in·ter·im
/ˈin(t)ərəm/
〝 the time between one event, process, or period and another; the intervening time. 〞
RULES TO INTERIMS
- when an interim (a situation where a traveler has to stay in a timeline or reality in order for a certain event to happen) is occurring, it's important to stay safe and follow time travel protocols at all times.
- during interims, time is vulnerable and often not paid attention to. so don't be surprised if changes or unexpected events occur.
key
- y/f/f - your favorite flowers
- y/f/c - your favorite color(s)
- trigger warnings!: none.
NIHACHU'S BAKERY, MANBERG.
ON Y/N'S WAY IN, they grabbed a free newspaper that was being handed out by a random passerby, shouting somethings about eret's dethroning and the kingdom next door to bring in the attention of pedestrians.
when you went up to the register, niki greeted you with a toothy grin. "guten morgen, y/n/n! want your usual?" "hallo niki. ja of course i would." you replied cheerfully, making niki giggle and quickly retrieve your order. when you finally came back recently after going missing, her and callahan were extremely happy to find you safe.
you went back to your routine of visiting the bakery everyday to make up for the time gone, hanging out with niki and callahan in the mornings. niki even started teaching you a little bit of german. as you were sat at the table, you immediately cracked open the newspaper and read the main headline on eret's trial, seeing the courtroom sketches and dream's statement, making your stomach roll. it was a lot more to process than you thought.
when niki sat down across from you, placing your order on the table, she noticed how engrossed you were in the newspaper, seeing you frowning and holding a blank expression. you gave niki a quick glance. "danke." you said, thanking her as your eyes trailed back to the newspaper while taking a sip of your drink.
niki's eyebrows scrunched together, looking worried. "are you okay? did something happen?" she asked softly, bringing your attention back on her. you sighed quietly and slid the newspaper over to her, making her read the headline. you gave her sometime to read silently, watching her face contort into concern and blankness like yours.
once she was done, she looked back up at you. "well..." she started, trying to choose the right words. "that's shocking. eret is a good friend of mine... can't believe that happened." "yeah. i bet no one can." you replied, letting everything in the cold atmosphere within a warm bakery process.
of course you knew eret's dethronement occurred before the public did. you even helped him move out of the palace two days ago. you were just surprised to hear about the things he did behind closed doors and about dream being the original founder of the kingdom named after him.
after a while of empty silence, niki sighed. "at least we're both here, right?" your eyebrows twitched up a little in response. "i'm sorry i'm just-" "shell shocked? me too." you said, reached across the table to hold her hands. "it's alright, niki. you're right. i'm glad we're both here. i just have a bad feeling that this isn't the only big thing that's gonna happen." you confessed, thinking about the plan to take down manberg.
niki listened carefully, nodding in understanding. "i see... this is why i don't really keep up with politics anymore." she also confessed, giving your hand a squeeze as she thought back to being a l'manbergian citizen, how wrong the election went. she could still hear the way king threatened her. she was lucky that he didn't make his threats against her come true, or else her bakery would probably be shut down.
you swallowed, looking at her with empathetic eyes. you let go of her hands briefly, taking the newspaper and getting up from your seat, throwing it out in the trash. she watched you with a bit of a shocked yet amused expression. when you sat back down, you took hold of her small hands again. "let's just hangout. fuck the royalty." you exclaimed. niki snickered, trying to hide a mischievous smile.
you two continued to converse about random topics, switching the mood back to normal until callahan came in. when he went up to your table, he held a small bouquet of y/f/f mixed with some other y/f/c flowers towards you. your eyes lit up upon seeing the mini flower arrangement.
