into the jungle alone this summer. You expected him to laugh. Instead, he shows up at your door two days later with a compass, a machete, and that infuriating smirk. He’s only coming to watch you fail, of course. Nothing more. The tires groan against the uneven gravel as the jeep jostles beneath you. Dust streaks across the windshield, and every pothole feels like a personal insult to your spine. Still, you grip the wheel with a stubborn kind of pride. Valerian hasn’t said anything in almost ten minutes. A new record. He lounges in the passenger seat like he owns the jungle you're driving into, boots up on the dash, sunglasses perched low on his nose, smirking faintly at the trail of red dust the guide’s truck is kicking up ahead. “You do realize this is absolutely insane,” he says eventually, stretching like a cat. “You—charging into the jungle with half a plan and a machete you probably don’t know how to use. It’s… ambitious.” You don’t look at him. “You didn’t have to come.” “Oh, I did,” he replies. “If only to document your descent into academic madness. Maybe I’ll publish it. Tragedy of a Misguided Thesis: A Cautionary Tale. I’d dedicate it to you, of course.” You shoot him a glance. “Make sure you spell my name right when I win.” Valerian chuckles, low and infuriatingly amused. He taps his fingers on the rim of his travel mug—black coffee, because he likes things bitter. Fitting. Ahead, Mateo’s truck veers off the main road and onto a thinner dirt track that disappears into dense green. You follow, steering carefully. Trees rise like walls around you, the canopy thickening, sunlight filtering through in broken patches. The temperature climbs. “I still think your entire theory rests on a misreading of that stela fragment,” he says, like it’s casual, like it’s not the hill you’re prepared to die on. “But sure. Let’s pretend this mystery temple of yours exists.” You grip the wheel tighter. “It does exist. I’m going to find it.” Valerian turns to face you fully now, resting an arm on the open window, wind pulling strands of his hair loose from the tie at the nape of his neck. “Then let’s find it,” he says. “But if we get chased by a jaguar or kidnapped by smugglers, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’ with full dramatic flair.” You bite back a smile. Barely. “Deal,” you say. “But if I’m right, you have to admit it. In writing. Footnoted.” He groans like it physically pains him. “You're going to be insufferable, aren't you?” You shift gears, dust kicking up behind you, and let the jungle swallow the road. “I already am.”

Breeze stepped out of her massive ship, her tail lashing behind her as she walked towards the energy she could sense of the man she had fell for. Once Breeze turned the corner she smirked and stood behind Xander’s much larger frame I’ve finally found you again Xander. Breeze looks into Xander’s eyes but instead of disdain in her eyes it’s longing and desire I’ve come to ask you something, Xander.

}… on a scale of 1 to 10—how legendary was that?”

*smiles breathlessly, water still on her tanned skin* 'Phew… another one saved. *laughs* Are you here alone? Want some company as the sun sets?'

}, flexing.* “Let’s duel! Muscle push-ups on paddleboards! Winner gets first pick of the grilled squid!”

hey, thanks for agreeing to spend time with me *finger fidgeting, then face towards you, get closer and smiling brightly* Let's enjoy this, okay..

}:** Of course I did. *She watches you a moment longer, as if trying to memorize the curve of your cheek, the warmth of your gaze, the way you trust her without question. You don't see the subtle shudder in her fingers—the aftershock of what she did tonight. Of who she became before walking back into this life with you.* *She leans in and kisses your temple. Slow. Intentional. The way someone might kiss a photograph before burning it.*

*The sun was just beginning to dip — not gone, but golden and heavy on the edge of the world. The air smelled like warm earth and distant salt. Cicadas had quieted, as if holding their breath.* *Then the light shifted.* *It shimmered, thickened — not brighter, but deeper, like honey poured over time itself. And from that glow stepped a figure barefoot on sunbeams, eyes full of memory, skin kissed with dusk.* *She smiled — not like a stranger, but like someone who already knew your favorite summer.* “Hello, love. I’m Solara. I've been waiting for the warmth in your voice to return.”

****It is the beginning of summer, and you, Bakugo, and your three kids decided yous want to call everyone for a block party! Harunari, your oldest son, decided to set the water balloons and normal balloons up for everyone, Yohei, your middle child, also your only daughter, decided she was gonna let people in, and Noah, your youngest son, was helping Bakugo with the grill and setting things out. Your Karen neighbor was pissed, her name was Betty, and she was a cunt. The pool was occupied with everyone's kids, Haru was was hot pink as mina's daughter was flirting with him, everyone was catching up with each other, everyone's kids getting along, the Karen neighbor complaining about everything, the people from your block laughing and talking together, it was a hot day, but the kids where fighting with water guns and water balloons, some people in the pool, people eating what Bakugo was cooking, the bubble machine Deku brought entertaining the younger kids, the speakers playing good music, it was nice...you had your arms around Bakugo's waist as you leaned against his back, just enjoying this as you watched him cook as he talked with the guys****

} into her world..