"for me?" you asked in surprise, looking up at callahan with glossy eyes and a hand on your chest. a huge smile spread across his face as he nodded vigorously, your hands brushing against one another as he placed the bouquet in your hands. you instinctively took a sniff of the flowers, staring down at them with admiration. you looked back up at callahan and stood up, giving him a warm hug.
you felt his heart beat faster while he wrapped his arm around your waist, a big grin stretching across his face. you thanked him profusely before letting him sit down, joining in on your conversations with niki. the three of you were having a good time, laughing as regular customers passed by.
after you were finished hanging around in the bakery, you bid your farewells to niki, and exited with callahan, the two of you wanting to stay near one another. hanging out with callahan was always really chill, and you just felt comfortable around him. as you were up in your thoughts, callahan tapped on your shoulder, making the two of you stop walking.
"what is it?" you asked, eyebrows raised. "wanna go to the art museum?" he wrote out on his notepad. your face immediately lit up, grinning at him. "you know what, cal? i'd love to." he felt his heart drop to his stomach, butterflies erupting as he took your hand. he started to skip along the streets, making you giggle and skip beside him, the feeling of exhilaration and pure happiness surrounding the two of you.
usually, you'd have some more time after hanging out in the bakery since you like going early. now you can spend that time with callahan. you were accustomed to spending a lot of your time with niki, however, you were glad you could switch it up today. callahan, like the gentleman he was, bought the tickets for the two of you, entering in the quiet atmosphere.
when you walked in, looking at all the fine art on display, you held hands with him, letting each other lead the other around if your eyes found something interesting to admire. callahan liked going to museums because they were such peaceful places, and most people spoke in whispers or never spoke at all, something he felt comforted by. they also understood expression without words, hense why they're in an art museum in the first place.
now that he was walking through his comfort place not by himself anymore, it felt brand new. he really liked the bubbling feelings whenever he was around you.
after almost an hour that went by a little too fast, you and callahan walked out of the museum hand in hand. you carefully navigated the front steps and then made your way to the side of the museum building, getting out of the way of the crowds waiting to get inside.
when you looked towards callahan, you found him staring at you, making you giggle. his smile only widened, his glossy eyes looking at you lovingly. you gave his hand a squeeze, smiling back at him as you leaned closer to him. "i had a really great time. i needed this. thank you." you said, your tone still soft as if you were still inside the museum.
he felt himself feel flustered, blushing. he bowed in thanks, not needing words to express himself in intimate moments. "we should spend more time together, yes?" he nodded in response, taking his notepad out to write. "yes. i really want to hangout with you more :)" you looked away in thought before meeting his gaze.
"do you wanna have dinner sometime? i haven't really gone out at night. i've been busy around afternoons and evenings." you rambled on, seeing callahan immediately writing his words down. "of course i'd love that! how about we talk about it later??" you nodded. "yes of course. don't feel rushed because of work. i understand. we have all the time in the world." you reminded him, making callahan feel more relaxed.
you two stood around, chattering for a bit before parting ways, hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek that caught him off guard. "see you later, cal!" you said, a sweet smile on your face as you walked away with a wave. callahan waved back slowly, his other hand touching the area that you kissed on his cheek. he felt the butterflies fluttering, a smile spreading excitedly on his face.
as you were on your way back to the presidential house, you began feeling something really obscure building up inside of you. it made you feel weird, sending slight shivers down your spine.
after a while of walking, you recognized the feeling as paranoia. an unusual feeling that makes you feel off despite everything operating normally. i bet you if i turned around, there's nothing there you thought to yourself. you slowly obliged your thoughts, stopping for a moment to look around at all the buildings and bustling activity occurring.
just like you told yourself, there was nothing suspicious, making you sigh and continue walking. you hated feeling paranoid. it was like something that slowly made you go crazy, eating you up from the inside out. despite this feeling, you continued on, keeping your head up and trying to subside negative thoughts.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ERET?
CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK.
EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE - THE POLICE.
the song and the lyrics talk about wanting to love someone but with a more sinister theme behind it. not to make you think too much but this song will relate with the situation in a short while :)
PREVIEW LYRICS.
Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Since you've gone, I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around, but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please
Oh, can't you see you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
——- ——- ——-
A/N.
WHEN AUTHOR SPEAKS.
i was having a bit of 80s nostalgia so i had to bring back some cult classic type soundtracks
w.c.: 1.8k+